Alumni Site

Alumni: Whether you want to network with well-established alumni, revive old friendships, or get firsthand information about graduate programs, the Alumni Directory is for you! The list is growing rapidly, so if you are a CU Film Program alumna/alumnus and would like your name and info to be included here, please email Web Master, Randy Hendrickson, at rlh259@cornell.edu.
Sorted alphabetically by last name: A - E \| F - J \| K - O \| P - T \| U - Z A - E Greg Bowman, greg@offlinenetworks.com I'm currently finishing up a master of fine arts degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) in Electronic Arts, focusing on multimedia design and installation. I'm working for the Office of Professional and Distance Education here, which delivers RPI courses to students at remote locations. When I'm not doing all that, I run the non-profit arts organization and cable telelvision program "OffLine", which exhibits art video and film works by producers from around the world (www.offlinenetworks.com). Jennifer Bozick McCoy ('90), mccoy@earthlink.net Updated Jan. 2006 Since Cornell I have moved from experimental film to experimental media art. Working with collaborator Kevin McCoy, we make sculpture and installation using video and software. We won the NYFA Computer Arts grant in '99 and had a residency at The World Trade Center. More recently, we have been shown at The Hannover Kunstverien, Pallazzo delle Papesse (Siena), the Site Santa Fe Biennial, and The Milwaukee Museum of Art. We are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Modern Museum of Art in New York as well as collections in Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Paris. Upcoming projects will be seen at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2006 and Supercinema at the Guggenheim Museum of Art in 2007. I teach full time in the art department at Brooklyn College. Contact info: www.mccoyspace.com Sarra Brill* ('01), skb16@cornell.edu Currently working on independent film and multi-media projects in NYC. Still promoting Super 8 film as a viable medium. Wei Ling Chang ('96), Lingolinglibra@hotmail.com Updated Jan. 2007 After graduating from Cornell, I worked in advertising in London then returned to New York and spent two years at Miramax Films in the acquisitions department. In 2000, I moved to Paris to work in film development at Metropolitan Films. Back in NYC again, I've been producing, directing and writing television for MTV, ABC, VH1, A&E, etc. for the past 3-4 years. Last year I directed my first post-Cornell short. Check out my film noir short "The Good Husband" on www.the-good-husband.com Currently producing "The First 48" for A&E and will be directing a horror short in Jan 2007. Suzy Cho a.k.a. QPX* ('01), q_phisto@yahoo.com Updated Jan. 2006 I live in Brooklyn, NY. I've been freelancing as a designer since Cornell, most notably doing on-air graphics at CNBC and a stint editing videos for the International Center of Photography. Right now I am finishing up my MFA in Graphic Design (may 2006!) at the School of Visual Arts, and will probably wind up in broadcast design. I am also involved in throwing art parties as part of Aviate with Sarra Brill, where we experiment with showing Super 8 and 16mm film along with new technologies. Aviate is on hiatus, but in its stead, people are welcome to Sarra's new venture Open Video Projects which takes place in Rome, Italy. Ryan Cook* ('99), ryan.cook@yale.edu Updated Dec. 2007 I am currently working on my PhD in film studies and modern Japanese literature at Yale, dividing my time for now between Connecticut, Japan, and any place warm (preferably tropical - think sea and umbrella drinks). I've also parlayed my experience as a former Cornell Cinema projectionist into a behind-the-scenes role at Yale's student-run Cinema at the Whitney. Before this, I completed an MA in film and media studies at Georgetown's Communication, Culture and Technology graduate program. Aside from graduate school, I've been traveling and getting my fingers into little projects, most recently brushing up on my Avid skills and assisting in New York on Alex Gibney's forthcoming (2007) documentaries on Jack Abramoff and Hunter S. Thompson. Please feel free to contact me. Kenneth Eisenstein* ('98) Updated September, 2007 Ken Eisenstein is currently a graduate student in the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies at The University of Chicago; he received his M.F.A. in filmmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000. He now lives in Cambridge, MA where he teaches part time at Emerson College (courses in silent cinema, cinephilia, and montage) and is a teaching assistant at Harvard. For the past year and a half he has been cataloging a recently accessioned special collection of Hollis Frampton material at Anthology Film Archives; this will serve as primary research material for his dissertation. Adam Englander ('01), Englander@2004.law.ucla.edu Adam Englander is currently a first year law student at UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles. Which means, he sits around and prays that the economy will improve so he can get a job next year, but thankful that he doesn't need to actually go out and work at a real job for now. He has stayed away from re-watching his student film and realizes that it works outside of a Cornell audience, or at least people have pretended that it does. If anyone has any questions about Los Angeles, law school, or various jobs within the entertainment industry, they should feel free to contact him. <back to top> F - J Cornelia Faifar ('99), cif28@yahoo.com I've been writing about the cinematography of music videos and TV commercials for ICG Mag (see CameraGuild.com) for the past year. I'm starting to write more fiction though and less cinematography articles. Anyone feel free to get in touch with me. Thanks. Scott Ferguson ('82), skfergus@earthlink.net Updated Jan. 2006 Since starting professionally in the film business in 1989 I have had the good fortune to work with several Academy Award winning directors as well as a number of leading independent filmmakers. Highlights include an ongoing affiliation with fellow Cornellian Michael Hausman (class of '57) on studio and independent feature films, starting as a Production Assistant on "State of Grace", serving as Unit Manager on "The Firm", and Associate Producer on "Nobody's Fool", "A Family Thing", "The People vs. Larry Flynt", "Twilight" and "Man on the Moon". I was also Associate Producer/Second Unit Director of "Heavy", and Co-Producer of "Palookaville" and David Mamet's recent feature "Heist." I was Executive Producer/UPM of "Laurel Canyon", a Fall 2003 release starring Frances McDormand, Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale, and written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko ("High Art."). Most recently, I was co-producer of "Brokeback Mountain", directed by Ang Lee, which was the winner of four Golden Globe awards in Jan. 2006 Sing-Choong Foo* ('93), scf2@cornell.edu Updated Jan. 2006 Since leaving the Cornell Program of Computer Graphics in 1997, Sing has worked at Blue Sky Studios, PDI/Dreamworks, and Sony Pictures Imageworks. He has worked on "Bunny", "Chub-Chub", "Mission Impossible 2", "Supernova", "Men in Black II", etc. He was the lead digital effects and rendering developer for "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2." Sing is now supervising the visual effects production for a feature film in Asia, and consulting for visual effects work in Los Angeles. Jeff Geiger* ('85), Dept. of Literature, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK Although I graduated from Cornell in English (I did one production course in film), I found myself working in film editing in the late 1980s. I currently am director of Film Studies at the University of Essex (UK), teaching film history and criticism. I contribute regularly to the Times Literary Supplement and other journals. Suman Ghosh Updated Feb. 2007 Suman Ghosh had his film training at the Department of Theater, Film and Dance at Cornell University, New York. He has previously directed and produced a documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, titled “Amartya Sen: A Life Reexamined” which was screened at many venues worldwide. “Footsteps” is his debut feature film. (http://home.fau.edu/sghosh/web/Films.htm) Shira Golding* ('02) shira@artsengine.net Updated Jan. 2007 Shira is working in film, music, graphic design and photography (flickr.com/photos/boojee) in Brooklyn, NY with her partner Ari Moore. Together, they run Shirari Industries (www.shirari.com). She has also been working at the nonprofit Arts Engine (www.artsengine.org) from 2002-2004 as the coordinator of the Media That Matters Film Festival (www.mediathatmattersfest.org), from 2004-2006 as Director of Education & Outreach, and