Visiting Filmmakers

Actress - The Blue Tooth Virgin. Director - Help. Writer - Charades.

Recipient of this year's INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD.

Karen Black began her prolific and critically acclaimed screen career with the roadtrip classic EASY RIDER (1969), starring opposite Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, & Jack Nicholson. She starred opposite Nicholson again the next year in FIVE EASY PIECES (1970), which garnered an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for Karen. Later she received Golden Globes for her work in THE GREAT GATSBY (1974) and THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (1975). Her songwriting in Robert Altman's NASHVILLE (1976) was part of an ensemble Grammy nomination. She starred in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, THE FAMILY PLOT, the same year. Other roles she is remembered for include AIRPORT 1975 (1975), TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975), BURNT OFFERINGS (1976), CAPRICORN ONE (1978), THE SQUEEZE (1978), COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN (1982), INVADERS FROM MARS (1986), GYPSY 83 (2001), HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (2003), FIRECRACKER (2005), and Henry Jaglom's HOLLYWOOD DREAMS (2006) and IRENE IN TIME (2008).

Filmmaker, Director of the Institute for Next Generation Internet at SFSU, presenter at CANOPY: A Digital Bridge, for the second year in a row.

Actor - Up!, Babysitter Wanted, The Mirror.

Monty Bane's screen and TV career began with Russ Meyer's cult classic UP!, in 1976. He has appeared on many TV shows throughout the years, including M*A*S*H (2981), Murder She Wrote (1989), Arrested Development (2004), and a recurring role on Push, Nevada (2002). Other film appearances include The Glass Shield (1994), No Way Back (1995), and Dirty Love (2005).

Writer - Babysitter Wanted.

Barnes has also produced The Suicide (2006), and has acted in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and My Ambition (2006). Of Babysitter Wanted, he says, "We worked hard to make a horror film that had a sense of reality and at the same time would be fun for a broader audience”."

Writer/Director - The Blue Tooth Virgin.

His first feature, Race You to the Bottom, was released theatrically in the United States in March, 2007, by Regent Releasing. The Los Angeles Times said, “Writing and directing with perceptive wit, Brown adroitly captures the quicksilver shifts in moods within a tempestuous, passionate romance between two articulate, free-thinking young people.” The film won awards and played at film festivals worldwide. In 2002, he directed a half hour documentary about the oldest blues club in Los Angeles, which premiered at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival. It subsequently aired on PBS. Another short film, Reality USA, based on award-winning writer Mark Halliday’s poem, premiered at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival.

Actress - The Mirror.

Kids and live-action anime fans will recognize her as the Pink Ranger from the childrens shows POWER RANGERS TIME FORCE and POWER RANGERS WILD FORCE. Since then she has had a prolific screen and television career including CSI:MIAMI, JECKYLL, and FAST TRACK: NO LIMITS.

Director/Actress - The Silence After.

De Sarla's film The Silence After was a selection of NewFilmmakers LA, and won the 'Karen Black Award for Excellence in Independent Film' at the Iowa Independent Film Festival. De Sarla also played opposite Judd Nelson and Noah Wyle in a performance of Henry Jaglom's play Always, But Not Forever, to benefit the Edgemar Center for the Arts charities.

Actress - Hollywood Dreams, and Always, But Not Forever.

TANNA FREDERICK made her screen debut starring in Henry Jaglom's latest film, HOLLYWOOD DREAMS, which premiered at the LA/AFI 2006 Film Festival. In the widely acclaimed role of Margie, a young girl from Iowa heading to Hollywood to pursue her dreams of stardom, Ms. Frederick's performance has been heralded as "towering" and "magical" with "go-for-broke zaniness." Ms. Frederick has also recently completed principal photography on Jaglom's next film, IRENE IN TIME, a film about the relationships of fathers and daughters, in which she again stars in the title role, and is in pre-production on her third film with Jaglom, QUEEN OF THE LOT scheduled to begin filming fall 2007. Ms. Frederick will star opposite David Proval in Charlie Matthau's MICKEY AND DELORES scheduled to begin filming in April 2007. Tanna will be at the screenings of Hollywood Dreams on Thurs. Sept 4, 9 PM, and Sat. Sept 6, 7 PM, both at the Eureka Theatre.

