​Vishal Arora’s professional skill has earned him significant cache in cinema’s most significant international centers. Working in both India’s Bollywood and California’s Hollywood, the Los Angeles-based actor has a vibrant, appealing attitude and outgoing demeanor which has led him through a series of very diverse roles and dramatic settings.​
 
From situation TV comedy to taut big screen suspense, Arora’s deft acting technique can successfully serve almost any role, and he recently explored a new career avenue, appearing as the lead character in a Punjabi pop music video by the famous singer Charanjeet Singh Sondhi.
 
“I was born in Northern India where the culture is very attracted to lively, loud pop music,” Arora said. “In Punjab, almost every kid sings and dreams of becoming a pop star. Punjabi pop style is all about being very open. It really doesn't care about having a message or anything except going with the flow and doing what you feel. Even if a song’s lyrics don't really make much sense, it's fun always and high energy.” 
 
Punjabi pop, with its infectious rhythms and exotic instrumentation, has become known worldwide, and songs like Punjabi MC’s remix of  “Mundian To Back Ke,” featuring famed rapper Jay Z, have crossed over to top the charts in multiple countries, even making the US Top 40 and has been featured on the soundtracks of numerous American films and TV shows. In India, Sondhi is one of the genre’s key proponents.
 
“It was pretty exciting how it came about,” Arora said. “I was doing a play and one night after the show, I met Sondhi, a very popular singer. He liked my acting, and said he was impressed by the feelings I expressed onstage and told me about this story for a particular music video that was coming up. Not long after, he discussed with me and played the song, ‘Kittiyan Kyun Bewafaayian,’ for me. I liked it and he finalized me for the shoot.” 


“Because I was always interested in movies or TV this was my first music video,” Arora said. “I’d never thought of even trying for one but when it came along by itself like that, I decided to go for it.” 
 
“The video is about a villager who falls in love but gets ditched by the girl,” he said. “I played the main part of the heart-broken lover, who suffers through that revelation and then sees her actually marrying the other guy.”
 
Filmed on location in the remote countryside, the job had some unexpected merits for Arora. “It was a great experience, as the shoot was in a small village with lots of very friendly people,” he said. “It's fun to go and explore the Indian countryside. And the people there give you so much affection—almost too much. There’s lots of love and lots of good food.”
 
“The director Dinesh Dubey was good, very chill to work with,” Arora said. “It took us two days to shoot the video and I liked the way he tried different things, so we’d have lot of options when it came to editing. I had to learn drive a tractor and that was a first for me. I took a few trial runs before the shoot, but there were definitely some fun moments learning that. I loved it.” 


The music video represented one more step forward in Arora’s fast-growing resume of notable achievement. “I really enjoyed the job,” Arora said. “And it is doing well, it was released by T-series, one of the best known music companies in India. It's a good song, and the people are loving it, especially out in villages where lot of guys in love get hurt just like that, and when they watch the video or listen to that song, it makes them feel better.”


Even for a role that some may have approached as a light weight gig, Arora’s involvement was typically intense. Having trained at the distinguished Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute, the actor completely inhabited the role with his own life experience.
“personally, I have been in just this kind of situation,” Arora said. “And it took a while for me to get out of the character, because I felt it so deeply. It’s tough when you use real sense memory to play a part like that. I finally came out of it—but it took a week.”
That kind of heartfelt commitment is what really sets Arora apart from many of his colleagues. Expect to hear a lot more from this young talent.

