Stevi Zabawa, 2022 Certified Trainee
“I looked forward to the Workforce Training each week! It was organized, but relaxed and the guest speakers were amazing! I learned so much about Hair/Makeup, which is my main area of interest, but ultimately feel like I could now help in any area on set for future opportunities!”
Educators
The Central Illinois Film & TV Production Training Course includes a roster of some of the most prolific and successful professionals working in the Illinois Production Industry. Here is a list of all of the individuals running and teaching this course for the 2022 Season.
Anthony Cabral (Lead Instructor): Anthony E. Cabral is an award-winning filmmaker who has been working in film, television, and video production for almost thirty years. A graduate of Missouri State University with a degree in Mass Media: Film Studies and Production, he has worked on roughly six dozen projects in over twelve different states, serving primarily as an Assistant Director. He is an active member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) as a First Assistant Director, the Producers Guild of America (PGA), and most recently the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA). Since the year 2000, he continues to take time to serve as a Volunteer Theater Manager for the Sundance Film Festival. Besides working and producing on projects, Mr. Cabral has been making strides to step into the role of director. He also has been sharing his wisdom and experience by guest speaking at numerous schools and organizations, including Missouri State University, University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago’s Free Spirit Media, the Spokane Film Project, and the St. Louis Chapter of the Media Communications Association.
Luke Boyce (Administrator): Luke Boyce is an award-winning director and producer since 2006 when he founded Shatterglass Studios. Since then he has done promo work for the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago Blackhawks and gone on to win an EMMY award for a documentary examining Roger Ebert’s Film Festival that occurred only weeks after his untimely death, and features interviews from icons such as Tilda Swinton, Spike Lee, Guillermo Del Toro, Richard Linklater, Oliver Stone and more. In 2017, his short film, The Pooka, starring “This is Us” star Chris Sullivan, premiered at the Palm Springs International Shortfest, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival and landed as #5 on Film Shortage’s “Top 10 Shorts of 2018. In 2020, Luke directed his feature-length debut, Revealer, written by “Revival” creator Tim Seeley and famed comic writer, Michael Moreci. Revealer will be released exclusively on Shudder on June 23, 2022.
Brett Hays (Administrator): Brett Hays is a producer of films & television and is an active member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) as a Unit Production Manager. Brett's filmography expands through a wide range of films and television shows including A24's Slice starring Chance the Rapper & Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), IFC Films' An Acceptable Loss starting Jamie Lee Curtis and Tika Sumpter and Netflix's Thunder Force starting Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer. Brett also has ongoing relationships producing films for Disney (Freeform's The Thing About Harry and Disney Channel's Christmas Again), MarVista Entertainment (Holiday Heist, Friend Request & Happily Never After) as well as with Dark Sky Films (Girl on the Third Floor and Broadcast Signal Intrusion). Brett was recently the Unit Production Manager of the TV Show "4400" for the CW and is currently the Co-Producer & UPM of the TV Show “Saturdays” for Disney Channel.
Robert Patrick Stern (Guest Lecturer): Cinematographer, producer, and self-proclaimed cinephile, Stern has dedicated his life to shooting professionally for over a decade. Photographing everything commercial to docu-series (HBO's THE SHOP, Peacock's Devil in Disguise) has not satisfied his growing hunger for the visual medium. Translating multiple narratives into feature films (BET's Holiday Heist and Friend Request) has launched Robert onto solid ground, but the chase for a lifelong career in the industry has just begun. With this in mind, Robert launched The Line Film Company with production designer Sarah Sharp. The two have produced many features including Jill Gevargizian's The Stylist for Arrow Films and Luke Boyce's Revealer for Shudder. Some very promising upcoming projects include John Pata's Black Mold and Ted Geoghegan's Brooklyn '45.
Sarah Sharp (Guest Lecturer): Sarah Sharp has over a decade of experience as an Art Director, Production Designer, Makeup and Costume designer as well as being a full-fledged producer on such acclaimed films such as The Stylist, Revealer, Olympia and upcoming films Brooklyn 45 and Black Mold. Her work spans multiple film and tv projects for platforms such as Netflix, Shudder, Arrow, MarVista, Dark Sky Films and many more. In 2013, she and Director of Photography, Robert Patrick Stern, created The Line Film Company, a creative production duo focused on bringing innovative visuals to life even through the tedious steps of writing, investing, and marketing. As often as time allows, she still spends time experimenting and learning new, cutting edge and better ways to create an inspirational atmosphere for her fellow filmmakers.
Mario Coletta (Guest Lecturer): Mario Coletta is an accomplished production sound mixer and audio engineer who has been active in the Chicago film industry for almost 20 years. He has been the sound mixer on projects such as the recent WB show “The 4400” as well as the Fox TV hit “The Chi,” “APB,” Netflix’s “Sense8” as well as “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Fire,” “Shameless,” and “Empire.” Mario’s film work includes films such as Southside With You, Thrill Ride, Game Day, The Last Shift and Christmas Again. Mario has also been an instructor at Columbia College Chicago teaching Sound for Film.
Tom Lounsbury (Guest Lecturer): Thomas Lounsbury is a Film & Television Location Manager with over 10 years of experience in the industry. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Lounsbury moved to Chicago to study Film at Columbia College Chicago where he is now living and working with a range of production companies including CBS, Disney, HBO, FX, Comedy Central, Netflix, and A24. As a location manager, he provides the foundation for film productions to occur out in the real world. From shutting down highways for a car chase scene to notifying neighbors of a planned Special FX explosion; the locations department stands as a buffer between the film crew and the outside world that has to keep turning around them.
Iman Sharabash (Guest Lecturer): Iman Sharabash has been producing since 2016, primarily as a Line Producer on a range of productions. In 2017, she produced “Seeds,” a five-episode web series with a black, women-led cast. Originally premiering on Chicago-based platform, Open Television (OTV), the series went on to screen and win awards at both NYTVF and SeriesFest. Since then, Iman has been a production coordinator, accountant or line producer on films such as Dark Sky Films’ Broadcast Signal Intrusion and Girl on the Third Floor, Netflix’s Thunder Force and MarVista Entertainment productions Christmas is Cancelled, Friend Request, Holiday Heist and Happily Never After. Recently she worked as line producer on the Shudder original films Revealer and the upcoming Brooklyn 45, as well as the upcoming film Black Mold which just finished principal photography.