Kisses & Hugs, Mom

Documentary

Myong Yon followed her American husband to the United States to raise their first child twenty six years ago. Instead of assimilating to this new culture, she tightly holds onto her Korean identity causing a feeling of misplacement. Her English worsens, she cannot fully connect with her American family, and she emerges herself with her Korean Church to seek familiarity. Now that her children have grown and her husband has retired, Myong Yon struggles with the idea to stay or return to her first home.

Credits

DP – Jessica Amal Rice & Heidi Mueller
Producer – Chih-Hsin Lee
Editor – Cristina Cordero
Story Editor – Ian Phillips
Color – Julian Amaro
Sound Designer – Frank Huang

Cast

Myong Yon Mueller

Heidi Mueller

Heidi Mueller received her Bachelor of Arts for Film Studies at the University of California Davis. The film department faculty invited two of her documentaries to be showcased at art festivals and film events throughout her college career. After graduation, she worked for Mob Scene Productions, the producers of shows like First Look: Avatar, Scorsese on Scorsese, and Life After Film School. Heidi currently lives and works in New York City.

Specialization

Writing and Directing Documentary

Quote

“An image after an image after an image is power.”

Credits

MAINLAND: Producer
SMALL TALK: Assistant Director | BTS Camera
KISSES & HUGS, MOM: Writer and Director
LONGING: Sound Recorder

Contact Heidi

heidimariemueller@gmail.com

On mark

Short Short

A model gets her picture taken, amongst other things.

Credits

Director: Chris Montgomery
Assistant Director: Liam Billingham
Assistant Camera: Jeanette Sears

Cast

Laura Baranik
Sara Montgomery

Chris Montgomery

Chris Montgomery is a filmmaker and photographer. Originally from Rochester, NY he moved to NYC to study film theory at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Following his undergraduate studies, he worked a number of odd jobs before settling in on photography, and recently became serious about filmmaking.

Specialization

Cinematography

Contact Chris

www.chrismontgomery.com
chrismontgomeryphoto@gmail.com

Joanna

Short Short

A stranger on the street disturbs Joanna’s life routine.

Credits

Writer/Director/Cinematographer: Xia Sheng


Production Sound Mixers: Alexandru Leu, Jeanette Sears, and Sha Huang

Editor/Colorist: Niav Conty

Sound Editor: Alexandru Leu

Cast

Yina Qiao as Joanna
George Korsak as Robert

Xia Sheng

Xia Sheng is a screenwriter and film director currently studying at City College. Before coming to the United States, Xia worked as a documentary director, music video director, and post-production coordinator for TV series in China. He is now preparing his first feature film.

Specialization

Cinematography

Credits

MINISCEONGO – Cinematographer
PLUS MINUS BLACK – Cinematographer
OUTWORLD – Camera Assistant
FADED – Camera Assistant
SMALL TALK – Key Grip
i live IN LIFE – Production Sound Mixer
FUTURE PERFECT – Actor

Contact Xia

xiasheng85@gmail.com

Plus Minus Black

Documentary

Plus Minus Black is a documentary that examines differences, biases, and interracial prejudices between African-Americans, Africans, and Afro-Caribbeans through an oral survey. It is a journey that African-American Filmmaker Frank R. Hooker, Jr. sets out on to open up a discussion amongst members from each region, using New York City as a microcosm of the world, in an effort towards building a bridge towards a Pan-African society. The film will be screened in it’s short format at Cityvisions, as well as cut into a feature length format, an hour long format for TV broadcast, and be promoted as an ongoing web series.

Credits

DP – Frank Hooker
Additional Cinematography – Julian Amaro and Xia Sheng
Sound Designer/Composer – Mike Levine

Cast

Represents African American, African and Afro-Caribbean culture in one-on-one and group interviews.

Frank R. Hooker, Jr

A graduate of City College of New York’s Film Program, Frank R. Hooker, Jr. has been at the cutting edge of guerilla filmmaking for over a decade. As CEO of HarlemWood Entertainment, a multi-media company, he has amassed a large catalogue of work ranging from fictional (True American Love, Arthurputer.com, Lickity Split, Watermelon) and documentary films (Plus Minus Black, Grannies vs. War in Iraq, Out of the Mouth of Babes) to genre breaking music (Frank’s Soul Raunch). His work as a film educator has produced numerous protégé’s who have ascended in the craft, and garnered awards through the NAACP. His themes, which focus on identity, pathos, and nobility in the face of ignorance, serve as templates to relate a multi-cultural society to their commonalities.

Specialization

Writing and Directing Documentary

Quote

I am dedicated to tapping the creative powers of each individual that I influence through my knowledge and experience as an artist and educator, as well as instill a professional and masterful attitude towards success. Being an Arts Educator for nearly a decade, I have taught all age groups and learning styles how to own their perspective voice and educate the world.

Credits

Production Coordinator – “Tom in America”
Consulting Producer/ Assistant Cameraman – “Atramentous”

Contact Frank R.

Frank R. Hooker, Jr, CEO
HarlemWood Entertainment
940 Saint Nicholas Ave, Suite #4H
New York, NY 10032
frankrhookerjr@gmail.com
http://plusminusblack.wordpress.com/

Our Isaac

Documentary

Isaac, a six-year-old child of divorce, splits his time between his Jewish father and Chinese mother’s households. In doing so he is immersed in a diverse range of beliefs, languages, and cultural backgrounds. The weight of family expectations, identity, and youth are explored as Isaac maneuvers his way through this integrated world.

