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Alyssa Cowan – University of Nevada
Darius Films, Spring ‘09
Alyssa Cowan is an undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Reno with a dual major in Journalism and Economics. She has been very involved in media on campus. In her freshman and sophomore years she hosted a radio show on Wolf Pack Radio, UNR's student radio station. She regularly volunteers for Reno's NPR affiliate. In her junior year she helped start U Cast, a student television network that helps students practice their broadcast, editing, writing and reporting skills. Alyssa also helped lead the UNR Students for Liberty club, which grew to be one of the largest and most active political clubs on campus.
In her free time Alyssa likes to do stand up comedy perform with her comedy troupe. She plans to graduate from UNR in 2010 and wants to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
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Clark Shell – Wake Forest University
Duncan Scott Productions, Spring ‘09
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Clark Shell graduated in May, 2008, from Wake Forest University with a BA in Psychology. During his academic studies, he was fascinated by how human perception gathers information about the objective world, organizes it into meaningful units, and acts based on this information. This focus, in turn, led to an interest in the way filmmakers perform similar feats with the camera, using specific perspectives to draw the audience into the story’s world. Clark turned this interest into a hobby in 2006, when he bought a camcorder and began making short, impromptu documentaries, filming and editing by trial and error.
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Danielle Navish -- Palm Beach Atlantic University '10
Main St. Productions, Summer ‘09
A Massachusetts native, Danielle has been heavily involved with the arts since her formative years. This passion for fine arts, music, and theatre has inspired an interest in the cinematic arts. Currently, Danielle attends Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL., pursuing a bachelors degree in Film Production.
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Jennifer Stratton – George Mason University
1st Ave. Machine, Fall ‘08
Jennifer Stratton has always possessed a fascination with exploring different ideas through visual media. In 2007 she graduated from George Mason University with dual degrees in Cultural Studies and Art & Visual Technology. Through her work at organizations including the Entertainment Industries Council and the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., Jennifer experienced firsthand how filmmaking can be a creative force in making a difference and effecting societal changes. After Jennifer's 2008 IHS Fall Production Internship, 1st Ave. Machine hired her to work full-time. Jennifer plans to obtain a graduate degree in filmmaking and continue working on experimental multimedia projects and documentary films.
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John Wheeler-Rappe – Columbia University
Process Pictures, Summer ‘09
John Wheeler-Rappe is a graduate film student at Columbia University. He also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. His interest in film production began while interning at Scott Rudin Productions in New York, and has continued while working in development at Process Pictures, also in New York. His interest in liberty and its related ideas has come from a long and concerted study of American as well as classical history. |
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Nathan Chaffetz -- Bowdoin College
Reason.tv, Summer ‘09
Nathan Chaffetz graduated from Bowdoin College with an AB in Economics in 2008. He grew up in Los Angeles and New York City. Nathan has worked for such television programs as ABC’s 20/20, Penn & Teller: Bullshit! and South Park. In his free time he produces a web-based sketch comedy called “Ironic T-Shirt.”
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Robert Daniel Hanna – University of Southern California
Duncan Scott Productions, Summer ‘09
Daniel Hanna is in his second year of the graduate program at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Since he became interested in film, he has made a low-budget feature and a number of HD shorts, and written several feature screenplays. His professional goal is to write and direct independent films focusing on issues, characters, and conflicts overlooked in standard Hollywood productions. |
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Toby Fell-Holden – Columbia University
Open City Films, Summer ‘09
Toby Fell-Holden is a graduate student on the Columbia Film MFA program focused in writing/directing. His interest in film developed whilst reading philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. He received the prestigious Gibbs Prize for politics for his dissertation on the political influence of Leo Strauss on Neoconservative foreign policy .
During his undergraduate studies Toby was the JCR president of his college. His interest in student affairs continues at Columbia as a member of the Artist Student Council. Toby spent his summer in Manhattan working at Open City films in their development team where he had the opportunity to work with 'La Nana' director Sebastian Silva.
Toby will be running Columbia's annual screenplay festival next year. Through filmmaking he hopes to explore issues of free speech and political oppression in both narrative and nonfiction forms.
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