HollyShorts

Bio

With a passion for film and filmmaking since childhood, Daniel decided to move to California in 2000 with an interest in the film business. After working on Commercial Productions as a PA and then acting in various short films, he gained an interest and knowledge into what it takes to put together a film. With that came friendships, and with the people he met along the way the common theme sprung up: Young Filmmakers had no access to industry professionals, and they had no way to screen movies locally. This sprung the idea for the HollyShorts Film Festival. Now 6 years in, HollyShorts has quickly become the most influental short film festival in Los Angeles, and Daniel’s effort and dedication to the festival and its filmmakers as Festival Director has led to this growth. Aside from HollyShorts, Sol also battles daily with Domestic Exhibitors as a Southwest Regional Sales Manager at Lionsgate.

Theo Dumont, Co-Founder/Producer HollyShorts Film Festival Producer

An addict to the filmmaking process, Dumont teamed up with Daniel Sol in 2004 with the goal to provide a platform for filmmakers to showcase their independent short films, network with industry professionals and create insightful, industry career-advancing panels and forums. Dumont is currently a corporate communications executive and has a background in executing media/public relations campaigns. Dumont has served as a publicist at some of Hollywood’s leading entertainment companies. He is also a graduate of Florida International University.

Ryan Black, Grindstone Acquisitions

Ryan Black graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a degree in Marketing in 2004. His passion for film and his aspirations of one day contributing to this cherished medium led him to L.A., where he promptly began Production Assistant work on films such as “Dirty” and “London” which were Silver Nitrate productions. After the films were completed, Ryan began working as an office intern for Silver Nitrate and was eventually hired on full time.

After two years at Silver Nitrate, Ryan moved on to the Grindstone Entertainment Group, a division of Lionsgate Entertainment. In the past three years Ryan has advanced from Executive Assistant to the Acquisitions and Administration Manager. Along with his acquisition duties for the company, Ryan has served as Associate Producer for several of the films that Grindstone has produced, including “Wrong Side of Town” (starring WWE Superstars David Bautista and Rob Van Dam) “Beatdown” (Starring Rudy Youngblood, Danny Trejo and UFC Superstar Michael Bisping) and most recently “Blood Out” (starring Val Kilmer, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Vinnie Jones).

Ryan has taken several screen writing classes and enjoys writting his own screenplays that he hopes to one day produce. He also enjoys working with friends and business associates on developing scripts for potential projects.

Phillipe Casseus

Elliott Owen

Jamie Linden, Screenwriter DEAR JOHN

Ariana Jackson, Producer

Nicole Castro

Damon Campbell

Frantz Durand

Peter Russell, Story Analyst, HollyShorts Judge
Peter Russell is a story analyst for Walden (AFG) Films, Imagine Films, Participant Films and CBS Television Network. He is an instructor at UCLA’s Extension School, Entertainment Division where he teaches on film and television story. He lives in Malibu, California.

Stacy Parks, Author, Founder Filmspecific.com, HollyShorts Judge

Miss Parks began her entertainment career at Poly Gram Records in Paris, France as an International Marketing assistant. After returning to the U.S, she entered the William Morris Agency as an assistant in the Soundtrack division, and later moved to the Independent Film division where she learned film financing, packaging, and pre-sales from the pros. After leaving William Morris, Miss Parks went to work as Associate Producer on Shadow Magic (Sony Pictures Classics), one of the first international co-productions to be shot in the People’s Republic of China. In 2001 Miss Parks paired up with British P.R guru Lynne Franks and directed and produced a series of short documentaries for SEED TV in London. After returning to Los Angeles from London, she began work at foreign sales agency Echelon Entertainment as V.P of international sales, and later moved on to ACT 1 Entertainment where she was also V.P of International Sales. As a foreign sales agent, she sold hundreds of films to worldwide distributors and helped filmmakers realize their dreams of distribution. She also raised international co-production and pre-sale money for several films. After spending years as a foreign sales agent, she decided to write a book “The Inside Guide To Independent Film Distribution” (Focal Press), since there was nothing else on the market that told the actual truth to filmmakers about the distribution game. Miss Parks later went on to launch the online Film Distribution community Film Specific (www.FilmSpecific.com) offering filmmakers the opportunity to interact directly with distributors. Miss Parks holds an Masters degree in International Business and currently resides in Los Angeles, California where she is a Sales Executive at BBC Worldwide.

