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Noël Belknap
This World
CalArts
Noel Belknap was born and raised in the L.A. area. She has an affinity for ugly dogs and soft serve frozen yogurt. With a passion for telling stories and drawing, it is only natural that she found her way to CalArts where she studies both. Dreaming big also keeps her entertained and she some day hopes to make a feature length film. In the mean time she is working on her animated short film about a zombie. Next year is her last year at CalArts, but beyond that the future is a mystery.
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Derek Boonstra
Trashed
USC
Born and raised in the Denver area, Derek graduated from the USC MFA film program in 2007. Since then he has traveled to festivals and lectured on his thesis documentary, Trashed, and is in the first stages of a feature doc involving bicycles, beer and presidential politics. Since graduation, he has been keeping busy doing everything from editing to shooting to directing and producing and generally enjoys being out of academia. He now knows more about garbage than he ever thought he would.
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Adam Burr
Re: Monday
Loyola Marymount University
An award-winning filmmaker of unique vision and voice, Denver native Adam Burr has two short films currently on the film festival circuit (RE: Monday-Munich Film School Festival, Festroia Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortsFest, Denver Film Festivals; Water Cooler-Palm Springs ShortFest, One Reel Film Festival). A trained writer/director, Burr has also won acclaim for both his cinematography and editing (Nagpapanggap from Director Debbie Formoso; A Thousand Words from Director Alex Smith). Adam has recently been awarded a SONY/TAG Fellowship by Loyola where he mentors under Academy Award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Legato. Burr has a BA in Psychology from Lewis and Clark College and an MFA in Film Production from Loyola Marymount University.
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Nicholas Butera
Fourth Year Epic
CalArts
Nicholas Butera graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in the Summer of 2007 where the "Fourth Year Epic" was his Senior film. Since then he has worked as an accomplished flash animator in television on Nickelodeons "El Tigre", and Cartoon Networks "The Mr Men Show". He currently wrapped production on "Bufu" at Film Roman where he has begun animation on "Spaceballs the show" based on Mel Brooks 80's classic.
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Brian Davis
If a Body Meet a Body
USC
Brian received a BA in Media Studies from the University of Virginia and is currently a MFA candidate in Film Production at the University of Southern California. He is the winner of the Bernard Mayes Media Award, Gene Autry Scholarship, and a 2008 Coca Cola Refreshing Filmmaker Finalist. He is currently developing his first feature film called Pancake.
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Rani DeMuth
The Double
UCLA
Rani DeMuth was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California where she grew up studying painting and classical piano. When Rani was fifteen she won a full scholarship to study fine art for one year in rural Japan. She continued her education at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she earned a BFA in both painting and experimental film. In 1999 Rani was admitted to the UCLA School of Film and Television where she received the Princess Grace Award, the Motion Picture Association of America Award, the DTS Post Sound Award, the Fuji Film Award and a Spotlight Award for excellence in filmmaking. Rani received her MFA in film directing in June 2005. Her Masters thesis film The Double has screened at over twenty international film festivals and won awards for Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Eric Roberts), Best Production Design, and Audience Choice for Best Film. Most recently The Double was selected to screen at LACMA’s Young Directors’ Night.
Rani is represented by The Brant Rose Agency.
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Kenny DiGiordano
Working Stiffs
CSU Chico
I am 27 years of age and I am currently residing in Chico, California. I am a graduate of CSU Chico and looking to break into the entertainment industry. My fiancé (Sandy) and I just had a beautiful baby boy named Lucas and are enjoying life even more as new parents. I enjoy hanging out with the family, making 3d art, watching cartoons, playing video games, listening to as well as playing music, and hanging out with friends. I am currently bouncing between projects as well as managing full time at an auto parts retail store. You can also learn more about me at my website and check out some of my work, http://www.kenny3d.com
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Jaime Ryan Heintz
Hasu no Komichi
CSU Long Beach
I was born and raised in the Los Angeles area and made my way to CSULB where I graduated with a BFA in film production. I don't know what to say about myself other than film seems to be in my blood. I know that without movies, my life would be a pointless and meaningless mess. I feel this everyday I'm not making a film. I knew I wanted to be a director the day I faked being sick in high school to get out of geometry lecture. I stopped by the video store on the way home and rented the widescreen version of 2001... nothing has been the same since. I've been corrupted and seduced. There is no going back. I'm on a long road and I know I will never stop learning, but there is nothing I would rather do or waste my life away on. Oh, and I have a compulsion for pretense and self-importance.
