ACTING & FILM SCHOOL

NYFA Film School Student Selected for Sundance Film Festival

Phillip Dorling’s short film, Predisposed, has been officially selected as one of the forty-seven U.S. short films that will play at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film stars Frozen River actress, Melissa Leo, and Ethan Downing.  It tells the story of a conservative son’s plight to change his family’s hopeless situation and how he is pulled into the messy mission of helping his manipulative, drug addicted mother score.

The film was produced at the New York Film Academy Film School while Dorling was studying in the one-year filmmaking program to become a film director. Melissa Leo was a recent speaker at the New York Film Academy.

Dorling was born and raised in Woodstock, New York. He’s always had a vivid imagination and a knack for telling stories, which led him to explore filmmaking at age 15. A slew of short films have ranged from documentaries to animation and narratives. For several years, Dorling has worked closely with mentor and now-collaborator Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia, The Painted Veil, Soldier’s Girl). As a filmmaker, he wants to explore the human experience, good and bad, and is determined to portray a very realistic outlook on social issues.