Film School
Introduction  

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

THE DIRECTOR


Elizabeth Monroy M.S.


Elizabeth Monroy is the director of The Infinite Human Institute , a non profit organization that seeks to inspire, educate and promote emerging visionary artists. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts, English and History and a Masters of Science in Mental Health Counseling. She has studied screenplay writing and film making at the University of California in Los Angeles and Cinema and Art at the University of Florence. For the past twenty years Elizabeth has traveled around the world with her husband, a physician, laying a foundation for a deeper level of human evolution based on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual evolvement. Together they wrote The Pathway Home, which outlines the spiritual foundation given to them by their spiritual teachers .In addition to The Pathway Home, Elizabeth is the author of several other books as well as The Magical Mist a children's book aimed at empowering the creative imagination of children.

Elizabeth was exposed to the great pioneers of the humanistic movement during the sixties in Southern California, where she lived with her parents, both psychotherapists in a beach front home  beside Sam Keen author of the best seller Fire in the Belly and many other amazing books on Human Potential. She had the privilege of meeting Fritz Pearls, founder of Gestalt therapy; Eric Bern, founder of transactional analysis; and Virginia Satire, founder of family therapy, at a very early age. Her mother and father are both  practicing Psychotherapists, and her  father founded the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, and has written several books linking spiritual growth and psychotherapy.

Elizabeth has studied with Master Spiritual Teachers for the past twenty years and has received many high spiritual initiations. She has also studied Yoga and Psychotherapy at the Himalayan Institute. In her travels around the world she has had the opportunity to work with the indigenous populations of our planet and received much of her artistic inspiration from these cultures. She went on to become an accomplished artist and author. Her artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States, Central America, Micronesia, and Europe. Elizabeth has had her screenplays represented by a major agent in Los Angeles and is currently represented by a literary agent in New York, promoting her latest novel: The Chronicles of MerWorld .

"Visionary Art speaks to our soul and its true nature. It reminds us of the infinite possibilities that lie within us all. Each work of art I create is filled with an intrinsic electric energy and intent that transmits a message to the subconscious of each viewer. I believe that the future of our planet is dependent on enough people accessing this infinite part of themselves and sharing it creatively with others".


The Board of directors


Peggy Russell


Peggy started out her career as a top model winning several national competitions in Las Vegas and other cities in the U.S.A. She then took her knowledge into the level of education and became an instructor for Jeannie’s Modeling and Talent Agency in Colorado Springs, Colorado USA. She prepared models for national and international work in runway, print, and commercials.

In 1997 she began working with the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado, her work expanded into the Durango Independent Film Festival as their film and tech department manager where she developed an extensive knowledge of   grant writing, funds raising and scholarships.

She owns and operates several businesses: a costume shop; a bookkeeping and tax service along with a production company entitled Best Shot Productions which will be filming a documentary in India in 2008. Recently she has joined the Florence Film Festival in Florence, Italy which projects their film festival to begin summer 2008. She has also been asked to bring her expertise to The New Renaissance Florence Film School to serve as Admission Counselor to personally serve the needs of our students.


New Renaissance Florence Film School Mentors:


Jason Moore


Jason actively works in various art modes including film, video, photography and performance.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Visual Arts/Media with an emphasis in Film and Video Studies from the University of California, San Diego where he has also conducted Documentary Technique and Practice courses.  Jason has shown video work at festivals in the United States, Mexico and Italy.  His collaboration with the international collective, DoEAT (The Department of Ecological Authoring Tactics) has accumulated in performances at Pond Gallery (San Francisco), EXIT Art (New York City), The Getty Museum (Los Angeles) and The Museum of Modern Art (San Diego).  He currently is residing in Florence, Italy endeavoring to develop a media blog as well as instruct for The New Renaissance Florence Film School.