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Alex Hirsch
Off the Wall
CalArts
Alex Hirsch is a baby on stilts who wears men's clothing and a fake beard so he'll be accepted in adult society. When he's not spitting up on his bib or grabbing the air for his ba-ba, he enjoys writing mini biographies about himself in the 3rd person for film festival promotional materials. As you can see from his selected photo, he has a juvenile sense of humor and enormous forehead, to which he attaches sticky-notes so he doesn't forget to do things. He currently works at Cartoon Network and is easily distracted by jingling keys.
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Sean Jimenez
Why Can't I Fly?
CalArts
Sean Jimenez was born and raised in Los Angeles California. He has been involved in the animation medium since he was a boy. He has worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation, Warner Bros. Feature Animation, and Walt Disney Imagineering.
After working in the animation industry for 9 years, Sean attended California Institute of the Arts to get both a good academic education and continue to develop as an animation filmmaker. Sean's second year film "Asleep at the wheel" garnered a handful of prestigious awards as well as being featured in 2005's Fine Cut Series for KCET.
While in college, Sean was inspired by the act of learning and recognized in himself the desire to educate through animation filmmaking. His fourth year film "Why Can't I Fly?" is aimed at educating fourth graders about birds in a fun and interesting way.
Sean now aspires to be an independent educational filmmaker.
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Amitabh Klemm
The Art of Stalking
USC
Amitabh Klemm was born to a theoretical physicist and a food chemist and was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He loves to travel and lived in Sydney, Australia for a year before matriculating into USC’s graduate school of the Cinematic Arts. Previous producing efforts include the award-winning "Lights and Darks" and "Confessions of a Late Bloomer," an Official Selection of the 2006 TriBeCa Film Festival. In 2006 he was awarded the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant to direct his thesis film "The Art of Stalking," which he shot in Chicago and which just won BEST SHORT at the 2007 Boston Film Festival. He resides in Los Angeles, loves to cook, is currently editing a feature length documentary about legendary entertainer Carmen Miranda, and has just completed his latest script, a thriller entitled "He Don’t Love You Like I Love You."
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Sam Lembeck
Borderline
USC
Sam's inspiration and sense of humor come from his mom and dad whom he loves dearly…and who are as crazy as he is! An LA native with two actors as parents, Sam was practically raised on sets, hanging out in green rooms and getting comfy in the director's chair at an early age. While at Columbia College in Chicago, Sam met filmmakers who spoke a much more intriguing language than those in his live broadcast classes; after four years of college, his direction was clear. Sam was accepted into the Masters Program at The University of Southern California in 2003. He graduated in 2007 and is looking forward to continuing his career as a filmmaker. Sam recently wrote a semi- autobiographical feature-length comedy and is raising funds now with hopes to direct and produce the project in late 2008. Visit www.borderlineshortfilm.com for updates on Sam's projects.
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Jason Mann
Laocoön
Loyola Marymount University
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jason Mann has been a professional musician and performer since elementary school. He attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he received a B.A. Degree in Film Production and garnered several awards and nominations, including nominations for a Presidential Citation Award for outstanding academics and The Budapest Cinematography Masterclass of 2007. His intermediate level film, Laocoön, which he filmed in Rome and around the Amalfi Coast in Italy, won the 2006 award for Best Cinematography from LMU’s Film Outside the Frame Festival held at The Director’s Guild of America Theatre in Hollywood. The following year, his thesis film, On The Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (starring Peggy Dunne, Randolph Mantooth, Virginia Newcomb, and Casey Kramer), was granted awards for Best Film and Best Director. This recent film premiered at The Boston Film Festival and is currently still making its way through the festival circuit, receiving awards and official selections from festivals all around the world.
