Morgan Ann Hammen
Writer/Director/Producer
Originally from Oshkosh, WI, Morgan Ann Hammen has paved a path for herself as an up-and-coming director in LA. With several films under her belt, she also has experience working on high-profile productions in various positions including The Morning Show, Snowfall, Shameless, Westworld, and JJ Abrams’ latest show Duster.
Most recently and impressively, Hammen worked in development at Stone Village (Station Eleven, Chef, The Lincoln Lawyer) where she was made co-producer on their most recent release, Quebrando Mitos. Adding to her development experience, she completed a development internship at 87North Productions (Deadpool, Bullet Train, John Wick).
Now under the mentorship of Emmy-Winning director, EP, and showrunner Greg Yaitanes (House of the Dragon) and TV director/DGA Diversity Chair, Michael Goi (Avatar TLA, American Horror Story), Hammen has gotten off to a running start in the LA scene.
Educationally, Hammen is an alumna of Columbia College Chicago where she excelled in their top-tier directing program. She was selected for and directed their highly competitive capstone and graduated in only 3 years with high honors making Hammen an alumna magna cum laude.
She’s been endorsed by NATAS executives and Canon who promoted her work on its social platforms. Her latest short Dead Man’s Hand and her film Quebrando Mitos have both found success. Dead Man’s Hand has been screened by some top award-winning filmmakers and it’s won festival awards giving Hammen’s name weight and a strong network. Quebrando Mitos, a documentary about the Brazilian president and extremist Jair Bolsonaro, has been viewed over 1 million times.
Greg Yaitanes
Executive Producer
Greg Yaitanes is a visionary, Emmy-winning director and producer known for his ability to build new worlds through technical ingenuity while preserving his refined artistic aesthetic on-screen.
Yaitanes served as the Co-Executive producer of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of the Dragon,” for which he also directed three episodes including the critically acclaimed season finale. The final episode “The Black Queen” drew in HBO’s largest global audience, surpassing the international viewership of “Game of Thrones.” The series won Best Drama Series at the 2023 Golden Globes and was nominated for Best Drama Series at this year’s Critics Choice Awards.
Prior to that, Yaitanes Executive Produced and Directed “Castle Rock” for J.J. Abrams and Stephen King, as well as for Jordan Peele’s “The Twilight Zone.” Additionally, Yaitanes served as Showrunner, Executive Producer, and sole Director for Netflix’s “Manhunt: Unabomber”, Cinemax’s revered series “Quarry” as well as the rave-reviewed cult favorite “Banshee.” It was his work on the global phenomenon “House” that earned him a Primetime Emmy® Award in 2008 for ‘Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.’ Between “House” and “Banshee,” Greg has led his team to 29 Emmy nominations and six wins. His 30-year career includes a myriad of acclaimed episodes for “The Old Man”, “Snowfall”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Genius: Picasso” “Lost” and the pilot episode of “Bones” which ran for 13 seasons.
Yaitanes is also known for his technological foresight and is a respected name in Silicon Valley. An early angel investor in Twitter, Square, and Pinterest, Greg continues to advise, invest and give talks around the world on his directorial process, the symbiosis of technology & storytelling and his passion for efficiency. In 2015 Yaitanes co-founded and launched the popular clean cosmetics brand Kosas.
Yaitanes currently resides in Los Angeles with his three kids; Van, Leo, and Electra and his fiancé Eve.
Greg Yaitanes
Executive Producer
Greg Yaitanes is a visionary, Emmy-winning director and producer known for his ability to build new worlds through technical ingenuity while preserving his refined artistic aesthetic on-screen.
Yaitanes served as the Co-Executive producer of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of the Dragon,” for which he also directed three episodes including the critically acclaimed season finale. The final episode “The Black Queen” drew in HBO’s largest global audience, surpassing the international viewership of “Game of Thrones.” The series won Best Drama Series at the 2023 Golden Globes and was nominated for Best Drama Series at this year’s Critics Choice Awards.
