USC Cinematic Arts | First Film 2015

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Drama Films:

A Well Designed Plan (18:57)

After a chance encounter at a bar, a businessman swimming in debt convinces a local fisherman to stage a robbery of his home.

Writer/Director
Will Lowell

Producers
Will Lowell
Rafael Moraes

Production Designer
Saira Haider

Cinematographer
Sean McDaniel

Editors
Will Lowell
Damir Omic

First AD
Ted Martland

Production Manager
Katherine Lodge

Bicycle and a Way of Life (14:34)

In East LA, a teenage bicycle thief straddles two worlds - that of her old fashioned grandma and that of her crooked boss. When these worlds collide, she must decide which path to take.

Director
Bubba McLean

Writer
Matthew Halla

Producers
Candy Li
Juan Martinez Vera

Production Designers
Tulica Singh
Andrew Vasquez

Cinematographers
Jon Speyers
I-Fu Chen

Editors
Robert Abilez
Kevin Luu

Sound Design/
Production Sound/
Post-Production Sound
Veronica Hequn Li
Ginge Cox

First AD
Julio Vincent Gambuto

Blackout (14:35)

Taylor, a 27 year old alcoholic musician, is faced with the choice of continuing her life on a self destructive path or taking a step towards recovery.

Director
Alana Waksman

Writer
David Haskell

Producers
Mahin Ibrahim
James Kwon Lee

Cinematographers
Bryan Mendoza
Arman Cole

Sound Design/
Production Sound/
Post-Production Sound
Randolph Zaini
Ting Ting Ng

Editors
Rui Cui
Emily Piper Forman

Production Designers
Nichole DeLaura
Francesa Marciano

David's Reverie (19:42)

David's Reverie, starring Brandon Fobbs ("The Wire", "Walking Dead", "HBO's Getting On"), tells the story of a jazz musician struggling to prevent his epilepsy diagnosis from derailing his emerging music career.

Writer/Director
Neil Creque Williams

Producers
Channing Godfrey Peoples
Erik Douglas
Delmar Washington

Production Sound Mixer
Michael Chan

Sound Designers
Ryan Cole
Polly McKinnon

Cinematographer
Nathaniel Krause

Editor
Michael Schatz

Production Designer
Jamie Holt

Composer
Andrae Alexander

Recording Engineer
Daniel Blanck

Dough (20:22)

When a traumatized runaway finds solace in a secluded farm home, her attempt to liberate the house from a disturbing secret uproots a rage that should have remained hidden.

Writer/Director
Julian Vlcan

Producers
Giles Clark
Shyam Sengupta
James "Cort" McGee

Cinematographer
Steve Holleran

Editors
Joel Townsend
Chelsea Pettit

Sound Designer
Alec Rasmussen

Production Sound Mixer
Scott Hardie

Composer
Derek Baird

Production Designer
Frank Bonanno

Drone (14:08)

A rookie Air Force drone pilot finds himself increasingly attached to a target he watches from halfway around the world.

Director
Justin S. Lee

Writer
Tony Rettenmaier

Producers
Abi Damaris Corbin
Jess Gordon Maldaner

Cinematographers
Xing-Mai Deng
Xiao'ou Olivia Zhang

Sound
Bethann Morgan
Osahon Tongo

Editors
Yu Jung Hou
Juanyao Joe Zen

Production Designer
Adam Jeffrey Everist
Yang Li

Assistant Director
Gracy Wen Wang

GROOMING (23:33)

Jessica, a middle school guidance counselor tries to reach out to one of her students, Sergio, when she suspects that he's being abused by the school's swim coach.

Director
Kaushik Sampath

Writers
Kaushik Sampath
Juan Rubalcava

Producers
Austin Sepulveda
Kevin Matre
Christine Karaoglanian

Cinematographer
Zack Haskell

Sound Designer
David Bolen

Production Sound Mixer
David Gutierrez

Post Production Sound Mixer
Abby Potts

Editors
Kristina Lyons
Chelsea Pettit

Composer
Leo Birenberg

Happy Birthday (16:58)

Happy Birthday is a short drama that chronicles the journey of Luis, a young man who after burning all of his bridges, attempts to find redemption while visiting his brother on the day of his birthday.

Writer/Director
Richard Heredia-Arriaga

Producers
Ryan Lipscomb
James Crawford

Cinematographer
Christopher Kurose

Sound Design/
Production Sound/
Post-Production Sound
Michael Holcomb
Kari Barber
Kimberly Patrick
Gabil Sultanov

Production Designer
Flora Ortega

Composer
Ram Khatabakhsh

Assistant Director
Rebecca Louisell

Editor
Jose Rodriguez-Robles

Jessica California USA (15:53)

Jessica, like many young girls, dreams of running away. Under pressure from a positive pregnancy test she takes to the road where she meets a reclusive lady, who could help her find a way back home.

