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Davey and Kathryn were struggling to live up to their parents’ expectations…
Live is the key word.
PATER MATER follows two mid-20’s friends whose difficult relationships with their parents overshadow their attempts to tackle adulthood on their own terms. When unexpected, dual tragedies strike, Davey and Kathryn set out on a trip to deliver some bodies and make sense of their lives. There might be a hitman on their tail, too.
THE TEAM
DANIEL SHAYKEVICH
CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR
Daniel is a scientist and filmmaker. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Daniel honed his writing and filmmaking skills in the Cinema and Media Arts Department, graduating with Distinguished Honors. His senior thesis film, the supernatural noir short THOUGHTS AT NIGHT was awarded the 2018 Fierberg Student Film Award by the Rehoboth Beach Film Society. Daniel is currently a PhD student in the Biology department at Stanford, where he studies toad navigation, makes short science communication videos, and works on creative projects. He enjoys backpacking, over-caffeination, and, obviously, watching lots and lots of movies.
BRONWYN SCOTT
CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR
Bronwyn is a medical school student and filmmaker at Stanford University. As a Forty Acres Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, Bronwyn double-majored in Biochemistry Honors and Plan II (graduating with the Dean’s Top Honors for Liberal Arts), and she has been exploring her dual passions for science and the arts ever since. Bronwyn has published multiple papers on using nanoparticles to deliver targeted cancer treatments, one of which got her a senior thesis award, and is currently collaborating with the Chan-Zuckerberg BioHub on the Human Cell Atlas Initiative. When she’s not in the lab she can be found creating digital art, trying to finish Twin Peaks, or (before-Covid) dancing.
HENRY GRAHAM
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Henry attended Vanderbilt University. He has worked with Daniel on shooting all of his film projects. With a BA in history and passion for botany, Henry gives occasional lectures on WWII history and studies the development of herbs for medicinal purposes. He is an avid rider (of horses) and enjoys fixing up cars in his spare time.
ISABEL SIRAGUSA
“KATHRYN”
Isabel Siragusa is a Bay Area actor and arts administrator with a degree in Theater Studies from Yale University. She has studied acting at the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia, Shakespeare & Company in Massachusetts, and A.C.T. in San Francisco. She has performed all over Northern California as well as in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Film Credits include starring roles in Capps Crossing (available on Amazon Prime), and the short The Ark (San Diego ComiCon International Film Festival). Favorite theatre credits include Desdemona in Othello (African American Shakespeare Company) and the one-woman show Fragile Decisions (The Marsh). Isabel also regularly writes and performs with the Oakland-based sketch comedy troupe Running with Glitter. isabelsiragusa.com
SOLOMON ASTLEY
“DAVEY”
Solomon Astley is a former software engineer turned actor who is currently living and working in Los Angeles. After completing a two-year Meisner technique intensive in San Francisco, he became heavily involved in the indie film scene in the Bay Area as an actor, writer, and director. In January 2022, Solomon will be starring in The Last Con, an indie short film written and to be directed by award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of French Press Films, Andrew Juncker. You can learn more about his most recent work at https://solomonastley.com/.
ILYA LESHINSKY
“THE HITMAN”
Ilya Leshinsky is an actor, best known for the films DeathBlood 4, Made with Love and Hamachi. "Deathblood 4" was a feature film that opened in 2019 and can now be found on Amazon Prime. "Made with Love", which also came out in 2019, was well received and accepted into film festivals in Rome, New York and San Diego. He has played a wide range of roles, from a military Commander to a merciless Hitman, an aging photographer and an elementary school teacher.