WRITER | DIRECTOR | PRODUCER
JASON KNADE’s debut narrative short Cyclicity screened at festivals in Amsterdam, Dublin, Mumbai, Zagreb, New York, Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, and forty other cities. It’s won both Audience and Jury Awards, and it was nominated for the Iris Prize, the most important award in the world for LGBT films. His second short The New Year is now on the festival circuit and has already been awarded five screenwriting honors. In 2011, he was named the “Best Local Filmmaker” in Chicago by the Chicago Reader, as part of its annual “Best of Chicago” issue. This is his feature debut.


EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
DAN NEARING has worked as Producer, Director, and Writer for several primetime documentaries broadcast on The Discovery Channel, Bravo, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), CBC Newsworld, and TSN – The Sports Network. His narrative feature debut CHICAGO HEIGHTS was called “brilliant” by Roger Ebert, who named the film to his “Best Art Films of 2010″ list.


PRODUCER | PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
JOHN BURKS is the Creative Director of Artist Central Exchange and CEO of JAB Productions. After working for 6 years in project management and sales, John studied and performed at Second City, Act One Studios, and The Den Theatre. In the last 3 years, he’s produced over 50 events for non-profits, arts, and other charitable organizations. He also curates art exhibitions and manages artists.

CO-PRODUCER | PRODUCTION MANAGER
For nearly 10 years BRETT HAYS has been producing both short and feature length films. In 2007, he produced the award winning short film “Sugar“. Since that time, “Sugar” has been an official selection in over 15 film festivals and won such awards as “Best Cinematography”, “Best Editing”, “Best Short Film” and “The Grand Jury Prize”. In 2009, Brett was involved with the production of 2 feature films. The first one he Co-Produced and Managed was the award winning feature length dance-musical “Leading Ladies” (Summer 2009). This film has already played in over 30 film festivals around the world and was recently picked up for both domestic as well as foreign distribution. The second film he Produced and Managed was called “Finding Virginia” (Fall 2009) and is currently playing at film festivals around the country. Brett’s most recent production is called “The Drunk” and is currently in the final stages of post-production.


CO-PRODUCER
LUKE BOYCE is a young but experienced filmmaker, having been involved with the process since he was 14 working on a Roger Corman film with Mark Hamill in L.A. Since then he has worked on numerous short and feature films including the 2007 short “Sugar” which won “Best Short Film” at the Bend Film Festival and the feature “Leading Ladies” which won the “Best of the Fest” award at Newfest in 2010. In 2009, Luke directed his second film “Prelude” as an experimental film on the then newly released Red Camera.


ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
DAN PAL teaches at DePaul University and Moraine Valley Community College. He is also a member of the pre-screening committee for the Chicago International Film Festival, the advisor to Filmmaker’s Club at Moraine Valley, and the film reviewer for WDCB radio. He’s also coordinated the Global Flicks Film series at College of DuPage. He holds an M.A. from the University of Chicago and an M.Ed from Loyola University Chicago.


DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
WONJUNG BAE’S many honors include a Student Academy Award (Gold Medal), Directors Guild of America Student Film Award for Women, and a Kodak Cinematographers Scholarship Award. She trained for five years with respected Korean documentary photographer Youngsu Kim where she learned 35mm still photography and dark room techniques. She is most interested in the issues of identity and modernity.

CASTING DIRECTOR
CORRINA CRADE has been working in the entertainment industry for about two years as an actor, producer, writer, and casting professional. Originally a teacher, she decided to move to Chicago to pursue her new career. She has already worked on a number of independent films, been in several local commercials and print ads, and most recently, worked as an extras casting director for the first original show on HULU, Battleground.

COLORIST
ROBERT WILLIAMS is an editor and colorist whose client list includes WGN, PBS, ESPN, MTV, and VH1. He’s worked on narrative projects including Raymond Did It, Leaders, and Bring Back Dasha. He also was the colorist for Jason Knade’s Cyclicity.