Elliot London

Born in Australia but raised outside of Chicago for most of his life, London’s love of film began when taking regional classes at the New American Theater at age 10. After graduating high school, he moved to Sydney, Australia where he got his first taste of working in the industry by assisting Producer Brenton Kewley.

Elliot returned to the States in 2002, where he attended Columbia Film School in Chicago. Majoring in Film directing, he continued at Columbia and worked on various student projects as well as interning with the Jerry Springer Show. London’s yearning to work in film was too great for him to remain in Chicago so in 2005, he relocated to Los Angeles. London started in Los Angeles by associate producing the feature film Dirty Laundry that had its theatrical release in 2007. He continued working with Director Maurice Jamal on Ski Trip 2 until he decided to form London Productions to pursue his own endeavors.

In 2007, London created a concept for a new TV series with writer Jennifer Klieman. The pilot Boulevard was London’s directing debut. The pilot had great success with audiences and was considered by a studio. Currently it is being developed into a web series. Boulevard was showcased at the 2009 Cannes Short Film Corner.

In 2009, London continued shooting short films and scored a huge success with 306, a dramatic short that has been showcased in over ten film festivals worldwide. With London directing and the talent of Sandra Valde behind the camera, the film has garnered much praise. This dynamic directing & cinematographer duo are actively working together on future projects. Valde was the DP for Kaboom that screened in Cannes 2010.

In 2010, London had his first opportunity to work on reality TV by shooting DVD coverage for the new Showtime show The Real L Word. London has had many editorials written about his up-and-coming work as a director. He was until recently VP of branding and marketing for TLA Releasing, where he is still a partner.

Web series will be a hot topic on Pride of the Ocean this year. For our CineSLAM seminars, we are pleased to announce another web series director and star. Welcome aboard, Sebastian La Cause and his series Hustling.

Sebastian La Cause

Sebastian La Cause has been working in the business for the two decades. His credits run the gamut from Madonna back-up dancer, to starring in a Broadway show, to supporting roles in indie features, to guesting on the season finale of Homeland. With Hustling, An Original Web Series, La Cause ventures into new waters as a first-time director, producer and director of photography. Taking on new media with an edgy, sexy, funny and poignant tale of a hustler, who wants more from life when he reaches forty.

Our second filmmaker announcement for the 2012 CineSLAM Film Slam Seminars also comes from the west cost. We are very pleased to have JC Calciano on board the Celebrity Summit with us this June (10th to 17th) as part of the Pride of the Ocean film festival program.

JC Calciano

Mr. Calciano is a graduate of New York University film school. During his early days in the entertainment industry, Mr. Calciano started his career producing & directing music videos.

He gained valuable production experience on such films as “The Fisher King” and “Star Trek V” before working with Cruise/Wagner Productions as Head of Production and as Associate Producer on the film, “Mission: Impossible”.

Mr. Calciano produced the independent films “Slaughter Cove”, “Dead in the Water”, “Vince Neil’s Rocktails”, “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Coming Out”, as well as “The Concert Series” for Jessica Simpson and Macy Gray.

He produced a reality TV series for Infinity Broadcasting UAE in Dubai titled, “The Hydra Executives”, an English-speaking spin-off of “The Apprentice” shot entirely in the Middle East. In addition, he has produced and directed hundreds of hours of reality television in the United States for E!,G4, NBC, HGTV and other networks.

The hit romantic comedy “Is It Just Me?” was his first feature film effort as producer, writer and director. The film was an official selection of over 40 international film festivals and received several honors and awards.

Recently Mr. Calciano has created a popular, sexy web series, “Steam Room Stories,” which is viewed around the world on its own YouTube channel and has garnered almost 6 million viewers to date.

Mr. Calciano’s newest film, “eCupid”, was inspired by classic 1980s films like “Splash” and “Big.” It stars the screen legend Morgan Fairchild and TV veteran John Callahan (“All My Children”), along with a cast of talented up-and-coming actors.