Faculty & Staff

Milena Grozeva Levy has written, produced, directed and edited numerous films garnering awards at festivals around the world. Emily, her 56-minute narrative film, played at the Angelika Film Center in New York as part of the Independent Film Market. She worked at the Cinematics Department at Microsoft. Subsequently, she collaborated with renowned film director Rob Nilsson, editing and creating the visual effects for Presque Isle. Milena also produced the independent feature, Moonlight Sonata. She studied under filmmakers Robb Moss, Ross McElwee and Dusan Makavejev, receiving a B.A. from the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University. Mentored by Emmy-nominated cinematographer Nancy Schiesari and seasoned editor Nick Cominos, she earned an M.F.A. in Radio-Television-Film at The University of Texas at Austin.

Mark Hamer has 25 years of experience working as an animator, artist, and art director in the video game industry. He has worked at companies such as Lucas Arts, Atari, Double Fine, and Telltale Games and has shipped nearly 20 titles. His work can be seen in classic games such as Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, and Brutal Legend, which was featured in the Smithsonian’s Art of Video Games exhibit in 2012. Most recently Mark was the Art Director on an interactive, animated television series for Netflix titled Minecraft: Story Mode. He has a B.A. in Film (Animation) from San Francisco State University and an M.S. in Education with a concentration in Online Teaching & Learning from California State University, East Bay.

Alexandra Lacey is an independent and freelance filmmaker, whose films have screened and been recognized at festivals both nationally and internationally. She has written, directed and edited several short narrative films that focus on women’s stories as seen through the lens of psychology and place, and is in the process of distributing a feature-length documentary, Fiji Memory, Colonial Time, which explores the history and legacy of colonialism in Fiji. In addition, she works as a producer and video coordinator at the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project where she has co-created the multi-media zine (Dis)location: Black Exodus and the award-winning 30-minute documentary Tenants Rise Up: Fighting for Housing Justice in the Bay Area and is a co-founder of Persuasion Pictures. In addition to Alexandra's creative and activist work, she is a passionate educator who has taught and lectured at multiple institutions internationally including current positions in the Film/TV Department at De Anza and in the Cinema Department of City College of San Francisco. She completed her BFA in Film Production and Studies at UC Santa Cruz and her MFA in Film Production at SF State University.

Joshua Losben is an award-winning screenwriter and musician. He was recently selected as a 2019 SFFILM FilmHouse resident, a quarterfinalist for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and a semi-finalist in the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. He is the writer and director of numerous webisodes and short films and was a staff writer on the original half-hour comedy Entitled. Prior to earning his graduate degree, Losben toured the country as a singer/songwriter, independently releasing four albums. In 2008, Losben won the prestigious ASCAP Robert Allen Songwriting Award for his original song “Chop Chop.” He is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Writing for Screen and Television M.F.A program where he was named the Jack Oakie Comedy Fellow.

Joel Abramson’s broadcasting career has taken him to radio and television stations in Texas, California’s Central Coast, and KBLX San Francisco, where he served as the Production Director for 27 years. His interest in media began as a high school student when he was a DJ at the campus radio station and appeared as talent, crew, and producer in television classes broadcast over the local cable channel. Abramson worked his way through college as a radio DJ, graduating from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Radio and Television and earning an M.A. in Theatre Arts from San José State University. He is a certified instructor of Avid Pro Tools and a producer at Ntropic Studio C, producing marketing pieces for some of Silicon Valley's premier companies.

Genevieve Freckelton is an animator with 17 years of experience working in film, television, and games. She began her career as an animator at KPIX, San Francisco. She then pursued her interest in 3D at Mova Studios, working on TRON Legacy and several R&D projects for EA and id Software. She worked as a 3D animator for Animatic Media on the TV series Sesame Street - The Adventures of Kami and Big Bird. Genevieve animated on Arconyx Studios features and continues to consult on projects. Currently, she is sharing her passion for animation and storytelling by teaching. She earned her B.A. in Computer Animation from Academy of Art, and certificates in Character Animation and Creature Animation from Animation Mentor

Warren Haack is a filmmaker who specializes in sound design and post-production services at his studio. He also co-owns Catenary Video Productions, which has produced 15 documentaries on early American railroads. Haack spent eight years working as an editor and sound designer for Harcourt Brace Films in San Francisco before accepting his current staff position in the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University. His most recent film, Santiago Is Santiago, explores the music and dance of Santiago de Cuba, and was shot on location in Cuban streets, homes, and clubs. His documentaries focusing on culture and history have screened worldwide and have won many film festival awards. Haack received his B.A. and M.A. in Cinema from San Francisco State University.

Dennis Irwin is a filmmaker, illustrator, and instructor at De Anza. He received an M.A. in Communication from Stanford University, and his films have won awards in many festivals and competitions. His illustrations have appeared in numerous publications including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, and Fortune Magazine. Former students of his have gone on to successful careers as directors, editors, cinematographers, and writers in the film industry.

Cole Quirk is a screenwriter and playwright from outside of Philadelphia. She received her BS in Crime, Law and Justice from Penn State and attended New England School of Law in Boston. After working in law, her passion for writing led to an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. She also trained in sketch and improv comedy at Upright Citizen’s Brigade NY & LA, Second City Chicago, and The People’s Improv Theater NY. She assisted writers on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), The 100 (CW). Resurrection (ABC), Scream (MTV) and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (NBC). Her play I'm Jennifer Mother F*cking Lawrence which she wrote and directed premiered to critical acclaim in the Hollywood Fringe Festival. She has sold a murder mystery feature pitch to Hallmark and was a staff writer on Justified: City Primeval (FX).

Eduardo Rufeisen is an award-winning filmmaker and educator. His films and documentaries have screened and won multiple awards in the United States, Canada, Germany, England, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Romania, Israel, India, Russia and Brazil. His commercials have been seen nationally on ABC, MTV, Lifetime, WB, and Fox. He was the Director of the School of Motion Pictures and Television at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Rufeisen has a B.S. in Economics from South American University, UNICAMP, a graduate degree in Marketing from the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing in Brazil, and an M.F.A. in Motion Pictures and Television from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Susan Tavernetti, former chair of the Film/TV Department, has written award-winning film reviews and entertainment articles for the Palo Alto Weekly and its sister publications serving the Mid-Peninsula, Marin County and the East Bay. She co-authored the textbook “The Critical Eye: An Introduction to Looking at Movies” and contributed to “American Indians and American Popular Culture,” “Hollywood’s Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film,” “International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers,” the journal “Film & History” and the article “La Représentation des Amérindiens dans un western révisionniste” included in the French Ultimate Collectors Edition Blu-ray of “Little Big Man.” Tavernetti has covered international festivals for Filmfestivals.com and has served on numerous film and screenwriting juries. She appeared in Ken Swartz’s documentary for KRON Channel 4, “San Francisco in the Movies: The Silent Era.” Tavernetti holds an M.A. in Cinema from the University of Southern California.

Christina Wright is a Film Studies & Drama Instructor and Screenwriter. Through her program, Lights, Character, Action!, she works with K-12 students, using film and theater to teach social and emotional learning, leadership development, and global citizenship. Wright also works as a Theater Teaching Artist with the Arts Council Santa Cruz County. She has been published in Edutopia and is currently serving on the Advisory Committee for the Character Education Resource Center at the University of San Diego, the Advisory Board for the Salinas Valley Arts and Innovation Hub and the UNA-USA Monterey Bay Board of Directors, International Film Festival Committee and Youth Education Committee. Wright has a M.Phil in Film Theory & History from Trinity College Dublin and a B.A. in Drama from San Francisco State University.