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Category: alumni-spotlight
Alumni News
James Ponsoldt’s (Screenwriting) Running Point, starring Kate Hudson, was a number one show on Netflix. James is also known for Daisy Jones & the Six, Shrinking, Sorry for Your Loss, and The Spectacular Now.
Dan Mazeau (Screenwriting) wrote Damsel starring Millie Bobbie Brown, a number one movie on Netflix. He previously wrote Fast X, and Wrath of the Titans.
Will Honley (Screenwriting) wrote Subservience, starring Megan Fox, which was a number one movie on Netflix. He previously wrote Escape Room: Tournament of Champions and Blood.

Ian Stokell’s (Screenwriting, Producing) All Quiet on the Western Front broke viewing records on Netflix. Ian won the BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay for this script, and was nominated for the Oscar as well.
Stephanie Allain (Writing for Television) produced The Woman in the Yard, Billy Preston: The Way God Planned It, Exhibiting Forgiveness, The Exorcist: Believer, The Oscars, and Burning Sands on Netflix.

Nicole Riegel (Screenwriting) wrote and directed Dandelion, starring KiKi Layne and Thomas Doherty. She previously wrote and directed Holler, which was honored as a Top 10 Independent Film by the National Board of Review.
Ritabhari Chakraborty (Acting for the Camera) starred in Papa Buka—the official submission for the Oscars from Papua New Guinea in the Best International Feature Film category. Papa Buka is the first co-production between Papua New Guinea and India. Rita recently starred in Batsorik and Grihostho, and has amassed 3.8 million followers on Instagram.
Grace Santos (Producing) produced Almost Popular for Patriot Pictures, and is set to executive produce two of the five projects selected for NATPE Global’s prestigious Pitch Showcase.

Jessica Rowlands’ (Screenwriting, Writing for Television) short film Rise isthe first Zimbabwean film to qualify for the Oscars. Jessica was also the first person in the history of the Professional Programs to win both the Best Screenplay and Best Drama Pilot, in consecutive years, in the annual Professional Programs Competition.
Kayci Laycob (Producing, Acting for there Camera) directed her semi-autobiographical feature film Everything to Me which was released in theaters, and is now streaming.
Charmaine Colina’s (Writing for Television) Gunslinger Bride, a script she developed in her Professional Programs writing workshop, won the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting.
Sylvia Jones (Writing for Television) wrote Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story, starring Tiffany Black, Sir Brodie and Lauren Buglioli. She previously wrote and produced for Power Book IV: Force, and The Endgame, was Executive Story Editor on Ava Duvernay’s Cherish the Day and wrote for Showtime’s The Chi and Pearson on USA.
Rayne Roberts (Producing) became Senior VP Searchlight Pictures. Prior to Searchlight, she was a producer and executive for Lucasfilm where she was instrumental in the development and production of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, Solo, and the D+ series The Acolyte.
Rafaella Biscayn (Acting for the Camera, Producing) produced and acted in The Strangers: Chapter 1. She previously shot a supporting role in the thriller film Los Angeles Overnight featuring Lin Shaye and Peter Bogdanovich by Australian Director Michael Chrisoulakis, has been in over 18+ commercials including a National Commercial Campaign for NESPRESSO with George Clooney, Danny Devito & Helena Mattson.

Maor Ohzana (Screenwriting) was head writer for the series The Kouncil on Peacock.

Alex Dong’s (Producing) and Thomas Lim’s (Producing) company Sun Entertainment financed the production company that produced Palm Springs. Palm Springs broke the record for biggest sale in Sundance history, broke the streaming record on Hulu for biggest opening weekend, and was nominated for numerous major awards. Thomas previously wrote and directed feature film Sea of Mirrors, shot entirely in Macau (China) on the iPhone.

Olivia Liang (Acting for the Camera) was the lead role in the CW’s Kung Fu. Previously she performed as a guest star on Blackpills’ Pillow Talk, starring Patrick J. Adams, a co-star on Netflix’s One Day At A Time, and a co-star on an episode of ABC’s Grey Anatomy, directed by Ellen Pompeo. In addition, Olivia was selected from thousands of applicants to perform in the ABC Discovers Showcase, and was seen in the recent Marine Biologist commercial for ABC Mouse, and the How To Be A Disney Hero Misfit/OhMyDisney commercial as Mulan.
