CREW

Scott Drucker
Director/Co-Producer

Scott was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended North Central College for his B.A. in English and Secondary Education. It was then he found ICADS, a study abroad institute that focuses on developing communities in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Based on his interest in both the environment and education, Jose Cruz (program mentor) helped him find Ostional back in 2005 for the location of his internship. After developing a local library and teaching at the school, he left Ostional with a strong desire to create something new for the community, which eventually led to the inception of this project.

Scott is currently a third year student in USC’s School of Cinematic Arts MFA program. He has worked on three documentaries since arriving at USC, including The Good Life (the story of professional skateboarder and director Steve Berra), The Edge of the Crest (Director of Photography of the USC 547 project), and Habayn Chayim (third place prize winner at the Jewlicious Film Festival).

Scott continues to test his creativity through his photography which he posts to Looking Glass Memories, his personal blog.

Monica Sender
Co-Producer

Monica is a first generation American, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York in a Russian Jewish community. She attended a Yeshiva from grade school through high school, where she was introduced to the study of religious philosophy, and theology. Upon graduation, she enrolled in the New School University, where she began her formal education in the arts. She received her BA in Fiction Writing under the mentorship of writer & poet Lynda Schor. Her involvement in film was a result of writing, and her involvement with experimental theatre groups such as the Ontological Hysteric Theatre of Richard Foreman, The Wooster Group, and Exit Art. As an audio-visual artist, she supported such organizations in the installations of their shows, which included filmed Media. She then worked as a production assistant on many films such as The Departed and Little Children, and eventually had the opportunity to work as an assistant to director Stephen Daldry (The Reader).

Monica is currently pursuing her MFA at the USC School of Cinematic Arts with an emphasis on directing. She is committed to producing films that represent her multi-cultural perspective, and consciously engage the viewer with brave content.

Jon Miller
Cinematographer

Born on Long Island, Jon grew up in the shadow of New York City and was influenced by its rich tradition of film, theater, and art. At 16 Jon had his first experience with film when he was accepted into the New York State Summer School of the Media Arts. Jon attended Brown University where he studied film history, photography and graphic design. His junior year he was accepted to the Slade School of Fine Art in London to further pursue his work with video art. While attending Brown, Jon worked in a variety of film production jobs in New York City including Camera Assistant and Camera Operator. After graduating from Brown with honors, Jon moved west to Los Angeles to pursue a career in cinematography.

Jon earned a Master of Fine Arts from University of Southern California's School of the Cinematic Arts where he received the Thomas B. Bush Scholarship for Excellence in Cinematography. Jon has worked as a Director of Photography for FX Network, American Apparel, Quiksilver, Toyota, Heineken, MTV, and mtvU. His work has also been seen at film festivals including the Gen Art Film Festival , Stockholm International Film Festival , The Nickel Independent Film Festival, and the Valley International Film Festival where his work on the commercial "Life Edited" was awarded Best Commercial for 2007. Jon continues to work as a Director of Photography splitting his time between Los Angeles and New York.

Mariana Flores
Editor

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Mariana Flores moved to Los Angeles to attend film school at the University of Southern California, with an emphasis in editing. She is currently editing the USC thesis film, Surf Detroit.

Libby Wells
Editor

With a focus in Directing and Editing, Libby Wells has recently edited USC's award winning television pilot RX. Multi-faceted Wells has spent two years traveling the globe as a videographer for the US women's National Soccer Team and is also recording a demo as the bassist for rock/blues band, Our Hospitality. She is currently preparing to write and direct her own thesis project set to shoot in the spring of 2010.

Evan Cheng
Sound Design

Evan was born and raised in Taiwan. Gaining inspiration from Chinese and Taiwanese filmmakers, he attended the summer film program for international students at New York University. His short film This is Cinema, which he created for the summer program, won awards at festivals throughout China. This is Cinema continues to inspire the director.


CREW
Scott Drucker Director/Co-Producer Scott was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended North Central College for his B.A. in English and Secondary Education. It was then he found ICADS, a study abroad institute that focuses on developing communities in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Based on his interest in both the environment and education, Jose Cruz (program mentor) helped him find Ostional back in 2005 for the location of his internship. After developing a local library and teaching at the school, he left Ostional with a strong desire to create something new for the community, which eventually led to the inception of this project. Scott is currently a third year student in USC’s School of Cinematic Arts MFA program. He has worked on three documentaries since arriving at USC, including The Good Life (the story of professional skateboarder and director Steve Berra), The Edge of the Crest (Director of Photography of the USC 547 project), and Habayn Chayim (third place prize winner at the Jewlicious Film Festival). Scott continues to test his creativity through his photography which he posts to Looking Glass Memories, his personal blog.

	Monica Sender Co-Producer Monica is a first generation American, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York in a Russian Jewish community. She attended a Yeshiva from grade school through high school, where she was introduced to the study of religious philosophy, and theology. Upon graduation, she enrolled in the New School University, where she began her formal education in the arts. She received her BA in Fiction Writing under the mentorship of writer & poet Lynda Schor. Her involvement in film was a result of writing, and her involvement with experimental theatre groups such as the Ontological Hysteric Theatre of Richard Foreman, The Wooster Group, and Exit Art. As an audio-visual artist, she supported such organizations in the installations of their shows, which included filmed Media. She then worked as a production assistant on many films such as The Departed and Little Children, and eventually had the opportunity to work as an assistant to director Stephen Daldry (The Reader). Monica is currently pursuing her MFA at the USC School of Cinematic Arts with an emphasis on directing. She is committed to producing films that represent her multi-cultural perspective, and consciously engage the viewer with brave content.

Jon Miller Cinematographer Born on Long Island, Jon grew up in the shadow of New York City and was influenced by its rich tradition of film, theater, and art. At 16 Jon had his first experience with film when he was accepted into the New York State Summer School of the Media Arts. Jon attended Brown University where he studied film history, photography and graphic design. His junior year he was accepted to the Slade School of Fine Art in London to further pursue his work with video art. While attending Brown, Jon worked in a variety of film production jobs in New York City including Camera Assistant and Camera Operator. After graduating from Brown with honors, Jon moved west to Los Angeles to pursue a career in cinematography. Jon earned a Master of Fine Arts from University of Southern California's School of the Cinematic Arts where he received the Thomas B. Bush Scholarship for Excellence in Cinematography. Jon has worked as a Director of Photography for FX Network, American Apparel, Quiksilver, Toyota, Heineken, MTV, and mtvU. His work has also been seen at film festivals including the Gen Art Film Festival , Stockholm International Film Festival , The Nickel Independent Film Festival, and the Valley International Film Festival where his work on the commercial "Life Edited" was awarded Best Commercial for 2007. Jon continues to work as a Director of Photography splitting his time between Los Angeles and New York.


	Mariana Flores Editor Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Mariana Flores moved to Los Angeles to attend film school at the University of Southern California, with an emphasis in editing. She is currently editing the USC thesis film, Surf Detroit.


Libby Wells Editor With a focus in Directing and Editing, Libby Wells has recently edited USC's award winning television pilot RX. Multi-faceted Wells has spent two years traveling the globe as a videographer for the US women's National Soccer Team and is also recording a demo as the bassist for rock/blues band, Our Hospitality. She is currently preparing to write and direct her own thesis project set to shoot in the spring of 2010.

	Evan Cheng Sound Design Evan was born and raised in Taiwan. Gaining inspiration from Chinese and Taiwanese filmmakers, he attended the summer film program for international students at New York University. His short film This is Cinema, which he created for the summer program, won awards at festivals throughout China. This is Cinema continues to inspire the director.