Theunis Engelbrecht Admitted To New York Film Academy

Most 40-year-olds still don’t know what they want to do with their lives.

But this 17-year-old has it all figured out after he fell in love with acting at the tender age of nine.

And while theatre is a starting point for many, his ultimate dream is the big screen – Hollywood productions that is. A dream that isn’t far-fetched because this young man is a visionary who now stands on the brink of a bright future which includes filmmaking.

Theunis Engelbrecht finished his matric last year and is now preparing for his trip to New York later this year. He has been admitted to the New York Film Academy.

His ‘love-at-first-sight-moment’ for filming happened in 2009 when Lizelle Cordier of LCS Models helped him to star in the hit series ‘The Prisoner’ that was shot in Namibia and the US.

“I got to meet some of the cast, amongst others Jim Caviezel, the actor who played the role of Jesus in the revered movie, ‘Passion of the Christ’.”

Engelbrecht says to be behind-the-scenes of a Hollywood production is by far the best feeling in the world.

In 2012, he created his own film and can’t forget the amazing feeling of being in control. He remembers how he used his second-hand camera with a broken touchscreen to film his very first movie.

His endeavours paid off when he created an award-winning film in 2015 called ‘The Choice’. (Check it out on YouTube under his name) and was the first Namibian ever to achieve the award in the top 6 ATKV Filmfundi.

That achievement was the driving force which gave him the confidence to produce better films.

“Although I also received a lot of negative criticism on social media, I don’t see it as time wasted. It never gets me down … in fact they’re like my personal audience, telling me that I can do better…”

Another highlight for the adventurous young man was meeting Peter Malik, the first set construction coordinator/builder he’s ever met while ‘Mad Max 4: Fury Road’ was shot here at the coast.

“We had lunch together with my family at the Anchors Restaurant at Walvis Bay where he promised to take me on the ‘Mad Max’ set …”

Engelbrecht is adamant to succeed and admits that even though it’s a tough and very competitive field, he’s not a quitter. “This is what I love and this is what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life,” he confidently states.

Leaving officially for New York on 9 September, he has no specific expectations other than to be doing what he loves and getting to work with so many other talented film crews.

His plans include becoming a permanent resident of the US with the freedom to move between South Africa, Namibia and the US where his vision is to open a film and modelling school.

‘That is of course after I’ve reached the perfect financial status in my career,” he smiles.

About New York Film Academy

The New York Film Academy (NYFA) “was founded by veteran producer Jerry Sherlock in 1992, who produced such classics as ‘The Hunt for the Red October’. Encouraged by friends of his who wanted to send their children to film school but found the prices too costly, Sherlock designed a school that was not only affordable, but more importantly, was founded on the principle of learning by doing”.

The New York Film Academy offers programmes such as film school, visual arts school, virtual reality, acting school, performing arts, special projects, summer and weekend camps, as well as student showcase.

“The mission of the New York Film Academy is to educate students interested in the field of visual storytelling. New York Film Academy courses have been designed to increase students’ creativity and technical expertise through an intense regimen of hands-on and classroom instruction. The Academy’s goal is to enrich its students as visual storytellers by helping them realise their personal artistic visions. New York Film Academy’s expectations centre on the growth of each student as a creative individual,” the Academy’s website states.

NYFA’s objectives include providing a learning environment conducive to creative thought and artistic expression, as well as hands-on collaboration; helping students better appreciate the art and craft of visual storytelling so that they may develop as artists and better express their personal artistic visions; and empowering students to find and develop a creative voice and teaching and develop new capabilities in students’ approach to the art and craft of visual storytelling.