Steven Canals (Screenwriting) was co-creator and co-executive producer of the FX dance musical series Pose, co-created, directed and executive produced by Ryan Murphy. The series features the largest transgender series regular cast, as well as the largest LGBTQ cast ever for a scripted series. Thiscritically-acclaimed series earned a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series, a Peabody Award – Entertainment, and earned Billy Porter (a UCLA MFA alum) a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He also directed for Doctor Odyssey, and The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Liberty Hobbs (Acting for the Camera) appeared in Cooper’s Bar, was a series regular on The Syndicate on the BBC, and, as announced on Deadline, set up Lil’ Birdy Productions and is adapting the thriller novel The Perfect Parents. She previously acted on Grey’s Anatomy.
Jean Su (Producing) and A.W. “Tony” Scott‘s (Screenwriting, Writing for Television) Broadvision Entertainment, a production and distribution company, theatrically released its first feature film, Grey Lady. Grey Lady was written and directed by John Shea (Southie), and stars Eric Dane (The Last Ship, Grey’s Anatomy), Natalie Zea (The Detour, Justified) and Oscar-nominated Amy Madigan (Twice in a Lifetime, Places in the Heart, Field of Dreams, Gone Baby Gone). Broadvision produced Grey Lady in association with Beacon Pictures, and Jean Su served as Executive Producer. They are also now in post-production on feature drama Higher Love, starring Dennis Haysbert (24), Marilu Henner (LA Story), Joe Pantoliano (Bad Boys) and Telma Hopkins (The Matrix Resurrections).
Joshua Koopman (Producing, Acting for the Camera) and Sammie Astenah (Producing) executive produced the feature documentary Stolen Kingdom, which chronicles the secretive world of urban explorers who chart the Disney theme parks and, in particular, the mystifying theft of a giant animatronic (Buzzy) from an abandoned EPCOT attraction (Cranium Command).
Bonnie Gross’s Lady Parts won the Jury Award at Austin Film Fest for Best Comedy Feature, the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at Florida Film Fest, and killed it in numerous other festivals.

Rasheeda Garner (Producing, Writing for Television) wrote the holiday film Baking Christmas for OWN and Fatal Affair for Netflix.
Saeed Crumpler (Writing for Television) signed with Sony TV for a first look deal. He previously wrote for Blaze and the Monster Machines, Hip Hop Family Christmas and Hip Hop Family Christmas Wedding, and Flatbush Misdemeanors for Showtime.
Chanté Bowser (Acting for the Camera) took on multigenerational roles in A Christmas Prayer, playing a 60 year old character and her younger self. She recently shot an episode for Paradise and for Lessons in Chemistry, wrote and starred in an upcoming short, appeared in current SAG national print ads, starred in Christmas Love Letter on Lifetime, and appeared in Best of Enemies opposite Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell, John Wynn’s Mirror Mirror, Adventures of Dally & Spanky, Chance, Criminal Minds, Lee Daniel’s Star, Lethal Weapon, and in the Lifetime movie Faith Under Fire with Toni Braxton.
Bo Yeon Kim (Screenwriting) wrote for Star Trek: Discovery, KPop Demon Hunters, Star Trek: Section 31, Sweet Tooth and Reign.
Jamison McDermott (Acing for the Camera, Screenwriting) signed with 3 Arts Entertainment for both acting and literary and appeared in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menedez Story, America Warrior, Power Book IV: Force on Starz and Never Have I Ever on Netflix.
As announced on Deadline, Bryerly Long (Acting for the Camera, Producing, Directing) will direct her own script, Gomusin. Yôsuke Kubozuka will star in this Japan-UK-South Korea-set film shooting next year. It will be the first project from Average Plus Productions, a new label set up by former Fremantle drama exec Nastasja Borgeot. Japan’s Generation 11 is on board as a co-production partner. Bryerly was recently signed by Arrested Industries Talent as both actor and director. Bryerly is an American who previously lived in Japan for a decade.
Marissa Tam (Writing for Television) wrote for CSI: Vegas, LA’s Finest, The Dead Girls Detective Agency, and The Blacklist.
