Megan Griffiths - Writer/Director
Megan Griffiths last feature The Off Hours premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals around the globe and secure distribution through Film Movement. Megan won the Carlos Velo Award for Best Director at the Ourense Film Festival in Spain, where the film also took home a Special Jury Prize. The Off Hours also received a 2012 Independent Spirit Award nomination for cinematography. Megan has also worked as a producer on Todd Rohal's The Catechism Cataclysm (Sundance '11) and The Guatemalan Handshake (Slamdance '06 Special Jury Prize) and Lynn Shelton's Your Sister's Sister (Toronto '11, Sundance '12). Megan has previously directed nine short films, including not Waving but Drowning, nominated for a Student Academy Award in 2000. Megan recently directed her third feature film, Eden, starring Jamie Chung, Matt O'Leary and Beau Bridges.
Cast Biographies
Amy Seimetz – Francine
Amy Seimetz grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, and studied film, English literature and art history at FSU and NYU. She has worked in independent film in a variety of capacities for many years. Seimetz has performed comedy along with Ann Maddox as Machu Picchu, performing at Comedy Deathray, UCB, Comedy Store, and the HBO comedy fest in Las Vegas. She has been a producer on several notable projects, including Medicine for Melacholy (directed by Barry Jenkins) and Silver Bullets (directed by Joe Swanberg). As an actress she has appeared in Joe Swanberg’s Alexander the Last (SXSW 2009), Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture (SXSW 2010), David Mitchell’s Myth of the American Sleepover (SXSW 2010, Cannes 2010), Adam Wingard’s A Horrible Way to Die (Toronto 2010, winner "Best Actress" Fantastic Fest 2010), Joe Maggio’s Bitter Feast (LA Film Fest 2010), Megan Griffiths’ The Off Hours (Sundance 2011), and Joe Swanberg’s Silver Bullets (Berlin 2011). She also wrote and directed a feature film entitled City on a Hill, which took part in the 2009 IFP Director’s Labs. She continues to stay busy in all facets of production and has several projects on the horizon as an actress, a producer, and a filmmaker. She is currently directing a new feature film called Sun Don't Shine.
Ross Partridge – Oliver
Ross starred in the critically-acclaimed Duplass Brothers’ film Baghead, released by Sony Pictures Classics after premiering at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. He also recently appeared in Katie Aselton's The Freebie (Sundance 2010). Ross wrote and directed the feature film Interstate 84, starring Kevin Dillon and Clifton James, which was executive produced by Kevin Spacey and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. He is a co-producer on the Duplass Brothers upcoming film Do-Deca-Pentathlon, and was also producer for Trigger Street Productions, most notably on the award-winning documentary film Uncle Frank and the PBS 9/11 documentary America Rebuilds. Upcoming projects include Steven Schardt’s Treatment, Tara Miele's The Lake Effect, Devon Gummersal’s Low Fidelity, and Michael Matzdorff's Feed the Fish, alongside award-winning actors Tony Shaloub and Barry Corbin.
Scoot McNairy – Corey
Scoot was nominated for Best Actor at the 2010 British Independent Film Awards for his work in the critically acclaimed film Monsters, from director Gareth Edwards. His film In Search of a Midnight Kiss, which he both starred in and produced, won the John Cassavetes award at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards. Scoot and his longtime friend and Manager John Pierce formed The Group Films to actively pursue their independent film dreams. Scoot also recently wrapped production on Cogan's Trade, co-starring alongside Brad Pitt, and Argo, directed by and starring Ben Affleck.
Tony Doupe – Stu
Tony was in Megan's 2008 short film Moving and has a long and varied career as a Seattle character actor, with roles in Butterfly Dreaming and Crimes of the Past, and appearances on “Leverage”, “Northern Exposure”, and “The Fugitive”. He recently appeared in Safety Not Guaranteed and Megan's upcoming feature Eden.
Lynn Shelton – Danielle
Lynn has recently gained widespread acclaim for her hilarious and insightful comedy Humpday, which premiered at Sundance in 2009 and has gone on to play in theaters internationally and earn Lynn a 2010 Film Independent Spirit Award. Since Humpday, Lynn has directed a web-series for MTV called $5 Cover: Seattle as well as the upcoming Your Sister's Sister starring Mark Duplass, Rosemarie Dewitt, and Emily Blunt. Lynn is also serving as a consulting producer on The Off Hours.
Gergana Mellin – Jelena
Gergana began her career in Bulgaria as part of the Bulgarian Drama Theater. She also hosted the Bulgarian Cabaret for over 150 live shows. Gergana relocated to the US and has since done multiple independent films and theatre shows in Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York.
