Louis Affortunato: Writer, Producer, Director, Executive Producer

Louis Affortunato is a filmmaker who studied film production at Hunter College and The City College of New York. He has written, directed and produced several short films.
Louis became interested in filmmaking while still in high school. His past short films include The First Page (2005), which featured an overworked writer terrorized by constant telemarketer calls and The Evaluation, which took home the Best Sci-Fi Award at the 2007 Staten Island Film Festival. In addition to writing and directing, Louis has also worked as an editor on the films Still For Now (2008) and The Bronx Balletomane (2008), starring Federico Castelluccio (The Sopranos). The films have gone on to screen at various film festivals.
The Welcoming marks Louis’ third film as writer, director.

John T. Trigonis: Director of Photography

John T. Trigonis is a founding member of Nothingman Productions, a widely published and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, and an independent filmmaker. His filmography includes Cunnigula (2001), The Coconut, which screened at the Wildwood by the Sea, Indie Can, and Rockport Film Festivals in 2007, The Hotel Edwards (2003), Perfekt, which screened at the Indie Spirit and Staten Island Film Festivals in 2008, Something About Ryan, a TV pilot, and Speed Musing (2009). Trigonis has also directed a controversial version of Titus Andronicus and a science fictionalized version of Antony and Cleopatra for the Hudson Shakespeare Company, a regional theater troupe based in New York and New Jersey.
When not immersed in the writing of new poems and screenplays or shooting another of his short films, Trigonis keeps busy teaching creative writing and humanities courses at various universities across New Jersey.

Darylanna Benavidez: First Assistant Director/Script Supervisor

Darylanna Benavidez is new to production, but since May 2008 she has worked on four productions; Something About Ryan, Withdrawal, The Welcoming, and Speed Musing. She is currently working on a 30 minute short entitled Passengers of 7D.
Something About Ryan marked her foray into the world of production. She was on set as an observer, but was quickly made a part of the crew. Despite not being present for the pre-production and scheduling, she was given credit as the production’s Assistant Director due to all of the work she did. Something About Ryan opened the door for her and she soon found herself working on other productions such as The Welcoming. Although she received her Bachelors in Writing, film has always been a passion of hers. Currently, she is in the process of writing her first screenplay for a short she hopes to shoot within the next year.

Gregory Colletti: Production Manager, Sound Recordist, Executive Producer

Gregory Colletti is a founding member of Triple ACE Productions, a camera operator, and a teacher. His background is multifarious. He attended Babson College, a business school with a strong focus on entrepreneurship. While studying at Babson, he began working for the Media Services department where he recorded live interviews with CEOs such as Jack Welch and Arthur Blank. He also learned the ins and outs of the technical side of live production, running lights and sound for many events as well. These events piqued his interest in the world of production; and in the summer of 2004 he and his former high school classmate and good friend Louis Affortunato founded Triple ACE Productions, LLC. After college he took the skills he learned both in his classes and on the job and put them to work for the company. He provided video services for Vera Wang, Sting, and Marshall Tucker Band, to name a few.
Overall he has over five years of experience in managing and running productions. Recently, he has been working with the District Attorney’s office trying to impart that knowledge to high school students who think that they may want to go to school for film or broadcasting. This young group is aptly named the DA Producers. Currently, they are in pre-production on a Public Service Announcement about Drinking and Driving.

Juan Loney : Casting Director

Juan Loney is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater fromMilikin University, Decatur, Illinois, and a Master of Fine Arts in Film, Media & Communications from City College of New York, New York City. He also attended a one-year workshop with Third World News Reel, which is based in New York City. He has produced and directed numerous stage plays such as Brilliant Traces, God is a Puerto Rican, The Lonely Hearts Club, and the one-woman show, Trudy. He has also written and directed two short films: 6 Past Midnight and Falling to Heaven. His producing credits include Virgins, Still For Now, and the documentary Athena. Also Juan, alongside his business partner Johnathan Chan, has recently started a Multimedia Production Company, Thousand Mile Journey Entertainment, Inc. Currently, he has a project in development that is based on the life of Billie Holiday.