Rocco Pucillo (Screenwriting) wrote and produced the animated feature Inspector Sun and The Curse of the Black Widow, starring comedian Ronny Chieng. The script was started in his Professional programs workshop. Since its worldwide theatrical release, it has been a Best Animated Feature nominee for Spain’s Goya Award, and was an official selection of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Rocco previously sold original features to Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures Animation, and wrote for Voltron: Legendary Defender and Middlemost Post.
Micah Cyrus (Screenwriting) wrote for All American on the CW and The Dead Girls Detective Agency. He was previously named one of Austin Film Fest’s Screenwriters to Watch.
Selina Ringel (Producing) wrote, produced and acted in You, Me & Her, and Single Mother by Choice on HBO MAx.
Dave Johnson (Screenwriting) signed an overall deal at Nickelodeon where he created Middlemost Post.
Tyrrell Shaffner’s feature Katie’s Mom became available on various streaming platforms, and Tyrrell was interviewed by Playgirl to discuss how Katie’s Mom is at the forefront of the new “MILF” genre. She previously directed/wrote/produced the short Bully in NYC for Eli Roth’s Crypt TV, and produced short films for award-winning female directors Rebecca Feldman and Bridget Palard.
Tyron Carter (Writing for Television) wrote for Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow.
Danesh Razvi (Acting for the Camera) appeared in the BBC One production of A Suitable Boy, and in Modern Love: Mumbai, an Amazon Original Series, Blind and Neeyat.
Rita Rucker (Acting for the Camera) appeared in Endangered, Snowfall on FX, Them, Twenties, Single Drunk Female, Missing, and Angie: Lost Girls.
Sarah Link (Screenwriting, Writing for Television) wrote for In The Dark (CW), and Queer As Folk (Peacock).
Lauren Packer (Writing for Television) co-wrote an episode of Marisa Romanov for Amazon Prime.

Sally Jo Effenson (Producing) was a producer on Mudbound.
Daniel Hogg (Screenwriting) produced Esluna: The Crown of Babylon, Esluna: The First Monolith, and was executive producer on the feature film The Devout, which was nominated for the John Dunning Discovery Award at the Canadian Screen Awards (the Canadian Oscars). The Devout stars Charlie Carrick (Reign), Ali Liebert (Wonder, Ten Days in the Valley), and Gabrielle Rose (The Sweet Hereafter).
Kranti Kanadé’s (Producing) groundbreaking film CRD opened in the US and India. Critics around the world are calling CRD “bold, brilliant & subversive, charming and fearless, and something that no Indian film has done before.” “This astonishing film heralds the arrival of a bold new voice in world cinema where all limits are breached and boundaries crossed. Be prepared for a breathtaking journey, the likes of which you’ve never been on before.”
Rishi Chitkara’s (Screenwriting) wrote for Ghosts on CBS. His script codename: Santa was optioned by USA Network/Universal Cable Productions for development as an original TV holiday special.
Jacob Nasser (Producing) was Executive Producer of 3 feature length films. Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story starring Trace Adkins Judd Nelson & Kim Coates – US distribution by Cinedigm released in 20 cities theatrically, sold 75,000 in first 3 weeks. Running Away – starring Paula Tricky, Holly Deveaux, and William McNamara. My Daddy Is In Heaven – starring Jenn Gotzen, Corbin Bersen, T.C. Stalling.
Maribel Apuya (Screenwriting) produced, directed and narrated The Sakada Series (34:44), three documentary shorts that capture the personal stories, struggles and successes of the Sakadas and of the second-generation Filipino Americans in Hawaii.
Liz Buda (Screenwriting) won first prize for excellence in dramatic writing for her script Zero Hour in the 62nd annual Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards.
Joshua Koopman (Acting for the Camera) produced and acted in the feature film How to Rob, and recently appeared in commercials for: Boston Bruins, IBM, Dunkin Donuts, Maine Tourism Bureau, SAI Global, TJ MAXX, Total Wireless and NH Lottery.

Tiwana FLoyd (Acting for the Camera)appeared in numerous shows and commercials, including Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on YouTube Red, Disney’s Raven’s Home, Credit Karma, Ross Dress For Less, Sprint, a National Walmart commercial directed by Antoine Fuqua and in SHADE: A Colorful Musical Comedy at Second City.

