about us
Maryam Ibrahimvand - Dubai
(Co-Owner/Executive Producer)
Maryam Ebrahimvand, professionally known as Maryam Taher (born May 25, 1991, in Isfahan, Iran), is an Iranian screenwriter, producer, and independent filmmaker.
Education:
-
Bachelor’s Degree in Directing from Islamic Azad University, Iran.
-
Bachelor’s Degree in International Management from Imperial British University, France.
At the age of 18, she made her debut as an actress in the comedy film "Eshgh." In the same year, 2009, she produced her first feature film, a comedy titled Eshgh, which marked the beginning of her producing career. She has since produced several films and television projects, including 1- We Are All Alone, 2- The Last Ten Days, 3-The Time of Return, 4-Lady Sadat. Her directorial debut came in 2013 with the feature film “Boarding house”, a controversial film highlighting the issues faced by women in society, with a focus on addiction and abuse.
In 2015, she directed September 24th, a film portraying the life and martyrdom of Mohsen Haji Hassani Karagar, an international Quran reciter and winner of the Malaysian competition, who tragically lost his life in the Mina disaster in Saudi Arabia. Both “Boarding house” and September 24th were banned by the Iranian government in 2016.
In 2022, Maryam migrated from Iran and directed the documentary Motherhood in Captivity, which sheds light on the lives of imprisoned children in Iran.
Awards:
-
“Boarding house” won Best Film and Best Director at the Global Music and Independent Film Festival, USA.
-
“Boarding house “received Best Film at the Shimla International Film Festival, India.
-
“Boarding house “won the Golden Trophy at the Better World Film Festival in Munich, Germany.
-
Motherhood in Captivity won Best Documentary at the CIFF Toronto, Canada.
-
Motherhood in Captivity won Best Documentary at the Global Music and Independent Film Festival, USA.
-
Motherhood in Captivity received Best Documentary at the Global Student Film Festival, USA.
Frank Cisco “STEEL” Anderson
(Multi Grammy Nominees)
Based in the US, STEEL's story is one of glory & triumph. A survivor of the American crack wars in the 80’s, STEEL was raised, and emerged, from the hoods of Maryland, via the Washington DC Metro Area: the DMV. Second son of a stone mason, and evangelical gospel singer, Sister Erma Anderson, it was hard to get attention in the middle of 4 other siblings, and so STEEL turned to music, and sports, as his outlet. Growing up, STEEL sang in Gospel groups, played some piano, Go-Go and jazz trombone during the school years, while working in construction during the hot southern summers on the Piedmont Plateau. This hard work ethic allowed STEEL to attend George Washington University on NROTC scholarship, which began his legacy in music, with the rap group Dysfunkshunal Family. In between serving, globally, 10 years as a Naval officer, STEEL branched into other genres of music, such as rock, and Caribbean, and upon his release from military duty in 05’, returned home to the DMV, joined the Grammys as a voting member, and started DJ’ing, an indie label, Ellorenz Records, and linked up with a new burgeoning film production company, MJD Productions, and became one of their musical supervisors as well as assistant with the now, world famous, 10 year old, World Music Independent Film Festival, founded by my entertainment brother, Master June Daguiso. So proud of you June, keep up the great work, and helping other dreamers, like ourselves, dreams come true on the big screen! Stay tuned for more. .
Arlyne Spalla is a Mom of 4 from Yorktown, VA. She is a fitness instructor, personal trainer, health coach, entertainer at Busch Gardens, and Actress. She teaches Boot Camp, Zumba, Kickboxing, spinning, TRX, and more. Arlyne works part-time as a counselor/personal trainer for a Bariatric Surgeon. She is a seasonal entertainer at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, where she works on the Howl-O-Scream scare squad and at Christmas Town. She is a L.A.M.P. (Laughter as Medicine Production) actress. They are a comedy/theatre group that performs on stage every 3 months. Arlyne has acted in several June Daguiso short films including, "A Lyon's Heart", "Romeo Must Die", and "Serial Madness." Episode 1 which she won best supporting actress in a short film in 2017. She also has acted in the short films, "Purgatory's Table" and "Raleigh Street UFO." She is passionate about acting and wants to continue to pursue it because of the creative challenge and all the amazing, talented people she gets to meet and work with. Arlyne hosted the 9th annual WMIFF Awards 2017 that was held in the West Caribbean.
