Learn it from the Yanks
Lured by India’s booming film industry, a famous New York Film Academy will open a branch in the country, writes Priyanka Sharma

The academy boasts of guest lecturers like filmmaker Steven Speilberg

Kevin Spacey has also been one of the  guest lecturers and may lecture in India

Imran Khan has studied at the film academy in New York

Want to learn the art of filmmaking at the New York Film Academy? You don’t have to go for that to New York, as the academy, lured by India’s booming film industry, will launch its first branch in here that will be operational from 2012.

The academy is collaborating with the AMR Group for their India venture and its first campus will be located in Greater Noida.

It is open to have Bollywood celebrities as guest lecturers, but they seem to be acting pricey and are demanding big money.

"Just like we invite guests from Hollywood, we would definitely like to invite guest lecturers from Bollywood because it’s quite inspiring for the students," says Kitty Koo, president marketing and business development.

"We approached some of the Bollywood actors, but unfortunately their philosophy is all about money. We follow a philosophy, which is giving back and sharing with students. Hollywood celebrities enjoy teaching, they want to share what they have," she adds.

The fee that Bollywood celebs asked was shocking, claims Koo. "Our philosophy is to share and give back and we will follow that, although Bollywood celebs are most welcome but not with a price," she adds.

The academy boasts of guest lecturers like filmmaker Steven Speilberg and Kevin Spacey, and Koo says she hopes to fly them down to India for a lecture at their campus here.

"We have different guest lecturers in our campuses like Steven Speilberg and Kevin Spacey and hopefully when the Delhi school is started we will happily arrange for their visit, based on their itinerary because sometimes they are not easy to get," says Koo.
Imran Khan and Suniel Shetty’s daughter Athaiya have studied at the academy in New York.

"The reason we thought we should bring the school to India so the students get more opportunity. The students want to explore and learn new things and techniques, learn how Americans make movies and comeback and share. We hope to create a new generation of filmmakers," claims Koo.

The New York Film Academy started in 1992 in Robert de Niro’s Tribecca Film Center offering innovative curriculum and intensive hands on filmmaking programs. Later it expanded to Manhattan, Soho, and Los Angeles.

It also has its campuses in Abu Dhabi, Brisbane and New South Wales.

Koo says the academy will not have any Indian in-house faculty.

"The faculty will be from the US because there are lots of other schools that teach filmmaking with Indian instructors. We will teach in a different manner. Our instructors come from different backgrounds. If anyone want to learn it in the Indian way, then that individual has lots of other Indian schools to go to," she says.

"The curriculum is exactly the same as it is taught in other campuses where we have acting program, screenplay program, cinematography, videography among others. But our philosophy is different. The school will be more towards providing practical knowledge to the students.

"Indian films are all about singing and dancing and we will definitely have tailor-made courses integrating all this. We will definitely try to integrate the particulars of Bollywood style in our courses," she adds. — IANS