​  Gerald Sellan is sitting behind his drumset with a big smile on his face. Half of the reason is because this is where he loves to be more than anywhere else in the world. The other 50% could be for a variety of reasons. Maybe it is because his band Beat The System (BTS) is rehearsing for a promo tour that will include making the rounds on American talk shows. Perhaps it’s because their first American released album is entitled Journey, after a song by the same title; a song which Sellan wrote about his own personal journey as a musician who wants to make the world a more positive place with his music. It is possibly because he looks to the side of the stage and sees his brother Stewart (guitarist for BTS) and realizes that they (along with songwriter Adrian Puan and American vocalist May Leigh) have done what no other Malaysian band has ever achieved; signed, recorded, and are releasing a major rock/pop record in the US. There’s no sense in asking Gerald to stop smiling; he has been told many times that something can’t be done and his self belief has proven every naysayer wrong. On BTS’s mission of positivity, Gerald Sellan is the proof that believing in yourself truly creates opportunities.
  New York City is where Sellan wanted to be when he was beginning to play drums during his adolescence. While he was pursuing percussive endeavors in his home county of Malaysia, he was also paying attention to the music from the UK and America. He loved the melodies of songs by artists like Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey while at the same time being excited by the drumming and musicianship of bands like Mr. Big and Iron Maiden. Honing his skills at church gave him a keen insight into melodies. Gerald recalls, “I always listened to what the singers were singing as well as what they were saying. I learned a lot from them about supporting the vocal melody. I learned to respect the melody and to connect with it on an emotional level.” In the years that Gerald was learning to become a great drummer, his older brother Stewart founded BTS. Recognizing his younger brother’s talent, Stewart asked Gerald to audition for BTS when the drum chair fortuitously became open. The musical connection was as well…two siblings. Before long, Gerald was both drummer and bandleader for BTS. 

​  Like most Malaysian bands, BTS had followed the template of non-stop live gigging, prior to Gerald’s involvement. That continued to a certain extent with him as bandleader but he had other ideas about how to achieve success. BTS has always been heavily influenced by American music and due to this; their lyrics were almost exclusively in English. By singing in Malay (the mother tongue of Malaysia), they could have gained greater acceptance and airplay. With the exception of a few singles (“Penipuan Berwaris” released as a single by Warner Music Malaysia, “Transisi” written and produced by Beat The System for Warner Music Malaysia/EMI artist Fiq) the band focused on music that echoed the artists which inspired them. There were frequent hits and accolades. BTS partnered with Malaysian Idol winner Jaclyn Victor for the song “Shine” which won Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, and Best Genre Bender Awards at the 2012 Asian Voice Independent Music Awards. Having achieved major success with the new pop tinged direction of BTS, Gerald set his sights on the goal he had always held in the highest regard, proving what he and his band are made of…in America!
  Although Sellan had reached out to numerous labels and management companies in the US, the one he least expected to respond was Diana Meltzer (A&R, Chief Executive Officer) of Monster Hits Music (formerly of Wind Up Records). Meltzer was instrumental in discovering Creed, Evanescence, Alter Bridge, Drowning Pool, and many other bands; bands that Gerald had been a fan of and inspired by. Meltzer had received “Shine” and in her own words, “It was a good song but not a great song. I felt that there was something deeper going on with this band and I wanted them to find it.” Sellan understood that being vetted by a serious music industry player like Meltzer could establish BTS in a quick way. In their first phone conversation, Gerald doubled down his bet and promised Diana ten newly written, produced, and demoed songs with one month. Realizing that he had bitten off quite a bit, he enlisted songwriter Adrian Puan (whom had previously been associated with the band) to compose as well. The ten completed songs impressed Meltzer enough that she flew to Malaysia to spend a month with the band and see in person what was going on. Her experience set her resolve that the band had loads of talent and inspiration but not that everyone had the same vision. The outcome saw Gerald Sellan, Stewart Sellan, and Adrian Puan travelling to NYC as the members of BTS…ready to fulfill their dreams but without a singer.
  New York City can be an intimidating place for anyone. It’s exciting but you have to really hustle to make your own success there. There are great musicians everywhere, so imagine how precarious it feels if you have just moved from the other side of the planet to NYC with a dream and one hand tied behind your back! If you are a band with great songs and musicians but no singer, that is a fairly appropriate analogy. Still, Gerald Sellan is one of the most optimistic people you could ever meet. He felt that something was sure to happen. Singer after singer was auditioned. Gerald comments, “There were so many great singers but no one really fit.” Hearkening back to his early days working with singers in the church and what he learned he states, “When we finally met May and played through the songs with her, I knew it was perfect. It’s one thing to be a great singer but it takes a real pro to connect with the songs emotionally. It makes me play better as a drummer.” 