Lakpathy Wijesekara directed the feature film Star Rider and the web series Rydeshare Chronicles.

Liz Kelly (Screenwriting) is currently Manager of Creative Affairs for 21st Century Fox’s Global Inclusion department, where she manages the Fox Writers Lab and Fox Directors Lab, Fox’s pipeline programs for emerging, diverse television writers and directors. In this role she also serves as a scout for diverse talent at numerous film and TV festivals across the country, including the New York Television Festival, where she judged the Independent Pilot Competition as a member of the JHRTS Next Generation Committee, and the ATX Television Festival, where she will be judging the TV Pitch Competition. Kelly has served as an industry mentor at the NALIP Media Summit and at LA Skins Fest’s Native American Writers Pitch Fest. She was invited to be part of Creative Artists Agency’s “Amplify: Next Gen” group of up-and-coming entertainment artists, agents, and executives. Kelly is a member of the Junior Hollywood Radio & Television Society (JHRTS), and was chosen to be part of JHRTS’ exclusive Mentorship Program.
Sara Price (Screenwriting) is now Kurt Sutter’s assistant. They’ve been developing projects and a new spinoff of Sons of Anarchy, Mayans MC.
Ioanna Meli (Acting for the Camera) starred in a viral youtube video Ascendance with Dwayne The Rock Johnson, an Auschwitz documentary produced by Steven Spielberg, narrated by Meryl Streep and directed by James Moll, and commercials for Babbel and Visa-Commerce. She was a lead in the drama pilot Dirty Laundry, and the short films Isabel (with Jamie Donnelly) and Life in Color.
Caitlin Fryers (Screenwriting) wrote for the show Wynona Earp on SyFy.
Jaimie Uyreshiro (Writing for Television) wrote an episode of MTV’s Mary + Jane .
Barbara Curry’s (Screenwriting) thriller script The Boy Next Door was produced by Jason Blum/Blumhouse and starred Jennifer Lopez . Her screenplay Anything for Love premiered on the Hallmark Channel.
Lisa Ebersole (Screenwriting) wrote, directed and produced her hilarious new web series 37 Problems.
Megan Rikos (Screenwriting) premiered her feature film Crushed at the Montreal World Film Festival. The script was written in John Sweet’s screenwriting workshop.
Jaia Thomas (Producing) launched a management company for influencers called The Presley Group and produced 9 Rides, a feature film made entirely on the iPhone which premiered at South by Southwest.

Nicole Favale (Producing) is an Associate Producer on the new comedy special Louie Anderson: Big Underwear.
Kristin Catalano (Screenwriting) wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary Clarence. After being in 15 film festivals, it was picked up by Indican Pictures and is now streaming.
Nanou Matteson ( Screenwriting) co-founded Sparklight Films, a San Francisco Bay Area entertainment production company that champions and produces award-winning female-driven projects, including East Side Sushi, winner of 13 Audience/Best Narrative/Best Screenplay/Jury Awards and distributed by Samuel Goldwyn and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; Carrie Pilby, starring Bel Powley, Gabriel Byrne and Nathan Lane, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed by The Orchard; and Remember Me, starring Academy Award® winner Rita Moreno.
Raeanne Giles (Acting for the Camera, Screenwriting) wrote and produced a new web series Playdates Anonymous. It was nominated for Best Comedy for Vancouver Web Fest and also chosen as an official selection of Rome Web Awards. Eliana Rosen (Acting for the Camera) is also a main actor in the series.
Jean de Meuron (Producing) is credited as Executive Producer on the Oscar nominated La Femme et le TGV.
Kovid Gupta (Producing) was Assistant Director on Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – the 4th highest grossing film in India of all time. He’s also the Script Head on a prime time soap opera called Bahu Hamari Rajni_Kant. and recently authored a book (published by Harper Collins) called Kingdom of The Soap Queen: The Story of Balaji Telefilms, a non fiction book on one of India’s leading movie and TV studios.
Adam Saunders (Producing) produced When We First Met, starring Adam Devine, Alexandra Daddario and Shelley Hennig, About Alex with Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, starring Aubrey Plaza, Jason Ritter and Maggie Grace, Family Weekend starring Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Modine and Olesya Rulin, and Shimmer Lake starring Rainn Wilson and Ron Livingston.
