​The American dream, at least the musical version of it, is alive and well. Anyone who needs proof of this can simply ask Indian born guitarist and composer Nipun Nair. He left behind an extremely successful career in his homeland with the band Public Issue.   

​ The group was featured on India’s VH1 and MTV. Public Issue performed headlining tours, playing many festivals, and winning multiple awards (Nipun has won 20 awards for best guitarist in national level competitions). The loss of the band’s bass player in a tragic accident placed Public Issue on hiatus and, after some time away, Nair set his sights on furthering his career in America. In a narrative that seems too optimistic to be true, Nipun landed in LA and went straight to a T Mobile store to obtain cell service. The salesperson who sold him his cell plan was in a band called Destino with (at that time) an undiscovered singer named Anthony Cruz. The two exchanged information and within three days Edgar (the musician/ T-Mobile salesperson) called Nipun to play guitar in the band. Within Nair’s first week of living in the U.S. he was now booked at legendary clubs like the Whiskey a Go Go, the House of Blues, and many others on the iconic Sunset Strip. It wasn’t long before Anthony Cruz was discovered by Randy Phillips and Deborah Corday (music industry legends famous for work with Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Toni Braxton, and more). Nair began his role as the guitarist on Cruz’s songs with songwriter/producer Rafael Esparza Ruiz (known for his work with Santana, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, and many other world famous Latin artists).  

​The Grammy nominated and ASCAP Award winning Rafael saw Nipun with Cruz onstage at a live performance and confirms that he was instantly aware that Nair was a major asset to the music. Esparza also used Nair to play guitar on a host of other Latin songs he was producing.  One of these songs, “Inesperado” has already been selected by EMI music for future release by world-famous artist Anahi. Rafael states, “As an internationally renowned musician, Nipun was undoubtedly leading and crucial to the recording of the songs and to my studio.” He continues confirming, “It became immediately apparent to me upon working with Nipun that he was not simply a session musician, but an artist in his own right. I was amazed at the skill and mastery he has with the guitar. Needless to say, I was overjoyed with his work and would collaborate with him again in a second.”

​  Not only delegated to the world of rock and pop music, Nipun composed music for The Little Theater in Nungambakkam, India. This brainchild of Aysha Rau provides a creative and educational outlet for children to explore the arts in a way not provided by the school system. The Little Theater has quietly been helping underprivileged children since 1991. Its original musical production of “The R.E.D. Bean Can” was one of only 6 productions selected from among 60 all over the world to play at the 22nd International Theater Festival for the youth at Hamaden, Iran. The Little Theater was recognized for its achievements and selected as #10 Best Theater in India by Broadway World. The productions, featuring Nair’s compositions, have played to sold out crowds across Europe and Asia. Nipun revels in the challenge and experience relating, “Working with the Little Theater has been nothing short of an adventure; always pushing the limits of our creativity. We push our productions each year to go one step further, often resulting in incredibly tight deadlines. It is an extremely creative and inspiring project for a musician to be a part of. I scored the most recent production of nine tracks within a week and a half. It turns out that some of your best work comes out when you are under pressure. I’m extremely proud of two productions I have done for The Little Theater. ‘Atita…The Curse of Xenu’ (a post apocalyptic sci-fi Broadway style musical for which I composed the music, trained the vocalists and musicians, and actively involved in brainstorming the plots of the script) and The R.E.D. Bean Can. Both received international attention.” 

​  Continuing his work in live theater here in the U.S., Nair became the in house composer for the Theater of Will, a non-profit arts education company based in southern California. Willard Simms is the president and artistic director. Simms has achieved major notoriety for his work in Biographical drama (winning the 2014 New York Theater Solo Fest award for Best Biography “Einstein: A Stage Portrait, which has also been aired on televisions in the U.S. for three years).  Theater of Will is dedicated to biographical theater and school education programs. They stage dramatic presentations that extend the knowledge of great and influential historical figures on the public stage. Sponsored by LADWP, the musicals focus on the importance of water conservation in both an entertaining and educational format. Simms confirms, “Our shows could never have attained the degree of success that they have without the leading contributions of Nipun Nair.” The theater performs annually at the Grand Park in downtown LA every year (among other performances) and performs in front of thousands during the summer concerts and plays at Warner Park. 

​  Dreaming is a Private Thing, a film produced by Alan Sardana, taps into the increasingly popular concept of Artificial Intelligence. The film was featured at the Toronto Youth Festival and won the award for Best Production Design at the Ryerson University Film Festival in Canada. The question of “where does machine end and humanity begin” is approached in an original way in this tale (based on a short story by Isaac Asimov) of an android named Sam the sampler. Set in the distant future, Sam’s creator is the last filmmaker on Earth and Sam is essentially a camera in human like form. The cast includes Leo Lee (Swordfish, Contact, The Replacement Killers), Susie Park (Spider-Man 2, The Chaos Factor), and Dan Mousseau as Sam. The emotional theme of the film is one of birth, awareness, and even love. To enrich these themes and bring them to the surface, the filmmakers asked Nipun to create a score. What he composed is a dreamy and soothing soundscape that draws upon elements of blues and classical music. Dreaming’s director AJ Smith approached the composer after hearing some of his music online. Nipun recalls, “He [Smith] asked me if I’d like to score the film. I said ‘Absolutely!’ We were short on time, preparing for the festivals. They would send me scene after scene and I kept churning out music…we finished scoring the entire film within three days. It was crazy! I’m glad they were so happy with my work, especially considering the time frame we had to work with.” Director AJ Smith praises Nair commenting, “Upon the first listen, I was instantly impressed with the music Nipun created for the film. He seamlessly merged ambient electronic sounds with a more commercially minded orchestral score to tremendous success and effectiveness. It was a major achievement to have a score like this in our film.”

