On Saturday, May 30th, New York Film Academy Los Angeles students from the Filmmaking, Acting, Producing, Screenwriting, Photography, Cinematography, Game Design, and 3D Animation and Visual Effects disciplines gathered to receive their degrees during two commencement ceremonies at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood, California. Deans Louis Fantasia, Eric Conner, and Mike Civille as well as Department Chairs Lynda Goodfriend (Acting), Tony Schwartz (Producing), Nunzio DeFilippis (Screenwriting), Mark Sawicki (3D Animation and Visual Effects), Michelle Kirk (Photography) and Associate Chairs Mike Williamson (Cinematography), Adam Finer (Screenwriting), and Julia Raz (Game Design) addressed the students, congratulating them and giving personal fair wells and final advice for the future. School Director Dan Mackler and Dean Louis Fantasia presented diplomas.
Manish Dayal, film and television actor known for his recurring role as Raj Kher in the hit TV show 90210 and starring in a leading role in the film The Hundred Foot Journey, was the Commencement Speaker for the Acting and Screenwriting graduates. Mr. Dayal relayed the importance of having a positive perspective of “failing” in life as every success he’s experienced would not have been possible with the failures that led him there.
David A. Permut, television and movie producer known for creating Richard Pryor: Live in Concert and Dragnet, which was an early example of remaking a television series into a motion picture, was the Commencement Speaker for the Film, Producing, Cinematography, Photography, Game Design, and 3D Animation and Visual Effects Graduates. Mr. Permut stressed the importance of remaining positive and having patience in the film industry as the average time it takes an idea to debut on the screen from conception is seven years, and the time it’s taken for many of his projects to come to fruition has well exceeded that.
After the commencement ceremonies, graduates and their family and friends celebrated at the Riot House Restaurant in West Hollywood’s Andaz Hotel on the Sunset Strip. Congratulations to all of NYFA’s 2015 degree program graduates!
MFA in Filmmaking
Paul Dees
Simeon Flores
Ryan Lopez
Eduardo Michel Piza
Eljazz Rakhimbekov
Alexander Rodriguez
Daniel Zagaevschi
MA in Film & Media
Ahmed Farouk Ibrahim Al Ayooti
Abdullah Bin Kulaib
Paulo Erico Claridades
Ali Farshchi
Krid Krongyuth
Huimin Mao
Andrei Mindru
Varun Verma
Manal Elias
BFA in Filmmaking
Tyrone Breaux
Noe Miguel Obregon Escobar
Joelle Kahn
MFA in Acting
Kankana Chakraborty
David Dasilma
Ricardo Diaz Guillen
Omar-Farouq Ayorinde Edu
Marthe Einseth
David Epstein
Yara Ferreyra
Brandon James Gailliard
Ivonne Garcia Asimbaya
William Justice
Jong Man Kim
Ivona Kustudic
Nenad Nikolovski
Nozipho Jamilah Profit-Mclean
Danielle RowLee
Fernando Quintana Lasso
Chris Ferera
Emre Pala
Dian Yu
Zhen Wang
BFA in Acting
Andras Farago-Szabo
Rebecca Hamilton
Anthony Hubbard
Anthony Kiser
Kristoffer McMillan
Eboni Osteen
William Stavrakos
Diana Valencia Medina
AFA in Acting
Susannah Almer
Blake Altman
Carlos Rodrigo Chavez
Leonardo Diaz
Karen Flores Kauffman
Ryan Harrington
Dylan Jackson
Benjamin Jooste
Michael Brandon Lamkins
Hadas Sima Lev
Kamali Martin
Lucero Rodriguez
Dulce Sosa
Ellinor Taflin
Alexis Taylor
MFA in Producing
Ismelda Cruz Mojica
Marisela de Los Angeles Delgado Fuentes
Carlos Eguiagaray
Melinda Graves
Ana Pou Valeriano
Tripp Townsend III
Meng An
Luoting Jin
Pengchen Li
Phillip Simon
Arthur Smith
Anna Tveritina
Xu Yang
Shijie Zhang
AFA in Producing
Tyler Scheff
Davin Tjen
MFA in Screenwriting
Ray Cadiz
David Ephraim Cantor
Yanwen Guo
Christopher Hayes
Dakota Klaes
Xiaoxiu Li
Thomas Saetveit Jensen
Agosto Silveira
Angelina Tala
Pallavi Vaidya
AFA in Screenwriting
Quintin Allen Bell
Tevin Knight
Daria Leshchenko
Jamaul Phillips
MFA in Photography
Sultan Al Rubayq
Khulud Albati
Mihaela Belichovska
Walla Jarallah
Yisen Li
Pavlinka Popovska
Elli Tashkandi
Qian Zhe
MFA in Cinematography
Peng Ding
Nelson Javier Flores
Kevin Gillingham
Leandro Moura
MFA in Game Design
Omar Ahmedien
Ohoud Ali
Kevin Newton
Zheng Qin
Chad Robinson
I-Chieh Shen
Yufei Zhao
Ziyi Zou
BFA in 3D Animation & Visual Effects
Arjun Nair