SMOKE SCREEN

WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS THE TRUTH WILL EMERGE

SMOKE SCREEN challenges accepted dogma concerning America’s drug problems and its so-called “War on Drugs”. Over the past 36 years, this “war” has cost U.S. taxpayers more than the wars in Vietnam or Iraq! Still there are more illegal drugs causing more gang violence on America’s streets today than ever before.

This “war”, costing $131,000 per minute, has as it’s primary goal incarceration rather than treatment. It has ruined the lives of millions of young Americans. It stresses criminal rather than medical solutions to our drug problems. It denies million stricken with cancer and other debilitating diseases relief from pain and suffering.

The films producer and co-writer, Jean Blake Fleming, the executive producer, David Fleming and the co-writer, Todd Nelson, have all experienced personal tragedy’s involving America’s drug war.

SMOKE SCREEN is a drama with a cast of highly professional actors and others who help in the telling of a compelling story. The snippets of interviews and lectures are by former and current law enforcement, prosecutors and judges. All are members of a world wide organization entitled Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. LEAP believes a drug user “can get over an DDICTION but will never get over a CONVICTION.”

Todd Nelson stars as Thatcher Brown, a graduate student at UCLA and a rebel with a cause. He is working on a research project studying how cannabis helps in the treatment of pain, nausea and disease. He and his best friend and neighbor Jon Marshall, played by Andre Mayers, go out for an evening to celebrate the end of the term. They are victims of the criminal justice system because, they along with two sexy girls, are caught possessing pot.

Both Thatcher and Jon whose parents are upper middle class families (one white, one black) have forceful fathers. Robert Brown is a successful lawyer believing that “the law is the law” and those who break it should suffer the consequences. His mother, Carlo Brow, is a strong-minded woman determined to help her imprisoned son.

This film has earned the attention of major newspaper publishers (the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily News) magazines (Melrose Heights, elected leaders and law enforcement personnel. It brings a powerful message that will stimulate motivation for discussion and action.

JEAN FLEMING BIOGRAPHY PRODUCER OF “SMOKE SCREEN”

Jean Fleming started life in a two room shack as the daughter of a sharecropper on a cotton field located on the Mississippi River Delta in Blytheville, Arkansas. She attended about 10 different schools before moving to Brookfield Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. In high school she participated in plays and talent shows and wrote for the school news paper. Jean began her professional modeling career after being selected by the Chicago Tribune as one of "Chicago’s Most Beautiful Teenagers."

She attended Lake Forest College, where she was a drama major. Jean did commercials for Chicago’s top advertising agencies and she was selected as one of "Chicago's Top Models”. The Chicago Press Photographers picked her as "Miss Photoflash" and sent her to Hollywood. Jack Webb directed her in a featured role in the movie “The D.I.” which he also starred in for Warner Brothers Studios. She then returned to Chicago and was chosen to represent Illinois in the Miss America Pageant.

Later she moved to Hollywood and in three weeks landed a role in “This Earth Is Mine” starring Rock Hudson. He introduced her to his agent and she did an extensive PA tour for the movie. She was under contract to 20th Century Fox and also became “Mayor of Universal City”. (but didn’t care for politics)!! She guest starred on many TV shows, then co-starred on a TV series with Rick Jason. She signed a players non-exclusive contract to 20th Century Fox. She traveled between NY, Chicago and LA doing over 150 commercials and studying acting with some of the best coaches. For a short time Jean was a regular on a day time soap “Search For Tomorrow” in NY.

Jean has participated in many playwriting and screenwriting classes and her screenplay “Is Love Enough” was a semi-finalist in a world wide contest sponsored by Steven Spielberg . She has acted in several local plays and was the Secretary of ( WIT) Women in Theater for two years.

She co- produced a movie “How Come Nobody’s On Our Side” staring Adam Roarke and Larry Bishop and friends Penny Marshall and Rob Reiner did a cameo role.

Jean continued her acting, playwriting and screenwriting while she was a top producer in real estates sales for thirty years. She used the skills she had learned from the Chicago Institute of Interior Design to aid her real estate clients and to improve properties she acquired for resale.

She has owned several homes in the San Fernando Valley and was a single mom for eight years while she raised a son, Jordan Gerler who was a top tennis player at Grant High School and graduated with a BA in journalism from CSUN. They have co-written a couple of screenplays which Jean hopes to produce in the near future.

