New York Film Academy has announced the opening of a new European
headquarters in Florence, Italy.

The school will be operative as of January 2008.

NYFA has been operative with summer seminars in Florence for three
years, is opening its official site in conjunction with and at the
headquarters of the Mediateca Regional Toscana (The Tuscan Film
Commission), in the heart of Florence.

NYFA's director of education John Sammon told Screendaily.com that
support is being lent by Italian and US government as well as N.I.C.E.
(New Italian Cinema Events), which is a promotional organization for
new Italian cinema abroad.

The Florentine location will host two directors classes in film and
digital as well as acting classes for film and television.

Director's classes will be 4-8 weeks in length and focus on
screenwriting, cinematography, director's techniques, directing
actors, camera use, production and editing. Students will write and
direct their own films while participating in the program.

NYFA will also offer a one-year immersion program in Florence.

Sammon calls NYFA's offerings hands on training in filmmaking. 'We
provide aesthetic theory and practical application,' he said. Courses
will be in both English and Italian.

The collaboration also sees NYFA, Tuscany Film Commission and N.I.C.E.
come together to offer study grants in directing named after director
Alessandro D'Altri.

Grant winners will be selected by N.I.C.E. from their original 15-page
screenplay and sent to a one-year program that can be completed either
in Florence, NY or NYFA's Universal Studios location in Los Angeles
where NYFA operates a two-year MFA program.

NYFA of Florence will be led by Diana Santi, herself a director and ex
student of NYFA. Teachers will hail from LA, NY and Europe. 'We
operate world wide and we will have the same curriculum offered as in
NY and Los Angeles,' he specified.

Previous students have included the children of directors Steven
Spielberg, Peter Bogdanovich, Kevin Bacon, Pierce Brosnan, and Kevin
Kline.

Screenwriter Mark O'Keefe (Evan Almighty), actor Paul Dano (Little
Miss Sunshine) and actress Jessica Rose (King Kong) are recent
attendees.

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