Features

Award-winning filmmaker Zackary Drucker's latest, The Stroll. The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The Netflix animated film Nimona. These are just a few of the projects that will screen as part of the annual SVA alumni film fest After School Special when it returns next week. Presented by the SVA Theatre, After School Special highlights the exceptional work that many SVA graduates go on to make in post-college life, proof-positive of what can be achieved. 

This year, the festival features films that showcase the work of 30 alumni and 11 departments from undergraduate and graduate programs—BFA Film, BFA Animation, BFA Photography and Video, BFA Comics, BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects, BFA Design, MFA Social Documentary Film, MFA Computer Arts, MFA Photography, Video and Related Media, MFA Visual Narrative and MPS Film Directing.

The multi-day festival will include screenings and Q&As with industry insiders that offer behind-the-scenes looks at the world of television and cinema. See the full lineup below.

Thursday, September 21

7:30pm | The Stroll (2023)

Direct from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, this award-winning documentary offers a historical account of the nearby Meatpacking District, as told from the point of view of transgender sex workers who lived and worked there. Join co-director Zackary Drucker (BFA 2005 Photography) for a conversation following the film. The doc is preceded by the short film Keeping Up with the Claus (2021) by writer-director Jaanelle Yee (MPS 2017 Directing). Click here to RSVP.

Friday, September 22

8:00pm | SVA Premieres: Best of 2023

School of Visual Arts spotlights exceptional live-action, documentary and animated shorts by its most recent graduates. Join many of the filmmakers and artists who will be in attendance. Click here to RSVP.

Saturday, September 23

2:00pm | Nimona (2023)

See this Netflix animated hit on the big screen! Set in a futuristic, but medieval world, the film follows a knight striving to prove his innocence while working alongside a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy. Join SVA alumni artists Hannah Roman (MFA 2016 Computer Art) and Toba Siebzener (BFA 2014 Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects) after the film as they discuss how their behind-the-scenes artistry brought the movie to life. Preceded by the animated short Hang Out 2Day (2022) by Sam Grinberg (BFA 2013 Cartooning). Click here to RSVP.

7:30pm | Call Jane (2022) / Under G-d (2023)

Based on a true story set in 1960s America, Call Jane follows a married woman who turns to a group of suburban women to find help obtaining an abortion. Preceded by the award-winning short documentary Under G-d (2023), and followed by a conversation with both films’ respective cinematographers, Greta Zozula (BFA 2010 Film and Video) and Jenni Morello (MFA 2011 Social Documentary Film). Click here to RSVP.

Sunday, September 24

2:00pm | The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) in 3D

Everyone’s favorite plumbers try to save Princess Peach in this hit animated film by Illumination Entertainment. Storyboard artist Jeff Mednikow (BFA 2005 Animation) and clearances manager Jon Kovel (BFA 2004 Film and Video) will introduce the film. Click here to RSVP.

All events are free and open to the public and take place at SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011. 

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. RSVPs via the Eventbrite pages linked below are appreciated but not necessary and do not guarantee entrance — all events are first-come, first-served. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes prior to each screening, and guests can enjoy music videos by Vashtie Kola (BFA 2004 Film and Video) in the lobby while waiting to enter.

For further questions, please contact svatheatre@sva.edu. Guests and films are subject to change.