ALEX CHU (writer-director)

Raised in Libya, Alex has lived across Asia, Canada and the US. As writer-director, his most recent film FOR IZZY recently won the Audience Awards at Frameline 42, the Asian American Film Festival, and Ashland Independent Film Festival, as well as the Grand Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

His previous works as writer-director include the feature YES, AND…, as well as the short film FORTUNE COOKIE MAGIC TRICKS, a gay zombie martial arts musical and the Wall Street short drama THE EQUITY PARTNERS.

Outside of filmmaking, he is an activist, most recently as Committee Chair for Digital Media at the March For Science LA. He graduated with a BA from Queen’s University and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

MICHELLE ANG (producer, “Dede Cheung”)

An Emmy nominated actor for her role as a series regular on FEAR THE WALKING DEAD: FLIGHT 462, Michelle began her career as a series regular on the Australian series NEIGHBOURS (for which she was nominated for a Logie) before becoming a series regular on OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE as well as on Emmy-nominated writer Craig Wright’s MTV series UNDEREMPLOYED. She won “Best Actress in A Feature Film” at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards 2011 for MY WEDDING AND OTHER SECRETS, while also having worked with Oscar-winning director Jane Campion on the BBC series TOP OF THE LAKE.

JENNIFER SOO (producer, “Laura Yip”)

Born and raised in New Jersey, Jenny performed in various theaters in New York such as the Kraine, HERE Arts Center, Theater for the New City, and Theatre Row. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, she played “Switzerland” on PARKS & RECREATION and has since kept busy with films, commercials and her theater company, NOTE. She holds a BFA from NYU Tisch and an MFA from the ART/MXAT Institute at Harvard University.

ELIZABETH SUNG (“Anna Cheung”)

A native of Hong Kong, Elizabeth’s 26-year acting career include roles in THE JOY LUCK CLUB, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, SHAMELESS, HAWAII FIVE-O, NCIS: LA, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM as well as a series regular on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. She received her BFA in dance from The Juilliard School and an MFA in directing from the American Film Institute. Her short film, REQUIEM, received the CINE Golden Eagle as well as the Certificate of Excellence from Mayor Richard Riordan for raising awareness of AIDS. Her AFI thesis film THE WATER GHOST won the CINE Eagle as well as the The Producers Guild Award. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

JIM LAU (“Peter Yip”)

A veteran actor of over 30 years, Jim’s credits include the series finale of M*A*S*H, ST. ELSEWHERE, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, SIX FEET UNDER, TWO AND A HALF MEN, GREY’S ANATOMY, HOUSE MD and the HANGOVER 3. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Jim graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Film.

MICHAEL G. GRAY (producer)

A native of Detroit, Michael previously worked for the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michel Gondry on THE GREEN HORNET, and THE WE AND THE I before joining Maker Studios as an executive producer. He then started production company SMASH, where he produced COW POWER, a documentary about alternative fuel and the feature film YES, AND… with director Alex Chu. He holds a BFA in Film Production from Emerson College.

IRVIN LIU (cinematographer)

Irvin is a Los Angeles based cinematographer interested in telling stories that explore the human condition and diverse cultures. His work has been presented at the Directors Guild of America and numerous festivals across the country. Irvin received his MFA in Cinematography from Chapman University, graduating at the top of his class, winning the Cecil B. DeMille Best Cinematography Award for his work in ODE IN BLOOD. He also holds a BA with a double major in Visual Arts and Economics from UC San Diego.

PETER ROBERTS (editor)

Peter has worked as an editor in the film and TV industry for over 30 years, having recently edited the award winning drama THE DARK HORSE. Originally from England, Peter arrived in New Zealand in 1986 to work at TVNZ. Peter currently owns and runs RPM Pictures, a boutique post-production house in Auckland. He is currently the President of the Director and Editors’ Guild of New Zealand – the guild’s first editor to have been elected to that position.

NATALYA SEREBRENNIKOVA (animation director)

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and having moved to Brooklyn, New York as a child, Natalya focuses her work on understanding the immigrant experience. Her short film Cicada received a National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Student Grant, and has been featured on PBS REEL 13 Shorts and in the New York Daily News. Natalya has worked for a variety of clients including Paul Vester, Titmouse Inc, and Augenblick Studios. In 2014-2015, she designed backgrounds, titles, and did character painting on the animation team of the Oscar nominated feature documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA (2015) directed by Davis Guggenheim. Natalya graduated with an MFA in Experimental Animation at CalArts.

ESTER SONG KIM (production designer)

Ester Song Kim is a working decorator and designer in Los Angeles, California. From the small town of Riverdale, Georgia, she came to California to pursue the sun, then settled in LA to find her dreams, after a long nomadic run from southern U.S to northern Mexico. She studied by the beach at UCSD, with a major in creative writing and dual literature – English and Spanish with an emphasis in poetry. She then studied screenwriting at UCLA and continues to write and produce films with her friends.

