Film MFA Faculty

FILM MENTORS

Howard Libov, MFA Director 

Favorite Son, the second feature from Libov stars Pablo Schreiber (American Gods, Orange is the New Black, The Wire) and Connor Paolo (Revenge, Gossip Girl, World Trade Center). The film is slated to enter new distribution with Passion River Films in September 2021. Libov has written and directed short films; Men Will Be Boys, with Joel Murray (The Artist, Second City, Mad Men), David Pasquesi (Veep, Groundhogs Day, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Sally Murphy (The Good Wife, Scent of a Woman); Libov’s short film, Little Man starred Frankie Muniz (Malcom in the Middle) won “Best Dramatic Film” at the International Sports Short Film Festival, the “Silver Illumination” award at the Crested Butte ReelFest” and was selected for more than 25 film festivals overall. He is the director, and co-writer, of the feature film, Midnight Edition, with Will Patton (A Mighty Heart, Remember the Titans) which won Best First Feature at the Festival of Fantastic Film in Spain. Libov is also the director of the award-winning documentary films, Aglow and Fourteen Stations in the ‘Under the Radar’ series about contemporary artists. Libov is the Director of Film Production in the B.A. program at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Florham NJ campus, and the Director of the new MFA/Film program at the university, where he serves as Chair of the School of the Arts. He is an alum of the Director’s program at The American Film Institute, and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Jacqueline Frost, Cinematography

Jacqueline Frost has been a cinematographer for over twenty-five years, shooting independent features, documentaries, and award-winning short films that have been screened in film festivals both domestically and internationally. She is the author of the recently updated Cinematography for Directors. Frost photographed “The Whispering Cave” in Cuba in 2017, and the film premiered at the Jeu du Paume in Paris in October. It will screen at the El Museo del Barrio early in 2019. She is currently co-producer and cinematographer on a feature-length documentary Rebel By Nature: The Life and Art of Ana Mendieta. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Fullerton where she teaches Motion Picture Production, Cinematography, Documentary Production, Experimental Production, and Directing, and an Adjunct Professor of film at Fairleigh Dickinson University, in Madison, New Jersey.

Ryan D. Moore, Screenwriting

Ryan D. Moore is a screenwriter, film educator, and filmmaker based out of NJ. His short screenplays have been produced and screened around the world— including the Cannes Film Festival in France. His independent feature film, MARIJUANA MINUTES (2023), was released through Lion Heart distribution in September of 2023 and is currently available on Amazon, Vudu, and most Cable VOD. He also works as a freelance writer working on spec scripts, as well as doing comedy punch-up drafts for features/pilots. His professional television crew experience includes The Americans, America’s Got Talent, and Paranormal Lockdown. He’s also worked in various roles on a slew of industrials and commercials. He currently works as the Education Program Manager for the Montclair Film Festival and with FDU as a screenwriting instructor and mentor.

Michael Cannetti, Post-Production and Editing

Michael has been working in film and media production for twenty years.  Michael is an editor, writer, producer, and content creator.  After graduating with a B.A. in Film from Fairleigh Dickinson University Michael went on to work in a variety of areas in film and entertainment.  In addition to Michael holding a Bachelor of Arts, he earned an MBA in Business Management and Leadership from Dowling College and an MFA in Screenwriting from Full Sail University where he graduated Valedictorian. 

Michael has an extensive background in Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production.  His most recent film which he produced, “UFO Club”, is now streaming on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, and Tubi after a very successful run on the film festival circuit.  As an Assistant Editor Michael has worked on such films as “All Good Things”, “The Reader”, and “Fanboys.”  Michael hosts and edits two popular podcasts, “Wizards the Podcast Guide to Comics”, and “So You Want To Be A Geek.”  Michael has been a professor teaching film, content creation, and post-production for newly ten years at various universities. 

Dana Glazer, Directing

Dana H. Glazer received his BFA in History from Bowdoin College in 1992 and his MFA in film from NYU in 1998. His graduate thesis film, Intermezzo, won a Student Academy Award in 1998. He has written screenplays for Warner Brothers and the Syfy Channel and is a member of the Writer’s Guild of America. Mr. Glazer’s feature documentary work includes The Evolution of Dad (2010), which was invited to play at the White House in 2014. Other documentaries include Parents of the Revolution (2014) as well as the short film Jim and Sarah Brady: A Tribute (2015) which he produced for the Brady Center For Gun Violence Prevention. For his documentaries, Mr. Glazer has interviewed many notable people including Darryl McDaniels, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Jim and Sarah Brady and Dan Rather. In 2022 Mr. Glazer wrote and directed his first feature dramatic film, A Case of Blue. It was produced by Scott Rosenfelt (Home Alone, Mystic Pizza) and was released on streaming platforms through 1091 Pictures. In 2023 Mr. Glazer collaborated with his twelve-year-old daughter, Georgia, to write a middle-grade zombie book, titled Dawnah and the Darkhearts, which was published on Amazon.