Prior to that, Yaitanes Executive Produced and Directed “Castle Rock” for J.J. Abrams and Stephen King, as well as for Jordan Peele’s “The Twilight Zone.” Additionally, Yaitanes served as Showrunner, Executive Producer, and sole Director for Netflix’s “Manhunt: Unabomber”, Cinemax’s revered series “Quarry” as well as the rave-reviewed cult favorite “Banshee.” It was his work on the global phenomenon “House” that earned him a Primetime Emmy® Award in 2008 for ‘Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.’ Between “House” and “Banshee,” Greg has led his team to 29 Emmy nominations and six wins. His 30-year career includes a myriad of acclaimed episodes for “The Old Man”, “Snowfall”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Genius: Picasso” “Lost” and the pilot episode of “Bones” which ran for 13 seasons.
Yaitanes is also known for his technological foresight and is a respected name in Silicon Valley. An early angel investor in Twitter, Square, and Pinterest, Greg continues to advise, invest and give talks around the world on his directorial process, the symbiosis of technology & storytelling and his passion for efficiency. In 2015 Yaitanes co-founded and launched the popular clean cosmetics brand Kosas.
Yaitanes currently resides in Los Angeles with his three kids; Van, Leo, and Electra and his fiancé Eve.
Michael Goi
Executive Producer
Michael Goi, ASC, ISC was born and raised in Chicago, where he established himself in the fields of documentaries and commercials. He has directed numerous television shows such as “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, “Big Sky,”, “The Rookie”, “Kung Fu”, “The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina”, and many others. He wrote and directed the viral feature film sensation “Megan Is Missing” about the subject of internet predators, as well as directing Gary Oldman in the film “MARY”. As a cinematographer, he has compiled over 70 narrative credits, including films for cinema and television screens such as “American Horror Story,” “Glee,” “Salem” and “The Town That Dreaded Sundown.” He has received four Emmy nominations for “Glee”, “My Name Is Earl” and two seasons of “American Horror Story.” He was nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Award for the telefilms “The Fixer” and “Judas” and for the pilot “The New Normal” and the mini-series “American Horror Story: Asylum”.
Michael Goi is a past president of the American Society of Cinematographers, served on the Board Of Governors of the ASC, and is the editor of the 10th Edition of the ASC Manual. He is co-chair of numerous committees at the Directors Guild Of America including the Television Diversity Task Force. He was made an Honorary Member of the Indian Society Of Cinematographers (ISC) in 2010 for his efforts to increase international collaboration and communication amongst the world’s cinematography organizations. Michael has appeared as a guest speaker at the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, American Film Institute, the University of Southern California, Walt Disney Animation Studios (for whom he demonstrated ice and snow lighting concepts for animators working on the film “Frozen,”), CineGear, IBC and many other international industry events. He is a member of the National Executive Board of the International Cinematographers Guild, the Directors Guild Of America, the Academy Of Television Arts And Sciences and the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences. He regularly mentors students for various industry programs. And he built a railroad track around his house with trains that you can ride.
Anthony A. DiMaria
Producer
Anthony DiMaria is a producer and director located in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Grand Canyon University with a B.A. in Digital Film Production and a B.S. in Business Management, he started working in the non-profit sector. Following several years of producing and directing brand films focused on fundraising for organizations in South Africa and Burundi, Anthony transitioned to narrative and commercial work.
As creative director at Manley Creative, he produced and directed national commercials, infomercials, and promotional content for Fortune 100 brands. During this time, he also produced the independent film Teenage Badass, which was selected to the SXSW film festival in 2020. In 2022, Anthony left his role as creative director and started his production company Odd Galaxy, where he produces shorts, features, and documentaries.
Anthony A. DiMaria
Producer
Anthony DiMaria is a producer and director located in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from Grand Canyon University with a B.A. in Digital Film Production and a B.S. in Business Management, he started working in the non-profit sector. Following several years of producing and directing brand films focused on fundraising for organizations in South Africa and Burundi, Anthony transitioned to narrative and commercial work.
