Category Archives: F4YL Cast

May92014

Posted in F4YL Cast

Eliot Kelly

Eliot Kelly is the head instructor at El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  He started learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu while he was teaching English and coaching wrestling in Japan.  During his stay in Japan, he was fortunate enough to live in a community where many Brazilians lived and quickly became involved with their culture and sports.  Although his training took place in Japan, he experienced complete immersion in Jiu-Jitsu training while surrounded by the Brazilian community.  Eliot explains,

 

“I wanted to learn Gracie Jiu-Jitsu because I heard of people doing it well into their 50’s and even 60’s.  I finally found something I could do that wasn’t just lifting weights, hitting a ball, or chasing a ball.” 

 

Eliot earned his brown belt in Japan from Michel and Marcio Miyashita, instructors under 5th degree black belt Master Barbosa.  After moving back to the United States from Japan he trained with Andre Glodzinski for almost 2 years until the closing of the first Sacramento gym.  Eliot is currently training with World Champion Professor Marcos Torregrosa.

 

“I wish to teach the Jiu-Jitsu technique and skills I know while emphasizing some of the fun and  unique cultural elements I have experienced in my training.  Please ask me about my experiences, I would love to share them with anyone!”  – Eliot Kelly

 

Prior to his experiences in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Eliot was a Division 1 Wrestler at UC Davis under the legendary coaching of Lennie Zalesky and Mark Munoz.  At UCD he became a two time Pac-10 place winner, Open Freestyle State Champion and earned medals at many other College Open tournaments.  Eliot has wrestled and beaten some cream-of-the-crop wrestlers from BIG 10 and BIG 12 schools, including the University of Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa University, Oklahoma State and Oregon State.  He also has experience working as a counselor at a few of the toughest, most renowned wrestling camps in the nation, including J Robinson’s Intensive Wrestling Camp, Camp of Champs Ironman Training Camp, The Eternal Warrior Wrestling Camp and West Coast Wrestling Camps.

Eliot graduated from UC Davis in 2007 with a double major in Japanese and East Asian Studies and a minor in Education.  His Japanese knowledge has come in handy during his journeys to Japan, where he has had a unique coaching experience.  He worked with the freestyle clubs in Shiga Prefecture alongside former Olympians and National Champions, and at Ritsumeikan University alongside a 2 time Olympian.

 

After returning from Japan, back to the Sacramento area, he arrived again at UC Davis to help the team as an Assistant Coach and to train in order to make the Freestyle national team, for which he competed in the Dave Schultz Memorial and Asics Nationals.  Unfortunately, in 2010 the UCD Wrestling team was cut from UCD Athletics.  But Eliot is looking to stay involved in wrestling as he continues to develop the Jiu-Jitsu program in El Dorado Hills.

It was through wrestling Eliot met his longtime friend, creator of Fight 4 Your Life, Bryan Bachar, with B being one of his teammates at UCD.  B says a few words about his friend,

 

“You can’t ask for a better person to know than El Dog.  He’s a genuinely good human being.  And it makes me a better person just to know him.  Like everyone in his life I’m sure, I’m very proud of the man he has become and continues to strive to be.”

 

Eliot has been a supporter of Mr. Bachar’s creative endeavors since college, having helped out regularly as an extra hand, or, more recently, having provided his dojo as a location for F4YL.  In fact, Eliot has a small role in the film as well!  Keep an eye out for him.

And please be sure to check out his business site for his Jui-Jitsu school El Dorado Hills Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  What a great place!  You can find out more about Eliot and his business on:

Google+

Facebook

Twitter

 

– The one studios crew

 

 

Sep152013

Posted in F4YL Cast

Ashley Engel

Ashley Engel might be new to the world of film.  But she’s a true go-getter, having already been in a commercial and working regularly as a promotional model to gain exposure, as well as pay the bills, in her quest to make “it” happen.  In fact, it was during a promo job that she caught director Bryan Bachar‘s eye.  Bryan gave her the film’s contact info, leaving it in Ashley’s hands to take the next step to be a part of Fight 4 Your Life, which she did.

As chance would have it, the actress signed on to play a larger role in Ashley’s scene was not able to make the shoot date.  Ashley was then asked to play the larger role and the rest is history.

 

“I had a lot of fun filming my scene.  It was a really cool experience!  I feel lucky to have met Bryan and be cast for F4YL!” says Ashley.