​  As with many other modern composers and artists, Nipun has found an outlet for his talents in a somewhat more practical outlet avenue. Still exercising his creative abilities, Nair has been lead composer and musician for Rubecon Creative Solutions. Rubecon is a large, award-winning advertising agency in India known for national and international clients such as; Citiband, Ibaco, Arun Ice Cream, Prince Jewelry, and others. Nipun views working with Rubecon as a great opportunity noting, “Rubecon is a creative agency that is always looking to make their commercials as creative and big as possible. Working closely with their CEO and creative head Alexander Zach has been nothing short of inspiring. Working with Rubecon has helped me push the boundaries of my composition and to further my skills with each project.” Rubecon Creative Solutions has been recognized with awards like the Gold award at the Campaign for Dignity and the prestigious Silver Medal for the Times of India at the 2015 Goafest, proving that Nair’s talents have been a major contribution to the company’s impact. Nipur may soon be using his skills in the same arena here in the U.S. via a deal memo with Terremoto Productions. Terremoto is an audio production company founded by award-winning music composer Luis Guerra. His compositions have been featured in commercials for Honda, Samsung, and Mentos, as well as the Netflix documentary Art of Conflict and the Tina Fey feature film Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Among other projects, Nipun would take part as a composer and musician for Disney Junior Channel’s Doc McStuffins. No doubt his time with The Little Theater will greatly aid in his ability to communicate with younger generations. With so many possible paths for Nipun’s career to steer towards, it will be interesting to witness how he navigates them all. 

​There’s many industrious, creative forces that converge in spearheading the stalwart efforts required to create motion pictures and television. Writers lay the foundation, directors command the creative execution, producers marshal together order needed for filming and actors transpose into alternate personas to carry out the visual storytelling medium. 


And that’s merely the scratching the surface. 


Uniting to form a well-oiled machine are many indispensable professionals who specialize in imperative filmmaking processes and functionality. From stunt performers, to hair, make-up and wardrobe, to dialect coaches, set designers, editors, composers, cinematographers and many more, there exists a faction of exceptional professionals who pump to life the heartbeat of any given production. 


It’s in this capacity where standout sound designer Veronica Li excels and has positioned herself in elite status. Li, from Changchun, China, is an intuitive talent and the owner of a catalog of venerable achievements. While audiences behold the front facing performances of actors, it’s the sound that indirectly, but inherently serves as the connective tissue tying together the viewing experience. 


Li has been instrumental in award-winning sound design behind the Bubba McLean-directed short film, “Bicycle and a Way of Life” and writer-director Melanie D’Andrea’s documentary,  “Stand.” Her filmography includes many impressive titles such as the Student Academy Award-winning documentary — “Looking at the Stars” — that tells the inspiring story of a Brazilian ballet school for the blind. Li’s list of achievements in sound are present with other film titles including director Guan Xi’s award-winning “Mandala,” as well as Michael Bay’s “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” (Paramount Pictures) and Columbia’s recently released “The Shallows” that stars Blake Lively, which debuted with a $17 million opening weekend at the box office. 


Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with Li for an exclusive question and answer session where she gave us the scoop on her methods, artistry and experiences. We invite you to enjoy our behind the scenes look into the work of one of today’s premier sound designers. 


How would you summarize your role and responsibilities as a sound designer for film and TV? 


VL: During pre-production, a sound designer can start making design ideas for a project's signature sounds. During production, the sound designer sometimes works with the production sound team to collect production sounds for later use, like certain unique environment sounds, rare prop sounds and so on. And also, we sometimes start to pull sound effects based on the script, building the sound library for picture editors or even working on some scenes for their assembly or rough cut to use to make the picture more presentable. A sound designer's main duty starts in post-production. Oftentimes the sound designer title is for lead sound effects editor in charge of creating sound effects for the movie or part of the movie if there're multiple sound designers. Working closely with the picture department, we fulfill the sound design works for each version of the picture cut and we often work on the project until the end of the re-recording mix. 


When did it all get started for you? What were some of your early projects and inception into the business? 


VL:  I always had passion for filmmaking since I was little. I did my undergrad as a film study major. It wasn’t about sound at first, but in my senior year in college when Randy Thom was giving a sound design tutorial at the first Beijing Film Festival, I realized how important and amazing sound design could be. Later I came to USC where they had one of the best sound departments among film schools, and I really started to focus on learning the craft and decided to make it my career. 


You received your masters degree in film from USC, an institution that’s home to an enormous list of filmmaking figures and legends such as George Lucas and Brian Grazer. What did your time at USC mean to your professional career?


VL: It meant a lot to me. It was at USC that I started learning sound design and fell in love with it. I started from zero and USC equipped me with the skills that I could start to work professionally. All the professors at USC are so knowledgable and helpful. And the students I’ve worked with at school are very inspiring and we are still working on projects together after school. 


Who are some influences and favorite filmmakers?


VL: I always like David Lynch’s films. Alan Splet and Ann Kroeber’s sound works on those films are always inspiring. 


What are the traits a great sound designer must possess? 


VL: I think sound design is like any other elements involved in moviemaking — they’re all powerful tools to tell stories. So I think just like for every filmmaker, it’s important for sound designers to understand and feel the story of their projects. And of course, besides that, it’s important to have good sensibilities of sound too. and be curious about life, cause oftentimes inspiration comes from sound from everyday life. 


How do you inject those qualities into your sound designs?


VL: I always start thinking about my sound design from the story of the project, and when I explore for a while or get stuck at some point, I would always go back to the story and that usually gives me the answer. 


In filmmaking, there seems to be many stories of how certain sounds are creatively recorded, produced and made for use on screen, for example the igniting and clash of lightsabers in “Star Wars.” Has there been an instance where you designed a unique sound that tested your creativity?


VL: There was a sound design class at USC. A lot of the class exercises were about creating unique sounds with normal everyday objects. I remember I created a whole sound story about an old castle that haunted by this women/cat monster with my vocal. There’re so many plug-ins and modification software that you can use that you’ll be surprised about what you can do with just one normal sound. 


What’s the biggest challenge that you’ve faced on any one production and how did you overcome it?


VL: There are no easy movies. It could be as complicated as the buoy or shark sounds in “The Shallows” or sometimes it could just be simple footsteps approaching. In “Mandala,” when the main character is walking towards this old lady who is supposed to be the love of her previous life, we spent a lot of time in foley recording, in editorial and mixing. We tried to make those footsteps work for the story and emotion. 


What is one thing audiences would never expect that is present within the work that goes into sound design?


VL:  I guess background sound is one of them. They are ambience sounds that will make the location feel more real and sometime helping to convey a certain mood. They’re supposed to be unnoticeable and only to let the audience feel. 


What’s that collaborative process like? How do you work closely with the other creatives who champion the movies you’ve been a part of?


VL: I really enjoyed my work experience with Melanie D’Andrea, the director of “STAND” and “South Arcadia St.” For all the projects we’ve worked together, all of them were totally creative and fun experiences. Melanie has so many cool ideas and fully trusts me and the power of sound design. For certain elements, we would just talk and bounced ideas back and forth until something came out of it that often times surprised both of us. 