starting in the fall of 2006, as Creative Content Manager, focusing on graphic design, video editing and writing. Aminta Goyel* ('01) aminta78@yahoo.com Updated Jan. 2006 She's currently pursuing a Master's of Fine Arts in Film Production at the renowned School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California . Aminta's directing works include the short film narratives Grandma's Dead! (2004), Night (2003), Styx (2001) and the theatrical production of Agamemnon (Risley Theatre, 1999). She has also produced the shorts First and Last Month (2004) and Hot Java (2004). She hopes in her career as a director to make films that bridge the Indian diaspora and explore themes of identity in the multi-cultural fractures of modernity. Aminta's new film is The Morning Fog Jane Greenberg* ('96), jag25@cornell.edu Updated Jan. 2007 Since graduating from Cornell (BA ‚88, MPS ‚96), I've worked in the independent documentary field in a variety of capacities including sound recordist, camera, writer, producer, and director. Most of the films I am involved with cover social justice issues and have aired on the PBS strand POV, including the Emmy-award winning School Prayer: A Community at War (Asso. Producer), Fenceline (Producer) about environmental racism in Louisiana, and Discovering Dominga (Asso. Producer) about the Maya Indian genocide in Guatemala. I served as Asso. Producer for Orozco: Man of Fire, about the Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco, which will air on American Masters in September, 2007. Currently I am juggling my own film project about a mentally retarded man on death row in Mississippi, working freelance as Asso. Producer for two PBS documentaries, and raising 2 young children in Oakland, California. I'm hoping to relocate to my hometown of Ithaca in the near future. Caleb Johnson* ('99), cmj5@cornell.edu Updated Feb. 2007 Caleb is currently in the MFA Film program at Columbia in New York and will graduate spring ’08. He does some production work for films and TV during the summer and fall and tries to spend the rest of the year writing for his own projects. Feel free to get in touch regarding film school in general or film work in NYC in particular. <back to top>* K - O Matt Kangas ('97) Currently in NYC, working for http://hotjobs.yahoo.com as a lead programmer and trying to fix the music industry in my spare time. Kern Konwiser ('90), kern@konwiserbros.com Updated Jan. 2006 I am producing and directing feature films, documentaries and TV series in partnership with my brother. Most recently, I directed the independent feature film "THE SHANGHAI KID", starring Ken Leung, Kelly Hu and Hayden Panattiere, which shot in Shanghai, China and Los Angeles. Documentary credits include "ON HALLOWED GROUND" for TNT (Sports Emmy Award, Best Documentary), "CROSSOVER" for Nike and Magic Johnson (Houston Worldfest Special Jury Prize), "WHITE SPACE" for Burton Snowboards, NBC, among others. Theatrical and TV movie credits include MISS EVERS' BOYS for HBO (5 Emmy Awards, including Best Picture, based on the play by Cornell professor David Feldshuh), DALLAS 362 (Cinevegas Festival, Best Picture), SMILE (Stonybrook Film Festival, Best Picture). Prior to that, I was the creative director for a series of music CD-ROMs with musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Chuck D and Bob Marley. Alexandra Kreuter* ('99), akreuter99@yahoo.com Updated Jan. 2007 Currently I am working at NOVA (PBS) as an Assistant Editor. I am editing promos -- they have actually aired! -- and doing design and graphics work on their shows. Before that, I was the graphics supervisor on Errol Morris's film "The Fog of War". Also did some work with him as an Assistant editor on his TV series "First Person". I then tried something different and worked as the music supervior on the make-over show "Knock First" for ABC family. Still living in Boston... Justin Lerner* ('02), justin@twelve34films.com Updated Jan. 2006 I am currently attending UCLA's Graduate Film School in their Directing Program. My first film there, SOLO, was an official selection at 6 major film festivals including the 2004 Los Angeles Shorts Fest, as well as the recipient of the 2005 George Burns and Gracie Allen Fellowship for Comedy Directing. My next two films, ECHOSTOP and MAGGIE'S NOT HERE have been completed and are currently being sent out to festivals. I'm currently writing my UCLA thesis film and planning to shoot in September '06 in my hometown of Wayland, Mass. I continue to work closely with fellow Cornell Film alum Phil Van '03, who is doing great things at NYU's Grad Film school, and he will also be shooting my thesis. I have also been working as an editor on the side and during summers, as well as serving as a mentor/advisor for the VOICE FILMS INSTITUTE (www.voicefilms.com). You can watch two of my UCLA shorts and trailers on my website, http://www.twelve34films.com. Jason Livingston* ('94), jtl4@cornell.edu Updated Jan. 2006 Jason recently completed his MFA from the University of Iowa. His film, Under Foot & Overstory, premiered at the New York Underground Film Festival and has been traveling through the States ever since. It is being distributed by the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. He is currently a Visiting Lecturer at Ithaca College. New videos are on the way. Leah Mahan* ('88), leahmahan@earthlink.net After graduation in 1988 I took an internship on filmmaker Henry HamptonÕs documentary series "Eyes On The Prize," about the civil rights movement. I've worked in the field since then and have directed two documentaries for public television. "Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street" (1997) tells the story of a devastated Boston neighborhood that was revitalized by community residents through grassroots organizing and community control. "Sweet Old Song" (2002) is about 91-year-old Howard Armstrong, the last surviving African American string band musician, and his romance with a younger artist. "Sweet Old Song" aired on the P.O.V. series in 2002 and 2003 and was nominated by the Directors Guild of America. I am currently working on a documentary about a Mississippi community founded by emancipated slaves that is threatened by urban sprawl and environmental contamination. I lived in Boston until 1999, when I moved to Oakland, California. contact: 4035 Greenwood Ave. Oakland, CA 94602 (510) 336-2217 Joe Mensch, joe.mensch@gmail.com Updated Jan. 2006 I am working at Warner Brothers as an editorial PA on The Reaping, a Hilary Swank thriller. Past gigs include editorial PA on House of Wax, set PA on National Treasure and director's assistant on The Aviator. Soon I will leave Warners for Universal to work as a unionized apprentice editor on The Kingdom, a CIA thriller with Jamie Foxx. This job should determine, conclusively, whether editing is what I want to pursue. Feel free to email me. Lawrence Meyers, chabodscranium@earthlink.net Writer/Producer on "When I Grow Up" for FOX. Currently writing feature film for Toby Jaffe, Stephen Herek and Warner Brothers. Other credits include "Picket Fences", "The Pretender", and "Roar", as well as writing multiple episodes of "The Outer Limits", "Early Edition" and "G vs E". Rebecca Meyers* ('97), rammeyers@gmail.com Updated Mar. 2006 After receiving an MFA from the University of Iowa, Rebecca spent four years in Chicago making films, programming the Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival, and teaching film production at Columbia College Chicago. Rebecca is currently living in Boston, where she continues to make experimental 16mm films (and exhibit them at festivals, cinematheques, and microcinemas). She is a part-time instructor in film production at Emerson College and recently joined the staff of The Harvard Film Archive, where she assists in the programming its quarterly calendar of public film screenings. Her most recent film, THINGS WE WANT TO SEE, played around the world, including at The 48th London International Film Festival, The Images Festival in Toronto, and The San Francisco Cinematheque, and was included in a gallery show in Trento, Italy entitled "White Shadows: Stories and Polar Visions." Brad Minnich ('92)* bradminnich@sbcglobal.net Updated Jan. 2006 With over 15 years experience in the media arts, Brad Minnich has worked with some of the greatest filmmakers and photographers of our time. Based in Los Angeles, Brad is currently working on the editorial team for director Oliver Stone and his film about 9/11. Brad has teamed up again with David Brenner, an Academy Award winning editor (Born on the Forth of July). This film is in production and has a 2006 release date. Brad has launched The Maasai Project, which is the union of Documentary Educational Resources (D.E.R.) and the Shampole Maasai of Southern Kenya. Theirs is a symbiotic relationship whose ultimate goal