The Filmmakers
Jacob Smith, our director, is a filmmaker, a non-profit founder, a former mayor, an author, and a former U.S. Senate staffer, and he's currently the programs director with a Colorado-based sustainability-oriented nonprofit. He’s been the assistant director on a host of short films produced in the D.C. area, his documentary “48 Hours in Baltimore” (with Kate Williams, the assistant director on Chasing Rabbits) is in post-production, and his documentary on the 2016 presidential campaign (as part of a team that includes the talented and award winning filmmakers at the Vermont-based Bright Blue Ecomedia) is in production.
Julia Myers, our producer and director of photography, works as a post-producer and editor at Discovery Communications (in Silver Spring, Maryland) by day. Julia brings a colorful and diverse filmmaking background to the project, having worked on over 50 short films and two feature films in a wide variety of roles from writing to directing to DPing to editing. Her past work also includes video production for Yale University, shooting and editing short promotional videos ranging from official research highlights to creative portraits of talented undergraduates. Beyond Chasing Rabbits, Julia's current projects include developing a feature film script based on The Invalid Corps of the Civil War, in parallel with Day Al-Mohamed's development of a nonfiction documentary on the same group (www.invalidcorpsfilm.com).
Our cast members are all experienced actors in the D.C. region, starting with the super talented Carolani Bartell in the role of Ericka, the girl who begins to suspect her mom might not be what she seems. Fourteen-year old Carolani Bartell nabbed the lead role and we couldn’t be more pleased. Carolani has a list of voice over and theater credits taking up most of the page on her resume, with a nice dose of screen and fashion credits for good measure. More importantly, she perfectly conveys the combination of intelligence, impulsiveness, and determination that sparks Ericka’s espionage adventure. We’re thrilled that she’s part of the film.
Carolani is joined by Isabella Kaze as Maggie, Ericka's best friend (and the other lead role in the film). Eleven-year old Isabella Kaze impressed us the moment she walked in the door with her confidence, professionalism, and humor. Her resume boasts a strong theatre background including performances in regional theatre productions such as The Lion King, Jr. (Young Simba) and The Big Bad Musical (the Wolf), as well as training at the Littleton Theatre Summer Acting Workshop. Isabella's colorful, energetic personality brings the role of Maggie perfectly to life, and we couldn't be more excited to be working with her.
We'll introduce the entire cast over the next few days.
We're also thrilled with the very talented crew we've assembled, which includes cinematographers Bart Johnson and Joe Dzikiewicz, sound director Kyle Judd, editor Ashley Blue, assistant director Kate Williams, craft services maven Lynnette Farrell, and a bunch of other folks.
(From left to right: Kate Williams, Kyle Judd, and Joe Dzikiewicz on set during the 2014 D.C. 48 Hour Film Project)