Billy Jackson - artist member

Jackson is a national-award-winning documentarian and principal owner of NOMMO Productions, which has produced more than 50 films, including Enough is ENOUGH: the Death of Jonny Gammage. This documentary, on one of the most high-profile cases in Pittsburgh, examines law enforcement and criminal justice systems in Pittsburgh and across the country.

Jackson was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Foundation to support the public broadcast of Enough is ENOUGH, with a panel discussion to follow on WQED-TV. He was able to utilize the PF/PCA Artist Member conduiting program for this grant. In the program, PF/PCA acts as a fiscal agent that accepts and is responsible for grant money on the artist’s behalf.

In 1989, Jackson founded Community Media – a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit organization that offered neighborhood screenings of independent films and videos, trained youth in video production and presentation, produced documentaries about contemporary issues, and provided video documentation services for other nonprofits. “A Safe Place,” a documentary about gangs, produced by Community Media, won a Community Video first place award in 1995 from the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Another Community Media production, “Things That Fit,” on August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, won a Cultural Affairs Documentary runner-up award in 1999 from the National Black Programming Consortium.

Jackson is also a devoted educator. He has taught filmmaking at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, throughout Allegheny County secondary schools through the School & Community Arts program at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and was associate professor at Emerson College in Boston. He earned his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and M.Ed. from Harvard University. He remains committed to increasing resources for media arts and multicultural programming and providing greater opportunities for developing artists.

For more about Enough is ENOUGH or Jackson: nommoproductions.com

Jeff Monahan - faculty

Jeff Monahan, professional actor, writer, producer and director, has been in the news of late. His 3-part horror anthology, "George Romero Presents: Deadtime Stories," began filming in late fall 2007 in Fayette County. Monahan wrote the trilogy, and if all goes well, a second "Deadtime" series will begin production next Spring.

Missing from those accounts, however, was mention of the fact that Monahan has taught at Pittsburgh Filmmakers since 1997. His very popular classes include: Writing and Producing the Short Film, Script Analysis, Developing the Feature Script, and Advanced Screenplay Workshop.

The Connellsville native began his career as a police officer, graduating at the top of his class from the Pennsylvania State Police Municipal Training Officers Academy. After receiving kudos as an undercover narcotics cop, he turned his attention to acting and writing.

Monahan's first screenplay was an autobiographical story of undercover police work called Going Under. He also wrote screenplays for the feature films, Hits and One Way Out. And more recently he was co-producer and head writer for the cable series Tom Savini's Chill Factor.

As an actor, he's not only gotten extensive stage, screen, and television work, but he's made friends with some influential people – like George Romero. (He played Tom Burtram in Romero's Bruiser.) You might also remember him as Hollis in John Sayles' Lone Star. Or you may have seen him in Out of the Black, Graduation, The Screening, Two Evil Eyes, The Prince of Pennsylvania, or Stephen King's The Dark Half. His television roles include "Target Earth" on ABC, and "The War That Made America" on PBS.

Monahan is president of 72nd St. Films, a film and TV production company in New York City. Though he keeps an apartment in Manhattan, he chooses to stay in rural Connellsville. He says, "I find it a down-to-earth and beautiful place to raise my family." For updates and news about Monahan's projects, check out 72ndstfilms.com online.

Jessica Fenlon - board member

... is a prolific video artist, editor, educator, and impresario of sorts. She founded the monthly Viewer Discretion series in February 2006, an "open mic" style of video exhibitions presented in a variety of East End locations.

During graduate school, Fenlon started hand-manipulating 16mm film. From there she began experimenting with found video to create art that could explore large existential questions. Her straightforward consideration of difficult material in her short video work comes from her experiences surviving trauma. She says she is committed to this body of work and her hope is that it can open up a dialogue around difficult material.

Fenlon has also been crafting long-form video art to accompany live music performances since 2005. The videos provide a visual component to the audience's sonic experience. Recently party-goers raved about her projected work with New Invisible Joy at the opening night gala of this year's Three Rivers Film Festival.

Though her first career choice was classical violin, she studied studio art at the University of Wisconsin and then earned her MFA at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She considers her video work an extension of the layered process of printmaking. She connects this work, historically, to printmakers' political broadsides and considers it "outsider" media production, operating in a similarly provocative way.