Let’s talk about a few of your projects. You’ve been working on the team at E² Sound Studio, a company that’s delivered sound for the Oscar-winning picture, “Argo,” as well as “13 Hours,” “Transformers” and “Kung Fu Panda.” How do you guys maintain such a high level of success with many of the most recognizable, recent movies coming out of Hollywood?


VL: I’ve joined E² in more recent months. But I’ve already been amazed by how far they’ll push for sound design. I think the trick is to keep digging and exploring until you are convinced that it’s the best you can do. It may sound easy, but given consideration of the intense circumstances and the short time that post can usually get, it’s actually super hard to do. 


What was your experience working on “13 Hours?” 


VL: I recorded part of the group and wild ADR for the project. It was fun and I’ve learned a lot. We recorded a lot of wild ADR on Paramount’s lot with their exterior sets, so we could get the natural reverb between the buildings. And we’ve tested and set up different mics, and different arrangement of recording positions so we could get variations and make sure the recordings will suit the scene properly. 


You mentioned working on “The Shallows” that just opened this past weekend. That’s a new addition to the creature feature genre about Blake Lively’s surfer character who is terrorized by a great white shark just off shore at a deserted beach. It would seem to me that type of isolated survival tale set in the water and absent with common amounts of dialogue would lean heavily on sound design. What stood out to you in working on the film?


VL:  It’s a really hard film when it comes to sound design. The structure of the story is really simple and only includes very limited sound elements in the film, so every single element become very important and needs to be very specific and contain enough variations that won’t bore the audiences. 


How does the sound design enhance the viewing experience for “The Shallows?”


VL:  It enhances the movie a lot. The majority of the film is shot in stage in a tank, so the entire ocean feel is solely created by sound design. 


What was the approach in delivering the sounds associated with the water, waves and the underwater shots?


VL: Water sound is one of the most difficult things for this movie since the entire movie is set in the sea. It’s hard enough to make the waves sound natural and match the visual. There cannot be a single wave that sounds unnatural. It’s even harder when you have to keep the ocean sound real throughout the movie and also try not to bore the audience. 


How does the sound design relative to the shark attack and to the shark itself make the movie especially emotion-stirring?


VL: I think for the shark it’s a balance about when to hold back, play the suspense and when to release its power! Make it really loud and scary. And the team spent a lot of time to explore for shark moves, pass bys and of course shark bite sounds. We wanted it to sound real first because that would be most scary, but also sound powerful enough, especially for the shark bites towards the end. It needs to be believable and have enough impact, and also needs to work with music and cut through all the other sound elements. 


You’ve got a pair of awards on your achievement list. What was your experience in creating the needed sound for “Bicycle and a Way of Life” and “Stand?”


VL: “Bicycle and a Way of Life” includes a lot of chase scenes between police cars and bikes. It was my first experience of cutting for car action scenes and I’ve learned a lot from it — how to edit sound for different parts of the car and what to emphasize to deliver the speed and excitement. 


“Stand” focuses on the specific dance form of krumping, so music and sound is of critical importance to a movie like that. How would you describe your approach for your work on “Stand?”


VL: Yeah, matching the rhythm of the dance moves and work with music. It blurs the boundary between sound design and the score. That was the focus of “STAND.” 


What was your initial reaction upon learning about the story behind “Looking at the Stars?” It sounds like a rather fascinating tale and I can’t think of another film about a ballet school for the blind.


VL: I was so moved by the first rough cut that the director Alex showed me. I’ve never seen a better first cut during my time at USC. Right away I knew that I had to work on this project. 


Inspiring audiences seems to be chief among the motivations of that story. How does that impact your job as sound designer? What’s the approach?


VL:  I guess I tended to design it with a subjective approach, so audience could see the film from the point of view of the dancers. 


How would you pitch the story of “Mandala” and what was your goal in sound designing for this award-winning film?


VL:  It’s a story about Helena, this talented NYC painter, struggling to come to terms with the loss of her lover, Paul. Stuck and drowning in these memories and fragmented images of her past, she meets a mysterious Tibetan monk who shows an interest in her work. His temple will even buy all of her unsold paintings if she partakes in a special ‘commission’ in Tibet.


To contrast and connect the sound environment between NYC and Tibet was always one of mine and Guan Xi’s focuses. When we are in NYC we hear typical, probably a little bit exaggerated city noise: traffic, pedestrians, sirens, etc. And in Tibet, we deliberately emphasize sound from nature: wind, river, animals, etc and Tibetan Buddhism instrument sounds. Luckily, I communicated with the production sound team from early on, so they could help me to collect a lot of ambience sound during production period. And we also got connected to a local Tibetan lama here in Los Angeles and recorded a lot of Tibetan Buddhism instrument sounds to use in the score as well as my sound design. 


In addition to contrasting NYC and Tibet, we also wanted to connect the two worlds, giving a hint of Tibetan element in the NYC environment since Helena is someone who belongs to Tibet, but is currently trapped in the city. For example, we decided to use a very subtle Tibetan music cue whenever we saw Helena’s Tibetan painting. Another example is when she and Lobsang Lama passed by each other on the city street. The passing by car horns gradually changed to Tibetan musical bells, as if Tibetan is calling from inside of Helena. 

What achievement are you most proud of to date specific to your career as sound designer? 


VL: I guess I’m just happy that I and my clients too are satisfied with all the works I’ve worked on so far. 


How do you spend up your free time when not working on movies?


VL: Reading and watching more movies…and I like traveling too, if I have time. 


What’s next up for you?


VL: I’m about to work on a film called “The Mad Whale,”  a co-production between James Franco’s Elysium Bandini Studios and USC’s School of Cinema Arts. It’s about a women’s mental asylum in 1894 Boston. It will be a fun 
challenge to work on a period piece with an interesting story like this. 
 

Actress Davina Cole is one of the fiercest female performers to make her mark on the international entertainment industry in recent years.

With work that includes everything from taking on the starring roles of Sandra in Rodney V. Williams' film Therapy Sessions and Soalaih Ez in multi-award winning director Francoise Ellong's film When Soukhina Disappeared, to the high profile theatrical productions "Women on Wine," "The Wright Brothers," and "Wilberforce Bell," Coles' acting prowess clearly spans the gamut.
​
Over the years she has managed to immerse herself in a wide range of roles giving knock out performances that make it almost impossible to recognize her from one character to the next. Regardless of the genre or the medium, this actress has a way of pulling us in and leaving an unforgettable impression.

