A Conversation with NYFA Alum Nikil Shyam Sunder, winner of 2023 Sports Emmy Award

NYFA Alum Nikil Shyam Sunder is a commercial filmmaker, and producer based in LA. Nikil has worked on numerous projects with brands such as Nike, Disney, Audi, etc, and artists such as Niki Minaj, Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga. Most recently Nikil won a Sports Emmy Award as a Video Producer for the project "McEnroe vs McEnroe". 

Nikil spoke to NYFA about his recent projects and career after graduating from the One Year Producing Program in 2013.

NYFA: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you're from, and what brought you to New York Film Academy?

Born and raised in India. Lived the first 25 years of my life there. Started my career in India as a real estate news anchor in 2007 after completing my Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. Being in front of the Camera was not for me. So I jumped into production and found my calling. I very quickly knew that if wanted to make a real go this line of work I needed to get to Hollywood. During my research I came across NYFA LA. It was on the universal lot and it was affordable without going into debt. I applied, got in and moved to LA all withing a period of 10 months.

The 1 year producing program covered all the quadrants of what I needed to learn. Additionally it was also multicultural with a large number of students from various countries and backgrounds. It was very inclusive and diverse. I learnt a lot from my classmates and colleagues.

NYFA: What projects have you worked on since graduating?

I graduated in 2012. Since then I worked a lot in the music video space for the first few years, during which I worked with Top music artists such as Justin Bieber, Nikki Minaj, Lady Gaga, etc. After which I worked on several Independent feature films like My Father Die (2016), The Estate (2020) . I also work in Commercials and had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands like Audi, Disney, LaMer, Meta ( then Facebook), Nike, Canon etc. I also produce Still photo shoots for brands such as Starbucks, Microsoft, LA tourism.NYFA: Tell us more about your latest project & how you got involved in the project?

I ran production for creating the tour visuals for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. I was approached by a Producer colleague and friend to help put together a team and production for this project. Produced a commercial for BAILEY’s Irish Cream along with the amazing chocolatier Amaury Guichon. I was approached by the Head of Production of Institute ( production company) for this project and teamed me up with an amazing Director who’s extremely passionate about all drink and food.

NYFA: What was your reaction like when you found out you won a Sports Emmy award?

It was hard to believe at first. I emailed the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences just to make sure and waited till their official word to actually celebrate. A Producer is only as good as his team. Ive had the privilege of working with the finest. More than myself it is the team that did the amazing job. The Real MVP’s are all of them.

McEnroe vs McEnroe project for which Nikil won a Sports Emmy Award

NYFA: What did you learn at NYFA that you applied directly to this project and others?

The people that you work with matter. I had an eclectic group as classmates and I learnt A LOT from them. They set the tone for my career path. I try to still keep in touch with a few of them. Most have gone onto very successful careers paths in the industry. I’m hoping that one day I’ll get to work with them again.

List of all Sports Emmy Award Winners

You can view the whole episode of "McEnroe vs McEnroe" here.

NYFA congratulates Nikil on all his success!