USC Cinematic Arts | First Look 2018

« Back to First Look 2018 Screening List

Drama Films:

A Conversation (18:13)

When a stroke leaves her unable to speak her native language Chinese, Mei, a terse and strict English teacher is forced to rely on Kelly, a rough- around-the-edges Irish expat, to help her resolve a decades old family dilemma.

Writer/Director/Editor
Jingyi Shao

Producer
Melissa Lee

Sound Designer/Post-Production Sound
Chris Morocco

Editor
Jess Zou

Production Designer
Joe Yao

Composer
Albert Yu

Cinematographer
GOLD

Cast: Sung Fong as Mei, Mikey Griffin as Kelly, Jiang Fei as Nurse, Huang Yong as Doctor

A Craftsman (13:25)

Overcome with grief, a rural woodworker builds a coffin to join his wife.

Director
Sanford Jenkins

Writer
Joel David Santner

Producer
Elise Brown
Cydney Fisher

Cinematographer
Madeline Leach
Tanmay Chowdhary

Editor
Victor Pourcel
Cheryl Hu

Sound
Longwei Deng
Kevin McCormack

Production Design
Neima Patterson
Ron Trejo

1st AD
Sabina Vajraca

Cast: Marvin Gay as Herman, Shirley Jordan as Meredith, Leonard R. Garner Jr. as Pastor Raines

Beads (13:26)

When school rules are unfairly enacted, a budding friendship is tested.

Director
Rachel Byrd

1st AD
Matt Chupack

Writer
Cydney Fisher
Lydia Lane

Cinematographer
Jason Boldt
Nancy Lin

Producer
Julia Kennedy
Adam Makary

Editor
Justine Suh
Rommel Villa

Composer
Annie Rosevear

Production Designer
Lily Ni
Kevin Reeves

Post-Production Sound
Austin Conway
Carol Gao

Cast: Kennedy Hall as Dalia, Seneca Paliotta as Annabelle, Erika Macke as Ms. Lewis, Erika Holmes as Mrs. Malcolm, Shon Fuller as Mr. Malcolm, Shaw Jones as Principal Nolan, Jaeden Bettencourt as Kyle, Karisma Lewis as Stacey, Tru Collins as Ms. Allen

Ben Is Dead (16:00)

Struggling to connect with her family on the 15th anniversary of her twin brother's apparent suicide, Brittany James reaches out to her brother's childhood best friend, Luke, in an attempt to remember his life and finally let go of his death.

Writer/Director
Lisa J Dooley

Producer
Kash Zehnder
Miriam Arghandiwal
Piper Shaw

Cinematographer
Danny Belinkie

Sound Designer
Kristen Hirlinger

Editor
Ryan Michael Connolly

1st AD
Michea Bryant

1st AC
Sarah Winters

VFX Supervisor
Katherine Sweetman

Gaffer
Katharine White
Seth Koury

Cast: Kaitlyn Black as Brittany, Marguerite Moreau as Charlotte, and Craig Lee Thomas as Luke.

Duvall et al. (20:57)

A self-centered curmudgeon acts out when his nurse forces him to read his son's suicide letter.

Writer/Director
Youthana Yuos

Producer
Jake Katofsky
Bob Cammisa

Cinematographer
Derek Robinson

Sound Editor
Christopher Winterbauer

Production Designer
Emma Weston

Editor
Brett Holman

UPM
Celia Rettenmaier

AD
Ryan Michael Connolly

Re-recording Mixer
Derek Sepe

Composer
David Boman

Colorist
Enrico Targetti

Costume Designer
Casey Nguyen

Cast: Rick Shapiro as Duvall, Helen Madelyn Kim as Mercedes, Brian Lampert as Nelson, Heather Robinson as Mom

Faith Need Not Change Her Gown (15:00)

An uncomfortable subject, a social taboo, a bold film.

Writer/Director
Anne Lann

Producer
Ryan Michael Connolly

Cinematographer
Gareth Paul Cox

Sound Designer
Jingjue Jo Zhou

Editor
Meibei Liu

Production Designer
David Dean Ebert

Cast: Laur Allen as Jewel, Keith Boos as Marc, Shiloh Creveling as Catherine

Hats (14:14)

An imaginative, young, black baseball player is torn between his new predominately white high school and his gang infested home of South Central, Los Angeles. As his worlds collide, Kito must choose what hat he will wear in order to survive.