Writer/Director
Rafael Moraes

Producers
Rafael Moraes
Will Lowell

Cinematographer
Jackson Parrell

Production Sound Mixer
Nicholas Do

Post Production Sound
Tom Boykin

Editor
Daniel Turcan

Production Designer
Adriana Serrano

Composer
Vasco Cesaretti

Gaffer
Arman Cole

Co-Producer
Katherine Lodge

Art Director
Laura Garavoglia

Assistant Director
Alex Coco

Nzara '76 (18:36)

When an unknown outbreak rips through Sudan, a responding team of doctors uncover a deadly disease from which few survive and quickly find themselves caught between local cultural customs and the extreme measures needed to stop the disease's spread.

Writer/Director
Jon Noble

Producers
Bernardo Duran Jr
Micaela Colman
Meenakshi Ramamurthy

Director of Photography
Sean McDaniel

Sound Designer
Charles Leisenring

Production Sound Mixer
Chiung-wen Chang

Post Sound Mixer
Tyler Gunderson

Editor
Saira Haider

Production Designer
Angel Herrera

Composer
Jon Licht

Costume Design
Sasha Williams

O-Star (26:45)

Rudy & Ava have 4 days to make sense of their broken relationship before the end of the world in this rock music video adventure told through 7 original songs.

Writer/Director/
Songwriter
Dima Otvertchenko

Producers
Tom Roof
Zack Siddiqui

Cinematographer
Will Jobe

Post Production Sound/Mixer
Brian Bibbo

Editor
Mark D. Manalo

Assistant Director
Kyle Dare

Music Director
Dean Dichoso

Composer
Dave Volpe

Production Designer
Prerna Chawla

Associate Producer
Joshua Tate

Second AD
Stephen Bondor

Off Track (13:00)

California, 1847, a cartographer changes his life after facing death at a Cahuilla village.

Director
JP Jacobsen

Writer
Juan Rubalcava

Producers
Drew Diamond
Priscilla Spencer
Daniel Leeds

Sound Designer
David Bolen

Editor
David Aristizabal

Once Upon A Slave's Ambition (4:30)

Set during Korea's Chosun dynasty, an abused slave and her baby son stumble across a wondrous place to start a new life.

Writer/Director
Producer/Composer/
Editor
Eunice Chang

Orchestrator
Marika Takeuchi

Sound Mixer
Michael Holcomb

Only Light (12:39)

When a young girl is kidnapped from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sold as a sex worker to the U.S., she finds an escape from reality by watching the teenage girl next door.

Director
Evita M. Castine

Writer
Thembi L. Banks

Producers
Elena Ostroumova
Zachary Skipp

Cinematographers
Auden Bui
Matthew Halla

Sound
Tebeier Ma
Shela Maung

Editors
Rachel Mooradian
Vishnu Perumal

Production Designers
Maria Greschenko
Colleen O'Halloran

Pasaporte (14:26)

Carmen, on the run from her abusive stepfather in Mexico, heads north of the border in hopes of beginning anew.

Director
Maicon Desouza

Producers
Courtney Wold
John Debney, Jr

Assistant Director
Ian Smith-Garcia

Cinematographers
Scott Greenleaf
Brooke Palmieri

Editors
Ulises Garcia
Amanda Granados

Sound Designers
Raeshib Aggerwhil
Vineet Ukhalkar

Production Designers
Nathan Devlin
Aimee Graham

Qualia: A Cinematic Dance Film (14:03)

After feeling discouraged by the perfect dancers in her ballet school, a young girl is taken on a journey to discover that dance can flourish in surprisingly unexpected bodies.

Writer/Director
Alexander Gabrielli

Producers
Alexander Gabrielli
Hannah Phenicie

Editor
Hannah Phenicie

Directors of Photography
Guan Xi
Matthew Halla

Sound Designer/Mixer
Chris Smith

Production Designer
Lauren Rodriguez

Composer
Jacaszek

Robin's Egg Blue (13:37)

A man crushes two robin eggs and is haunted by a bird spirit until he realizes the terrible truth behind his psychological metaphors.

Director
Gorby Mu Fan Shih

Producers
Valerie Chiang
Lauren Bates

Assistant Director
Peter Tran

Directors of Photography
John Houselog
Ryan Hendrickson

Production Designers
Michelle Patterson
Jeff Burgett

Editors
Eric Fernandez
Haran Sivakumar

Sound Designers
Juan Luis Bravo
Richard Carlos

Room 731 (18:48)

In this supernatural mystery, an amnesiac girl wakes up in what appears to be an abandoned jail, where she is haunted by spirits who want to torture her.