Credits

Produced and Directed – ChihHsin Lee
DP – Jeanette Sears
Additional Cinematography – ChihHsin Lee, Chris Montgomery
Editor – Karen Moran
Sound Recordist – Heidi Mueller
Sound Designer – Frank Huang
English Translator: Austin Chu

Cast

Isaac
Miranda
Marc
Ju-Chun
Hassan

Chih-Hsin Lee

Chih-Hsin Lee is a producer and director from Taiwan. She has worked in all facets of production for both documentaries and fiction films. Currently she works on a documentary TV program “USTC360”, which is broadcast on Dai Ai TV all over the world. A graduate of National Chengchi University in Taipei, she came to New York to earn her Masters degree at City College.

Specialization

Directing Documentary, Producing

Credits

Producer: The Longing / Small Talk
Sound: The Longing / Minisceongo
Swing: On Mark

Contact Chih-Hsin

chihhsinlee1203@gmail.com

Generations of Silence

Short Short

“Generations of Silence” follows John Bethell, a seminarian in New York city who served as an Arabic linguist in the United States Navy. He currently serves as a chaplain for the New York Fire Department, and has plans for reenlistment upon graduation. John is one of thousands of LGBT veterans and service members of the US military who have served in silence for decades. His story serves as an example of those veterans, and shows the progress toward equality of service after the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Credits

Produced and Directed by: Jeanette Sears
Cinematography: Julian Amaro
Sound: Chih-Hsin Lee
Additional assistance: Nicole Solomon, Maryellen Tighe

Cast

John Bethell

Jeanette Sears

Jeanette Sears is an upcoming cinematographer who has shot various narrative and documentary films, including three short films shot just this year. She earned her undergraduate degree in Film Studies at The Ohio State University in 2011 and is currently pursuing an MFA in the Media Arts Production program at the City College of New York, with a concentration in cinematography. Her upcoming documentary short “Generations of Silence” is currently in production.

Specialization

Cinematography

Credits

DP – “Longing”, “Small Talk”, “Our Isaac”

Contact Jeanette

www.searsphotovideo.com

Minisceongo

Documentary

35 Miles north of New York City sits a plot of unused land referred to as the Minisceongo Swamp. While developers are seeking approval from the local governments to build 54 acres of residential and commercial space, which includes a Super Walmart, the local residents and small business owners are speaking out and trying to stop a development that feels inevitable. At stake is an important natural landscape, small businesses, and a way of life that the townspeople are desperately trying to preserve. Narrated by the filmmaker, himself a resident of the town, this short film takes a look inside the process of big development in a small town, and the lives and views of those who live there.

Credits

Written and Directed – Matthew Fleischmann
DP – Xia Sheng
Additional Cinematography – Chris Montgomery, Niav Conty
Sound Recording – Alex Leu, Lars Fuchs, Chih-Hsin Lee
Sound Designer: Milos Zivcovic
Editor: Matthew Fleischmann
Additional Editing – Julian Amaro, Ian Phillips

Cast

Nana Koch
Andy Sahn
John Ramirez
Jeff Prupis
Howard Phillips
Rupal Dal

Matthew Fleischmann

Matthew Fleischmann, a storyteller from a young age with a strong visual sense, constantly immerses himself in the arts. His interest in filmmaking led him to work as an editor at a New York City production company, and the New York Film Academy (“NYFA”). At NYFA he worked his way up from editing instructor to postproduction supervisor in New York, Paris, and Abu Dhabi.

Matthew’s concentration at City College has been in editing and postproduction. In addition to working on his own short documentary, about people in a small town trying to preserve their way of life in the face of incoming commercial enterprises, Matthew has worked as an editor on two fictional narrative thesis films with his classmates. Matthew plans to continue telling stories through his writing and films, and allows his environment to shape his perceptions and influence his art.

Specialization

Writing and Directing Documentary, Editing

Credits

Editor – “Future Perfect”
Co-Editor – “Outworld”

Atramentous

Short Short

A documentary film crew explores a first-time filmmaker’s attempt to make a Blaxploitation film – without any black people.

Credits

Directed by Greg Starr
Produced by John Flynn and Greg Starr
Director of Photography – Yessica Curiel Montoya

Cast

Michael Knowles – Marshall/Atramentous
Chris Robertson – Brennan/Five Fingers
John Raymond Barker – Geoff
Krista White – the sound person
Nelson Lassiter – the Interviewer

Greg Starr

Greg Starr is an ambitious producer and director who has had a wide array of experience in all aspects of production and post production. Greg is known widely for extensive expertise. He got his start as a freshman at Tulane University as a theatre major when the department elected to shoot a movie instead of one of the spring plays. He was instantly infected with a love for production which fed on a long developing love of cinema which has grown from many years of watching everything he could find.
Upon Graduating from Tulane in 2006 with a degree in Theatre and Neuroscience, he had originally intended to go to medical school until he realized that he had a different calling and then went to Cornell to study Cinematography, Sound Design and Film Noir to apply for masters programs.
Greg eventually found himself at The City College of New York studying producing, and now expects to graduate in 2013 by producing eight different thesis films.
Greg is the founder of AwkWeird Pictures in NY, NY.

Specialization

Producing

Quote

The ones that don’t make are the ones that quit

Credits

Producer – Tom in America
Producer – Mainland
Producer, Assistant Camera – Faded
Producer – Outworld
Producer – The Uncanny
Producer – Quiet Space
Producer – Tempest
Producer – Angelo
Line Producer – Future Perfect

Contact Greg

greg@awkweirdpictures.com
480-215-8860