WRITER - DIRECTOR - PRODUCER

Johnny Ray’s directorial debut MY TURTLE’S NAME IS DUDLEY, won the $10,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short at Haydenfilms Online Film Festival in conjunction with Hollyshorts. His satire PAS DE RESTES won Best Short at both Portland and Green Lens Film Festivals and screened on Sundance TV. His parody PURGE: THE MORNING AFTER went viral and was featured in The Hollywood Reporter, while DVD & CHILL screened at the world-famous Roots Picnic and eight festivals including BlackStar. W.A.L.L.D, his latest film, has been selected to Austin Film Festival and nominated for Best Micro Short at Portland Comedy Film Festival. Johnny Ray is the founder & President of indie production banner First Flock Pictures and wants to remind everyone that no, he isn’t related to the singer Johnny Gill from New Edition.

Johnny Ray is a plant zaddy, poet and rapper, who teaches advanced acting at California Lutheran University and has a robust sneaker and stuffed animal collection. Depending on the occasion, you can find him with a glass of whiskey or tequila, but at all times Johnny Ray is an activist and freedom fighter whose mission is to create deeply personal and entertaining stories that decolonize minds, elevate the diaspora, and restore our beautiful planet because nothing we do is possible if Earth kills everybody. Morbid, but them be facts. PS: Vote!

@JohnnyRayGill | @FirstFlockPictures

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Peter began his freelance career as a Director of Photography in Los Angeles following his graduation from Cal State Northridge where he received a bachelor’s degree in Film Production. A commercial, documentary, and narrative Cinematographer, His work is defined by his composition, use of color, camera movement, and versatility to light and shoot all genres of projects. He has worked on independent productions and with major studios and television networks such as Disney, Hulu, Viacom, and HBO.

EDITOR

Originally from the UK, Theo is an LA-based film editor, with a body of work spanning feature films, television, commercials and branded content.

His feature film credits include 'My Dead Dad', an award-winning coming-of-age comedy/drama on HBO Max, 'We The Kings', a psychological thriller that won Best UK Feature at Raindance, and an upcoming indie comedy with John Cleese.

He also plays the saxophone. Badly.

SOUND DESIGNER

A Supervising sound editor and Re-Recording mixer based in northern Europe (Tallinn, Estonia). His career in film sound spans for well over a decade, he is currently a partner at Kaparasound (Mexico) and the founder of Acousmatic film sound, both sound post-production studios. His goal is to make the best possible film in collaboration with the director and achieve a powerful soundtrack together.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

A Nigerian Producer and Director based in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in Nigeria before moving to Los Angeles where she studied Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy and currently studying Producing at UCLA. Celine Onwuchekwa has worked as Producer, Director and Assistant Director on Shorts, Features, TV, Documentary, Commercials, etc. She has a background in Engineering, Event Production and Talent Management. Her films have screened in festivals around the world and she was nominated as "Best International Female Filmmaker" at TINFF.

​As a child, Celine loved acting ,writing and what she never understood at the time was actually Producing and Directing. She enjoyed watching movies , absorbing the scenes and stories like it was all reality. Celine Onwuchekwa was lucky to turn her passion into a successful career. Growing up she found that having an artistic outlet was the perfect way to express her thoughts, creativity, and imagination. Her experience has been paved by a true passion for film, television, and theatre. She quickly fell in love with directing and has not looked back since, committing to a career as a professional Filmmaker. She is always looking for her next project or collaboration, so if you have an idea and would like to work with Celine Onwuchekwa as a Director or Producer, please get in touch.

ILLUSTRATOR

James was an illustrator before moving into advertising. He was creative director of the European branch of a US agency before opening Giraffe in 2003 with two partners. In 2010 he went freelance. He’s worked for clients including Canon, Google, Nikon, Reuters, Sony, Toyota, and YouTube. His award-winning photography has been published internationally.

CASTING DIRECTOR

Alexis is a casting director and producer in Los Angeles. She started casting in the southeast in 2007 and after following casting to LA in 2012, found her way into attaching names with value to help package projects for financing and distribution. That naturally led to a producer role on independent films, which is where she is currently focusing with a slate of projects in development for both film and TV. After winning an Artios award in 2020, she began focusing full time on producing and developing projects. Alexis has a passion for demystifying the casting process, activism in the industry through inclusion and support, and actively aiming for diversity in casting, staffing, and making it a goal to work with projects led by and representing women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ communities.

Gaffer - Liz Ehlers

Production Sound Mixer - Oscar Ramirez

Script Supervisor - Danielle Clarke

Hair & Makeup - Monica Caldera

Animator - Daniel Calvo

Special Thanks:

Patrick Jean-Joseph, Brittany Felder, Daniel Rubiano, Colton Davie, Kornelius Bascombe, Rayne Roberts, Ben Pollack, Aaron Coats