ARE YOU READY TO DANCE WITH US?? 


After the pandemic shut down our production the day before we were supposed to shoot, WISH UPON A DISCO is finally back in full swing and we need your help! 

If you're new to our story, let me tell you a little bit about why I am telling this story:

In my first semester of undergrad, I lost my grandfather. He was one of my favorite people in the entire world and I lost him a few days before I was able to come back home for the holidays. A few months before that, a boy I thought I would be with forever (I was dumb and young, I know!) dumped me on facetime. 
To say that being 18 was a year of first - is an understatement.

But you know what I remember most during that time of my life? For every late-night face time call, phone call and text message the person that was there was my sister.

When thinking of a thesis idea, I knew I wanted something about family. Anyone who knows me knows that my sister is my best friend. The next thing I knew was that I wanted to make a musical.  A disco musical! To really culminate some nostalgia since my grandmother always had a disco radio station playing in the car. 

While at USC, I continued to lean towards creating musicals in my classes and wanted to finish off my time here attempting to make a big film about family and music.My film is close to my heart and I have full faith that it could really be something special.

A team has been assembled, music has been created and images will be made! Now we just need… well… the money.


WHAT WE NEED THE MONEY FOR?

Well, as many of you know I received a grant for this film but it doesn’t cover everything. Some of the production budget was already spent last year but when we had to cancel production there were some things we just couldn't get refunded. 

We also need help making this vision come to life! Most specifically the whole ‘disco’ part. As in, the recording of the disco music and building disco stage (We're creating an entire disco from a black abyss). We are hoping to have our money go towards our Production Design to buy lights, stage pieces, light-up dance floors and disco balls for the ceiling. 

For the music - you would be helping us hire musicians, sound technicians and music producers to mix the music for the film.  


THE TEAM

Anabel Inigo
Director/ Writer / Disco Dancer/ Older Sister/ Miami’s Pride and Joy (I’m trying to sell myself, ok?)  

Anabel Iñigo is a Cuban Dominican woman who was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Anabel learned two things from an early age: that she loved music, and she loved the arts. As a (semi)grown-up, she is a graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts MFA Film and Television Production Program. Her primary focus is creating musical content that is fun for the whole family. At the University of Southern California, she has been granted the George Lucas Scholarship, the Lawson Scholarship for Excellence in Directing, and the Thomas Bush Award. She was given the role of a showrunner in her Comedy sit-com course and has worked heavily in developing skills in writing and directing.

Primarily, Anabel wishes to be known for her comedic and artistic sensibilities. She was one of the students selected to make a thesis film, and is now in the process of developing her thesis film at USC: a coming of age disco musical. Anabel graduated from high school with her associate degree and went on to receive two degrees from Florida State University, one in Creative Writing and the other in Theatre at the age of 21. During her time at Florida State, she co-directed two stage musicals and worked on over 25 student films in collaboration with students at their film school.


Rachel Allen
Producer

Rachel Allen is a freelance video producer and filmmaker who works across film, tv, theater, and live events. She aims to produce media that reveals and uplifts underrepresented communities, ideas, and norms — and is passionate about producing environmentally and socially conscious entertainment that gives back through charitable partnerships. She is currently studying at USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program to hone her development and producing skills. Rachel is experienced in producing a variety of creative including edited content, graphic design, projection design, and on-set video playback. She is accomplished in leading teams of editors and graphic designers through the creative process and has helped establish the creative studio “Z Frame” http://zframestudio.com/. 

Recent film credits include video playback/graphics coordinator for Mainstream (2021) and Promising Young Woman (2020). Recent tv/theatrical credits include screens producer for Amend: The Fight for America (2021), video projection producer for “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” Tour (2018-Present), and projection design producer for PBS Great Performances’ episode Ellis Island: The Dream of America (2018).

Alissa Nguyen
Producer

Alissa Nguyen is a Los Angeles based producer. A LA native, Alissa has always been drawn to the world of film and television. She recently graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a minor in Gender and Social Justice. From taking on leadership roles in University-backed projects and organizations to spearheading her own independent projects, Alissa has found a passion in collaborative storytelling that uplift and/or highlight marginalized or overlooked communities. She’s followed this passion in her current position as Programs Coordinator for Women In Film, a nonprofit organization focused on reaching gender parity in the industry. 