An ongoing series Fenlon continues to work on is titled diver, diver. With projections and monitor installations it maps people's interaction with the environment through a scrim of technology.

Earlier this year Fenlon worked as an editor for the In Service project. The multi-media event, which was a collaboration between Bricolage Theater Company and Pittsburgh Filmmakers, focused on the stories of soldiers returning from Iraq. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Check out Jessica's next live video show with New Invisible Joy at Brillobox on Dec. 28. You can see her artwork at drawclose.com online.

Areya Simmons - student

Artist member Areya Simmons, who heads to college this fall at the Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia, will major in Film and Television. She credits her experiences at Pittsburgh Filmmakers for her choice of study.

"The Media Literacy workshop that I took part in with Teresa Foley was a wonderful learning experience," Simmons says. "It was one of the things that turned my interest in documentary video production into a complete passion and respect for the art of the film medium."

In August 2005 – at the age of 16 – Areya made her first film, "Hg and Me," based on her own experiences with mercury poisoning. She edited this project at Filmmakers. The film won First Runner-up and Viewers Choice at the SciTech Spectacular C.A.U.S.E. Challenge, a student film festival sponsored by Bayer Corporation. It was later chosen as an Official Selection in the 3rd Annual Denver International Indigenous Film and Arts Festival. That experience led to her full immersion into the medium.

This year Areya received the Gates Millennium Scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates began awarding 1,000 college scholarships to deserving minority students this year. Of the 11 recipients from PA, Areya Simmons is the only Gates Scholar from Pittsburgh.

Areya was born in Pittsburgh, but lived in Somerset County until the end of eighth grade, when she moved back to Pittsburgh. She attended Woodland Hills High for one semester before leaving due to illness. Her mother, Stephanie, home-schooled her through the end of high school.

Also an avid golfer, Areya has completed a second short documentary, produced vignettes for UPMC, edited presentations, and is currently working on her first feature-length documentary. Furthermore, Areya has taken dual-curricula college courses at the Community College of Allegheny County, and has volunteered in her community for over a decade. To learn more about this accomplished teen, visit her website at www.areyasimmons.com.

Good luck in college, Areya. We look forward to following your success!

Ralph Vitucchio - filmmaker

Ralph Vituccio, an independent artist, has taught film and video production at Pittsburgh Filmmakers since 1985. He is also the director of the Digital Media Studios in the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University. He has developed, written, and produced numerous films, videos, web sites, edu-tainment pieces and multimedia projects. His interactive media work on racism and teaching conflict management skills have earned national recognition. His documentary, PERFORMANCE: The Living Art, has aired on several PBS stations, and his more recent work, When The Video Came, examines the pioneering of video as an art form.

Though Vituccio's classes are always popular, this has been especially true of his newest course, TV Production: It's Alive! He and his students had a blast helping to create the weekly comedy/horror series (of the same name) which is broadcast on Saturday nights on WBGN-TV. Production has wrapped for the season, but you can catch re-runs through the rest of the summer.

In October, Vituccio will be creating the multimedia components for the upcoming Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Bricolage Theater co-production, In Service: Authentic Narratives from Iraq to Pittsburgh. Combining live performance, projected video, and still images, In Service will present first-hand experiences of men and women serving in the Iraq war as soldiers, government officials and war correspondents. Pittsburghers recount their poignant personal stories, which are then integrated into a multimedia experience. "From the Revolutionary War to today's war in Iraq, I'm struck by the timeless issues and similar concerns raised by soldiers fighting abroad. These personal, human stories offer unique insights into warfare and the thoughts and perspectives of those who have experienced it firsthand. Many times these insights are in direct contrast to the way the mainstream news media represents war," Vituccio explains, "which reduces the horror of war to a consumable, entertaining product."

Currently, Vituccio is in production on a fully immersive "4D" movie experience for the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia that will combine a 25-minute movie about the city with special effects and a surround sound speaker system.

Vituccio took up the harmonica a few years ago and occasionally jams with his favorite blues bands. This Renaissance man is also a gourmet cook and a winemaker, crafting a tasty red each year – Italian, of course.

