the 2023 Green Jack International film festival

Mitesh Patel - Woman in the Maze

"In a world that seems to be constantly changing faster and faster, and sometimes feels upside down, I knew I wanted to create a unique movie based on the idea of change and struggle. Aware of the deep mystery of Jerome as 'The largest Ghost Town in America', I knew I had to base my story there. The deep and sordid history of the area inspired me to create a Supernatural Mystery Thriller; one that is unique, classic, and can be enjoyed year round. With the success of my recent films, I knew I needed to cast powerful actors and create strong visuals with a mixture of practical and special effects in order to bring this fantastic story to life thrusting viewers into a truly thrilling experience. Intricate plot twists and turns will keep you engaged with real visceral reaction to the very end." https://www.appliedartproductions.com/

Unfiltered: The Truth About Oysters

Ninety percent of the world’s ancient oyster reefs have collapsed in the last thirty years. Faced with the human pressures of coastal  development, pollution, reduced freshwater flow, and overharvesting, the renowned oyster reefs in Florida’s Apalachicola Bay are now slipping toward the same fate. Oysters have long been the silent protectors of the oceans, cleaning water and building the foundation of estuaries where thousands of species thrive, from plankton to game fish. They are living water filtration systems, storm barriers, and an ancient source of protein. The fate of oysters in Apalachicola Bay is not sealed. Fresh water  management, artificial reefs, shell recycling, and other restoration strategies may be able to save the world’s oyster populations from  complete collapse. It’s not too late. https://www.oyster.film/

Alex Grossman - That's Funny

Alex was born in Flint, Michigan and attended the University of Michigan where he graduated with a B.A. in English. His writing career began in San Francisco, where he worked as an award winning copywriter at shops like Butler, Shine & Stern and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.  Hickey, his first feature film, opened strong at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival where it earned Best Director, Best  Cinematography, and Best Supporting-Actress honors. It went on to competition at SXSW and was acquired and distributed internationally by  Gravitas Ventures. In 2017, a series of short films he directed for Alliance Française won three gold lions and two silver lions at Cannes,  making Alex the most awarded comedy director of the festival. https://thatsfunnymovie.com/

Meredith VanCuyk - Woman in the Maze

Meredith Josephine VanCuyk is an American actress born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was raised in the northern suburbs of Columbus, Ohio with her two older brothers, where she spent hours in the dance studio  learning various disciplines of dance. Choosing to focus on Irish dance gave her the opportunity to travel North America and compete at the champion level. From a young age, Meredith took every opportunity to  participate in theatrical projects and in 2018, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the arts. Meredith loves the creativity in the acting world and has worked on several notable projects such as: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), The Fabelmans (2022), Fast X (2023), Westworld (2016) and Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire (2023). She also had a supporting role in television movie Love's Second Act and action thriller Wages of Sin. 

Ben Cain - That's Funny 

Ben's lengthy career has included many excellent roles such as Agent Joe Dordt on American Rust, Bill Harris on Animal Kingdom and Rod Wallis on Cruel Summer. His tour de force career has brought him to the Green Jack festival to ultimately win Best Supporting Actor as Ben in "That's Funny" now streaming on Apple TV and Amazon. Learn more about Ben's roles on IMDb and if you missed it check out his amazing new film by following the links at www.thatsfunnymovie.com

Nicole Forester - That's Funny

Nicole Forester was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Jack Reacher (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Boss (2011)

Mendo’s Carousel

After the death of her father, a troubled young woman robs a dry cleaning shop, but a secret from the past forces her to the precipice of  truth and denial. 

https://www.mendoscarousel.com/

David Michael Maurer (Mendo’s Carousel)

Before trying a hand at writing and directing with "Mendo's Carousel", David Michael Maurer worked as an Editor in multiple genres, originally starting in Reality TV. He later edited Sterlin Harjo's first dramatic Feature Film "Four Sheets to the Wind" and second "Barking Water" both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He sliced the fan-favorite horror film "Splinter", directed by Toby Wilkins and won the award for Best Editing at the Screamfest Film Festival. In scripted  television, Maurer worked on Ben Ketai's crime drama "StartUp" where he met "Mendo's Carousel" cast members Edi Gathegi and Otmara Marrero. He also edited on season 2 of "Absentia" starring Stana Katic and most  recently, the first two seasons of the rebooted "Fantasy Island"  starring Roselyn Sanchez. He became a member of American Cinema Editors in 2013. Mendo's Carousel is a new step out of the editing chair and into the director's chair. 

Edi Gathegi - Mendo’s Carousel

Edi Gathegi has appeared as recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series House, as Cheese in the 2007 film Gone Baby Gone, Laurent in the films Twilight and its sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and as Darwin in X-Men: First Class. Edi also featured in the AMC series, Into the Badlands, as Baron Jacobee. He has also been a recurring character in NBC's television series, The Blacklist, as Matias Solomon, an operative for a covert organization. Gathegi reprised the role in the 2016–2017 season crime thriller, The Blacklist: Redemption. He has also played a leading role in Startup, a television drama series on Crackle. Since 2022, Edi has played engineer and entrepreneur Dev Ayesa in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series For All Mankind.

Otmara Marrero - Mendo’s Carousel

Otmara Marrero is an American actress. She is known for the NBC series "Connecting..." 2019's "Clementine", and Crackle's 2016 series "StartUp". Marrero's first onscreen role was a small part in a season 3 episode of USA Network's Graceland. Her performance in Damian Fitzsimmons' "Off the Rails" earned her a Commendation award at the Liverpool International Film Festival while she won a breakthrough award at the Downtown LA film festival for her performance in Clementine. She filmed her part in "Connecting..." at home.

Darren Lipari - Bonding

Darren Lipari is an American actor and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Darren was born and raised in a performing arts household in Long Island, NY. His mother a voice teacher and his father a TV reporter for  ABC's Eyewitness News. These origins led Darren to pursue a career in the performing arts leading him to get a film degree from Ithaca College.

After interning on various productions in LA and NY he decided to move in front of the camera and has had success in areas of  TV and film nabbing roles in the cop-thriller "21 Bridges" and award winning TV shows such as "Mr. Robot" and "Girls."

To see more about "Bonding" visit:

https://9livesentertainment.net/

Jannica Olin - Bonding

Swedish born actress Jannica Olin is a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. She has appeared in plays Off Off Broadway as well as having worked in film and theatre in London. Credits include the UK film  noir thriller, Third Contact, which had its' world premiere at The  British Film Institute in London (2013) followed by an extensive cinema  tour around Europe, Canada and the US. The experimental short film Jukka which screened at Cannes Short film Corner (2009) and picked up the Audience Award at the European Film Awards (2009). Jannica can also be seen in Jessie J's empowering music video Queen as well as the "Emotion  Picture"; Dirty Computer with Janelle Monae. Jannica has had Alopecia  since 2013 and lost all her hair six months later in 2014. Her new  unique look is truly her superpower. She gets to empower and inspire  people to embrace themselves fully by keeping on living her dream and representing a different idea of beauty in media.