2007 Fantastic Fest Guests!

We are pleased to announce our roster of Fantastic Fest guest filmmakers. We will be adding to this list as the festival approaches, and bear in mind that there are several surprise guests that we can't announce until festival time. In the meantime, take a moment to get to know some of the folks with whom we'll be drinking beer and watching movies come September 20! Check back here often for updates!

George A. Romero (Diary of the Dead)
Do we really need an introduction for George A. Romero? How many other people can say their first film is in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, yet alone it being horror movie? Not only has he created some of the most iconic horror movies of all time, but he has decided to return to his independent roots with DIARY OF THE DEAD. Fantastic Fest is proud to have this icon of film to kick off the 2007 Fantastic Fest.

Adam Green and Joel Moore (Spiral)
Adam Green
While working on cable commercials in Boston, Adam Green began "borrowing" the equipment after hours to make his own films. With friends as cast and crew, three lights, and his pet cat...Green's first feature film (the comedy COFFEE & DONUTS) was completed for a mere $400 in the summer of 1999. The movie was ultimately bought by Walt Disney / Touchstone TV and developed as a sit-com with Green writing the pilot for UPN. In 2005, Green wrote and directed the all-star horror/comedy HATCHET which premiered to rave reviews at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. The film was selected for festivals worldwide winning several awards, including the Audience Choice Award for "Best Picture" at both the 2006 Fantastic Film Festival and the 2007 Fantasia Film Festival. HATCHET will see it's nationwide theatrical release in September of 2007 and is listed on both MTV's and Ain't It Cool News' TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR. Most recently, Green co-directed the Hitchcockian psychodrama SPIRAL, which took home the prestigious "Gold Vision Award" at the 2007 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and will be released theatrically in early 2008. Upcoming films include his romantic comedy GOD ONLY KNOWS and the big screen adaptation of the graphic novel DEAD WEST.

Joel David Moore
Joel first learned his craft in his home state of Oregon, where he earned a BFA in Performance Arts from Southern Oregon University, and was a company player in the prestigious Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Upon moving to Los Angeles, Moore quickly secured his career-making role, opposite Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller in the Fox hit DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY. Capitalizing on his early success, Joel starred in a string of films, including the Fox/Happy Madison picture GRANDMA’S BOY, United Artist’s ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (with John Malcovich and Angelica Houston), Anchor Bay’s HATCHET, and Sony Picture’s HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE, opposite Paris Hilton and Christine Lakin. Joel’s comprehensive background soon drove him to explore other aspects of the film industry, and in 2005 he made his directorial debut with the South By Southwest favorite short-film MILES FROM HOME, and followed up by co-writing, co-directing, producing, and starring in the independent psychological-thriller SPIRAL, which will be released in early 2008 by Anchor Bay. Joel most recently signed on to star alongside Sigorney Weaver in the epic AVATAR, James Cameron’s $200 Million follow-up to his behemoth TITANIC.

Karim Hussain (La Belle Bête)
Co-writer of Nacho Cerda’s THE ABANDONED (2006), Karim Hussain is also known for his controversial first feature film as a director, SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY (2000) and the art-house genre film ASCENSION (2003), winner of the New Visions Award at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain, and the short film LA DERNIÈRE VOIX (THE CITY WITHOUT WINDOWS) that Hussain co-directed in 2002 which was nominated for a Jutra (Quebec Academy Award) for Best Short. Between 1997-2001 he was a programmer for the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal. He also works as a cinematographer. LA BELLE BÊTE (The Beautiful Beast) (2006) premiered at the Sitges Film Festival and is Hussain’s third feature film as a director.

Maurice Devereaux (End of the Line)
Maurice Devereaux was born and raised in Montreal, a film fanatic at a very early age. He studied cinema at Ahuntsic College, and while in his second year, left to make his first self-financed, feature, BLOOD SYMBOL. His next two features films, LADY OF THE LAKE and SLASHERS were released under the FANGORIA PRESENTS banner in the US and numerous countries worldwide and were official selections at prestigious film festivals such as the FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL (Montreal), SITGES (Spain) FANTASPORTO (Portugal) CINEFANTASTICO (Malaga) and LUND FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL (Sweden). His latest film END OF THE LINE premiered at the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL in September 2006 and has since won two AUDIENCE AWARD for best Feature film (DEAD BY DAWN in Scotland and FANTASIA in Montreal) in its extensive festival run across the globe. Maurice Devereaux’s production company also does lots of commercial work, including the creation of numerous theatrical trailers and TV spots for Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm.