Danielle Mullins
Producer

Danielle Mullins is a Los Angeles-based writer, producer, and editor and a recent Film and Television Production graduate from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Danielle first realized her passion for producing while interning for the production company MadRiver Pictures and for the DGA award-nominated director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum. At USC, she has honed in on her development and management skills by producing the undergrad thesis film "Black Metal" (2020), which is beginning its festival circuit. Currently, she is a production manager for the USC master’s thesis film “Relics” and a freelance animation supervisor. Passionate about science fiction, fantasy, and animation, Danielle hopes to continue to create stories that broaden your imagination and inspire your heart.

Matthew Wilder
Cinematographer

Matthew Wilder is a Tokyo-born cinematographer based in Los Angeles.  He has photographed numerous commercials, music videos, and short films including most recently Magnolia Bloom, which was selected to premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.  Originally working in biochemical research, Matthew transitioned into photography and cinematography after discovering a passion for street photography while enrolled in a course at the International Center of Photography in New York.  Matthew is a recent graduate of USC's School of Cinematic Arts MFA program where he graduated with a faculty award for excellence in cinematography

Nathan Engelmann
Composer

Nathan Engelmann is a composer for film and multimedia with an eclectic musical background. Starting his musical career playing in rock and reggae bands, Nathan went on to receive his Bachelor of Music in classical composition from the University of Oregon. While at Oregon, he composed for a variety of musical groups, including the Grammy award-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. Nathan scored numerous films during his undergraduate degree, and had the opportunity to present film scores at the Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Oregon Bach Festival. Nathan attended the Screen Scoring program at USC, where he received his Master’s degree. He composed for world-class musicians at the finest recording studios in LA, and scored video games, virtual reality, trailers, and award-winning short films. Since then, Nathan has worked with Marcelo Zarvos (Wonder, Fences, Ray Donovan), and composed for Velvet Green Music. Nathan currently works as an additional composer on the CW shows Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, and as a composer’s assistant to Daniel James Chan (Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Emergence).

Juan Miguel Posada
Choreographer

Originally from Medellin, Colombia, Juan Miguel Posada discovered his passion for the performing arts from an early age in his own country. At age 15 he had the opportunity to relocate and study classical dance at the renowned arts boarding school Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. Juan recently graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) as part of the inaugural class, where he studied a career in dance and choreography, with an emphasis in acting. After having the opportunity to star in the role of Bernardo in the famous musical West Side Story at USC, Juan was opened to other opportunities that broadened his artistic focus. Juan has been a semifinalist in the American competitions of Spotlight and YAGP. During his college career he had the opportunity to travel and dance on stages in Tokyo, Los Cabos, NYC, and Los Angeles. Juan has recently danced alongside musical artists like Sam Smith, Demi Lovato, and Kanye West. He has also served as an assistant choreographer for a 2017 Super Bowl commercial, and for a new Apple TV series.  While Juan has deeply enjoyed learning from both concert and commercial experiences, his goal is to unify both worlds and capture his dance style through the camera lenses, bringing it to the TV/Film industry. 

Darren Cohn
1st AD  

Darren Cohn is a writer and director from South Florida. He studied production at the University of Florida, and is currently earning his M.F.A. in Film and Television Production at the University of Southern California. Darren has served as a head writer for multiple comedy web series and has directed dozens of short comedy films and sketches. His passions have always been comedy and science fiction. He grew up on a steady diet of Twilight Zone, Monty Python, and Back to the Future. Darren’s dream is to use science fiction to tell fun stories with heartfelt meanings that audiences can relate to.

Oscar Luján
Production Designer 

Oscar is a industrial designer turned Production Designer. He is based in Mexico City and a co-owner of Sorcery Production Design. He is always looking for adventure and a creative mind who has found his passion in his work. 


