Our faculty....

J. Carlos Peinado, Department Chair and Faculty Member
Mr. Peinado is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota of the Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara Nation. He left the Fort Berthold Reservation in 1980 to attend Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and stayed east to complete his undergraduate degree in filmmaking and cultural anthropology at Dartmouth College. During this time, he completed his first documentary, Harry's House, a film about the Hopi and Navajo land dispute in northern Arizona, as seen through the eyes of a struggling Navajo family. In 1992, Mr. Peinado moved to New York City and pursued careers as a filmmaker and an actor. He had a leading role in the TNT production of, The Broken Chain (1994), and was also featured in the TNT film, Crazy Horse (1996). Before moving west to Arizona in 1995, Mr. Peinado worked as a field producer for WNBC, NYC. Most recently, his feature-length documentary, Waterbuster (2006), pays homage to his family and tribe during the tumultuous 1950's when Fort Berthold was sacrificed for the massive Garrison Dam, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterbuster premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and has won several awards and garnered critical acclaim.

Shawna Begay, Faculty Member, Moving Images

Shawna L. Begay is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She was raised in Window Rock, Arizona. After graduating from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology she started taking film classes at Scottsdale Community College’s Motion Picture and Television Department where she made her first award winning film October Tenth. Shawna then worked for the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) where she produced and directed an educational video entitled Sacred Smoke, a film identifying the sacred uses of tobacco and the harmful commercial use of tobacco in Native American communities.

After working for ITCA, Shawna was accepted into one of the top film schools in the United States, Chapman University’s College of Film and Media Arts. She graduated with her Master of Fine Arts degree in May of 2007 with an emphasis in editing and sound design.

While at Chapman University, during her first year, Shawna was a paid intern with Warner Brothers Animation Post Production Department. She has also done internships with the American Indian Film Institute as an instructor for the Tribal Touring Program, Navajo Nation as a Media Specialist and a reporter for the Navajo Times.

While studying at Chapman she edited, Tiny Handprints, A Few Drops of Rain, The Relationship Theorem and The Passing. Shawna also sound designed two films, Simon and The Door, which she was nominated for Best Sound Design at the 2007 Cecil Awards in Orange, California.

Brian Rembrandt, Faculty Member, Graphic Arts and Interactive Media

Brian Rembrandt has been a graphic designer, photographer and web developer for over 15 years. He has worked with some of the largest corporations in the world in branding and marketing as well as individul start-ups and family owned businesses.

Winner of numerous awards and featured in over 10 publications and radio interviews, Rembrandt is passionate about design and communication.

Rembrandt is owner and operator of dirt.com—a website dedicated to changing the world through supporting all types of sustainable business practices. His proprietary software uses Rich Media Polls to empower individuals to weigh-in on complicated social issues, while seeking to find common ground with polarized groups.

Rembrandt is a faculty member at The Institute of American Indain ARts where he teaches graphic design and web development. He is dedicated to his students and enjoys teaching very much.

Marcella Ernest, New Media Arts Department Coordinator

Marcella is new to our department as of Januiary, 2008. SHe is our "go-to" person and we welcome her participation and arrival to our department.

More on New Media...

Department pictures, projects and student work.

Our Students

Who are our students majoring in New Media Arts?

Department Resources

Our equipment is state-of-the art! See what we use at the department.