While Cole's seasoned skill and unique look undoubtedly makes her stands out in a cast, what is even more astonishing is her ability to single handedly command an audiences attention-- something she proved with her performance as Salimatu in the one-woman show "All the Colours," which debuted at the Lord Stanley Theatre in London. Not only did Cole write and star in the production, but her performance earned her an award nomination for Best Actress at the 7th annual SOLO Festival of One Man Shows in 2014.

Aside from the upcoming tour of "All The Colours," which is slated to begin later this year, audiences will also be able to catch Davina Cole in My Church and Family, a new series that's expected to be released this summer on Sky Living.

To find out more about this incredibly powerful actress make sure to check out our interview below!


Where are you from? 

DC: My name is Davina Cole and I have been performing as an actress in the UK for many years.  I was born and raised in southeast London, but my parents are from Sierra Leone in West Africa. My African heritage is very dear to me.

When and how did you get into acting?

DC: I have performed in various films, theatre productions, commercials, voiceovers and radio. I loved watching old movies including African films with my dad on the weekends and always wondered how I could get into performing. Whilst attending an after school club I saw a poster about drama and dance classes.  I attended one and from then I was hooked. I then started performing at the age of 13 in local theatre productions. I also toured within the UK with the girl band Catz in my teens.

Can you tell us about some of the film projects you’ve done?

DC: I played the role of Sandra, a therapist, in the film Therapy Sessions. I really enjoyed playing this role. Sandra is a powerful woman in her field of work and is very cool, calm, collected and very much in control. In the film we see her lose control when her family becomes under threat and she loses it quite dramatically. It was very challenging playing the many dimensions of this character. Sandra was a pivotal role in the film as she was the link to all the characters in the drama and key to the twist at the end

I worked with director Rodney V. Williams on Therapy Sessions, and he is the director of the film Hold Me, which was featured in Cannes Court Metrage of the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed the award winning film The Runaway Whore.
I also played the role Soalaih Ez in film When Soukhina Disappeared, a film based on the disappearance of a young girl. Soalaih Ez was one of the last people to see the missing girl and she gives her account of how she touched her life. It was an emotional piece and I really enjoyed playing a character with so many layers. Soaliah was key to getting an account of the final movements of Soukhinas, the girl who disappeared, life. It was such an honor to play this role in such a moving piece of drama.

On this film I worked with award winning director Francoise Ellong whose film W.A.K.A. picked up awards such as the Special Jury Prize at the 17th edition of the Festival Du Cinéma Africain De Khouribga in Morocco, and the Dikalo Award for Best First Feature at the Festival International Du Film Panafricain De Cannes in France. It was also selected for the Hollywood Film Festival.

I played the role of Susan a sassy news reporter in the action horror film Cyborg Ninja vs Vampires directed by Simon Gedney from Copper Key Productions. I also worked alongside Nathan Powell from Pirates of the Caribbean 4 on the film. I really enjoy playing a role that was very different from the roles I usually get cast for; and, having the opportunity to do some action sequences and kick some butt felt very empowering.

How about television projects?

DC: I was in the documentary television series Sinister Ministers, a miniseries that aired on the Discovery Channel in the US. On the series I played the role of Donna, a congregation member and close friend to the reverend, and a key role in the production. I thoroughly enjoyed playing this inquisitive nosey humorous lady. The series was was directed by the great James Cookson who has directed and made many successful films for Firecraker Films.

They are all very different, what made you choose to participate in these projects?

DC: I enjoy playing characters with many layers to them-- the meatier the role the better. I tend to go for strong women roles with a bit of vulnerability. I also like pieces that give a strong message. I like undertaking roles that take you on a journey.

Do you feel that you get cast to play a certain type of character more than others?

DC: Because of my physique, stage and screen presence I tend to get cast in headstrong, authoritative and professional women roles.

Can you tell us about some of the theatre productions you've participated in up until now?

DC: I worked with Rodney V. Williams on the comedy hit stage drama "Women on Wine" at the Above the Stage Theatre in Central London in 2010. I was a co-star playing the role of the uppity, takes herself too seriously, Ebony, who is preparing to marry her childhood sweetheart. We see Ebony’s insecurities come to the surface as the play progresses when she becomes stressed and the group overindulges in wine. This was such an amazing experience working with a group of talented women including the star of the "Jesus Christ Superstar," Renee Castle. It was a challenge playing a truthful, credible character whilst at the same time being drunk.

I played the role of Mami Sanami in the iconic West African comedy drama play "Wilberforce Bell," which was presented by the Kabaslot Theatre at the popular central London Catford Broadway theatre. For this production I worked with the Kabaslot Theatre, a well-known theatre in Africa, UK and US, under the safe hands of director Dwight Short. This play really took me out my comfort zone, as I had to learn different elements of my home language Krio.

I played the role of Narrator in the sold out love comedy "The Wright Brothers" directed by Tyrone-Lee Davis under his co-owned theatre company, Opus Entertainment, who have had their projects commissioned by ITV. This was a fun but challenging role as I held the play together appearing throughout and creating a persona to keep the story going and uplifted at all time. It is also set to return in 2016 and I am looking forward to reprising this role.

Out of all your productions both in the theatre and on screen, what has been your favorite project, or projects, so far?

DC: I really enjoy playing strong women roles. My favorite role to date was the role of Delilah in the play "1867."  This was based on the life of Madame CJ Walker, America's first black female millionaire.  It was such an honor to play such a prominent figure and it was very inspirational and really pushed me as an actress. She was such a strong black women in a time when black women were regularly looked down upon. To have that the success during that period of time is truly amazing. As a character she had many layers and I was really able to explore the role. I hope to play more roles similar to this in the future.

What has been your most challenging role?

DC: My most challenging role had to be the role of Salimatu in my one-woman show, "All The Colours." It is a piece that I wrote and performed both here in the UK and in the US, and it was an extremely emotional play. I felt this role took me to another level in my performance skills, however it was very draining at times playing a mother who had lost so much. Not being a mother myself made it hard to relate to, but having been through my own personal experience of loss and heartache, I was able to bring that to my performance and give a truthful performance.

What is your favorite genre to work in as an actor?

DC: My favorite genre definitely has to be drama. This genre tends to have roles with hidden depths, and they are quite exciting to research and to play.

What separates you from other actors?

