Cut Off

Writer | Director | Executive Producer

Jowan Carbin was born and raised in California’s Bay Area. As an undergraduate, he pursued the craft of acting and received a BA in theatre with a minor in film from the University of Southern California.
Soon after, Jowan attended Columbia University, where he received a MFA in film with high honors.
Jowan has written and directed numerous short films, but it was his short film Welcome to Life that made Jowan an award-winning director.

 WELCOME TO LIFE:
– Winner of: DGA award

-Best Student Short Film 15 min and under, Palm Springs International; ShortFest

-Regional Finalist for the Student Academy Awards

-HBO Short Film Award

-Second Prize Winner at the San Francisco Black Film Festival;

– Official Selection: Sundance; Los Angeles, Urbanworld; Newport
International Film Festival; Outfest; American Black Film Festival;
Cinematexas International Short Film Festival; and Fort Lauderdale
International Film Festival.

Carol Bidault de l’Isle

Producer

Carol Bidault de l’Isle is an award winning producer, specialized in international motion picture/television financing, distribution, media asset acquisition and management.  She brings with her 30 years of industry experience in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Ms. Bidault grew up in Los Angeles, graduating high school from Westlake School for Girls; earned her Bachelor’s degree from UCLA in Political Science, performed research for her Master’s degree in Paris at l’Institut des Etudes Politiques and La Sorbonne IV.  She is fluent in four languages:  English, French, Spanish and Italian; and is a dual citizen of the United States and European Union.

Ms. Bidault began her career in script development working for the major film studios-Columbia, MGM and Paramount in Los Angeles.  She then worked with renowed independent producers and filmmakers, such as Dino de Laurentiis, Federico Fellini and Sergio Leone; and then branched into distribution and international sales for Vestron, New World and Lorimar Studios.

Ms. Bidault is active in the film community:  She is on the Advisory Board of the New Orleans Film Society/New Orleans Film Festival; Women In Film & Television International (WIFTI) organization.  She recently was named to the WIFTI Board and Producer of the Short Film Showcase; co-founding member of Women in Film & Television International (1997) Women in Film & Television Louisiana (2011), Co-founder of Women in Film (France), a member of Women in Film & Video Washington, DC, and a former board member of “Les Anciens de Science Po” in Washington, DC.

In 2010, Ms. Bidault moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to open the new headquarters of MediaFusion Entertainment, LLC and is currently in various stages of production on over 12 feature films, videos, and documentaries.  Carol’s recent clients and projects have included:   Road to Capri (2014) filming in Capri, Italy; Rodents of Unusual Size (documentary) filming in Louisiana;  Darknet filming in Louisiana; Aha Channel with a catalogue of 1000 titles; Auditor for banks and investors of motion picture productions in Louisiana; Buyer of films and television programs for the Chinese market; Advisor to Washington, DC Independent Film Festival & Market, European Union’s MEDIA program, Organization of American States and Inter-American Development Bank.

Justin Zweifach

Cinematographer

Justin Zweifach was born in New York City, NY and studied film at Wesleyan University. The first short film Justin photographed, Nick Singer’s “February,” was selected for Slamdance 2012. Since then Justin has lensed several shorts with a variety of directors that have garnered success on the festival circuit. The short film “Breaking Night,“ starring “The Wire’s” Clarke Peters, as well as directed by Spirit Award Nominee Yolonda Ross, was recently featured in rotation on VH1’s “Classic Rock Fest Show” as the official music video for Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light.” In 2013 Justin finished the feature film, “Other Months,” which had its World Premiere this year at SXSW. As the cinematographer of that feature, Zweifach was singled out as the true breakout star of the film “the exhilaratingly talented” and the one to watch. The National Board of Review, which honors excellence in film, has also awarded Justin with a prestigious Grant Award.

Sandy Parker

Associate Producer

Sandy Parker has worked as an associate producer and predominately as a script supervisor for the past 17 years.  She is proud to have worked with many award-winning director’s and cinematographers including William Friedkin, Ron Shelton, and Caleb Deschanel, and many incredibly talented actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Lange, and Robert De Niro.  She is a member of IATSE Local 161 in New York.

Ms. Parker studied at Indiana University, where she majored in German with a minor in Theatre.  She spent her junior year at Eberhand Karis Universität in Tübingen, Germany, where she completed the still photography program at Portfolio Center School for Creative Communication Arts in Atlanta.  She was working as a photo assistant and prop stylist in Portland, Oregan when she was offered her first film industry position as Craft Services on a friend’s commercial.

Some notable projects that Sandy has worked on include:  Escape Plan, Now You See Me, Killer Joe, CadillacRecords, and Ugly Betty.

Jay Weigel

Composer

Jay weigel is a distinguished composer, producer, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, and contractor for film, television, music recordings, and concerts.

From 1985 to 1991 Jay was Lecturer of Composition and Orchestration at Xavier University. Jay currently teaches film scoring at Loyola University. He helped organize the Louisiana Composers Guild and served as the co-chairman of the Louisiana Music Commission from 1998-2004. Most recently, Jay served on the Bring New Orleans Back Subcommittee on Culture, then Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu’s Louisiana Rebirth Advisory Board, Board President of the Louisiana Cultural Foundation, and currently serves on the Board of Govenors of the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy. Jay was instrumental in helping craft Louisiana’s Sound Recording Tax Credit program.

Jay owns two music companies, Floating City Music, Inc and Carondelet Music Group, LLC.

His recent scores, soundtrack recordings and orchestrations can be heard in over 50 films including:

Warner Brothers;

Our Brand Is Crisis, Midnight Special, Grudge Match, The Campaign, Green Lantern, The Lucky One, Get Hard, HBO Productions; Little Britain, The Other Woman, The Best of Me

Independent and Documentary Films;

Loving, Camera Store ,Heart, Baby, Cut Off, Hate Crime, Camp Cool Kids, Caged No More, Bullet to the Head, I Love You Phillip Morris, John Kennedy Toole: the omega point, Haynesville, The Rational Middle, Seven Tyler Perry films.

Claire Ambrosio   Production Counsel | Associate Producer