ILYA CHAIKEN - Writer/Director

LIBERTY KID is the second feature written and directed by Ms. Chaiken, whose acclaimed debut feature MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR premiered at Sundance 2001 and proceeded to such prestigious festivals as Los Angeles and Toronto before receiving distribution from Wellspring. She returned to Sundance in 2004 with the comedic short "The 100 Lovers of Jesus Reynolds". Chaiken first received attention for her short films: "The Actress," and "Match Flick," and was granted a Statue Award for artistic excellence in film from the Princess Grace Foundation. She studied filmmaking at SUNY Purchase.

LARRY FESSENDEN - Producer

Larry Fessenden is the writer, director and editor of the award-winning art-horror movies HABIT, NO TELLING, and WENDIGO. His most recent film, THE LAST WINTER, starring Ron Perlman, Connie Britton and James Le Gros, premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. As a character actor Fessenden has appeared in numerous films, including Neil Jordan’s forthcoming THE BRAVE ONE, Jarmusch’s BROKEN FLOWERS, Scorsese's BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, and Buscemi's ANIMAL FACTORY. Fessenden stars in HABIT, and the Sundance pictures MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR (Ilya Chaiken) and RIVER OF GRASS (Kelly Reichardt). Since 2003, Fessenden has been a producer on various projects including Ilya Chaiken’s forthcoming LIBERTY KID and Douglas Buck’s remake of DePalma’s SISTERS. Under his low budget horror banner ScareFlix, he has produced Ti West's THE ROOST, and TRIGGER MAN, and James Felix McKenney's THE OFF SEASON and AUTOMATONS. The Scareflix Fall 2006 slate includes Graham Reznick’s I CAN SEE YOU and Glenn McQuaid’s I SELL THE DEAD. Fessenden has operated the production company Glass Eye Pix since 1985, with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts.


MIKE S. RYAN - Producer

Mike began working in the New York film industry as a location manager for directors like Ang Lee, Todd Haynes, Roland Emmerich, Jim Jarmusch and many others. He began producing in 2003 for Todd Solondz’s PALINDROMES. His next film, 40 SHADES OF BLUE (by Ira Sachs, starring Rip Torn) won Best Film at Sundance 2005. Amy Adams won Best Actress at same festival for Phil Morrison’s JUNEBUG; Amy was subsequently nominated for Academy Award, making JUNEBUG the lowest-budget feature ever to be nominated. Ryan recently produced Hal Hartley’s FAYE GRIM, served as Production Manager on Tamara Jenkins’ THE SAVAGES, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, and executive produced OLD JOY by Kelly Reichardt (winner: Rotterdam Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival.) Upcoming projects include Todd Solondz’s next feature and the Iggy Pop biopic THE PASSENGER.


ROGER E. KASS - Producer

Roger E. Kass is an independent movie and television producer, producer’s
representative and entertainment lawyer. He has been in the motion picture business for more than fifteen years, having started in the industry as legal counsel to both Miramax and New Line Cinema in the early 1990’s. Kass has been credited on more than three dozen independent films and in the course of his legal career has represented Ed Pressman, Alex Gibney, Good Machine, Hal Hartley, Nisha Ganatra, Nick Gomez, David Rabe, David Gordon Green and many others. Mr. Kass is an Executive Producer of David Cronenberg’s Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Kass is also a Producer of EDMOND, based on David Mamet’s play and screenplay and starring William H. Macy and Julia Stiles; Co-Executive Producer of Ric Burns’s, ANDY WARHOL: A DOCUMENTARY FILM; Executive Producer of Nisha Ganatra’s award-winning CHUTNEY POPCORN and Consulting Producer on EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS: HOW THE SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK 'N ROLL GENERATION SAVED HOLLYWOOD, based on Peter Biskind’s bestseller.

As a producer’s representative, Kass handled worldwide sales of Sundance 2005 Grand Jury Prize winner 40 SHADES OF BLUE, Sundance Special Jury Prize winner TV JUNKIE, 2006 Sundance Special Jury Prize winner IN BETWEEN DAYS, THE ROOST, THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX, ROMANTICO and UNKNOWN WHITE MALE, among many others. Kass’s current producing slate includes BUTTON MAN: THE KILLING MAN, in development at DreamWorks and Ti West’s, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL. Kass is a longtime member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Theater Company in New York, founded by David Mamet and William H. Macy in 1985.