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Robert Tutak
Professor
Film
Location: 219 West End Building
Phone: 718.951.5000 x2610
Fax: 718.951.4733
Email:
Robert Tutak is a graduate of the Lodz Film School of Poland, recipient of the Fulbright Foundation Grant in Film, and the founder-director of the Manhattan Film Academy. His film credits include writing, directing, and/or producing five feature films: ELLIS ISLAND: THE MAKING OF THE MASTER RACE IN AMERICA , 2017, documentary; THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS, 2016, feature film (executive producer, dir. Saud Jubaer); DUBAI: A CITY OF DREAMS, 2010, documentary (U.S./UAE; distribution: 7th Art Releasing, U.S., Upside Television, France); NOBODY'S PERFECT, 2002, independent feature (U.S.; distribution: TLA Releasing); MECZ/MATCH, 1988, a made-for-TV movie (Poland; distribution: Channel 1 TVP, public television), as well as several short fiction and documentary films. Tutak's work has been broadcasted on television and screened at festivals around the world in over 20 countries as well as in the U.S., including the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
Education:
Certificate, Robert McKee's Story Structure Seminar - 1994 (Story Structure, Screenwriting)
Doctoral degree equivalent, M.F.A., Lodz Film School of Poland - 1991 (Directing for Film and Television)
Non-degree, San Francisco Art Institute - 1989 (Film, graduate)
Non-degree, Stanford University - 1989 (Intensive English Program and Academic Orientation for Foreign Graduate Students)
M.A., Interdepartmental School of Contemporary Culture, University of Wroclaw, Poland - 1977 (Culture Sciences / Cultural Anthropology)
Areas of Expertise:
Writing, directing, producing, editing.
Creative Work
ELLIS ISLAND: THE MAKING OF A MASTER RACE IN AMERICA, feature documentary on the influence of eugenics and nativism on the U.S. immigration policy at the turn of the 20th century and beyond. Writer, director, producer. 2017
THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS, feature film on the confluence and conflict of the Hindu and Muslim cultures in rural Bangladesh; shot on location in Bangladesh; Executive Producer (directed by Saud Jubaer). 2016
DUBAI: A CITY OF DREAMS, feature documentary on labor exploitation and human rights abuses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Writer, director, producer. Log line: Dubai is a city of dreams. Some dreams come true. Some don't. 64 mins; full version, 52 mins., Distribution: 7th Art Releasing, United States (North America); Upside Television, Paris (worldwide). 2010
NOBODY'S PERFECT, independent feature film, starring Leonardo Nam (The Perfect Score, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), 96 mins. Writer, director, and producer. Distribution: TLA Releasing. 2002
THE SUBWAY, documentary short, producer; production: PTVN-NYC; distribution: Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York; Channel 1 TVP, Warsaw, Poland. 1992
AN ACTOR, documentary short, producer; production: PTVN-NYC; Distribution: Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York; Channel 1 TVP, Warsaw, Poland. 1991
PACIFISTS, documentary short, producer; production: PTVN-NYC; Distribution: Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York; Channel 1 TVP, Warsaw, Poland. 1991
POSTERS, documentary short, producer; production: PTVN-NYC; Distribution: Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York; Channel 1 TVP, Warsaw, Poland. 1991
GREENPOINT STORY, documentary short, producer; production: PTVN-NYC; Distribution: Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York; Channel 1 TVP, Warsaw, Poland. 1990
TOMEK, documentary short, producer; production: PTVN-NYC; Distribution: Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York; Channel 1 TVP, Warsaw, Poland. 1990
MECZ / MATCH, made-for-TV movie of the week, 16mm, 80 mins, writer-director; production: Poltel, Poland; distribution: PTV 1, Polish public television, Warsaw, Poland. 1988
CISZA / SILENCE, documentary short, 35mm; writer-director. Production and distribution: Educational Film Production House (WFO), Lódz, Poland. 1985
SWIETO / THE HOLIDAY, live-action short, 35mm; writer-director; Production and distribution: Lodz Film School of Poland (PWSFTviT). 1985
TWARZ / THE FACE, documentary short, 35mm; writer-director. Production and distribution: Lodz Film School of Poland (PWSFTviT). 1983
PRAGNIENIE / THIRST, live-action short, 35mm; writer-director. Production and distribution: Lodz Film School of Poland (PWSFTviT). 1982
PANI MARYSIA / MS. MARY, documentary short, 16mm, writer-director. 1981
RODZINA / A FAMILY, documentary short, 35mm; writer-director. Production: Lodz Film School of Poland (PWSFTviT). 1981
Awards, Honors and Fellowships
Best Immigrant Film Award, Socially Relevant Film Festival New York, ELLIS ISLAND: THE MAKING OF A MASTER RACE IN AMERICA, March 22. (Awards and Honors) 2018
Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums
DUBAI: A CITY OF DREAMS. Screening and Q&A, Zachęta, The National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland, January 15, 2017 (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
Manhattan Film Academy-Dubai, June, Screenwriting & Directing Workshop. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017
Manhattan Film Academy-Dubai, August, Screenwriting Workshop. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
The 3rd GCC Film Festival, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, October 18, 2016, lecture on screenwriting & directing (invited by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Culture & Knowledge Development). (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016
International Film Studio, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. April. Lecture on Screenwriting. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
Middle East College, Muscat, Oman. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015
Dubai Studio City, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Manhattan Film Academy - Dubai, Intensive Film Production Workshop, February - May. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
Jeddah Film Festival, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saud Arabia; workshop on screenwriting & directing. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008
Emirates College of Information Technology and Management (ECMIT), January, Intensive Film Production Workshop. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2006
Dubai Knowledge Village, Manhattan Film Academy - Dubai, July, Intensive Film Production Workshop. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2005
Emirates College of Information Technology and Management (ECMIT), January, Intensive Film Production Workshop. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2005
The American Historical Association Annual Meeting & the Polish-American Historical Association Annual Meeting; Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Washington, DC; presentation of the work-in-progress documentary on Tadeusz Kosciusko and the American Revolution. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2004
The Lodz Film School of Poland (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 1994
Professional Leadership
Invited as Jury Member, International Film Festival Krasnogorski, Moscow, April 2-7. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2015
Other Professional Activities
Festival Screening, Socially Relevant Film Festival New York, Official Selection, Premiere, Cinema Village, Manhattan, ELLIS ISLAND: THE MAKING OF A MASTER RACE IN AMERICA, March 19. 2018
Screening: BROOKLYNESE, a film series pertaining to the borough, sponsored by Brooklyn College and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, ELLIS ISLAND: THE MAKING OF A MASTER RACE IN AMERICA, February 26. 2018
Broadcast on CUNY TV, July 8 & 9, THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS 2017
Broadcast on cable television TVI, Portugal, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2014
Broadcast on Spiegel TV Wissen, Germany, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2014
Broadcast on cable television IRIB Iran, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2013
Broadcast on cable television RTL TVI Belgium, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2013
Broadcast on PLANETE, Canal + television, Poland, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2012
Broadcast on cable television RSI LA 2 Radiotelevisione swizzera, Switzerland, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2012
Festival screening, the 7th Annual United Nations Association Film Festival Traveling Festival, Carroll University, Waukesha, Wis.; United Nations Association Waukesha Chapter, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2012
Broadcast on Polish Public Television, Channel 1 TVP, Warsaw, Poland, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999.Mecz (Match). 2011
Festival screening at Kumu Doumentaal, Eesti Kunstimuuseum (Art Museum of Estonia), Tallinn, Estonia, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2011
Festival screening at the 14th United Nations Association Film Festival, Stanford University, East Palo Alto, Calif.,Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2011
Festival screening at the Fifth Annual New Orleans Middle East Film Festival, New Orleans, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2011
Museum exhibition, Tadeusz Kosciuszko and the American Revolution trailer, in the permanent collection of the Kosciuszko House Museum in Kosava, Belarus (donation of the United States Embassy, Minsk, Belarus). 2011