​  Summer of 2016 finds Gerald Sellan right where he has always wanted to be; in fact, in many ways he is way ahead of schedule. He and his band were discovered and signed to a label by Diana Meltzer. He wrote (in addition to others) the title track of his band’s first major American release. He recorded this record with (4 time Dove) award-winning producer Andy Anderson and (Grammy nominated) engineer Damien Page Lewis. Rehearsals are on going to prepare for the band’s promotion of their life’s work. Impossible has become I’m possible for Gerald Sellan and his goals. It’s no surprise that his smile is getting even bigger. 

​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.

Hailing from South Africa, actress Birgit Ludemann has an ethnically ambiguous appearance that allows her to believably take on a slew of different characters from various places around the world.
 
Earlier this year she wrapped production on Dong Lei's film The Cello Player where she took on the leading role of Natali, a German woman victimized by an NS Commander during the last days of WWII. She also took on the starring role of Naomi Basson, a Lance Corporal who is part of a medical task force during the Second American Civil War, in the film Maquisard.
 
While she's proven her capacity to take on a variety of characters from the shameless drug addicted Remi in Fool's Errand to the beautiful Suzanna in Fives, Ludemann's knack for action-packed productions is something that really sets her a part from the rest. Over the years the actress has accrued years of stunt training as well as experience with firearms which, combined with her ability to play the fierce female lead, has made her a highly sought after performer for war and western films.
 
As a classically trained theatre actress Ludemann knows how to command her audience's attention from the stage, a facet of her talent that has carried over to her career in film and television making her a difficult performer to turn away from whenever she hits the screen.
 
Some of her theatre performances to date include taking on the starring role of Julie in "Miss Julie" directed by Antoinette Kellermann in Cape Town, South Africa, Maggie in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" directed by Ken Learner in Los Angeles, Teresa in "Italian American Reconciliation" directed by Bob Lipton in Los Angeles, and others.
 
To find out more about this seasoned actress make sure to check out our interview below. You can also find out more about her film and television projects through her IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7052398/
 

Where are you from? 

BL: I'm from Stellenbosch, South Africa. I am German South African and my parents are German.

When and how did you get into acting?

BL: At the age of 12 I was certain I wanted to pursue a career in acting. I had a very inspiring drama teacher when I was in primary school, we did lots of children plays (Rahl Dahl being one of them) and since then I have found it inspiring to play different roles.

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

BL: In the film Fives I played Suzanna, a 26-year-old new girl at the office who is considered to be a “7” on a 1-10 scale of hotness, and she doesn’t struggle to get the males’ attention in the office. While I was playing this character, I did have to delve into my overly confident side and be super aware that I had to be extremely good looking. But at the same time behind the camera I was a bit self-conscious having to walk around set and have everyone looking at me to see if I’m really a “7+.” After a while I just owned it and felt the character. Suzanna serves a pivotal role as the male lead, Eric, flirts with her in order to make their co-worker, Meghan, jealous. Suzanna is fully aware of the situation and just plays along, because she knows Eric and Meghan make a better couple than she and Eric would.

One of the main challenges I faced playing this role was to make sure the character did not come off as being cocky, narcissistic or vein. It’s so easy to cross the line between making Suzanna sympathetically help Eric as a stimulus to get what he wants in a positive and genuine way because he is her co-worker, in contrast to helping him get what he wants by having the audience view the character as a negative superficial brat who just uses her looks for her own vein gratification.
This role also highlights another theme, that being: the power women get from being good looking, especially around the office. As an actress, I do not really have much first-hand experience in a serious office, so that was one of the things I had to do some research on. 