is to create awareness and a sustainable future for the East Africa Maasai people through film and community projects. All details can be found at: www.maasaiproject.org. In the summer of 2005, Brad wrote, produced and directed two documentaries. One entited The Gates about world renowned artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their historic vision to create "the Gates of Central Park". The other entitled, New York, which is a comprehensive documentary about the sites and sounds of Manhattan. Prior to this, Brad worked as an Editorial Assistant on the 2004 Blockbuster film entitled, The Day After Tomorrow for film editor David Brenner and director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Patriot). This experience taught Brad about editing and the requirements needed to finish a film. During the years of 2000 to 2003, Brad completed UCLA’s Advanced Writing Program and wrote Purgatory, an action adventure screenplay set in the year 2150, and was commissioned to write Golden Voice, the true-life drama of Bill Uhler, a man involved in the high stakes marijuana trade during the 1970’s. Brad also wrote, A Method of Life, a coming of age drama that takes place in the world of demolition derbies, which was a semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship and Sundance Writer’s Lab. This period taught Brad the art of story and screenplay writing. In 1999, Brad was accepted to the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. After completing the program, he became a Directing Instructor, assisted in over 100 short films and taught over 500 international students. During this time, Brad also wrote, produced and directed a 30 minute, 35mm short entitled Chasing Sunsets, starring James Avery (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air). This experience taught Brad about camera angles, lighting, film structure and visual storytelling. Before going back to Film School, Brad served as the Executive Assistant to the Producer on the 1998 film entitled, Girl, Interrupted, directed by James Mangold (Heavy, Identity). This film starred Wynona Ryder and Angelina Jolie and taught Brad how to develop, budget, schedule and produce a film. From 1996 to 1998, Brad worked at DreamWorks SKG. Not only was he the Executive Assistant to the Head of Production during the filming of Saving Private Ryan, Deep Impact, Lost World, and Amistad, but he was also Steven Spielberg’s personal production assistant from December 1996 through January 1997. This experience introduced Brad to studio filmmaking vs. independent filmmaking. Brad arrived in Los Angeles during the summer of 1995 and his first job was as the 2nd Assistant Director on the 1996 independent hit, Swingers, starring Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. This was Brad’s first experience with independent filmmaking where he learned about equipment, production and set logistics. Between 1992 and 1995 Brad embarked on a three year odyssey to photograph the world. Countries included: China - walked the Great Wall Thailand - tried to smuggle himself through the Golden Triangle Indonesia - hiked through the highlands of Irian Jaya to find cannibals Burma - fled the militia in the Ancient City of Pagan India - rode camels into the Thar Desert Nepal - drank tea with Tibetan refugees in the Himalayas Kenya - fell in love with a Maasai woman Tanzania - taught a grown man how to swim in Lake Tanganyika Zaire - sat 5 feet away from a 550 lb. silver back gorilla for two hours Uganda - had a personal break down due to loneliness Egypt - was stoned by children after scoring a goal in a soccer game Italy - stood under the Sistine Chapel and learned humility Mexico - walked naked on the beaches of Zipolite Guatemala - lived with a Guatemalan family to learn Spanish Chile - witnessed the best sunset over the city of Santiago Argentina - taught South Americans how to snowboard in the Andes Peru - sat in the stillness of Maccu Piccu Bolivia - cried with a family when their cargo boat sank Brazil - swam with pink dolphins in the Amazon Venezuela - walked the shanty towns of Caracas United States - thankful to be an American Prior to the trip, he was an intern for three National Geographic photographers: David Hiser, Paul Chesley and Nicholas DeVore in Aspen, Colorado. This is where he learned about frame composition and content. Brad Minnich has a Bachelors of Science from Cornell University, class of 1992, where he studied business and film. Rachel Morse* ('01), remorse26@gmail.com Updated Jan. 2006 After graduating from Cornell, I spent a year and a half in Los Angeles as an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency before moving to Palo Alto to write and edit an independent feature documentary with Tim O'Hara (Cornell, film, '01) and Jess Ringel (Cornell, psych, '01.) The film, "1," tells the story of the De La Salle Spartans and high school football's longest winning streak. (Check out our webpage at www.gdfilms.com, or even better, you can buy the DVD on amazon!) In 2003, I moved to Boston where I have worked on a number of documentary films for television (including shows for the Discovery Channel, TLC, PBS, and the Science Channel) as well as a brief stint in production at PBSKids. This past winter, I also edited and produced my second indie feature, this one a narrative (shot and produced by the above-mentioned Tim O'Hara.) Entitled "wrestling," it's what I've taken to calling a teen dramedy about a boy coming of age in Wilmington, Delaware the summer between high school and college. "wrestling" stars Jeff Conaway (of Grease, "Taxi," and now "Celebrity Fit Club" fame!) and Mark Welling, younger brother of "Smallville's" own Tom Welling. There's still a chance it could appear at a film festival near you - stay tuned. In the meantime, watch the teaser! (www.wrestlingthemovie.com) As I said, I'm in Boston and would love to hear from any fellow alumni, in the area or beyond. Ross Novie* ('93), ross@novie.net Updated Jan. 2007 Television Assistant Director on shows including "Arrested Development," "Entourage," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "The Closer," "Medium," "Nip/Tuck," and many others. Director/Producer of internet and mobile comedy content. Creator of the film scheduling program, "CompanyMOVE ShowPlanner" (free for Cornellians at www.company-move.com). Co-creator of two children, Ella and Hudson. Lives in Los Angeles. Nicholas Nicastro* ('85), nn12@cornell.edu Updated Jan. 2006 I produced the 1 hour video documentary "Science or Sacrilege: Native Americans, Archaeology and the Law" as part of Master's thesis in 1996. The program is currently distributed nationally by the University of California Center for Media and Independent Learning and has sold over 200 copies to universities, libraries and tribes. I also contribute movie criticism regularly to FILM COMMENT magazine. Since 1999 I have published four novels for McBooks Press and Penguin/NAL. Please go to www.nicastrobooks.com for more information. Beth O'Brien* ('99), blank_beth@yahoo.com Since graduating in December 1999, I have been working on an independent feature shot in Ithaca as the Production Manager and an editor. Now that my work on that film has more or less come to an end, I am working on my own projects (film, photo and fine arts) until my savings run out and I have to find a job again. Tim O'Hara ('01), tohara@gdfilms.com Updated Feb. 2007 After graduating from Cornell with a Film Major in 2001, Tim O'Hara was awarded an internship with Boston‚s WBUR, National Public Radio station, as a photojournalist in its new media department. The following year, Tim founded goingdigitalfilms, LLC, with Gavin Davis, to produce a feature length documentary film, 1, on the nationally acclaimed De La Salle High School and football‚s longest winning streak. The film has an original score by Daniel Hulsizer (Spellbound), and participated in the 2004 Cinequest Film Festival, 2004 Cleveland International Film Festival and the 2005 International All-Boys School Coalition Conference in Washington, DC. In addition to his documentary work, Tim was assistant director on the Senses Fail music video Buried A Lie, distributed by Interscope to MTV2, as well as, producer and director of photography on the feature film, wrestling, starring Jeff Conaway (Grease, Taxi). Tim currently is an MFA candidate in Stanford University's Documentary Film and Video program. Fall Film: Swim for Life (TRT 4:40) B&W 16mm A group of gay athletes face a second coming-out process as AIDS surfaces in San Francisco. Guy Decker, and other surviving members of the team, march on Washington to advance awareness and to honor those who have passed away. Today, a new generation of empowered gay swimmers competes as gay athletics become more mainstream throughout the world. (To watch film go to itunes.stanford.edu/ "Open Stanford on iTunes", then look under the Documentary Film tab in "Music and Film".) <back to top>* P - T Jeff Pash ('01), jeffpash@gmail.com Updated Jan. 2007 I am currently pursuing an MFA for Visual Arts at Purchase College, focussing on sound and video. While at school I am continuing work with fellow Cornell alum Nick Phillips on the Nicedisc project (nicedisc.net) as well as curating and exhibiting in and around NYC. Wayne Price* I've been working in the Internet, producing a website called MusicDownloads.com. But my film career just got a boost with my first commissioned music video for the artist Speech (of Arrested Development). The video is already being broadcast in Japan. The song is currently number 8 on the charts there. Paul Ratner ('00), paul@newspiritcinema.com Updated Jan. 2006 He has directed a number of narrative projects, and has worked as well as a director of photography on shorts and several documentary features. He is currently developing his first feature narrative. Paul resides in Los Angeles, with a permanent base in the uber-beautiful New Mexico. Lucas Sabean* ('94) Life has been great. "Relievio" got into the Slamdance Film Festival, so I got to go out to the Park City festivities, which was a somewhat bittersweet experience. I have decided to recut "Modern Lovers" (my Boston U. M.F.A. thesis film) and make it a much shorter experience. I just got a G4 and Final Cut Pro, haven't had a chance to use it for anything yet though. I completed an adaption of several DH Lawrence short stories all mixed into one narrative and was contracted to direct a couple shorts for a website called neurotrash (not yet up). I'm trying to make the transition to being an editor and I feel as if my break is close at hand. There is a great website that just went up (www.people.bu.edu/rcarney). It has so many wonderful articles on art and real indie film. It is a great site for students to learn about film content. I start filming a new piece called "No Pain, No Gain: Dobbins personal Revolution Part I" once I buy my camera. Robert Schaufelberger('01), robert@dekodesign.com Currently dividing time between NYC and Connecticut as a web design and Macintosh consultant. Working in my spare time on a new digital music and film project. Tim Squyres ('81) I have been working in New York as an editor, primarily of features, including all of Ang Lee's films (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility, Eat Drink Man Woman, etc.) I have also done considerable TV and documentary editing, as well as commercials, trailers, music videos, and promos. UPDATE: Tim Squyres recently edited "Syriana" and is currently editing Ang Lee's newest film, "Se jie" (2007). For his full filmography go to imdb.com Jason Stoughton ('98), jason@cipherworks.com Updated Feb. '07 I'm directing and producing with a Washington, DC production company, cipherworks LLC. We do spots/PSAs, long-format docs and corporate PR films. Feel free to contact me at my email address above. You can see some of my work at www.cipherworks.com. Tom Swartwout ('86) Updated Jan. 2007 I edit feature films, documentaries, and TV shows. For the past ten years I've edited Sidney Lumet's work. We just finished a movie called "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." I'm going to edit a feature length documentary for Discovery this winter that will feature Thomas Friedman, the reporter for The New York Times. John Tagamolila ('00), johntag@comcast.net Living in Los Angeles, CA. I joined the Directors Guild of America in the fall of 2003 as a 2nd Assistant Director. Michael A. Tamburro, mat6@cornell.edu Updated May 2006 In early 2004, I finished my first post-Cornell film, "Back Page" . Currently working on an idea for my next short (in NYC); if you're interested in collaborating, drop me a line. Although my day job is "internet consultant" , for a change of pace in 2005, I taught an introductory film analysis class at St. Thomas Aquinas College for a semester. When I'm not working on my own projects, I'm an active volunteer videographer for The Center in New York city. Catherine Tingey* Catherine's film, "A Girl's Guide to the Galaxy", is a quarterfinalist in the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival. It now enters a stage of online competition at www.chrysler.com [click on 'Million Dollar Film Festival in the section,'In The News'] Your vote for my film is critical and really, really, REALLY appreciated. Plus, you'll be eligible to win daily prizes. I'm in my 4th year at Columbia University's MFA program in Directing. I'm currently in post-production on a 35mm short starring teen actress Paz de la Huerta (A Walk to Remember, Riding in Cars with Boys, The Cider House Rules, The Object of My Affection). It will premiere in New York in April, 2002. Lynn Tomlinson, summerkitchen@cfl.rr.com Updated Jan. 2006 Lynn Tomlinson is an award winning animator and media artist who directs Summer Kitchen Studio, an independent media production company. She is known for her painterly clay-on-glass animation, including work for Sesame Street, MTV, and ten educational spots for kids, commissioned by ITVS (The Independent Television Service) which air nationally during PBS children's programming. Her recent work has expanded to media art installation, including "Boxed In," pictured in the April 1999 issue of Sculpture magazine. For the past several summers she has returned to Cornell to teach a course in animation. She lives in Orlando, where she is not a slave to the mouse! She is active in sculpture and ceramics -- you can see some of her work at: summerkitchenstudio.blogspot.com/ You can see some recent animation for an ad agency's website at: www.fhbnet.com For the past two years she has worked on the Folkvine Project, a website featuring Florida Folk Artists, as the director of videography and editing. www.folkvine.org <back to top>* U - Z Trac Minh Vu, trac@fusionpictures.org (www.fusionpictures.org) By day, I am working for a non-profit summer program called Summerbridge Portland. By night, I am actively producing a couple of documentary video and radio projects. My first and only completed documentary, "Letters to Thien," is being distributed by NAATA for educational markets. Ben Weinstein I've been working as a Cinematographer since I left Cornell in 1993 at a a slow but steady rate. After about a dozen shorts I shot an independent feature, SNOW DAYS, a romantic comedy starring Bernadette Peters which premiered at the 1999 AFI Los Angeles International Film Fetsival and then played at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, recieving critical acclaim in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. More recently I shot four commercials with actor/director Andy Dick and Squeak Pictures here in Los Angeles. I'm now looking for another independent feature, and plan to start directing a handful of shorts I have written, most likely for the internet. Bryan Wizemann ('95) bryan@ballastfilms.com Added Jan. 2007 My senior thesis film BUTTON SOUP, a dark reinterpretation of the children’s story, screened at the Johnson Museum of Art and at Cinema Village New York. I then made an experimental student feature film SENSE with the help of Cornell, which screened in the 1998 IFFM at the Angelika Film Centre. After studying with Tom Noonan at New York’s Paradise Theater, I wrote and directed the full-length stage play LOSING GROUND, based on the experiences of my mother who endured a four-year gambling addiction in Las Vegas. The play had a four-week run in the spring of 2003. I later directed Rhonda Keyser in an original monologue LOOKING FOR A SKY BLUE HAT, which was featured in the theatrical production MOUTHPIECES. In 2004 I adapted, produced and directed the film version of LOSING GROUND which features its original cast and premiered at the 2005 Cinequest film festival. The film has been called “a stunning array of drama and performances worthy of Eugene O’Neill” and “fascinating filmmaking that gets to the core of humanity.” It's now available on Netflix (www.losingground.net). My recent short film THE MORNING SUN screened throughout September on IFC, and our pilot for the television series COOKLYN is currently in development. I was recently part of Hunter’s MFA program for fine arts as a conceptual artist in all manner of medium, though my last semester someone attended for me in a kind of art project (www.surrogategraduate.com). My work has been exhibited in and around New York and is part of several collections. I've authored a collection of dramatic monologues, two stage plays, and five screenplays, and recently founded Ballast Films, an independent film production company in Brooklyn, NY. The fine art portfolio can be viewed online at www.bryanwizemann.com, and current film and television projects can be found at www.ballastfilms.com. <back to top>*

