If you’re curious about working behind-the-scenes, there are many television productions shooting here in the Big Apple. Storytellers and producers reveal how they create scripted content with NYC as their backdrop, and where the opportunities are for students who want to get in on the action.
Presented with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and St. Francis College’s Center for Career Exploration and Communication Arts department.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
The Center's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
All those entering St. Francis College must be fully vaccinated with an FDA / WHO authorized vaccine and must show proof of vaccination and government-issued ID upon entrance. “Fully vaccinated” means at least 14 days past the final dose of the vaccine received. All visitors are encouraged to wear an acceptable face covering over their nose and mouth at all times.
KWAME AMOAKU, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF THE FILM OFFICE, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
As Deputy Commissioner of the Film Office at the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Kwame Amoaku serves as principal advisor on film and television production policy in New York City. This includes promoting New York City as a premier location for production, developing and maintaining relationships with key industry stakeholders, and overseeing the film permitting process.
Prior to joining MOME in July 2022, he served as director of Chicago's Film Office. Amoaku's career in film and television spans 30 years, and includes experience in directing, producing, writing, cinematography, acting, and location management. As director of the Chicago Film Office, he helped develop COVID-19 protocols that allowed filming permits to be issued by June 2020 and served as part of the city's COVID Recovery Task Force, which invested in workforce development and infrastructure to increase soundstage capacity and revenues by 25 percent and film production by 125 percent. Amoaku also designed and implemented a workforce development program for Chicago residents from underserved areas and created the Chicago Independent Producers Lab, to provide professional development and support to Chicago's independent film community.
HEBEN NIGATU, WRITER, PRODUCER, PODCASTER; GAME THEORY WITH BOMANI JONES (HBO)
Heben Nigatu is an Ethiopian-American writer, producer, and podcaster based in Brooklyn. She is currently a writer for HBO’s Game Theory with Bomani Jones. Previously, she worked at Showtime’s Desus & Mero as a writer and supervising producer, at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a social media producer, and at BuzzFeed as a senior editor.
She is the co-creator of the critically acclaimed podcast Another Round, which has been described as “hilarious and thought-provoking,” “a cultural phenomenon,” and “one of the Internet’s most beloved podcasts.”
She won a Writer’s Guild Award for her work on Desus & Mero and two Webby Awards for her work on Another Round. She was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Media, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Brooklyn Magazine’s 50 Funniest People, Marie Clare’s 50 Most Influential Women, and The Root’s 100 Most Influential African-Americans.
DAN PERLMAN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, CO-CREATOR, WRITER & STAR, FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS
Dan Perlman is a comedian, writer, director, and actor from New York City. Dan is an Executive Producer and co-creator-writer-star of the Showtime series, Flatbush Misdemeanors, which just wrapped production on its second season. Dan co-created the award-winning digital series of the same name, which became Oscar-qualified after winning the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative short at the 2018 Florida Film Festival. He also wrote and directed the short film, Cramming, which won the Audience Award at the 2020 Brooklyn Film Festival and First Prize at the 2020 Rhode Island International Film Festival. Dan was a writer for SiriusXM’sBennington, a Comedy Contributor for Neil deGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk Radio, and he wrote for the 2017 & 2018 WGA Awards. As a stand-up, Dan has been featured on Comedy Central and was named a “New Face” at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival. Previously, Dan created and wrote an animated series, That’s My Bus!, which received a pilot order from FOX and appeared in the Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show on Netflix. In May 2020, he released his debut stand-up album, EMERGENCY CONTACT.
JOHN SKIDMORE, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, JAX MEDIA; PRODUCER, BROAD CITY, RUSSIAN DOLL, SEARCH PARTY
John Skidmore is an Emmy-nominated producer and founding member of Jax Media who currently serves as its COO, as well as Head of Production for Imagine Entertainment. Some of his credits include My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix), A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO), Search Party (HBOMax), Russian Doll (Netflix), South Side (HBO Max) and stand-up specials including Chris Rock: Tamborine, John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous, and Mike Birbiglia: The New One (all Netflix).
MODERATOR: DADE HAYES, BUSINESS EDITOR, DEADLINE; AUTHOR, BINGE TIMES
Dade Hayes is Business Editor at Deadline, covering a range of financial news along with film, television and technology. He is co-author, with Dawn Chmielewski, of BINGE TIMES, a first-hand account of the streaming boom published in 2022 by William Morrow/HarperCollins. Dade has written two previous books on media and entertainment topics, OPEN WIDE and ANYTIME PLAYDATE, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly. He has also contributed original scripts to the popular Wondery podcast Business Wars.
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Accessibility: Center for Communication provides reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. Requests for accommodations for Center for Communication events should be submitted at least two weeks before the date of the accommodation need. Please email community@centerforcommunication.org for assistance.