Ivan Simon Cary Elwes is an English actor. He is best known for his lead role as Westley in The Princess Bride (1987), as well as for roles in films such as Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and the Saw series.
Samuel M. Raimi is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for directing the first three films in the Evil Dead franchise (1981–present) and the Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the superhero movie Darkman (1990), the revisionist western The Quick and the Dead (1995), the neo-noir crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998), the supernatural thriller The Gift (2000), the supernatural horror Drag Me to Hell (2009), the Disney fantasy Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and the Marvel Studios film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
Irshad Manji is a Ugandan-born Canadian educator. She is the author of The Trouble with Islam Today (2004) and Allah, Liberty and Love (2011), both of which have been banned in several Muslim countries. She also produced a PBS documentary in the America at a Crossroads series, titled Faith Without Fear, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2008. A former journalist and television presenter, Manji is an advocate of a reformist interpretation of Islam and a critic of literalist interpretations of the Qur'an.
Flat Rock Assembly Plant, formerly known as the Michigan Casting Center (1972–1981), Mazda Motor Manufacturing USA (1987–1992) and AutoAlliance International (1992–2012), is a Ford Motor Company assembly plant located at 1 International Drive in Flat Rock, Michigan in Metro Detroit.
The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is produced by Cinequest, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is also responsible for Picture The Possibilities and the distribution label Cinequest Mavericks Studio LLC. Cinequest awards the annual Maverick Spirit Awards. In addition to over 130 world or U.S. premieres from over 30 countries, the festival hosts writer's events including screenwriting competitions, a shorts program, technology and artistic forums and workshops, student programs, and a silent film accompanied on the theatre organ. Founded in 1990 as the Cinequest Film Festival, the festival was rebranded in 2017 as the Cinequest Film & VR Festival and expanded beyond downtown San Jose to Redwood City. It took its present name in 2019.
Bob Murawski is an American film editor. He was awarded the 2010 Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his work on The Hurt Locker, which he shared with his wife, fellow editor Chris Innis. He often works with film director Sam Raimi, having edited the Spider-Man trilogy, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Murawski is an elected member of the American Cinema Editors, and is the co-founder of Grindhouse Releasing, an acclaimed film distribution company specializing in re-releases of cult films.
Jen Heck is an American writer, director, and producer best known for her award-winning films. Her work has appeared at the Whitney Biennial (2004), and at major film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival, the São Paulo International Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Hamptons International Film Festival. Her stories are often described as "quirky", with themes of love, isolation, and the delicate nature of relationships between young women commonly recurring. Her signature visual style often incorporates found or pre-existing media with rich, original material to create a unique, heavily stylized narrative result.
Nina Arianda Matijcio is an American actress. She won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Vanda Jordan in Venus in Fur, and she was nominated for the 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for portraying Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday. She stars in Amazon Studios legal series Goliath and starred in the biographical film Stan & Ollie (2018) as Stan Laurel's wife Ida.
Blood Car is a 2007 black comedy film directed by Alex Orr and starring Anna Chlumsky, Katie Rowlett, and Mike Brune. It is set in a not-too-distant future where gasoline prices have become exorbitant. Things take a turn for the worse when a kindergarten teacher invents a car that runs on a different fuel source: blood.
The Six Dollar Fifty Man is a short film directed by Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland and written by Sutherland. The film premiered in the Short Film competition of Festival de Cannes in 2009 where it received Special Distinction. The Six Dollar Fifty Man tells the story of Andy, a gutsy 8-year-old boy who is forced to break out of his make-believe superhero world to deal with playground bullies. The title is a play on The Six Million Dollar Man.
22nd of May is a 2010 Belgian thriller film directed and written by Koen Mortier. The film stars Sam Louwyck, Barbara Callewaert, and Titus De Voogdt. The film won one award and was nominated for five with all awards going to Koen Mortier.
The Anna Nicole Story is an American biographical drama television film about late actress and Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith. The film stars Agnes Bruckner as Smith and was distributed by Lifetime Movie Network. It premiered on June 29, 2013.
The Story of Luke is a 2012 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Alonso Mayo. It is Mayo's first feature-length film and tells the story of Luke, a young man with autism who embarks on a quest for a job and a girlfriend. It stars Lou Taylor Pucci, Seth Green, Cary Elwes and Kristin Bauer.
Hugh Schulze is a writer/director whose second feature, Dreaming Grand Avenue (2020), was hailed by Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times as "a small but ambitious and metaphysical and deeply poetic gem with big ideas, stunningly original visuals of Chicago — and beautifully honed performances." Dann Gire of the Chicago Daily Herald wrote: "poetic Dreaming Grand Avenue skirts across genres with the reliable grace of an el train hitting every station stop on its way through Chicago."
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet is a feature-length documentary film directed by Jesse Vile about guitarist Jason Becker and his 22-year-long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Creed of Gold is a 2014 film about fictional corruption at the Federal Reserve. It was produced by Crystal Creek Media and directed by Daniel Knudsen. Filming of Creed of Gold took place in several locations near Indianapolis, Indiana and Detroit, Michigan with some additional photography taking place on location in New York City.
The House on Pine Street is a 2015 independent psychological drama-horror film written by Aaron Keeling, Austin Keeling, and Natalie Jones, and directed by Aaron Keeling and Austin Keeling. The project was partially funded through a Kickstarter campaign. Principal photography took place over 19 days in the spring of 2014.
Rola Nashef is an American director, screenwriter, producer and multimedia artist based in Detroit. She is best known for her award-winning film, Detroit Unleaded.
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot is a 2018 American adventure drama film written, co-produced and directed by Robert D. Krzykowski in his feature debut, and starring Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner, Larry Miller, Ron Livingston, and Caitlin FitzGerald.
Darnell Lamont Walker is an American writer, director, and producer. He directed and produced social impact documentaries, including Seeking Asylum, Outside the House, and Set Yourself on Fire, which have screened at various film festivals. He has written for children's television shows Karma's World, Face's Music Party, and Blue's Clues & You!. He was part of the Karma's World writing team that received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for an Animated Program at the 1st Children's and Family Emmy Awards.