Sorted alphabetically by last name:

A - E | F - J | K - O | P - T | U - Z

A - E

Greg Bowman, greg@offlinenetworks.com

I'm currently finishing up a master of fine arts degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) in Electronic Arts, focusing on multimedia design and installation. I'm working for the Office of Professional and Distance Education here, which delivers RPI courses to students at remote locations. When I'm not doing all that, I run the non-profit arts organization and cable telelvision program "OffLine", which exhibits art video and film works by producers from around the world (www.offlinenetworks.com).

Jennifer Bozick McCoy ('90), mccoy@earthlink.net

*Updated Jan. 2006

Since Cornell I have moved from experimental film to experimental media art. Working with collaborator Kevin McCoy, we make sculpture and installation using video and software. We won the NYFA Computer Arts grant in '99 and had a residency at The World Trade Center. More recently, we have been shown at The Hannover Kunstverien, Pallazzo delle Papesse (Siena), the Site Santa Fe Biennial, and The Milwaukee Museum of Art. We are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Modern Museum of Art in New York as well as collections in Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Paris. Upcoming projects will be seen at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2006 and Supercinema at the Guggenheim Museum of Art in 2007. I teach full time in the art department at Brooklyn College. Contact info: www.mccoyspace.com

Sarra Brill ('01), skb16@cornell.edu

Currently working on independent film and multi-media projects in NYC. Still promoting Super 8 film as a viable medium.

Wei Ling Chang ('96), Lingolinglibra@hotmail.com

*Updated Jan. 2007

After graduating from Cornell, I worked in advertising in London then returned to New York and spent two years at Miramax Films in the acquisitions department. In 2000, I moved to Paris to work in film development at Metropolitan Films. Back in NYC again, I've been producing, directing and writing television for MTV, ABC, VH1, A&E, etc. for the past 3-4 years. Last year I directed my first post-Cornell short. Check out my film noir short "The Good Husband" on www.the-good-husband.com Currently producing "The First 48" for A&E and will be directing a horror short in Jan 2007.

Suzy Cho a.k.a. QPX ('01), q_phisto@yahoo.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

I live in Brooklyn, NY. I've been freelancing as a designer since Cornell, most notably doing on-air graphics at CNBC and a stint editing videos for the International Center of Photography. Right now I am finishing up my MFA in Graphic Design (may 2006!) at the School of Visual Arts, and will probably wind up in broadcast design. I am also involved in throwing art parties as part of Aviate with Sarra Brill, where we experiment with showing Super 8 and 16mm film along with new technologies. Aviate is on hiatus, but in its stead, people are welcome to Sarra's new venture Open Video Projects which takes place in Rome, Italy.

Ryan Cook ('99), ryan.cook@yale.edu

*Updated Dec. 2007

I am currently working on my PhD in film studies and modern Japanese literature at Yale, dividing my time for now between Connecticut, Japan, and any place warm (preferably tropical - think sea and umbrella drinks). I've also parlayed my experience as a former Cornell Cinema projectionist into a behind-the-scenes role at Yale's student-run Cinema at the Whitney. Before this, I completed an MA in film and media studies at Georgetown's Communication, Culture and
Technology graduate program. Aside from graduate school, I've been traveling and getting my fingers into little projects, most recently brushing up on my Avid skills and assisting in New York on Alex Gibney's forthcoming (2007) documentaries on Jack Abramoff and Hunter S. Thompson.

Please feel free to contact me.

Kenneth Eisenstein ('98) Updated September, 2007

Ken Eisenstein is currently a graduate student in the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies at The University of Chicago; he received his M.F.A. in filmmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000. He now lives in Cambridge, MA where he teaches part time at Emerson College (courses in silent cinema, cinephilia, and montage) and is a teaching assistant at Harvard. For the past year and a half he has been cataloging a recently accessioned special collection of Hollis Frampton material at Anthology Film Archives; this will serve as primary research material for his dissertation.

Adam Englander ('01), Englander@2004.law.ucla.edu

Adam Englander is currently a first year law student at UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles. Which means, he sits around and prays that the economy will improve so he can get a job next year, but thankful that he doesn't need to actually go out and work at a real job for now. He has stayed away from re-watching his student film and realizes that it works outside of a Cornell audience, or at least people have pretended that it does. If anyone has any questions about Los Angeles, law school, or various jobs within the entertainment industry, they should feel free to contact him.

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F - J

Cornelia Faifar ('99), cif28@yahoo.com

I've been writing about the cinematography of music videos and TV commercials for ICG Mag (see CameraGuild.com) for the past year. I'm starting to write more fiction though and less cinematography articles. Anyone feel free to get in touch with me. Thanks.

Scott Ferguson ('82), skfergus@earthlink.net

*Updated Jan. 2006

Since starting professionally in the film business in 1989 I have had the good fortune to work with several Academy Award winning directors as well as a number of leading independent filmmakers. Highlights include an ongoing affiliation with fellow Cornellian Michael Hausman (class of '57) on studio and independent feature films, starting as a Production Assistant on "State of Grace", serving as Unit Manager on "The Firm", and Associate Producer on "Nobody's Fool", "A Family Thing", "The People vs. Larry Flynt", "Twilight" and "Man on the Moon". I was also Associate Producer/Second Unit Director of "Heavy", and Co-Producer of "Palookaville" and David Mamet's recent feature "Heist." I was Executive Producer/UPM of "Laurel Canyon", a Fall 2003 release starring Frances McDormand, Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale, and written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko ("High Art."). Most recently, I was co-producer of "Brokeback Mountain", directed by Ang Lee, which was the winner of four Golden Globe awards in Jan. 2006

Sing-Choong Foo ('93), scf2@cornell.edu

*Updated Jan. 2006
Since leaving the Cornell Program of Computer Graphics in 1997, Sing has worked at Blue Sky Studios, PDI/Dreamworks, and Sony Pictures Imageworks. He has worked on "Bunny", "Chub-Chub", "Mission Impossible 2", "Supernova", "Men in Black II", etc. He was the lead digital effects and rendering developer for "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2." Sing is now supervising the visual effects production for a feature film in Asia, and consulting for visual effects work in Los Angeles.

Jeff Geiger ('85), Dept. of Literature, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK

Although I graduated from Cornell in English (I did one production course in film), I found myself working in film editing in the late 1980s. I currently am director of Film Studies at the University of Essex (UK), teaching film history and criticism. I contribute regularly to the Times Literary Supplement and other journals.

Suman Ghosh

*Updated Feb. 2007

Suman Ghosh had his film training at the Department of Theater, Film and Dance at Cornell University, New York. He has previously directed and produced a documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, titled “Amartya Sen: A Life Reexamined” which was screened at many venues worldwide. “Footsteps” is his debut feature film. (http://home.fau.edu/sghosh/web/Films.htm)

Shira Golding ('02) shira@artsengine.net

*Updated Jan. 2007

Shira is working in film, music, graphic design and photography (flickr.com/photos/boojee) in Brooklyn, NY with her partner Ari Moore. Together, they run Shirari Industries (www.shirari.com). She has also been working at the nonprofit Arts Engine (www.artsengine.org) from 2002-2004 as the coordinator of the Media That Matters Film Festival (www.mediathatmattersfest.org), from 2004-2006 as Director of Education & Outreach, and starting in the fall of 2006, as Creative Content Manager, focusing on graphic design, video editing and writing.

