Scott Crain
Scott Crain is Program Coordinator and Instructor
Scott Crain is an honors graduate of the University of Memphis and the Nashville Film Institute. He’s been acting, writing, producing, and directing for stage and screen for 25 years, and his films have won numerous awards in film festivals throughout the United States and internationally. Scott was nominated “Indie Film Director of the Year” by the Elite Business Network in 2013.
Scott has sold his feature screenplays to Warner Media (formerly Time Warner), Word Entertainment, ITN Studios, and more.
Doug DeAngelis
Doug DeAngelis began his professional career at age eighteen, as a multi-platinum engineer, programmer, and mixer. His studio credits featured thirty-one Billboard Dance Charts #1 singles with artists including Nine Inch Nails, Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys, No Doubt, and Babyface.
After twelve years in the record industry, he relocated to Los Angeles and shifted his focus to film and television music. He is a BMI Award winning composer and music supervisor, whose credits include top rated primetime network dramas, comedies, feature films, reality TV, awards shows, sports themes, and talk shows.
Shannon Connally
Shannon Connally is a graduate of the AFI Conservatory where she obtained her MFA in Cinematography. She attended undergrad at the University of Central Arkansasand double majored in Digital Filmmaking and Addiction Studies. She has experience working on narrative film projects in Camera dept, G&E, and on-set VFX, as well as the camera dept in reality TV. Shannon is drawn to stories that traverse the line between hope and despair and enjoys depicting how the character sees the world.
Renato Brea
Renato was born in Brazil to Dominican parents. They made their way back to the “Half-Island” soon after, he was raised under the Caribbean sun. He discovered film and photography right after high school while in Sweden, when shooting friends in the skateboarding and punk rock scene. After that experience he decided to enroll in Mass Media and Communications program in his native Santiago.
Upon completion of his degree, he then moved to Madrid, Spain to attend the prestigious film school, Séptima ARS where he earned a second Bachelor of Arts this one in Filmmaking with a technical minor in Sound Recording for Film and Television.
In 2012 he relocated to New York City where he worked in the sound and production departments of major networks and studios, like: CBS, NBC and Showtime as well as Independent productions. In 2019 he started working at the New York Film Academy as Technical Administrator Renato moved to Nashville in 2022 but is working between NYC and Music City.
Monty Miranda
Miranda has led and taught film and acting workshops and lecture spots at the University of Colorado, Syracuse University, Colorado Institute of Art, The Colorado Film School, Acting for Film and TV Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Theater of the Arts in Hollywood, California. Miranda has been a regular guest judge at a variety of Actors Showcases in and around Los Angeles, California.
Given his diverse body of work Miranda has found himself directing talented studied actors such as, John Heard, Daryl Hannah, Keith Szarabajka, Noah Wyle, Sharon Gless, and Danny Trejo as well as new green actors – or professional athletes, musicians and politicians such as Palma Violets, John Mayer, Steve Jordan, New Order, Matthew Sweet, John Hickenlooper, Devotchka, Spike Lee, Tony Hawk and Anthony Davis. The constant for Miranda is pulling great performances out of both the studied and the raw to help tell the best story. with motion pictures.
Dion Hawley
Dion Hawley is a seasoned media professional with a diverse background in media. Growing up in Southern California, he was inspired by his mother’s work in television and his father’s love of music, sparking an early passion for storytelling. He holds a Bachelor’s in Film from Full Sail University and a Bachelor’s in Legal Studies with a minor in Music Business from Belmont University. Over the years, he has worked extensively in post-production, contributing to major networks such as Netflix, CBS, Fox, MTV, VH1, HGTV, and Discovery to name a few.
His credits include The Real World, The Challenge, The Kardashians, My Super Sweet Sixteen, Impractical Jokers, Fixer to Fabulous and more. He has also worked in advertising, documentary filmmaking, and on music videos, collaborating with brands like Starbucks, Nike, Fitbit, and Reebok, as well as artists such as Nick Cannon, Kaskade, French Montana, E-40, Sage the Gemini, and Björk.
Currently, Dion colors and finishes promos for Warner Bros. Discovery on such shows as Shark Week, Property Brothers, Christina on the Coast, Guy Fieri, Rock the Block, Little People Big World, and many more. Dion runs two production companies, SwimmingThruAir and Video 4 Healthcare.
Now, as Program Coordinator at the Nashville Film Institute, he is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of filmmakers. When he’s not working, he enjoys surfing in Costa Rica and spending time with his wife, pets, and his dog Chuck, who roams freely on a nearby farm outside of Knoxville, TN.
Don Schneider
For over 30 years, Don worked at the pinnacle of the Advertising/Marketing business creating some of the most recognized and awarded campaigns in the world.
As Executive Vice President/Executive Creative Director at BBDO New York, Don led the creative efforts for an array of Fortune 100 companies including GE, Pepsi, HBO and Visa.