Jean later married David Fleming and they have lived in Studio City for several years. They are both active in the San Fernando Valley civic and political organizations. While David is the Chairman of so many organizations Jean has also kept busy.

She has been an involved member of the Studio City Residents Association and served as Co-chair of Studio City Beautification Association for two years. Jean helped form the Ethics Committee for the Valley Presbyterian Hospital. She has volunteered for several years at the Burbank Joslyn center where she participated in developing a Senior Human Resource Information Guide for the elderly to enable them to stay in their homes with help from various sources in the community. She tutored reading to children for several years as a volunteer for a Time Warner project “Time to Read” at the Jordan Middle school in Burbank.

She has been an advocate for “The Death With Dignity National Center” and the “Right to Die” movements. Jean is a member of (AMI) Alliance on Mental Illness San Fernando Valley and the National Association for the rights of the mentally ill and supports Common Cause an organization that stresses holding political power accountable. She contributes to Teaching Tolerance, a project Of the Southern Poverty Law Center. And, of course, Planned Parenthood.

A few years ago she produced/wrote a half hour cooking show on Adelphia Cable “SOUP TO NUTS.” The show starred Jean Francois Meteigner Executive Chef/owner/talk show guest, of La Cachette Restaurant (Top rated in L.A. Magazine.) And Liza Utter former owner The Beach House Restaurant. The show had a comedy twist and got considerable attention when it was shown. Various cable net works were interested but meanwhile the co-stars had a split up and the project was dropped.

Jean has just produced a movie “SMOKE SCREEN” that she co-wrote and utilizing the latest technology, digital video tape (DVT). Professional actors were employed under the SAG experimental contract. 42 actors with speaking roles were cast plus a few extras. A small crew consisted of paid and volunteers (20) who were students. The entire film was shot in the L.A. area, "The Valley" and Indian Wells (near Palm Springs).

“SMOKE SCREEN” is a drama that tells the story of how people and families are destroyed by the federal government and it’s “WAR ON DRUGS”. It is concerned with the Medical Marijuana initiative how the DEA fights the will and legal laws of the state of California and 13 other states.

DAVID W. FLEMING BIOGRAPHY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF “SMOKE SCREEN”

David W. Fleming was the instigator of the successful city charter reform movement in Los Angeles. In 1997, he and L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan co-chaired the voters’ initiative to reform Los Angeles City government culminating in an elected citizens’ Charter Reform Commission which drafted the new Charter for the City of Los Angeles adopted by the voters in 1999.

In 2003 he was appointed by President George Bush to be a trustee of the James Madison Foundation in Washington DC. The 12 member Foundation, chaired by Senator Ted Kennedy and composed of members of Congress, State Governors and Federal Appellate Justices, bestows scholarships in all 50 states on high school teachers who teach the history of the founding of our nation.

Fleming was the Vice-Chairman of the California Transportation Commission (the “CTC” on which he served as an appointee of Gov. Pete Wilson from 1996 to 1999. He chaired the CTC’S Public Transit Committee overseeing public transit projects throughout California, allocating billions of dollars of federal and state gas taxes and voter-approved bonding revenues for the state’s highways, rail, water and air transportation infrastructure.

He served as one of the commissioners on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission and served as President of the city’s Board of Fire Commissioners for five years and it’s Vice-President for 3 years, overseeing the operations of the LA City Fire Department.

He is a past chairman of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), the largest economic development organization in America. He currently chairs the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, a business and industrial collective formed following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The Economic Alliance is made up of all of the Chambers of Commerce and other leading business groups within the greater San Fernando Valley area.

He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Valley Presbyterian Hospital, a position he has held for the past 16 years. He is a director and member of executive committee of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the national Board of Trustees of the REASON Foundation and is the Vice-Chair of the Children’s Planning Council of Los Angeles County, an organization he was instrumental in creating. The Children’s Planning Council coordinates the funding of over $5 billion of federal and state money annually to aid children and families in need throughout Los Angeles County.

A member of the California State Bar since 1959, he is of counsel to Latham & Watkins, the world’s 4th largest law firm in the world. He is a past recipient of the prestigious Fernando Award, bestowed annually on a San Fernando Valley resident in honor of a lifetime of volunteer service. In 2000, he was given the Nellie Reagan Award for

volunteerism, named for the late President Reagan’s mother. Over the past 40 years, he devoted over 60,000 hours of service to civic, community, charitable and government organizations. He has been honored by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, the Jewish National Fund, the American Jewish Committee, the California Jaycees, various bar associations, the United Chambers of Commerce, the Valley Interfaith Council, and many other philanthropic and civic organizations.