Writer/Director - Humboldt County.

Darren Grodsky and co-director Danny Jacobs grew up in St. Louis and have been close friends (and a filmmaking team) since they were six years old. Darren studied theater in Chicago at Northwestern as well as at the city’s famed Goodman Theatre, performing in numerous productions. He also studied improvisation at the original Second City theatre in Chicago and at Los Angeles’ Upright Citizen’s Brigade under such notable teachers as the late Del Close and Matt Besser. Since moving to Los Angeles, Darren has worked closely on various productions with numerous filmmakers and producers, including Jordan Kerner, Jon Landau and James Cameron, and he has acted in over twenty short films and stage productions.

Producer/Actor/Editor - The Mirror, Babysitter Wanted.

Eckelberry also produced the films Nothing Compares to You (2008), Forget About It (2006) (co-producer), Two Faced (2005) (producer), and directed the films Double Duty (2008), Edna McCoy's Festival (1999), Charades (1998), Going Home (1997), and Movies Money Murder (1996).

Writer/Director - Humboldt County.

Danny Jacobs and co-director Darren Grodsky grew up in St. Louis and have been close friends (and a filmmaking team) since they were six years old. Danny studied improvisation under the tutelage of former “Saturday Night Live” actors Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch at the Improv Olympic in Chicago. In Los Angeles, Danny has improvised regularly on stage at LA’s Second City theater and at ComedySportz. In film and television, Danny has appeared as an actor in numerous television roles including “The West Wing”, as well as several films, including Sony Pictures’ THE CAVERN and Fox’s upcoming BACHELOR PARTY 2.

Writer/Director - A Trip to Swadades, Yarns To Be Spun On The Way To The Happy Home.

Daniel Kremer lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has been involved in the production of over 70 film projects, short and feature-length, a good deal of which he directed, edited and/or photographed. His film Crumbs from a Hard-Boiled Egg screened at film festivals across the country, and he was presented with three Best Documentary in Competition prizes for his film Yarns To Be Spun on the Way to the Happy Home. He just completed his first feature, A Trip to Swadades, and is currently involved in writing and directing a segment in a Philadelphia omnibus film entitled Used Movies. Every segment in the film is an already-used movie title with a whole new story reimagined for it that opposes its original genre. Kremer's segment is a dark comedy entitled Strange Cargo, originally a 1940 Joan Crawford-Clark Gable film.

Producer (Big Screen Pictures, Paramount) - The Mirror, Babysitter Wanted.

Director - Babysitter Wanted.

Michael made his first big screen appearance as Charles in License to Drive (1988), which also starred Heather Graham, Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. After guest appearances in shows such as "The Wonder Years" (1988), "Charles in Charge" (1984), "Wings" (1990), "Quantum Leap" (1989), and "ER" (1994), Michael took on the role for which he is currently best known: that of Wyatt Donnelly on "Weird Science" (1994). In 1998, he voiced the very bitter monkey Bing in "The Wild Thornberries" (1998). In 1999, he had roles in episodes of "Sliders" (1995) and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997). Since then he has produced several films including Dirty Love (2005), Forget About It (2006), and William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet (2008).

Director - Yem in the City of Angels.

Recipient of this year's YOUTH CHAMPION AWARD.

Also known as Dr. Jules, Medina is an HSU alumni and a filmmaker who has worked worked in Korea. He is now living in Los Angeles. His films YEM IN THE CITY OF ANGELS, a documentary portrait of an urban Los Angeles artist, PERVASIVE PERSUASION, a one-hour documentary on Japanese artist Takashi Murakami's influence on L.A. art, and THE LONGEST WHISPER, excerpts from a conceptual personal work in progress, will be shown August 29, 7 PM, at the Eureka Theatre.

