EXCLUSIVE: New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts on Monday appointed Peter Saraf as Chair of the Undergraduate Film and Television Department. After forging a career producing such films as Little Miss Sunshine and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, this is new terrain for Saraf, a place he hasn’t been since he earned his bachelor’s degree as a theater major at Wesleyan University. School starts today, and so does Saraf.
What he lacks in academic bona fides, Saraf brings in more than three decades of experience producing film, television and theater. In addition to being chair, he will be an associate professor in the department and will continue to shepherd his current slate of projects while developing new ones.
Saraf has produced more than 35 feature films, four episodic series and several theater productions to date. Aside from Little Miss Sunshine and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, his producing credits include The Farewell, Away We Go, Loving, Everything Is Illuminated, Land and Safety Not Guaranteed, as well as the series Nuclear Family, Vida and Sorry for Your Loss. He began his career working with Jonathan Demme and Edward Saxon on films including Beloved, Adaptation and Ulee’s Gold, as well as the documentaries The Agronomist and Mandela. He went on to co-found the independent producing and financing company Big Beach, which he ran for nearly two decades.
Watch on Deadline
Beyond his production work, Saraf has been an active leader within the industry, having served two terms as Vice President of the PGA and on the Executive Committee of the Producers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as on the operating committee of Producers United, and on the boards of directors of the Future Film Coalition and the Woodstock Film Festival.
Producing has always been an uphill climb, and it has been made steeper as the business roils with cutbacks and contraction and the infiltration of AI. Saraf saw Tisch as a place to share his experience in initiating projects and seeing them through to completion.
“When they called, and my first thought was, why me, I’m not an academic,” Saraf told Deadline. “One of the things that appealed to me was, if I was going to go into academia, it would be good to come at it in a leadership role. I could bring those skills that I’ve built up over the years, being a producer and my experience running companies. It made me feel I could actually do something I know how to do in a meaningful way.”
The Tisch Undergraduate Film and Television Department enrolls more than 1,400 students and produces upwards of 6,000 projects each year through a hands-on, “learn by doing” curriculum.
“What stood out to me in Peter’s candidacy was not only the breadth of his experience, but the quality of his leadership — collaborative, measured, and forward-looking,” said Rubén Polendo, Dean of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. “He has demonstrated an ability to bring people together across different perspectives while maintaining a clear sense of direction, and he is uniquely positioned to guide the department at this pivotal moment, and to help shape its next chapter.”
“Even though I don’t come from academia, I think my experience producing and running companies has prepared me for leading this great film and TV program,” Saraf said. “When considering the job, I realized these young people are the future of the art form and business that I have devoted my professional life to and to have a hand in their development is an incredible gift. Producing is largely about recognizing talent and supporting and enabling that talent to create great work. I’ve been doing that one project at a time; at Tisch, I have the chance to do it one generation at a time.”