Born and raised in Davenport, Iowa, he moved to the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles in 1956 and graduated from UCLA Law School in 1959. He’s a member of the Southern California Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He and his wife, Jean, have two adult sons residing in Southern California.

TODD NELSON BIOGRAPHYCo-Writer, Star of “SMOKE SCREEN”

Todd Nelson was born and raised in the suburbs of the Los Angeles area. "I grew up with horses and motorcycles. If it wasn't dangerous it wasn't fun. It's amazing I'm still alive, I was crazy." As a teenager he became interested in music and as a singer/songwriter performed in several local bands. After he moved to West Hollywood's Sunset Strip, Todd developed a deeper interest in dramatic arts.

Following his heart as a creative writer Todd started bringing his real live observations and social concerns together with fictional characters and story telling. "I found myself surrounded with people who made a living being creative" Todd says. "I spent four years immersed in the LA nightlife."

"I was living like a rock star, every night was beautiful girls and gourmet restaurants. It was like getting a college degree in COOL." Todd remembers, "But I knew if I was going to get anything significant accomplished I had to retreat back to the valley."

"At the time I was working as a bouncer/body guard at the Red Rock on the strip. It seemed a week didn't pass that I wasn't in some kind of physical altercation or fight. As a former Martial Arts instructor I was experienced and well trained but prior to the bouncer gig I had never had a fight in my adult life. It was crazy, people pulling knives out, throwing bottles. It was time to get out before somebody got hurt…me! I had filled my memory banks with more stories than I've had time to write."

Since then Todd has written several plays, screenplays, and television treatments. He is currently starring in and co-writer of the soon to be released "El Doggo" production “SMOKE SCREEN.” Todd has performed on stage in various productions too. "I feel like I'm just beginning to get a grasp on being a performer. It's all about being honest, it's great! This is what I have a passion for and I'm committed to pursuing not only my creative side but also in encouraging as many young hopefuls as I can along the way.”

JOU JOU PAPAILLER Director “SMOKE SCREEN”

After leaving the University of Louisville Kentucky with a B.A. in Biology his life quickly changed. He met Jane Stuart, an acting manager from New York and produced his first off-off Broadway play, titled Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine. It played at the American Place Theater under the guidance of his mentor and teacher, Wynn Handman, who directed such greats as Denzel Washington and John Leguizamo. He also landed featured roles on such soaps as Guiding Light and As the World Turns. His direction soon changed and he flew to LA to screen-test for UPN's Sparks. Later he auditioned for Jada Pinkett-Smith for the lead opposite her in the movie Woo.

He moved to LA with a very successful one-man show of Richard Wright's novel, Black Boy. He also had great success with the Longbeach Playhouse's rendition of A Sldier's Play, where he received rave reviews as Peterson, a role originated by Denzel Washington. He got third billing as law student, Charles Jackson, in George Hunlock's film, The Socratic Method. His latest work includes the short film Natural selection, which he wrote and produced. He and his leading lady won best actor for this short at the l68 Hour Film Festival. Jou Jou's motto is "Freeze the moment and ask "If I had to live this moment forever, would I be happy?" And that's what he lives by. He thanks God for His blessing everyday.

SMOKE SCREEN is the first feature 90 minute film that he’s directed.

ANDRE MAYERS BIOGRAPHY Co-Star in “SMOKE SCREEN”

Andre Mayers was born in Toronto, Canada to parents of West Indian descent (Barbados). He attended Youk University in Toronto where he earned a degree in Physical Education and Theatre Arts. He has also studied privately with such luminaries as Susan Peretz, Carol Rosenfeld and Lloyd Richards.

He has been a successful actor for the past 15 years in Canada and the United States, most recognized for his series regular role as "J.J.", Christopher Plummer's private pilot in the 90's hit USA network series "Counterstrike." Other notable screen credits include lead roles on Relic Hunter, CBS The Handler, The CBS mini series "Guilty Hearts", "Charmed", and more recently the ShowTime mini-series "Jasper Texas" starring opposite Jon Voight.

He is also a veteran of the stage, performing in award winning productions such as "A soldiers Play", "The talented Tenth", and the Pulitzer Prize winning play "Fences" by August Wilson.