Marcelo Mitnik (Screenwriting) is credited as Executive Producer and Story on the Oscar nominated Chau, Beyond the Lines.
Michael Buhlman’s second indie feature film Captain Tsunami finished post during this past year and is honored in being the closing night film for Dances With Films LA 2025. Directed by Aaron Sherry (Video Game Reunion) Captain Tsunami is written by and stars PJ Marino (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), also starring Madeleine McGraw (The Black Phone 1 & 2) and features Jeremy Sisto (Clueless, Six Feet Under, The FBI) and Archie Kao (O.G. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation). Michael’s sci-fi/fantasy/romance film he co-wrote, Fate, is finishing post production and is currently submitting to film festivals. Produced, co-written, and directed by Jonathan Baker (Inconceivable) its star-studded cast includes Harvey Keitel, Brandon Routh, Janet Montgomery, Cheech Marin, Mena Suvari, Andrew McCarthy & Faye Dunaway. Michael and his producing partner Karla Buhlman have formed WHB Entertainment LLC which focuses on producing low budget feature films and documentaries.
Jack Gorman (Screenwriting, Writing for Television) and Shannon Walsh (Screenwriting, Writing for Television) wrote and directed feature comedy Mama Duck starring Shannon Walsh, Austin Woods and Catharine Daddario, about an aspiring animator, Caeli, whose new start in LA gets complicated when her ex Sabrina reappears and her brother Jake faces cancer, forcing Caeli to balance personal struggles with her dreams.
Brea Angelo’s Definitely Not a Monster was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding (Live Action) Short Form category.
Screenwriter Connor Martin is making his directorial debut with his comedic thriller The Dregs. Shooting in Italy, The Dregs centers on a friends’ trip to Tuscany that gets derailed by old wounds and a cursed bottle of Vin Santo. Connor also made the Black List with his script Golden Boy.
Mike MacMillan (Producing) produced Don’t Talk to Irene starring Geena Davis.
Christian Kaps wrote a German crime drama feature that shot in Hamburg. The Protector: In the Crosshairs was produced by Björn Vosgerau, directed by Ziska Riemann, and starred Tobias Oertel, Paula Essam, Jan Krauter, and Wanda Perlewitz.
Kovid Gupta produced An Unquiet Mind—a feature documentary on the Unseen Side of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)! Directed by Rachel Swarup Immaraj.
Ahuatl Amaro wrote and directed Physical Therapy starring Jason Genao (Netflix’s On My Block), which won the community filmmaker award at the LA Shorts Fest and is now available on AppleTV, Amazon Video, Google Play and Roku. He also wrote and directed Mean Goals, a sports comedy about a team of mean-spirited LGBTQ soccer players, which premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF). Mean Goals was also produced by alum Barbara Lettieri. Ahuatl was recently awarded a grant to produce his next short Sucio, about a Latinx badboy and MMA world champion that contracts HIV.
Luis Emilio Guzmán wrote Hangar Rojo, a joint production between Chile, Argentina, and Italy.
Mariam Meliksetyan’s Say My Name had its North American Premiere at Newport Beach Film Festival, it’s LA premiere at ARPA International Film Fest (nominated for Best Documentary Film alongside Oscar-winning The Last Repair Shop), and won the Best Experimental Film Award in Sweden at Boden International Film Festival.
Ashok Reddy won Best First Time Screenwriter (Feature) at Los Angeles Film Awards for his script Dreme.
Vanessa Rose’s dance film about The Weight of motherhood won the Best Experimental Film award at Manchester Film Festival, and played in festivals in Venice, Lisbon and Berlin.
Liz Snyder (Writing for Television) was a finalist for the Sundance Episodic Story Lab, a participant in Women in Film + The Black List Episodic Lab, a Quarterfinalist, Cinestory TV/Digital Fellowship, and her two Scripts, Derailed and The Troubles were selected for the ATX Festival/Black List TV staffing consideration partnership.
Marine Flores-Ruimi (Screenwriting) and Sarah Farkas (Writing for Television) have been nominated in the Berlin TV Series Festival’s “Best Series” category for their 6 episode hour crime series Off Season. The series has also been selected in French Competition at the International TV series festival Series Mania. The show will air in France this September.