 

And you did a fantastic job, Ashley!  We thank you for your hard work and patience during the shoot.  You can bet the future is bright for Ashley Engel!

 

– The one studios crew

 

 

Mar292015

Posted in F4YL Cast

Marc Gardner

Marc grew up in Northern California but has been fortunate enough to have also lived in a variety of other locations, including Los Angeles, Utah and Argentina.  His acting background is made up of many years of experience being on the set, constantly staying active in the field.  Marc has been a part of variety of projects from Hollywood feature films to indie features and shorts, commercials, television productions, industrial shoots and web based projects.

In addition to his time on screen, Marc also provides his talents behind the camera, having played key crew roles in award winning works.  He is a true filmmaker at heart, not simply an actor.  And it’s good to note he has ample experience as a fight coordinator as well.

Mr. Gardner has been performing since elementary school and has been blessed enough to have traveled all over the world to perform as a singer, dancer and actor.  Complementing his goals as an aspiring actor and vocal artist,  Marc has become a well rounded human being.  He spends his days serving as a proud father of five, a personal safety advocate, a self defense trainer and a martial artist, having earned multiple black belts.

Be sure to keep up with Marc’s adventures at MarcGardner.net.  He is also a heavily active with several Facebook groups, posting daily film advice and helpful articles for filmmakers and talent.  Marc’s recent short film The Within has been screened at multiple film festivals around the country and he is currently pursuing turning this project into an ongoing web series.  F4YL creator Bryan Bachar was lucky enough to have had a small role in The Within short and can vouch for its awesomeness.  For more on The Within and other projects of Marc’s, check out Ring22Entertainment.com or The Within Facebook page.

We’re thankful to have Marc aboard Fight 4 Your Life.  A long time supporter, he’s been with us since the F4YL short film in 2012.  And now it’s a family affair, as Marc’s daughter Kaitlyn is also a part of this feature length, large scale production, playing the part of the Karate Girl, aka Cris.  Marc wasn’t able to reprise the same roles he had in the original F4YL short.  But he appropriately enough plays the Karate Girl’s Sensei in the feature.

Thanks again for all your hard work, support, team minded efforts and dedication Marc!

 

Marc Gardner’s Contact and Info:

(916) 204-6272  phone

MarcGardner.net  personal site

Ring22Entertainment.com  company site

Marc on IMDb

 

– The one studios crew

 

 

Sep122013

Posted in F4YL Cast

D.J. Hale

Derick Jamall Hale Jr. is an American Actor, better known by his stage name as D.J. Hale.  Born on March 24th, 1993 in Oceanside California and raised in the state’s capital, Sacramento, D.J. was introduced to theater arts while attending John Morse Waldorf School in South Sacramento.  Coming from an athletically talented family background, D.J. pursued a career in football upon reaching high school.  After graduating he decided acting needed to be his number one priority.

Extremely talented and possessing tremendous work ethic, D.J. is on his way to becoming one of the rising stars in the new generation of young actors.  His African American and Italian decent bears him ethnically ambiguous, allowing him to portray a multitude of roles.  Currently, D.J. can be most noted for the character Lil Swoldier in the up and coming SAG-ULB feature film 8: The Movie.

D.J. is extremely proud to be a part of Fight 4 Your Life and can’t wait for the finished film!  Check him out on his Facebook page here.

 

– The one studios crew

 

Sep122013

Posted in F4YL Cast

Cornell Militaru

To say Cornell has had a passion for music and entertainment since childhood is an understatement.  His first attempt at producing music was hitting the couch with wooden spoons at the tender age of eight months, later graduating to his first CB set, then subsequently TAMA, and finally Ludwig.  His first brush with acting occurred in 2005, having bit parts in the indie movies, Love in the Age of Fishsticks and The Patriot.  Later in 2007, he attended his first acting class in Belmont California.

Cornell aggressively began to pursue his acting career in 2012, teaming up with directors and producers to star and co-star in primarily independent films.  Meanwhile, he also cultivated his craft daily by shooting candid improv footage of himself and fellow actors.  Mr. Militaru is always on the go, thinking and planning for future projects.  His number one priority is to engineer his own acting leads by tenaciously building rapport with industry professionals to ensure a steady flow of work in his pipeline.