He was also fortunate to play the lead role in the New York Independent Film Festival's Award Winning Film "Tokunboh" shot in LA and Nigeria.

In his limited spare time he is also part of the drama program at Christian Assembly Church directing and serving adults and children in the Pasadena/Eagle Rock area.

Andre is back on the big screen starring opposite Todd Nelson in the very significant controversial film "Smoke Screen." “Doing this film was definitely a life enhancing, valuable process and experience.”

GRANVILLE VAN DUSEN BIOGRAPHY Special Star Billing “SMOKE SCREEN”

Granville Van Dusen grew up in Anoka, Minnesota which today is the model for Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon and Keillor was a classmate of Van Dusen. Granville was the first local actor hired at the world renowned Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis where he worked with Sir Tyrone Guthrie.

Although in the interim years he has devoted himself to television and film in Los Angeles, he continues to be lured back to the stage which remains his first professional love. He was last seen on stage in L.A. in “Honour” with Susan Sullivan, and “Golf with Alan Shepart.” He co-starred in this production with Jack Klugman, Charles Durning and Paul Dooley.

Granville played in “One Slight Hitch” with Michael Learned and he appeared at the Pangages Theater in L.A. playing Scar in “The Lion King.”

His television credits include: playing the role of Keith Dennison on “The Young and The Restless” and he was the arch villain, David Bordisso in the ABC daytime drama, “Port Charles.” Recently he has guest starred in “The West Wing,” “E.R.”, “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and played a recurring part on “Judging Amy.”

When time allows, he performs his one man show, “The Memoirs of Abraham Lincoln,” all over the country.

He has also narrated documentary films and hundreds of TV and radio commercials, as well as voicing the role of Race Bannon in the cartoon classic, “Johnny Quest.”

Granville is married to his classmate and high school sweetheart June for over thirty years. They have two children: Megan Van Dusen who is an actress and lives in New York, and Mitchell Van Dusen who is a talented musician and resides in New York also.

He is co-starring in “Smoke Screen” as the strong-willed lawyer Robert Brown, Thatcher’s father, who has a drinking problem but is able to carry on his successful law practice.

KIVA LAWRENCE BIOGRAPHYCo-Star “SMOKE SCREEN”

Kiva Lawrence (Carol) is an actress with many film, television and theatre performances.Some of her television appearances include shows such as JAG, Dallas, Magnum P.I., Our House, Dynasty, Knotts Landing and a Movie of the Week, “There Must be a Pony” with Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Wagner. She co-stars in a soon to be released film, “Levi’s Wife” and appeared in many films including “Happy Texas”, “Schizoid” with Klaus Kinsky, and ”Wrong is Right” with Sean Connery.

Kiva is familiar to Los Angeles theatre audiences and was one of the founding membersof the renowned MET Theatre. Leading roles at the MET Theatre include the original and critically acclaimed production of “Bus Stop” and “Orpheus Descending,” and “ThisStory of Yours” at the Victory Theatre. She won the Los Angeles Robby Awardfor her memorable performance as Helena in “Look Back in Anger” at the FountainTheatre. At the Matrix Theatre, Kiva was in a spectacular production of “Anatol”,for which legendary art deco artist Erte` came to Los Angeles and designed thesets, costumes, and the jewelry that the cast wore in the production. Recently sheperformed in the Malibu International One Act Play Festival. Kiva has also donemany commercials and voice-over work. Most interesting was a recording of 18hours of English lessons for Japan, recorded through the Enclylopedia Britannica.

Kiva has a second passion which is sculpting marble in Italy in the shadowof Mt. Altissimo. She began sculpting in stone in Los Angeles with the notedsculptor and author, Bernice Schachter. For the past years she has been sculpting in herown studio in Los Angeles. Most summers she spends a month working at the Paoli Studio in Pietrasanta, Italy. She has exhibited in several galleriesin Los Angeles and Italy. Her first judged exhibitions garnered Best of Show honors for a white statuario marble stylistic cat, and First Place Awards for a female draped torso inItalian Arabesque marble.

After years in the acting profession Kiva felt a need for another artistic expression, as she explains in the book “The Creative Quest” written by Bernice Schachter. “Stone carving connects me to an inner self and becomes liberating. For me, creativity is as important as breathing oxygen. I’ve been fortunate to have had two life-altering mentors: One was the acting coach, Sherman Marks, who helped me refine how I create characters and bring myself into roles I create on stage and in films. The other was when I began working with Bernice sculpting in stone. I learned the old fashioned way, to work a piece totally by hand with a point, hammer, and chisel.