Gregory Wilson (The Girl Next Door)
Gregory Wilson (Director) is a graduate of the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. While attending NYU he was the sole recipient of the MCA Fellowship, interning under the late MCA chairman, Lew Wasserman. His thesis film THE LAST CALL (30 min.), starring Harry Lennix (THE MATRIX II & III, RAY), received a “Student Academy Award” nomination, and won many awards for his outstanding writing, direction and production. The film was acquired and aired on Showtime as a special event. He was also the winner of the “IFC Award” for Best Student Film, whose advisory board included distinguished filmmakers such as Martin Scorcese, Spike Lee, and Steven Soderbergh, among other recognized filmmakers. Spike Lee eventually co-produced his first feature film HOME INVADERS (100 min.), starring Yancy Arias (TV’s KINGPIN), Luis Guzman (CARLITO'S WAY and BOOGIE NIGHTS), Keith David (PLATOON and SOMETHING ABOUT MARY), Judy Reyes (TV’s SCRUBS), and Larry Gillard (THE WIRE). He recently directed the adaptation of the best-selling book entitled THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Jack Ketchum, starring Emmy Award Winner Blanche Baker (HOLOCAUST and 16 CANDLES), William Atherton (DIE HARD), and introducing Daniel Manche (Young Tarzan, in The Broadway play TARZAN) who plays the lead. His completed TV pilot called THE UNDERGROUND, which explores the darker, untold stories of a New York City nightclub, is in development. He also scripted a hybrid autobiography about the life and death of 50’s screen idol and tenor, Mario Lanza. He plans to direct and produce this project which is currently titled, DON'T FORGET ME. He has also directed and produced various music videos and short films.

Hasko Baumann (Moebius Redux)
Hasko Baumann has been a writer for almost a decade. He’s well-known for his encyclopedic knowledge of obscure, neon-lit territories: comics, horror films, science-fiction, pulp and B-movies. He’s scripted a number of projects and directed features on cartoon fairs and comic conventions, covered horror film-making and made friends with directors such as John Carpenter. He’s directed a number of documentaries for avanti media and is also working on SCREEN TERROR, an exhaustive documentary about horror films. In 2006 Baumann received the Adolf Grimme award as director of the documentary series INTO THE NIGHT.

Scott Thomas (Flight of the Living Dead)
Scott has just completed the writing, producing and directing the award winning Action/Horror feature film, FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. New Line Home Entertainment and Imageworks Entertainment have purchased the worldwide rights for a release in 2007. Last year he directed YESTERDAY’S DREAMS, a romantic drama feature film in Oregon. In 2003 he wrote, produced and directed LATIN DRAGON, an action/adventure feature film. Universal Home Video and Imageworks Entertainment have purchased the worldwide rights to this acclaimed action film.
In 2001, Thomas directed the feature film entitled DERANGED, a contemporary psychological-thriller. The film won “Best Thriller” and “Best Actor” for Frank John Hughes at the New York Independent Film Festival. Additionally, DERANGED was voted “Best Picture” winning the grand prize at the Oldenburg Film Festival in Germany, and was also invited for Special Screenings at the Sacramento Film Festival, The Brooklyn Film Festival and the prestigious, Slamdance Film Festival. I-Film released DERANGED in a nationwide DVD release in April 2005. Thomas has excelled as a director, producer and writer in feature films, television and animation since beginning his career.

Mark Eberle (Flight of the Living Dead)
Mark Eberle began his career in the film industry in 1977 as a production assistant and flight instructor to Robert Conrad on the NBC Television program BLACK SHEEP SQUADRON. He steadily graduated to higher-level production positions, eventually serving as Supervising Producer on several films for television (MOW’s). Following his initial camera training in the early ‘90s, Mark began working on numerous productions in the camera department and subsequently advanced through the ranks of camera assistant positions. The radiant, creative world of Latin Music Videos in Miami launched Mark’s career as a Director of Photography.

Nacho Vigalondo (Time Crimes)
The musical short film 7:35 IN THE MORNING, which he wrote, starred in and directed, earned him over 70 national and international awards. An Oscar nominee for Best Short, it was also nominated by the European Academy in this same category. When he's not busy working on a movie, he divides his time making commercials, acting for theatre and writing video-game journalism.