Director - Zombies of Eureka

Jon Olsen was born in the UK and grew up in Humboldt County, California. At the age of 16 he began making amateur sci-fi movies in a house that would later be used as the primary shooting location for the film called Humboldt County. Low-budget filmmaking subsequently became his lifelong addiction. His films include The Humboldt County Travelogue, Ape Canyon, Vortex, and the recently completed music video anthology Zombies of Eureka. His most recent project, Ubergetrank - a feature-length advertisement for a fictional energy drink, based on a novel by Aimee Henessy - is currently in post-production. Olsen resides in San Francisco.

Director - Limón

Roth has also directed four short films the most recent of which, THE PEACE CANDIDATE, a documentary on presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, was used by the national campaign as a fundraising tool.

Co-creator - We Arrive Like an Echo

Jay Ruby is the director of the Carpet Bag Brigade Physical Theatre Troupe, featured in Ishan Vernallis' documentary WE ARRIVE LIKE AN ECHO.

Writer/Director - Remote Control Grandpa

Matt has been making movies for fun since 1991, and for money since 2002. It wasn't until the summer of 2005 when it occurred to him to combine the two motives. He has been deliriously happy ever since.

Cinematographer - Where There's Smoke

Montel VanderHorck has a B.A. degree in Film Production from Humboldt State University, and a Digital Media Certificate with an emphasis on educational software and web design. Montel has been actively producing local television commercials and short films for the past two years in Humboldt County. His film "Leftshoe the Bunny Slipper" won Best Narrative, and Best of Fest awards at the CSU Media Arts Festival '06. Montel was a co-director of the 39th Humboldt International Short Film Festival in 2006 and the editor of "Mercy Me" and "WWJB", both short films.

Cinematorapher/Director - We Arrive Like an Echo

Ishan vernallis has over five years experience using Digital Video media as an integrated scenic and cinematic element for theatrical productions. Skills include the creative design, generation of original content, archival sourcing, editing, illustration, titles, effects rendering, animation, audio production, real-time systems operation, and projection technologies involved in professional theater venues.

Director - Always, But Not Forever

Ron Vignone is a filmmaker who has worked in all areas of filmmaking; from audio, to acting, writing, directing, editing, and producing, using his almost twenty years of expertise in film production and post production, and digital media, to create works of cinematic art, breaking through boundaries and experimenting with techniques availed by new media. We are honored to bestow this prestigious award on such a talented artist.

Producer - Humboldt County

Jason is an independent producer and a principal at Embark Productions. Prior to HUMBOLDT COUNTY, he produced several other film projects, including: NO EXCUSES: A SEASON WITH THE UNITED STATES DISABLED SKI TEAM, an enlightening and poignant documentary that premiered at the Montreal Film Festival and is currently in heavy rotation on the Documentary Channel; DOWN DOG, winner of "Best Short Film" at the 2005 Boulder Film Festival; and HOOKED, which premiered at the 2006 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. . Jason recently wrapped production on ANOTHER HARVEST MOON, which stars universally acclaimed actors including Ernest Borgnine, Doris Roberts, Cybill Shepherd, Piper Laurie, Anne Meara, and Richard Schiff.

Director - Where There's Smoke

Sean Wilson is a graduate with a Bachelors degree in Film Production from Humboldt State University. His first film, "Mercy Me", received an honorable mention in the Starz First Look Film Festival in Denver Colorado and was a finalist at the CSU Media Arts Film Festival. While attending HSU Sean was a co-director of the 39th Humboldt International Short Film Festival. He has also produced several commercials for local television with great success.

Writer/Director - Butterfly (documentary about Julia Butterfly)

After earning two BA degrees, a law degree, and spending seven years as a practicing attorney, Doug Wolens became a filmmaker in 1993. Wolens has written, produced, directed, shot, and edited all his films. Wolens is a Chicago native and a graduate of the University of Oregon and Seton Hall University Law School.

Check back for more confirmations....