Behind the Scenes November 2006– focus on the filmmaker

November’s Scene will give you the background info about the final four filmmakers for this season’s festival. In alphabetical order by finalist film, we present the top four filmmakers for Season Two of the Haydenfilms Online Film Festival:

"Facing East" - directed by Dana Palmer

Dana Palmer was born and raised in a small suburb outside of Pittsburgh, PA and began her career in the arts as a performer. She received the Theatre Arts Award from Sewickley Academy at the age of eighteen, and was also selected to attend a collegiate Women's Leadership Program. At New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, she majored in film and television and was a successful producer for many short films, several of which have screened in other festivals. Dana also secured an internship at The Interactive Consortium, the production company that created the Academy Award-nominated documentary, “Super Size Me.” After graduating with honors from Tisch, The Interactive Consortium offered her a full time job at their new production company, Warrior Poets. Currently, she is working as a freelance production coordinator. “Facing East” was the first color short that Dana directed, and is based on a true story about her Uncle Wills, whom she has never met.


"Photograph" - directed by Sarah Lambert

Sarah Lambert is an award-winning writer and director. She began her career as an actress working in theatre, film and television in series such as “Heartbreak High,” and in theatre productions for the Sydney Theatre company such as Tom Stoppard's “Arcadia.” She went on to direct numerous plays including Joanna Murray-Smith's “Love Child” for New Dramatists in New York. In 1991, she graduated from UTS with a Communications Degree majoring in Film and Writing. Her graduate short film, “Come Fly for Me,” won the Golden Eye Award for Best Script. Her work has been recognized with an Emmy nomination, a Gold Medal at the Houston International Film festival, and selection as a finalist at the New York International Film Festival. Sarah was co-creator, writer and director of a 65-part children's series “Aliens Among Us” for Channel 5 (UK) which has since screened on ABC.


"The Powder Puff Principle" - directed by John Burgess

John Burgess hails from Chicago and graduated from Illinois State University with degrees in Communications, Theater and Film in 1998. His career in the entertainment industry began as an intern in the marketing and publicity department of Lucasfilm Ltd., where he helped to prepare for the release of “Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” Upon completion, John returned to Chicago to study acting at The Audition Studio, and worked as a producer with RPD Entertainment on interactive game commercials for Tom Clancy's Red Storm Entertainment and Konami. In 2000, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue post-graduate study at USC's School of Cinema-Television, where he earned his Masters of Fine Arts in producing and directing. John is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of The CinemaFactory, a Los Angeles-based production company with award winning commercials, music videos, and short films to its credit since its 2002 inception.


"The Rebel" - directed by Josef Wladyka

Joe Wladyka was born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, and attended James Madison University, graduating with a B.A. in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance. Upon graduation an opportunity arose to work as a production assistant on an independent feature film in Arizona. Joe decided to forego corporate America and took the opportunity to learn more about the art of filmmaking. While working on the film, Joe spent his free time learning everything he could about filmmaking and completed his first full length script. He found a passion for filmmaking and decided to pursue his new love. After finishing the feature in Arizona, he moved back to Washington DC and wrote a short film. He then raised three thousand dollars to make the film by walking dogs and waiting tables at night. With a crew of five people and calling in many favors, Joe created “The Rebel.” Joe currently resides in Washington DC, where he continues to make films and write scripts.


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