Dan Faltz Director
Dan studied film at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was selected for the Haas Scholars Program. His first USC film, Lucky Man, was a finalist in the 2007 PlanetOut Short Movie Awards, finalist for Best Gay Short at the 2007 Great Lakes Film Festival, and has played in festivals worldwide including Frameline, NewFest, Image+Nation Montreal and FilmOut San Diego. It will also be available on home video shortly. He is currently studying writing and directing at USC, where he co-wrote and co-directed The Real Life, winner of the 2007 Accolade Award of Excellence for Best Unaired Pilot. Dan was awarded the 2007 Don Thompson Memorial Scholarship for contributing to LGBT cinema, and was a semifinalist for the 2008 Nicholl Fellowship.
Dennis Cooper Story
Dennis Cooper is the founder of the Little Caesar Magazine and Press, which he ran until 1982, and the author of The George Miles Cycle, an interconnected sequence of five novels that includes Closer, Frisk, Try, Guide, and Period. His post-George Miles Cycle novels include My Loose Thread, The Sluts and his most recent novel, the highly acclaimed God, Jr. Other works include the short story collection Wrong, the poetry collection The Dream Police, and All Ears: Cultural Criticism, Essays and Obituaries. A limited edition new collection of poems, The Weaklings, is forthcoming from Fanzine Press.
www.denniscooper.net
denniscooper-theweaklings.blogspot.com
No-Man Music
No-Man are Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson (the latter best known as the leader of Porcupine Tree).
No-Man combine traditional values of songcraft and emotional commitment with an ongoing desire to play with the creative possibilities of modern music. Bridging the gaps between art-rock, electronica, experimental pop, jazz and contemporary classical music, the band has released six studio albums over the last fifteen years.
No-Man has also forged collaborations with musicians as diverse as King Crimson's Robert Fripp, Pat Mastellotto and Mel Collins; electronica legends Muslimgauze and Scanner, pedal steel wizard Bruce Kaphan (American Music Club), British jazz players Ian Carr and Theo Travis, ambient/left-field composer Roger Eno and art-rock trio Jansen Barbieri and Karn (ex-Japan/Rain Tree Crow). Their lasted album, Schoolyard Ghosts, was released on K-Scope in May.
www.No-Man.co.uk
www.burningshed.co.uk/aconfession/
Lotti Pharriss Knowles Producer
Lotti grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and earned her degree in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and an M.A. in Theatre from University of Illinois at Chicago. She served for two years as the managing director of Live Bait Theater in Chicago, where she helped produce such world premiere plays as Love Child and Death On a Pink Carpet. Her solo performance work was produced in Chicago by Live Bait in their Fillet of Solo Festival, Tellin' Tales Theatre, Field Trips, Estrogenfest, and Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins at Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Now based in Los Angeles, Lotti founded Weirdsmobile Productions in 2005 with her filmmaker husband, John Knowles. In 2006 they produced the world premiere of Lotti's play Because They Have No Words, which was nominated for two Ovation Awards for Best Ensemble and World Premiere Play. In 2007 Lotti produced John's short film Shadow.Net, and her original screenplay Chastity Bites was recently optioned by Kops/Tunick Productions. Lotti also volunteers as an adult artist/mentor with the Virginia Avenue Project in Santa Monica.
Barbara Steelman Associate Producer
Barbara Steelman has recently entered the entertainment field, but brings her business, project management and financial skills to her work. She received a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accountancy from National University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Barbara studied film at the Hollywood Film School and is taking courses through UCLA Extension. She has dived into the field attending conferences, workshops, and trainings in producing, directing, and videography. Barbara is a member of Women in Film, Power Up, and Film Independent.
Barbara recently formed a production company, Global Vista Entertainment and is working on some independent projects that are in preproduction. She continues to assist on other colleague’s projects, as she attains first hand experience in production.