Director
Youngmin Kim

Writers
Youngmin Kim
Christie Cushing

Producers
Youngmin Kim
Christie Cushing
Bridget Tang

Cinematographer
Adam Goral

Sound Design/
Post-Production Sound
Michael Holcomb

Production Sound Mixing
Michael Holcomb
Bethany Sparks

Editors
Youngmin Kim
Sangwhang Oh

Production Designer
Eddie Yang

Composers
JJ Lee
Christopher Lord

Art Director
Diana Choi

Costume Designer
Vanessa Lee

Roubado (18:07)

A teen photographer in the south of France develops a tense relationship with his mother's new boyfriend after his parents' breakup.

Writer/Director
Erica A. Watson

Cinematographer
Tommy Maddox Upshaw

Sound Design
Juel Taylor
Qianhang Shao

Editor
Harris McCabe

Composer
Jongnic Bontemps

Post Production Supervisor
Lamar Ford

Producers
Tierney Young
Joshua Clark
Daniel Willis

Seeing Red (12:58)

Haunted by the presence of his crude and alcoholic father 'Red', Patrick Fitzgerald goes on a journey to spread Red's ashes and finally lay his past to rest.

Director
Nicolette Daskalakis

Writer
Austin Kolodney

Producers
Austin Kolodney
Cailin Lowry

Cinematographers
Brandon Somerhalder
Kyle Harris

Assistant Director
Nicholas Ruff

Editors
Trent Kendrick
Tyler Wright

Sound
Jake Ortega
Yiwen "Leo" Cao

Production Designers
Gregory Dylan Harris
Greg Caruso

Composer
Oliver Schnee

The Assassination of a Mathematician (20:15)

A blind mathematician is pulled into an international conspiracy involving the historic 1972 visit of President Nixon to Mao Zedong's Communist China.

Director
Robert Ke Wei

Writer
Liz Fania Werner

Producer
Rosa Lin

Cinematographer
Jeremy Royce

Sound Design
Qianbaihui Yang

Editors
Ryan J. Woods
Michael Newman

Production Designer
Lawrence Kim

Composer
Derek Zhao

Assistant Director
Alan Miller

The Girlfriend Game (14:40)

An erotic thriller about a twisted game a couple plays at bars, until one night, things go out of hand.

Director
Armen Antranikian

Writer
Nick Antosca

Producers
Christine Melton
Alejandro De Leon

Co-Producers
Sophie Kargman
Jeff Ward

Cinematographer
Christian Sprenger

Production Designer
Callie Andreadis

Editor
Noah Kistler

Composer
Daniel Hart

The Magic Shoes (18:30)

After moving to Los Angeles in 1992, a nine-year-old Iranian boy wants to impress his new classmates with a pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes, thinking they will make him fly like Michael Jordan!

Writer/Director
Sahand Nikoukar

Cinematographer
Jules Bowie

Editor
Jeff Chanley

Sound Design
Justin Warren

Production Designer
Saira Haider

First AD
Adhish Yajnik

Composers
Samuel Jones
Alexis Marsh

Producers
Sabrina Chammas
Bernardo Duran Jr.
Eric Adrian Marshall

The Night Guardian (15:02)

An ailing man meets his estranged family and the only way he can communicate with his grandson is by telling him a story of The Night Guardian - A real-life super hero.

Writer/Director
Brian Ott

Producer
Kyle Dare

Director of
Photography
Ruben Contreras

Sound Design
Zheng Jia
Reese Robinson

Sound Mixing
Diego Perez

Editor
Chelsea Pettit

Production Designer
Francesca Marciano

Composer
Francesco De Chirico

Costume Designer
Amy Priscilla Millan

Stunt Coordinator
Jason Avina

Associate Producer
Jamari Perry

Art Director
Nichole DeLaura

Tomorrow (13:20)

New Year's Eve 1999 finds college-bound Clark and Trevor concerned about the future of their friendship, and a request for Clark to be Trevor's wingman ensures things will never be the same again.

Director
Leandro Tadashi

Writer
Joshua Paul Johnson

Producers
Ivan Bordas
Priscilla Spencer

Cinematographers
Ted Martland
Sam Ziaie

Sound Design
Lindsay Armstrong
Jamie Napoli

Editors
Edson Oda
Avi Glick

Production Designers
Grey Cusack
Angelica Torres

VIMANA (17:15)

Two Indian astronauts must cope with the death of their captain on a one-way voyage to the nearest Earth-like sanctuary.

Writer/Director
Faroukh Virani

Cinematographer
Alejandro Martinez

Sound
Jan Bezouska

Sound Mixing
Ginge Cox

Editor
Rejh Cabrera

Production Designer
Maria Dirolf

Composer
Gingger Shankar

On Set
Visual Effects
Tim Wen

Visual Effects Supervisor
Tarek Saleh

Costume Designer
Lynne Marie Martens

Producers
Lindsey Villarreal
Natalie Mirsky
Daniel Leeds

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