Bari Hochwald


Bari Hochwald received her undergraduate degree in acting from Syracuse University, 1984; she did her graduate studies with the American Repertory Institute in Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard in 1990. She is a member of Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Actors Equity.
Upon graduation from Harvard Bari immediately began work with the professional company of the American Repertory Theatre. She has been nominated and awarded for theatrical performances in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, The Garland Awards, the Maddy Awards and the L.A. Weekly Awards. Her most recent performance in L.A. as Gina in Murray Mednick's "Fedunn" was called "the best performance of the year in Los Angeles" by LA Weekly. Ms. Hochwald has worked as a Guest Star on major US network television productions including: NYPD Blue, The Practice, Judging Amy, Desperate Housewives, Star Trek - Voyager, Enterprise and DS9, The Guardian, The Drew Carey Show, The George Lopez Show, etc. working opposite such individuals as Sharon Stone, Jane Alexander, Drew Carey, Bill Macy, Felicity Huffman, David Morse, Tyne Daly, etc. She has starred in several independent films, two of which (The Open Gate, The Collectors) are award-winning festival favourites. Her work as writer/performer of the solo play, "Net Worth," was labelled as "A hit," "cracking with professionalism. . . impossible to dislike" and "The American Bridget Jones ten years on" by Edinburgh Weekly at the premiere of her play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August, 2005.
As an instructor, Ms. Hochwald has taught mask work, acting and script analysis in Los Angeles for the Laura Henry Studios and privately. She coached acting during that time as well to young actors (10-18) as well as adults (over a ten year period).
She has also taught playwriting and acting to underprivileged youth for 8 years in Los Angeles at Heart of Los Angeles Youth and is a founding member of their theatre section. Ms. Hochwald was the recipient of the California Grant for Youth Arts Services to teach playwriting to children with Celiac Disease. She combined this effort to include youth from the above-mentioned organization for a more cross-cultural experience for both groups.
Ms. Hochwald is author of "Your Money, Your Art. . . . Your Life" which is currently under consideration for publication by several major publishing companies in New York City based on articles written for Back Stage West as well as other periodicals and workshops given at Julliard, Syracuse University, Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger, Screen Actors Guild, etc. on the subject of artists and their relationship and responsibility to managing their personal finance.


Andrea Parente


Andrea Parente is an independent filmmaker. He holds a communication degree and a postgraduate course in management from the University of Salerno and he worked as copywriter and writer/executive producer for several local TVs. Then he moved in Rome where ha attended a post graduate master in screenwriting and he shot with three friends a documentary, La Notte è Piccola selected for the XI edition of the Festival scrittura e immagine in Pescara and aired on Roma Uno. In 2004 he moved in New York working for two years as a producer/media analyst for Rai Corporation, the New York subsidiary of Rai, the Italian public TV. He’s been also a contributor of the section VC2 of the cable channel Current TV and he completed several projects: the short movie The Subway, winner of the best director prize to the Capri Film Festival, and the shorts Ithaca (HD, Color) and Cultural Selection (16mm, B/W). In New York he also attended a course at the New York Film Academy to enhance his education in filmmaking. Currently he works as a producer for Sky TG24, the main Italian all news channel, freelance producer for Studio Universal Network Italia, freelance copywriter for advertising agencies. He’s also writing and producing two projects, a short movie set in Salento, in the south of Italy and a documentary set between Naples and New York.

Andrea Pagnes

He is a Venetian born artist, writer and performer. He has been awarded by the Ue with the Schuman prize for his philosophical and literature activities in the early 90's. He built up his career in visual arts. He exhibited his own work while he curated international art projects in major cities such as Berlin, London, L.A., Vancouver, Sao Paulo. In the year 2000 he received the Millennium Painting Award in representation of his own country at the Royal Academy of London. He has participated at several Venice Biennales both as an artist as well as assistant for some of worldwide renowned senior artists. It was his meeting with Yoko Ono (and he offer to him to work for her at the Venice Biennale 2003) which principally lead him to consider the importance of art performances not just as a mere show, but as research for the inner Self and as a way to reach a more deep communication between human beings. In 2005 he moved to Florence where he studies acting as the Isole Comprese School of Social Theatre, while already performing and writing in over seven productions. The last shown project conceived together with his company has been XXL-Extended Peep Show, theatre project for one spectator only. He is now currently working to 2 new projects, which will premiere at the No Limits Festival in Berlin next October. Along with Verona Stenke Andrea won the first prize at Artkontakt International Art Festival with their interactive performance SPEAK THAT I CAN SEE YOU.