DC: I feel what separates from other actors is what I bring on a personal level to each and every role I play. I feel all my life experiences, both good and bad, have helped me grow as an actress; and it has helped me bring that element of truth to many roles.

You've been nominated for several awards over the course of your career- can you tell us about the award nominations and how it felt being recognized for your work?
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DC: My biggest achievement so far is the success I've received from my one-woman show "All the Colours." I wrote it myself and I was nominated for a Best Actress Award at the 7th SOLO Festival of One Man Shows in the UK in 2014, which was was held at the Lord Stanley Theatre in central London. I then went on to be selected as a finalist at the prestigious 22nd Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival. It was amazing to be selected to perform alongside amazingly talented women from all around the world. The subject matter is very dear to me as it centers on Sierra Leone and the civil war, which affected thousands including my family. It was great to let people know some of what happened back then through performing the show.

​​What are your plans for the future?

DC: I have started filming a new British TV series to be shown on Sky TV.  I am very excited about the character as she's very out outspoken, feisty and very witty. She's a character with many different sides to her and I can’t wait to play her. I plan to write more including a piece I am currently writing on the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, which I want to make into a screenplay. I also plan to make my one-woman show into a web series and by popular demand I will be taking my one-woman show on tour, which is really exciting!

What do you hope to achieve in your career as an actor?

DC: I hope to get meatier roles, which will push me further as an artist. I really admire the body of work and talent of Angela Bassett and Viola Davis and I would love to work them. To work with such talented women would be amazing.

What kind of training have you done?

DC: I did a postgraduate degree in performance at the prestigious Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, one of the top 10 drama schools in the UK. The training was rigorous and laid the foundation for me to become the actress that I am today.

Why is acting your passion and chosen profession?
​
DC: From a young age I remember watching classic old black and white movies on a Saturday afternoon and I was memorized by performances from actresses such as Grace Kelly, Julie Andrews, Marilyn Monroe, Sofia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. I often used to dream of being on screen too. That enticed me to start going to classes, which eventually led to me apply for drama school and the rest is history.

 
The job of an editor can be tedious and quite overwhelming at times, but due to Sunghwan Moon’s vast experience, his knowledge of editing, and understanding of a film’s narrative and the importance of continuity allows Moon to work quickly and thrive. 
 
Moon has worked on projects as diverse as animated feature films such as Garfield's Pet Force to hard-hitting dramatic films like Tracks.
 
Written and directed by Logan Sandler, Tracks centers on a skater faced with parental duties on the day of an important skateboard tournament.
 
“At first, I wanted to be a director, but soon I found out that I enjoyed editing more than any other fields in filmmaking. I kept working that path, and got my first job at a small company that was creating video pieces for mobile services such as Verizon. After that, I ended up working mostly on trailers, promos, and music videos. After doing that for about eight years, I was accepted to AFI and now I work mostly on narrative movies.”
 
It all started for Moon when he dropped out of law school in Korea and decided to enroll in a small arts school in San Francisco, California.
 
"I always wanted to do something related to film. I first wanted to be a film critic, but while attending college, I found that editing was the most fun to do. You shape the performance, the rhythm, the emotion-- the movie is really created in a cutting room," says Moon of his initial decision to get into film editing.
 
In 2009, Moon became the sole editor of Iris, the number 1 hit show in Korea, which consisted of 20 episodes. The work schedule for such a show was hectic and needed to be completed immediately. The quick paced editing schedule helped Moon learn on the job at a rapid-fire speed, which also helped fine-tune him skills for future productions.
 
Shortly after in 2011, Disney launched the Disney Channel and Disney Junior Channel in Korea and Moon was hired as the lead editor, which meant working long hours and often collaborating with many producers in a number of capacities.
 
While editing the film And The Wind Falls in 2014, Moon began to fully realize how subtleties in film can truly affect the outcome of the story. “Things happen to the main character, but so many things are only implied that you will miss them if you're not engaged completely,” says Moon.  
 
Luckily for Moon, his outstanding attention to detail coupled with a great working relationship with director Shuming He, earned them both some well deserved praise at the Singapore Short Film Awards where the film garnered a Special Mention Award.
 
During his most recent project Tracks, Moon found himself more tested then ever in the editing room. Tracks was shot from a documentary style point-of-view in which the camera follows the main character continuously without any rest, which is also known as a tracking shot. The film’s director had a particular vision inspired by Andrea Arnold’s film Fish Tank.
 
In order to grasp the idea, Moon reached out to Fish Tank editor, Nicolas Chaudeurge, and by studying his method Moon learned how to successfully execute the director's vision for the film Tracks.
 
Once again Moon’s focus on the subtleties of editing made the film a hit among festival goers and was nominated for AFI Fest’s 2015 Grand Jury Prize.
 
Regardless of any project Moon takes on, he sees filmmaking as the ultimate collaboration and quotes Jeong-min Hwang, the most famous actor in Korea by stating, “All the other people prepared such a great meal. I did nothing. I just added my fork and knife, and enjoyed the meal. It was all possible because of them who prepared the meal.”

Just because a film has a great story or an A-list actor behind it doesn’t mean that it's going to be a winner. With multiple departments contributing to the end product it seems most successful productions result from the ability of the many different players in the game of film to come together and create a unified vision. When it comes to the visual aspects of a film, TV series, commercial or music video, the environment that is laid out before us comes down to the creative skill of the production designer and their ability to guide the art department towards carefully executing their vision.
 
Production designers like Yihong Ding use their artistry to create each and every set we see in the scenes of a project, a challenging feat that requires someone who is able to see what the director sees for a story and figure out what's needed to make it happen. Ding began her career back in London where she designed sets for stage productions, an incredibly challenging task considering the fact that there's no room for a second take. She was later accepted to the renowned American Film institute (AFI) where notable art directors like Andrew Max Cahn (The Hangover), Todd Cherniawsky (Avatar, Alice in Wonderland) and Joseph Garrity (Waiting for Guffman) also attended.
 
Over the last few years Ding has production designed an impressive list of films including Slut (Festival Trophy Award winner at 2014 Screamfest), Mira, Mal De Ojo, Five Dollar Meal, Maria Bonita and Like Son, Like Father. Ding has a unique take on designing the sets for a production. Heavily influenced by colors, she uses them to create the mood of the story, and she does it exceptionally well.
 
