About Suspension
What would you really do if you had the power to stop time? Suspension delves into that question by combining elements of science fiction, psychological thriller and classic Hitchcockian suspense. The story unfolds as Daniel loses his wife and son in a car accident. While slowly recovering from his injuries, he rebuilds his son’s video camera, which was damaged in the crash. Infused with power from the moment of the crash, the camera develops the ability to stop time when Daniel presses the pause button. This discovery restores Daniel’s sense of purpose, and he fills the vacuum in his life by taking responsibility for another victim, Sarah, a newlywed who lost her husband in the same accident. But Daniel’s good intentions shift as the power begins to change him irrevocably...
Suspension is the first feature from easyAction pictures, a collective owned by directors Ethan Shaftel and Alec Joler, writer/producer Aris Blevins and producer/assistant director Kevin Obsatz. It was filmed in Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City, Kansas, with an incredible level of support from the Kansas Film Commission. The cast is regional; the crew is one-third local, one-third from Los Angeles and one-third from the independent film community of Minneapolis.
To learn more about Suspension and to view the trailer, click here.
About the Guests
Ethan Shaftel '02 (director, producer) made video games and short movies as a teenager in Kansas, and had received filmmaking honors from the American Film Institute before being awarded a scholarship to the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Graduating with honors in 2002, he was hired to direct a series of games for Hasbro. Royalty money from the games was the seed investment for Suspension, his first feature.
Alec Joler (director, co-cinematographer) is a filmmaker, animator and painter whose work has screened at festivals across the country and has been exhibited in the Cochrane Gallery in Washington, D.C.. Alec studied at the C.C.A.C. in Oakland and was part of the Fox Searchlab young directors program.
Aris Blevins '02 (writer, producer) was raised in Milwaukee and is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Suspension is his first produced screenplay, but a feature script, Dark, is currently in development. Blevins has produced several short films, one of which won the Sundance Film Festival Online Competition in 2003. He is the co-owner of team A design.
Kevin Obsatz '01 (producer, assistant director) grew up in Minneapolis and worked at a local public access station in high school before receiving a full ride to the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His shorts have screened at festivals and on PBS television, and he received an IFP Access Grant in 2001.
Annie Tedesco (actor, "Sarah") trained with The Groundlings and is a member of a prominent theater group that produces original works by local playwrights. She has also starred in numerous national commercials, including ones for AOL, Dr. Pepper, Burger King, Chase Bank and CareerBuilder.com.
Hillel Aron '01 (editor) grew up in Los Angeles and studied film at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Hillel directed several short films and a documentary before focusing on music videos. He has edited music videos for The Ponys, The Lamps, The Black Lips and The A-Frames, and has also worked extensively in game design for Hasbro. Suspension is his first feature as editor.
Meg Decker '02 (editor) grew up in Utah, studied art at Carnegie Mellon and then film at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She cut several award-winning shorts and trailers, and worked on national commercial campaigns for the likes of Mazda and Best Buy. Decker’s first feature project was the music documentary Punk Like Me, which premiered at the 2006 South by Southwest Film. Suspension is her second feature as editor.
Kevin Roach '01 (sound designer) hails from the Boston area and attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He started working in sound there as teaching assistant and mixer of student films. Currently, Roach is a sound fx mixer for Technicolor Sound Services Hollywood. He is currently working on the television shows Ugly Betty, True Blood, Swingtown and Dexter.
Check-In and Reservations
This screening is presented free of charge and is open to all USC students, faculty, staff and alumni. The theater will be overbooked to ensure capacity and the RSVP list will be honored on a first-come, first-served basis, with no reserved seating. Please bring a photo ID or printout of your reservation confirmation, which will be automatically sent to your email account upon successfully making an RSVP through this Web site. Check-in will begin at approximately 7 p.m.
Parking
Parking passes are available for Parking Structure D and Lots M and V (across the street from the George Lucas Building) for $8. You must pull into Gate 5, located at the intersection of McClintock Avenue and West Jefferson Boulevard, and purchase your parking pass with the booth attendant. Street parking is also available along West Jefferson Boulevard.About the Alumni Screening Series
To view the full schedule of films for the series, click here.
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