BIO
Frances Deng
Frances Deng is an award-winning filmmaker known for her sci-fi short Deep Blue, which has been celebrated at festivals worldwide, including the Berlin Short Film Festival, Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, San Francisco Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, and London's International Web & Shorts Film Festival . Her animated short Naked gained acclaim at the Portland Film Festival and won Best Student Film at the Cannes World Film Festival. Frances combines a strong narrative voice with a keen visual style, making her a distinctive storyteller in Sci-Fi genre.
Ziyang Jiang
Ziyang Jiang is an independent producer and video artist with a focus on documentary shorts and narrative-driven editing. With an MFA in Film from California College of the Arts, his work bridges traditional filmmaking and contemporary video art, emphasizing storytelling through meticulous editing and production design. Skilled in non-linear editing and field recording, Ziyang has worked on installations like The Ownership of Onomatopoeia with artist Alison O'Daniel and contributed to events such as Frameline46 Film Festival. His approach merges technical skill with a passion for narrative expression, creating compelling visual experiences across mediums.
Mubarak Haruna
Mubarak Haruna is a Nigerian actor and model, he holds a bachelors degree in Mathematics and Computer Science (Summa Cum Laude) from Saint Mary’s College of California and Associates Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science (Summa Cum Laude) from Merritt College.
Mubarak has been acting in various plays and theatre productions since childhood but his passion for acting was further realized at Saint Mary’s. He had the opportunity to meet Mahershala Ali, his idol and role model who is also an alum of Saint Mary’s. Ali came on campus to debut his new Apple TV series ‘Swan Song’ on campus back in 2021, where Mubarak had the opportunity to have a conversation with him and got expert advice from one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Just like Mahershala, Mubarak also wants to be the second black Muslim actor to win an Emmy.
Ran Xin
Ran Xin is an experienced and passionate cinematographer with extensive industry experience, training, and proven success in cinematography. His narrative shorts have been nominated into dozens of film festivals. He currently runs a Bay Area local production house that serves mostly corporate clients, while filming narrative films on the side whenever possible.