“I felt a peak experience at that time that I still reach each time I work. There are many similarities in the process of acting and in sculpting stone. Looking deep into the stone, planning the lines, the planes, marking the stone, and re-working as the process evolves. As in creating characters on stage and in film, each creation, each piece of art ultimately becomes a self portrait of experiences, feeling, and visions. Acting and sculpting are both

spiritually and physically demanding and both have become my personal journey to artistic freedom.”

KIKI HAYNES BIOGRAPHYCo-Star in “SMOKE SCREEN”

Kiki is from East Orange, NJ and moved to Los Angeles to start a film career. She began a very active career after landing a role in Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled.” From there she began to try her hand at every area of the entertainment industry and has had much success.

Film credits include: “Nora’s Hair Salon” (2003), “Tournament of Dreams” (2003) un-released, and the 2006 Pan African Film Festival Centerpiece feature “Restraining Order.” Co-starring TV roles: “As The World Turns” (CBS) & “Strong Medicine” (Lifetime). She is the leading lady in two music videos for R&B artists Dave Hollister (“Baby Do Those Things”) and Amerie (“Talking to Me”). National and regional commercials include: Pepsi, Delta Airlines, Alltel, and NAACP.

In the highly anticipated and controversial film, “Smoke Screen”, Kiki plays the character of Heather. Without giving the story away, lets just say Heather is the “voice of reason.” She likes to have fun, but ONLY when playing by the rules of the game and laws of the land.

CHARLES W. GRAY BIOGRAPHYCo-Star “SMOKE SCREEN”

Charles has a myriad of experience in the Entertainment Business. Born into a "Hollywood Showbiz Family" he started off at the early age of (7) singing impromptu with his father's vocal group, "The Ink Spots.” With providence, he formed his own band "Songbird" and shortly thereafter acquired a record contract, with GRT, which took him from L.A. to Canada. After several years of touring, recording and "Rockin de House", Charles became interested in the closeness and intimacy of the Theater.

He became a thespian, his hunger to understand the inner-workings of this medium was the catalyst to his writing, producing and directing for the stage. Eventually he became Artistic Director of his own theater company, (Black Arts Theater), having had several successes along the way. "For Colored Girls...","Aint Noth'n but a Party", "Fences", etc.

Synchronous to this was television & film: one of Charles' first ventures into television was "The Nice Show" CBS, in which he wrote, produced and starred. Finding his niche, Charles, for the past fifteen years, with his own company and as a freelancer has

produced, directed and written for Film/Television/Stage and worked with: CBS, ABC, NBC, BET, USA, The FAMILY CHANNEL, SHOWTIME, FOX and others.

All the while Charles never stopped acting, from small independent works to “Hollywood Blockbusters” Charles has garnered quite the resume: “The Human Stain” with “Sir Anthony Hopkins”; “Stella” with Bette Midler; “Ellen Foster” with Julie Harris; “Champaign Charlie” with Hugh Grant; “The District”, “Soul Food”, and “Family Law” just to name a few.

Presently his interest is to produce independent theatrical/cable films for domestic and international markets. To this end, Charles has recently formed Masala Roux Filmworks, in which his primary purpose will be to develop, produce, and market film works which are of the very highest caliber and brilliance, while at the same time maintaining an acumen of the marketplace and it’s fiscal actualities.

HILDA BOULWARE BIOGRAPHY Co-Star “SMOKE SCREEN”

Hilda is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and now resides in the Atwater Village section of Los Angeles with her two children and grand daughter.

Hilda has appeared in several films such as “Batman & Robin” directed by Joel Schumaker and “Primary Colors” directed by Mike Nichols. Among some of Hilda’s more prominent plays are “Pearl Bailey Show,” “ Fences”, “For Colored Girls”, and “The Amen Corner.” She also has more than 3,000 radio episodes to her credit and is currently on the syndicated ABC radio programs “It’s Your World” and “What’s Poppin’.”

She trained at the Trent Gow, NYC commercial workshop and scene study group and studied comedy with The Greg Dean workshop and voice with Gene Case, NYC. David L. Grebs taught her voice over in his workshop and she learned to tap dance from Tony Deal.

Hilda received her Master of Arts degree in spiritual psychology from the University Of Santa Monica and BA degree in speech/communication and theater from Wayne State University in Michigan.