Ryan Schifrin (King in the Box)
Ryan was recently touted by ABC’s Nightline News as the “future of horror, ” after ABOMINABLE, his critically acclaimed, award winning, feature directing debut, opened in New York, Seattle and Los Angeles. Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News called it “scary, freaky and a helluvalot of fun.”
ABOMINABLE’s World Television Premiere on the Sci-Fi Channel was the #1 rated show that week on the network. “Abominable” was subsequently released on DVD through Anchor Bay. Ryan is a graduate of the prestigious University of Southern California School of Cinema, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Production. His short film EVIL HILL was selected as one of the Best of the Fest at the US Comedy Arts Festival. Ryan is currently adapting his screenplay, SPOOKS, in collaboration with GI JOE creator Larry Hama, and New York Times Best Selling author R.A. Salvatore, which will be released as a comic book series by Devil’s Due Publishing in early 2008.

Greg Swinson (Five Across the Eyes)
Greg Swinson was born and raised in East Tennessee. He earned his degree in Film Production from Full Sail: Center for the Recording Arts. First discovering his love for movies when he was in the sixth grade, he made his first short entitled SCORPIAN: DAY OF DARKNESS, an action thriller about a war veteran whose girlfriend had been kidnapped. The star of the film, however, was his ten year old brother and the weapons were spray-painted waterguns. Greg went on to make over twenty short films, before making his first full-length feature, FIVE ACROSS THE EYES.

Ryan Thiessen (Five Across the Eyes)
Ryan Thiessen grew up in Morristown, Tennessee, living only a mile from where the film EVIL DEAD was shot. His interest in making movies took flight when he collaborated with Greg on the short AFTERLIFE. He later made his directorial debut with the comedy short, GAMES FOOLS PLAY. Graduating with a degree in Digital Media from ETSU, he has directed several commercials and award-winning music videos. He also made his full-length feature debut with FIVE ACROSS THE EYES.

Sandra Paduch (Five Across the Eyes)
Sandra Paduch was born in East Tennessee. Her interest in the performing arts began at a the young age of 8 as she became involved with dance, theatre and music. At age 12, she played the role of Jacob Marley and worked as the Set Designer for her middle school's production of "A Christmas Story". During high school she performed with the "Fantastics" dance company. She later went on to choreograph the musical production of the Kingsport Theatre Guilds "Carnival" while also acting in several roles. To date, she has won several awards and honors for dance and music. In 2001, she received a BFA with concentrations in Graphic Design and Metals. Sandra made her feature film debut in "Five Across the Eyes", playing the role of Isabella.

Yehudi Mercado (Monster Job Hunter)
Yehudi Mercado began his career in video games where Texas Monthly Magazine named him one of the “Top 30 Multimedia Stars Under 30” in 1998. He started his own company, HorseBack Salad, a small animation studio ( “Best Little Toon House in Texas” by Animation Magazine Dec. 2005) He won 2nd Place in the 2006 Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting competition for BUFFALO SPEEDWAY a feature-length story about Pizza Delivery Drivers. Julie Richardson, the producer of COLLATERAL, is attached to produce. MONSTER JOB HUNTER is his directorial debut. He lives in Austin with his girlfriend, dog and cat.

Damon Vignale (The Entrance)
THE ENTRANCE is Damon Vignale’s sophomore film, following his debut feature LITTLE BROTHER OF WAR. LBOW screened at numerous international film festivals, and was selected as the opening gala for the 2004 Reelworld Film Festival. The film won the Star!TV Audience Award, and garnered five Leo Award nominations before being released on DVD by Mongrel Media. Other credits include the made-for-TV drama A PERFECT NOTE, and the award-winning festival hit ZACHARIA, which he produced. Vignale is currently writing an original screenplay.

Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2)
Joe Lynch was born in Long Island, NY and was raised on a steady diet of horror films & novels, comic books and dirty-water hot dogs. His craft for film stemmed from the epiphany of hooking up two VCR's and mixing his favorite horror and action scenes to new music, then making his own with the family VHS camera, usually erasing holiday functions in the process. Upon graduating from Syracuse University, where his two school shorts, mAHARBA & hiBeams got Lynch named "Filmmaker of the Year" in 1999 in The Village Voice's Best of Long Island issue, Joe's first film job was working on the seminal Troma cult classic Terror Firmer as a grip, then actor, then "background director", and was quickly hired as an in-house writer for "The House that Toxie built".
Lynch then created, produced, shot and edited the hit US tv show "Uranium" for Fuse, as well as directed music videos and documentaries for artists like 311, Sugarcult, DevilDriver, DVDA, Coal Chamber, Strapping Young Lad, Pete Yorn and many others. WRONG TURN 2 is Lynch's first foray into feature filmmaking (hopefully not his last) and a dream come true for a die-hard horror fanatic. Lynch currently resides in (he)L.A. with his lovely (and tolerant) wife Briana & their manic pooch "Buckaroo" Banzai .