Larry Hankin, Actor/Writer/Producer, HollyShorts Judge

Larry graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Industrial Design, immediately moved to Greenwich Village, New York and started telling funny stories in coffee houses and nightclubs, which led to him open for acts that included Miles Davis, “The Lovin’ Spoonful”, “Blood, Sweat, & Tears”, and Woody Allen, among others. Those engagements led him to Chicago where he joined, “Second City”, but soon left with several of his fellow improvisers and director Alan Myerson, and headed for San Francisco where they founded, “The Committee”, a Second City rival. Within two years, the group (all from New York) was invited to New York to headline on Broadway at the St. James Theatre for a limited, three-month run. Hankin then headed for Hollywood, where, in quick succession, he did a guest star role on “Laverne & Shirley” and then co-starred as Charlie Butz in Clint Eastwood’s feature, “Escape from Alcatraz”. Larry used the money he made on those two roles to write, direct, and produce “Solly’s Diner”, a film short in which he starred as “Sometimes Jones”, a down and out street character he’d been writing short fables about for years. The film earned an Academy Award “Oscar” nomination, was distributed worldwide, and was invited (along with Larry) to the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. Since then, Larry has appeared in over 30 films - including, “Escape from Alcatraz”, “Annie,” “Running Scared”, “Home Alone”, “Pretty Woman”, and “Billy Madison”. Recently, Larry’s just finished filming two about-to-be-released features: one, a murder mystery: “The Alphabet Murders,” and the other, a comedy, “Buzzkill”. On TV, he’s guest-stared in over 80 shows from, “Friends” and “Seinfeld”, to “CSI, Las Vegas” and “The Sarah Silverman Show.” On the LATC Main Stage, Larry co-starred as Jacques, in the American theatrical premiere of Milos Kundera’s “Jacques and His Master”, directed by Simon Callow. This inspired Larry to write and produce his comic, One-Man Show, “Emmett Sez”, in which he played “Emmett Deemus”, a homeless-poet-biker. It opened at the Met Theatre in Hollywood to rave reviews. He has since been exploring “Emmett” in a series of his own film shorts. Larry’s latest film short: “The OutLaw Emmett Deemus”, is an introduction to his full-length feature screenplay: “The Outlaw Emmett Deemus”.

David Dean Bottrell Actor/Director, HollyShorts Judge

David Dean Bottrell co-wrote the screenplay for the 2001 Fox Searchlight release KINGDOM COME. A former off-Broadway playwright and sometime TV actor, he is probably best known these days for his reoccurring role as the creepy “Lincoln Meyer” on “Boston Legal.” Over the past twelve years, he has written scripts for Fox Searchlight, MTV Films, Paramount and Disney Feature Animation among others. His first short film, AVAILABLE MEN premiered in March 2006 at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival and has since screened in over 130 film festivals, winning 17 “Best Short Film” awards. David just finished writing a musical for Fox Searchlight and is currently attached to direct his adaptation of Jessica Hendra’s controversial 2006 memoir “How to Cook Your Daughter.”

Alex Sol Actor/Theatre Director, HollyShorts Panelist/Judge

Alex Sol is the artistic director and founder of The Dreamhouse Ensemble. Alex came to Los Angeles 16 years ago. He studied at the Lee Strasburg Theater Institute, where he played Tonto in “Does A Tiger Wear A Necktie” and was granted a full 3 year scholarship. After completing the institute,Alex began performing in various stage productions including “True West”,”Talk To Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen” by Tennessee Williams,”The Sunshine Boys”, “The Root”, and others. During this time Alex was inspired to begin directing. He directed plays such as “Orpheus Descending”, the critically acclaimed “Little Secrets” by Larry Maravilliga, “Savage in Limbo”, and a host of others. Alex also produced and starred in “Roy’s Coffee Shop” which received a nomination for best comedy ensemble in the 2002 LA Weekly Awards. His film credits include New Line Cinema’s “American History X” directed by Tony Kaye, “The Adventures of Pluto Nash”, The Million Dollar Hotel” written by Bono and produced by Mel Gibson, and “Taking Lives.” Alex’s TV credits include guest starring roles on “CSI: New York”, “Cold Case”, and “Without a Trace.” Alex would like to thank his grandmother, Libby, and his mother, Harriet, for their love and support though this journey.

Peter Facer HollyShorts Jury, Producer

Facer’s adventurous spirit brought him from Yorkshire, England to the United States. He made his mark during the music video revolution of the 1980’s, producing the acclaimed music video shows “Video One” and “Video Beat”.
The shows helped enhance the careers of many eighties pop icons including Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Culture Club, Wham!, Tears For Fears, RUN DMC and yes even Michael Jackson! Facer was a key member of the production team that launched E! Entertainment Television in 1990. He co-developed and produced the popular “Behind The Scenes” series for the network. He also produced one hour documentary specials for E! on a variety of film, music and entertainment themes. As an independent producer Facer has continued to hone his behind the scenes production skills, working with a diverse range of clients and on a variety of interesting projects; from Sir Elton John and Yanni, to the FX cable network and New Line Home Entertainment’s “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” Extended Edition dvd. Facer has also written and directed his first independent documentary, “Web Of Secrecy - YF-23 Black Widow II Declassified”, the intriguing story of the Northrop Grumman stealth fighter, and the people who built it.

Shawn Patterson

Shawn Patterson is a seasoned composer with experience spanning over the last 27 years and started gaining attention in the animation world soon after his arrival on the original “Ren & Stimpy Show.” In 2008 Patterson was nominated for “Music in Animated Television Production” Annie Award for his work on “El Tigre.” Shawn’s musical scores have also been heard around the world in award winning indie films. Over the past 27 years Shawn has become an accomplished score composer, producer, songwriter, arranger, and guitarist. Some of his clients include Universal Pictures, Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network, The Sci-Fi Channel, Sony, CBS, Slamdance Film Festival, and South by Southwest.

Patterson has scored and produced in a wide range of mediums: from film and television to film trailers, shorts, and documentaries. He is consistently in demand for his unique and powerful scores in episodic animation; most recently featured in the new Adult Swim comedy “Titan Maximum” plus the pilots for “Kung Fu Panda” and “You’re a Bad Man, Mr. Gum.”