Beyond her creative vision though is Ding's understanding of how to actually create the sets for a production—because let's face it, coming up with a grandiose outline of what you want means nothing if you don't have the tools, or the budget, to make it happen. As an art director, Ding has led multiple productions to success like Henri Charr's documentary A Man Before His Time, and recently multi-award winning director Ryan Velásquez's film Drowning, as well as the upcoming series Chasing Life.
 
Ding's experience as both a production designer and art director has helped her see from multiple perspectives how to create the best sets for a project, and that's one of the reason we chose to interview her about her work. To find out more about what goes into the work of a production designer and art director, as well as some of the tricks of the biz that you probably never would have guessed, be sure to continue reading below.
 
 
 
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
 
YD: I am from Shanghai, China. I got my bachelor's degree in London before coming to LA to do my master's in production design at AFI. Later on I found out that I was one of the last students that they accepted to the program that year; and I think I am incredibly lucky because this move changed my life completely. I landed in LA the day after my 23rd birthday, and since then I've been working as a production designer.
 

So how did you first get into production design and what led you to this path?
 
YD: I have a theatre background, and during my time studying in London, I got the chance to work on the film Short Straw as a production designer, where my job was to dress a messy road trip car. That was my first job as a production designer, and I fell in love with the job immediately. I also designed the set for the theatrical production of "Noah’s Ark" at a theatre in Wimbledon, UK where I had to design a huge rainbow and part of the boat.
 
 
Can you tell us about how you approach your project from the time you're hired on to design a production through the time of filming?
 
YD: It always depends on the story. Different story could have different angle and strategy to approach it. Some common facts include color, tone, lighting, and texture.
Usually, when I am reading the script, I will start developing an image in my mind. After finishing the script, I will start searching reference photos. And then my picture palette starts extending.
 
Communicating with the director is important too. A good director will usually approach me with a look book, which contain basic ideal of how they picture the movie. And I will start filling more detail bass on the look book. Occasionally, I will suggest a total new ideal about the movie. But it is always depends on the conversation in-between the director and me. 
 
Personally, I've always found that color plays a huge role in my design progress. When I was designing the film Mal de Jo, I used the color red as the element to indicate that the character was changing. The story is about an Peruvian-American girl’s relationship with her visiting Peruvian grandma. The two start of by not understanding each other, which leads them to get into a huge fight. But eventually, they both learn to accept the differences between them.
 
There was a huge fight in the climax of the story, and so after talking with the director, we decide that we would slowly add the red element when the grandma comes into the young girl's house. I decide to use red because it is a color of alarm and anger. It is a reflection of the girl’s emotion. And after the fight is over, the red disappears again.
 

Can you tell us about some of the films you've production designed so far?
 
YD: The film Slut has been the most challenging film I’ve done so far. I designed a broken down two-story farmhouse for this movie, which we ended up building on a stage later on. In the story, one of the characters falls from the bedroom on the second floor, hanging himself to death on the living room ceiling. There were many different ways to approach this, but I wanted to give the director and the cinematographer the best option to shoot this traumatic event. We decide to do the whole stunt using a set that my team recreated to look identical to the whole interior of the two-story farmhouse on the stage.
 
We built the whole living room with a breakaway ceiling, a hallway with a staircase, and a bedroom with the breakaway floor on a platform. We had to build a separate puzzle breakaway floor piece so that it could be replaced with the real wood piece when we were done doing the stunt. It is very interesting when you have a chance to build something from scratch. The whole structure started from a photo that I found online-- an abandon empty living room with a moldy green color on the wall. My director and I both fell in love with this photo and decided that this would be the main inspiration for the film.
The movie made it into a lot of film festivals including AFI Fest, Scream Fest, Las Vegas Film Festival and others.
 
Mira directed by Amanda Tasse was another interesting movie I did. It’s a very character centered story. The film is about a young marine biologist named Mira who gets a bit too ambitions with her work and ends up getting herself into dangerous territory. The creature she studies in the story are known as immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii), a species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the waters of Japan. It is the only known case of an animal capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual; although, in nature most of the Turritopsis likely succumb to predators or disease in the medusa stage, without reverting to the polyp form. What Mira and her boss do in the film is breed them in the lab and find out how to keep them steadily reverting back to their sexually immature point. 

Mira herself has temporal lobe epilepsy, which causes her to have seizures constantly and short terms memory lost. Her medication does not adequately control or prevent all her seizures. When she has a seizure (15-30 seconds long), it causes short-term memory loss of events that happened 1 to 3 hours before the seizure. And that is why she had a very personal connection with the Jellyfish, because she believes that finding out the secret behind their immortal life cycle could somehow save her life. That is why when she finds out that the government is taking the funding back and shutting down the project, she wants to make sure that she could prove the connection before the deadline. But she doesn’t realize that she went to far this time, and it almost costs her her life.
 
We ended up filming at an empty lab on Catalina Island, and dressing the lab into the jellyfish lab for the story.  For the production, we had a lot of challenges. Shipping all the set dressing on a boat was one of them. We had a weight limit and most of the stuff was made up of fragile lab tube and glass. My art director and I had to pack them very carefully and make sure we rented exactly what we wanted because there was no room for waste in the budget. Finding the jellyfish tank was another challenge. They were all costume made and very expensive; I almost had to build them myself; but luckily we found a person that was willing to rent 3 to us for a really great deal. That was a lifesaver.
 
To See the Sunrise from director Xu Fang Ting is a sci-fi film that takes place in a dystopian futuristic world and revolves around two girls who have been planning to escape from the underground totalitarianism society. And one day, one of the girls gets the final gate key that could lead them to freedom. She tells her partner immediately however what she doesn’t know is that her only friend is thinking about betraying her. The whole movie happened in an underground control room; and, after talking with the director, we decide to go with a bit dirty sci-fi style for the movie, with a grey-colored room that gives the overall feeling of claustrophobia. I designed the room in sketch up and we hired a studio to build the room for us. The film is still in post-production.
 
The film Like Son Like Father from director Lin Wang is a fair tale story about two orphan brothers, Sammy and Bobby, looking for their father who they've never seen before. They go door to door and ask every man one question: Are you our Dad? Dave, a middle-age single man, feels for the kids and invites them in for a nice meal. When the connection is made, Sammy and Bobby start to suspect that Dave is the Dad they are looking for. Dave opens his heart to the boys as if he is their father. Sammy asks Dave one last question, the only clue their Mom left them before she dies: Do you love us more than money? "I love you guys more than..." Before Dave finishes answer, the boys suffocate Dave in cold blood...
 
