Filmmakers

Elias Matar is a visionary writer, director and producer with a knack for telling gritty, hard-boiled stories infused with heart and soul. Born in California, raised in Syria, Matar has a unique perspective both in life and film-making.
His short film Chingaso The Clown (shot by legendary cinematographer Arthur Wong) won a bevy of awards on the festival circuit including the ‘Audience Choice Award’ at Kevin Smith’s Movie Askew and ‘Best Underground Film’ and ‘Best Editing’ at the FAIF Film Festival.
Matar first feature film, Ashes (staring Brian Krause and Kadeem Hardison) premiered at the 2010 Shriekfest Film Festival where it took top prize "Best Horror Feature.” That same year Ashes also won the “Best Horror Screenplay” at the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, along with several other awards before securing distribution through Osiris Entertainment.
His second feature film, the critically acclaimed Ribbons (also starring Brian Krause) enjoyed a successful festival run including Hollwood Film Festival and NYC Indie Film Festival, as well as a limited theatrical release in 2016 before securing a distribution deal with Indican Pictures.
Matar has recently turned his attention to documentary film-making, directing and producing three films concerning the Syrian refugee crisis, Flight of The Refugees, Exodus and Children of Beqaa. All three films have played a great number of film festivals and Red Cross events across the globe.
Flight of the Refugees won “Best Short Documentary” at the Sonora International Film Festival and “Best Humanitarian Achievement” at the Garafuna Film Festival. All three films have secured distribution, Exodus through 108 Media, and Flight of the Refugees and Children of Beqaa through Green Apple.

Edward E Romero is an accomplished writer, director, editor and composer in both film and television. Born and raised in Michigan, Romero currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Best known for dark, quirky, character driven scripts, Romero’s screenwriting awards include: The UCLA Professional Screenwriting Award (Lullaby), Best Horror Screenplay International Sci-Fi and Horror Film Festival (Ashes), Best Feature Screenplay Polygrind Film Festival (Butterfly) and others. As a screenwriter, Romero works closely with directors and producers to help them facilitate their vision and bring it to the page.

Will Jobe is an award winning Cinematographer based in Los Angeles. His work has screened at SXSW, Slamdance, and Cannes. He has shot internationally in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Brazil. He holds a MFA in Cinematography from the University of Southern California.

Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Will grew up glued to the television, but despite his parents’ concerns he would put his countless hours in front of the TV to good use later in life. Will made his first short film as a young teen, a documentary about a small community outreach program, which featured a young and dedicated community organizer by the name of Barack Obama. Ever since that small film, Will has fervently dedicated himself to capturing the human experience.

Will has shot commercial content for ESPN, GMC, Hallmark, Palmolive, Playboy, ShopBop, Spinning, and Subway Restaurants and recently completed the narrative feature titled Ribbons. He is well versed in a variety of formats, including 35mm, 16mm, Alexa, Red, Sony, and Canon. Will’s most recent cinematography work includes GUEST ROOM, starring Lauren Potter of GLEE, which premiered in competition at SXSW and was recently awarded a VIMEO STAFF PICK and 20 YEARS OF MADNESS, a documentary feature, which received “Honorable Mention” at the Slamdance Film Festival and is being distributed through Gravitas Ventures.

Gianluca Piovani is a writer and director from Milan, Italy. Obsessed with every form of media, he implements compelling filmmaking with digital marketing strategies to develop highly effective commercial campaigns for visionary brands.