New York City was buzzing in March as flocks of new filmmakers made their way to Lincoln Center for the 36th annual New Directors/New Films festival. Over the years, the popular event has attracted the likes of Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee and Pedro Almodovar just as their careers were getting started. This year, Newhouse graduate Art Ryel-Lindsey got to be right in the middle of it all.

 

“It’s a very different kind of festival in that it’s aimed at first and second run filmmakers,” said Ryel-Lindsey, a 2006 graduate of the new Goldring Arts Journalism program. “In past years it’s introduced several on-the-cusp filmmakers which is a very exciting thing.”

 

Ryel-Lindsey, 24, is the editor of all marketing and public relations materials for the Film Society of Lincoln Center, one of the foremost film organizations in the country. It is devoted to promoting appreciation for the art form through its festivals, events and daily screenings at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater.

 

“I handle all the text that can be seen by the public,” Ryel-Lindsey said. “I write the press releases, edit anything related to the theater and produce a monthly calendar of all the films going to be shown.” He also writes or edits series introductions, any copy on street-side posters, and script material for radio advertisements.

 

Often Ryel-Lindsey also works marquee events, which include the famous New York Film Festival, among other evening happenings.

 

“The Film Society has a lot of events that cater to Hollywood,” he said. “Forest Whitaker and Alan Arkin all did events here recently. It’s Oscar exposure.”

 

Ryel-Lindsey acquired the job after interning at the Society while he was still at Newhouse. Like several other Arts Journalism students, he commuted between Syracuse and New York City to spend a couple of days each week working at a major New York arts establishment. Shortly before graduation, the Society offered him a position as assistant to the development director. Early this year he was promoted to his current position.

 

Ryel-Lindsey is now one of the youngest people on the Film Society staff of approximately 20-25, and he finds himself fitting in well.

 

“People have come to trust that I can do this work in an efficient and timely manner,” he said. “They are impressed with the way I put work together and with the ease in which I handle pressure situations. I owe all that to Newhouse.”

 

While at Syracuse, Ryel-Lindsey immersed himself both in writing and journalism courses at Newhouse, as well as in film courses held in other departments of the University. This is typical of the multidisciplinary Arts Journalism program.

 

He insists that his favorite parts of the experience were the people involved—his classmates and teachers.

 

“Arts journalism is such a new and specialized field and it’s gathering a lot of exciting people,” he said. “Between the staff and the students, I believe there is a lot to be gained from the personalities.”

 

He specifically points out program director Johanna Keller, as well as AJ faculty members David Yaffe and David Hajdu as being particularly influential. Peter Moller, a professor in the Television, Radio and Film program, was also a favorite. He still keeps in touch with them, and Prof. Yaffe was instrumental in helping him connect with The American Interest, a national political and cultural magazine for which Ryel-Lindsey recently wrote a book review about the status of director Steven Spielberg in new literature.

 

In addition to its outstanding faculty, the Goldring program also connects its students with professionals currently working full-time in the field. While taking part in the 10-day New York Immersion course, a program held every January for the AJ students, Ryel-Lindsey met representatives from the New York Times, the New York Review of Books, Spin, and Entertainment Weekly.

 

“Newhouse’s greatest strength is the kind of people they gather together,” Ryel-Lindsey said.