Melissa Boratyn
Director/Editor/Writer

Melissa Boratyn made her directorial debut with Ginger. She brought an honest portrayal of her experience as a young woman with breast caner to the big screen. Ginger was the third feature film Melissa edited, following Carmilla and The Giggles. Carmilla has won several awards, including a best feature nomination at Cinema Soup Film Festival and official selection from CIMM Fest, the Indie Gathering International Film Festival. Melissa was nominated for the best editing award from the London International Filmmaker Festival for World Cinema for her work on The Giggles. She earned a BA in International Film and Media Production from Loyola University Chicago and an MFA in Film from DePaul University. After living with metastatic breast cancer for more than four years, Melissa died in June 2020, shortly after her 32nd birthday.

Jimmy Boratyn
Director/Producer

Jimmy Boratyn’s directorial debut, The Giggles, was a semi-finalist at the Swedish International Film Festival and an official selection at the Hudson Valley Comedy Festival, the Indie Film Gathering Film Festival, and the Laugh or Die Comedy Festival. The Giggles was also a Best Feature, Best Story, and Best Editing nominee at the International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema in London. In 2011, Jimmy founded Shot Time Productions Inc., a multimedia company specializing in videography and photography.

Ryan Grundtisch
Screenwriter, Producer

Ryan is a screenwriter, producer, editor and director of photography who has written, produced, and executed all phases of production on documentaries, promotional videos and original narrative films. Based in Chicago, Ryan received his MS in Cinema Production from DePaul University. Recent works include the documentary feature An Unfair Burden, where he serves as producer and contributing director of photography, and the indie feature Carmilla Vive as second unit director and camera operator.

Johnny Woj is a Chicago-based actor, writer, and production freelancer. Initially drawn to acting, Johnny discovered a similar joy behind the scenes working as a production assistant, second assistant director, and eventually as a producer. Recent credits include Steve McQueen’s Widows, Rupert Wyatt’s Captive State, Fox’s Empire, Showtime’s Shameless, and Stephen Cone’s Princess Cyd.

Jeff Harder
Director of Photography

Jeff Harder is an Associate Professor with the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago, where he has taught film production and film studies for over 25 years. Jeff has worked as cinematographer on fictional narratives, feature length films, and experimental dance and performance projects. Recently he was producer, director and cinematographer for the feature film Carmilla, which has been nominated for Best Feature Film at Cinema Soup Film Festival.