As creative director at Manley Creative, he produced and directed national commercials, infomercials, and promotional content for Fortune 100 brands. During this time, he also produced the independent film Teenage Badass, which was selected to the SXSW film festival in 2020. In 2022, Anthony left his role as creative director and started his production company Odd Galaxy, where he produces shorts, features, and documentaries.
Sam Shapiro
Producer
Sam Shapiro is a Los Angeles based producer from Watchung, New Jersey. After studying Television, Radio, and Film at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Sam moved to sunny SoCal to pursue a career in film and television.
Since then, he has worked a variety of production jobs on many levels ranging from independent film, music videos, commercials, and studio television, including For All Mankind Season 3 (Sony for Apple TV +) and Hacks Season 2 (NBC Universal for HBOMAX). When Sam is not working, he enjoys going to concerts, playing ice hockey, road tripping, good food and drink, and dogsitting for his friends.
Laavanya Hunt
Producer
Originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Laavanya Hunt is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Cinema Arts and Science with a focus in producing.
Since graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and has now been actively working on numerous productions like Snowfall, Grown-ish, For All Mankind. However, she is passionate about independent filmmaking and attaches herself to indie films as a producer and line producer.
Laavanya Hunt
Producer
Originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Laavanya Hunt is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Cinema Arts and Science with a focus in producing.
Since graduating, she moved to Los Angeles and has now been actively working on numerous productions like Snowfall, Grown-ish, For All Mankind. However, she is passionate about independent filmmaking and attaches herself to indie films as a producer and line producer.
Artie Gonzales
Associate Producer
Artie Gonzales is the creative who almost never was. A juvenile-tried-as-an-adult at the age of 16, he spent 21-years of a Life sentence in the California prison system, eight of which included housing within Pelican Bay’s notorious super-max Solitary Confinement unit. It was here that he evolved past the brutality of his surroundings, as well as the highly political stature he held as a gang leader, committing himself to rehabilitation and non-violence.
Released as a model prisoner by the Board of Parole Hearings in 2015, he then dedicated himself to building a new life. Applying the same acumen and intelligence that helped him survive the inhumane conditions of the prison system, he has become a leader in his community, an advocate for legislative reforms, and a member of several social justice organizations.
After graduating from a Hollywood-oriented workforce development program, ManifestWorks (of which he is a current member of the Board of Directors), he rose through the ranks from production assistant to television Location Scout (Local 399 & LMGI member) to Producer. He currently works in the TV world.
His ultimate goal is full-time, high-level producing. He and his writing partners at Spirit Medicine Productions are currently shopping several ready-to-pitch projects, including a TV Prison Drama, “Lemon Grove,” and raunchy Comedy Feature, “Tres Papas.” Additionally, he is the Creator and Executive Producer of developing series, “Lessons From A Lifer,” which seeks to shift the culture between the system-impacted and society by highlighting universal wisdoms and commonality. He is writing a book of the same name, a collection of lessons in essay form.
Darsh Thakker
Associate Producer
Darsh Thakker is a producer dedicated to the advancement of underrepresented creators, particularly South Asians. Originally from Orange County, he left California to study film producing at Columbia College Chicago, where he earned his BFA. Darsh has developed experience in physical production working on shows for HBO, Comedy Central, Apple, and NBC. In 2020, he cofounded Chaotic Neutral Studios and continues to serve as CEO.
Darsh Thakker
Associate Producer
Darsh Thakker is a producer dedicated to the advancement of underrepresented creators, particularly South Asians. Originally from Orange County, he left California to study film producing at Columbia College Chicago, where he earned his BFA. Darsh has developed experience in physical production working on shows for HBO, Comedy Central, Apple, and NBC. In 2020, he cofounded Chaotic Neutral Studios and continues to serve as CEO.
Avi Zephyra
Associate Producer
Avi Zephyra is a forward-thinking filmmaker, producer, and entrepreneur, interested in the exploration of difficult themes through high-concept genres like fantasy and horror. Since graduating with a BFA in Producing from Columbia College Chicago, he has worked on a variety of films, television, and commercials, for Netflix, Disney, and Peacock. He actively serves as COO for Chaotic Neutral Studios, which he cofounded in 2020.