Phil Mucci (Far Out)
Phil Mucci has been a music and advertising photographer for over a decade. His work has appeared in such publications as Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press, Stuff, and Maxim. His first short film, THE LISTENING DEAD , won Best Short Film at last year¹s Fantastic Fest, and went on to win awards at film festivals all over the world. His second short film, FAR OUT, is having it¹s US Premier at this year's Fantastic Fest, the festival it was tailor-made for. Phil currently resides in the top floor of an old public bath house in Brooklyn, New York, where he and his two dogs fend off the ghosts of naked day laborers. He's looking forward to his triumphant return to Austin, and a relaxing week full of bbq and beer, murder and mayhem.

Uwe Boll (Postal)
As a child, Uwe Boll produced a number of short films on Super 8 and video before beginning his studies as a film director in Munich and Vienna. He also studied literature and economics in Cologne and Siegen. Uwe graduated from university in 1995 with a doctorate in literature. From 1995-2000, he was a producer and director with Taunus Film-Produktions GmbH. Boll is currently Chief Executive Officer of Boll Filmproduction and Distribution GmbH which he founded in 1992. In 2000 he founded Boll KG and continues to direct, write and produce feature films. In one of his most famous works Uwes challenged his critics in June 2006 to "put up or shut up". His production company issued a press release stating that Boll would challenge his 5 harshest critics each to a 10 round boxing match. To be eligible, the critic must have written two extremely negative reviews of Boll, in print or on the Web, in 2005. Footage of the fights will be included in his upcoming film Postal.

Zack Ward (Postal)
Zack Ward was born in 1970. He wanted to act, but his mom, an actress herself, wanted her son to be normal, and would not let him. Finally, his brother intervened, allowing Zack the chance to act. After a year of the small stuff, he got his first big audition for the '80s classic A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983). About 300 kids showed up for the part (originally he was the sidekick, Grover), and he kept getting called back until it was him and one other redhead. He won the role. On the first set, in Cleveland, the director told him that he was to play the part of Scut Farcus instead of Grover. This was his breakthrough. He continued acting in guest appearances and small films and starred in the hit TV sitcom, TITUS (2000) as Dave Titus.

Marko Zaror (Mirageman)
Nicknamed "the Latin Dragon,", Marko Zaror is a martial artist, actor and stuntman from Santiago, Chile. He worked as a stunt double for The Rock in the 2003 film THE RUNDOWN and has now embarked upon a lead acting career, working closely with fellow Chilean Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, director of KILTRO and MIRAGEMAN. To quote Twitch founder Todd Brown, "keep an eye out for Zaror, a talent this obvious won't be denied for long."

Ernesto Diaz Espinoza (Mirageman)
Hailing from Santiago, Chile, Diaz’s passion for moviemaking began at the young age of ten where he filmed his first production. He later pursued his film degree at the Duoc UC Communication Institute. While attending, Ernesto directed his first short film, which was ranked the best film in its category.
In 2002, he went to LA to work as an assistant director on the feature film, Into the Flames, and wrote the very well-received script Dirty Job, scheduled to be produced by Mandrill Films.
In 2006 he wrote, edited and directed his first feature film and the first South American martial arts movie entitled KILTRO. Released theatrically in Chile, KILTRO (April 2006) was acclaimed by critics and audiences. Chilean critics said about KILTRO: “a cult movie” (Juan Andres Salfate), “a must-see adventure for film-lovers” (Gonzalo Maza), “one of the most entertaining movies made in this region of the world” (Miguel Angel Fredes).

Derek Rundell (Mirageman)
Derek Rundell, 36, born and raised in Birmingham, Michigan, is a Producer and Entrepreneur. Rundell founded RONNOC ENTERTAINMENT. RONNOC ENTERTAINMENT is a diversified media and entertainment company providing
management services to entertainers, access to innovative entertainment and marketing
opportunities to corporations, production of motion picture and television projects, as well as brand development and acquisition. Most recently Rundell has teamed up with actor, Marko Zaror and filmmaker, Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, to form Mandrill films, a feature film production company.

