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Press Release
Armourer, Natalia Lee, will lead a symposium for ECHS students on career possibilities in the film industry. As the Armourer for the award-winning HBO show Game of Thrones, she brings an insider’s perspective to working with Hollywood and Film Studios. Highlighting the presentation will be a staged fight scene using real film props and re-enactors from the Society for Creative Anachronism. Starting at 10:30am on Wed., Dec 14, the symposium will also provide opportunities for students to speak with film directors, Film School & Film Studio representatives, and more. All presentations will be at the WNMU- Deming Learning Center and hosted by Early College High School. This event is by invitation only and is not open to the public.
“It’s so rare for Deming to have real access to legitimate Hollywood personnel” said Bryan Simpson, Principal of ECHS, “Our students will be so excited to experience the film industry magic and make connections for career exploration.”
“I immigrated to Australia from Poland when I was 6 years old and worked my way up from the bottom of the film industry,” said Lee. “I came to New Mexico because of the burgeoning film Industry. But I came to Deming because this community reminds me of where I came from. There is so much opportunity for these kids to build a strong economic base through film work.”
“With the expansion of Netflix into the Albuquerque Studio and development of 828 Studio and the Creative Campus in Las Cruces, our students have a real chance of pursuing a film industry career and we want them to hear about it first-hand” said Bryan Simpson, Principal of ECHS.
Early College High School is a public high school focused on developing students who are traditionally underrepresented in post-secondary settings. Students engage in rigorous academic preparation and are able to take college classes for credit before graduating from high school. Internships and robust career exploration are mandatory and create an enthusiastic and motivated student body. This hands-on-Hollywood event is the first of several events aimed at career explorations and introducing students to the many career opportunities in our state.
Natalia Lee the “Woman Of Weapons” is known for her work on Game of Thrones as a Film Armourer. Having designed weapons for the show including the iconic Heartsbane Sword, she worked with Weapons Master Tommy Dunne throughout the series to help create some of Film and TV’s most memorable weapons. She was asked by the creators of the show Dan Weiss and David Benioff to guest star as tribal leader “Chella”, a grizzly character in the early seasons. Having an energetic approach to her profession, Natalia can be seen weapons training and stunt doubling also. Born in Poland and raised in Australia she began her career in Security and Police Armouries, applying her skills to major motion pictures locally and then internationally.
Iman Shervington received her BA from the University of Southern California in International Relations (2005) and her Masters of Fine Arts in Directing from Columbia University (2010) with a concentration in Directing and Screenwriting. Through IWES, Iman utilizes her script development, cinematography, directing, producing, and editing skills and has created over 50 short films and PSAs, a web-series, a feature-length documentary, two feature- length narrative films and an award-winning podcast. These films have been screened at numerous local, national, and international film festivals, and she presents regularly at conferences to showcase her work. Iman has further experience in graphic design, photography, curriculum development, focus group facilitation, positive youth development, participatory action research, and media literacy.
