The team so far...

Daniel Moya

Director/Producer:

Daniel Moya is a writer, director, producer, and actor from Huntington, New York. After studying method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute from the ages of six to sixteen, he graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Film/Television Production. He has directed, written and/or produced multiple independent films; recently, he wrote and produced (p.g.a.) the Certified Fresh® Watergate-era dark comedy 18½, which starred Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Catherine Curtin, Vondie Curtis Hall, Richard Kind, Jon Cryer, and Bruce Campbell. His films have been released theatrically nationwide and internationally, played at festivals and on airlines worldwide, streamed on major services such as Peacock and Starz, been available to rent and own digitally, released physically on DVD, and are consistently acclaimed by critics. A recently completed project, the dark-comedy satire Trigger Happy, received an Audience Award upon its World Premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival and is being shopped at the Cannes Film Festival market this year. Daniel lives in New York.

Mano Cris

Writer/Producer:

Emmanuel (Mano) Cris is an author, illustrator and entrepreneur. Thirty of his children’s books have been published in Greece, his homeland, with plans to translate them into English. Dealers is his first screenplay. He is the founder, curator and designer of Industry, a cultural and artistic center in Huntington, NY where artists exhibit their work rent- and commission-free. Industry is home to many independent artists from the visual arts and music scenes on Long Island and several of the participants in this film project are members there.

Aaron Schoonover

Casting Director:

Aaron Schoonover is a filmmaker and casting director based in New York City & Los Angeles. In 2022 Aaron wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning short film Rabbit Hole starring Catherine Curtin in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Aaron is currently serving as a longtime associate to casting director Bess Fifer on the Emmy-nominated series Severance (Apple TV). Additional casting credits include City on Fire (Apple TV), The Tender Bar (Amazon), The Unheard (Shudder) and The Seeding (Tribeca ‘23). Aaron has been fortunate to work alongside Emmy and Artios award winning casting directors Jennifer Euston, Rachel Tenner, and Patrick Rush. From 2013-2017 Aaron served as extras casting department head on high-level projects including Orange is the New Black, Fosse/Verdon, Pose, The Big Sick, Sleeping With Other People, Adam, The Assistant, Seven Seconds, and more.

Carter Feuerhelm

Editor:

Carter Feuerhelm graduated from the University of Southern California with a BFA in Film/Television Production. Carter has edited eight feature films, including Daniel Moya’s micro-budget debut feature Rental (Carmel International Film Festival) and high school football drama The Last Whistle, starring Brad Leland (Friday Night Lights) and Jim O’Heir (Parks and Recreation). He edited the horror comedy Killer Kate! (streaming on Peacock), teen pregnancy comedy 12 Days of Christmas (winner of Cinequest’s Audience Award) and the pitch-black American satire Trigger Happy (premiering at Cinequest this March). He has also edited extensively in non-fiction, including Léa & I, an intimate portrait of a young woman with cystic fibrosis that premiered on Netflix, and Chris O’Connell & Kip Andersen’s Cannabis Buyers Club, a docuseries about the queer history of marijuana legalization in America which premiered at Tribeca. Cannabis Buyers Club was a finalist for the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize in Film. Carter just finished editing Lady Like, a feature documentary/fiction hybrid about Lady Camden of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame, which will be the closing night film at BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival this March. Carter is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Chris Thaler

Director of Photography/Producer:

Chris Thaler is an independent filmmaker and co-founder of Thaler Films, Inc. For the last thirty years, he has traveled the world creating films and telling stories. After attending NYU Film School he worked on and developed programing for networks from Discovery Channel to HBO as well as many others. His films have won several awards including two Emmy’s®. Chris lives with his wife Courtney, and their two daughters, Edith and Imogen in Huntington, NY.

... and more to join.

Illustrations by Stephen LaCoppola and Design by Christobal Bernal

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Brian Haimes

Prop Specialist:

Brian Haimes is a New York based director and animator with a passion for art and all things that move. He is inspired to create and explore new worlds through animation and fabrication. Specializing in Stopmotion Animation, Puppets, Practical Effects, Animatronics, 2D Animation, Mechanisms and Miniatures.