BRYANT T. GRIFFIN (Writer/Director)

Bryant Griffin is an Emmy award winning writer/director based in Los Angeles. He has an MFA in directing from UCLA and is noted for his love of crafting character-based stories that affect marginalized communities. Bryant premiered a feature documentary titled "L.A. Rebellion: A Cinematic Movement" on PBS SoCal for the Artbound Series, in October 2023. Co-directed with Kitty Hu, the film won the LA Area Emmy award in the Education/Information category. The film retells the personal experiences of the UCLA film school's first diverse group of filmmakers in 1969. His first narrative feature film, YOUNG KING, premiered at the American Black Film Festival 2024 and was awarded Best Actor for Vincent Washington. The film was the recipient of the Arri Franz Wieser Grant in 2021 and follows an African American Iraq War veteran who has been refused health benefits as he struggles with PTSD.

Prior to directing, Bryant spent 12 years as a visual effects artist and supervisor at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the world's premier visual effects studio, prior to entering UCLA. During that period, he worked on over 50 feature films and television series, including Marvel Studios' Avengers, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and Pacific Rim. Bryant's VFX clients have included CBS, Amazon Studios, Hulu, Paramount +, Max, FX, Netflix, and Google.

SELENA LEONI (Producer, p.g.a.)

Selena Leoni is a transnational producer with over a decade of experience in film, television, and multimedia. Shaped by her upbringing in Italy and China, Selena offers a unique perspective, fostering a profound understanding of globalized storytelling. With a stellar track record, she has led diverse projects across genres that reached various platforms, including STARZ, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. Notably, her works have earned recognition at prestigious festivals. BIENVENIDOS A LOS ANGELES earned a spot on the Shortlist for the 2024 Academy Awards, while EID MUBARAK received an Honorable Mention on the 2024 Gold List. Her second feature film, YOUNG KING, the debut feature of Emmy-Winner director Bryant Griffin, premiered at the renowned African American Film Festival in June 2024. She is a member of BAFTA Connect, Berlinale Talents, Gold House Futures, and Film Independent Project Involve.

VITTORIA CAMPANER (Cinematographer)

Vittoria is a Los Angeles-based Italian cinematographer who has worked internationally in Italy, France, Norway, China, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. Her work has been showcased in 100+ international film festivals, museums, and theaters, including SXSW, MountainFilm Festival Telluride, and Palm Springs International ShortFest, and has been featured in The New Yorker, Deadline, IndieWire and more. In 2020 she was selected as a Cinematography Fellow for the ASC vision program and Film Independent’s Project Involve. Beyond cinematography, she writes and directs her own films. Her short “DYE RED” won the award for Best Experimental Narrative Short at the 51st Nashville Film Festival and has screened in 30+ international festivals. Most recently, she participated in the Playlab residency in Peru, during which she directed a film shot in the Amazon forest under the mentorship of renowned Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, which is currently in post-production.

KARAM SALEM (Composer)

Karam Salem is an Emmy-nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist based in the US. Originally from Baghdad, Iraq, he is best known for his worldly and versatile approach to film and TV scoring.

Karam’s music has been presented in television series, feature films, web series, documentaries, as well as other visual media and performances. Recently, Karam scored a feature film Young King directed by Bryant Griffin and an Emmy Award-winning documentary L.A. Rebellion: A Cinematic Movement in collaboration with PBS SoCal and KCET. Karam has also scored numerous TV series produced in the Middle East.

Previously, Karam co-scored with Alex Geringas Woody Woodpecker (short TV series) for Universal and Chuggington (Season 6) for Disney Jr. In addition, Karam has written additional music for over 500 episodes of animation TV series, including Trollstopia, I Heart Arlo, Trolls: The Beat Goes On, and Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh.

SINING XIANG (Editor)

Born in Inner Mongolia and raised in a small touristy town near Beijing, it took Sining Xiang many years before he could pursue his lifelong passion for filmmaking. He studied electrical engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and subsequently earned a master’s degree in science from University of California, San Diego. He kept his love for films alive by writing reviews and articles for Chinese magazines and newspapers while working as an electrical engineer in Silicon Valley.

In 2016, he quit his job to enroll in UCLA’s MFA program in film production and directing, from which he graduated in 2020. His thesis film FOREIGN UNCLE, which is based on his experience of coming out to his family and features his family members, won a Jury Award at the 27th DGA Student Film Awards. It premiered on the opening night of the 2022 Palm Springs International Shortfest and went on to win the Best U.S. Student Film Award. It also won FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Short at Cleveland International and Best of Fest at Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival. It also played at Outfest, Out on Film Atlanta, New Hampshire, St. Louis, HollyShorts, and other Oscar-qualifying festivals. It was released on The New Yorker (click on the link to watch) in June 2023.

YOUNG KING

VINCENT WASHINGTON TARRA RIGGS KIRBY GRIFFIN VAUGHN WILKINSON JAMES ARTHUR SIMS

A 1B Production In Association With LITTLE PAWS PICTURES Casting by KARA SULLIVAN, CSA ALONDRIA McCOY Music by KARAM SALEM

Production Designer JULIA TAYLOE Costume Designer KARIS BATTLE Editor SINING XIANG Executive Produced by RICKEY THOMAS JR.

Director of Photography VITTORIA CAMPANER Produced by SELENA LEONI, p.g.a Written and Directed by BRYANT T GRIFFIN