Q&A with NYFA Acting Alum Daniel Dreszer, about the creation of his film Milo: The Voyage to Atlantis

NYFA Alum, Filmmaker/Actor Daniel Dreszer graduated in April 2024 Summa Cum Laude with a Master of Fine Arts from the Acting for Film Program in LA. His thesis film Milo: The voyage to Atlantis is a 12 minute short, a live action adaptation based of the original 2001 animated classic, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. The short serves as a proof of concept for a 10 episode miniseries that Daniel plans to make. 

In Milo: The voyage to Atlantis, Daniel showcases his skillful acting as well as his passion for filmmaking and the entertainment industry. He spoke to us about the making of the film, its challenges, and his future goals. 

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

D.D: My name is Daniel Dreszer. I am a movie geek who lives and breathes all things entertainment industry related. My background; Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia where I graduated High school and created my first independent low budget production company in which I made my first short film. Four years later I graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida with a major in Film and a minor in Business of Film where I wrote, Directed and worked on various other student films. After interning for such companies like Canal Caracol Television and VE M Entertainment Records as Production Assistant, I eventually obtained a job at Paramount as a Bilingual Post Production Analyst for their streaming service Pluto TV. After a year I decided to go back into acting and filmmaking and obtained my Masters in Acting at New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, California. Currently I am working for Cinematographer Lawrence Sher’s website ShotDeck.com as a Digital Marketing Advertiser.

NYFA Alumni Network: What projects have you worked on since graduating? Have you won any awards or been showcased in any festivals or competitions?

D.D: Milo: the voyage to Atlantis has been my latest project as we are still developing the entire series with our writers and continuing marketing for the film. We have obtained over 25k views on YouTube in less than 1 month and it is our goal to further push our limits through our digital marketing for the film. Due to the fact that this film is a spec/concept pitch for a live-action mini series, we are not allowed to submit the project in any festival or obtain any sort of profit from the film. It's free, it's for the fans and it's an idea we firmly believe could become something bigger than we ever imagined.

NYFA Alumni Network: Tell us more about your thesis film Milo: the voyage to Atlantis? How did the idea come about?

 Milo: The voyage to Atlantis is a 12 minute pilot pitch for what would be a 10 episode miniseries of a live Action adaptation based on the original 2001 animated classic, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. A reintroduction to the world you loved with new characters, new stakes and a completely new more human take on the overall story. I always knew I wanted to participate in the “live-action” adaptation project category in some way. I wanted to push the boundaries of a student film project and really experience what a studio production goes through when dealing with a given remake/sequel/prequel, and most importantly, I wanted to do something that like anything else in the industry, studios or executives might want for their most recent catalogue/project releases. After working on a first draft script, I wanted to  see who believed in the project. Once I obtained a visual poster and presentation kit, friends, connections and others came forward sharing admiration and love for the idea. Disney Writes, Sony Sound Designers, Emmy Award Winning Editors, Amity Island Music Composers, talented NYFA students and even international industry workers wanted to collaborate in the project even if it meant working overseas.

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

D.D: If there is one thing professors and NYFA heads would constantly highlight in regard to this project, was that there had never been a thesis film of this scale in the Acting department at NYFA Los Angeles. The project revolved around such different legal and creative standards in comparison to all other student independent short films, that applying learned tasks for the assignment would sometimes be complicated. Especially when dealing with an already owned IP, the creative mindset shifts into a more adaptable but different structure. Limiting the possibility for us to be as flexible as one might be with a complex new idea/story. I did however learn in depth character research, character preparation and most importantly acting exercises which helped me find better ways to portray the already existing and beloved character Milo Thatch.

NYFA Alumni Network: What were some ways you prepared as an actor for the role of Milo Thatch?

D.D: Playing the role of Milo Thatch was a very interesting experience. Normally as an actor you are supposed to play a character and bring it to life from the page to the screen. But how exactly does someone bring a character that has been on screen and then bring it from the page, to the animation, to real life, and then to the screen. The answer is you DON’T. You learn and study from the original character and you know him by heart. But you are not that character. It is not your job to bring that same character to life. It is your job to read the script and dive deeper into what makes your character, you. During the whole process of pre-production I didn't see the original film, I didn't even read character descriptions from Disney Wikipedia. I guided myself from the way my writer wrote the dialogue and the character descriptions. Then I was able to begin creating this character in my head and figure out his needs. What were his wants, what were his dreams, his flaws. Turns out I eventually realized this character has a lot more personal connections to myself than to any other already existing character. I learned that the character is human as I am. Not as animated or extra as the original films. I brought something new to the table and I must say it has been the most fun I've had with a character. I would love to keep applying these practices in the future if I ever have the opportunity to play a role based on an already existing character.

NYFA Alumni Network: Are you currently working on something new? What are your future plans with the project?

D.D: At this point in time, I am working on the digital marketing and PR for "Milo: the Voyage to Atlantis" and also meeting with our talented writer to further develop the already written 10 episodes as the continuation of this miniseries pitch. We will continue working on the image of the project and try to get it out there to as many audiences and people as we can. Our EPK (Electronic press kit) and series/ episode bible is currently being designed and will hopefully be out at some point in summer of 2024. I have also begun writing a feature film which is currently under early outline development which I'm also excited to hopefully show on screen at some point.

NYFA congratulates Daniel on all his success!  

Watch Milo: The voyage to Atlantis:

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