His work has won every industry award for creativity/effectiveness including Cannes Lions, Emmys and Clios. Recently, when USA Today listed the top ten scoring Super Bowl ads of all times, seven were created by Don. He has also won a Grammy for best music video.
He has been consulting with companies on how they can grow their creative capabilities and as a result, grow their business.
As an Adjunct Professor at MTSU, he brings 30-plus years of real-world experience at the highest level of film production.
James Riley
James Riley is an international and multicultural Screenwriter and Creative Producer. He has lived and worked in five different countries. He received his M.Litt in International Relations from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, UK and his MFA in Writing for Screen and Television from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA.James has taken notes on all his scripts from seasoned Hollywood screenwriters, including Simpsons’ writers, Emmy Winners, and Steven Spielberg-produced writers. He was Teaching Assistant for A-List Hollywood Director Joe Sargent in his Directing Workshop and has worked on set as Assistant Director and Production Manager on award-winning film projects in Hollywood and Europe. He was Press Producer and Book Producer / Translator and received Music and Soundtrack credits on an award-winning German feature-length film. The film received funding from the Bavarian Government and product placement from BMW; it screened theatrically in Germany and had two select US screenings in New York City and Los Angeles. James is attached as Main Screenwriter and Creative Producer on seven feature-length films with Producers in Hollywood and Germany.
James Syrek
He then served professional writers as a script consultant on projects that would be sold to studios while also directing his first documentary feature film. During this time James became a film instructor at DePaul University. While mentoring students in this role, he joined Cinespace Studios Chicago and hustled day and night on multiple TV shows, pilots and films produced throughout Chicago and the Midwest, including the television program “Electric Dreams” (Amazon Prime) and the 20th Century/Warner Bros. feature film “The Empty Man.”
James is excited to mentor NFI students and help shape the next generation of filmmakers and content creators throughout Nashville and beyond. He believes all students have a place in media and supports incorporating equity and inclusion in the classroom as a means to support every student filmmaker.
Vincent Riotta
He has worked as an actor with many esteemed movie directors ranging from Ron Howard, Paul Haggis, Christopher Nolan and Peter Greenaway , Zack Sneider, Jose Padilha, Bille August and most recently filmed The Pope with Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce directed by Fernando Mereilles and he has just returned from Belgrade where he played the role of the celebrated Italian Scientist , Luigi Crocco in the Bollywood Film ‘Rocketry, The Nambi Effect’ about the Indian Scientific genius, Nambi Narayanan, directed by and starring Madhavan ( Maddy ), and the Indian superstar, Shah Rukh Khan. Among some of the wonderful actors he has worked with are;, Tom Hanks, Hilary Swank, Chris Hemsworth, Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day Lewis and Penelope Cruz, Diane Lane, Mila Kunis, Nicholas Cage, Antonio Banderas, Sofia Loren, Susan Sarandon, James Mason.
His TV career stretches from work on the BBC and ITV in the UK, RAI and MEDIASET in ITALY to Netflix and HBO in the USA. Most recently the HALLMARK remake of the classic Audrey Hepburn movie, Roman Holiday, renamed Rome in Love. As an acting teacher, he founded the Hollywood Blvd Acting School in Hollywood, California where he was artistic director for four years.
A full biography is available on IMDB.COM.
Steve Anderson
Steve is a filmmaker and songwriter based in Nashville, TN. He is the writer/director/producer of both the 2019 murder mystery THE WHITE ORCHID, starring Olivia Thirlby, John Carroll Lynch and Jennifer Beals and THIS LAST LONELY PLACE, which stars Rhys Coiro, Xander Berkeley and Carly Pope and was a Kickstarter success story. He was writer/producer the Sony-released THE RIVER MURDERS, starring Ray Liotta, Christian Slater and Ving Rhames. Steve produced and directed a free speech documentary which was released theatrically by THINKFilm. A Peabody Award winner, Steve has shot seven national documentaries for PBS and thousands of hours of broadcast television. He wrote and directed THE BIG EMPTY which starred Jon Favreau, Kelsey Grammer, Daryl Hannah, Rachael Leigh Cook and Sean Bean. It was released theatrically by Artisan. He is also quite proud of his “Special Thank You” credit on NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.
Steve’s films have appeared at many prestigious festivals worldwide, including the Opening Night Film at SxSW, two red carpet premieres at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Hot Docs Canada, Stockholm International Film Festival, Bangkok International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, True/False Film Festival, Humphrey Bogart Film Festival, GenArt NYC Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Silver Docs AFI, Florida Film Festival, Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, San Francisco Indie Fest, Newport Beach Independent Film Festival and many more.
WE ARE NASHVILLE'S FILM SCHOOL
OUR MISSION: "TO TRAIN STUDENTS FOR CAREERS IN THE FILM INDUSTRY"