Roni Wheeler, Producing

Roni is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Namaste’ Productions and has been an entertainment and management professional for the last forty years. Her prowess extends beyond managing large staffs; negotiating contracts; scheduling and budgeting film projects. She has also managed full productions from conception through post, and passing the audits. Namaste’ Productions executes Line Producing for large and small productions, bringing them in ‘On Time, on Budget and on Point’.

As an Educator, Ms. Wheeler taught “Line Producing: The Business of Filmmaking” at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) from 2007 – 2019; while also teaching “Production Management” at Long Island University (LIU) from 2004 through 2018. She has conducted workshops for various organizations, corporations, and small businesses.

As her mother was a Master Professor who taught Teachers internationally, Roni traveled extensively and lived in several countries during her youth. A self-professed 
Universalist, Roni believes in People. 

Artists-in-Residence

Richard Barrata

is the Producer of major films such as The Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. He also produced The Wolf of Wall Street, five Spiderman movies, Across the Universe, Donnie Brasco, Working Girl, and Big.

Arthur Vincie

Arthur Vincie’s most recent work as a writer and director is the award-winning fiction web series “Three Trembling Cities,” an intimate portrait of the inner lives and daily struggles of NYC immigrants. The show has screened at over 30 festivals and events across the world and picked up several awards. Vincie is also the author of a book about production, “Preparing for Take-Off”.

Greg DePaul

Greg DePaul: Screenwriter, “Bride Wars” starring Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway and Candace Bergen, and “Saving Silverman”, starring Jason Biggs and Jack Black.

Jen Rudin

is currently an agent working in the area of animation at ICM, New York. Previously, she ran Jen Rudin casting, working in both New York and Los Angeles. Jen is the author of the book, “Confessions of a Casting Director”.

Richard Prince

is a producer on the NBC’s, “Brooklyn 99”, starring Andy Samberg. Mr. Prince has worked in film and television production for more than 30 years, having worked on projects ranging from the feature film “Saw” to the long-running television show, “CSI”.

Guest Speakers from the Film Industry

Through our faculty’s professional Industry contacts, FDU Film students have learned a great deal about the real world of film and video. From special presentations and visiting classes to holding seminars, these working experts in their field have added to our student’s education and understanding of the industry. Recent guest speakers have included:

• Neil Burger – Feature Film Director/Writer (Divergent, The Illusionists) imdb
• Jonathan Demme – Feature film director (Silence of the Lambs, Ricki and the Flash) imdb
• Daniel Wolff – documentary producer imdb
• Maggie Renzi – Producer ( of John Sayles features) imdb
• Nora Chavooshian – Feature film production designer imdb
• Tim Squyres – Feature film editor imdb
• Robert Andres – feature film & TV series Key Grip imdb
• Tony Pettine – feature film and TV script supervisor imdb
• Debra J. Olchick – Line producer, Production manager imdb
• Sarit Catz – Sit-com Screenwriter imdb
• Peter Stein, ASC – feature film Cinematographer imdb
• Andy Breckman – Screenwriter on the TV series “Monk” and such feature films as “Rat Race” and “IQ” imdb
• John McCormick – Sound Mixer on the TV series “Rescue Me” imdb
• Bruce Figeri – President LifeSize Entertainment, independent film/video distributor and producer on the feature film “Fear House”. imdb
• Doug LeClaire – freelance TV commercial producer and producer on the feature film “Greetings from the Shore” imdb
• Ben Wolf – Cinematographer imdb
• Alik Sakhorov, ASC – Cinematographer on the HBO series “The Sopranos” and others. imdb
• Emily Gumpel, Editor imdb
• John Allen – Editor “The Golden Bowl”, “Le Divorce” (Merchant/Ivory, producers) imdb
• Joan Stein – Director; Writer/Director, “One Day Crossing,” Academy Award Nominee, Best Live Action Short Film, 2001. imdb
• Nancy Kamowitz – Script Supervisor imdb
• Andrew K. Stauffer – Producer imdb
• Michael Domeaniecki – Make-Up
• Judith Seaman – Documentary Producer/Editor
• John Ombaldo – Sound Recording
• Kevin Allen – Production Designer
• Kim Chorba – Acting Instructor

Master Seminars

Professionals join us to conduct workshops during periods in-residence. Examples include:

• Editing the Feature Film
• Coverage and Continuity
• Distributing Films
• Producing and Directing Commercials and Corporate Videos
• LED Lighting Technology
• Post Production Sound Design
• State Production Tax Incentives
• The Director and the Actor
• Working with Grips
• Working With Unions