Mark Keavney (Screenwriting) sold his script Echo Base, which he wrote in Wendall Thomas’ class in the program. It’s now in preproduction with Cartel Pictures.
Rita Rucker (Acting for the Camera ) appeared in Angie: Lost Girls.
Mariam Meliksetyan (Acting for the Camera) appeared in and narrated Lazy People which was officially selected for the SR Socially Relevant Film Festival in New York City. The short film was also a part of the official selection for the 24th Annual ARPA International Film Festival. In addition to narrating the film in English, she also plays an Armenian-speaking role. She also co-starred in the comedy feature film 10E which had a theatrical release and is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Sam Jay Gold’s (Writing for Television) one-hour adventure/drama TV pilot, Converso, became the #1 rated pilot on The Black List. His new Podcast Musical about the End of the World, Newts!, has been recommended by Vulture, The Guardian, NPR, the CBC, and the LA Review of Books — and called “the most interesting musical podcast since the invention of musical podcasts” by Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Newts! is arguably the hottest amphibious dystopian podcast musical of the summer.
Heidi Hornbacher’s (Screenwriting) short film Arrow won best short doc at the Malibu film festival.
David Suwarto (Producing) is currently producing TV soaps for SCTV, an Indonesian TV station and a few series for Vidio, a streamer in Indonesia, including: Garis Cinta (Line of Love), Roda Roda Gila (Crazy Wheels), Love Story the Series, Cinta Setelah Cinta, Buku Harian Seorang Istri (Diary of a Wife), Kupilih Cinta (The Choice), DJS The Movie, Code Helix, a webtoon adaptation webseries and Dilema, a drama webseries.
Jonathan Dennill (Producing) was promoted to Senior Producer, Social & Digital for entertainment agency And Company.
Jennifer Young (Acting for the Camera) shot commercials for Cox Communications and McDonald’s.
Rodrigo Carvalhedo (Writing for Television) wrote for Moonbug on CoComelon Story Time. He’s currently producing and directing his first short film Wishful Thinking.
Khalid Abdulqaadir (Screenwriting) was accepted into the 2022-2023 Writers Guild Foundation Veterans Writing Project.
Destiny Macon (Screenwriting) was a finalist for the HBO’s American Black Film Festival’s Annual Short Film Award for her film Talk Black. The film, which she wrote and directed, has also been accepted at The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival and the Micheaux Film Festival.
Sy Huq (Producing) produced The Journey with studios Toei Animation (Dragon Ball Z, One Piece) and Manga Productions for Sony Pictures on Crunchyroll. It’s the first animation feature collaboration between Japanese and Saudi animation studios in history. It’s been dubbed in over six languages, with a stellar cast including Jackie Chan, Chris Judge (Kratos, God of War), Chris Sabat (Vegeta, Dragon Ball Z), Johnny Yong Bosch (Kaneda, Akira), Bryce Papenbrook (Eren, Attack on Titan), and many more. He also produced Oh, Mighty Ocean, starring Jack Griffo (The Thundermans), Peyton List (Cobra Kai), and Jacob Bertrand (Cobra Kai). It’s been picked up by Omeleto, Shorts.TV, and Gonella for distribution.
Chas Jackson (Writing for Television) was staffed on season 5 of Grownish.
Sarah Chrisina Polhaus (Screenwriting) and Kristin Tegtmeier Higgins (Screenwriting) teamed up with for their short film The Boy’s Gone, with Kristin as EP/Producer and Sarah as Writer/Director. It was an official selection and screened at the Austin Film Festival 2021, and also won the Fade in Awards grand prize for best short film and the Los Angeles International Film Festival for best short.
Tim O’Leary’s (Writing for Television) Demonhuntr aired on hereTV, and received a green light for another limited series.
Patricia Mizen (Acting for the Camera) appeared on For All Mankind, Promised Land, 9-11 Lone Star, and BoyTalk.
Madeleine Holly-Rosing (Screenwriting) produced Boston Metaphysical Society: The Ghost Ship, her first audio drama, based on her successful graphic novel series.
Lakpathy Wijesekara directed the film Free By Noon starring John Eisen, Raechel Wong, Justine Herron and Melissa Howell.