In the music film Stay I played the wife’s best friend who supports her during labor while her husband is dying. The character was a few years older and wiser than me, so it felt like I had been pushed into the serious life of intense adult drama. Playing this character in this film was a learning curve for me regarding the acting style the director demanded from us. as there was no dialogue during the entire film, everything was purely physical. The director wanted the finished edit to be in slow motion. So firstly, I had to be very conscious of too fast paced or too slow paced movements and secondly, as it was a heavily driven emotive drama, portraying emotions strongly enough for it to read on camera (in slow motion) was different. All of us took a few takes in the beginning to get the right balance for the pace and movement. The film received the Best Micro Film Award from the 20th Indie Gathering International Film Festival.

In the film The Cello Player I played Natali, a woman who gets caught by a NS-Commander during the last days of WW2. Working on this film was scarily realistic because everything from the set, wardrobe, make up and the cast was almost an exact replica from the WW2 time. We had to walk barefoot with dirt on our feet and clothes.

My character's interactions in the film portray how gruesome the NS Commanders could be back in those days as she gets captured, used and finally raped. Her character demonstrates how women were helpless victims to crimes NS Commanders played through and demonstrates that she is just a tool for the male lead to get what he wants.

This role was extremely challenging because I found out the first day of shooting we were doing an intense rape scene one day earlier than scheduled. It did make me feel a bit intimidated as I was getting raped by the male star, Thure Riefenstein, who is an accomplished German actor in Germany; but doing that scene spontaneously took the pressure off and helped me focus on the moment in every take.

In the film Maquisard I play Naomi Basson who is a Lance Corporal (combat medic) from Johannesburg, South Africa. She is part of the 44 Parachute Brigade and 44 Medical Task Group. Working on this film was amazing firstly, because I got to represent my own country and use an Afrikaans accent. Secondly, I got to reconnect with my medical side. I was working as a caretaker in England for a year, so I know on first hand basis what nurses and doctors go through. And thirdly, I had to do combat training for this role, learning how to hold and shoot military guns properly for the screen was an amazing experience. So all in all, I definitely felt the part. Naomi was critical to this film, as she is one of 3 other volunteers to join the UNAF Recon Team 5 to restore peace.

There were two big challenges in this film. Firstly, researching all military terms and understanding the background of the script, which was challenging because, with South Africa not really having a big military, I was not exposed to these terms and ways of thinking. The film was also written in a make believe time in a make believe place, with make believe events that had previously occurred that resulted in this plot. So therefore, reading and internalizing the backstory of the make-believe circumstances to this whole film was a crucial part of playing this character. Secondly, the military training that we did prior to the shoot was such a learning curve for me as an actress. Learning how to hold and shoot a gun properly for the screen, how to maneuver in a team of 4 people through buildings and how to have that physical tough military vibe to my character was a good learning curve for me.

In the film Mac Daddy’s Vegas Adventure I play Claudia, a customer in the massage parlor who is upset with Damon’s ‘special treatment’ massage which does not live up to her standards. Playing Claudia was pretty special experience because she is a comedic character who serves a comedic purpose in the film, because she gets heavily upset with a massage treatment that isn’t done up to her expectations. She stirs up tension between Diego and Tony who own the massage parlor that caters for women that need extra special sexual care… The challenge in this film was coming in on the day of shooting and trying to bond with the two male leads, Karltun Moreno and Spencer Mathis, in such a short amount of time. Getting to know another actor’s way of working is limited and there’s a certain amount of time pressure. Another element was that I was just wearing a towel in the scene, so it was challenging for some people to take everyone seriously…

In Fools’ Errand I played a drug and sex addict named Remi. I felt dirty and slutty playing this character. It’s harder for me as an actor to play a lower class low life character that has more superficial and primal morals and goals. In the film Remi tries to convince Mike to cheat on his girlfriend by supplying him drugs and sexual pleasures in order to rope him into her world. Remi is a drug addict who will do anything for money. In order for me to give such a ‘low life’ unambitious character some credibility and humanity, I played her very sympathetically in the last scene where Mike leaves her to go back to Sharon, his girlfriend.
I was featured in the spoof film Dr. Quinn Morphine Woman with Jane Seymour, and I played a local cowgirl who feared the return of Dr. Quinn who was medicating everyone with morphine. This was a very small cast and crew, and one of the memorable things I experienced is that all the women shared a dressing room together on this really dusty ranch in the middle of nowhere. So basically I saw Jane Seymour naked, and that woman still looks as good as when she was a Bond Girl back in the day!
 