FOR IZZY – credits

CAST

Michelle Ang … Dede Cheung
Jennifer Soo … Laura Yip
Elizabeth Sung … Anna Cheung
Jim Lau … Peter Yip
Liz Femi … Chloe

Narcotics Anonymous Participants

Sarka Rybar
Berk Gibbs
Johnny Mabie
Ryan Harr
Austin Kress
Stephanie Dyer
Seth Wytrwal

Video Hosts

Lacy Stine
Robert Felsted Jr.
Kenneth Furukawa

Methadone Clinic

Dennis Alonzo
Miranda Merryfield

CREW

Alex Chu … director, writer
Irvin Y. Liu … cinematographer
Peter Roberts … editor
Natalya Serebrennikova … animation director
Ester Song Kim … production designer
Michael McClure … first assistant camera
Adam Bial … gaffer
Kasra Shokavi … gaffer
Salma Loum … second assistant camera
Daniel Muchnik … second assistant camera
Selina Ruthe … first assistant camera (second unit)
Kyle McLane … sound mixer
Chris Polczinski … sound mixer (additional unit)
Tash Ann … production manager
Patty Ramirez … production manager
Laura Avila Tacsan … production manager
Claire Reinganum … production coordinator
Greg Wodjak … greg
Peter Barrett … compositor / VFX artist
Jon Fordham … colorist
Michael Huang … post production sound mixer
Sara Wilt … dialogue editor
Brian Starley … ADR / Add’l VO Recordist

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS

courtesy of Emil Cohen
www.emildcohen.com

“St Gertrude’s College”
photo by Chris Fithall
www.flickr.com
Licensed under CC BY 2.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE

Footage Firm, Inc.
Braxmeier & Steinberger GbR (Pixabay)
Licensed under CC BY 0.0

MUSIC

“The War Drums of Peace”
by The Marian Drum Circle Drum Brigade
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Romance Keys”
by Click Click Click
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Cylinder Nine”
by Chris Zabriskie
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Nichi Ren Morning Chant”
recorded by Gezortenplotz
www.freesound.org
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Loneliness in Buenos Aires”
by RX Loops
www.audiojungle.net
Courtesy of RX Loops

“Lost Star”
by Jelsonic
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Dial My Number”
by Benedek
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Question”
Written and Produced by Ben Murray-Smith
www.benmurraysmith.co.uk
Courtesy of Ben Murray-Smith

“Rose of the World”
Performed by Victor Herbert Orchestra
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 0.0 (Public Domain)

“Adagio from Piano Concerto in G”
Performed by Markus Staab
Written by Maurice Ravel
www.musopen.org
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“The Sad Piano”
by Driving
www.audiojungle.net
Courtesy of Driving

“Cleaner”
by Seclorance
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Namaste”
by Jason Shaw
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“April”
by Kai Engel
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Brooks”
by Kai Engel
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Folk Acoustic & Strings”
by Seastock
www.audiojungle.net
Courtesy of Seastock Audio

“Cold Morning”
by Seastock
www.audiojungle.net
Courtesy of Seastock Audio

“Everybody’s Got Problems That Aren’t Mine”
by Chris Zabriskie
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Detach (feat. Christopher Alvarado & Sylphides)”
by Ars Sonor
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“I Can’t Imagine Where I’d Be Without It”
by Chris Zabriskie
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“2.12.05 elevator”
by BOPD
www.freemusicarchive.org
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Uplifting Ambient Piano”
by Illuminations
www.audiojungle.net
Courtesy of Illuminations

“Runaway Heart”
by Seastock
www.audiojungle.net
Courtesy of Seastock Audio

“Ambulance Ambience”
“ECG”
“Urban Traffic”
Recorded by Mike Koenig
www.soundbible.com
Sound effects licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Heartbeat”
Recorded by Zarabadeu
www.soundbible.com
Sound effects licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Hong Kong Train”
Recorded by xserra
www.freesound.org
Sound effects licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“Garbled”
Recorded by ERH
www.soundbible.com
Sound effects licensed under CC BY 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

PRODUCED BY

Michelle Ang
Jennifer Soo
Michael G. Gray

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Alex Chu

Marketing & Social Media

Nicki Sun

SPECIAL THANKS

Alex Cirillo
Dani Faith Leonard
Laurie Cummings
Kaitlyn and Daniel Bottoms
Liam Vincent (SF)
Julie Rajagopal (SF)
Mike Gougherty (SF for the stoop location)
Sarka Rybar (for hair dye services)
Roseanne Liang (for editor outreach help)
Alex Botwin (for production office location)
Christine Motokane
Tai-Ann Ma
The Miracle Project
Kate Parkin
Sarah Lilly
Kelsey Oliver
FACT Family
Exceptional Minds
Benjamin Maixner
Laura Robinson
Alle Hsu
Sarah Carbiener
Todd Gilman
Paul Secord
Meg Grogan

Key Team