Zack Ordynans
Writer/Director
Zack Ordynans was raised in West Nyack, N.Y., and attended Clark University in Worcester, Mass., where he was inspired to write his first feature, BURNING ANNIE, shortly after graduation. The film appeared in more than a dozen film festivals, winning nearly that many awards. BURNING ANNIE received a limited theatrical release and a DVD release by a subsidiary of Warner Brothers in 2007. Since writing that project, Zack has written and directed the short films YIN/YANG (LA Shorts Fest, 2006) and DON’T CALL US (Ft. Lauderdale IFF, 2008). He recently completed an experimental short, ONE WEEK TO BILL’S THING (aka FUNHOUSE MIRROR), which he co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in with BURNING ANNIE producer Randy Mack. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jill, and their infant twins, Evelyn Grace and Oliver Hirsh.
Biljana Ilic
Producer
Biljana Ilic was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia. After receiving her Law degree at Belgrade University, she studied Arts Management and Media Production at the Art Academy at BK University (Serbia). In 1998, she began her career in the entertainment industry as a production manager for the Serbian National TV station. Biljana moved on to producing documentary films about the recent wars in the Balkans. She founded Theater-Playground, an open-air stage in Belgrade, where she produced several plays, one of which has been running for nine years. In 2006, she moved to New York City to pursue an MFA in film at Columbia University, where she received multiple international fellowships and scholarships, and was selected as a Chair of Producers Guild of America Student Members. In the five years since she moved to New York, Biljana has made over a dozen short and feature films, mostly in the role of a producer. Her recent feature film production, ROMEO AND JULIET IN YIDDISH, became one of the first films to premiere at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center. In addition, Biljana continues to be involved in producing theatrical productions, with the New York play LIFE ON A DESERT ISLAND. She is also developing several independent films.
Owen Donovan
Director of Photography
Owen is a passionate and skilled cinematographer who possesses an eye and understanding which precisely captures the vision of the projects he photographs. He approaches each new challenge as an opportunity for creative growth. He has a wide range of experience, from narrative and music videos to commercials and documentary, in formats ranging from SD to 4K. Over the past few years he has lensed dozens of productions. In 2007 and again in 2009 films he had photographed were subsequently awarded grants from the National Board of Review. His work has been screened in festivals across the United Statesand Europe, including the New York City International Film Festival and Cannes. He currently resides in Brooklyn.
Ioannis Sochorakis
Production Designer
Ioannis Sochorakis is a New York-based Production Designer. After completing architectural studies in the UK, he studied Set Design at Boston University, and received a full scholarship to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he completed his Masters in Design for Stage & Film. His works, many of which can be seen at www.ioannissochorakis.com, include architectural projects and event installations in his home country of Greece, as well as theater shows, films, music videos, and video installations in the U.S. For the past three years, he has been involved in ballet, opera, and theater productions as part of the George Tsypin Opera Factory team and he is a member of the creative group “SUMU”.
Tom Roy
(“Tom”)
Tom has 15 years of acting experience on stage and in films, with key roles in three feature films (RUTLAND U.S.A., DISC and FREEDOM PARK), as well as a role in Zack Ordynans’s short film DON’T CALL US. Tom was Associate Producer of the feature BURNING ANNIE; has written, directed and/or produced over a dozen short films; and has written several feature film screenplays. In addition to film work, Tom has written hundreds of comic strips, and is working on a compilation that will be released later this year. Tom is also currently working on a brilliant book that some really lucky agent will sell for a fortune. For real.
Rebecca Kush
(“Maria”)
Rebecca began doing commercials at a young age, and has been a working actor for 10 years. A graduate of St. Lawrence University’s Arts program, she spent a summer studying theater at The Circle in the Square in New York City. After relocating to New York, she studied privately with several of her professors, including Alan Langdon and Ken Schatz. She also studied privately with L.K. Thompson at The Wynn Handman studio. Rebecca has a growing list of commercial and film credits, and also bears the distinction of having been Angelina Jolie’s hand double in a recent film. Rebecca is currently producing several upcoming feature films, and is in the process of editing several projects for the film company Pandora Machine. Rebecca studies improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and The Magnet Theater in New York. Her indie improv team, Closet Robot, performs several times a month at various locations around New York.
Jason Daniel Siegel
(“Ethan”)
Jason Daniel Siegel is an actor, writer, and musician. He has appeared in several short films, and on stage in numerous plays. In addition, he has lent his voice to several projects, and his writing has been featured in literary journals. When he’s not pursuing something artistic, Jason is almost certainly listening to music, and quite possibly traveling the world; he has spent time wandering North and South America, Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Australia and New Zealand.
Alyssa Mann
(“Teresa”)
Alyssa graduated from The Fine and Performing Arts Center at Howell High School in Howell, N.J. in 2000. The acting program there was led by a man by the name of Steve Kazakoff. He was one of the most influential people in her life. It was there where she began to learn not only how to act truthfully under imaginary circumstances, but how to be a professional, reliable, hard working actress, and to be specific and not take anything for granted. She then started at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU in the Meisner studio, where she was taught by Vikki Hart, a truly remarkable woman. She continued on to learn Commedia Del’Arte from Chris Bayes, Arthur Bartow and Kay Matshcullat, and followed that at the Experimental Theatre Wing under Rosemary Quinn and Steve Wangh. Finally, she ended up in the Classical Studio at NYU with Louis Scheeder and Darci Picout, two amazing teachers she still takes class from. Since graduating Tisch in 2004, she has done a ton of film and theater, details of which can be seen on her resume at www.alyssa-mann.com For other forms of fun she enjoys baking, exercising, reading, spending time with loved ones, and day-dreaming about the puppy she will one day own.
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