How about television projects?

BL: In the reality styled TV show Sex in Public that was just release  in October on TLC I appear as a young girl who is gets tangled up in an internet romance in the 5th and 6th episode of the show. In Die Boland Moorde I played an actress whose co-actor gets killed in the first episode. This was an Afrikaans South African TV series that was shown on the KykNet TV channel. I was very comfortable as I knew most of the crew and cast, because on the other episodes I worked as a gaffer on this series. So it was interesting to be behind and in front of the camera on the same TV show. The challenge in this was that I had Afrikaans dialogue. Until this project, I had never appeared on TV talking Afrikaans.

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

BL: We as human beings are very interesting creatures; we have a lot of different heritage, culture and social influences. All the characters I choose to play, I tend to relate to on a deeper level. The thing I choose to do is delve into my past roots (eg. My ethnicity is German, thus I played a German woman subjected to NS rape), I delved into the different cultures I grew up in, thus one of them being South African (I ended up getting an Afrikaans speaking South African UN military role), language is also very important. I can speak 3 languages fluently (English, German and Afrikaans) and as soon as I embraced those cultures surrounding those languages within me, it is easier for me to relate to the characters. 
​
You get approached all the time to work on projects with people, what makes you pick one role over another?

BL: Language, culture, social norms and patterns, and heritage are extremely important for me when choosing projects. If I relate to them on any level, I will give my best to do the character justice. Also, I like a challenge. I love thinking outside the box and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. So if I don’t think I can relate to the character on those above-mentioned levels, I will try finding something else that does make me relate to a character. I love human psychology and am amazed how the human brain thinks, (personally, in a partnership and in a social setting) how humans feel and relate to each other and how people are driven and motivated by different emotions. This amazes me, and is very different to every single character that I have played.

Can you list some of the theatre projects you've participated in up until now, and the roles you’ve played?

BL: Smells Like Poor I did earlier this year and played the character Birgit. This was the first time the project was staged in English, and it was directed and written by Agusto Latino. Last year I played Teresa in Italian American Reconciliation and Maggie in Cat on the Hot Tin Roof both at the Victory Theatre in Los Angeles. Back home is South Africa, I performed in many contemporary and realist plays such as Julie in Stindberg’s Miss Julie and Celily in Oscar Wild’s Importance of being Earnest.

What has been your favorite project so far and why?

BL: My favorite project so far most probably is Maquisard. That was such an interesting project to have acted in, because I liked the action training in it. I loved putting my stunt training to use, and the cast and crew were so great to work with. We shot outside of LA for a few days in the desert and we all lived together and bonded.

What has been your most challenging role?

BL: The most challenging role I have played is actually a project that we just shot last month. It is called Cans and Candles, and I play a starving lesbian actress in LA. This was challenging because a) I’m heterosexual, so I had to delve into making the relationship of my lesbian partner realistic and show that we had substance and history in our partnership and b) make the character’s life circumstances realistic by eating out of cans for a few days and counting every penny that I spent. This project will soon be released and sent to festivals. The director on this project gave us a lot of freedom by trusting me and my co-star and letting us experiment with the emotional highs and lows of the script.

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

BL: My favorite genres are action and drama. Action because I have a lot of stunt training and have always been good with my physical movements. Drama because I feel that we get to experience life on a higher and more intense level, which becomes euphoric to portray.

What separates you from other actors? What are your strongest qualities?

BL: I have theatre training; therefore I try understanding every character I play on a much deeper level, that being physical, psychological, sociological, physiological and socio-economical. And with that theatre training, it enables me to breakdown the script and build up a character with technique. I am also very multi-cultural and have probably seen a lot more of the world than any other girl my age --I was born in South Africa, a third world country, to white German middle class parents, got my degree, traveled to Europe and worked as a caretaker for elderly people for a year and then moved to the states alone to pursue acting. And all these experiences have given me a lot to take from the world around me, and a lot of world wise maturity and experience that I bring to characters.