Aminta Goyel ('01) aminta78@yahoo.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

She's currently pursuing a Master's of Fine Arts in Film Production at the renowned School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California . Aminta's directing works include the short film narratives Grandma's Dead! (2004), Night (2003), Styx (2001) and the theatrical production of Agamemnon (Risley Theatre, 1999). She has also produced the shorts First and Last Month (2004) and Hot Java (2004). She hopes in her career as a director to make films that bridge the Indian diaspora and explore themes of identity in the multi-cultural fractures of modernity. Aminta's new film is The Morning Fog

Jane Greenberg ('96), jag25@cornell.edu

*Updated Jan. 2007

Since graduating from Cornell (BA ‚88, MPS ‚96), I've worked in the independent documentary field in a variety of capacities including sound recordist,
camera, writer, producer, and director. Most of the films I am involved with cover social justice issues and have aired on the PBS strand POV, including the
Emmy-award winning School Prayer: A Community at War (Asso. Producer), Fenceline (Producer) about environmental racism in Louisiana, and Discovering Dominga (Asso. Producer) about the Maya Indian genocide in Guatemala. I served as Asso. Producer for Orozco: Man of Fire, about the Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco, which will air on American Masters in
September, 2007. Currently I am juggling my own film project about a mentally retarded man on death row in Mississippi, working freelance as Asso. Producer for two PBS documentaries, and raising 2 young children in Oakland, California. I'm hoping to relocate to my
hometown of Ithaca in the near future.

Caleb Johnson ('99), cmj5@cornell.edu

*Updated Feb. 2007

Caleb is currently in the MFA Film program at Columbia in New York and will graduate spring ’08. He does some production work for films and TV during the summer and fall and tries to spend the rest of the year writing for his own projects. Feel free to get in touch regarding film school in general or film work in NYC in particular.

<back to top>

K - O

Matt Kangas ('97)

Currently in NYC, working for http://hotjobs.yahoo.com as a lead programmer and trying to fix the music industry in my spare time.

Kern Konwiser ('90), kern@konwiserbros.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

I am producing and directing feature films, documentaries and TV series in partnership with my brother. Most recently, I directed the independent feature film "THE SHANGHAI KID", starring Ken Leung, Kelly Hu and Hayden Panattiere, which shot in Shanghai, China and Los Angeles. Documentary credits include "ON HALLOWED GROUND" for TNT (Sports Emmy Award, Best Documentary), "CROSSOVER" for Nike and Magic Johnson (Houston Worldfest Special Jury Prize), "WHITE SPACE" for Burton Snowboards, NBC, among others. Theatrical and TV movie credits include MISS EVERS' BOYS for HBO (5 Emmy Awards, including Best Picture, based on the play by Cornell professor David Feldshuh), DALLAS 362 (Cinevegas Festival, Best Picture), SMILE (Stonybrook Film Festival, Best Picture). Prior to that, I was the creative director for a series of music CD-ROMs with musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Chuck D and Bob Marley.

Alexandra Kreuter ('99), akreuter99@yahoo.com

*Updated Jan. 2007

Currently I am working at NOVA (PBS) as an Assistant Editor. I am editing promos -- they have actually aired! -- and doing design and graphics work on their shows. Before that, I was the graphics supervisor on Errol Morris's film "The Fog of War". Also did some work with him as an Assistant editor on his TV series "First Person". I then tried something different and worked as the music supervior on the make-over show "Knock First" for ABC family. Still living in Boston...

Justin Lerner ('02), justin@twelve34films.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

I am currently attending UCLA's Graduate Film School in their Directing Program. My first film there, SOLO, was an official selection at 6 major film festivals including the 2004 Los Angeles Shorts Fest, as well as the recipient of the 2005 George Burns and Gracie Allen Fellowship for Comedy Directing. My next two films, ECHOSTOP and MAGGIE'S NOT HERE have been completed and are currently being sent out to festivals.

I'm currently writing my UCLA thesis film and planning to shoot in September '06 in my hometown of Wayland, Mass. I continue to work closely with fellow Cornell Film alum Phil Van '03, who is doing great things at NYU's Grad Film school, and he will also be shooting my thesis. I have also been working as an editor on the side and during summers, as well as serving as a mentor/advisor for the VOICE FILMS INSTITUTE (www.voicefilms.com). You can watch two of my UCLA shorts and trailers on my website, http://www.twelve34films.com.

Jason Livingston ('94), jtl4@cornell.edu

*Updated Jan. 2006

Jason recently completed his MFA from the University of Iowa. His film, Under Foot & Overstory, premiered at the New York Underground Film Festival and has been traveling through the States ever since. It is being distributed by the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. He is currently a Visiting Lecturer at Ithaca College. New videos are on the way.

Leah Mahan ('88), leahmahan@earthlink.net

After graduation in 1988 I took an internship on filmmaker Henry HamptonÕs documentary series "Eyes On The Prize," about the civil rights movement. I've worked in the field since then and have directed two documentaries for public television. "Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street" (1997) tells the story of a devastated Boston neighborhood that was revitalized by community residents through grassroots organizing and community control. "Sweet Old Song" (2002) is about 91-year-old Howard Armstrong, the last surviving African American string band musician, and his romance with a younger artist. "Sweet Old Song" aired on the P.O.V. series in 2002 and 2003 and was nominated by the Directors Guild of America. I am currently working on a documentary about a Mississippi community founded by emancipated slaves that is threatened by urban sprawl and environmental contamination. I lived in Boston until 1999, when I moved to Oakland, California. contact: 4035 Greenwood Ave. Oakland, CA 94602 (510) 336-2217

Joe Mensch, joe.mensch@gmail.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

I am working at Warner Brothers as an editorial PA on The Reaping, a Hilary Swank thriller. Past gigs include editorial PA on House of Wax, set PA on National Treasure and director's assistant on The Aviator. Soon I will leave Warners for Universal to work as a unionized apprentice editor on The Kingdom, a CIA thriller with Jamie Foxx. This job should determine, conclusively, whether editing is what I want to pursue. Feel free to email me.

Lawrence Meyers, chabodscranium@earthlink.net

Writer/Producer on "When I Grow Up" for FOX. Currently writing feature film for Toby Jaffe, Stephen Herek and Warner Brothers. Other credits include "Picket Fences", "The Pretender", and "Roar", as well as writing multiple episodes of "The Outer Limits", "Early Edition" and "G vs E".

Rebecca Meyers ('97), rammeyers@gmail.com

*Updated Mar. 2006

After receiving an MFA from the University of Iowa, Rebecca spent four years in Chicago making films, programming the Onion City Experimental Film and Video Festival, and teaching film production at Columbia College Chicago. Rebecca is currently living in Boston, where she continues to make experimental 16mm films (and exhibit them at festivals, cinematheques, and microcinemas). She is a part-time instructor in film production at Emerson College and recently joined the staff of The Harvard Film Archive, where she assists in the programming its quarterly calendar of public film screenings. Her most recent film, THINGS WE WANT TO SEE, played around the world, including at The 48th London International Film Festival, The Images Festival in Toronto, and The San Francisco Cinematheque, and was included in a gallery show in Trento, Italy entitled "White Shadows: Stories and Polar Visions."

Brad Minnich ('92) bradminnich@sbcglobal.net

*Updated Jan. 2006

With over 15 years experience in the media arts, Brad Minnich has worked with some of the greatest filmmakers and photographers of our time.
Based in Los Angeles, Brad is currently working on the editorial team for director Oliver Stone and his film about 9/11. Brad has teamed up again with David Brenner, an Academy Award winning editor (Born on the Forth of July). This film is in production and has a 2006 release date.

Brad has launched The Maasai Project, which is the union of Documentary Educational Resources (D.E.R.) and the Shampole Maasai of Southern Kenya. Theirs is a symbiotic relationship whose ultimate goal is to create awareness and a sustainable future for the East Africa Maasai people through film and community projects. All details can be found at: www.maasaiproject.org.