Phil Chambliss (Devil's Helper: the Folk Art Films of Phil Chambliss)
What if Howard Finster had expressed himself with a home movie camera instead of a paintbrush, or if Fellini had lived in a trailer in rural Arkansas? Phil Chambliss just might be the answer. With the help of his co-workers at the gravel depot, this self-taught 'folk art filmmaker' has created, for over 25 years, an alternate reality where deer hunting is the sport of choice and phones only work when under water. Influenced only by the Westerns he saw at the drive-in, Phil wrote, directed, shot and edited these films. He also created the titles and the original scores, writing and performing all the music. Like folk art, these truly unique, hilarious films depicting life in the Arkansas outback (and conveying a strong sense of place in the process) may not appeal to everyone, but the discerning will, like us, become fans.

Travis Stevens (Imagination Films)
Travis Stevens is the Director of Acquisitions and Marketing for Imagination Worldwide, LLC, an international sales and foreign distribution company focused on bringing unique genre titles to the international marketplace.
From 2005-2007 Mr. Stevens oversaw the acquisition and marketing of 10 feature films including such acclaimed genre titles as "Blood Trails" (Winner 2006 Dead By Dawn film Festival, released domestically by Lionsgate in '07), "The Room", "The Hamiltons" (Winner 2006 Malibu Film Festival, Winner 2006 Santa Barbara Film Festival, released domestically by Lionsgate in '07), "The Living and the Dead" (Winner Best Director, Best Film 2006 FantasicFest, Special Jury Mention 2006 Sitges Film Festival, being released in '08 by TLA Home Video), and "Babysitter Wanted" which is being released domestically by Lionsgate in '08. He is at FantasticFest this year in support of their newest feature "Five Across The Eyes"

Todd Brown (Twitch)
Todd Brown is the founder and editor of Twitch (www.twitchfilm.net), an online journal of unusual films from around the globe. He also programs for a number of film festivals (Fantastic Fest, Fantasia, Toronto After Dark) and between the two roles watches far more bad films than is probably good for him.

Mark Schilling (NIKKATSU ACTION)
Author and critic Mark Schilling has lived in Tokyo since 1975. He began reviewing Japanese films for The Japan Times 1989 and is currently the Japan correspondent for Variety. Schilling has written hundreds of articles on Japanese pop culture and film, contributing to Newsweek, Time, The Asian Wall Street Journal, The Japan Quarterly, Cinemaya, Kinema Junpo and Eiga Geijutsu, while writing the books The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture, Contemporary Japanese Film and The Yakuza Movie Book - A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films. A program advisor to the Udine Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy since 2001, Schilling curated a retrospective of Nikkatsu Action films for the 2005 festival that was the first of its kind in the West. His latest book, published by FAB Press, is No Borders, No Limits: Nikkatsu Action Cinema.

Harvey Fenton (FAB Press)
Harvey Fenton is the founder and owner of cult movie publishing house FAB Press. He has published more than 50 books since the inception of FAB Press in 1993, and is the author of the following best-sellers: Flesh & Blood Book One, Cannibal Holocaust and the Savage cinema of Ruggero Deodato, Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the Seventies, Flesh & Blood Compendium, and Shock! Horror!: Astounding Artwork from the Video Nasty Era.

Mike Williamson (In The Wall)
Writer, Director Mike Williamson graduated from the Undergraduate Film Program at The University of Texas at Austin in 1999. His horror student short film, 'The Boy in the Garage', was chosen by the University as one of the ten best of the year and was showcased at the DGA. It received an honorable mention at the National Student Film Festival and garnered positive reviews in Indie Slate Magazine and AintItCool.com.
His next short film, 'The Silvergleam Whistle', played over 40 film festivals worldwide, won numerous awards including the Stephen King Award for Best Short Film, and was reviewed positively in major online publications including, AintItCool.com, Fangoria.com and Bloody-Disgusting.com.
'In The Wall' is a suspenseful tour de force that cements Mike's reputation as one of the genre's premiere upcoming talents. World Premiering at the Cleveland International Film fest in 2007 to phenomenal audience reaction, "In the Wall" has gone on to win BEST SHORT FILM at San Francisco Indie Fest and played London's prestigious Fright Fest where a packed house of 800 erupted in applause, making the short a festival highlight according to its programmers.
Mike Williamson lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Terry, also a UT graduate.

