David Roy
Writer | Director
Is a director, writer, visual designer and editor. His new screenplay A PLACE APART is in production with completion anticipated in 2017.
In 2003 his feature film MAD SONG was cited as “the most promising directorial debut of the year” by The Los Angeles Times. National Public Radio lauded the film, favorably comparing it to Robert Altman’s early work. In 2004 David helmed one of five individually directed segments of MAN OF THE YEAR starring the late John Ritter. The film played in competition at the Slam Dunk Festival in Park City, as well as the Pasadena Method Festival where it won the “Best Performance” award. In 2005, David received an Emmy for his photographic contribution to THE LUCKY MAN, a documentary about one man’s tragic battle with ALS.
David has been a member of the senior faculty at Brooks Institute in Ventura, CA since 2001, teaching writing and directing in the Film and Video Dept.
Born and raised in Iowa, David holds BA degrees in History, English and Philosophy from Marycrest College in Davenport, and an MA in cinema from the University of Iowa. His visualization of Heidegger’s “The Clearing” won him first place in the national Refocus Film Festival.
After winning numerous local and regional awards for shooting and directing commercials in the Midwest, David moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s, where he employed his multiple skills towards a wide variety of documentaries and commercials, as well as music videos for such artists as Luther Vandross and the Beastie Boys.
Theresa Schwartz
Co-Writer | Producer
Theresa holds a BA in Music Education from Truman State University and an MA in School Counseling from Western Illinois University. "A Place Apart" is Theresa's debut as a screenwriter and Producer. Prior to moving to California, she worked for the Iowa and Illinois public schools as a School Counselor and Jr. High School Band Director. Theresa is an accomplished clarinet player and teacher, playing for 25 years with the Classique Quintette and various other musical productions in the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities. She is married to David Roy and has two children and three grandchildren.
Karl Ulrich
Director of Photography
Karl earned his BA in Writing from Loyola University in 1995 and his MFA in Film Production from the University of Southern California in 2002. Karl began his career as a combat correspondent for the United States Marine Corps before obtaining work on the set of several network television programs and developing a passion for cinematography.
While studying cinematography at the University of Southern California, Karl shot several award-wining short films, earning awards from the Director's Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Since then, he has pursed his passion by shooting commercials, music videos and documentaries, as well as creating motion-picture marketing materials for 20th Century Fox and other corporate clients. He has also directed two award-winning short films and is currently directing and producing a feature-length documentary on the art of cinematography, with over 30 prominent ASC members participating.
Steven Argilla
Composer
Steven’s musical life began at the age of seven when his parents received the unlikely gift of a home organ. By the age of 10, he was winning regional and national competitions on piano and organ. At 14, he was accepted into the pre-college division of The Juilliard School. Steven continued his conservatory training for four years on a full scholarship to Juilliard, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree.
A professional musician since he was 15 years old, Steven has broad experience working in every capacity of the business, including as a composer, producer, songwriter, arranger, music director, orchestrator and performer – often simultaneously. His intense classical training gives him the ability to work in a wide variety of styles.
Steven’s passion for collaboration has led him into virtually every genre, from dramatic, comedy, and musical feature films (The Last Poker Game, The Thing About My Folks, Basmati Blues, How to Grow Your Own, Lazy Eye, Mad Song) to documentaries (Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, Alive and Kicking, What the F@#- Is Cancer and Why Does Everybody Have It?), mocumentaries (Memron), animation (“Monster High,” “Max Steel,” “Scooby Doo Pirates Ahoy”), sitcoms (“The Paul Reiser Show”, NBC, “10 Items or Less,” TBS), pop records, classical recordings, and musical theater. His talents range from creating lush dramatic scores to quirky comedy cues and everything in between. On the forthcoming Hollywood-meets-Bollywood musical Basmati Blues, starring Brie Larson and Donald Sutherland, Steven acted as composer, songwriter, and soundtrack producer.
Steven composes, records, mixes, and produces his scores at 88 Keys Music, his personal studio in the heart of Silver Lake on the eastside of Los Angeles.
Paul F. Ryan
Production Advisor
Paul earned a BA in Marketing from Texas A&M University in 1992 and an MA in Cinema/Television from the University of Southern California in 1998. Paul is a producer, director, screenwriter and film editor who has worked in the film industry since the early 1990s. His award-winning independent feature film "Home Room" received a nationwide theatrical release in 2003 and continues to be shown on the Showtime cable network. Paul is also a founder and partner of MOR Entertainment, a film production and financing company located in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Over the past 10 years, MOR Entertainment has provided production services for Miramax Films, The Weinstein Company, Rogue Pictures, Dimension Films, and Paramount Digital Entertainment as well as for numerous corporate clients including Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, and Myspace.com.
Paul is currently an adjunct faculty member at Brooks Institute and teaches coursework in directing, producing and film editing. Paul has also served as a course lecturer in the film programs at Loyola Marymount University and Chapman University. His advanced project, “Eye of the Storm,” was awarded the Harold Lloyd Scholarship for Film Editing. His thesis film “The List” was awarded First Place Drama at the College Emmy Awards.