In the summer of 2005, Brad wrote, produced and directed two documentaries. One entited The Gates about world renowned artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their historic vision to create "the Gates of Central Park". The other entitled, New York, which is a comprehensive documentary about the sites and sounds of Manhattan.

Prior to this, Brad worked as an Editorial Assistant on the 2004 Blockbuster film entitled, The Day After Tomorrow for film editor David Brenner and director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Patriot). This experience taught Brad about editing and the requirements needed to finish a film.

During the years of 2000 to 2003, Brad completed UCLA’s Advanced Writing Program and wrote Purgatory, an action adventure screenplay set in the year 2150, and was commissioned to write Golden Voice, the true-life drama of Bill Uhler, a man involved in the high stakes marijuana trade during the 1970’s. Brad also wrote, A Method of Life, a coming of age drama that takes place in the world of demolition derbies, which was a semi-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship and Sundance Writer’s Lab. This period taught Brad the art of story and screenplay writing.

In 1999, Brad was accepted to the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. After completing the program, he became a Directing Instructor, assisted in over 100 short films and taught over 500 international students. During this time, Brad also wrote, produced and directed a 30 minute, 35mm short entitled Chasing Sunsets, starring James Avery (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air). This experience taught Brad about camera angles, lighting, film structure and visual storytelling.

Before going back to Film School, Brad served as the Executive Assistant to the Producer on the 1998 film entitled, Girl, Interrupted, directed by James Mangold (Heavy, Identity). This film starred Wynona Ryder and Angelina Jolie and taught Brad how to develop, budget, schedule and produce a film.

From 1996 to 1998, Brad worked at DreamWorks SKG. Not only was he the Executive Assistant to the Head of Production during the filming of Saving Private Ryan, Deep Impact, Lost World, and Amistad, but he was also Steven Spielberg’s personal production assistant from December 1996 through January 1997. This experience introduced Brad to studio filmmaking vs. independent filmmaking.

Brad arrived in Los Angeles during the summer of 1995 and his first job was as the 2nd Assistant Director on the 1996 independent hit, Swingers, starring Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. This was Brad’s first experience with independent filmmaking where he learned about equipment, production and set logistics.

Between 1992 and 1995 Brad embarked on a three year odyssey to photograph the world. Countries included:
China - walked the Great Wall
Thailand - tried to smuggle himself through the Golden Triangle
Indonesia - hiked through the highlands of Irian Jaya to find cannibals
Burma - fled the militia in the Ancient City of Pagan
India - rode camels into the Thar Desert
Nepal - drank tea with Tibetan refugees in the Himalayas
Kenya - fell in love with a Maasai woman
Tanzania - taught a grown man how to swim in Lake Tanganyika
Zaire - sat 5 feet away from a 550 lb. silver back gorilla for two hours
Uganda - had a personal break down due to loneliness
Egypt - was stoned by children after scoring a goal in a soccer game
Italy - stood under the Sistine Chapel and learned humility
Mexico - walked naked on the beaches of Zipolite
Guatemala - lived with a Guatemalan family to learn Spanish
Chile - witnessed the best sunset over the city of Santiago
Argentina - taught South Americans how to snowboard in the Andes
Peru - sat in the stillness of Maccu Piccu
Bolivia - cried with a family when their cargo boat sank
Brazil - swam with pink dolphins in the Amazon
Venezuela - walked the shanty towns of Caracas
United States - thankful to be an American

Prior to the trip, he was an intern for three National Geographic photographers: David Hiser, Paul Chesley and Nicholas DeVore in Aspen, Colorado. This is where he learned about frame composition and content.

Brad Minnich has a Bachelors of Science from Cornell University, class of 1992, where he studied business and film.

Rachel Morse ('01), remorse26@gmail.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

After graduating from Cornell, I spent a year and a half in Los Angeles as an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency before moving to Palo Alto to write and edit an independent feature documentary with Tim O'Hara (Cornell, film, '01) and Jess Ringel (Cornell, psych, '01.) The film, "1," tells the story of the De La Salle Spartans and high school football's longest winning streak. (Check out our webpage at www.gdfilms.com, or even better, you can buy the DVD on amazon!)

In 2003, I moved to Boston where I have worked on a number of documentary films for television (including shows for the Discovery Channel, TLC, PBS, and the Science Channel) as well as a brief stint in production at PBSKids. This past winter, I also edited and produced my second indie feature, this one a narrative (shot and produced by the above-mentioned Tim O'Hara.) Entitled "wrestling," it's what I've taken to calling a teen dramedy about a boy coming of age in Wilmington, Delaware the summer between high school and college. "wrestling" stars Jeff Conaway (of Grease, "Taxi," and now "Celebrity Fit Club" fame!) and Mark Welling, younger brother of "Smallville's" own Tom Welling. There's still a chance it could appear at a film festival near you - stay tuned. In the meantime, watch the teaser! (www.wrestlingthemovie.com) As I said, I'm in Boston and would love to hear from any fellow alumni, in the area or beyond.

Ross Novie ('93), ross@novie.net

*Updated Jan. 2007

Television Assistant Director on shows including "Arrested Development," "Entourage," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "The Closer," "Medium," "Nip/Tuck," and many others.

Director/Producer of internet and mobile comedy content.

Creator of the film scheduling program, "CompanyMOVE ShowPlanner" (free for Cornellians at www.company-move.com).

Co-creator of two children, Ella and Hudson.

Lives in Los Angeles.

Nicholas Nicastro ('85), nn12@cornell.edu

*Updated Jan. 2006

I produced the 1 hour video documentary "Science or Sacrilege: Native Americans, Archaeology and the Law" as part of Master's thesis in 1996. The program is currently distributed nationally by the University of California Center for Media and Independent Learning and has sold over 200 copies to universities, libraries and tribes. I also contribute movie criticism regularly to FILM COMMENT magazine. Since 1999 I have published four novels for McBooks Press and Penguin/NAL. Please go to www.nicastrobooks.com for more information.

Beth O'Brien ('99), blank_beth@yahoo.com

Since graduating in December 1999, I have been working on an independent feature shot in Ithaca as the Production Manager and an editor. Now that my work on that film has more or less come to an end, I am working on my own projects (film, photo and fine arts) until my savings run out and I have to find a job again.

Tim O'Hara ('01), tohara@gdfilms.com

*Updated Feb. 2007

After graduating from Cornell with a Film Major in 2001, Tim O'Hara was awarded an internship with Boston‚s WBUR, National Public Radio station, as a photojournalist in its new media department. The following year, Tim founded goingdigitalfilms, LLC, with Gavin Davis, to produce a feature length documentary film, 1, on the nationally acclaimed De La Salle High School and football‚s longest winning streak. The film has an original score by Daniel Hulsizer (Spellbound), and participated in the 2004 Cinequest Film Festival, 2004 Cleveland International Film Festival and the 2005 International All-Boys School Coalition Conference in Washington, DC. In addition to his documentary work, Tim was assistant director on the
Senses Fail music video Buried A Lie, distributed by Interscope to MTV2, as well as, producer and director of photography on the feature film, wrestling, starring Jeff Conaway (Grease, Taxi). Tim currently is an MFA candidate in Stanford University's Documentary Film and Video program.

Fall Film:
Swim for Life (TRT 4:40) B&W 16mm

A group of gay athletes face a second coming-out process as AIDS surfaces in San Francisco. Guy Decker, and other surviving members of the team, march on Washington to advance awareness and to honor those who have passed away. Today, a new generation of empowered gay swimmers competes as gay athletics become more mainstream throughout the world. (To watch film go to itunes.stanford.edu/ "Open Stanford on iTunes", then look under the Documentary Film tab in "Music and Film".)