Can you list some of the people you’ve worked with that our readers might know?

BL: I’ve worked with Chris Pine (I was featured in Wet Hot American Summer), Brandon Mychal Smith (featured in You’re the Worst), Angie Harmon (in Rizzolli and Isles), James D’Arcy (Marvel’s Agent Carter), Cuba Golding Jnr, John Travolta, Steve Aoki and many more A-listers. 

What projects do you have coming up?

BL: I have a film project coming up next year with the same director of Fives. The new project is called Demystifying Love. I can’t say too much about that yet. And then I'm also in the process of writing my first dramatic film called www.amour or alternatively called White Slave, which challenges the Internet dating scene these days and how women are targeted to false personas.

What are your plans for the future?

BL: My plan for the next year is to focus on commercials and hopefully land a big national commercial. After that, hopefully land a series regular role on a TV show. And eventually my end goal is become a working film actress who produces really good work. I don’t care if I become rich or famous, those things are fleeting. What I really care about is producing a really good quality body of work in my life where people can look up to and be inspired from.

What do you hope to achieve in your career as an actor?
​
BL: What I want to do as an actress is to change the world through my work. I want to inspire people to think in a different way, and I want to challenge people’s imagination. Specific themes that lie close to my heart at this point of time in my life are: women power and the abuse of women (physical and emotional). I feel like women in this day and age need empowerment and need positive reinforcement ALL over the world in order to escape victimization.
 
Why is acting your passion and chosen profession?
 
BL: Acting is my passion because I like to live and explore someone else’s world for the improvement of humanity. The need to express various characters in this art form brings the possibility of inspiring other peoples lives through the characters I portray, and I hope these stories change their lives for the better. Even if it seems like a farfetched idea, changing someone’s life on a miniscule level can mean the world to that one person. This is the beauty of the process of filming a story.
 
 

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.

Growing up in Germany Aleksandra Kovacevic found herself at home on the stage. An actress with unparalleled range and magnetic presence, Kovacevic's talent for tapping into a wide range of characters, including those of the opposite sex, have helped propel her career to the international level.

Earlier this year Kovacevic starred in Lyka Gozon psychological drama film Hush, where she took on the role of Jennifer. The film, which was released earlier this month revolves around Jojo (Shawn McConnell), a man suffering from bipolar-schizoaffective disorder, and Jennifer (Aleksandra Kovacevic), is one of the malicious voices in his head. 

About her character in the film Kovacevic explains, "She is the manifestation of one of the women who turned Jojo down. She is mean, aggressive and downright spiteful. Her goal is to keep frustrating Jojo, she emotionally batters him and is a reflection of how Jojo perceives women."

While Jennifer continually breaks Jojo down and causes him to feel worthless, Jay, another one of Jojo's manifestations who is played by Robert John Torres (LA Stories, The Woodsman, Therapy, Qubitpunk), propels him into drug addiction. 

Unable to cope with the traumatic memories of being sexually abused as a child, an event that ultimately triggers his mental illness, Jojo spends his adult life in a psychological prison battling the voices in his head as they push him closer and closer towards suicide. 

A powerful drama that displays Kovacevic's capacity for darkness, Hush offers viewers a sad and revealing portrayal of what it's like to suffer from a disease that is practically invisible to most outsiders.

In the 2013 film Bits of Glass Kovacevic displayed a completely different side of her craft as a dramatic actress when she took on the starring role of Shelley, a young woman who falls apart after the death of her sister Mallory, who is played by Paulina Sadecka from Pheonix and For Emily. 

The depth of the bond between the two sisters is so powerful that it permeates the physical world allowing Shelley to see her sister even after her death. Although in the beginning she believes that the ability to continue seeing and communicating with her sister is a blessing, as time passes and she receives a work promotion that entails relocating to New York, she is forced to choose between her life and her connection to Mallory.

