cast & crew
Writer/ Director: Sudeshna Sen
Producer: Jennessa West (Pressing Pictures)
Producer: Sudeshna Sen
Director of Photography: John Jeffcoat
Assist Camera: Jonathan Houser
Sound/ Boom : Vinny Smith
Production Design: Tania Kupczak
Gaffer: Art Reynolds
Hair and Makeup: John Gardner
Production Assistants: Valerie Needham & Megan Rosenfeld
Actors:
Kate Witt-Julia Morton
Meaghan Halvorson-Jenny Pollitto
Frank Lawler-Gerald Worthington
Ben Andrews: Doug Sanders
Tom McIntire- Martin Doyle
James Weidman-John Kennedy
Sudeshna Sen / Director, Writer, Producer
Following an early retirement from teaching, Sudeshna dived into her passion for filmmaking. She was involved in two productions, Big in Japan (dir. John Jeffcoat) and My Last Year With the Nuns (dir. Bret Fetzer). Both of these films screened at SIFF 2014. Sudeshna was Assistant Producer for The Spring District, an advertising campaign from Seattle based Hey! Advertising. Julia's Farm is her first narrative short, which she wrote and directed. In a previous life, Sudeshna taught Japanese literature and language for a decade. She has a Ph.D in Classical Japanese Literature from the University of Oregon.
Jennessa West / Producer
Jennessa started her production career working in episodic television within the art and accounting departments for companies such as Warner Brothers Television, the FX Channel and CBS Television while living in Los Angeles. Seeking a career as an independent producer, Jennessa headed back to her hometown of Seattle to produce live theater and film. She went on to become Director of Development for ArtsWest Playhouse, and later ACT – A Contemporary Theatre a world-renowned arts center. In 2012, Jennessa partnered to form Pressing Pictures, LLC – a production company dedicated to creating compelling commercial and narrative works. Jennessa’s producing credits include My Last Year with the Nuns (line producer), which recently premiered at the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival. SPIN (producer) a short film premiering at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, The 14/48 Project (producer), and Manos: Hands of Felt (producer), which played to a sold-out audience at the Emerald City Comicon earlier this year. Jennessa has recently signed on to co-produce the Seattle based web-series, Rocketmen.
John Jeffcoat / Director of Photography
John Jeffcoat is an award-winning writer, director and cinematographer. He co-wrote and directed the indie comedy hit, Outsourced, and was tapped by NBC to adapt the film into a 22-part prime time TV series. Big in Japan is Jeffcoat’s second feature film, which he wrote, directed and shot on location in Seattle and Tokyo.
Kate Witt / Julia
Kate is a Seattle-based actress and holds an MFA in Theatre from the University of Mississippi. She is currently appearing as Caska in Wooden O's production of Julius Caesar. Film/TV credits include Only Connect (Comfy Bull), Left Behind (Trash Taco Productions), and Evil in Law: Love's Fury (Discovery ID). She has worked with many Seattle theatre companies including ArtsWest, Wooden O, SecondStory Repertory, New Century Theatre Company, 14/48, and Seattle Shakespeare Company. Favorite roles include Emilie in Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, Holly in Next Fall, Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, Feste in Twelfth Night, Mrs. Segstrom in A Little Night Music, Nancy Gordon in Third. She lives in Magnolia with her husband, Steve, and their daughter, Molly. Read more at: http://www.katewitt.com
Meaghan Mary Halverson / Jenny
Meaghan graduated from the University of Washington in 2011 with a degree in English Literature. She has appeared in various low-budget film projects in the Seattle area such as Somnambulism and The World is Hollow for I Have Touched the Sky, and she is the voice of Deirdre Shannon in the Nancy Drew PC Game series. Meaghan has also worked with several theatre companies in Seattle including Annex Theatre, Macha Monkey Productions, and most recently The Horse In Motion.
Ben Barak Andrews / Doug
Over the last eight years Ben has appeared in over 100 projects, playing roles in local short, feature films and commercials. Some of his roles include the short films Sacreligion, Nowhere Man, and the features Blank, Dominance, Keep Your Day Job Superstar, Divination, Son of Terror and Ordinary Angels. In 2014 he makes his national TV debut, with small roles, on TNT, SYFY, and TLC.
Tom McIntire / Martin
Tom McIntire is an award-winning filmmaker who got the filmmaking bug while acting as a featured extra in a gay zombie film. He has appeared in several shorts and features, as well as three Japanese network television episodes.
Frank Lawler / Gerald
Frank Lawler has acted in many productions around the Puget Sound region, including Frankenstein (Book-It Repertory Theatre), The Pitmen Painters (ACT Theatre), Tartuffe (Taproot), Pygmalion (Sound Theatre Company), The Elephant Man (Strawberry Theatre Workshop), Arms and the Man (Seattle Public Theater), The 39 Steps (Secondstory Rep), Henry V (Harlequin) and Twelfth Night (Seattle Shakespeare Company). He is also the co-author of a handful of plays, including Holiday of Errors and The Elsinore Diaries. Frank is a native of Ottawa, Canada, a graduate of Harvard University and past president of the board of directors of Theatre Puget Sound. More at franklawler.com.