Broadcast on cable television, GRITtv with Laura Flanders (Free Speech TV, Dish Network, DIRECTV).Dubai: A City of Dreams trailer. 2010
Festival Screening, Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, China. Theme: Documentaries Tell the Best Stories -- International Docs Journey into Campus: (1) South Sun Yat-sen University; (2) South China University of Technology; (3) Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2010
Festival Screening, Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, China; Sapphire Arts Space & Galaxy Cinema, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2010
Film Market Exhibition, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Docs for Sale, Dubai: A City of Dreams. 2010
Exhibition: Cultural Center, Cluj, Romania, Twarz (The Face). 2008
Exhibition: la Cinemateca Romană, Bucharest, Romania, Twarz (The Face). 2008
Festival Screening, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, November, Twarz (The Face). 2004
Gallery Screening, Cinetheque du Fresnoy (Studio national des arts contemporains), France, Films Courts, l'Ecole de Lodz, organized in collaboration with MoMA NYC, Twarz (The Face). 2004
Exhibition: Anthology Film Archives, Nobody's Perfect. 2003
Film Market Exhibition, Marche du Film, Cannes Film Festival, France, Nobody's Perfect. 2003
Broadcast on Triangle Television, New Zealand, Homework. 2002
Festival Screening, Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Nobody's Perfect. 2002
Exhibition: Cleveland Cinematheque, Retrospective of the Lodz Film School of Poland, Thirst and The Face. 2001
Exhibition: Pacific Film Archives, Berkeley, Calif, Retrospective of the Lodz Film School of Poland, Thirst and The Face. 2001
Exhibition: Santa Fe Cinematheque, Retrospective of the Lodz Film School of Poland, Thirst and The Face. 2001
Exhibition: MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Retrospective of the Lodz Film School of Poland,Thirst and The Face. 1999
Exhibition: UCLA Film and Television Archives, Retrospective of the Lodz Film School of Poland, The Face. 1999
Broadcast on Channel 1 TVP (public television), Warsaw, Poland, The Subway and Pacifists. 1992
Broadcast on Channel 1 TVP (public television), Warsaw, Poland, 1983, 1985, 1989, Pragnienie. 1992
Broadcast on Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York, The Subway, prod. PTVN-NYC. 1992
Broadcast on Channel 1 TVP (public television), Warsaw, Poland, Actor and Posters. 1991
Broadcast on Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York, Pacifists, Actor, Posters and Tomek. 1991
Exhibition: Film/Video Arts, Inc., New York, Thirst. 1991
Broadcast on Channel 1 TVP (public television), Warsaw, Poland, Tomek and Greenpoint Story. 1990
Broadcast on Channel 31 WNYC-TV, New York, Tomek and Greenpoint Story. 1990
Exhibition: Film Arts Foundation, San Francisco, Thirst. 1990
Exhibition: Polish Institute of Paris, France, Thirst. 1989
Festival Screening, Cleveland International Film Festival, Thirst. 1989
Festival Screening, European Film Festival, Poland and Stuttgart, Germany, Thirst. 1989
Festival Screening, Festival of Polish Feature Films, Gdansk, Poland, Match. 1989
Festival Screening, Film Arts Foundation Film Festival, San Francisco, Thirst. 1989
Festival Screening, San Francisco Art Institute Film Festival, Thirst. 1989
Festival Screening, The Young Polish Cinema, Gdansk, Poland, Thirst and Match. 1989
Festival Screening, Internationale Kurzfilmtage, Oberhausen, Germany. Following the festival, a yearlong tour of Germany as part of the "Polish Retrospective," Thirst and The Face. 1988
Broadcast on Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (German public television network), Mainz, Germany, The Face. 1986
Exhibition: Polnische Kurzfilme - Tour of Germany. Films were shown in art houses and on campuses in Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt, Cologne, Bremen, Osnabruck, Freiburg and Bielefeld. Organized by junges forum Reclinghausen, West Germany, Thirst and The Face. 1986
Festival Screening, Koszalin Meetings, International Festival of Young Cinema, Koszalin, Poland, Thirst and The Face. 1986
Exhibition: Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques, Paris, Thirst. 1985
Festival Screening, Third International Festival of Non-Commercial Art, Wroclaw, Poland, Thirst. 1985
Broadcast on Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (German public television network), Mainz, Germany, Thirst. 1984
Festival Screening, International Film Festival, Munich, Thirst and The Face. 1984
Festival Screening, International Film Festival, Warsaw, Poland, Thirst. 1983
Festival Screening, International Film Students Meeting, Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, organized by Centre International de Liaisons des Ecoles du Cinema et Television (International Center of Liasons of Cinema and Television Schools), Thirst. 1983