Joel Benjamin
Director / co-Producer / story
Transplanted to Chicago atop rampaging bison from northwest Iowa, Joel Benjamin is an animator and film maker of both short and feature-length animated films. Most of his time is spent working on moving things around pixel by pixel and developing carpal tunnel.
Joel started the minuscule but Emmy-Nominated Motion Graphics company Electric Beard Studios and works as a motion designer on corporate, commercial, and independent projects. He is also adjunct faculty of both SAIC and DePaul University teaching 2D and 3D animation. Most of his time is spent working on moving things around pixel by pixel and developing carpal tunnel.
Brad Riddell
Co-Producer / Script
“I’m a Chicago-based WGA screenwriter who has written feature films for Universal, Paramount, and independent producers. As an award-winning director, my work has been featured in film festivals across the United States and around the world. I am now a tenured screenwriting professor at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts in Chicago, and co-founder of Wry Mash Media.”
Photo by Prion Photography
Arti Ishak
Voice of Octavia
Arti Ishak (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and community organizer, recently named a 2020 3Arts Make A Wave Artist. They are currently a Directors Inclusion Initiative Fellow at Victory Gardens Theatre. They are currently on the ETC stage at The Second City in The Best Decision You Ever Made, other acting credits include KISS (Haven), Venus in Fur (Circle), Witch (Writers), Buried Child (Writers), Men on Boats (American Theater Company), Fantastic Super Great Nation Numero Uno (The Second City). TV: Chicago Med (NBC). Arti is staff with The Chicago Inclusion Project, an instructor at Black Box Acting, a reviewer at Rescripted, and an organizer with SWANASA Central. They are represented by Paonessa Talent Agency.
Antonio Rodriguez
Voice of Heulfryn
Antonio L. Rodriguez is an actor, teaching artist, singer, writer, and queer human of earth who gives architecture tours on the Chicago River in his spare time and fathers a 9.5 pound dog named Petey. Antonio graduated with his MFA in Acting in 2021 from The Theatre School at DePaul University and has since joined his alma mater as an adjunct professor, as well as co-directing for Shakespeare & Company’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare in Lenox, MA last fall. He recently directed his first short film, Coat Check, and has spent his time since graduation establishing collaborative relationships with like-minded artists for future passion projects. He has been a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association for six years.
DEPaul Bluelight Class
Winter 2021
DePaul University has a unique opportunity for students and faculty called a Bluelight Project, where students take a class to produce an animated film written by faculty within the School of Cinematic Arts. Students will work as crew under supervision of faculty members heading each of the various production areas. The goal is to work towards a completed animated digital motion picture suitable for festivals or distribution.
In Winter quarter of 2021, Director Joel Benjamin led a Bluelight class where 23 students begin simultaneously pre-production, production and post-production for Max Q. Most of the creature designs, many of the ship and prop designs, and a portion of character and creature animation was finished during this 10-week period.
The remainder of the film production is primarily being done by Joel Benjamin while we continue to apply for grants to hire especially animators!
