The World of Film

Although I use this blog and website to share information about my book Shattered Triangle, I also want to acknowledge the other forms of art that enrich our lives and our world.

Last week I shared information about some young musicians, three from the United States and one from South Africa. Today, I want to identify two talented filmmakers. Although this level of craft and ability can be found in film schools around the world, it turns out that both of these artists are graduates of the University of Southern California.

Forget the blockbuster Hollywood films. They may be fun, some of them may be good--even very good. But there is more to cinema than blockbusters. Here are two of the young filmmakers of today. Hopefully, they will also be around tomorrow.

John William Ross is a writer and director. John's films tend to delve into the deeper recesses of the psyche. Working in a different genre from the tired and silly modern horror films, particularly zombie movies, John gives his viewers the opportunity to examine their own psychological responses to life's situations, both imagined and real. This is terror genre worth watching. Forget the question WWJD. Instead, ask yourself what you would do. Maybe we should be slower to condemn people who seem a little off. Maybe some people really do see things the rest of us don't. Jon is the writer/director of the award winning Things Are Really Insane.

Christophe Nassif made his mark on USC a few short years later. Specializing in sound and directing. Christophe received a nomination from the Motion Picture Sound Editors for his supervising work on the award winning, The Maiden and The Princess. He won Outstanding 1st Time Director from the DC Shorts Film Festival for What to Bring to America, a poignant drama of an Ethiopian woman confronting the time for her daughter's female circumcision. Follow Christophe @twittophe.