UNLIMITED
FILMMAKER BIOS
ANDREW LUIS
Andrew Luis, son of Filipino immigrants, was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised on Staten Island. He studied filmmaking and screenwriting at NYU.
Andrew has worked in all aspects of filmmaking. He served as festival coordinator for the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City. He has acted in a number of indie features. He produced the award-winning feature, SLOW JAM KING, directed by Steve Mallorca. He served as director of photography on numerous projects, including tape pieces for the Main Event Boxing Series at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ and the cult film, MOUTH BABIES, which is currently making festival rounds. He has also directed a number of shorts and music videos. His most recent short, UNLIMITED (directed with Katherine Nolfi) was an official selection at the 2009 SXSW film festival. For the past five years, Andrew has been working at NYU's film department, where he has been able to sharpen and hone his craft.
Andrew deeply appreciates the collaborative aspects of filmmaking. He often works with like-minded film makers who are committed to creating films that depict the experiences of often over-looked members of society: people of color, women, immigrants and the underprivileged. He is currently in pre-production for a project on the potter’s field in New York City.
UPSTATE directed with Katherine Nolfi, is Andrew's first feature film.
contact: drewluis@gmail.com
KATHERINE NOLFI
Katherine Nolfi is an independent filmmaker based in New York City. She has directed several short films, including UNLIMITED (directed with Andrew Luis), an impressionistic evocation of nighttime New York as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese immigrant as he attempts to cobble together an existence selling the cast-offs of others. UNLIMITED screened at numerous film festivals including SXSW. Other work includes MOUTH BABIES (directed with Lisa Duva), an experimental horror film that explores deep-seated fears of pregnancy and PALMS, a reflection on the loneliness and isolation that is Los Angeles.
Katherine is currently in post-production on her first feature film, UPSTATE (directed with Andrew Luis), a lushly photographed and subtly moving examination of three people wrestling with questions of adulthood, sexuality, loss and regret as they struggle to find a more honest and genuine connection with one another. The result is a romantic triangle played out as a sweetly psychedelic fever-dream of antiquing, omelet preparation and alpacas.
Katherine is also producing Lisa Duva’s feature directorial debut, CAT SCRATCH FEVER, a madcap romp following two young women’s adventures in their own alternate universes. Ultimately a metaphor for the countless possibilities modern life and modern technologies present us. CAT SCRATCH FEVER begins shooting in Summer 2010.
A strong believer in collaboration and group effort as a means for socially and economically underrepresented people to enter the American independent film world, Katherine works predominately with two filmmaking collectives, Ground Glass Film (Andrew Luis, Melanie Pimentel) and Femluck (Jennifer Fox, Lisa Duva). Both groups pool resources and engage in critical salons in an effort to produce work featuring diverse cast and crews working on uniquely open and cooperative productions.
contact: katherine.nolfi@gmail.com