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Instructors

Virginia Bogert

Bogert has written, edited, directed and produced award-winning film and video for over 21 years, ranging from feature film and commercials, to corporate image, documentaries, and programming for public television. After three years as lead producer of a top media production agency in Seattle, she launched Laughing Dog Pictures, LLC in 1993 (laughingdogpictures.com). Bogert’s credits include: "Pike Place Market: Soul of a City", which garnered four Emmys, a Telly, and a Nell; commercials and PSAs which have broadcast nationally and internationally; her documentary "Fields of Plenty" which also screened at several environmental film festivals; and her narrative short, "Tootie Pie", an Official Selection of Seattle International Film Festival 2006 (tootiepie.com). Bogert was also selected as a SIFF Fly Filmmaker in 2006 directing "The Delivery (deliverymovie.com). She holds a B.A. in English, an M.A. in Communications from NYU and is acting president of Women in Film/Seattle. She also curates the Post Alley Film Festival.

Rebecca DeGeorge

DeGeorge has edited documentaries, commericals and dramatic and educational videos, including the Emmy-award winning "FAS Quiz Show". She cuts in Final Cut Pro, Media 100 and Avid, and has extensive experience as a post-production supervisor.

Maria Gargiulo

An Emmy award winning producer-director, Gargiulo is a media switch hitter-- as likely to direct a drama as a documentary. Her 1-hour television pilot, The Collectors, was named Best Drama at LA's ITVFest. Garments for One Another, a documentary on Islam and domestic violence took her into Muslim homes and mosques. Other credits: The Year of My Japanese Cousin, a post punk comedy; Got 2 Come Up, a drama dealing with gang violence; The Meaning of Food; a PBS mini-series on America's multi-ethnic cuisine; and America's Most Wanted, a prime time staple. Her producing has taken her to Japan, Korea, China, Sweden and India. An MFA graduate of Stanford University and the American Film Institute, Gargiulo was the first recipient of the Nichol Screenwriting Fellowship.

Drew Keller

Drew Keller is an award-winning television producer, editor and educator with experience in documentaries, network prime time specials, special events, national advertising, multimedia and children's programming. Keller is currently in production writing and editing for the PBS Series BizKid$ and is a staff editor and production supervisor for Microsoft Studios. Recent independent projects for broadcast include editing for the PBS documentary series The Meaning for Food (2006), the cable series Inter|Face (2006) and the cable series The Coderoom (2006). Other recent projects include concert videos for David Byrne, Alanis Morissette, and Janet Jackson. Mr. Keller has twelve years experience teaching media theory and production. He is currently teaching in the Graduate School in the UW School of Communication and at the University of Washington Extension.

Lance S. Rosen

Lance S. Rosen has a broad range of experience in the many industries that produce and deliver arts, entertainment and information, in all formats and media. He was founder and President of Dapple Gray Productions, a screenplay development company under contract to The Disney Channel, and prior to that served as Director of Business & Legal Affairs for The Disney Channel. He was Vice President for Creative & Business Affairs for Clear Blue Sky Productions, and Senior Advisor to Experience Music Project. A member of the Washington, Oregon, and California bars, he practices entertainment law at Rosen Lewis, PLLC in Seattle.

Cheryl Slean

Cheryl Slean began her career in Los Angeles theater, writing, directing and acting in dozens of plays, producing festivals and running companies such as the Padua Hills Playwrights. She moved to Seattle to complete a UW MFA in fiction, and began publishing stories and directing independent films. Her shorts have screened at festivals across the country and in Europe and broadcast on public TV; THE ART OF WAITING won a Golden Knight award for best short at the Malta International Film Festival. Her most recent film DIGGERS received the IFP/Seattle Spotlight award and premiered at SIFF 2007. In September, a new play premiered in SITE Specific, a festival of new work she co-produced at Seattle U. Cheryl has taught writing at the University of Washington, Seattle University and the Hugo House. For more information, see these links: Diggersthefilm   Seattle Times Article Offbeat theatrics  Seattle Times Article Open-air plays.

Laszlo Pal

Pal is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been recognized internationally. He won Emmys for directing the dramatic feature length film "Journey to Spirit Island", and the PBS documentary "Sailing the World Alone". Pal's work includes hundreds of commercials and corporate films and numerous feature film credits as director of photography. Pal is a graduate of the Cinema Department of the University of Southern California, and holds a master of fine arts degree in film production from the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Director's Guild of Canada, and holds the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle Award for lifetime achievement.

Ben Saboonchian

Saboonchian, Senior Documentary Producer for KIRO-TV, CBS in Seattle, has written, produced, directed and edited hour-long prime time documentaries, news specials and public affairs programs for 29 years. In 1992, Saboonchian's documentary, “When the Salmon Runs Dry,” received the most prestigious award in television, the George Foster Peabody Award. Saboonchian was also awarded the coveted Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award Silver Baton in 2002 for his documentary, “Why the Orcas of Puget Sound are Dying.” In 2003, Saboonchian’s “War of the Woods” received first place for outstanding documentary from the National Headliner Awards. His body of work includes 42 documentaries for which Saboonchian has won 66 awards, including 16 Northwest Chapter Emmys, 4 regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and 26 first place awards in regional and national competitions.

Instructors are subject to change.