2019 Archive: StudioFest Ojai, CA
The second annual StudioFest took place in Ojai, California September 20-22, 2019. Ten incredibly talented filmmakers - five screenwriters and five directors - were chosen to attend the festival as finalists. The weekend kicked off with a special screening of Souvenirs, the debut StudioFest feature written and directed by the 2018 winners Matthew Sorvillo (writer) and Anna Mikami (director). After a weekend of film screenings, script readings, pool parties, and camp fires, writer Lowam Eyasu and director Ryan Oksenberg were crowned the winners of StudioFest, Ojai.
2019 Winners Ryan Oksenberg and Lowam Eyasu
Writer Lowam Eyasu and Director Ryan Oksenberg are currently in pre-production for their debut feature film, which is being fully funded and produced by StudioFest. A special test screening of their movie will be held at StudioFest 2020 in Austin, Texas.
StudioFest 2019 Judges
Michael Bofshever
Michael Bofshever has sustained a distinguished acting career for over forty years. He made his stage debut in Al Pacino’s “Richard III” for the Theatre Company of Boston and went on to be a founding member of the Actors Producing Company in NYC. His stage career has included the Actors Studio, Circle Repertory Company, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Taper, Too festival, and West Coast Jewish Theater, to name only a few. He has an extensive list of guest starring TV roles, most recently on “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Barry,” “Scandal,” “True Blood,” “The Shield,” and dozens more. He is perhaps best known for his recurring role as Mr. Pinkman on “Breaking Bad,” as well as a series regular on the Disney Channel’s”The Jersey” in the role of Larry Lighter. His many film credits include Lasse Hailstorm’s “A Dog’s Purpose,” Paul Greengrass’ “United 93,” Mark Rydell’s “Crime of the Century,” and R.J. Daniel Hanna’s “Miss Virginia.”
Suzi Yoonessi
Suzi Yoonessi’s film “Unlovable” premiered at SXSW, winning a special jury prize. The Duplass brothers production was theatrically released by Orion Classics and stars academy award winner Melissa Leo, academy award nominee John Hawkes, and comedian Charlene deGuzman. Her award-winning first feature film “Dear Lemon Lima” was released by Phase 4 Films, HBO, Showtime, and the Sundance Channel. Yoonessi directed “Daphne and Velma” for Warner Bros., the origin story of two female super sleuths from Scooby Doo. She was nominated for an Outstanding Directing Emmy for “Relationship Status” and directed Snapchat’s most successful original series, the Webby-nominated “Dead Girls Detective Agency” for Indigo. Yoonessi also directs branded, short, and commercial spots. She was nominated for a Streamy award for her international women’s day spot #ownyourvoice. Yoonessi received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and her MFA from Columbia University where she was a recipient of the FMI Directing Fellowship.
Andrew Houchens
is a filmmaker and industry professional based in Mexico City. He’s currently producing “499 years” - a documentary feature on the legacy of colonialism in Mexico directed by Rodrigo Reyes - which has received support from the Sundance and Tribeca film institutes. He’s also consulting producer on Reyes’ “After the Raid,” a short doc for Netflix. He produced “Swallowed” for director Lily Baldwin, which premiered at SXSW and was distributed by the Criterion Collection. He forms part of the teams of the Berlinale’s European film market and the DocsMX documentary festival in Mexico City. Previously, he oversaw Tribeca’s TFI co-production market and worked for the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) in New York, producing the Gotham Independent Film Awards, and has collaborated with the Los Cabos and Brasília International film festivals. Andrew started his career with Open City Films, Killer Films, and Likely Story. He’s been a jury member for Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ film festival and a programming consultant for the Nantucket Film Festival. In 2018, he directed his first film, “Juan de las Brujas,” which premiered in competition at Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Jamie Donnelly
Jamie Donnelly is most popularly known as “Pink Lady” Jan in the film “Grease,” a role she also played on broadway seven years before the film version. She made her broadway debut at age seventeen as Lulu in Kander and Ebb’s first show, “Flora the Red Menace.” She also originated the role of Ethel Levey in “George M! ” Her television credits span from the “The Six Million Dollar Man” to recurring roles in “Ray Donovan” with Liev Schreiber, as well as the web series “All Downhill from Here.”
StudioFest 2019 Finalists
Directors
Screenwriters
Chiara Fleischhacker
Chiara was was raised in Erfurt, Germany. After high school, she spent six months in Cuba and studied psychology in Freiburg before finally deciding to become a filmmaker. She began studying documentary directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg where she made two short documentaries about the German prison system and an experimental short about a triathlete. Recently, she has dedicated herself to fiction storytelling. Her short films have screened and won awards at several film festivals. Her latest short film was screened on the European Culture Channel ARTE.
Rachel Annette Helson
SHOOT Online named Rachel a 2019 New Director to Watch for “Hatched,” a short starring “Teen Wolf” series regular Melissa Ponzio that premiered at the DGA and is an official selection of Hollyshorts and the Louisville International Festival of Film. She was selected as a director for the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge sponsored by RED and Zeiss. She’s produced, edited, and directed over 150 online ads and branded videos for clients like Macy’s, Pepsi, and more. She’s the co-creator, exec. producer, writer, and character designer for "Cape Kids," a children's TV show starring David Faustino, Keith Powell, and Suzy Nakamura. She’s guest starred on TV shows "The Knick," "Law & Order: SVU," and more. In 2009, she became the youngest producer in Broadway history to be nominated for a Tony Award. She’s an NYU Tisch School of the Arts grad.
