The Team
Cindy Dinh | Writer & Director
Cindy Dinh is a filmmaker and an actor. The child of Vietnamese refugees, she experienced her American upbringing as both painful and invisibilizing. Growing up, she straddled different cultural identities and struggled to metabolize reverberating intergenerational trauma. Through the creation of hard-hitting dramatic narratives, Cindy delivers her unvarnished emotional truth with a powerful veracity, leading to healing and integration of both individual and society. She recently starred in a staged production of No Exit and co-created the short film, Designer Genes.
Alyssa Carter | Director & Producer
Alyssa Carter is a Digital Creative Producer based in Los Angeles, CA, working for companies such as Maker Studios, Fine Brothers Entertainment, Disney Plus, and TubeScience. Since 2013, Alyssa has written, directed, and produced several independent short films, music videos, and branded commercials. Her short musical film, SING ABOUT IT won “Best Comedy” by the Subversive Cinema Society in 2016. In 2017, her one-take short film, GRAPES won “Best Choreography,” as well as a “Best Female Filmmaker” nomination. Her most recent short film, LAS 17 was awarded “Best Short Film” by the NSAEN Film Festival 2018, and “Best Micro Short” by the United Latino Film Festival 2019. Alyssa looks forward to building on stories of female empowerment and amplifying the unheard voice with this next short film, TRAPPED IN MOTION.
Daniel Korth | Producer
Daniel Korth is a producer, actor, director and writer of theater and film. Starting in the San Francisco Bay Area, his work has been seen throughout California. He was a co-founder and Artistic Director for Pop-Up Theatre LA and helped form several independent theaters over the last ten years. He currently is working as a part of the production team for Nickelodeon’s Rugrats and attaining his Master of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration in Theatre Management from California State University, Long Beach.
Travis Leland | Producer
Travis Leland is a producer, writer and actor whose work has been seen in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and across the country on stage and online. Recent work includes: Bury Me in Armor, a short film starring Alice Kremelberg and Ed Asner (Official Selections: NY Indie Film Festival, Garden State, Richmond International) Weather or Not, a short film adaptation of a David Sedaris piece, An American In Lebanon featured on Our Digital Stories. He is also content creator for the group Art Save The Vote. Graduate of UCLA.
Dominic López | Director of Photography
Growing up as the only child of three kids, Dominic López escaped to his imagination when he realized he couldn’t throw a football for shit. This escape cultivated his love and passion for storytelling and filmmaking. He regularly works as a Cinematographer on things you haven’t seen and just recently directed his first feature length film, Little Jar (which you will see). His future looks so bright he’ll probably wear shades, and he’ll probably wear them at night because the sun never sets on cool. Also, he takes nothing seriously except for everything filmmaking, when he becomes such a f***ing perfectionist, it drives everyone around him crazy. But that’s only because he really loves making movies.
And he totally didn’t write this bio himself.
Totally...
John Courtney | Composer
John Courtney is one of the primary creative forces behind the band Los Coast, which recently had its cover of A Change is Gonna Come reach over one million plays on Spotify. A lifetime music-lover, John learned how to play piano and guitar at a young age and gradually expanded his repertoire to work with synthesizers, orchestration, arranging, sound editing, and mixing. John has studied jazz, composition, and film scoring at the Berklee School of Music and works primarily with Ableton and Pro Tools.
Richie Ferris, CSA | Casting Director
Richie Ferris has been casting with Michael Donovan Casting for nearly 10 years. In that time, he has worked on the casting of well over 300 projects across the mediums of TV, film, and theatre, and has been nominated by the Casting Society of America (CSA) for 9 associate Artios Awards for Outstanding Casting, earning 3 wins. He is most passionate about working on the casting of new projects that tell important stories and promote change and inclusion. IG: @richie_ferris & @michaeldonovancasting
Tristan Cunningham | The Protector
“Cunningham steps so fully into each character that with each snap of a transformation you hold your breath, as if observing a magic trick" – SFGate.
Tristan Cunningham is a S.U.N.Y Purchase Theater Arts and Film Conservatory Graduate and a proud member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. She has won the 2016 TBA Outstanding Performance Award and the 2016 BATCC Excellence in Theater Award. She is also a trained acrobat and juggler and has performed with Circus legends Alberto Zoppe and Marcel Marceau.
Most recently she was in Season 1 of All Rise on CBS, Season 1 of The Fugitive starring Kiefer Sutherland, Season 18 of NCIS, and on Netflix’s comedy show Family Reunion.
Shelby Miguel | The Child
Shelby Miguel is a Filipino-American actor from Daly City, California. She attended St. Ignatius College Prep and the USC School of Dramatic Arts, where she obtained her BA in Theatre. Pre-pandemic, she played Rosie Imelda/Nanea Mitchell on the national tour of American Girl Live! Shelby is super passionate about female empowerment, LGBTQ+ representation, and BIPOC representation in TV, film, and theatre!
Gary Sugai | Isaac
Gary Sugai started out as a theater actor in New York City in 2000-2019 pursuing mostly Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. He studied the Meisner Technique in New York City at the William Esper Studios through a 2 year conservatory program and the Williamson Movement Technique as well. Before going into acting he obtained a chemistry degree at the University of Maryland which helps him with his day job as a laboratory technique supplementing his acting career at the same time. In August 2019, Gary moved to Los Angeles to pursue his passion a TV/film acting career. His strongest passion is particularly comedy in television sitcoms and films. Outside of acting, Gary enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, going to the beach, playing beach volleyball, gardening, partying, and working out at the gym. He can be reached at garysugai@outlook.com.
Karen Chow | Ma
Karen Chow is a community college faculty member at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA. She is not a professional actor/artist, but is a great appreciator of the arts, and loves learning about and supporting local Bay Area theater and arts communities, especially those that aim to increase BIPOC participation and support BIPOC communities.