Instructors

Huey

Lead Instructor - Young Filmmakers Movie Camp / Jr. Filmmakers Movie Week / Weekend Film School

Known the state over as simply, "Huey", for over 25 years Huey has been making films on artists, youth, education, and the environment and teaching filmmaking to students of all ages. His films have been shown at film festivals in the US, on PBS, and on television in Europe. In March, 2002, he received the first "Huey" Award from the Maine Film Commission, presented to him by Maine's First Lady, Mary Herman, at a Blaine House ceremony. Named in his honor, the "Huey" Award will be given annually to a Maine resident who exhibits "exceptional contributions to film, video, and motion media in Maine". He is also the director of the Maine Student Film and Video Festival.

Leslie Fleming-Mitchell

Lead Instructor - Teen Actors Workshop

Leslie has worked extensively both in front of and behind the camera and has many film and television credits, including a lead role in Kihachi Okamoto’s award-winning film, East Meets West. She worked as assistant director and casting director on independent features, including The Mad Songs Of Fernanda Hussein, recipient of the Rosa Luxembourg award, as well as film coach for actors preparing for film and television roles. She is on the faculty at the Screen Actors Guild Conservatory in Los Angeles and has also been teaching the Young Actors program at the International Film and Television Workshops in Rockport, Maine since 2002. Leslie has lived all over the world, from the United States to Europe to Africa and now lives with her family in Los Angeles, California.

Douglas Gordon

Lead Instructor - Teen Filmmakers Workshop

Douglas Gordon is a Boston-based director/cinematographer whose work includes narrative, commercial and documentary projects. Doug's films have screened at numerous film festivals, and he has shot throughout the United States, as well as in South China and India. He holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.F.A. in Film Production from Boston University. Doug has taught film and digital production for the New York Film Academy, Cambridge Community Television, Massachusetts College of Art and has held the position of Adjunct Professor at Boston University for the past five years.

"As a teacher, I enjoy helping students develop their creativity, a solid technical foundation of the craft, as well as teamwork and leadership skills. It's important for each to discover his/her own voice and it's a privilege to be part of that process." Doug Gordon

Joe Kidawski

Lead Instructor - Teen Actors Workshop

Joe is very passionate about theater and film and spent has spent his life performing as much as he can. He has a BFA in performing arts with a concentration in acting and directing and three years teaching experience at the college level teaching an intro to theater class for non majors. He has also taught guitar and acting classes for kids ages 6-14 at the Apollinaire theater in Chelsea, where he is the resident fight choreographer, as well as a stage hand, a carpenter and a member of the creative team. He has several film credits in the professional, corporate, indie and student realm, as well as a healthy theater background. He LOVES teaching, is passionate about working with kids of all ages and abilities, and is very excited to be apart of the Film Academy family!

 

Troy Lanier

Lead Instructor - Teen Filmmakers Workshop

Troy Lanier is the co-author of the award winning "Filmmaking for Teens: Pulling Off Your Shorts" which Publisher's Weekly calls a "helpful crash course" in filmmaking. He has also written for MovieMaker magazine and Microfilmaker.com. As a filmmaking teacher at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, the student body recently awarded him "Teacher of the Year". He has judged the youth filmmaking competition for the SXSW film festival, moderated panels for the Austin Film Festival and taught at summer filmmaking camps for teens. Mr. Lanier's production company, DadLabs, recently sold its first title to Monterey Media for national distribution. A father of two, Mr. Lanier spends a lot of time at soccer practice.

 

"While I am a professional filmmaker, I also have been working with high school students for over fifteen years. And through my work with teens I have found that they can be great filmmakers. They have great stories to tell and they are passionate about their work. Kids can be really, really funny or make a documentary that challenges the status quo. But, too often teen movies look amateur -- not because they were shot by teens, but because teens are beginner filmmakers. Making a movie is more than just pushing the record button on your camcorder. The good news that in three weeks we can show you the techniques and equipment that will help you to take your amateur movie and make it look pro." Troy Lanier

Brian Daly

Weekend Film School: Screenwriting 101

Brian wrote the screenplay for "Big and Hairy", a Showtime Original Family Feature starring Richard Thomas. He has written several other scripts and has also collaborated with screenwriter David Himmelstein and screenwriter/novelist Kelli Pryor. He's a member of the Writers Guild of America, West.

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