The Filmmakers
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James Chressanthis
Director/Producer
What keeps him motivated as an independent filmmaker:
I would rather tell the stories I want to tell than be governed by the whims and fashion of corporate entertainment conglomerates.
His three favorite films:
Lawrence of Arabia, McCabe & Mrs. Miller (shot by Vilmos Zsigmond) and Paper Moon (shot by Laszlo Kovacs).
His most inspirational food for making an independent film:
Double espresso macchiato, with short foam (Italian-style), no sugar and a splash of vanilla.
Filmmaker Bios
James Chressanthis, ASC
Director/Producer
Chressanthis has earned a diverse range of nearly 40 credits since the early 1990s, including documentaries, independent features, television movies and episodic series. He shot the Emmy-nominated Four Minutes and Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows and did additional photography on the Oscar-winning Chicago. He is also a sculptor and mixed media artist. After Chressanthis directed a documentary about his family’s native village in Greece, he studied cinematography at the American Film Institute and began his career shooting nearly 100 breakthrough music videos, with such artists as Bobby McFerrin, James Brown, Hammer, NWA and Dr. Dre. Since 2005, Chressanthis has been a director and cinematographer of the popular dramatic series Ghost Whisperer. He recently completed the Renée Zellweger-produced film Living Proof starring Harry Connick Jr. NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: Laszlo & Vilmos is his feature film directing debut.
Jimmy Conroy II
Executive Producer
Jimmy Conroy II is a Syracuse, Indiana-based entrepreneur and venture capitalist with companies in the manufacturing, real estate, restaurant and film industries. Conroy founded NC Motion Pictures, LLC with Kian Soleimanpour in 1999.
Dr. David B. Kaminsky
Executive Producer
Dr. Kaminsky is executive producer of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. He co-founded Cinematographers Day (dedicated to education about the art and technology of cinematography) at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, for which he formerly served as the festival’s vice chair and programmer of Italian cinema. He was honored by the Italian government for his efforts on behalf of Italian cinema with the Cavaliere della Repubblica medal.
Art Monterastelli
Co-Executive Producer
Monterastelli co-wrote the most recent Rambo movie. He also wrote and co-produced the Billy Friedkin thriller The Hunted, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro. He is currently developing an HBO mini-series based on Frontline's documentary on the LAPD Rampart Scandal.
Tony Frere
Producer
Frere has produced myriad award-winning commercials, music videos, new media and films, including TV spots with Vilmos Zsigmond and projects with high-profile directors and artists including Gus Van Sant, David Fincher, Russell Simmons and Madonna.
Zachary W. Kranzler
Producer
Kranzler is a founder of and partner in NC Motion Pictures. During the past 12 years, he has acted in and produced a range of films, while also serving as a technical media consultant. He recently produced, wrote and directed The Fast One, starring Richard Karn (Home Improvement) and Marsha Thomason (Las Vegas, Haunted Mansion).
Kian Soleimanpour
Producer
Soleimanpour is a producer and media attorney, as well as a principal and founding member of NC Motion Pictures, LLC. NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: Laszlo & Vilmos is his debut as a feature filmmaker and producer. He has also been practicing law for eight years and is currently legal counsel to a major Fortune 500 company.
Elisa Bonora
Editor/Co-Producer
Bonora is a versatile, award-winning television commercial editor who ventured into documentaries, beginning with Oliver Stone’s Comandante in 2003. She also collaborated with Pietro Scalia, editing the art film/documentary Ashes and Snow (featuring the work of photographer Gregory Colbert) in 2005. Bonora recently completed editing the Hugo Chavez documentary, South of the Border directed by Oliver Stone.
Anka Malatynska
Cinematographer
Malatynska was born in communist Poland to a family of Himalayan mountain climbers and photographers. In 2001, she was awarded a Television Academy camera internship with James Chressanthis, starting her ongoing collaboration with him as a cinematographer. She has also operated the camera for Ellen Kuras, ASC and director Michel Gondry. Her first feature, Camjackers, was released earlier this year. She recently completed her second feature film The Lazarus Papers in Thailand.