Richard Gale (Criticized)
Richard Gale started making films at age 10, with his short film I MUST KILL THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, featuring stop-motion animation of his Steve Austin action figure. After earning a degree in English at UCLA, Gale wrote, produced and directed Cable TV shows in Beverly Hills, winning two Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, including one for Outstanding Cable Program, and three Emmy nominations. Gale began writing and directing feature films with the crime thriller THE PROPOSAL, with Jennifer Esposito, Nick Moran, and William B. Davis, which was bought by Miramax/Dimension Films and released worldwide, and the action thriller PRESSURE with Kerr Smith, distributed by Blockbuster and First Look Pictures. Gale’s first horror film, CRITICIZED, was called “sharp and squirm-inducing” by Michael Gingold of FANGORIA, and has been terrorizing audiences at film festivals around the world, winning an Audience Award at the 2007 Fantasia Film Festival, “Best Short Film” at the Dead Channels Film Festival in San Francisco, “Scariest Movie” at the 2007 D.C. Independent Film Festival, “Best Short Film” at Horror Fest UK and many others. Gale is currently working on a feature-length version of CRITICIZED.

Brian Rohan (Criticized)
A native New Yorker, Brian Rohan studied acting with Susann Brinkley and Betty Buckley. His television work during this time included stints with Gilbert Gottfried and several appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
After moving to Los Angeles, Brian got involved with the Pasadena Shakespeare Company, appearing in dozens of productions. His starring role in Richard Gale’s L.A. Area Emmy nominee It's A Wonderful City allowed Rohan to put his endless comparisons to Jimmy Stewart to the test. This spoof of It's A Wonderful Life received unanimous praise and even a glowing review from Zuzu herself, Karolyn Grimes, who told Brian that he was the only man who should ever play Jimmy. In CRITICIZED, Rohan’s performance as filmmaker Arthur Lements has received wide praise from critics, winning the award for Best Actor from the Rebel Planet Film Festival of Hollywood. Rebel Planet Festival Administrator Holly Lewis called Brian’s performance “genius.”

Christopher Brady (Criticized)
Two-time Emmy Award winning composer Christopher Brady was honored to be selected by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith to study privately with him while completing his Ph.D. at UCLA in composition and ethnomusicology. His most recent credits include scores for the CBS’ series Tuesday Night Book Club, the theme for the Kentucky Derby on ABC/ESPN, and Fox’s television series, The Rebel Billionaire: Richard Branson’s Quest for the Best. His score for the opening of the Indianapolis 500 on ABC recently won an Emmy Award. Other recent projects include the award-winning independent feature films Scrambled, PRESSURE (directed by Richard Gale) and Welcome to the Neighborhood. Brady also composed scores to Disney’s Going to the Mat and Full Court Miracle, as well as having a song featured in Lions Gate’s The Cooler. Brady has received many honors, including the Henry Mancini Prize for Film Music, as well as awards from the Edvard Grieg International Composition Grand Prix, ASCAP, the International Schubert Festival, and the National Association of Composers.

Ryan A. Levin (The Fifth)
Ryan has written on the TV show, Scrubs, and has served as a writers assistant on several other sitcoms. His new animated series, Benny: Escaped Convict (co-created with Nye Warburton) will premiere January 2008 on Atom Films (www.atomfilms.com). Ryan has completed the feature script, Ken,based on his short film, The Fifth, and is currently seeking investors.

Ian Rattray (FrightFest)
Ian Rattray, 54, is one of the co-organisers of the highly respected FrightFest Film Festival, the UK's premiere fantasy and horror event that is held each August in London. A film distributor and booker, Ian has over twenty years experience within the UK industry and runs his own distribution and booking company.

Bruce Figeri (Lifesize Entertainment)
Bruce Frigeri is President of Lifesize Entertainment. Lifesize is a full service distributor specializing in independent and art house titles. They release six or more films theatrically each year, as well as over a dozen on dvd. Recent titles of note include Kim Ki-Duk’s TIME, the controversial AMERICAN CANNIBAL, and cult sci fi classic PUZZLEHEAD. Upcoming releases include Sundance favorite KHADAK, zany comedy THE WEST WITTERING AFFAIR and genre bending horror pic FEAR HOUSE. Based in the NYC area, Lifesize also handles international sales for many of their releases. They attend all major markets and have successfully implemented the strategy of leveraging a film’s N. American theatrical and dvd reception into additional revenues overseas.

Anne Goetzmann Kelley (Austin School of Film)
Co-founder and Education Director of the Austin School of Film
The Austin School of Film @ Motion Media Arts Center
A non-profit independent film, art, and technology center that supports every aspect of production from idea to distribution. Our goal is to educate, train, and develop emerging artists of all ages to be active participants in shaping our 21st century culture.
Anne has an extensive background in media production with a focus on independent artist development. She co-founded and presided over Moment Productions, a Times Signature Music publishing company.