Bret Roberts – Ty
Since his film debut in the 2001 blockbuster Pearl Harbor, Bret has portrayed a wide range of characters, from the Nightstalker to Jim Morrison. Recently he has appeared in The Violent Kind and Everything Will Happen Before You Die, which he also produced and the forthcoming 9 Full Moons (alongside Amy Seimetz).
Alycia Delmore - Mandy
Alycia was the third corner of the unlikely love triangle portrayed in Lynn Shelton’s Humpday, and recently appeared in the short film Annie Goes Boating (SXSW 2010) and the feature Late Autumn.
Production Team Biographies
Mischa Jakupcak – Producer
Mischa Jakupcak graduated from The London Film School and has been working in independent film in the Northwest for the past five years. She has worked on over thirty feature films including Late Autumn and The Ward and is currently producing features.
Lacey Leavitt – Producer
Lacey Leavitt is a Seattle-based producer whose credits include Colin Trevorrow's Safety Not Guaranteed (Sundance '12), Todd Rohal's The Catechism Cataclysm (Sundance '11), Dan Brown's Your Lucky Day and two of Megan's short films, Moving and Eros. She is the board president for IFP/Seattle, the Northwest chapter of the nation's largest non-profit film organization. Lacey co-directed and produced the award-winning roller derby documentary Blood on the Flat Track (Strand Releasing) and is now a Rat City Rollergirl.
Joy Saez – Producer
Joy Saez resides in Los Angeles and serves as a freelance producer/line producer for Alter Ego Industries, Inc. and Acquisitions Consultant for Shoreline Entertainment. She produced Annie Goes Boating (SXSW '10) and Some Boys Don’t Leave (Tribeca '10 Winner "Student Visionary Award") starring Jesse Eisenberg (Social Network).
Benjamin Kasulke – Director of Photography
Ben has shot a large number of recent festival favorites, including Humpday, The Freebie, Brand Upon the Brain! and Safety Not Guaranteed. Ben and Megan have been working together in the Seattle film community for nearly a decade. In addition to The Off Hours, Ben also shot two other 2011 Sundance festival selections: The Catechism Cataclysm and The Lie.
Ben Blankenship – Production Designer
Ben designed both Megan’s recent short films Moving and Eros. He has also worked on numerous national commercials and Seattle features such as The Details (starring Toby McGuire and Laura Linney) and Late Autumn (starring Tang Wei and Hyun Bin).
Rebecca Luke - Costume Designer
Rebecca is an expert in the field of sustainable style and the co-founder of the international non-profit Sustainable Style Foundation. She designed the costumes on The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, The Whole Truth, and Megan's 2008 short film Moving. The Off Hours received the SSF Tag, the Sustainable Style Foundation’s seal of approval, due to our efforts to incorporate sustainability into our production model.
Vinny Smith – Sound Design
Vinny Smith is a staple in the Seattle film community. He is a frequent collaborator with Lynn Shelton, working in both production and post on her four features (We Go Way Back, My Effortless Brilliance, Humpday, and Lynn’s most recent as-yet-Untitled project) and two web-series “What the Funny” and “$5 Cover: Seattle.” Vinny also worked on Megan’s short film Moving.
Joshua Morrison and Jeramy Koepping - Composers
Singer/Songwriter Joshua Morrison's debut CD, Home, was handed to Megan at the very early stages of development for The Off Hours and it's rarely been off her playlist since. When The Off Hours was in production in early 2010, Joshua was in active military service completing his final tour in Iraq. This past summer Joshua Morrison became a civilian, leaving behind the rigors of years spent as a green beret and medic. He collaborated with long-time friend Jeramy Koepping (of Grand Hallway and Voyager One) to create the beautiful and haunting score for The Off Hours. Joshua, backed by Jeramy Koepping and Matthew Brown (of Trespassers William), has also just completed his 2nd album BUILDER, a record he started nearly two years ago.
Director’s Statement
The Off Hours has been a labor of love for me for the past seven years. Though it has gone through many incarnations, it was only when the final cast had assembled for the 2010 shoot that the film found its legs. The actors, led by the amazing Amy Seimetz, breathe authentic life into their characters, all while remaining faithful to the tone and style of the script. It is on their shoulders that this ensemble character-driven drama rests, and they bear the burden with humor and humanity. Supported by the gorgeous work of cinematographer Ben Kasulke, production designer Ben Blankenship and costume designer Rebecca Luke, the performances resonate strongly against a bleak and lonesome industrial small town backdrop. I couldn't be more proud of the work of the stellar cast and crew that came together to make this film. They truly justified the years spent making this film happen.
-Megan Griffiths, Writer/Director
A complete listing of the cast and crew can be found at IMDB.
