Master Classes

Luisa Ibañez is a P.G.A Senior Content Film and TV Producer and member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has more than twenty-five years of experience in the US and LATAM media industry, including an overall of 1000 hours of content produced in different formats for diverse audiences and three International Emmy nominations for projects premiered on the US primetime. From this journey, she understands the expectations of diverse audiences in Latin America, Spain and Latinos in the US. Credits as Executive Producer, Development Producer, Line Producer, and Supervising Producer on the successful Hispanic TV Series and telenovelas from NBC Telemundo, Univision, Televisa, and Netflix prove her high-quality deliveries in projects distributed in more than 100 countries and over 35 languages. In the last years, she expanded her creativity to the Film and commercial industry working with Independent Writers, Directors and Distributors in different short films and features. She is a member of WOmen in Film, Natpe, WAWA Association, BGDC and Film Florida.

Randall Dottin directs both fiction and non-fiction films. His work focuses on how resistance, history and memory serve as either aids or obstacles in the creation of Black identity. He received his BA from Dartmouth and his MFA from the Columbia University Graduate Film Division. His thesis film A-ALIKE was licensed for a two-year broadcast run by HBO and won numerous awards including the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards. His second short LIFTED was sponsored by Fox Searchlight’s program for emerging directors – the Fox Searchlab. Lifted premiered on CBS as part of a collection of short films. Randall wrote and directed FEVAH, a short film starring Russell Hornsby (The Hate U Give, Fences) and LaRoyce Hawkins (Chicago PD). His documentary series THE HOUSE I NEVER KNEW received a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. Recently, Dottin co-wrote, co-directed and produced MINE, an animated series whose pilot premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, won the award for Best Animated Film at the 2022 Denton Black Film Festival as well as the award for Best Web Series at the 2022 American Black Film Festival. Dottin is Chair of the Screenwriting Department at New York Film Academy’s New York City campus where his former students have won screenwriting awards, film festivals and have recently began careers as staff writers and producers on American, South African and European television shows.

I’ve been in the business 30 years.

Working for ABC News I covered: The Impeachment of President Clinton, The Millennium, Lady Diana, JFK Jr, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, The 2000 Election, the fall of the Soviet Union and 9/11. I won an Emmy, a Peabody and a DuPont Award.

In 2003 I moved to LA where I produced commercials for NBC and Telemundo. Over 35 spots: Pepsi, Canon, Fisher Price, Bud Lite, Verizon, The People Choice Awards etc.

In 2007 I moved back to NYC and started teaching at the New York Film Academy. I’ve taught there for 17years and was the academic director for the Harvard University and Mumbai programs. I’ve directed over 21 short films, some that have been in festivals all over the world.

My first novel Blood Laws was published by Anaphora Literary Press in 2015. A filmmaking book: WHAT THEY DIDN’T TEACH YOU IN FILM SCHOOL was released by Octopus in 2019. My latest: Make Your Own Movies, will be released next year by Hoaki.

I’m a member of the Director’s Guild of America.

Patrice DeGraff Arenas is a Miami, Florida native who holds a BFA in Theatre from Florida State University and MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. Regional Theatre credits include: Skeleton Crew (Gablestage), Gidion’s Knot (New Theatre), The Tempest (New Theatre), In Darfur (Mosaic), The Rant (New Theatre) Working (Lyceum, San Diego, CA) Hair (Wadsworth, CA) A Most Happy Fella (Freud Playhouse, CA). Television and Film credits include: David Makes Man (Season 2, OWN) Un Pequeno Corte (PBS and HBO 2021), Ludi (Bantu Fi Films 2020) The Jacksons an American Dream. My love for the arts started early and was nurtured by my mother, an arts educator and administrator in MDCPS. My performance expertise has provided opportunities to nurture students through MDCPS as an Arts instructor, and Department Chair of Fine Arts before joining the faculty at NYFA Miami. Teaching highlights at NYFA Miami include: Voice/Speech I,II, Characterization and Movement, Acting for Film I-IV, and directing the Play Production Workshops (So Here We Are 2024, Jesus Hopped the A Train 2023, Circle Mirror Transformation 2023, Eurydice 2022 and Rashomon 2020). Last summer, teaching in ABFF’s Masterclass series at NYFA Miami was exhilarating. It’s an honor to reprise “Act It Out” with the ABFF this June!