Tsismari Kshutashvili (Acting for the Camera) created the International film production company Kiseki Pictures, based in Tbilisi, Georgia. The company has already produced 1 feature and 3 short films – all directed by emerging female directors.
Ahuatl Amaro (Writing for Television) is directing Warehouse, a workplace comedy about four LGBTQ friends.
Helene Gombert (Writing for Television) had her script Flight 912, which she wrote during the program, optioned by a French production company.
Raeann Giles (Acting for the Camera) wrote, directed and starred in the feature Angel. It’s been acquired by Freestyle Digital Media for release on Amazon, iTunes, ATNT U-Verse, DirectTV, iNDEMAND (Spectrum,Comcast), Vudu, Google Play, You Tube Movies, Xbox, Vubiquity (Verizon Fios) and Hoopla Libraries.
Alia Amzeid (Screenwriting, Writing for Television) and friend collaborated on a short storyreel called Toro and were awarded the Story Xperiential Best Storyreel from Pixar. Alia’s short script You Are (Not) Alone was ranked as a quarterfinalist in the Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition and is currently being developed into a short film.
Jaime Estepa (Writing for Television) was awarded a Manuel G. Flores Prize by Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc (PAWA), a scholarship to attend the 2022 VONA/Voices Workshop for writers of color as a playwriting fellow.
Michael Sturgis (Screenwriting) wrote, produced and starred in the short film Every Other Week – it premiered on Short of the Week, and is a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Vitor Cardoso’s (Screenwriting) short film Edward was selected for more than 10 festivals, winning Short Film Factory in San Francisco and getting an Honorable Mention and Nomination as Best Script at Prague International Indie Film Festival (Czech Republic).
Marine George (Acting for the Camera) starred in the feature film Fried Barry, which was selected for the Cinequest Film Festival.
Franck Gombert (Writing for Television)sold a 10X30mn fictional podcast (post-apocalyptic horror show) to Audible originals France.
Mikhael Bassili (Screenwriting, Producing) wrote, developed, financed, produced, and inked a worldwide distribution deal for his first feature film, Baby Money.
Hieu Gray (Producing) recently completed the short food documentary Quan 13 about the Vietnamese Diaspora in Paris told through the lens of food.
Anna Keizer (Writing for Television) wrote and executive produced She Had It Coming, Gedde Watanabe’s directorial debut. Skylar Shock (Acting for the Camera, Producing) executive produced as well and appears in the film with Kurt Kanazawa (Acting for the Camera) and Renata Ribeiro (Acting for the Camera).
Rogan Christopher‘s (Screenwriting) CODA was released on Amazon.
Noushin Jahanian’s (Screenwriting) script The Start Up sold to eOne for low six figures
Kelly Sorrenti (Acting for the Camera) appeared in the series Stories From Our Future, on Netflix and YouTube, and Matthew Weiner’s The Romanoffs for Amazon.
Sarah LeJeune (Acting for the Camera) stars in the feature film Fat Chance, now streaming on Amazon.
Bessy Adut (Screenwriting) and Xenia Puiggros (Screenwriting) won the Best Screenplay award and Best Second Film Overall award at the Feel the Reel International Film Festival with their film Escape Room. Brandon Miree(Producing, Writing for Television) was a producer on the project.
Saint Thompson (Acting for the Camera) booked a supporting role in the feature film Hollywood.
Rachel Hroncich (Writing for Television) is in development at Thunder Road (John Wick, Sicario) with Hooked, a pilot she wrote during the program.
Patricia Mizen (Acting for the Camera) was a supporting role in Killer In-Law on Lifetime, booked a series regular in the Judgement Call web series, performed in The Journey of the Little Prince at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and Irrational Emergency at Second City Hollywood. Her film Fly Right, which she wrote, directed and acted in won Best Family Film at the Olympus Film Festival.
Jason Sleisenger (Acting for the Camera) did a Regal Cinemas Moviebill AR (Augmented Reality) promo/commercial which airs at Regal Cinemas Nationwide before every feature film.
Marisa Luz (Screenwriting) shot an 8 episode web series called Sycamore Valley, starring Rachel Hroncich (Writing for Television).
Julie Anne Wight (Writing for Television) wrote for 5th Ward for the Urban Movie Channel.