THE CAST

Alexis Turner 
Role of Olivia 

Alexis Milan Turner is an actress, singer, and dancer whose determination, ambition, humor, and bubbly personality lights up a room. From Los Angeles, CA, Alexis' versatility, tone, and training allow her to immerse herself into many genres and seamlessly transition vocally between styles such as R&B, Musical Theatre, Pop, etc., or as an actress from Comedy, Drama, Action, etc. without skipping a beat. She is a current student at USC School of Dramatic Arts and Thornton School of Music training with the amazing faculty to cultivate her talents in preparation for her aspirations to be on Broadway and Star in Television and Feature Films. Most recently she could be seen in USC's production of “The Secret Garden” and has previously sang on shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, So You Think You Can Dance, and Conan O'Brien's show, singing backup vocals for artists such as Frank Ocean, Carrie Underwood, Big Sean, Foster The People, A Great Big World, and WALK THE MOON. She is incredibly driven, passionate, ebullient, compassionate, and hopes to inspire others with her work both on and off-screen.

Reina Macias 
Role of Juliana 

Reina is a rising actress and West Coast Singer/Songwriter whose music is unapologetic and raw. Her lyrics and attitude never shy away from the truth, captivating audiences with her beautiful tone and soulful voice. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Reina was heavily influenced by her grandfather, Verdine White, of the legendary band, Earth, Wind & Fire and grew up surrounded by music while training with legendary vocal coaches, Gary Cantona and Seth Riggs. She found her passion for performance and musical theatre at a young age and at the age of 9 studied Method Acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute.

Stirling Bradley
Role of Dad

Stirling Bradley is an English born-American actor. A longtime veteran of stage and screen. His professional career began in 1990 as an activist in Roger Corman’s Watchers II.

Lauren Debrick

Role of Muse 
Lauren Debrick was born in Washington D.C. and began her training in Frederick, Maryland. When she was very young Lauren moved to
Atlanta where she expanded her dance training to include Ballet, Pointe and Jazz dance technique at Decatur School of Ballet, and joined the Decatur City Dance Company as a junior company member. Lauren returned to her home state of Maryland where she
continued growing in the craft of dance making, as a part of the University of Maryland dance department where her focus was modern dance. During that time she trained, and performed with Modern and Contemporary dance companies, which shaped, and influenced her unique aesthetic. Upon the completion of her BA in Dance she moved back to Atlanta where she began a professional career mixed with concert, and commercial dance which allowed her to draw from all of the influences in her background which she now
uses to create her signature style of teaching, choreography, and her overall creative process. Lauren was the 2014 female resident
choreographer at Gotta Dance Atlanta, and the female choreographer for Daryl L. Foster presents LIFT 2014. In 2015 she became Artistic Director of her new company Collective Dance Project (CDP) until 2017 when she moved to Los Angeles to further her career. Here she became involved with Debbie Reynolds Studio now known as Legacy Studios and became not only a studio manager but one of their
instructors. She also worked and Performed with Choreographers such as Tovaris Wilson and Dana Foglia, danced in music videos,
movies and the most recently the a Wal-mart commercial for the 2019 Latin Grammys.

Allyse Gibson
Role of Muse 

Allyse Gibson is a singer and actor from West Palm Florida. After moving to Los Angeles to pursue her music career, Allyse fell into the world of acting and has been hooked ever since. Allyse had studied Miesner technique, commercial acting and Improv at Groundlings. She also brings her singing and dancing talents to film. 

Aja Escalera Gomez
Role of Muse 

Actress Aja Escalera Gomez is a proud Latina and UCLA grad (good thing we’re not filming at USC during football season). Forever channeling Selena and her iconic purple jumpsuit, she’s ready to serve some disco magic as one of the Muses with the wonderful cast and crew of “Wish Upon A Disco Ball”! Her recent credits include the lead in the rom-com short film “Sparring Partners” and Queen Anne in the west coast premiere of “The Three Musketeers”. She also performs Salsa and Bachata at Latin dance clubs around Los Angeles, as well as The LA Bachata Festival, with Bachata Caliente Dance Company.