The movie is shoot on 16 mm with a 3:4 aspect ratio. I talked to my director and we agreed that we didn’t want any vivid colors except for the blood and toys for the two boys. We found a house location that had a layout we liked, but the furniture was too modern and nice for our story, so we redressed the room with lower class furniture.  The boys live in a tent, but the one we had for the shoot was green so I sewed burlap over the tent to make it appear white in order to keep the color harmony. The movie is doing its festival run now.
 

Can you tell us about some of the commercials you've production designed over the years?
 
YD: "KOD 2015 Opening" is a commercial I did recently.  It is a commercial for Street Dance World Cup, which broadcast in 8 different countries.  Because of that the client wanted to see 8 countries represented in the commercial. Finding locations and adapting them to look like those placed was my main job. Some of our main sets included a Russian home, German bar, Chinese street vendor's stand, Japanese classroom, and an LA Dance studio.
 
"Diomany" is a lingerie brand that I did two commercials for.  The clients wanted to emphasize the luxury, passionate and ornate style of the brand. We had two locations: The beach and the Hollywood Castle. I made a fake sand castle from foam board so that it could remain well maintained during the shoot.  In the castle, I suggested that the talent could have an English afternoon tea party, and the client really likes the idea. So I bought about 5 boxes of dessert pies, cupcakes etc., I also art directed a commercial for "Microsoft Outlook app", and production designed a commercial for "LUVS."
 

They are all very different, what made you choose to participate in these projects?

YD: It always ends up coming down to the story-- if I can feel it, if it touches me, then I will do it even if there is less money and a very small budget.

 
Can you tell us about some of your work as an art director?
 
YD: The business with art directing comes down to logistics. Organizing the art department is a lot of work.  You need to schedule when to pick up the props, how many people you need for certain days; and always think ahead in terms of what is coming next, because you always need to be prepped for the next thing. I art directed a series called Chasing the Dream that will be broadcast on QQ.com next February. It was a challenging shoot, since we didn’t have a big budget for the production. But the story is pure comedy. People sometimes think comedy is easy, but it’s actually pretty hard especially for props, because everything has to be particular with specific items, otherwise it won’t be funny. On top of that, the decoration should generally maintain a warm and happy color. We had to be very creative with a lot of the stuff. For example, once we have to cut out some clip art shapes and put them on the wall to add more color to the locations. In fact, we did it a couple of times, and it worked really well on screen.
 
The whole shoot lasted a month. I helped the production designer looking for props and location scouting during the prep, and when we started shooting, I'm responsible for keeping everything organized and making sure that there is nothing damaged and lost.

 
How do art directing and production designing differ?
 
YD: An art director focuses on how to achieve the look. They are the second hand to the production designer. Their main job is to keep the production designer focused on the design, rather than getting distracted by practical problems. I enjoy being an art director too, because I think it is necessary to know how to make it work as well. And it helps me to be a better leader when I am a production designer. You don’t want to make your ideal design sound ridiculous so it helps to work as an art director because then you know what is achievable.

 
Which role do you prefer?
 
YD: I enjoy being a production designer more, since that allows me to design the entire film, and it has my personal mark on it. Being an art director doesn't give you a lot of space for designing.

 
If you had to choose between production designing for film, television or commercials—which one would be your favorite and why?
 
YD: Film for sure, because I like a good story. That has always been the core of my passion. I like television too. But the industry is so fast paced that you usually won't have enough time to focus on the design. You always get more time to really analyze the story in the film industry. 

 
Why are you passionate about working as a production designer?
 
YD: Because it’s so fun! It is a combination of an artist, an interior designer and a detective. Yes a detective! Sometimes I find myself assuming I am the character in the story and questioning how I would dress my room. It’s a very interesting cross gene job. You get a chance to know so many different people's lives and gain knowledge from around the world.  And most importantly, a good story! A story that makes people laugh, cry or think.  That is what has been driving me to doing this.

 
Can you tell us about any of the challenges you've faced on your way to the top of the industry—or any memorable "aha" moments where you felt like "hey this is the key to success"?
 
YD: Haha, if I really have to list one, then it would be "connections." Today someone might be a PA working for you, but tomorrow they could be the person who wants to hire you. And it is happening to me right now.

 
What have been a few of your favorite projects so far and why?
 
YD: This a really hard question because I like all of them. I have to like a story to be able to design it. That is just my principle. If I really have to choose I'd say my favorite projects so far are Slut and Mira. I worked on these projects for a really long time, which I think is the main difference from all of the other projects. For Slut we spent almost a year from preproduction up until the final release. Mira was also quite a long process. Another reason is probably because I am always interested in female character focused stories a little bit more than others, simply because I am a female and I think this industry should have more female voices involved.  I’ve seen it happening more and more often now, and I hope this trend keeps growing.

 
What would you say your strongest qualities as a production designer are?
 
YD: Organizing and my unique color sense.  People have been approaching me saying how much they like the tone of the movies I've designed, which made me realize I do like to use a lot of bold color choices. It’s not saying that I like vivid color, but I think I have my own taste of what colors should be put together to support the story.

 
What projects do you have coming up?

YD: I have a sci-fi feature coming up, and I am really excited about it. We are still in the pre-production phase, talking about the look of the project etc. The movie will be directed by Max Minkowitz and produced by Nate Jaxon.
 
I will also begin shooting the film Rodeo in December, which will be directed by Stephen Phillips and produced by Sarah Kambara.

 
What are your plans for the future?
 
YD: In the future I would like to continue working internationally, especial between China and the US.

 
What do you hope to achieve in your career?
 
YD: Oscar award! Kidding.  It will be great if it happens of course. But I really like this job, and as long as I can keep going I am happy with whatever coming to me.
 

What kind of training have you done, and how has it helped you in your field of work?
 
YD: Hmm…. I would say that I learned to survive in a super competitive environment-- because that is what the last two years at AFI looks like. I think that changed me a lot in terms of how I react in social situations and how I represent myself.
 
It's definitely helped me in this industry, because it is very competitive, lots of people want to do your job. What makes you special enough that the producer will want to hire you? How much can you make them trust you?  That is what I learned from AFI, and I believe it turned me into a stronger person.

Brazilian actor Fred Fleury has created an impressive career for himself in the international entertainment industry through his roles on the multi-award winning series Gringolandia, as well as the films Gragon, Sonic Portraits, The Kiss, Full Circle and many more.