In addition to his own films, Jason has worked on a number of other international projects. He co-produced and did additional photography for the 26 minute short award winning film Lily, directed by Jonathan Dee and Peter Glanz, which was filmed in South Africa, New York, and Los Angeles. Recently he was the cinematographer on three music videos shot in Lagos, Nigeria that are currently playing on MTV, made by Nigerian director Seyi Babatope for the artists D’Banj (MTV’s African Artist of the Year 2007) and Ikechukwu. In addition, he has edited Nigerian television commercials for the multinational corporation UAC and Stimoral Gum. He has also edited segments on "The Craft and Art of Acting" for a series called Inner Object created by Barry Primus (dir. Mistress, produced by and starring Robert DeNiro) and J.F. Lawton (wtr. Pretty Woman). The segments feature interviews from Christopher Walken, Paul Mazursky, Martin Landau, Robert DeNiro and others.
Jason is currently involved with a number of different projects, including a short film that will serve as a visual catalogue for the luxury clothing brand Elie Tahari’s 2008 fall line that will be featured on their website. He is also preparing a directorial debut feature.
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Susan Metzger
The Red Ace Cola Project
USC
Susan Metzger grew up in Marietta, GA, earning a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia. After college, she worked as a producer and editor for Chet Burks Productions, an Atlanta-based television production company focusing on motorcycle racing programs airing on FOX, ESPN2, and the Speed Channel. A terrible motorcycle rider herself, she enjoyed following the sport and its colorful cast of characters. In 2005, Susan moved to Los Angeles to begin her MFA in film production at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. While at USC, she has written, directed, produced and edited several short films and is the winner of the Mary Pickford Scholarship, the USC Associate’s Scholarship, and the USC Dean’s Scholarship. Susan’s thesis film, "The Red Ace Cola Project" was the recipient of the prestigious Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation Fund. While promoting her short film and preparing for an upcoming independent feature, Susan works as an editor and assistant editor in the Los Angeles area.
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Rubén Obregon Casas
La Primavera
UCLA
Ruben Obregon is a first-generation Mexican-American born in San Antonio, Texas. Following high school, Ruben served in the U.S. Navy as an air traffic controller. Four years later, Ruben enrolled at UT Austin where he completed a BA in Film. Ruben subsequently received his MFA in Film Production from UCLA, where he focused on writing, directing and cinematography. His work on numerous short films have showcased at festivals worldwide. He is currently developing the feature-length version of his award winning short, "La Primavera."
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Junya Sakino
Orizuru
CSU Long Beach
Junya Sakino arrived in the United States in 2000 from Hiroshima, Japan with the intent of making a film that would impact generations to come. On this path, Sakino has produced and directed television programs in Japan. Here in the United States Sakino has experienced great success working on films including "Casshern" and "Rings" produced by Dreamworks. Sakino’s passion for directing has led him to direct "The Jazz Addict", which was an official selection for the 7th Crested Butte Film Festival. Shortly after, he directed "Vanity Mirror" which won the Grand Prize of the 1st UTB’s Picture Battle and "The Spiral Ring", both of which were selected for California State University Long Beach’s student showcase. Currently, Sakino is writing a feature length of "Orizuru" which is based on his short film. http://www.OrizuruTheMovie.com
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Andrés Torres-Vives
On Killing
UCLA
Andrés Torres-Vives was born in Chile, raised in New York, and is currently completing his MFA in Film Directing at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Within the past two years, Torres-Vives has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in Filmmaking to Mexico, a prestigious Jacob Javits Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education, a Motion Picture Association of America Award in directing (MPAA), and two scholarships from the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts for filmmaking. Torres-Vives is currently in preproduction for his graduate thesis film, based in Tijuana, Mexico, for which he was awarded a McNamara Foundation production grant. "El Sol del Movimiento: El Principio", his "6-minute" UCLA project, was just shown at the HBO/New York International Latino Film Festival. Torres-Vives has also directed documentary projects in Mexico, Burma, and the San Diego/Tijuana border region, as well as radio reports for Public Radio International (PRI), the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and TV reports for Al Jazeera English. Prior to engaging in filmmaking full-time, his photography and video installation work received support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the California Arts Council, the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, along with multiple private foundations and companies.
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Jerry Zigounakis
Working Stiffs
CSU Chico
Jerry Zigounakis graduated from CSU Chico in December of 2005. During his tenure at Chico State he Co-Directed the award winning student short "Working Stiffs". After two years of hard work after graduating he got his first break in 2007 to work on the animated feature film "Foodfight!!". Jerry has also done some work on children's acute learning DVD's "The Bop-A-Lots" and is currently working on a James Cameron film.
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