Alien Flora Transforms Earth Into a Wasteland in ‘THORN’

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER – Paul Bertino

Paul Bertino is an award-winning screenwriter based in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting program, where he won UCLA’s Screenwriters’ Showcase two years in a row. He was also a finalist in Timur Bekmambetov’s (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) Action Screenplay Competition, where Paul was flown to Kazakhstan to compete with 9 other screenwriters from around the world. Director Huck Botko (“The Virginity Hit”) is attached to direct Paul’s feature script “Please Don’t Feed the Children.” Paul also holds a BFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University and is managed by Thruline Entertainment in Beverly Hills.

CINEMATOGRAPHER – Judy Phu

Judy Phu is a Director of Photography based in Los Angeles. She has filmed for Nike, Skype, Oprah’s 0 Magazine, Google, Jim Belushi, artist Amit Desai (America Sutra) and choreographer Benjamin Millepied (“Black Swan”). She has lensed two features – the narrative film “Detained in the Desert” (Best Feature Award, 2014 Women’s Los Angeles Film Festival) which was executive produced by Sundance award-winner Josefina Lopez; and the documentary “The Laundromat” (2014 Houston APA Film Festival). She is currently working with Emmy and Sundance award-winning filmmaker Tracy Droz Tragos, on a project for HBO, as well as two other films. She is in pre-production on a narrative feature that will shoot in Vietnam and Thailand, and will be directed by Sri Lankan director Vimukthi Jayasundara (“The Foresaken Land,” Camera D’or winner, Cannes 2005). In 2015, the QueensWorld Fest and New York’s Museum of Moving Images nominated Judy for Best Cinematography on the experimental film, “Lily in the Grinder.” Judy earned dual MFAs in Directing and Cinematography at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and TV and holds two Bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley. As a filmmaker, she pursues methods of expressing personal conflicts bred by relationships to culture, class and history.

PRODUCER – Patrick Brooks

Patrick is an award-winning writer, director and producer based in New York City. He is also an accomplished cinematographer, whose work has screened at Tribeca, Palm Springs ShortFest, Vancouver, Milano and Slamdance. He currently works as the Associate Producer at Little Monster Films, the documentary production company behind “Meru” (Sundance 2015). Patrick holds a M.F.A. in Film Directing from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and has taught production as a faculty member at Northwestern and DePaul universities.

PRODUCER – Reel Lemonade Productions LLC

Founded in 2013, Reel Lemonade Productions LLC, was created by two Midwestern sisters, Diana and Kate Densmore, with the goal of creating fables for a modern world.

As a producer Diana’s work has screened at numerous festivals including the Cannes’ short film corner. Diana received her Master’s of Fine Arts in Screenwriting at UCLA, where she was a winner of the UCLA Screenwriters Showcase. She was also a Sloan Screenwriting Fellowship finalist, a Streisand and Sony Screenwriting Fellowship recipient and a two-time Four Sisters Scholarship in Screenwriting recipient.

Kate Densmore was selected as head judge for the 2012 & 2013 NAACP Act-So Teen Filmmaker Competition (Southwest Michigan Regional). Her documentary, “Evolution of the East Side” was the winner of the 2009 Michigan Association of Broadcasters Award and in 2008, her short film, “In With The Wash,” was screened at the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival. That same year Kate was chosen to participate in the Reel Ideas Studio filmmaking competition, in Cannes, where she created the short documentary film, “Ludus.”

ARTIST – Martin Baessler

Martin is a German artist who specializes in a form of “exo-botany,” unique in the world of CG graphics. His work is colorful and ominous, a beautiful fusion of organic forms that are familiar, yet totally alien. Martin works intuitively when he’s sprouting alien flora from his imagination. He manipulates mathematical algorithms, a mysterious digital alchemy, that produce images of exquisite detail and strange beauty.

ARTIST – Markus Lovadina

Based in London, U.K., Markus is currently working as a senior concept artist, as well as a freelance concept artist/illustrator for the games and movie industry.

ARTIST – Joe Golling

Joe Golling is a filmmaker and graphic artist, and an all-around great guy, based in the Bay Area, California.