Jessica Liu
Jessica points her lens at slice of life, character-driven stories like her short "Memory Blocks" about the transition of three young adults in Singapore, and "oRaNgEdReAmS," an exploration of tongue-in-cheek middle school moments. Since graduating from UCSC with degrees in Feminist Studies and Film & Digital Media, her work has screened at such festivals as National Geographic All Roads, Cinequest, Dances with Films, Newfilmmakers LA, and San Diego Asian Film Festival. Her latest, “Prom Time!,” is a magical realism film revolving around cross-generational desire. It won the Best Women’s Empowerment award at Anaheim Film Fest. She’s a member of the Alliance of Women Directors.
Ryan Oksenberg
Ryan is an LA-based writer/director from Toronto, Ontario and a School of the Art Institute of Chicago grad. He got his start with online cult favorite "Cease To Exist," a doc exploring the music motive to the Manson murders. His docuseries "Life Line Booth" aired on Participant Media's TV network, Pivot. "Damage Control" premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival and was awarded Best Thriller, Best Director, and Best Actor by Top Shorts Film Festival. He worked with the team behind “The Hunger Games” trilogy on “Bermuda Triangle,” a feature he co-wrote. “The Whip,” a screenplay co-written with author Karen Kondazian based on her award-winning historical fiction novel, is in development. His latest, “Together,” premiered at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Adventuring, playing drums, and helping others where he can keeps him inspired and grounds an overactive imagination he's had since he can remember.
Katherine Oostman
Katherine was homeschooled, studied at Oxford, and worked the Sochi Olympics. She concerns herself with the dramatic, philosophical, and futuristic. Her short “The Stranger” screened at San Diego Comic Con, TCL Chinese Theater, the Atlanta Film Festival, and the Florida Film Festival, and won a bronze Telly for directing and the Grand Jury Prize for Best College Short at Gasparilla Film Festival. Her feature script “The Stranger” was an American Zoetrope Screenwriting Competition Quarterfinalist. She’s worked as a story consultant for PlayStation's Emerging Filmmakers program and Asbury University's feature "Damaged Goods." She’s taught an undergrad and graduate level Directing Narrative Film class at Asbury and holds an MFA in Film Production at Florida State University.
Douglas Cushnie
After getting his start at a young age in action sports cinematography, Douglas gradually moved to narrative and commercial film, eventually directing “Volar en línea recta,” a short based on the lives of, and starring, close friends of his in Nicaragua. This led to directing more projects in Latin America and the US. He was accepted to a Directing fellowship at the American Film Institute, graduating with his College Emmy-nominated thesis, “Neemkomok.” He's passionate about telling the stories of underrepresented people and places.
Lowam Eyasu
Lowam immigrated from Eritrea at 2 years old to the small town of Barstow, CA. She earned a BA in performance at California State University Long Beach and studied under Jeff Perry and Alexander Billings at Steppenwolf Theatre West. She eventually began to write and produce her own content. After living in LA and NY she learned that the industry wasn’t quite representing women like her, so she started VKTRY Creative, a production company focused on narrative content for women, women of color, and other underrepresented groups. She’s passionate about narratives that uphold unique individual stories seldom told. With VKTRY, Lowam has produced numerous projects, written 2 features, and reached the 2nd round of Sundance’s Episodic Lab with her pilot “Habbish.”
Rachel Thomas-Medwid
Rachel is a screenwriter, author, and editor. She’s been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, received the Alice Brandt Deeds Prize for Excellence in Creative Writing, and was a Serena Kennedy Award finalist for her short stories collection. Her short story, “The God of Meat,” was performed at the Open Theatre Festival in Boston. Her screenplays have placed in writing contests and festivals held by Page International, BlueCat, Table Read My Screenplay, Circus Road, The Screenplay Festival, StoryPros, WriteMovies, Hollywood Screenplay Competition, and Bankable Script. Her TV pilot "The Lost Opera" won top place in the 2019 London International Filmmaker Festival and the Fade In Awards, and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Sherman Oaks Film Festival, and more. Her feature scripts “The Joppa Flat” and “Fits” have also earned numerous awards.
Patrick Phelan
Since escaping his imprisonment in the womb, cutting his own umbilical cord with a handmade shiv, Patrick has been living a life of danger and lawlessness. Raised in the Middle-Of-Nowhere, Massachusetts, Patrick got his kicks by living on the edge. You could often find him illicitly jaywalking. Once he loitered right in front of a “NO LOITERING” sign. After Unearthing his family’s camcorder, Patrick began documenting his antics, creating hours of footage playing ding-dong-ditch, thus beginning his cinematic oeuvre.
Wendy Jean Wilkins
Wendy is a screenwriter, filmmaker, and comedian named one of ISA’s Top-25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2019. Hailing from New York, she’s lived and worked in Hollywood for over 25 years. She’s been a participant or finalist in writing workshops and contests held by Warner Bros., ABC/Disney, Final Draft, Women in Film: NY/Meryl Streep Writers Lab, and Austin Film Festival, plus 40 other competition placements and awards. Her original pilot script “Hometown” won the ISA Fast Track VI Fellowship and the Space & Time Film Festival’s screenplay competition. Her feature script “Where the Men Are” won Best Comedy Script at the Creative World Awards and was a Richmond International Film Festival finalist. Her short script “Insignificant” won Best Dark Comedy short screenplay at both the Houston Comedy and Austin Comedy Short Film Festivals. Her latest, “A Short Burst of Infatuation,” was a semi-finalist for Table Read My Script: Park City and Austin. She’s currently a staff writer/director for the satirical news website Omnarchy.com.