DAWN WESTLAKE
(director/producer/writer/performer)
Dawn is president of Ron de Cana Prods., Inc. in Los Angeles. This is her 24th short under her Ron de Cana banner. Her work has played on all 7 continents (yes, even Antarctica) and won more than 100 awards, including honors from Canon USA, Inc., JVC-Tokyo and MyAirBridge. Dawn is also an actress/writer/producer and has been on the jury of the SediciCorto Film Fest in Forli, Italy, the ECU Film Festival in Paris, France, M Film Festival in Matosinhos, Portugal, the Chicago Shorts Film Fest jury in Chicago, Illinois and the Red Rock Film Fest pre-selection committee in Moab, Utah. She speaks English and Spanish fluently and is proficient in Italian and Portuguese. Dawn graduated first in her class with a B.S. degree in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She has been married for 35 years to Bruce Rheins, a retired producer and bureau chief for CBS News. In 2013, she directed “Look Who’s Stalking”, a series for the BIO Network at NBCUniversal in Los Angeles. It aired in March & April 2013. Dawn has been honored with retrospectives of her work in London at the Portobello Film Festival, at the Fellini Foundation in Rimini (Italy), and at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, California. In 2024, her musical poetry film “For the Skeptical” (2022) was invited into the Blinken OSA Archives in Budapest, Hungary as “…an important work related to the history of the Cold War and international human rights violations”. www.dawnwestlake.com
JASON LUCKETT
(composer)
A musician and writer with roots in Maine, Mississippi, and Hawaii, but raised in Southern California, Jason Luckett has released 7 albums, performed in the US, Europe, and India, including the Glastonbury Festival and South by Southwest (SXSW) as well as UCLA’s Royce Hall (with jazz legend, Kenny Burrell) and the ALOUD series from the LA Public Library. Known primarily as a singer and guitarist, his music effortlessly mixes elements of the classic singer-songwriters with the jazz, soul and samba he grew up hearing at home. Being unafraid to address topics of social justice in his songwriting, has led to the publication of his lyrics and original essays in various anthologies, including The Black Body (Seven Stories) and Voices from Leimert Park (Tsehai). He writes music for theater and film, has appeared in films and TV (La La Land, Scandal, Extended Family…), and since February of 2023 has had monthly residency in Pasadena, First Fridays Jazz Night with Jason Luckett & Friends. Over the years Jason has played, recorded or shared the stage with artists ranging from Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, BB King, Jeff Buckley, The Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, Russell Ferrante (Yellowjackets), and members of Bauhaus, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lenny Kravitz’s band, The Count Basie Orchestra, Tears for Fears, Sheryl Crow’s band and others. His Document:Freedom:Spring (Live!) album hit the streamers October 2023 and is a solo concert debuting nine new songs with Jason on piano, various guitars and vocals.
jasonluckett.com
POL CARRIZO VILARROIG
(cinematography/editor/VFX)
Born and raised in Barcelona, Pol has always been fascinated with all things audiovisual. In 2008, he completed studies in 35mm photography, and then immediately entered film school where he majored in digital photography, television and film. While still in school, he began producing personal and professional projects and graduated from an advanced course in sound mixing with superior grades. Pol continues to expand his knowledge in all aspects of filmmaking using the Adobe Suite and DaVinci Resolve, incorporating them into his workflow. As a freelancer, he works on still photography and video projects as well as in the art department for private citizens, large corporations and collaborates with renowned artists like Jaume Pitarch. Recent credits include “Copa Vacía” (the latest Shakira music video), “Iba”, an Alejandro Sanz music video, and commercials for Coca-Cola, Tresemmé, Oppo, Vueling, Carglass, Inkbox, Holalux, Lidl and many others. The majority of his work is in his hometown of Barcelona, but he’s also worked in other parts of Spain, and on location in France, England, and the United States. Pol won the Carpine d’Argento BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY award in Visciano, Italy in 2018 for “From On High”, a 2017 short film by director Dawn Westlake, BEST VISUAL EFFECTS for Westlake’s “For the Skeptical” (2022) at the High Tatras Film Festival in Vysoke Tatry, Slovakia, and BEST EDITOR for her “Fear Not Fear Itself” (2024) from the Makizhmithran International Film Festival in Alampattu, India.Pol has also traveled and photographed extensively in South America, Asia, and Africa. Even on personal journeys, he’s never without his camera. With Andrea Pérez Maldonado, Pol is a founding partner in Imatge Barcelona, a production company dedicated to cinematic and still photography. imatgebarcelona.com
MARTA FABON ORTIGA
(animator)
Marta Fabón has a degree in animation and illustration from Escuela de Arte y Diseño de Sant Cugat del Vallés. At only 22 years of age, she has already collaborated professionally on a variety of artistic projects. Among the highlights are “Perque hi tenen dret”, a 2D animated short film in collaboration with Kate Films Studio and Rodamunt, an association in Catalonia that organizes mountain hiking excursions for people with reduced mobility. She also works on personal projects using allegory to give greater visibility to social issues that interest her. Her graduation project was “Viviendo la muerte”, a short animated film that visually narrates the history of a girl coping with the death of her father. She recently collaborated with the Hospital de Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona in the development of “A Serious Game”, a video game project to tackle discrimination against those with psychotic disorders.