Filmmakers

R.L. HOOKER
Writer/Director/Producer

Upon graduating from University of Southern California with a degree from the Annenberg School of Communication, R.L. moved to New York City to take an entry-level position in Miramax’s regional publicity and marketing department. After a little more than a year, R.L. made the move to the Co-Chairman, Harvey Weinstein’s desk. In 2000, R.L. was promoted to Director of Development where he worked with some of the industry’s leading writers. In 2002, R.L. left Miramax to pursue his lifelong dream of going to film school. R.L. was accepted to University of Southern California’s School of Cinema and Television Production program in the Fall of 2003.

During his time at USC, R.L. has written two feature screenplays and produced and directed several short films. R.L. was awarded the 2006 Fuji Film USA Film Grant for his thesis The Knife Grinder’s Tale.

YVONNE ADHIAMBO OWUOR
Writer (short story)

A Kenyan writer, conservation and cultural activist, arts manager and traveler, Yvonne has had dappled career in several countries in a variety of fields including technology, social development, small business development, water management and conservation management. She served as Executive Director of the multi-arts Zanzibar International Film Festival for three years. She relinquished the position in 2005 to concentrate on finishing her first novel, “Dancing in the Chalbi.” She is better known as a short story writer and was awarded the 2003 Caine Prize for African Writing for her story, “Weight of Whispers.” She has had several short pieces, fiction and non-fiction published in different publications worldwide.

GREGG HELVEY
Producer

Gregg Helvey graduated from the University of Virginia with degrees in French and English. He worked briefly at National Geographic Traveler before moving to England to teach French at Wellington College, an independent boarding school. He was also artist in residence for photography during his time there.

Helvey’s experience includes shooting documentary footage for BBC1 in India as well as other independent documentary projects in China, Kenya, Egypt and Estonia. Most recently he directed a short documentary, ‘Overexposed,’ which examines how sexualized mass media and pornography affect men’s abilities to navigate intimacy. For the remainder of his time at USC, he will concentrate predominately on fiction filmmaking.

CHIARA PAGLIERI
Producer

Chiara Paglieri graduated from the University of Sussex (UK) with a BA in Media Studies with European Studies and Spanish. Born and raised in Kenya of Italian parents she returned to Nairobi after her university to begin working in Film production.

Chiara worked for Blue Sky Films for a year starting as production assistant and moving up to production manager/coordinator working on productions such as “The Constant Gardner”, BBC’s “Empire Warriors”, “Nokia Challenge”, TVC and more.

Currently, Chiara is a freelance Production Manager and/or Producer for Documentary, TV commercials, News & Current Affairs and Film productions, such as, “The Knife Grinder’s Tale”, “African Spelling Book” for Natural Geographic, News segments for ABC (American Broadcast Corporation), “East African Classic Safari Rally”, Aids awareness TV commercials, “My Sister” feature documentary and many others.

MAXIMILLIAN GUTIERREZ
Director of Photography

A San Francisco Bay Area native, Max attended the University of California at Berkeley before joining the ad world in his hometown. After several years of working in Broadcast Production with agencies such as Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Max left for Los Angeles to pursue opportunities in e-commerce. As the Director of Marketing for SampleReels.com, he developed a solid foundation in both advertising and marketing. He then returned to school to develop a directing and cinematography sample reel of his own, specializing in commercial and music videos.

During his tenure at the University of Southern California, he was twice nominated for the ASC’s Heritage award and garnered honors for excellence in cinematography from that same organization. Two USC projects he has been Director or Photography have received the Fuji Film USA Film Grant as well. He has since been the Director of Photography on several feature films, music videos and commercial spots.

MTV Europe nominated his directorial debut, ‘Bubble Bounce’ for the “Music Video of the Year.”

ELI RAREY
Editor

Eli currently attends USC MFA Production program. He recently was selected by Paramount to be the student director for their student-written PSA for the Know HIV/AIDS Foundation. The PSA has recently screened on Showtime, and the process of making the film has been documented by MTV News. Before attending film school, Rarey worked as a writer and performer with the SCIENCE PROJECT theater company in New York City, as well as other off-off-broadway productions. He is now editing his own thesis film, EDEN JONES.

ANDREW KAISER
Composer

Andrew Kaiser currently works as a composer writing for film, television, and the concert stage. His recent film credits include scores for the films Flourish and Fast Money, as well as additional music in the films Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties and Cheaper by the Dozen. His music can also be heard on television in several shows, including “Survivor” and “The Apprentice.”