Director
Sadé Clacken Joseph

Producers
Zoë Alyce Salnave
Daniel Zevallos

Writer
Christopher Columbus Watkins III

Sound Mixer/Boom Operators
Assata Jackson
Juliette Beneich

Editors
Seamus O'Malley Finnegan
Ogechi Echebiri

Production Designers
Tayo Amos
Mimi Lee

Director of Photography
Martin Baird
Lo Lam

1st AD
Star Victoria

Cast: Aaron Joseph as STEVEN, Chance Harlem Jr. as OG TREY, Michael J Hennessy as COACH BUSH, Jensen Atwood as OG MAFIA

Last Meal (15:02)

Roger McNamara dreams of being the next great celebrity chef, but his lofty aspirations are jeopardized when controversy arises surrounding his current job: cooking last meals for prisoners on death row.

Director
Austin Simmons

Writer
Michael Boyle

Producers
Nimisha Patil
Alex Bratsos

Editor
Lynna Lam

Sound
Alvin Joo

Composer
Hosu Yoon

Gaffer
Luke Sargent

Production Designer
Shannon McDonough
Denver Kotian

Director of Photography
Dakota Diel

Assistant Director
Robert Green

Cast: Nate Ward as Roger McNamara, Renzo Rios as Carlos, Sam Ingraffia as Bianchi, Kate McIntyre as Warden, Steve Sobel as Jason Billings

Lost in Aroncore (13:42)

When Lucy's older sister, Audrey, returns home from college burdened by depression, Lucy tries to process her sister's struggles through writing fantasy stories that parallel their situation.

Writer
Dezi Gallegos

Producers
Sarah Jones
Kelly Logan

Director
Ryan Wagner

Gaffer
Jarand Herdal

1st AD
Cameron Covell

Sound Designer
Alexander Artin
Charlie Benson

Editor
Carter Feuerhelm

Production Designer
Khang Le

Composer
Aaron Reihs

Costume Designer & Make-up
Aidan McCollough

Director of Photography
Victoria Stein

Director of Lighting
Matthew Burke

Cast: Casey Lopez as Lucy, Anna Maiche as Audrey, Elizabeth Dement as Gwen, Drew McAuliffe as Dan, Andrew Heffernan as Baron of Darkness, Evan Raiff as Baron of Darkness

Mammoth (22:16)

Caught between his own grief and sense of family duty, Paul drives his care-free terminally ill brother, Elliot, on a farewell tour to Mammoth California, where Elliot plans to end his life under the Death with Dignity Act.

Director
Ariel Heller

Producers
David Breschel
Carrie Finklea

Director of Photography
Caleb Heller

Editor
Zach Siegel

Production Designer
Chrissie De Guzman

Composer
Rene G. Boscio

Cast: Tad Cooley as Paul Thompson, Alex Hoeffler as Elliot Thompson, Christine Kellogg-Darrin as Mom, Marcus Henderson as Andric, Peter Murphy as Peter, Hannah Pilkes as Hannah, Nitya Vidyasagar as Janice, Peter Karinen as Rich, Brian Sacca as Sean, Stephanie Ritter as Sheryl, Holly Fowler as Naomi

Mermaids (13:54)

After the untimely death of his wife, a grieving young man struggles to raise his five year old step-daughter who wishes to become a mermaid.

Director
Dream Thanika Jenjesda

Producers
Celia Rettenmaier
Ilan Numhauser

Cinematographers
Anthony Mangini
Bash Achkar

Sound Designer, Production Sound Mixer, Post-Production Sound
Chris Armienti
Atefeh Nouri

Writer
Hayley Trafzer

Composer
Brian LaGuardia

Production Designers
Daniel Smith
Jono Seneff

AD
Hind Metwalli

Cast: Ray Nicholson as Chase, Lorelai Shien-Ts Green as Lorelai, Brooke McCormick as Lauren, Jensen Higley as Emma, Everly Jade Green as Young Brooklyn, Elizabeth Southard as Lily, Monica Quinn as Natalie, Christine Sloane as Dr. Patterson, Lori Lynner as Nurse Linda, Glenn Edward as Ted, Sierra Mellinger as Suzie, Scarlett Mellinger as Sally

One Small Step (13:18)

A 9-year-old girl attempts to juggle the responsibilities of school and her younger siblings after her mother goes missing.

