AWARDS
Grand Jury Award for
Best Short in Program 1
2003 NODANCE
FILM FESTIVAL
(click for details)
crew list
biographies
contact: shadowboxerfilm@yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________BIOGRAPHIES
VILKA TZOURAS director, co-producer, editorHARLAN BOSMAJIAN director of photography
SUSANNAH LUDWIG producer
MELISSA MARTINEZ actor
IRIS LITTLE THOMAS actor
VILKA TZOURAS director, co-producer, editor
Vilka Tzouras is an independent filmmaker and writer based in New York City. She spent the greater part of her youth training and working as a professional ballet dancer. At the age of seventeen, she graduated from the noted "School of American Ballet" affiliate to "The New York City Ballet" and went on to work with companies like "The Miami City Ballet" and "The Kiel Ballett", in Germany.
At the age of twenty-one, she was forced to quit due to a knee injury after which she began her studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts earning her a bachelor degree in Film and Television Production. During that time, she started her career as an editor, which at the end of her studies led her to Greece, her country of origin, to work as a full-time editor with Artoon, an animation company.
During her years spent at NYU, Vilka was actively involved in her community and volunteered much of her time to "The Foundling", a hospital for children. Today, she works with NYC youth from "The Door", an alternative high school in Manhattan where she teaches a filmmaking class.
Vilka received The 'Wasserman Award', The 'Carl Lerner Award', The 'Best European Short Film Award' at The Brest Film Festival in France and was nominated for the 'Director's Guild of America Award' for her first film Soldier's Bride, a short about mass rape in Bosnia. Soldier's Bride screened at many festivals both in Europe and the US such as "The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival".
She began her endeavors as a socially inclined filmmaker with Soldier's Bride and continues to produce similar work with her most recent short Shadowboxer, a film on female teenage violence. Shadowboxer was made possible with the support of the "New York State Council on the Arts", "The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council" and "The Laura Napor National Film Grant". Vilka continues to live and work in NYC.
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HARLAN BOSMAJIAN director of photography
Harlan Bosmajian began his career as a Director of Photography in the Pacific Northwest where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Photography and English. After graduation he primarily worked as a still photographer in the Puget Sound area, both independently and commercially. His photographs were exhibited at several shows, most notably at Seattle's prestigious Benham Studios. During this time he began to shoot and direct his own short films which led to his acceptance in the Graduate Dept. of Film and Television at New York University. While at NYU Harlan's focus as a Director of Photography led to his shooting of over twenty short films, many of which went on to festivals around the world. Upon graduation Harlan continued his career as a DP by shooting independent features. Some of these include: 'Coventry', 'Swimming on the Moon', 'Spin the Bottle', and 'Maryam', all of which have played in festivals around the world. Harlan also shot the film, 'Angel Passing' starring Hume Cronyn which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on Showtime, winning the Time Warner/Showtime Audience Award. During this time Harlan also shot the critically acclaimed film, 'La Ciudad' which was included in the Sundance Film Festival's American Spectrum and played festivals around the world. 'La Ciudad' played in theaters and on PBS television and most recently was the headlining film in The Museum of Modern Art's 'Shaking the Box'- a tribute to independent television. For his work on 'La Ciudad' Harlan received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for "Best Cinematography" as well as winning Best Cinematography at the Santa Barbara film festival. In 1999 Ð 2000, Harlan was asked to shoot Comedy Central's cult hit comedy, 'Strangers with Candy', one of the first shows to use the High Definition video format. He shot 23 episodes of 'Strangers' for two and a half seasons. After this Harlan shot the DV feature, 'Virgil Bliss' which played in festivals including Slamdance, Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, Berlin, and winning Best Feature this year at the Atlanta festival. Harlan's recent projects include 'Lovely and Amazing', a film directed by Nicole Hollofcener which was shot on the new 24p High Definition camera. The film was produced by Good Machine and stars Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn and Dermot Mulroney. During the spring of 2001, Harlan completed photography on the film, ' The Chester Story', a small town love story starring Terri Hatcher. In the winter of 2001, Harlan was the DP on the Indigent Films project, 'Kill the Poor' directed by Alan Taylor. 'Kill the Poor' is the first anamorphic (2.35 Aspect ratio) DV feature shot in the US. Harlan most recently completed, ' Nadazheda', a romantic adventure that takes place in 1920's Morocco.
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SUSANNAH LUDWIG producer
Susannah Ludwig associate produced "Our Song," directed by Jim McKay (released May 2001 by IFC Films,) and "the Ballad of Ramblin Jack," directed by Aiyana Elliott (released August 2000 by Lot 47 Films.) Ms. Ludwig also production managed "Spring Forward," directed by Tom Gilroy, starring Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber (distributed by IFC Films, December 2000.) Other credits include, production manager on "La Ciudad," recipient of the Open Palm Award at the Gotham Awards, Best Picture at the Havana Film Festival. She has also produced numerous short subject films such as "Shadowboxer," directed by Vilka Tzouras, "The Hat," (distributed by Bravo Networks,) and "Weekend Getaway" (distributed by Hypnotic Inc.) Additionally Ludwig has produced five behind the scenes documentaries for the Independent Film Channel. Ms. Ludwig has produced and directed her own documentaries including "Survivor in Her House," and "Woman and HIV: the Most At Risk." She is currently producing "Stolen: The Search for the Lost Vermeer," a documentary about the robbery that occurred at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 and the current search for the missing paintings. "Stolen" has been partially funded by the Jerome Foundation and will air in late 2003 on Court TV.
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MELISSA MARTINEZ actor
Melissa has always loved the arts since early childhood. Although she was popular in school, she wasn't a party girl. Instead, she began performing in school plays and devoted a lot of time to her second love...psychology, for which she received many awards. At the age of sixteen, she participated in a ROTC training program. The activities were so diverse and exciting that she was seriously considering joining the navy after finishing high school. Fortunately, the performing bug won out and she enrolled at Oswego State University and graduated with a B.A. in theater. Her first major role was Maria, in Jim McKay's "Our Song" (released May 2001 by IFC Films), which won awards at various film festivals. Her other film credits include, "Shadowboxer," "Face," and "Brown Sugar."
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IRIS LITTLE THOMAS actor
Iris Little-Thomas received her BFA in drama from Spelman College in Atlanta. Her first love was theater. She has performed off-Broadway with te renowned Negro Ensemble Company as well as in theaters across the U.S. Television has proven to be the media for her to art and make a living. She has played the role of Judge Barbara Luskey on NBC's Law and Order. She has made guest appearances on "Soul Food" (Showtime). She had the honor of playing Rosa Parks in the HBO movie, "Boycott." "Shadowboxer" adds to her feature film credits, "Girl Fight," "Our Song," "Above the Rim," "Malcolm X," and the D.R.O.P. Squad.