Matt Knudsen - Writer / Director / Producer
Matt Knudsen was born in Seattle, Washington and received a BA in Film Production at LMU in 2005. While an undergraduate he received accolades from The Columbus International Film Festival, The Independent Music Video Festival, and The Berkeley Film & Video Festival for the music video The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. After graduation he spent time as a writer, director, cinematographer, and editor on short films, music videos, docs, and commercials. He directed three music videos for the Los Angeles-based alternative rock ensemble “You Me & Iowa” before co-directing a fourth with editor John Lange. In 2008 he took an appointment at Method Studios, a division of Deluxe, working in their visual effects department. In 2012 he began the Graduate Directing Program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television. He received his MFA in 2017 and is on track to complete an MA in Film Studies at Columbia University in 2019. Cassidy Red is his first feature as director.
Brooks Yang - Producer
Brooks Yang is a writer/director and MFA candidate at UCLA. She grew up in Columbia, Missouri to a Chinese-American father and Caucasian mother. In addition to producing her own shorts and other student projects, her credits include “writer’s assistant” on The Invitation (dir. Karyn Kusama, Drafthouse Films, 2015) and “miniature builder and set decorator” on Rita Mahtoubian Is Not A Terrorist (dir. Roja Gashtili & Julia Lerman), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015. She is currently working in post-production on a feature as part of HBO’s Project Greenlight. Previously, she worked at United Talent Agency and holds an undergraduate degree in Architecture from Princeton University. As a writer, director, and film lover, she’s drawn to interesting and complex female leads and is mystified that they remain a rarity among top-grossing films. The character of “Joe Cassidy” is one of the many reasons she’s thrilled to be producing Cassidy Red.
Julia Swain - Director Of Photography
Julia Swain is a cinematographer based out of Southern California. She was one of the few accepted into the prestigious UCLA Graduate Program for an MFA in Cinematography. She shoots narrative shorts, features, and commercials on a variety of formats. Her work has been featured on MTV, VH1, ESPN, and Adult Swim as well as in festivals around the world.
Chelsi Johnston – 1st AD / Co-Producer
Chelsi Johnston is a filmmaker from Honolulu, HI currently working towards an MFA in Directing/Production at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television. After receiving her BA from Santa Clara University in Communication/Film, she worked on the production team for features such as Godzilla (2015), TV shows such as Hawaii Five-0 and Parenthood, and several other independent and student films. Most recently, she received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Grant to be an editing PA on The Invitation. As a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian female, Chelsi seeks to tell visual stories that empower characters uncommonly seen in Hollywood films, much like Cassidy Red. Chelsi has worked at a gun shop for two summers and as an on-set armorer’s assistant.
Lauren Ivy – Production Designer
Lauren Ivy is a practicing artist and Production Designer based in Los Angeles. She received her BFA from Northern Illinois University in 2005, and attended graduate school for drawing and painting at the San Francisco Art Institute.
After a decade of progressive, exploratory art practice, Lauren migrated naturally into the realm of film. She caught the bug working in the art department of Gia Coppola's first feature film, Palo Alto. Subsequently, she has created several original works of art for the screen and worked as Art Director and Production Designer for more than 8 independent short films, television & photography. You may see some of her handy work on the soon-to-be-debuted web series Boyish, written by comedian Lianna Carrera and directed by Anna Margarita Albelo.
Brianna Quick – Costume Designer
Brianna Quick is a California based costume designer and fashion stylist, best known for her work on the award winning short Sweet, Sweet Country and the upcoming dark comedy feature, Get the Girl. When creating looks for characters or clients, Brianna has always considered the question, “what story does this piece of clothing tell about the person wearing it?” Her fascination with fashion and story began in her childhood and has helped to cultivate Brianna’s ability to design seamlessly in all film genres and for the wide variety of characters that make up her 75+ screen credits, which include features, shorts, web series, commercials, and music videos.
Andrew Carroll - Composer
Andrew Carroll is a composer, songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. He studied writing and classical guitar at Loyola Marymount University, and currently fronts the band The Lonely Wild. His song, "Buried in the Murder," became the theme song for TV series Death Valley. And his works have appeared in multiple independent films.
Carroll wrote music for episodes of the Daytime Emmy Award-winning series Travelscope, before scoring Cassidy Red and the psychological thriller American Pets. Both are slated for release in 2018.
https://www.musicbyandrewcarroll.com/