Vito Trabucco Producer
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Vito Trabucco has been making films since 2001. He began as a cameraman in the state of Florida, expanding into directing, acting, special effects, editing and even stunt work. In 2004 Vito's film Night Demons won best short film at the Independence Film Festival and won him best director at the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association Awards. After moving to Hollywood in 2005, Vito's film Hooligan's Valley was picked up on the DVD compilation "Visions of Horror," now in video stores across the country. This is his third film as producer.
Jeremy Guy Director of Photography
Jeremy Guy studied film at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Jeremy worked with Dan as the cinematographer and editor of Lucky Man. He is the director of the award-winning documentary Perspectives, which screened at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the producer of the documentary Trashed, and the cinematographer for Union Station. Recent USC projects Jeremy directed include Survived by the Future of Mankind and American Patriot.
Jason Kennedy Casting Director
Jason Kennedy & Allen Hooper have been casting film and television in Los Angeles since 2001. Jason is currently casting the CBS series NCIS with Susan Bluestein. Other projects between the two include numerous pilots and series, such as Out of Practice, The Dresden Files, Stacked, Reba, Dawson's Creek, Jake in Progress, Miss Match, According to Jim, Abby, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Living With Fran and Run of the House. Features include J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, Cursed, PU-239, A Little Thing Called Murder, Elizabethtown and Nine Lives. Additionally, Jason and Allen have cast a number of shorts and indies, many of which have received critical acclaim and awards at various film festivals, including Sundance.
Allen Hooper Casting Director
Jason Kennedy & Allen Hooper have been casting film and television in Los Angeles since 2001. Allen is working on the ABC series Ugly Betty with Casting Director Jeff Greenberg. Other projects between the two include numerous pilots and series, such as Out of Practice, The Dresden Files, Stacked, Reba, Dawson's Creek, Jake in Progress, Miss Match, According to Jim, Abby, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Living With Fran and Run of the House. Features include J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, Cursed, PU-239, A Little Thing Called Murder, Elizabethtown and Nine Lives. Additionally, Jason and Allen have cast a number of shorts and indies, many of which have received critical acclaim and awards at various film festivals, including Sundance.
Mercedes Blackehart Production Designer
Mercedes Blackehart is a graduate of Art Center College Design and comes from the Indie world of film making. She started her career production designing a Willie Wisley music video starring Jenna Fischer (The Office) which took the internet by storm. She is currently working on projects for notables such as: writer/director James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead, Slither), actor Mark Taylor (Boston Legal, Saving Grace) and producer Elliot Shoenman (Home Improvement, The Cosby Show), and for Xbox Live.
Michael Frost Editor
Michael Frost grew up in Seville, Spain and Upstate New York. He studied Cinema and Art History at Binghamton University, where he received the Eastman Kodak Award for filmmaking. In addition to film and television editing, Michael is an accomplished mixed media artist, whose work has shown in galleries worldwide. His award-winning short film 3Stories About Evil has screened at the Boston Underground Film Festival, the Downtown LA festival, and will be seen at the Radar Hamburg International Film Festival and the St Louis International Film Festival.
Michael Toshiyuki Uno USC Faculty Mentor
Michael Toshiyuki Uno is the Head of Directing at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. A member of the Directors Guild of America since 1984, he has directed 15 movies for cable and television, one theatrical release, and 12 episodes, shorts and specials. He has received [three] CableACE Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a Best Television Feature at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Nominations include an Academy Award for Live Action Short in 1982, and Independent Feature Project West (now Film Independent), a DGA Award nomination, and a SAG Award nomination. Michael is a founding member of the Independent Directors Committee of the Directors Guild of America, and holds an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute.
POWER UP Fiscal Sponsor
Realizing the need for a professional educational organization for women to unite, create, share, grow, learn, give and belong, POWER UP, the Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching UP, was created and announced on National Coming Out Day, October 11, 2000, to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media. POWER UP is the only 501(c)(3) non-profit film production company and educational organization for GLBT women. POWER UP is volunteer-run and operates exclusively on individual donations.
POWER UP's members are women and men, gay and straight, who share a singular purpose – to promote diversity by supporting their mission. POWER UP films include the features The Itty Bitty Titty Committee, and shorts Little Black Boot, Starcrossed and D.E.B.S.