Five Acres child and family services agency has named Hilda its new foster care recruitment and training coordinator overseeing the agency’s ongoing outreach and assistance to foster and adoptive parents.

She has been a foster-care social worker at Five Acres since 2004. Prior to joining Five Acres, she was a supervising social worker at Guardians of Love Foster Family Agency in Los Angles. She has also worked as a program services counselor at Pacific Lodge

Youth Services serving probation boys in Woodland Hills and as a substance abuse counselor at American Health Services in Van Nuys. MATTHEW HERRIER BIOGRAPHY Editor of “SMOKE SCREEN”

Matthew Herrier was born in Santa Monica , California 21 years ago. With his mother and father being stage and screen actors, Matthew was immersed in the Hollywood scene from a very early age. At Palisades High School he attended the “Media Academy” program, started by a grant from Steven Spielberg (DreamWorks), it was the only program of its kind at the time.

Matthew has acted in four major stage productions, playing Father Montague in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and the lead tenor in a barbershop quartet in “The Music Man”. He also played the Captain of the ship in a first place winning DTASC festival scene, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The HMS Pinafore”. Matthew won Best Supporting Actor two years in a row at the PCHS “Media Academy Awards”.

He seeks to master the art of filmmaking down to the smallest detail. In High School and Junior College, he has taken many Film courses and Drama classes.

Matthew is a former President and Vice President of the Santa Monica College Student Filmmakers Association. As a student, he has received numerous awards for his films, including Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Director, and Best Film. To date, He has directed and shot seven short films and one feature, “Immaculate Disorder”.

Working as an editor, Matthew has learned a great deal about the technology of filmmaking. Matthew, as well as several of his colleagues, edit using computers hand-built by Matthew.

He has edited numerous event videos and company promos as well as ten short films, one of which “By Means of Natural Selection”, won a gold award for best editing in the L.A. 168 hour film festival. He has also edited three feature films to date.

Matthew is currently the Editor and Assistant Director of the soon to be released feature film “Smoke Screen”. This film was a valuable experience and a huge step forward in Matthew’s Career.

“…There is only perfection, and varying degrees of failure.” -Matthew Herrier

JEFF MORIARTY BIOGRAPHYCinematographer “SMOKE SCREEN”

Jeff Moriarty is a passionate filmmaker who, like many of the new digital age, has strengths in every department. He looks forward to the future of digital filmmaking and hopes that it will put the power back into the hands of the filmmaker rather than the financier. He also loves and appreciates film history and swears he was raised on musical and cartoons.

Jeff never had any real ambition of being a filmmaker before going to a small junior college in Menifee California. There he found he had a natural talent for it in a multimedia design class that taught a few basic classes on editing. He made his first film and fell in love with the art. While going to college he worked one job to pay the bills and another to buy a camera and microphone. He edited with his fathers old PC computer which crashed frequently but got the job done. Seeing an opportunity to make some small money on the side, he asked his now mother in law to help promote his work and subsequently his film career by helping him get some wedding jobs at the golf course she worked at. He shot 20+ weddings in the following two years and says the capture the moment style has really added a lot to his work.

He moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to attend Santa Monica College with the intent of transferring to UCLA film. At SMC he became apart of the film club where he met his film partner in crime Matthew Herrier. They quickly hit it off making several short films together. The following semester Jeff was voted in as vice president of the club with Matthew as president. Together they led the club while making more short films together. There comedy short film “Invisible Men’s Support Group” showcased there low budget style, using nothing more than a good script, some fishing wire, and a few chairs.

During that semester Jeff was introduced to Jou Jou Papailler who was working on starting a small gorilla sketch comedy troop. Though the troop didn’t work out the relationship led to Jeff working with Jou Jou for the 168 hour film festival. Jou Jou wrote, produced and acted in the film, with Jeff as the director and cinematographer. Their film was chosen to be in the final five of over a hundred films. It was awarded best actor and actress and was also awarded a second place awarded for editing, which Jeff and Matthew worked on together. It was because of this film that Jeff was asked to be the cinematographer on “Smoke Screen”.

He is very proud and excited to have been able to shoot the project and hopes to continue to work with his fellow filmmaking partners. Jeff is now attending the Los Angeles Film School and working on a feature length film with fellow filmmaker Matthew Herrier who also edited “Smoke Screen”. Watch out for this digital filmmaker as he is sure to make a big splash in the industry in the coming years.