Produced by
Brad Crowe

The son of an airline pilot, Brad grew up overseas in Singapore and was exposed at an early age to the world of theater, music, and politics. An avid singer/saxophone player, actor/director, and student politician, Brad learned the importance of a social conscience in the arts. After fulfilling a BA with a double major in film production and film studies at the University of British Columbia, Canada on a full scholarship, Brad is attending the University of Southern California, completing an MFA in Film production with an emphasis in Producing and Directing. He has just received the Thomas B. Bush Memorial Scholarship for excellence in cinematography.

Produced by
Tess Ortbals

Tess began her career in the arts at the age of 10 as a child actress. She continued her study of theater in ancient storytelling and mythology by obtaining her BA at UC Berkeley where she graduated Suma cum laude with a degree in Archaeology. She has produced and directed ethnographic documentaries, delivered award winning public speeches, and shot and developed photographic installations for community awareness. A firm believer that art without meaning is not art at all, she is excited to utilize her education in socially aimed projects. A recipient of the Rodolfo Montes Memorial Scholarship, she is currently acquiring her M.F.A. at University of Southern California with an emphasis in Producing and Directing feature film.

Cinematography by
Andrew Russo

Experienced in both narrative and documentary filmmaking, Andrew’s passion lies in discovering the essence of the story when it comes to directing the photography of a film. Andrew has also shot music videos for bands such as The Black Tie Dynasty, Smile Smile, and Exit Clov. He spends much of his time working on Best of the National Parks for the Travel Channel, which has taken him to Hawaii, New Orleans, the Grand Tetons, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Alaska. He is currently assisting Jeff Feuerzeig on his up and coming project about heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner, who became the inspiration for Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky character. Born in Chicago, Andrew received his undergraduate degree in international relations with a foreign policy and economics minor from the University of Wisconsin - Madison where he graduate with honors with distinction, before moving to California to attend the graduate program in Film Production at the University of Southern California. When he is not shooting, he writes and directs his own films.

Cinematography by
Sarah Takahashi

Sarah traveled across Europe in 2002 , directing and shooting a documentary titled "Nationality:USA , Ethnicity:American", a personal journey defining the "perpetual foreigner". The film became an official selection at the Big Bear Lake Int'l Film Festival in 2003. It also earned her the Asian American Studies Prize with her B.A. in Media Studies from Pomona College. She is currently in her 2nd year of graduate studies at USC pursuing cinematography. She has recently been awarded the Town and Gown scholarship and APAA scholarship at USC.

Production Design by
Adam Flemming

Adam joins the crew from the California Institute of the Arts where he is pursuing an MFA in Scenic Art and design. His work spans design, painting and projection for performance (including original animation, live and narrative sources). Raised in Colorado, Adam has collaborated on projects at Mattel Inc., Walt Disney World, The Santa Fe Opera, the Walt Disney Concert Hall’s RedCat theater, The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Monterey Peninsula College, A Noise Within Theater, South Coast Reparatory, The Little Theater of the Rockies and with Miguelangelo and Co. Painters.

Production Design by
Claire Sullivan-Tailyor

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Claire moved to England at three years old. She continued to move from place to place, travelling domestically and internationally. She recieved a BA(hons) in English Literature and Media Studies from Sussex University, England. During that time she spent a year at UCLA in the film department, inspiring her to continue her passion for storytelling. She is currently working on an MFA at USC in Film Production with a concentration in Directing. She is interested in telling diverse stories, grounded in the beautiful grotesque.

Edited by
Brett Fallentine

Brett went to UC Berkeley pursuing a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology but changed his mind one day in Lab. He left the lab and immediately went to the degree office and changed his major to be a double degree in Film Studies and Business. He came down to LA in the Summer of 2001 to learn editing and has cut films ever since. He taught many of the instructors at UC Berkeley how to use the editing programs and made some college films of his own.

In his senior year, Brett landed a job working in editorial with George Lucas on Star Wars Episode 3. He worked on the film for a year and a half and learned much from George, the editors Ben Burtt (also the sound designer) and the producer, Rick McCallum.

He then came to USC to pursue an advanced degree in film Directing. This summer, he got a job working as an assistant editor to James Cameron on his new film, Avatar. He cut for him and was his go-to guy with the Avid.

Brett really likes making films that are dark with a warm heart. He is also very involved with animation techniques and the furthering of digital cinema.

Edited by
Beth Spitalny

Beth received her BA in Anthropology and Sociology from Lafayette College in Easton, PA. She spent her entire junior year abroad at the University College of England where she was introduced to visual anthropology- leading her in the direction of ethnographies and documentaries. Beth landed her dream job at MTV and was lucky enough to produce on various series and segments in their News and Documentaries department. Her love of storytelling has taken her to the west coast where she is currently getting her MFA in the film production program at USC. Beth has directed a number of short films and produced a thesis film in the summer of ‘06. Although on the directing track at USC, she enjoys all aspects of filmmaking and is particularly interested in telling stories revolving around those small moments that can change one’s life forever.

Sound by
Patrick Knipe

Patrick Knipe was born and raised on the edges of the wilderness in the valley-nestled town of Vernon, New Jersey. Growing up surrounded by heavily forested rolling hills, Revolutionary War Era hamlets, and fog-haunted lakes inspired his imagination into the realms of storytelling and filmmaking at an early age. Patrick graduated With Honors on a full academic scholarship from Boston College in 2003 with a degree in English Literature and a minor in Film Studies. Whilst at BC, Patrick produced, wrote and directed several short student films with festival exhibition. He also studied English and Irish Literature at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University, England for a year abroad.

Patrick is currently a 2nd year Graduate Film Production Student at USC. In Spring 2006 he produced an advanced film project, My Silent Sadness . Patrick continues to write, produce, sound design, and hone his directing craft with plans to move from short form filmmaking to the development of feature-length projects. His mission is to entertain, delight, and bring stories to the flickering screen that captivate the soul.

Sound by
Jared Mark

Jared recently moved back home to Los Angeles after five years in New York. He was the Associate Producer and Assistant Director of the Off-Broadway play From Door to Door by James Sherman, directed by Joe Brancato. Jared was Brancato’s A.D. on fifteen plays including The Devil’s Music by Angelo Parra; and Lee Blessing’s Cobb, produced by Kevin Spacey. He became the Associate Artistic Director of Brancato’s Penguin Repertory Company where he directed Vanities; The Adjustment; Animal of the Year; and the world premiere production of the children’s musical Percy T. Penguin Comes to America. Jared is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a BA in dramatic art. There he directed the long-form improv-group The Playground and performed with The Milkman’s Other Kids, as well as in numerous plays. He is a recipient of the Eisner Prize and the Mark Goodson Prize for Acting and Directing. Now in his second year of the USC graduate program in film/television production, Jared is thrilled to be working with such smart, talented people while learning how to make movies.