WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Sofie Somoroff is a director and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her newest short, RIDE BABY RIDE, an action horror film about a woman who must exorcize a lecherous demon inhabiting her 1978 Camaro, is premiering at the Academy Award qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival in August 2023.

Her recent short, LOVE IS A FIRE, about an acidic yeast infection, is winding down its festival run having played at Hollyshorts, FilmQuest (winner, Best Midnight Short), Nightmares Film Festival (winner, Best Midnight Short; nominee; Best Director), Atlanta Horror Festival (winner, Best Gore Short), and the Portland Horror Film Festival, among others. Hailed for its strong performances and body horror, Film Threat described its “terrifying ending that will quench any horny feelings you have for the next hour make Somoroff’s Love is a Fire a must viewing.”

Her prior work also focused in on bodily functions, albeit through the lens of musical comedy. The first installment of her web series, MY FIRST NIGHT IN LA, is about a woman masturbating on her friends couch, followed by MY WORST NIGHT IN LA, about pooping on a Hinge date.

She’s a graduate of Wesleyan University, where her thesis, CUT, a period sci-fi short inspired by her grandmother’s experiences in a home for unwed mothers, received honors. The film went on to play at Hollyshorts Monthly Screening Series and was then picked up by the sci fi channel Dust.

She’s a born and bred New Yorker with an affinity for bagels.

ACTOR/PRODUCER

Celina Bernstein is an actor, artist, writer, and producer from Paris, France based in Los Angeles. As an actor, she has starred in dozens of short films and appeared in live performances in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles such as MOUTHQUIETBRAINLOUD hosted by JOAN, Utopia Myopia at LAXART, The Sightless at The Silver Room in Chicago, and congrats & condolences at The Neutra VDL House. Recent projects include the upcoming Ride Baby Ride (in partnership with MovieMaker Magazine) and The Perfect Place to Cry (Dances with Films LA, Fantasia), both of which Celina starred in and produced. Her recent film Love is a Fire won Best Midnight Short at both Nightmares Film Festival 2022 and Filmquest 2022 in addition to garnering awards and praise for her performance. Her first feature screenplay, co-written with Shane Bannon won First Place at Filmquest 2022.

Celina grew up in Paris, France and by the age of 7 began acting in both French and English. She's taken her desire to play and her passion for art and performance to the stage, the camera, the studio, and the world! Celina particularly loves collaborating with those who have a unique perspective on art & what it’s like to be a human being. She is known for her versatile dramatic acting, both in film and on stage. She loves taking on emotionally intense roles, as well as hopeful, joyous characters. She holds a B.A. in Studio Art and Theater from Wesleyan University.

PRODUCER

Born on a secluded animal farm at the top of Malibu's infamous Mulholland Highway, Sam blends highly stylized imagery, music, and psychedelia with horror and genre cinema via her production company Foxy Films (Wowzers, Unagi). In 2021, Sam wrote and directed the branded short film Bad Acid alongside Animal Crackers Clothing, which won her Best Director at Nightmares Film Festival, Best Production Design at both FilmQuest and Be Afraid, and Best International Film at Phenomena Festival. In 2023 Sam teamed up with MovieMaker Magazine and New Orleans production company Cosmic Family Films to make the absurd horror-comedy, Fck'n Nuts, based off her experience growing up with her crazy family. Sam also produces with the Greatgrandma Film Collective, namely as executive producer along with Desiree Staples on Heidi Weitzer's female ensemble comedy feature My Divorce Party coming 2023 (ft. Rumer Willis), and as producer on Britt Lower's Circus Person, which screened at Tribeca Film Festival, won Best of Festival at Catalyst 2021, the Audience Award at Nashville Film Festival and which FX Productions' Diversity Hire, Ltd. is developing into a half hour TV series. Sam is developing her mother's journey through addiction memoir Blood is Thicker than Vodka into a mini series about alcoholism and family dysfunction. In her free time, Sam enjoys surfing, sailing and disco dancing.

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Gemma Doll-Grossman is a LA-based cinematographer born and raised in San Francisco. She has lensed films that recently premiered at Venice Film Festival (Isabella Torre's Luna Piena) and SXSW (Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz's Scotty’s Vag). After earning degrees in Biology and Film Studies from Wesleyan University, Gemma worked as a soccer coach to save money to book a one-way ticket to Rome to reconnect with her family. She ended up living in Italy for four years and working as a set electric, most notably alongside directors Jonas Carpignano (Mediterranea, A Ciambra and A Chiara), Benh Zeitlin (Wendy) and Joe Talbot (American Paradise). Upon her return to California, Gemma graduated with an MFA in Cinematography from AFI Conservatory in 2019. She has since been a Project Involve 2022 fellow, a two-time Panavision grant recipient, and a cinematographer at the 2023 Sundance Directors' Lab. Gemma focuses on narrative feature filmmaking. Her features are currently in post-production: Francisco Ordoñez's erotic crime thriller The Low End Theory, Seabold Kreb's psychological drama Bury Me When I'm Dead and Matt Hardy's Dogme 95-inspired Bare. Gemma's goal is to make audiences experience visceral, somatic sensations to story and image. Committed to capturing often untold perspectives and utilizing experimental techniques, Gemma loves to explore sexuality, moral ambiguity, and the magical in the mundane.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Shane Bannon is a Director and Production Designer based in Los Angeles by way of San Francisco. His work focuses on characters who seek connection in a world that encourages isolation. His first short film, Only Strangers Sleep in My Bed, played at festivals including Another Hole in the Head, his childhood favorite genre festival, and is now available to be viewed on Alter. His most recent short film, The Perfect Place to Cry, has played at Dances With Films LA and Fantasia. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Film and Creative Writing.

EDITOR

Beth grew up outside of Chicago. She graduated with a Master’s in film from King’s College London, then followed her dream of living in an earthquake zone and moved to the west coast. In San Francisco, and later Los Angeles, she started editing for brands such as Google, JanSport, Ben & Jerry’s, Hello Sunshine and Fenty Beauty, and working in-house for agencies such as Goodby, Venables, FCB and Mekanism. She has also worked as a VFX and assistant editor for post-houses such as Framestore, Method Studios, Cut + Run, Cartel and Work Editorial.

She brings her background in music, experimental filmmaking, creative writing, bird-song identification, and cinematic storytelling to every single project.