San Diego Filmmakers

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

	DAN MARGULES - PRESIDENT - Send Dan an Email! Dan is an award-winning filmmaker. His first film, Begleiter, starring Ken Osmond ("Leave it to Beaver") won the Golden Oosik at the Anchorage International Film Festival in Alaska and the Golden Honu at the Big Island Film Festival in Hawaii. In 2006, he wrote the feature screenplay "The Legend of Boomer Jack" for Twinstar Entertainment. As of 2008, he has two feature-length spec scripts repped by The Firm awaiting the end of the WGA strike and is adapting one of them, "West of 5," into a series of novellas.

	AARON MATTHEW KAISER - VICE PRESIDENT - Send Aaron an Email! Aaron's professional producing credits date back to 1999, when he was a contributor to the Emmy award-winning program Fresh Point on XETV Fox6 in San Diego. Since then, he has logged well over 100 hours of programming experience, has produced four award-winning projects (including the short films Three Lives and Wannabe and the music video for Christine Evans' "Give It Up"), and is co-creator of the animated series concept Dr. von Kaiser, which was a finalist in the Slamdance Teleplay Competition.

	MARTIN BANKS - Send Martin an Email! Martin has a 25-year career in the television and entertainment industries. Moving his family from the New York City area to San Diego in 2000 to find a slower pace of life, Martin opened Video Gear Rentals in the summer of 2004. After less than a year in business, it was obvious that San Diego needed an independent filmmakers group, so Video Gear Rentals proudly became the founding sponsor of San Diego Filmmakers.

	IVARS BEZDECHI - Send Ivars an Email! Ivars Bezdechi is a San Diego-based actor, writer, voice over artist, producer and director with an extensive background in graphic design and marketing communications through his company, Artline MediaGraphics and Ivarslive.com His writing work has appeared in several regional and national publications including the San Diego Union-Tribune, MicroPublishing News (Los Angeles), Microtimes (Northern and Southern California), as well as other writing and publishing endeavors. Bezdechi holds degrees in Radio/TV Broadcasting, Communications Management and Marketing, and has done graduate level work in Telecommunications and Film at San Diego State University.

	ELAN ELVAIAH - Send Elan an Email! Elan Elvaiah has worked on and produced live plays in San Diego, NYC and even in Israel. His diverse Art and Entertainment experience ranges from different genres of musical performances, Art & Photography, to magical illusions. In Israel he studied different Engineering facets including: Mechanical, Digital, and Biomedical. He welcomes the opportunity in joining the SDF Board and his transition into the film industry.

	KRISTEN MARTIN - Send Kristen an Email! Kristen is currently studying film at Palomar College in San Marcos, California. In high school, she won a Best Actress award for the lead role in "Lend Me a Tenor." In 2002, she worked as a sound editor on the Ted Leitner and Kyle Kraska's radio shows at KFMB. Recently, Kristen shot and edited behind-the-scenes footage in La Jolla for the 2006 3-D IMAX film Deep Sea 3D and before that she was an underwater cinematographer for a longboard surfing documentary. In 2005, she produced the short film Bar Moments, which premiered at the San Diego Film Festival.

	ROBERT MASON - Send Robert an Email! Robert is an independent audio engineer, producer, and voice talent based in San Diego. He is the owner of Doghouse Productions, a digital recording and post-production company specializing in words and sounds for film and audio productions. Robert has been creating and recording sound for 30 years, during which time he has worked in a wide variety of genres from music and spoken word production, live seminars, and holistic healing programs, to commercials and soundtracks for independent films.

	VERNON MORTENSEN - Send Vernon an Email! Vernon has a Master's Degree in Drama, TV and Cinema Writing from the University of Southern California's prestigious Professional Writing Program and a BFA in Film from the world renowned Art Center College of Design. The son of Christian missionaries, Vernon has traveled to the far corners of the world. He served in the US Navy's elite Special Boat Teams and has worked as an engineer, private investigator, photographer, bodyguard, emergency medical technician, librarian, and a substitute teacher in the inner-city war zone known as the LA Unified School District.

	ACE UNDERHILL - Send Ace an Email! Ace brings over 12 years of experience in the film and television industry, blending extensive technical knowledge with an award-winning artistic edge. He founded Brilliant Screen Studios, a full-service production facility in San Diego, assisting clients such as feature filmmakers, the BBC, NBC, Spike TV, and Delorean Motor Company. In addition to the San Diego Filmmakers Board of Directors, he also serves on the Film Advisory Board to the Government of Costa Rica. When not on the set, he designs filmmaking tools, equipment and software; with U.S. Patents pending.

	GERALD "WADE" VARNEY - Send Wade an Email! In addition to being a co-founder of San Diego Filmmakers, Wade is Vice President of Programming for North County Videomakers and has produced and directed many corporate videos and over 200 TV commercials. His work has won numerous first place industry awards including the Cindy Award, Golden Eagle Award, Golden Camera Award, and the AAF's "Best in the West" Award for his commercials.