Faculty
Screenwriting, Directing, and Producing
Full-time Faculty
Marty Lang
Director of the MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media
Marty Lang is an award-winning teacher, independent filmmaker and journalist. He has written and directed two feature films, "Stay With Me," named Best Feature Film at the 2023 South Georgia Film Festival, and "Rising Star," released worldwide by Content Film in 2013. His producing credits include the 2020 Sundance Film Festival world premiere web series "The Ride," the 2016 Indie Spirit Award nominee "Out of My Hand," and "Chompy & the Girls," featuring Udo Kier, released internationally in 2021 by Freestyle Digital Media.
Leandro Tadashi
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Leandro Tadashi's short films have been screened in over 300 festivals worldwide, includingFestival de Cinema de Gramado (Brazil) and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France). In Los Angeles, he directed the short “Tomorrow” (2014), and co-directed the feature “Actors Anonymous” (2017).
Neil Landau
Associate Professor, Dept. of Entertainment & Media Studies
Neil Landau’s screenwriting credits include the cult teen comedy "Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead;" "Melrose Place," and "The Magnificent Seven," among others. His animated movie projects include "Tad: The Lost Explorer" (aka Las Adventuras de Tadeo Jones) for which he earned a Spanish Academy “Goya” Award and Cinema Writers’ Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (2014).
Julie Ray
Professor, Chair, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Julie Ray has more than 20 years of experience designing scenery for theatre, film and television. She has designed scenery for feature films including "Love & Other Drugs," "Abduction" and "13 Days."
Shandra L. McDonald
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Shandra L. McDonald is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer with more than 30 years of experience in the television and film industry. Shandra has created content that has aired on networks including Showtime, Oxygen, TV One, CBS, BET, NBC and more. Shandra's film projects have screened at many U.S. and international festivals including the British Film Institute, the Cannes Film Festival and the Fespaco Film Festival.
Ivan Ingermann
Head of Design Area, Associate Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Ivan Ingermann is a professor in the University of Georgia's Theatre and Film Studies Department where he will teach the Costume Design for TV and Film class and is Head of our Design Area.
Sanghoon Lee
Clinical Associate Professor, Dept. of Entertainment & Media Studies
Lee has completed several award-winning dramatic features as the cinematographer and producer, including "Chicago Heights" and "Hogtown." His credits also include feature documentaries "Today We Saw the Face of God" and "Breakfast at Ina’s." In 2018 he wrote directed his first feature film, Banana Season. He has taught MFA and film production courses previously at Governors State University, DePaul University and Northwestern University. He is currently in post for his latest directorial effort "Classics Undone."
George Contini
Performance Area Head, Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
George Contini is a Professor in the University of Georgia's Theatre and Film Studies Department where he specializes in Characterization, Acting on Camera, Queer Theatre and Film, and Solo Performance.
Current & Former Adjunct Faculty
Nekisa Cooper
Instructor, Producing
Nekisa Cooper is an executive and filmmaker passionate about elevating underrecognized voices and creating work that invites meaningful conversation. Nekisa served as VP of Content at MasterClass, where she built the industry-disrupting library from a concept to over 175 MasterClasses from such luminaries as Stephen Curry, Bob Iger, Mira Nair, Spike Lee, Helen Mirren, and Shonda Rhimes. She produced the award-winning feature PARIAH, now part of the Criterion Collection and the American National Film Registry. She is currently serving as Board President for Chicken & Egg Films. Before media, Nekisa earned her MBA and was a DI Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach.
Michael Narducci
Instructor, Screenwriting
Michael Narducci is a writer/producer/ showrunner whose credits include “Superman & Lois,” “The Originals,” "The Vampire Diaries" and "Medium."
Carl Ellsworth
Instructor, Screenwriting
Carl Ellsworth has been a Hollywood screenwriter for 25 years. His feature film credits include “Unhinged," “Disturbia,” Wes Craven’s “Red Eye,” and the 2009 remake of “The Last House on the Left,” a film Stephen King called “the best horror movie of the new century.” His television credits include “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Xena: Warrior Princess,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Patricia Verducci
Instructor, Screenwriting
Pat wrote and directed the feature film True Crime, starting Alicia Silverstone, and has written screenplays for Touchstone Pictures, Witt-Thomas Productions, and Disney’s animation division. She has also worked as a story consultant for Disney/Pixar.
Joey Siara
Instructor, Screenwriting
Joey Siara is a New York based screenwriter. He spent his twenties performing in an indie rock band and has seen nearly every state in the country through the cracked window of a Ford Econoline. He received a Master’s from Harvard, an MFA from UCLA, and worked on shows for CNN, PBS, and DISCOVERY before focusing on scripted work.
David Sigurani
Instructor, Producing
David Sigurani's current television credits as Executive Producer include Peacock’s upcoming “Dead Day” by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec, AMC Network's "The Boulet Brother's Dragula: Resurrection," Netflix's "Bonding," Channel 4's "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared," and VRV's "Magic Funhouse." He has worked on over 20 television series including seasons of the “The Office,” "Orange is the New Black," "Mad Men," “Nashville,” “Devious Maids,” and “Chasing Life.”
Sarah Watson
Instructor, Screenwriting
Sarah Watson is a writer/executive producer/showrunner who created "The Bold Type." Her TV writing/ producing credits include "Parenthood" and "About a Boy." She is a writer/creator/showrunner of the forthcoming TV project "Untitled Reenactment Project: The Goonies," for executive producers Gail Berman, Steven Spielberg and Richard & Lauren Shuler Donner, shooting in Atlanta.
Ryan Farley
Instructor, Screenwriting
Ryan is Detroit native and an MFA graduate from USC’s Film School. His credits include "Ozark," "Cold Case," and FX’s upcoming limited series, "Gladiator," among others.
Industry Mentors
Our students learn and receive mentorship from some of the best producers, screenwriters, filmmakers and TV showrunners the entertainment industry has to offer.
Contact Us
Heidi Choi
MFA Film Operations Manager
MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media
Email: mfaftvdm@uga.edu
WANT TO GET STARTED?
This is the first dual-college graduate program at the University of Georgia. It is offered to students at a tuition rate comparable to other graduate programs at UGA, making it one of the most affordable programs of its caliber in the country.
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