Terence Donnellan

After finishing college as an English major, the last thing I wanted was a “career.” I avoided writing MFA programs like the plague. I lived a Kerouacian existence for years, traveling, working more odd jobs than I have fingers, but always reading, writing, thinking, and watching films.

 

I returned to New York, where I was born, and pursued freelance writing, wrote a novel, had plays produced in various small theaters, and even had some paintings exhibited—all the while trying to avoid the conformity of a corporate life and lifestyle.

 

Eventually, I was hired as a freelance editor to help shape some interview footage. I turned this into a television show where I was the producer, director, writer, editor, and host. After two full seasons (23 episodes), I made my first documentary, Shelter in the City, which played at film festivals, streaming services, on television, and was nominated for an Emmy Award. It also allowed me to produce and direct my next documentary, Refugees: Enemies or Victims?, which was also nominated for an Emmy award.

 

For my third feature documentary, Artists in NYC, I used my own production company, Blasket McManus Productions, which I had established to create both fiction and nonfiction short films. Artists in NYC played at festivals, on ten streaming platforms, and was distributed nationally via PBS—a three-year contract.

 

In 2023, I was given police bodycam footage and asked to create a short film from it. The resulting film, Free Ena Farley!, has more than 1 million YouTube views and won two Telly Awards.

 

After the Covid pandemic, I started teaching at New York Film Academy  I continue to teach and hope my students learn as much from me as I learn from them.   

 

I am currently developing a feature film, Midnight Movie in Manhattan, which I wrote and will direct.