Aren has amassed a wealth of editing experience over the past eight years working on narrative, documentary and commercial projects. He recently finished editing his second feature film, ‘Only’ (Official Selection TIFF 08), directed by Ingrid Veninger and Simon Reynolds. This past year, the short film, ‘White Vans’, which he wrote, directed and edited, screened at a dozen festivals around the world, including Hot Docs, the Vancouver International Film Festival, Cinequest and the Atlantic Film Festival.

Aren grew up in Vancouver, spending most of his time making music and films; Terry Gilliam and Jimmy Page were his storytellers of choice. He studied audio engineering and 3D animation before setting off on a trip around the Middle East at 20. He returned, picked up the camera again, and immediately won Vancouver’s 24-Hour Fiilm Contest. He spent the next few years working as a freelance editor with many great Vancouver directors before joining Gemini-Award-Winning director Tony Papa at Avanti Pictures for an inspiring three years.

Aren moved to Toronto in 2006 to attend the Canadian Film Centre’s advanced Editors’ Lab training program, where he edited two 35mm short films, ‘Night’ and ‘Song of Solomon’, the latter of which just finished screening at NY’s Tribeca Film Festival.

Rob Meyer has just finished writing a feature film, Labrador Duck, which draws inspiration, tone and characters from Aquarium. He co-wrote the film with Luke Matheny. Prior to Aquarium, Rob directed Sam’s Tail, a branded short for Heineken which has played on the Independent Film channel and features on Heineken’s Web site. His previous shorts, “Legs”, “Notes”, and “Plastic Migration”, have achieved success at film festivals around the world and are distributed by Big Film Shorts. “Plastic Migration” was recently featured on the Travel Channel. Last year, Rob shot a Behind-the-Scenes documentary of a new film directed by and starring Robert De Niro, along with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, William Hurt, Jon Turturro, Joe Pesci and a crew of industry giants. He also worked at HBO Documentary Films on “The Addiction Project,” a two-hour special on drug and alcohol addiction featuring acclaimed filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker, Al Maysles, Barbara Koppel, and Eugene Jarecki. Prior to attending NYU, Rob was an Associate Producer for PBS’s NOVA and National Geographic. He worked extensively in the field on award-winning documentaries in Nepal, Antarctica, Alaska, Egypt, and Chile. A graduate of Yale University, with a joint degree in Humanities and Studies in the Environment, Rob also plays the violin and performed with the Boston Philharmonic and the Yale Symphony Orchestra.

Don Hertzfeldt was born on August 1, 1976 in California’s Bay Area. He made four self-taught 16mm animated shorts at UC Santa Barbara, each one more successful than the last on an unprecedented level for student films. By 1999 these shorts had collectively helped him finance his own 35mm setup with the purchase of an antique animation stand, paving the way for his current work. His films have been seen in over a thousand film festivals and theatrical venues around the world and have received over a hundred awards. His film, Rejected, was nominated for an Oscar in 2001.

Although Don’s approach to animation is very traditional (pen, paper, film), his methods are entirely self-taught and unorthodox. His films are often created without a finished script, beginning with a central concept that’s gradually shaped out as the months (or years) of production progress. This opens the door for creative experiments, improvisations, and an element of spontaneity rare to animation. He doesn’t use computers in his animation or photography process, and rarely even works with cels.

In 2003, Don created The Animation Show with Mike Judge, a personally curated touring festival that annually brings animated short films to more American theaters than any distributor in history.

Robin’s first film ‘Ten Thousand Pictures of You’ won Best Film at the Super Shorts Film Festival, Best Editing at Leicester International Short Film Festival and came Runner-Up for the Newcomer Award at Rushes Soho Shorts Festival; and has played at over 40 international festivals. His second short film ‘Unpossible’ won the London Short Film Festival Fortean Times Award.

Robin trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and has acted on television and stage. He is currently in development on his first feature film.

Melissa Graziano is currently a third-year MFA Animation student at UCLA. She made Love on the Line while in her second year at the UCLA Animation Workshop, during which she won the coveted Dan McLaughlin Award for Best Animated Film for 2008. Her first film, Because You’re Beautiful, is currently being used for promotional purposes by Girls Speak Out!, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to helping girls “express their true selves and build girls’ strengths and power as leaders”.

Melissa has always loved to tell stories, whether it be in her writing, in her visual art, or in her films. While a visiting student at the University of Central Lancashire as an undergraduate, Melissa started experimenting with different media in animation. She enjoys telling stories in the traditional sense, but using materials and technology in ways that not only make audiences wonder, “How did they do that?” but which also enhance the story. She aspires to become a Feature Animation Director at a major animation studio after a stint at Storyboarding. Originally a New England girl, she now resides in Los Angeles.

Jesse was born in Connecticut, growing up on acting, musical theater, and music performance. However, he was always fascinated by cartoons and video games, begging his friends to let him play theirs. In 2002 he graduated High School and moved to California to attend UC Davis to study music and eventually find a passion in art and animation. He graduated with a double bachelors in Music and Art Studio. After completing University, he moved in 2007 to Vancouver, until July 2008 where he took part in the 3D animation and Visual Effects program, obtaining a degree in the animation stream. He believe he has found a true calling that encompasses all his achievements and passions thus far and is very thankful to be doing what he does.

Joaquin Baldwin is an animator and website designer from Paraguay, with a BFA in animation and working on an MFA in animation at UCLA. He has been granted several awards including the Jack Kent Cooke full Graduate Scholarship in 2006.

3Muhammad Ali Hasan received his MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University in 2007. He currently serves as a political commentator for Fox News, MSNBC, and BBC Radio, and is a former regular guest of Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, as well as the Dennis Miller Show of CNBC. In 2005, Muhammad co-founded the Muslims For America Think Tank, a political organization that provides policy recommendations to American politicians on issues dealing with the War On Terror.

Ian Fischer graduated with a BA from Tufts University. He received his MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University. He was a Story Analyst for October Films and their genre subdivision Rogue. He also worked at Miramax and TWI. In addition to working in Film and Television, he worked for Internet entertainment companies Pseudo and Urban Box Office as a screenwriter and director.

He directed Man on Earth’s music video for “Hold Your Breath and Wait for the Crash” and The 253 Boys’ music video for “New Day! No War!” He also produced/directed/edited the “Lightride” corporate video for Hong Kong LED manufacturer Cotco and the Behind the Scene’s videos for the independent features Rock The Paint and Day Zero.

His short film “Foet” has played in 21 film festivals, such as Cannes, New York City Horror Film Festival, Boston Underground, and Tromadance. His short film, “Magritte Moment,” premiered at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. He is in post production on his latest short film “the Wonder of See-Saws,” which will be included in the feature length Wonder feature film and in pre-production for a feature documentary on a comic book artist.

He currently works as a freelance producer/director and film instructor in New York City.

Raised in Winnetka by a drama teacher and a Chicago Board of Trader. He learned acting and improvisation at The Second City, Improv Olympic, University of Kentucky, Acting Studio Chicago, Piven Theatre, and being around his mother. His Directing education came out of necessity and he loves it.