FOREST BAKER (JACOB) Primarily recognized as a military or technical skills character in film and television, Forest Baker was an accomplished East Coast stage actor in his early 20's. Born in 1948 in Wabash Indiana he attended Holy Cross College on a Track and Football scholarship graduating in 1970, taught college and received an MS in Biology at Villanova University in 1972 and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1975.
During his 40 years as an industrial General Manager Forest took one year off in 1990-1991 to work as a background artist in Hollywood. In 2003 he launched the family-owned high couture fashion brand Bella Dolci and in 2010 ran for the US Congress in California CD-13, successfully winning his Primary Contest in June of that year. Known for playing heavy characters with intelligence and gravitas Forest returned to Los Angeles in 2015 to act in independent movie and television productions building credentials, raw experience and momentum as a day-player leading to supporting roles in major films.
RANDALL TAYLOR (MAN) is an actor living in Los Angeles known for the Television shows Homeland, House of Cards, The Vampire Diaries, The Red Road, Halt and Catch Fire and In the Heat of the Night. He has performed in more than 30 films including The Founder, The Accountant, Kill the Messenger, Anchorman II, A Sunday Horse, Robocop III and Rings. He holds a Master’s Degree in Speech/Theater from Southern Illinois University and has worked in New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles. He is currently associate producer on the independent film Zombie Elves, and is the executive producer and co-writer of the paranormal thriller Still, currently in development.
JILL NIGH (GRETCHEN) is ecstatic to have been involved in "The Last Survivor". It happened to be the first film she was a part of when she left Chicago and moved out to Los Angeles in 2015. She has since been involved in commercial and industrial work, short films, and an upcoming series titled "Crude". Jill is happy to have brought the character of Gretchen to life, and to be able to master the art of "opening curtains" so that she can now put it under her special skills section on her resume.
ALEX CAMPBELL (HANS) is an American actor, writer and director. He graduated from the Colorado Film School in 2015, where he studied writing and directing. He has studied theatre and screen acting from a young age in New Mexico, Colorado, and California. He now resides in Los Angeles where he continues to study and work as a dramatic actor
ELDAR RAPAPORT (WRITER/DIRECTOR) Born and raised in Israel, Eldar splits his time between New York, Tel Aviv and Los Angeles. He first moved to the US in 1991 to attend Emerson College in Boston. In 1997 he joined the new media world, producing websites, DVDs and other multimedia projects for a variety of worldwide clientele. In the Spring of 2001 he enrolled in Film Production studies at NYU, and a year later he wrote and directed his first short film "Tremor," about a hustler juggling a double life. "Tremor" premiered in New York at the 2003 NewFest Film Festival, and went on to screen internationally, including festivals is Spain and Australia.
"Postmortem," his second short film, premiered in 2005 and screened in over two dozen festivals around the world, including Sydney, London, New York and Los Angeles.
His film, "Steam" – about two men stuck in a steam room with no exit – won the European 2009 Iris Prize in Cardiff, UK, the most prestigious Award for International Gay and Lesbian Short films. Eldar returned to Cardiff in 2011 to shoot “Little Man,” based on a short story by Etgar Keret. "Little Man" was released in 2012.
In 2011, his first feature film, “August,” was released to much acclaim. It played in nearly 30 festivals worldwide and sold in a dozen territories. “August” featured, then still unknown, Murray Bartlett, star of HBO’s “Looking.”
In 2011 he also joined Screenz Cross Media, creating formats and content for the television industry, marrying emerging technology, audience engagement, narrative and entertainment.
Eldar currently resides in New York City. He cites the likes of Wong Kar-Wai, Gus Van Sant and Tsai Ming-Liang as his influences.
SAMANTHA MANALANG (PRODUCER), a native of Los Angeles, California, has been producing films non-stop since she began film school in 2005. After studying her first two years of film school at Brooks Institute of Photography in Ventura, California, she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film & Video Production at the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles in 2009.
In 2008, Samantha received the 35mm Panavision’s New Filmmaker Grant for her Portfolio Film, CRYSTAL HEARING and was also a recipient of the Kodak film grant as the Director/Producer. She also worked as an Assistant to Ron Berrett, Producer and Director of the film AN AMERICAN IN CHINA. She assisted with acquiring distribution, industry screenings, and the film’s marketing for film festivals worldwide.
Samantha also works as an Assistant Location Manager, securing film permits for major studios and production companies in Los Angele, including: Warner Brothers TV, @Radical Media, Hero Films, Astral Films, CBS/Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox. She recently worked on the TODD PHILIPS’ DUE DATE, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis.
Samantha is a recent graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory, as a Producing Fellow (2011).
JAMES ADOLPHUS (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY), began the first of his many collaborations with Eldar over ten years ago at New York University. Adolphus is a two-time Peabody Award-winner whose focus are stories about social, cultural and political issues of global relevance.
TIME: THE KALIEF BROWDER STORY, a new miniseries for executive producers Shawn Carter (a.k.a. Jay-Z) and Harvey Weinstein, the story of the life and death of Kalief Browder, an American tragedy almost beyond words and CNN's BELIEVER, a new series for executive producer and show host Reza Aslan, a project that follows Aslan as he immerses himself in various religious traditions all over the world, both had their television premieres in March 2017 and were helmed by director of photography, James Adolphus. TIME: THE KALIEF BROWDER STORY enjoyed a World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017.
James continues his collaboration with HBO on REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL as director of photography. Adolphus helped garner a Peabody Award for the segment THE KILLING FIELDS: Hunting the Elephant into Extinction, and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Journalism for the segment UNCAGED: Domestic Violence in the MMA, both in 2016.
THE WARREN, Adolphus' debut project as a film director, had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014 and has garnered international praise. THE WARREN is a short film which illustrates the experience of Palestinian civilians amidst the conflict between their country and Israel.
Adolphus cut his teeth as a cinematographer on Sundance Channel's provocative documentary series BRICK CITY, winner of a Peabody Award in 2009, and has helmed a number of other projects including SECOND COMING for BET, winner of the 2013 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism, and FREEWAY: CRACK IN THE SYSTEM for Al Jazeera America, nominated for a 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism.
Other credits include the feature AUGUST, directed by Eldar Rapaport and ID Channel's HOMICIDE HUNTER, BEAUTY QUEEN MURDERS, and POISONED PASSIONS. Adolphus is cinematography alumnus of the American Film Institute Conservatory and the recipient of the AFI Fisher Fellow Award.
DAVID AU (EDITOR) Born and raised Hong Kong, David, at 18, decided to move somewhere far to experience something different. Cut to University of Wisconsin-Madison, his wishes came true as he discovered the true meaning of cold and his love for theater and film. In 2002, he moved to Los Angeles to study film. There, he wrote and directed his first short film Fresh Like Strawberries, which later developed into his feature film debut Eat With Me (Premiered at L.A. Film Festival 2014). David has also been a film/video editor, editing films, trailers, commercials and music videos. He edited feature films including Eat With Me, The American Dream, August, and documentary feature Bodysex With Betty Dodson. David is currently developing his second feature film Better Company, which will go into production in 2018.
This is David's 3rd collaboration with Eldar, having also edited Steam, and August.