Marc Walkow (NIKKATSU ACTION)
Marc Walkow is a member of Subway Cinema, the organizing and programming team behind the New York Asian Film Festival, which held its sixth edition this past summer. He has also worked in the video industry for 15 years, curating the Mario Bava, EuroShock, and Something Weird genre film labels at Image Entertainment and
producing titles like VIDEODROME, JIGOKU and the REBEL SAMURAI box set at The Criterion Collection. He recently formed his own company, Outcast Cinema, in order to concentrate on his true passion: promoting classic and contemporary Japanese genre cinema. His most recent work was producing the Synapse Films DVDs of Teruo Ishii's
HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN and Nobuo Nakagawa's SNAKE WOMAN'S CURSE. He was also responsible for putting together the U.S. tour of the NO BORDERS, NO LIMITS Nikkatsu retrospective, three films of which are playing Fantastic Fest this year. He and his wife Jennifer, along with several small animals, live in New York City.

Michael Lehrman (indieWIRE)
Michael Lerman is a programmer for the Woodstock Film Festival and Philadelphia Film Festival, a writer for indieWIRE and is currently producing and/or directing two feature narratives. He is also short and succinct.

Charlie Boswell (AMD)
As Director of Digital Media & Entertainment for Advanced Micro Devices works directly with leading entertainment industry innovators and content creators including George Lucas, James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez to create technology solutions for creative challenges.

Eric Vespe (AICN)
Eric Vespe is a veteran Ain't It Cool News reporter and native of Austin, Texas. When he's not writing about movies, he's out on the set or in a dark room watching a flickering screen.

Chris Cargill (AICN)
Veteran Ain't It Cool News reporter Chris Cargill (AKA Massawyrm) also writes for film.com and appears in the animated movie review show, Spill.com.

Tom Quinn (Magnolia Pictures)
Tom Quinn began his film career in Los Angeles doing domestic publicity at Dennis Davidson Associates working for Senior VP of West Coast publicity. He later moved on to work for Samuel Goldwyn Jr. eventually becoming the VP of Acquisitions where he was responsible for acquiring SUPERSIZEME. He is currently Senior VP of Magnolia Pictures.

Scott Weinberg (Cinematical)
Online critic extraordinare, Scott Weinberg can stand toe to toe with any critic in the nation on comprehensive horror knowledge. Scott is also curating Fantastic Fest's Monday midnight "Horror Family Feud".

Jonathan Brands (Funimation)
Assistant Brand Manager Jonathan Brands has been with FUNimation Entertainment close to 2 years and has been an active member of the anime community for over seven years. His most recent brand launches include Robotech the Shadow Chronicles, Black Cat and BECK Mongolian Chop Squad.

Michael Lehrman (indieWIRE)
Michael Lerman is a programmer for the Woodstock Film Festival and Philadelphia Film Festival, a writer for indieWIRE and is currently producing and/or directing two feature narratives.

Bill Lustig (Blue Underground)
Bill Lustig directed MANIAC as well as MANIAC COP 1,2 and 3. Lustig is also known for his work, first at Anchor Bay, supervising dvd-releases of the cream-of-the-crop in their European cult-catalogue, and later as CEO of his own publishing firm Blue Underground.

Don Hertzfeldt (The Animation Show)
Don Hertzfeldt is the co-founder of THE ANIMATION SHOW along with fellow animator Mike Judge. Don has created an amazing collection of animated films including BILLY'S BALLOON, REJECTED and his newest work EVERYTHING WILL BE OK? which is in competition at Fantastic Fest 2007.

Grant Show (The Girl Next Door)
Grant Show was best known for his portrayal as hunky good guy Jake Hanson on MELROSE PLACE. That was until breakout roles on SIX FEET UNDER (as a sex addict), Fox’s POINT PLEASANT (as the devil’s advocate) and FX’s DIRT (as a publicly closeted/privately promiscuous gay action star) all but erased the soapy-clean image of this multi faceted actor.
On stage Show was Terry Malloy in the first ever stage production of On The Waterfront; Doctor Jason Posner in the Off-Broadway, Pulitzer winner Wit and The Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie with Elizabeth Ashley at The Alley Theatre in Houston. His film credits include, THE ITALIAN JOB, MARMALADE and HOMELAND SECURITY.
Next up for Show is the hotly anticipated SWINGTOWN, coming early next year to CBS. Set in the decadent era of the 1970s, he will play Tom Decker, a married airline pilot who hosts swingers parties in an attempt to keep his marriage buoyant. His capacity for playing "love to hate" characters with vigor and heart has earned him this latest role where he will be challenged to bring humanity to a man who has his cake and eats it too.
At Fantastic Fest, Show plays Mr. Moran in the controversial adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s THE GIRL NEXT DOOR. He has recently completed filming on ALL AGES NIGHT and has just opened his first restaurant The Happy Ending Bar and Restaurant on the Sunset Strip.