Ivon Millan (Acting for the Camera) secured a spot in the feature film Do Not Reply starring Jackson Rathbone from Twilight.
Lorelei Ignas (Writing for Television) is now a writer at NBC’s Writers on the Verge.
Sharon Rapose (Screenwriting, Writing for Television) produced and edited Konnichiwa Brick Lane.
Samantha Bowling (Acting for the Camera) co-starred in the indie feature film Back to Awesome, which was released on Amazon and iTunes.
Bryan Kett (Writing for Television) won the Slamdance award for best original teleplay with a pilot he wrote in our program. Slamdance received a record-breaking 3,600 submissions for the Writing Competition.
Sarah Polhaus (Screenwriting) won the Austin Film Festival in the short category for her script FutureHealth.
Davina Willett (Writing for Television) won Best TV Pilot teleplay contest at LA Femme International Film Festival.
Courtney Kocak (Screenwriting) and her writing partner wrote two episodes on the first season of Amazon’s new animated comedy series Danger & Eggs, voiced by SNL‘s Aidy Bryant, as well as a Get Out the Latino Vote commercial for the DNC. She, with her best friend, Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Stephanie Beatriz, also launched a sex and dating talk show called Reality Bytes in partnership with JASH.
Lauren Caltagirone (Screenwriting) wrote for Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.
Darren Fitch (Producing) secured a position as Producer at Woven Digital.
Paul R. Puri (Writing for Television) is a medical consultant on Chicago Med.
Jason Ancona (Screenwriting) wrote, directed, and produced a feature film called Dr. Cheapskate, which was a Toronto Film and Video Awards winner in the No Budget Category. Dr. Cheapskate was also accepted into a number of other festivals, including the Laugh or Die Comedy Festival, Independent Filmmakers Showcase in Los Angeles, Illinois Film Festival, SuperGeek Film Festival in Miami, and the Phoenix Comicon Film Festival.
Joe Saroufim (Screenwriting) is now a Creative Executive at CAA Marketing.
Jeremy Hsu (Writing for Television) was selected as a NBC Writers On The Verge fellow. His spec episode of Fresh Off The Boat, which he wrote in his Professional Programs workshop, was an Austin Film Festival finalist.
Sandra Kate Burck (Acting for the Camera) was on Rush Hour on CBS and ABC’s The Middle.
Asit Viyas (Producing) is producing the feature film Thanks You, Cancer.
Former Professional Programs Director Eyal Alony’s script Skin Deep was chosen for Film Independent’s Directing Lab.
Shafik Bahou (Acting for the Camera) booked a co-star role on CBS’s Madame Secretary.
Jeremy Hsu (Writing for Television) was selected as one of the CAPE fellows.
Libby de Leon (Producing) produced Captain America Civil War Reenactment for Funny or Die.
Corey Deshon (Producing) co-produced and wrote the feature film Shine.
Brian Craft and Tim Meloney, (Screenwriting) have recently launched their production company Mojo Road Entertainment. Their first feature, the sci-fi thriller I-Volution is in development with David L. Snyder (Academy Award Nominee for Production Design on Blade Runner) attached as production designer.
John Ward (Screenwriting) was one of the winners of the Telefilm Canada New Voices Award.
Chris Kyle (Screenwriting) co-wrote the screenplay Jody, which has been produced by the Black List Table Reads podcast.
Marta Suarez (Screenwriting) adapted Lisa Kudrow’s Web Therapy for FreemantleMedia and Telefonica for Spanish television’s premium channel #0.
Rajeev Chhibber (Acting for the Camera) appeared on Fresh Off the Boat on ABC.
Brian King and E.L. Katz (Screenwriting) wrote and directed the feature Cheap Thrills.
Patrick Hasson (Screenwriting) directed the film Blood Shed.
Natasha Pincus (Screenwriting) was nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards (Video of the Year and Best Editing).
Uday Chopra (Producing), CEO of YRF Entertainment, has joined with Pierre-Ange Le Pogam and his company Stone Angels to produce and finance Grace of Monaco the Olivier Dahan-directed film starring Nicole Kidman in the title role.
Professional
Programs
Taught by top industry experts and leaders working in the entertainment industry. Learn more about the Professional Programs at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
