New York, NY, May 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One of Variety’s Top Film Schools for 2020, New York Film Academy (NYFA), will present a live, online panel open to the public on Wednesday, May 20, 2020 called 2020 is NOT Canceled: Film Festivals and Submissions in the Age of COVID-19 to address the current situation of film festival operations and submission guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic. NYFA, a leading film, media and performing arts college based out of New York, Los Angeles and Miami, has had NYFA alum screen at Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, SXSW, and Venice Film Festival. With the current global state, this panel was initially created to guide NYFA students in a time of global change, but the film school has since decided to open this discussion up to the public.
In response to the current pandemic, spring and summer festivals have either been canceled, postponed, or moved online. Like many industries and institutions across the globe, COVID-19 has forced film festivals to find ways to pivot quickly and provide opportunities for aspiring filmmakers to showcase their work and for film festival goers to participate in the moviegoing experience.
Industry reports from Deadline and IndieWire are noting the ongoing changes to the film festival calendar, with many festivals still deciding if they will happen in person, go online, or even happen at all and leaving some filmmakers reluctant to invest money and effort in festival submissions given the current state of uncertainty. With upcoming fall and early 2021 festivals, filmmakers are faced with many tough decisions including how they can launch their work in the film industry in order to move their careers forward. Many are also faced with questions like:
- What's the value of screening in festivals if filmmakers can't network in "real life?"
- How would an online screening impact premiere status for other festivals?
- If I agree to do an online screening with a festival, will I be disqualified from other festivals?
- Would it be better to wait until next year when things “get back to normal?”
These topics and more will be addressed in the industry-driven panel on Wednesday, May 2020, moderated by NYFA’s Director of Film Festivals, Crickett Rumley, including the following veteran festival directors and executives, who will also be taking live questions from the audience during the webinar:
- Larry Laboe, Co-founder and Executive Director of New Filmmakers LA
- Barbara Morgan, Chief Executive Director of the Austin Film Festival
- Bojana Sandic, Programming Director for New Filmmakers LA and jurist for Palm Springs Shortsfest, Slamdance, and Outfest
- Daniel Sol, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Hollyshorts Film Festival
- Hebe Tabachnik, Senior Programmer for the Seattle, Palm Springs, and Cartagena International Film Festivals and Artistic Director for Cine Latino in Minneapolis-Saint Paul
“These talented panelists represent a wide array of established, important film festivals,” says Rumley. “I am looking forward to hearing their perspectives and learning more about what filmmakers can expect as they make their way through the unprecedentedly fluid situation that is a festival run in 2020.”
For more information and to register for the live panel, click here.
Live Webinar: 2020 is NOT Canceled: Film Festivals and Submissions in the Age of COVID-19
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
6:00 - 7:30 p.m. ET/3:00 - 4:30 p.m. PT
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About New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy (“NYFA”) is a leading film, media and performing arts college that offers hands-on intensive undergraduate and graduate degree programs, certificates, and workshops across a multitude of areas of study in New York City, Los Angeles, South Beach/Miami, Gold Coast (Australia), Florence (Italy), Beijing and Shanghai (China), and more. Its programs are accelerated and NYFA students can complete a four year BFA degree in three years. NYFA’s online program offerings allow students the opportunity to advance their creative and technical skills in NYFA’s “Hands-Online Workshops,” available across NYFA’s visual, media, and performing arts disciplines.
NYFA is regionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), and is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). These accreditations extend to all NYFA campuses in the United States and overseas.
For more information, please visit nyfa.edu.
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