Pollyanna McIntosh (Sex and Death 101)
Originally from Scotland and Colombia, South America, actress Pollyanna McIntosh moved to LA four years ago. Since her arrival she has acted in, directed and produced theatre in Hollywood and has starred in several films.
Some memorable roles have been as Stacy in HEADSPACE (Winner of two awards at NYC Horror Film Fest and one at the World Horror Convention 2006), Mara in 9 LIVES OF MARA (Honorable Mention-Fright Night Film Festival) and as Thumper Wint, the lesbian astronaut, in the Winona Ryder and Simon Baker starrer SEX AND DEATH 101.
She can next be seen on television as the female lead in BATS 2, Sci Fi Channel/Sony, in October this year. She has just finished shooting the movie ALL AGES NIGHT, is about to start filming THE POLITICS OF DANCING in November and is currently in rehearsal of the play A HUSTLER’S EPIPHANY.
In addition to acting, Pollyanna is writing her first screenplay, MODEL CITIZEN, based on her past experiences as a fashion model and is co-producer on the feature film, JUNK.

Rodrigo Gudiño (The Demonology of Desire)
Rodrigo Gudiño hails from Playas de Tijuana, Mexico where he spent the first eight years of his life before moving to Canada. He graduated with a degree in Literary Studies and Philosophy from the University of Toronto prior to launching Rue Morgue Magazine in 1997, the world’s leading horror entertainment publication. THE DEMONOLOGY OF DESIRE which he wrote and directed, marks his secound foray into filmmaking.

John Paul Kinhart (Blood, Boobs and Beast)
John Kinhart is a documentary filmmaker based in Washington, DC. His first two films Non-Player-Character and Futonmaker have shown at several film festivals throughout the United States. Non-Player-Character premiered at the Johns Hopkins Film Festival and won the Best Documentary and Audience Pick Award at the Dusk till Dawn film festival in Texas.
John currently works as a video editor for the National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP), a non-profit organization co-founded by Camille Cosby and Renee Poussaint. NVLP's mission is to film interviews with pioneering African American elders, and make excerpts of those interviews available for posterity.
John's previous projects include serving as cinematographer for Is It True What They Say About Ann?, a documentary about controversial pundit Ann Coulter, and assistant director for "Dazzlement," a music video for Cherrywine, a.k.a. Butterfly from the hip-hop group Digable Planets.

Max Margulies and Naoko Masuda (The Bird, The Mouse, and The Sausage)
Max Margulies and Naoko Masuda began making films together in 2005 as undergraduate students at Temple University.
Primarily focused on stop-motion animation, their works include MR. CONSUMPTION, the story of a man who eats himself, and FISH, about a pig head that vomits fish.
Their animation work has been screened both nationally and internationally.
Max grew up in Philadelphia and enjoys eating at buffets and water balloon launching.
Naoko grew up in Tokyo, Japan and enjoys pigs.
They both enjoy listening to Prince and Tama.
Presently, Max and Naoko are working on a film about monsters who eat rainbows.

Sean Olson (Battle for the Serpent Stone)
"Battle for the Serpent Stone" is the third short film Sean has directed. It's been a childhood dream of his to bring his favorite animated series to the big screen. Influenced from 80's flicks ranging from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Flash Gordon" and "Star Wars" to current fare from Jerry Bruckheimier and Gore Verbinski, Sean and his team set out with one goal for "Serpent Stone" keep everything real.
"Battle for the Serpent Stone" recently won best trailer at this year's Radcon film festival in Washington.
He has also won multiple awards for his editing work, including three EMMYS, back to back wins for "Best Editing" in the 48 Hour Film Festival and "Best Feature Film Editing" at Shriekfest 2005.
He has edited five features which have played at Sundance, San Sebastian, Florida, and Seattle Film Festivals, including "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer," The Standard," "The Passing," and "Inside," the last of which was featured at last year's
Fantastic Fest.
Currently Sean is writing his first feature "In the Blink of an Eye" which he plans on shooting next fall.