Faculty
Screenwriting, Directing, and Producing
The faculty page is updated each semester with the faculty members who are teaching an MFA course in that semester.
Neil Landau
Professor, Interim Co-Director, 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).
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."
Nekisa Cooper
Instructor, Production Management
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.
Shandra L. McDonald
Associate Professor, Interim Co-Director, 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.
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.
Joey Siara
Instructor, Screenwriting
Joey Siara is a New York based screenwriter. 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. In the last few years, he's been staffed on EMERGENCE for ABC, wrote a comedy feature for Limelight Pictures, and published a short-story -- The Last of the Goggled Barskys for Slate. He is currently developing a comedy-thriller with Littleton Road (DR. DEATH) for UCP and a new sci-fi comedy series with his brother Andy (screenwriter of PALM SPRINGS) and Drew Goddard (THE MARTIAN) for Hulu. And at this moment, he is staffed on THE RESORT, produced by Sam Esmail (MR. ROBOT) for Peacock.
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).
Jeff Sherwood
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Jeff Sherwood (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Sound Design and Sonic Arts in the Department of Theatre and Film at the University of Georgia. He is a professional theatre and digital media artist specializing in sound design, music composition, and audio engineering and has worked regionally and in New York City Off-Broadway theatres including The Public Theater, The New Group, Signature Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference, Bucks County Playhouse, The Cape Playhouse, and others. He also works in the film industry, with his film projects premiering internationally.
Ezra Herz
Instructor, Screenwriting
Ezra Herz is a Screenwriter and has been working professionally for the last seven years. Born and raised in the Blue Ridge mountains of Western North Carolina, Ezra is passionate about telling stories of Appalachia. In 2019 he was on the Blacklist for his script RIPPLE, an Appalachian horror drama tackling both environmental and societal themes of the area. After graduating with a B.F.A. from Western Carolina University, he moved to Los Angeles where he received an M.F.A from UCLA. He has since worked on scripts for Warner Bros, Vault Comics, Cross Creek Pictures, and Village Roadshow.
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Contact Us
Heidi Choi
MFA Film Operations Manager
MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media
Email: mfaftvdm@uga.edu
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