<back to top>

P - T

Jeff Pash ('01), jeffpash@gmail.com

*Updated Jan. 2007

I am currently pursuing an MFA for Visual Arts at Purchase College, focussing on sound and video. While at school I am continuing work with fellow Cornell alum Nick Phillips on the Nicedisc project (nicedisc.net) as well as curating and exhibiting in and around NYC.

Wayne Price

I've been working in the Internet, producing a website called MusicDownloads.com. But my film career just got a boost with my first commissioned music video for the artist Speech (of Arrested Development). The video is already being broadcast in Japan. The song is currently number 8 on the charts there.

Paul Ratner ('00), paul@newspiritcinema.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

He has directed a number of narrative projects, and has worked as well as a director of photography on shorts and several documentary features. He is currently developing his first feature narrative. Paul resides in Los Angeles, with a permanent base in the uber-beautiful New Mexico.

Lucas Sabean ('94)

Life has been great. "Relievio" got into the Slamdance Film Festival, so I got to go out to the Park City festivities, which was a somewhat bittersweet experience. I have decided to recut "Modern Lovers" (my Boston U. M.F.A. thesis film) and make it a much shorter experience. I just got a G4 and Final Cut Pro, haven't had a chance to use it for anything yet though. I completed an adaption of several DH Lawrence short stories all mixed into one narrative and was contracted to direct a couple shorts for a website called neurotrash (not yet up). I'm trying to make the transition to being an editor and I feel as if my break is close at hand. There is a great website that just went up (www.people.bu.edu/rcarney). It has so many wonderful articles on art and real indie film. It is a great site for students to learn about film content. I start filming a new piece called "No Pain, No Gain: Dobbins personal Revolution Part I" once I buy my camera.

Robert Schaufelberger('01), robert@dekodesign.com

Currently dividing time between NYC and Connecticut as a web design and Macintosh consultant. Working in my spare time on a new digital music and film project.

Tim Squyres ('81)

I have been working in New York as an editor, primarily of features, including all of Ang Lee's films (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility, Eat Drink Man Woman, etc.) I have also done considerable TV and documentary editing, as well as commercials, trailers, music videos, and promos.

UPDATE: Tim Squyres recently edited "Syriana" and is currently editing Ang Lee's newest film, "Se jie" (2007). For his full filmography go to imdb.com

Jason Stoughton ('98), jason@cipherworks.com

*Updated Feb. '07

I'm directing and producing with a Washington, DC production company, cipherworks LLC. We do spots/PSAs, long-format docs and corporate PR films. Feel free to contact me at my email address above. You can see some of my work at www.cipherworks.com.

Tom Swartwout ('86)

*Updated Jan. 2007

I edit feature films, documentaries, and TV shows. For the past ten years I've edited Sidney Lumet's work. We just finished a movie called "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." I'm going to edit a feature length documentary for Discovery this winter that will feature Thomas Friedman, the reporter for The New York Times.

John Tagamolila ('00), johntag@comcast.net

Living in Los Angeles, CA. I joined the Directors Guild of America in the fall of 2003 as a 2nd Assistant Director.

Michael A. Tamburro, mat6@cornell.edu

*Updated May 2006

In early 2004, I finished my first post-Cornell film, "Back Page" . Currently working on an idea for my next short (in NYC); if you're interested in collaborating, drop me a line. Although my day job is "internet consultant" , for a change of pace in 2005, I taught an introductory film analysis class at St. Thomas Aquinas College for a semester. When I'm not working on my own projects, I'm an active volunteer videographer for The Center in New York city.

Catherine Tingey

Catherine's film, "A Girl's Guide to the Galaxy", is a quarterfinalist in the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival. It now enters a stage of online competition at www.chrysler.com [click on 'Million Dollar Film Festival in the section,'In The News'] Your vote for my film is critical and really, really, REALLY appreciated. Plus, you'll be eligible to win daily prizes.

I'm in my 4th year at Columbia University's MFA program in Directing. I'm currently in post-production on a 35mm short starring teen actress Paz de la Huerta (A Walk to Remember, Riding in Cars with Boys, The Cider House Rules, The Object of My Affection). It will premiere in New York in April, 2002.

Lynn Tomlinson, summerkitchen@cfl.rr.com

*Updated Jan. 2006

Lynn Tomlinson is an award winning animator and media artist who directs Summer Kitchen Studio, an independent media production company. She is known for her painterly clay-on-glass animation, including work for Sesame Street, MTV, and ten educational spots for kids, commissioned by ITVS (The Independent Television Service) which air nationally during PBS children's programming. Her recent work has expanded to media art installation, including "Boxed In," pictured in the April 1999 issue of Sculpture magazine. For the past several summers she has returned to Cornell to teach a course in animation. She lives in Orlando, where she is not a slave to the mouse! She is active in sculpture and ceramics -- you can see some of her work at: summerkitchenstudio.blogspot.com/ You can see some recent animation for an ad agency's website at: www.fhbnet.com For the past two years she has worked on the Folkvine Project, a website featuring Florida Folk Artists, as the director of videography and editing. www.folkvine.org

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U - Z

Trac Minh Vu, trac@fusionpictures.org (www.fusionpictures.org)

By day, I am working for a non-profit summer program called Summerbridge Portland. By night, I am actively producing a couple of documentary video and radio projects. My first and only completed documentary, "Letters to Thien," is being distributed by NAATA for educational markets.

Ben Weinstein

I've been working as a Cinematographer since I left Cornell in 1993 at a a slow but steady rate. After about a dozen shorts I shot an independent feature, SNOW DAYS, a romantic comedy starring Bernadette Peters which premiered at the 1999 AFI Los Angeles International Film Fetsival and then played at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, recieving critical acclaim in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. More recently I shot four commercials with actor/director Andy Dick and Squeak Pictures here in Los Angeles. I'm now looking for another independent feature, and plan to start directing a handful of shorts I have written, most likely for the internet.

Bryan Wizemann ('95) bryan@ballastfilms.com

*Added Jan. 2007

My senior thesis film BUTTON SOUP, a dark reinterpretation of the children’s story, screened at the Johnson Museum of Art and at Cinema Village New York. I then made an experimental student feature film SENSE with the help of Cornell, which screened in the 1998 IFFM at the Angelika Film Centre.

After studying with Tom Noonan at New York’s Paradise Theater, I wrote and directed the full-length stage play LOSING GROUND, based on the experiences of my mother who endured a four-year gambling addiction in Las Vegas. The play had a four-week run in the spring of 2003. I later directed Rhonda Keyser in an original monologue LOOKING FOR A SKY BLUE HAT, which was featured in the theatrical production MOUTHPIECES. In 2004 I adapted, produced and directed the film version of LOSING GROUND which features its original cast and premiered at the 2005 Cinequest film festival. The film has been called “a stunning array of drama and performances worthy of Eugene O’Neill” and “fascinating filmmaking that gets to the core of humanity.” It's now available on Netflix (www.losingground.net). My recent short film THE MORNING SUN screened throughout September on IFC, and our pilot for the television series COOKLYN is currently in development.

I was recently part of Hunter’s MFA program for fine arts as a conceptual artist in all manner of medium, though my last semester someone attended for me in a kind of art project (www.surrogategraduate.com). My work has been exhibited in and around New York and is part of several collections. I've authored a collection of dramatic monologues, two stage plays, and five screenplays, and recently founded Ballast Films, an independent film production company in Brooklyn, NY. The fine art portfolio can be viewed online at www.bryanwizemann.com, and current film and television projects can be found at www.ballastfilms.com.

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