GARTH DONOVAN
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, EDITOR

Boston DIY filmmaker Garth Donovan funded PHILLIP THE FOSSIL, with blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot of metal.  Relentlessly collecting recyclable cans and scrap metal, Donovan made PTF in a green, cost effective manner.  His debut feature, EVERYONE’S GOT ONE was described by the Boston Phoenix as “an edgy mixture of guerilla filmmaking and Andy Kaufman-esque antics” and the National Society of Film Critics named it “New England’s Best Comedy 2003.“  After the administrative director of Boston’s oldest drug and alcohol recovery center, The Hope House, saw Garth’s second feature film which dealt heavily with alcoholism, he commissioned the filmmaker to produce an in depth documentary on the organization.  Currently, Garth is producing a narrative feature he co-wrote with award winning independent filmmaker Alex Karpovsky, directing a documentary on an underground rapper battling with the music industry and personal demons, as well as polishing off a script that he describes as BEFORE SUNSET meets Wong-Kar Wai.

CHRISTOPHER SACHS
PRODUCER

Christopher Sachs approaches film with a guerilla attitude, but studio ambition. He started working in film while at Boston University then broke into the studio system. Working at various levels below-the-line, he learned the industry and craft before teaming up with his producing partner, Matthew Levin, and founding Black Beet Productions. Together, they produced projects of varying length and budget level, from features to advertising. Chris recently concluded his second collaboration with Garth Donovan, the independent feature film Phillip the Fossil. He now lives in Los Angeles, CA and is pursuing an MFA at USC’s prestigious Peter Stark Producing Program.

ADAM ROFFMAN
PRODUCER

Adam Roffman has been the Program Director of the Independent Film Festival of Boston since its inception in 2003. Prior to that Adam directed the short film, THE TERROR OF THE INVISIBLE MAN, which went on to play at 28 film festivals and was acquired by the Independent Film Channel. Adam has also spent the last thirteen years doing set decoration for studio films working directly with directors such as Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Martin Campbell, Ben Affleck, David Mamet, Peter Hedges, and the Farrelly Brothers. Most recently, Adam has produced the independent features WOODPECKER (SXSW 2008) and TRUST US, THIS IS ALL MADE UP (SXSW 2009), both directed by Alex Karpvosky. He currently has four features in development.

TOM SULLIVAN
PRODUCER, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, ACTOR

Thomas G. Sullivan Jr. was raised on a steady diet of cult cinema, cartoons and cereal. A freelance graphic designer based in Boston, his work can be seen in ads, on billboards, on television, as clothing or on the web. This is his third foray into film.

A rolling stone that has gathered moss; in his spare time he enjoys playing with matches, running with scissors, throwing stones while inside glass houses, skating on thin ice, looking gift horses in the mouth, swimming after eating, tossing out babies with the bathwater and jumping out of frying pans into fires.

ADAM SHERMAN
COMPOSER

Artist, designer, composer, and performer Adam Sherman studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and has been nominated for six Boston Music Awards. A founding member of A&M recording artists Private Lightning, his voice, guitar, and songwriting have played central roles in the music of ambient duo Dreamtime9/Translucent, indie rock group The Souls, and his solo career marked by the 2001 release of “Songbird”.

Sherman’s original multi-media performance piece “Plantings” was presented at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, with excerpts staged at experimental performance art spaces Mobius and Berwick Institute. His paintings, drawings, and digital prints have been exhibited at art galleries and museums including Barbara Krakow Gallery, Howard Yezerski Gallery, Tufts University Art Gallery, and Fitchburg Art Museum. He is currently at work on a CD of solo improvisational guitar and voice to be released in 2010

JOE KOWALSKI
COMPOSER

Producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Joe Kowalski studied Music Synthesis at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and later returned to teach in that department. He has played either keyboards or bass in countless bands with performances in the U.S. and Europe, most recently with The Bay City Rollers Featuring Ian Mitchell. Joe’s music has provided the scores for the short films “City of Lost Carts” and “Razz Hands.”

Presently Joe is in the studio working on albums with Larry Banilow, Fünf and his solo project, onlyone (all due for release in 2010), and teaching bass guitar at the School of Rock.

CHRIS O'COIN
ASSISTANT EDITOR, STORY CONSULTANT

Chris O’Coin is an award winning Boston based filmmaker. His first short film, “The Making of Codes” won several awards on the festival circuit and struck a chord with audiences for its satirical take on avant garde film. His background includes a degree in Journalism from UMASS, Amherst where he was in the top ten percent of his graduating class and a two year stint as a TV News cameraman. Currently he bides his time as a freelance editor. His editing credits include work on the feature length documentaries “Our Mockingbird”, “Play In The Gray”, “Choppahead Volume 3”, “Meshuggah Alive”, and “Chip On My Shoulder” as well as the feature length narrative “The Aristocrat”. He has also directed and edited numerous music videos and short films. When he’s not staring at a computer and crafting story he bides his time as vocalist and lyricist of the hardcore punk bands “Wasteland” and “Aerosols” and the folk band “Commons”.