MARIE ULLRICH
WRITER, DIRECTOR & PRODUCER

Marie is a writer and director living in Chicago.

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Marie studied film at Emerson College and freelanced as an Associate Producer and Art Director in Boston, New Orleans and Nashville before pursuing an MFA in Film Directing & Writing at Columbia College Chicago.

Marie has a deep appreciation for contemporary French cinema and is researching storytelling in French versus American films.

In the summer of 2006 Marie walked 500 miles in 30 days, from the French Pyrenees to the West coast of Spain via El Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

KATHRYN HENDERSON
PRODUCER

Kathryn spent the first 18 years of her life in Michigan on Lakeville Lake. She moved to Chicago to attend the Illinois Institute of Art, where she received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production. Her first large production as the AI’s production coordinator for the Chicago Sketchfest, the largest sketch comedy festival in the country.

In the fall of 2006, Kathryn interned at Ebel Productions, a commercial production company that featured child actors, and later assisted on various commercials for clients such as Wal-mart, Planters, and Dixie Cup.

Kathryn has produced public service announcements, commercials, documentaries and short films. Her films have been in the ILIA FAME show in both 2006 and 2007 and the 2009 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Recently, Kathyn has been brought on as the new producer for Balanced Productions. She is a member of IFP Chicago and Women in Film, and covers scripts for Beverly Ridge Pictures.

TONY SANTIAGO
CINEMATOGRAPHER

Tony Santiago is a Chicago native that turned his life long passion for film into a profession. He attended Columbia College in Chicago, and graduated with a BA in film/video, with a concentration in cinematography in 2004.

Since then Santiago has worked as a camera assistant in Chicago on various projects, which include numerous commercials, music videos, television shows, and both short and feature length films. He has also worked as the cinematographer on dozens of projects including short films, music videos, and television pilots. He currently works at Columbia College, as the lighting technician for their new state of the art sound stage, in addition to guest lecturing in various cinematography classes, and serving on the cinematography concentration committee for the college.

JENNY STRUBIN
Jasper Wills (lead)

Jenny Strubin graduated from the School at Steppenwolf in 2006. Jenny is an ensemble member of Rivendell Theatre and has worked on Rivendell productions of Self Defense (understudy), Fighting Words, and Psalms of a Questionable Nature. Other credits include Voices Under Water with Serendipity Theatre, Columbinus with Raven Theatre, Steal Away Home and The Diary of Anne Frank for a Theatre for Young Audiences Program. Most recently, Jenny battled zombies in Wildclaw Theatre's The Revenants. Jenny has also appeared in tv and film, including ER and Amityville Horror.

CHRIS POMEROY
Paul Sherman

Chris Pomeroy is thrilled to be making his film debut in Faster. His past theatre work includes Cassius in Julius Caesar, Alonso in The Tempest, Tranio in The Taming of the Shrew (Fox Valley Shakespeare Festival), and a stint at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA, where he worked as both a resident director and actor. Chris is a founding member and artistic director of Reverie Theatre Company, where he directed seven productions, including The Cherry Orchard, The Game of Love and Chance, Emma, and Wintertime. This summer, you can catch him as Prospero in Bohemian Theatre Ensemble’s production of The Tempest (more info at www.bohotheatre.com). Chris also has a musical project called The Lonely Neighbors; you can find out more at www.myspace.com/thelonelyneighbors.

ERIC HOUTZ
EDITOR

Eric currently works as an editor at Cutters, a commercial post-production house in Chicago, working on such diverse accounts as Samsung, Safeway and the Chicago White Sox. He developed his filmmaking chops through the MFA program at Columbia College Chicago, where he wrote, directed and edited several short films.

Eric has a passion for narrative and continues to seek out film work beyond the advertising world. He edited Stephen Cone' s Young Wives, which became an official selection of the LA Shorts Festival. Now his most recent work on Faster! is also making the festival circuit with acceptance into both the BFI London Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival.

Although Eric made amusing little videos with his friends back in high school using the now retro format of VHS, he wasn' t always focused on a career in filmmaking. He pursued the vocation of teaching utilizing his areas of expertise in both fine art and literature. He also spent a few years in human services working with special needs children in a group home setting. He hopes these pursuits made him more well-rounded and gave him insight into the human condition, which is a crucial element in the art of storytelling.