Alexandra Nakelski has been in some form or another involved with the film industry for over ten years. With an early background in theater, Alexandra decided to broaden her experience in the arts. She received her B.A. from the University of New Mexico in Mass Communication and Journalism with a Minor in Film Studies. In 1999, there were not many opportunities in the film industry in New Mexico, so Ali moved to Los Angeles to pursue her first love of special effects makeup. Having been a background extra in productions such as Freaks and Geeks, The X-Files and The West Wing, she earned her Editing Certification during this time on AVID at Tapestry Films in Beverly Hills. Her imdb credit includes Olsen Twins' productions including: Holiday in the Sun and Winning London. She was also apprentice editor on National Lampoon's Van Wilder and Sherwood Jones's The First Time. Upon her move to New York in 2004, Ali was editorial assistant and film reviewer for the genre classic publications Starlog and Fangoria. Here she sharpened her Journalistic skills by interviewing cult celebrities and filmmakers. Some of her interviews include: John Carpenter, Joe Dante, Richard Benjamin, Ray Harryhausen, Christopher Coppola, Tony Bill, Larry Gross, Andy Lane and John Badham. In 2008 Ms. Nakelski after returning to California, earned her Masters in Film Studies at Chapman University. Many opportunities arose from this experience including her involvement in programming film festivals. She was the short film programmer and filmmaker liaison for The Method Independent Film Festival for two seasons and screener for three.
As film coordinator assistant at the University, Ali was hired as script consultant for independent film producers and casted several student productions. As if this was not all keeping her plate full, Ali was teaching assistant for three prominent professors at Chapman: Alex Rose, producer of Norma Rae. Industry Insiders Class, Larry Gross, writer of 48 Hours and Streets of Fire. Feature Analysis Class and Dr. Igor Kokarev, Executive Director, Soviet/American Entertainment Summit, Los Angeles, 1987, Vice-President, American/Soviet Film Initiative (ASFI-ASK), Moscow, 1987/1992. Her 120-page thesis was titled "Ain't Nothing Like the Reel Thing Baby" The Millennial Film Remake, a Postmodern Simulation. The research was based on the onslaught of 1970s-80s pop culture remakes of recent times and how they are done out of ironic simulation, not out of homage.
After graduating, Ms. Nakelski moved back to Albuquerque after eleven years to expand her thesis at the American Studies Department at UNM into a dissertation including scholarly comparisons of how pop culture is produced and consumed in Pre-vs. Post-Internet years. Her book that she has been researching for two years on remembering life before the Internet, an homage to growing up in the 80s and scholarly criticism on a technologically over stimulated society is soon completed. This work includes personal observations and field studies, interviews of celebrities and filmmakers in Hollywood and academic research. This book fuses scholarly logic with humor and accessibility.
Since returning to New Mexico, she has worked as Executive Programmer of the 2010 Santa Fe Film Festival and teaches short film classes. Currently, while finishing her book, she is Educational Director of the 2011 Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, Producer of Prodigal Sons' 35th Anniversary Production of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago and is teaching assistant of genre film classes to Dr. James Stone of the UNM Cinematic Arts Department.
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
