BUNNY RABBIT

PER-C

LIO

BLAIRE

DIRECTOR / WRITER

A native Los Angelena, Alyssa began her career unconventionally as an art historian and archaeologist of ancient Rome. An alumna of Columbia University and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, she decided to pursue her own art instead, joining a Meisner studio and directing a few shorts, which led her to the AFI Conservatory as a Directing Fellow. Her predilection for pitch-black humor, the psychoanalytical and all things macabre compels her toward stories that explore the idiosyncrasies of human behavior—in all of their deliciously explicit glory—through the eyes of those we least expect. MARASCHINO is her seventh film.

PRODUCER / WRITER

A Lithuanian immigrant, Simona grew up in the Bay Area and received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Economics from Lehigh University. Simona’s career prior to breaking into the industry was in marketing and advertising—during which she worked as a copywriter and digital producer on +100 commercial projects and campaigns from Campbell’s Soup to Weedmaps to Salesforce. In 2022, she took her commitment to breakthrough storytelling and bilingual abilities to VICE, serving as a translator during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Galant continues to live within the writer-producer hyphenate as she seeks out stories that reject conformity and embrace discomfort as a means of better understanding the world. 

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Born and raised in Copenhagen, Mads graduated from the Danish School of Media and Journalism in 2016 with a focus on documentary, and the Danish School of Art Photography in 2020 with a focus on cinematography. He refined his skills as a visual storyteller in both documentary and narrative productions at Monday Media and Pineapple Entertainment in Copenhagen, has worked across the world in +20 countries, and has screened at international film festivals in Denmark, Sweden, Australia and the USA. While studying at AFI, Mads is a member of Society of Camera Operators (SOC) and the Danish Cinematographer’s Collective (Film Fotografisk Kollektiv), exploring new ways of crafting stories through moving images.

EDITOR

Originally from Hubei, China, Qiqi “Kiki” Deng now hails from Los Angeles. She loves to tell stories—especially unique tales that focus on feminism and exhibit deep understanding of character. Her work combines complex narrative with bold creativity, gives a voice to those often overlooked, and presents minority cultures in fresh and authentic ways. Before AFI, Qiqi earned her bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Production with a minor in Music from Arizona State University. As an Avid Media Composer certified user, she has worked for several companies like Arizona State University, CRAVE Global, Legacy Pictures, and Faraday Future.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

A Los Angeles native, Danna “Maui” McDonald is a graduate of the Los Angeles Film School, with an associate’s degree in the science of film. She also studied in Rhode Island under photographer Stephen Brigidi and spent two summers at the Santa Monica Playhouse, both performing and studying theater production. Last fall, she served as set dresser for multiple inaugural multicultural shorts for Disney Launchpad’s Incubator Program, interned at both Zoic Studios and Chainsaw Pictures, and served as department head on the award-winning short CHEF. Her most recent gig was prop master for the independent feature KARAGANDA.

COMPOSER

Nate is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter raised in Philly and based in Los Angeles. He has worked with numerous artists, including Black Thought, Freeway, Lil Uzzi and most recently, OmenXIII. In 2011, he joined the United States Peace Corps and served in Botswana, where he recorded and produced musicians from various African countries, and his album Children of Mawa—which he produced, engineered, and performed alongside Berry Heart—was nominated for a BOMU, the Botswanan equivalent of a Grammy. These days, Nate works with Sumerian Records while also producing his own projects, which span all genres. MARASCHINO is his second collaboration with director Alyssa Cody Garcia.