DAVID ROBERT MITCHELL (WRITER / DIRECTOR)
David Robert Mitchell grew up in metro-Detroit and now lives in Los Angeles. His writing and directorial feature debut The Myth of the American Sleepover premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2010, winning a Special Jury Prize. The film had its international premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in the Critics’ Week section, where it was one of only seven feature films selected worldwide, and the only film from North America. Other awards include the Prix du Jury at the Deauville American Film Festival in France and the American Indie Newcomer prize at the Munich Film Festival. The Myth of the American Sleepover received rave critical reviews, was distributed by IFC, and was listed as one of the top five films of the year on “Ebert Presents: At the Movies.”
ANIMAL KINGDOM
Animal Kingdon was founded in September 2012 to develop, produce, and finance feature films, television and digital content. The company's first feature, Destin Daniel Cretton's Short Term 12, was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2013. The film won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at SXSW and was named one of the 10 best films of the year by many, including New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, and E! Online. The film currently carries a rating of 99% "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.
REBECCA GREEN (PRODUCER)
Rebecca Green is currently in post-production on I’ll See You In My Dreams, co-written and directed by Brett Haley (The New Year). The film stars the legendary Blythe Danner alongside Sam Elliott, June Squibb, Martin Starr, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, and Malin Akerman. In addition, Rebecca produced the feature film It Follows, written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, which will premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in Critics’ Week 2014. Previously, Rebecca was the Manager of Producing Initiatives for the Sundance Institute and was a 2012 Film Independent Producing Lab Fellow with the project And Then I Go. Rebecca worked at Paramount Pictures as Vice President of Lynda Obst Productions and spent four years at Lionsgate. Rebecca has also worked for the Sundance and Los Angeles film festivals and has spoken on panels for organizations such as UCLA, IFP, and Film Independent. Rebecca has a B.F.A from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and serves as a board member of the Alumni West Steering Committee.
DAVID KAPLAN (PRODUCER)
David Kaplan is an experienced producer, sales agent, and finance executive. His most recent projects include Short Term 12, Joe Swanberg’s Drinking Buddies, starring Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, and Ron Livingston, and Gillian Robespierre’s Obvious Child, starring Jenny Slate. Prior to co-founding Animal Kingdom, David worked with veteran producer Christine Vachon (Mildred Pierce, Boys Don’t Cry, Shut Up and Play the Hits).
MICHAEL GIOULAKIS (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)
Michael Gioulakis grew up in a musical household, which led him to attend the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts his senior year of high school to pursue his education and training for playing the trumpet. While there, his passion for filmmaking and photography grew, and after graduating he attended Florida State University to study photography. Mike has shot several feature films, including Don Coscarelli’s John Dies at the End (2012 Sundance Film Festival, 2012 Toronto Film Festival, 2012 SXSW), Mike Ott’s Pearblossom Hwy (2012 Vienna Film Festival, 2012 AFI Fest, 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam) and upcoming Lake Los Angeles, and Dustin Guy Defa’s Bad Fever (2011 SXSW). In between shoots, Mike likes to camp and explore the redwoods of Northern California with his rescue dog, Baxter.
RICH VREELAND (ORIGINAL MUSIC)
Rich Vreeland has created 40 albums in a variety of styles, all under the name 'Disasterpeace'. After writing music for video games for many years, It Follows is his first feature film.
NORTHERN LIGHTS FILMS
Northern Lights Films started in 2010 with the goal of providing equity financing for promising and up and coming filmmakers. Northern Lights Films first produced Matt Walsh’s High Road starring James Pumphrey, Dylan O’Brien, Matt L. Jones, Lizzy Kaplan, Rob Riggle, Joe Lo Truglio, and Ed Helms, which was distributed by Millennium Entertainment. In 2011, Northern produced The Brass Teapot starring Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Alexis Bledel, and Bobby Moynihan. Teapot premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 and was distributed by Magnolia Pictures.
TWO FLINTS
Two Flints is a newly formed production company founded by producing team Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith, who met over a decade ago while assistants at Lionsgate and Ghoulardi Film Company respectively. It Follows marks their first feature film together. TWO FLINTS is currently in post-production on I’ll See You In My Dreams, co-written and directed by Brett Haley (The New Year). The film stars the legendary Blythe Danner alongside Sam Elliott, June Squibb, Martin Starr, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, and Malin Akerman. The duo also produced the pilot presentation episode for the television show “Schitt’s Creek” with Anonymous Content and co-creator/star Eugene Levy, which was picked up by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for series in 2014. Rebecca and Laura were 2012 Film Independent Producing Lab Fellows with the feature project And Then I Go, currently in development.
LAURA D. SMITH (PRODUCER)
Laura D. Smith is currently in post-production on the narrative feature films I’ll See You In My Dreams, co-written and directed by Brett Haley and starring Blythe Danner, Sam Elliott, June Squibb, Martin Starr, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, and Malin Akerman, and Victor, a faith-based true story of addiction and redemption with filmmaker Brandon Dickerson. In addition, she is completing two documentary features: Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey, an inside look at actor Hal Holbrook and his famed one-man stage show "Mark Twain Tonight!" with filmmaker Scott Teems, and A Single Frame, an exploratory journey to find a refugee boy depicted in a powerful photograph taken during the 1998 Kosovo conflict, also helmed by Dickerson. Previously, Laura produced the award-winning feature films That Evening Sun, which garnered the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize at its 2009 SXSW premiere, and Sironia. She also served as Co-Producer and Associate Producer on many notable independents. In 2012, She was selected to participate in the Film Independent Producing Lab with the project And Then I Go. Laura began her filmmaking career working under award-winning filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson and Andrew Niccol and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from U.C.L.A.
ERIK ROMMESMO (PRODUCER)
Erik Rommesmo is a finance executive and producer. His most recent projects consist of Matt Walsh’s High Road with Dylan O’Brien, Rob Riggle, Joe Lo Truglio, and Ed Helms, and The Brass Teapot starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano. Prior to co-founding Northern Lights Films, Rommesmo was a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas where he studied Cinema and Spanish.
JULIO C. PEREZ IV (EDITOR)
Julio C. Perez IV lives and works in Los Angeles, editing narrative and documentary features, but lately he's been poking his nose around New York as well. Some of his film editing credits include The Myth of the American Sleepover (2010 SXSW; 2010 Cannes Film Festival), Something Real and Good, and This is Martin Bonner (Best of Next Audience Award Winner, 2013 Sundance Film Festival; 2014 Independent Spirit John Cassavettes Award Winner), Mistaken for Strangers (additional editing; Official Selection 2013 Tribeca Film Festival), and Dior and I (Official Selection 2014 Tribeca Film Festival). He is currently in post-production on David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows (2014 Cannes Film Festival), and BJ Perlmutte’s documentary, Havanna Motor Club. Julio has twice been invited to edit at the Sundance Institute's Directors Lab (2012 and 2013) and loves to wander around forests, deserts, and cities.
MICHAEL T. PERRY (PRODUCTION DESIGNER)
Michael T. Perry came to Los Angeles by way of the USC Theater Design Graduate program. After receiving his MFA, he started working his way up through the art department, from scenic painter to production designer, and most positions in-between. He has designed countless commercials for such brands as Porsche, Chevy, Progressive, Chrysler, and Coke, as well as designing films and television in the US and internationally. Prior to working on It Follows, Michael designed Killer Elite starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert DeNiro, where he oversaw art departments in Australia, the UK, and Jordan. He won an ICAD for Best Production Design for his work on a campaign for Heineken and has designed two Academy Award nominated short films.
