Archive for the ‘the anniversary’ Category
Meet the Director: Stephen Mack
Today we highlight Stephen Mack, writer and director of The Anniversary.
Stephen Mack studied music at the New School Jazz Program in Manhattan before plunging into the world of film. He wrote and directed his first short film Nathan in 2006, followed by the Super16 feature Last Winter for which he won Peer Silver awards for directing and original composition at the DC Peer Awards in 2009. He was also awarded an Artist Fellowship Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 2006, which helped fund the production of Last Winter. He has worked on many narrative, documentary, and television projects in the DC/Baltimore area as an editor, assistant director, as well as in the camera, grip, and electric departments.
“I wrote the first draft of The Anniversary almost as an afterthought. But I sent it off to three competitions and it placed in two of them, so that’s when I went back to it and started to develop it into something I could direct. I decided that if I was going to turn this into a film, it had to be something that would stand out from the pack: something that was uncompromising in every aspect and really aroused the audience. My hope is that it shows people something about themselves that disturbs them, then makes them laugh about it. And if it offends a few people along the way, that’s just a bonus.”
Meet the Producers: Tricia Homer
We continue our series highlighting the key players of The Anniversary with producer Tricia Homer.
Tricia Homer — that’s pronounced TREE-see-ya — has a deep-seated interest in the arts and arts education. She has worked as a casting director, locations manager, script supervisor, production assistant, and in theatrical stage management. She has also worked as a teaching artist, visual theater artist, dancer, and actor. She attended Wesleyan University where she earned a BA in Government. As Miss US Virgin Islands, Tricia was voted Miss Congeniality at the 2005 Miss Universe Pageant. In 2004 and 2005 Tricia produced The Vagina Monologues in St. Thomas and raised over $13,000 for groups dedicated to ending violence against women. Film credits include Fair Game: The Valerie Plame Story, College Hill Season IV, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
“I agreed to help produce The Anniversary before I had even read the script. Justin and Stephen contacted me on the recommendation of a mutual colleague, and I was immediately won over by their enthusiasm. After reading the script, I saw that this project truly has great potential: fantastic script, stellar team!”
Meet the Producers: Justin Adams
As we close in on final casting decisions for The Anniversary, we will be introducing the key players involved in the project one by one. We begin today with producer Justin Adams.
Justin Adams was working as a producer of a political discussion show on local cable television when he decided he wanted to go into debt. Three years later, he completed his MFA in Film and Electronic Media at American University. After completing his degree, he focused on independent productions and has worked in positions ranging from production assistant, grip, unit manager, editor, director and producer. Justin’s first feature-length film was Logan Circle’s Last Winter, for which he won Peer Gold at the 2009 DC Peer Awards for Field Sound Production. Since then he has been working on “green” video projects at NOAA. He now returns to Logan Circle Films to co-produce The Anniversary. And he is happy to report that he is making progress paying off his student loans.
“When Stephen showed me the script, I felt I had to be a part of this project. So when he and Rob asked me to step in and help produce this project, I jumped at the chance. Since I’ve worked with Stephen and Rob before, I know they share a similar respect for the art of film. This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”