Laura Magone - documentarian

Laura Magone, an Artist Member since 1994, is actively pursuing her dream: making a documentary on a subject near and dear to her. Magone grew up in Monongahela, PA, observing – sometimes from behind a camera – her close-knit working class community and wondered why some people seemed to excel in life while others didn't. "When Joe Montana had his first home-coming," she explains, "the folks in the town asked me to make a video that could be shown at the fire hall celebration." When another Mon Valley boy, General Carl Vuono, was made Chief of Staff of the US Army, they asked for her services again. Magone started hearing of other remarkable success stories from her hometown. In fact, most of them were from one street – Park Avenue.

"I decided I wanted to make a documentary on the street to learn what factors made the difference," she says. "Especially since they all came from the same small street." Calling her film One Extraordinary Street, Magone gave up her day job to devote herself to the project fulltime. Besides doing research, hiring a crew, and doing fundraising, she has interviewed writers, teachers, physicians, businessmen and women, attorneys, some NFL players, an inventor, a former Secretary of State, as well as many friends and relatives of the Park Avenue "successes."

Magone graciously credits Filmmakers for her success. "We've worked primarily with Filmmakers' equipment and have asked lots of questions and favors of the equipment office. Most of the grant money and contributions came to us via Artist Services' conduiting program," she says. "Having Pittsburgh Filmmakers affiliated with the project gave us credibility. Without them we might have never gotten the project off of the ground."

While Magone has an MBA from Duquesne University, she also earned certificates in filmmaking & video production. "When I started attending classes at Filmmakers, it was still an analog world. While completing this project, the world went digital, thus, I had to learn many things for a second and third time." Ten years in the making, One Extraordinary Street is in post-production. Filmmakers hopes to hold the premiere in the Fall. In the meantime, check out the movie's website at www.OneExtraordinaryStreet.com.

Tim Fabian - photographer

Tim Fabian is an artist member, board member, and adjunct photography instructor at Filmmakers. His work was recently published in The Bridges of Pittsburgh (a follow-up to the popular The Steps of Pittsburgh). He has exhibited his drawings and photographs regionally, including Silver Eye Center for Photography, Blue Ruin Gallery, Associated Artists, and Art Institute of Pittsburgh. His colleague Sue Abramson explains that Tim's work, which ranges from commercial photography to fine art nudes and landscapes, is "experimental in nature" and that he often uses a Widelux panoramic camera to capture a "swirly" effect.

He's the former president of Pro Photo, a custom photography lab, which generously donated a bounty of color photo equipment (including an 8x10 color enlarger) to Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Highly visible in his Hawaiian shirts, Tim is well known around town and actively involved in the artist community. Besides Filmmakers he is affiliated with several other arts organizations, including Associated Artists, Silver Eye, ASMP/Pittsburgh Chapter and Group A. He is currently the guild council chair at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Most recently his work has been accepted to photo-eye (www.photoeye.com), a juried and internationally recognized fine-art photography web portal. Tim lives in Ross Township with his family.

Kruti Majmudar - filmmaker

Kruti Majmudar made her feature film debut with 2005's The Memsahib, which she also wrote and produced. Her journey in film began 10 years ago, working as a full time architect in Pittsburgh and assisting local filmmakers during the production of the award winning feature The Journey as well as Brady Lewis's Daddy Cool. From Pittsburgh, Kruti left for New York and enjoyed a growing career in set and production design. There, she also produced several short films. The Memsahib, however, soon became a full time calling. Originally an idea conceived while researching her architecture thesis, the film grew organically from her dual passions of space design, its influences on people, and the singular power of film and story. She devoted herself to fulfilling her dream of bringing her vision to the screen from 2001 to 2004.

Born in Rajkot, India, Majmudar herself is a first generation Indian-American and she proudly swears allegiance to both cultures. She particularly savored the opportunity to return to her roots to launch her directorial career. Majmudar drew from her experiences for The Memsahib by exploring ways in which seemingly different world views can mesh successfully. She earned her bachelor's degree in architecture from Syracuse University in 1994 and attended classes at Pittsburgh Filmmakers School of Film, Photography & Digital Media from Spring 1996 thru Spring 1999.