With more than just good looks helping to solidify his place as a sought after actor in the industry, Fleury has continued to dazzle audiences over the years with his impressive range on screen.

Last year Fleury starred in Carina Silva's fantasy film Gragon where he took on the intense role of Wizard Tethios. Blending live action and animation, Gragon erects a fantastical world of kings, queens, oracles and demons. 

The film opens with Princess Pethranie, who is played by Lana Chidsey (Ball Boy, Love Not Equal to LA, K, Forest Date), as she struggles to break out of a nightmare that foreshadows the ominous attacks that her kingdom will soon be forced to defend itself against.

With strongly bonded blood lines connecting him to Princess Pethranie, as members of his family lineage have been the only trusted protectors of past Pethranies on the throne, Fleury's character, Wizard Tethios, catches wind of the princess's sinister dream and rushes to her aid. 

As Pethranie's guardian against the evil forces that be, Tethios wakes her up from the dream and deciphers the meaning of the message. Trusting Tethios's analysis, Princess Pethranie rushes to the balcony to warn her people before embarking on a journey to the planet Zeltrion where, accompanied by Tethios, she consults the oracle Zorga about how to defend against the onslaught of evil attacks that await them on the horizon.   

With Tethios also being the guardian of the portal to the seven worlds, the two continue journeying on through the portal under the advisement of the oracle in search of the dragon, Gragon, the only force able to prevent the kingdom from total annihilation. 

While Fleury has continually taken on both comedic and dramatic roles over the years, this was one of the actor's first experiences tapping into the fantasy genre, and his performance is nothing short of impressive.

"This role took me out of my comfort zone and helped me stretch and improve my acting skills. I was portraying a Wizard from another time and another world, with all of the make-up, props and effects," recalled Fleury. "I had never done that before, so I tried to use the resources I had to give the best performance possible. I believe it’s from those efforts that people grow not only in acting, but in life." 

Earlier this year Fleury showed a totally different side of his craft in Pauline Gefin's film Full Circle, which garnered Gefin the Best First Time Director Award at the prestigious London Film Awards and was chosen as an Official Selection of the 2015 Malta TV Short Film Festival, which is nationally televised on TVM and TVM2, as well as India's LA Femme International Film Festival and Bolgatty International Film Festival, and the SouthEastern Film Festival in the United States.

Sparked by a real life event that happened to director Pauline Gefin whilst living in New York, Full Circle revolves around karma coming full circle as a young woman named Natalie, who had paid for a homeless man's gyro at a street stand the day prior, encounters Mark, played by Fleury, at the very same stand the following day. 

With only a $20 bill in her hand and a vendor with no change, Mark pays for Natalie's gyro with a strong bond that leads to romance forming between the two characters. 

In the film, Fleury starred alongside award winning actor Yaron Urbas from the films Broken Angels, Age of Ice, Joker's Wild, Adriennes Fury and Footprints, as well a the hit series Castle, Nurse Jackie, Kings and 30 Rock, and Charles Prendergast from the TV shows Criminal Justice, Just My Luck and Gotham.

With Fleury's face and talent gracing screens around the world as Full Circle continues its successful run on the international film festival circuit, we can bet that many more award nominations are on the horizon for both the film and this adept young actor.

As an actress Diana Matlak has found the perfect place to display her wide range of talents through her work as a multifaceted performer on both the stage and screen. 

At the age of six Matlak, who is originally from Poland, began training as a dancer, an area of performance that she devoted herself to for more than a decade going on to compete at the professional level in the highest international class S in Latin dance. A tough competitor whose been judged by the best in the industry, Matlak found her self at home on the stage. 

Endowed with a magnetic presence that was too strong for anyone to deny, Matlak's electric stage presence has carried over to her acting career and has helped make her a sought after talent for high-profile film and theatrical productions. To put it simply, she is the kind of actress that is hard to turn away from whenever she's on screen.

Matlak recently finished filming Coincidental Romance from director Joseph Brandon where she starred alongside Eva Garcia Luna (Ni aquí, ni allá, Solidarity), Fiammetta Cavatorta (Blood Bath, Neshima) and Owen Martin (Star Trek, Leverage, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, Nobodies). 

In the film, which is currently in post-production and is slated to hit the festival circuit next year, Matlak took on the starring role of Hanna, a heartbroken ballroom dancer who struggles to push past the pain of a recent breakup.

"This role was very challenging, because the character was very similar to me," recalls Matlak. "Even though the character and myself had a lot of in common, Hannah is a different person, she's not me, so I remember when I was preparing for the role, I had to find Hanna's motivation and objective in life."

Matlak's propensity for drama compounded by her ability to immerse herself in dynamic and challenging roles has been a huge draw factor for directors like Yining Yan who cast her in the role of Lady in Red in his film Stay earlier this year.

Starring alongside Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Award winning actress Liang Zhao (Dancing for You), Matlak's character finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time and is forced to deal with the consequences. After leaving her apartment for an unplanned outing she is faced with the overwhelming experience of witnessing her neighbor get shot by a ruthless drug dealer.

"She tries to help him as much as she can, but it's too late. Even though it isn’t her fault she feels guilty that she can't save him," explains Matlak. "I think this character is an example of the fact that sometimes, as humans, we are powerless and it really doesn’t matter how much we try, some things just can’t be fixed."

Stay received the award for Best Micro Film at the 2015 Indie Gathering International Film Festival, in addition to being chosen as an Official Selection of the Pittsburg Independent Film Festival where it screened in June, and the 2015 Columbia Gorge International Film Festival.​

​Back home in Poland, the actress landed one of her earliest roles on screen on the hit medical drama TV series Na dobre i na zle aka For Better and For Worse. The series, which continues to be the longest running Polish primetime dramas, received the Telekamery Award, the most prestigious award given in the Polish entertainment industry, from 2001 to 2003.

A true polyglot, Matlak speaks English, Polish, German and basic Russian, an impressive range of linguistic abilities that have allowed her to take on leading roles in projects from filmmakers from around the world.

While Matlak definitely has a look casting directors are after for a variety of roles, the multifarious nature of her abilities, which include being a professional fitness, aqua aerobics and snowboard instructor, a competitive downhill skier and of course, a professional dancer, have all combined to set her apart from other actors in the industry. Beyond this, she is also trained in stage combat.

As Diana Matlak continues to land leading roles in a plethora of productions, having shot more than eight films this year alone, audiences around the world will definitely want to keep their eyes out for this multitalented actress. ​