"Since Mallory’s presence is confined to their family house, moving across the country means that Mallory will disappear forever," explains Kovacevic. "But Shelley has to face reality and realize that she can’t stay there forever, especially with the promotion and because she plans to start a family with her fiancé."

Aleksandra Kovacevic has continued to take on challenging roles over the course of her career, all of which prove the dynamic nature of her craft. In addition to the film Hush, which was recently submitted to the Sundance Film Festival, you can catch Kovacevic in the new Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp directed by two-time Emmy Award winner David Wain.

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. ​

Some people were just born to perform and actress Sarah Jurgens happens to be one of those unique individuals. Although she was originally born in England, Jurgens spent time in South Africa with her family as a child before migrating to Canada shortly after. Spending time in several different countries in her youth endowed Jurgens with an enriched worldview, but those experiences also prompted her fascination with dialects.
 
She says, "Because I grew up with the good fortune of traveling to different areas of the world where my extended family resides, I developed a keen ear for accents. I really enjoy dialect work, it often opens up an entirely new inner-landscape for me to draw on as an actor, and it brings an edge to the character that I otherwise may not have found."

Jurgens' ability to tap in and become a wide range of characters with starkly different backgrounds is something that not only sets her apart from most other actresses, but it has also proven to be an integral counterpart in her success.

In Michael DeCarlo's (Lost Girl, The Border, Queer as Folk) 2012 film Two Hands to Mouth, which was produced by 
Black Walk Productions, Jurgens took on the role of Anya, a Russian bombshell seductress and the wife of Frank, a business man involved in nefarious ventures who is played by Joe Pingue (Drive, The Book of Eli, Pompeii).

Chosen as an Official Selection of the 2013 Madrid International Film Festival where it was nominated for a Best Actor Award and a Best Editor Award, Two Hands to Mouth revolves around eight blindfolded guests who all meet at a secret pup-up restaurant for a dinner prepared by chef Michael Bradori played by Richard Zeppieri from 24 Hour Rental, Suits and The Bridge.

About playing Anya, Jurgens explains, "Working with a Russian dialect opened up a very specific emotional range for me. It was incredibly fun to play a woman so secure in her sexuality and power."

Jurgens also starred alongside Rachel Skarsten (Fifty Shades of Grey, The Vow, Birds of Prey, Flashpoint), Conrad Coates (Defiance, Saw II, This Means War, The Strain) and Gemini Award winner Ernie Greenwald (Men in Black II, Two and a Half Men, Cellular) in the film.

For Jurgens acting is more than just a career. She admits, "I chose acting as my passion and profession for selfish reasons really. It was the art form that I found most challenging and demanding in terms of self-exploration. As I grow as an individual, I also grow as an artist. It is an ever-evolving process and it’s one that keeps me asking questions, and keeps me engaged with life."

While she has reached an astonishing level of success on screen with leading roles in TV shows including Covert Affairs, Lost Girl, Republic of Doyle and Beauty and the Beast, as well as the films Swearnet: The Movie and The Man in the Shadows, Jurgens has also carved out a place for herself in the international theatre industry.

To date the actress has starred in an impressive list of high-profile theatrical productions including "The Bewitched," "The Clown Show," "The Penelopiad" and "Reasons to be Pretty."

In 2009 she formed the Canada-based theatre production company The Blood Projects with writer/producer and fellow actress Sasha Singer-Wilson. Through The Blood Projects, Jurgens produced and played the starring role of Eve in "This is It" directed by Mark Wilson, and Tessa in "Little Tongues" directed by Paul Lampert.

Although Jurgens admits that she has a strong connection to pretty much every role she's played so far, her role as Queen Ann in Peter Barnes "The Bewitched" has been one of her most beloved. 

Directed by Dora Award winner Nigel Shawn Williams, the production revolves around the true story of the last of the Hapsburg royal line, an inbred family of rulers whose resulting diseases prevented them from producing an heir to the Spanish throne.

