<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>231</o:Words> <o:Characters>1317</o:Characters> <o:Company>Columbia College</o:Company> <o:Lines>10</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1617</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Hailing originally from Tinley Park, a suburban town similar to the one in “Life on Pauseâ€, Blake Labriola invested his early junior and high school years acting on stage in various theater productions.<i><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">At the age of 17, his love for film sprung from viewing the work of Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and David Cronenberg. After graduating high school, he attended Columbia College Chicago where he pursued a BA in Film and Video. While there he continued to gain an admiration for fantasy films and the “Thinking Man’s†horror genre. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">After graduating in 2009, he wrote, produced, and directed his first short film entitled <i>‘Til Morning</i>. Weaving a childhood fantasy tale with an emotionally scathing final act , the film saw success at the Moraine Valley Film Festival and the Naperville Film Festival. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently Blake has gone back to Governors State University to pursue a Master’s of Fine Arts in Independent Film and Digital Imaging. He has become known as a jack-of-all-trades, doing location sound recording, lighting, camera work, writing, producing, acting, and directing. His latest short film <i>Careless</i>, which will start its festival run in the coming months,<i> </i>continues his penchant for dark and twisted themes. It explores the dark world of motherly obsession and jealously. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Co-directing and producing “Life on Pause†with friend David Miles-Sackett has helped to expand his creative scope from unflinching drama to dysfunctional dark comedy. He is and will always be a firm believer that the best life lessons come from the bitterest of situations. </p> <!--EndFragment-->