James Bolton – Writer, Producer and Director

James Bolton is a writer, producer, and director and the driving force behind Other Voices Film Fund, created to assist independent filmmakers in producing and distributing their work. The advisory board includes Parker Posey, John Cameron Mitchell, Craig Chester, and Judith Light, among others. His debut feature film “Eban and Charley” was released theatrically in the U.S. in 2001 to much critical praise. “Eban and Charley” won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the Chicago Reeling Film Festival and shattered perceptions about intergenerational relationships and sexuality at festivals around the world. Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Private Idaho, To Die For) championed the film and hailed it as “Demonically pensive, Ingmar Bergmanesque work…” Bolton has directed several short films including a documentary of novelist Dennis Cooper and the fictional work “Growing Up and I'm Fine,” which tells the story of two teenage hustlers on the streets of LA. This film, made while Bolton himself was a teenager, was selected to play the Panorama of the Berlin International Film Festival. It went on to play festivals around the world and also screened in schools throughout Europe. Bolton was highlighted by Shout New York Magazine as one of the Five Groundbreaking Filmmakers of 2001 in their independent film issue. The Graffiti Artist is his second feature film. He is represented by Rowena Arguelles at CAA. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

FILMOGRAPHY

Growing Up and I’m Fine (1996,12 min.)
Dennis Cooper (2002, 20 min)
Eban and Charley (2001, 89 min.)
The Graffiti Artist (2004, 80 min.)

Sarah Levy – Director of Photography

Sarah Levy is an award-winning cinematographer of narrative and documentary films, commercials and music videos. Sarah graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television where she was awarded a scholarship for Excellence in Cinematography and received the American Society of Cinematographers Student Award. In 2001, she was invited by Kodak to screen a compilation reel of her work in the American Pavillion at the Cannes international Film Festival. Her work has been screened on PBS, Showtime, ABC, CBS, NBC and in festivals worldwide.

Sarah shot the award-winning short, “HITCH”, part of Strand Releasing’s, “ Boys Life 3”. She also co-directed and shot “Tak for Alt: Survival of a Human Spirit” screened as part of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Contemporary Documentary series for 2000 – “A survey of outstanding recent work in the documentary field”. Sarah is currently shooting a documentary series for the ABC network. Sarah lives in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Edwards – Editor

Elizabeth Edwards has an MFA in film production from USC. She edited Bolton’s first feature film, “Eban and Charley” before editing “The Graffiti Artist. ”Her short film Mrs. William Dixon has played in numerous festivals around the world including Deauville, Cinema Jove and Silverlake. Her film won the Platinum Award at the Houston Film Festival. “Free a Man to Fight,” a documentary she edited, won the Cine Award. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

Kid Loco - Composer

KID LOCO is one of Europe’s biggest and most beloved DJ’s. He’s also a noted composer, producer and author. In the 1980’s KID LOCO co-founded the Bondage label (Beruriers Noirs et al). In the 1990’s he could be found at the heart of two groups heavily influenced by hip hop, both of which were too far ahead of their time. Most Recently, KID LOCO set up his own label: Royal Belleville. He is distributed by K-7 Records (Kruder and Dorfmeister’s Label) and Atlantic Records in the U.S. Oh, and there’s also KID LOCO, inveterate remixer par excellence. It’s true. More than 60 remixes (Pulp, St Etienne, Talvin Singh, Mogwai, Departure Lounge, to name but a few…) Kid Loco’s full length releases include “Prelude to a Grand Love Story”, “Kill Your Darlings”, “Jesus Life for Children Under 12 Inches”, “DJ Kicks” and “Another Late Night”. He lives in Paris, France.

Ruben Bansie-Snellman – Lead Actor

Ruben Bansie-Snellman was born in Amsterdam and moved to America when he was four years old. “I had never really had any acting experience before,” says Ruben, “I was in an improv scene in [Gus Van Sant’s] “elephant”. I'm just a high school kid who plays basketball and likes rap music. I like different kinds of self-expression, acting, freestyling, etc. I met jimmy, the director, and found out about the roll at a party at Gus Van Sant’s house. I auditioned the next day and got it on the spot. I don’t know if I've ever put as much commitment and hard work into something. I was fortunate to work with a great crew for my first movie experience. In this business, you meet a lot of amazing, interesting, talented and unique people. Hopefully I'll get some more roles and be in this business for a while.” Ruben is a teenager and currently lives in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, CA.

Pepper Fajans – Lead Actor

Pepper Fajans grew up in Seattle in an artistically supportive environment. “I had fun in your typical elementary and middle school plays,” says Pepper, “and did musical's in the summer. In high school I found parts in community theatre productions and created and performed a vaudeville like side-show among other odd-ball performing experiences.” Pepper is also a musician and is currently attending Sarah Lawrence College in New York and wishes to pursue performance art of many types.