FACE VALUE Project
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OVERVIEW
Production Companies:
Fiscal Sponsor:
Writer/Directors:
Producers:
Pre-production Seeking: 		Back and Forth Films & Ugly Betty Productions, Inc.
DCTV
James & Jeff Israel
Caitlin Cassaro & Amanda Doss
Tax-deductible Donations or PayPal Donations
SYNOPSIS
In Face Value, a foreigner working a mundane corporate job in New York City finds himself questioning his conservative values after meeting a promiscuous woman at a bar.
DIRECTOR'S VISION
Face Value will be shot on location in and around New York City on Super 16mm film in two contrasting environments at night: a restrictive, sterile office and the warm, inviting temptations of a bar. These two settings visually represent the conflicting values of the two characters. As the piece is dialogue driven, the focus will be on the performances to fill the frame and create the mood of the film.
DISTRIBUTION PLAN
Face Value will be submitted to many of the major festivals that premiere short films such as Sundance (US), Tribeca (US), Clermont-Ferrand (France) and Oberhausen (Germany) for 2006/2007. In addition, screenings will be pursued through widely attended and popular festivals, such as South by Southwest, Seattle International Film Festival and Cinequest. Ultimately, cable networks that air short films such as IFC and Sundance Channel as well as Internet distributors like Atom Films will be approached for distribution options.
BIOS
James and Jeff Israel, identical twins, were born in South Carolina and are now are based in Brooklyn, New York. James and Jeff work primarily as a unit on all their directing projects, both narrative and experimental. Their first short film, Back and Forth, screened around the country, including numerous festivals, venues, and a giant outdoor video screen in Times Square.

Their latest short film, The Tourist, recently had its world premiere at the 2005 South by Southwest Film Festival. Other shorts include Terrain Vague, which screened at the Atlanta Film Festival and the Raindance Film Festival; and The Sinking Ship, a short film based on the Staten Island segment of their feature length screenplay, Five Boroughs, which was a Sundance Screenwriters Lab Finalist.

More about James:
James is currently a staff member at the award-winning online independent film publication, indieWIRE. He was previously a staff member at the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF). He has also acted as a script reader for Global Film Initiative, the IFP Gordon Parks Awards, and has screened films for The Tribeca Film Festival.

More about Jeff:
For the past seven years Jeff has worked on features films, documentaries, television series, commercials, and short films. His postproduction credits include: Reading Rainbow for PBS, Little Bill, an animated series for Nickelodeon/CBS, and In Memoriam, an HBO documentary covering the events of September 11, 2001 in New York City. Most recently, Jeff was Associate Editor on the independent feature film Loggerheads, which screened in the Dramatic Competition at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. He is currently working on the ABC comedy Hope and Faith.

Amanda Doss is one of the Producers of Face Value. Amanda has been working in independent film for almost a decade. She is a founding partner of Ugly Betty Productions, Inc. which was established in order to pool talented filmmakers to produce marketable, entertaining and stimulating independent films.

Through Ugly Betty Productions Amanda has produced the feature film, Closer Than the Boy Next Door as well as several short films and commercials. Amanda has worked as Line Producer and UPM on many features including Sarah Jacobson's 1997 Sundance entry, Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore. She has also produced dozens of nationally aired commercials and industrial films; her work includes pieces for Universal Pictures, Procter & Gamble and Mercedes-Benz, to name a few.

Aside from producing, Amanda is the founder of PAN, The Producer’s Action Network; a workshop series geared toward helping producers network, exchange ideas and develop their film projects. She has served as Marketing Coordinator for IFP/New York, has taught producing workshops at DCTV, moderated and coordinated Master Class Workshops for AIVF and teaches a course in producing at the New York Film Academy.

In 2004 she produced three short films: Thirsty, directed by her partner, Bo Mehrad, Lucky, directed by Melissa Berman and Donut Heaven, directed by Annetta Marion. She also produced the debut music video “Arms of a Woman” by Blue Note Artist, Amos Lee. Currently she is in development on two feature films, Diamond Days to be directed by Bo Mehrad and Blue Skies to be directed by Chris Grant.

Caitlin Mia Cassaro is one of the Producers of Face Value. Most recently she co-wrote and produced Thirsty, a short film directed by Bo Mehrad. Caitlin worked as UPM on Quejios, a short film produced by Krush Productions. In addition, she has helped to produce The Game, directed by Todd Faulkner and Ping Pong Love, directed by Bo Mehrad.

Caitlin received her MBA in Media Management from Metropolitan College of New York, graduating in 2002, Valedictorian. She began her career in entertainment with EMI Recorded Music where she developed and maintained first the Production department, and later the International Marketing department for EMI’s Angel and Blue Note Records. Caitlin left EMI to join New Video Group as the Acquisitions and Marketing Director for the company’s dedicated documentary label, Docurama. She has also worked with the Tribeca Film Festival as their Dedicated Industry Liaison and for the IFP Market.

Caitlin continues to work on a variety of short film, commercial, video and DVD projects. Recently, she produced the Norah Jones and the Hansom Band “Live in 2004 DVD” and the Amos Lee Video “Arms of a Woman” for Blue Note Records.