BIOS

Robinson Devor - Director
 
 In 2005, Robinson Devor premiered his second feature film, POLICE BEAT, in Dramatic Competition at Sundance 2005. Shot on 35mm with anamorphic lenses for under 200K, the film was called "emotionally devastating" (Rolling Stone), "a visual knockout" (Variety) and "Sundance at its best" (Los Angeles Times), as well as named one of the year's best films by the New York Times, Film Comment and Art Forum. For his efforts, Devor was nominated for a 2006 Indie Spirit Award and 2005  Gotham Award.
 
 Named one of Variety's "10 Directors To Watch" in 2000, Devor made his feature film directorial debut with THE WOMAN CHASER. Debuting at The New York Film Festival and then at Sundance, THE WOMAN CHASER received critical high marks throughout its US theatrical run ("Wicked and Brilliant", The New Yorker, "A Masterpiece", MovieMaker Magazine).
 
 A 2002 Fellow at the Sundance Institute, Devor collaborated with African-born journalist Charles Mudede (co-writer of POLICE BEAT) on the feature script, SUPERPOWER, the story of an African child soldier attempting to recapture his childhood after a civil war.
 
 Before writing and directing THE WOMAN CHASER Devor directed the half-hour documentary, ANGELYNE, about the eponymous LA billboard queen. It aired several times on PBS, and was called "a knockout" by the Village Voice.
 
 Devor and his partner Mudede are currently at work on two new projects - a documentary, IN THE FOREST THERE IS EVERY KIND OF BIRD, about a man who died after having sex with a horse, produced by Scott Macaulay (GUMMO, JULIEN DONKEY BOY); and a political thriller, THE MINOTAUR.
 
 Devor also contributes to the Stranger as a journalist in the Visual Arts section.

Charles Mudede - Writer

Originally from Zimbabwe, Charles Tonderai Mudede is the Associate Editor for The Stranger, an alternative Seattle weekly. A film critic, book critic, and music critic, Mudede is also the author of The Stranger’s popular column, "Police Beat”. An adjunct professor at Pacific Lutheran University, Mudede’s work has appeared in TheVillage Voice, The New York Times, C Theory, Radical Urban Theory, Ars Electronica, and Nest Magazine, among others. Mudede also is a founding member of the Seattle Research Institute (www.seattleresearchinstitute.org) and co-author with Diana George of "Last Seen," a book published by the Artspeak Gallery in Vancouver, B.C.

Jeffrey Brown -- Producer

Jeffrey Brown is a freelance producer and graphic designer with a degree in Film Studies from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Jeffrey has worked in film and video for 8 years producing work for many clients and organizations in the Pacific Northwest, as well as directing local music videos. As a founding member of the SOS Film Festival, Jeffrey has also been programming film since 2001. Jeffrey is currently in production on the feature film "Cthulhu", directed by Daniel Gildark and starring Tori Spelling.

Alexis Ferris -- Producer

A producer of numerous short films, Alexis recently worked as Associate Producer for the Northwest Film Forum's Start-to-Finish film, "Buffalo Bill's Defunct." She also owns and manages a successful photography business, and is currently at work on a portrait book depicting male and female archetypes.

Before moving to Seattle and beginning her producing career, Alexis was the Program Coordinator for The Committee on Jobs, a San Francisco business lobbying organization that represented thirty five of the city's largest companies. In addition to managing all business and lobbying activities, she administered annual budgets upwards of $550,000.

Rob West -- Casting Director

Rob West is the Artistic Director of Theater Schmeater in Seattle, Washington. Typically a theater director, Rob has been responsible for the Northwest Premieres of MONSTER (Neal Bell) and MAG MOR (Megan Condit), several remounts of MONEY & RUN (Wayne Rawley) as well as some of the late night and touring Twilight Zones. In other Seattle venues, Rob has directed Simmer to Boil with Dingo Productions, On the Verge with GREX, SWAMP with hands on hip productions, and several 14.48 festival plays. He has cast over 20 productions, and is very excited to be working on this project. His current project is the creation of a Northwest Playwrights Festival and the World Premiere of JOHN LENNON'S GARGOYLE (Bryan Willis).

Sean Kirby -- Director of Photography

Sean Kirby graduated in 1993 from Syracuse University's School of Visual and Performing Arts with a degree in painting. After supporting himself through painting and photography he decided to return to school to study filmmaking. He received a full scholarship to The New York Film Academy where he learned to combine his artistic understanding of light with the techniques and equipment used for motion pictures. As a member of I.A.T.S.E. Local 481, New England, Sean worked as both a gaffer and electric on many independent features, studio productions, commercials and corporate films and videos. Concurrently, he began shooting short films and spec spots. His first credit as a director of photography, "Fidelis," won an award for best short at the 1998 Hampton Film Festival. His successive projects have also received awards and honorable mentions at domestic festivals such as The Boston Film Festival, Los Angeles International Shorts, the New York Film Festival and the Santa Fe Film Festival. Sean's most recent film, "The Gits Movie," a documentary about the self-titled Seattle punk band, is currently in post-production, was recently featured in Entertainment Weekly and has been approached by Showtime for distribution. Sean currently lives in Seattle.

Etta Lilienthal -- Production Designer

Etta Lilienthal is a scene designer, design consultant and fine artist who resides in Seattle. Her most recent projects as scene designer have been for theatrical and dance performances staged across the country including Seattle Repertory Theatre, Madison Repertory Theatre, Bridges International Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre,Theater Schmeater, Annex Theatre, Youth Theatre Northwest, PrinterÕs Devil Theatre, 33 Fainting Spells, Lingo DanceTheatre and Wong Works. She most recently designed Fatal Peril with UMO Ensemble and was the Production Desiger for the feature film Cascadia. Etta studied scene design at Smith College in Massachusetts, Textile Design at the Glasgow School of Arts in Scotland and holds a Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts in Scene Design from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in California. During her studies at CalArts, she collaborated on the development of two world-premiere theatrical works, which toured to the Kitchen and St. Ann Center for the Arts in New York. She is a participant in the 2OO3 NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers, as well as the recipient of a 2OOO Artist Trust/ Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship and a 1998 Princess Grace Foundation Scholarship Award for Scene Design. She has had her work featured in Arts patron magazine, the Seattle Weekly and the Seattle Times Magazine.