"It was a challenging experience playing a historical figure. Maria Anna of Neuburg was Queen of Spain from 1689 to 1700 as the second wife of King Charles II. It allowed me to explore her explosive anger, resulting in seizures and phantom pregnancies," recalls Jurgens.

In Shakespeare's words, "All the world's a stage," that is, at least for actress Sarah Jurgens; and, as she continues to take on new and exciting projects we know that this dynamic performer will continue to dazzle us with her craft for decades to come.

 

 

 

 

The work of a producer entails someone capable of managing an astonishing amount of logistics. From balancing budgets to finding locations and deciding what film festivals are most suitable for showcasing a project after production is completed, the responsibilities that come along with the title of film producer paint a picture of a person with an overly "type-a" personality. However, through producer Filippo Nesci, we see that rigid organization and strategy are by no means, the only qualities necessary for becoming a success in the film industry.

"If I tell you about all the responsibilities I take on as producer you might think I am just crazy to have chosen this profession," admits Nesci.

Handling the ever-mounting expanse of his responsibilities with ease, Nesci's diplomatic approach, combined with his ability to follow his gut and build meaningful relationships with people, have allowed him to accomplish more than most other producers in a relatively short amount of time. His capabilities as a producer are further compounded by his natural creativity, something that allows him to visualize a director's goal for a project and deliver a work that exceeds everyone's expectations.

In 2013 Nesci produced Benjamin Weiss's (The Ferryman, Vision Quest) award-winning film Lineman, which received the $3000 Founders Circle Award from the 2013 Louisiana Film Prize competition, in addition to being chosen as an Official Selection of the Solothurn Film Festival in Switzerland and several others.

The film follows the men and women who keep the power on, an especially dangerous job that becomes life threatening in the face of a storm. Through Lineman, viewers witness age through the eyes of his girlfriend Kira, as he embarks on the journey of becoming a lineman, a challenge that ultimately tests his manhood. Lineman starred Danna Maret, from the television shows Missy from Mississipi and The Common Room, as Kira, and Chase Mowen, from the films Grace, Book of Fire and Thief, as Gage. 

Nesci had his work cut out for him on this project, as the film required him to develop the skeleton of the production in California, but because the goal of the project was to win an award in Louisiana, the film also had to be shot there.

"This implied a lot of problems obviously since all cast and crew had to be moved, for the exact time of the actual production… Once again, to cut expenses I relied on my diplomatic skills," recalls Nesci. 

"I made an appointment with the Mayor of Arcadia to explain to him the meaningfulness of our movie and ask him for help… The meeting was very successful and Mayor Smith allowed me to film freely within Arcadia’s city limits."

Anyone who knows the strenuous effort that goes into applying and paying for film permits, especially in Los Angeles, knows that Nesci's accomplishment is a huge feat. After wrapping the California portion of the film's production, it was off to Louisiana for Nesci and the rest of the Lineman cast and crew. There, his ability to build relationships with the people he meets came in handy once again.

"I was able to make friends also with linemen and some of Louisiana's people, up to the point that one of them invited all of us to live at his place, on the swamp, during our stay for production," explains Nesci. "This was extremely helpful to put all cast and crew within the ambience of the film, plus it allowed our DP to shoot footage of the swamp, which was useful for post-production, since he let us explore it with his boat. And… it was all for free!"

The international success of the film Lineman undoubtedly proves the invaluable nature of producer Filippo Nesci's vast talents to his industry, a fact that he's proven through his work on several other productions as well. 

In 2014, Nesci produced a series of commercials for renowned scotch whiskey company Lagavulin with director Armen Perian. The series included the commercials entitled "Confidante," "Valiant," "Champion" and "Guardian," and went on to receive the 2014 Bronze Clio Award, the National ADDY Gold Award, and others. 

Nesci is currently working on several other exciting productions including the film Pepe the Movie, as well as a scientific documentary on the evolution of mourning in the digital age, which will cover mourning practices across the world surveying dances, artifacts, costumes and music. He is also promoting the film Snippets of Wally Watkins, which he produced with Janus Communications and Movies LLC., at film festivals internationally.