Andi Nufer


Andi Nufer is an accomplished artist and educator with broad international experience. She completed her Master's of Fine Art at Stanford University in California, where she served first as a Fine Art teaching assistant and later as a Drawing Instructor for Stanford Graduate and Undergraduate students. Andi's work has won numerous awards and has been featured at galleries and venues across the US. Her performances, videos, and drawing installations are a mix of childlike storytelling and playfulness that combine factual and mythological histories, cultural values, and images. She has taught photography, painting, and drawing at arts organizations, independent schools and academic programs in the U.S. and abroad. Andi also has a Master's in Art Therapy from the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied filmmaking and performance art. Florence is a city she treasures as a place that feeds the inner artist. As an instructor, sharing a passion for art's power to create meaning, bridge art and life's ordinary moments, and connect artist and viewer are what drives her to teach the “whole artist” and not merely technique.


Jennifer Norton


Jennifer Norton entered the world of Storytelling first as a young
painter, then later as an actress. As a graduate of NYU, TSOA,
Jennifer forged her career in NYC, where, amongst other things, she
co-founded The Actor’s Circle of New York. Over the years she
parleyed her skills and broadened her horizons to include
professional work not only as an Actress, but also as a Director/
Producer, for theatre, film and television. While Producing of the Domani Vision Film Festival, she also produced the first edition of the 5x5 New York State of Mind DV Project. Around that time, she also began working in documentary filmmaking.


Along the way, Yoga has always been an essential part of Jennifer’s
creative practice. Currently, Jen resides in Florence, Italy, where she operates her production company Apple & Olive, with her husband, Mario. She is a
founding member of F.E.S.T.A. (Florence’s English Speaking Theatre
Artists) and a contributing artist for F.I.T.C. (Florence
International Theatre Company). When she is not acting, she spends
her time directing, editing, writing, teaching, and composing music.
In her spare time she also practices the crafts of photography,
jewelry making, painting, and cooking.


James Sholto Douglas


He was born and educated in South Africa. He took a first degree majoring in English and History, followed by an Honours degree in English Literature. He then did a post-graduate Higher Diploma in Education and qualified as a secondary school teacher of English. After working in secondary education for 5 years, he changed to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in London, England and later Pisa and Florence, Italy. Resident in Italy for almost 20 years, he subsequently did an M. Phil through Bristol University specialising in Italian Cinema, with a dissertation on the contemporary Italian director Gianni Amelio He has taught graduate courses in Italian cinema in Florence and Siena for the past 3 years, and also writes on film for The Florentine and Time Out, as well as giving talks on English language and Italian cinema in various cultural programmes in Florence. He lists as his favourite directors (for now) Welles, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Altman, Visconti, Antonioni and Tarkovsky.


Timothy James


Timothy James is both an artist and an owner of numerous small businesses. Through his experiences he has learned the importance of creating ascetically appealing web sites with practical tools that sell products. Over the years Tim has learned that the advertising "trap" can do as much to put you out of business financially as help your business grow. Beginning with his first e-commerce web site in the late 1990's, he began to compile a working knowledge of the tools available online that can free the small business owner from those advertising hazards. A glass artist by trade, Tim uses his self-promotional program to take ideas from conception to sale all in one day.


If you are a  Professional   Writer, Actor, Director ,Artist, Film Maker  or Marketing specialist who would like to teach a short workshop on your area of expertise here in Florence, Italy during the scholastic year of 2008-2009. please contact us at:

 info@newrenaissanceflorence.com


elizabethleemonroy@gmail.com