Director
Aqsa Altaf

Producers
Derek Tonks
Alexandra Christensson

Writer
Travis Rush

Cinematographer
Dakota Adney

Production Designer
Shannon McDonough

Sound Designer/Production Sound Mixer/ Post Production Sound
Jeffrey McDonald

Editor
Clayton Kinson

1st AD
Micah Johnson

Composer
Uriel Vanchestein

Cast: Charlie Reddix as Dasani, Destiny Toliver as Avianna, Avanna King as Chanel

Sparks (13:43)

A surprise reunion of two exes leads to a romantic adventure through Los Angeles, and a chance to mend a rift between two people who couldn't figure it out the first time.

Producer/Director
Tony Ducret

Writer
Chelsea Grate

DP
Brandon Harris

Production Designer
Erin Lunsford

Sound Designer
Ugo Derouard

Editors
Star Victoria
Marcus C.W. Chan

Composer
Erick Schroder

Cast: Dashawn Barnes as Sophie, Jeremy Spencer as Bobby, Jon Sprik as Derek

Spring Flower (31:22)

A Chinese rural girl Chun Hua is forced by her family to marry a man she never met before. After influencing by her cousin -Tong, a modern city girl, she decides to change her life.

Director/Writer
Gisele Tong

Producer
Han Zhang

Cinematographer
Chen Wang

Sound Designer
Jingjue Zhou

Editor
Mengxue Hou

Composer
Qingnan Ma

Cast: Hua Yu as Chun Hua, Yumeng Liu as Tong, Mingfu Tong as Chunhua Father

The Fringes (13:40)

In a corporate world void of human interaction, Ennis has lost her ability to relate to others. When the company fires her and forces her into a crowded tenement building, Ennis must overcome her fear of human connection to begin again.

Director
Lily Harty

Producers
Karla Luna Cantu
Jason Phillips

Cinematographer
Kuba Soltysiak

Production Designer
Emma Bradford

Production Sound, Sound Mixer, and Sound Designer
Adrian Hernandez

Editor
Andrew Setiawan

Composer
Jacques Brautbar

Directior of Lighting
Kevin Tian

Production Designer
Emma Bradford

AD
Adrian Vega Albela Osorio

Cast: Alexandria Collins as Ennis, Kally Khourshid as Leda, Clifford B Jones as Al, Jay Jee as Security Guard, Daniel Peera as Carter

To Pimp a Butterfly (29:58)

ANDY (13) must help his mother break free from a vicious cycle of debts and sordid lifestyle in the underbelly of Chinatown. But first, he must come to terms with what she had to do to survive.

Director/Writer/Producer
Rui Cui

Producers
Gracy Wang
Yuchen Yang

Writer
Xavier Burgin

Production Designer
Colleen O'Halloran

Sound Supervisors
Jingjue Zhou
Gisele Tong

Editor
Mason Na

Composer
Xiaoshu Chen

Co-Producers
Tou U
Zhang Yang

1st AD
Ian McClellan

Unit Production Manager
Xin Li

Art Director
Alexa Acuña

Cinematographer
Guan Xi

Cast: Bai Ling as Butterfly (Mother), George Liu as Andy, Eric Harrison as Wayne, Andrew Kwong as Terrance

Wolves (13:45)

When a seasoned police officer attempts to save a boy from committing suicide, she makes a personal discovery that will forever change her life.

Director
Chester Howie

Producers
Sam Frickleton
Madison Stevens

Writer/1st AD
Victor Alonso-Berbel

Production Designers
Sam Adams
Sigin Ojulu

Sound
Alex Rivers
Paul Vogel

Editors
Alanna Field Hoffman
Jake Harbour

Directors of Photography
Shelby Adair
Lars Struck

Cast: Elle Shaw as Liz, William McMullen as Adam, Martin Dorsla as Eastwood, Logan Pepper as Marshall, Chris Devlin as Sergeant Geerlings, Jim Jepson as Officer Vanderberg

« Back to First Look 2018 Screening List