Cornell was born on December 29th, 1987 in Queens, NY, relocating to the Bay Area at the age of four.  He is more than happy to be a part of Fight 4 Your Life, viewing this film not only as a promising project, but also as a great experience and means to network.  We’re happy to have the very dedicated Cornell aboard the F4YL team!

For more on Cornell, be sure to visit his Facebook and IMDb pages:

https://www.facebook.com/CornellMilitaruEnactment

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5417188/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1#Actor

 

– The one studios crew

 

Sep152013

Posted in F4YL Cast

Ian Hutchison

Born just twenty minutes away from Hollywood, CA in the suburb of Glendale, Ian Hutchison knew at a young age that his passion in life rested in working on movies, television or theatre.  Watching films throughout his life has helped shape him up to be the person that he is today.  Upon moving to Cape Cod, MA at the age of 10, he started his acting experience in children’s theatre working with Harwich Jr Theatre.

By the age of 15, and after yet another move to Davis, CA, Ian continued to get involved with both high school productions, as well as independent high school theatre companies, such as Acme.  He has done volunteer work for Davis Media Access, including camerawork and co-hosting a radio show with his best friend.  Ian also studies special make up effects, a subject that has inspired him for as long as he can remember.

After a five year long hiatus from acting or production work, Ian jumped into the opportunity to work on Fight 4 Your Life as soon as he caught word of it.  Contributing stunt work, acting and his make up skills, he has been a valued member of the F4YL team.

The return to performing is both refreshing and surreal to Ian.  He is determined now and believes that Fight 4 Your Life will kickstart the Sacramento independent film scene in a big way.  He strives to be apart of it in any way he can.

Your belief in F4YL humbles us, Ian.  Thank you for your hard work!  Keep at it and make those dreams come true!

 

– The one studios crew

 

Sep122013

Posted in F4YL Cast

Chris Sousa

Born in Hemet, CA, Chris Sousa has spent most of his life living in the Northern California mountain town of Placerville.  He has been training in parkour and free running for the last three and a half years.  He also has some experience in martial arts aggressive driving techniques, which he was able to utilize during his scenes in F4YL.

Fight 4 Your Life marks Chris’s first dive into acting and stunt work.  He is extremely excited about doing more projects in the future and is thankful for this awesome opportunity!

 

– The one studios crew

 

Sep122013

Posted in F4YL Cast

Devon Stump

Devon Stump has been a free runner for four years, and a practitioner of martial arts for twice as long.  On top of that he has spent most of his life on motorcycles or under the hood of a car.

Near the end of college, he was determined to find a line of work that would allow him to incorporate his many, adrenaline fueled hobbies.  This path eventually led him into pursuing a career in stunt work, and is making his feature film debut in Fight 4 Your Life.

Be on the look out for much more of Devon’s work in the future!

 

– The one studios crew

 

May152014

Posted in F4YL Cast

Jared Fong

Jared has had an interest in the creative arts for as long as he can remember.  Here are a few words from him directly:

 

“I’ve always been interested in creation, and since I enjoy movies and games, my interest spread into those two genres.  I took to screenwriting, game design, programming, and 3D modeling, and as I fiddled with those, I wanted to learn more about the production aspect of film.”

 

When Jared saw an ad for needed actors and crew for a project called Fight 4 Your Life, he jumped at the chance to be a part of the project.  Not only did the ambitious Jared come on board as an actor, but also as a much needed crew member.  He has been a dedicated and valued team member, making the haul from Fremont, CA to the Sacramento area for his required shoots, rehearsals, meetings and other F4YL oriented events.

When we told Jared we would like him to be a part of Fight 4 Your Life, he is remembered to have said:

 

“It’s going to be quite exciting to actually be a part of this film and learning the process of making it.”

 

Well, it’s been quite exciting having you be a part of it, Jared.  Thank you for all of your commitment and positivity!  Good things are in store for you friend.  You’re a natural!  And you takes hits like a champ!

 

– The one studios crew

 

 

Sep122013

Posted in F4YL Cast

Gwen Conklin

Originally falling in love with acting during high school and college, Gwen took a more traditional career track…and is very excited to have now returned to her ‘first love’.

In front of the camera, Gwen has been privileged to be in several film productions including shorts such as the award winning, “Happiness”, “Why Are We Even Here” and “Among the Ashes”, and feature films including, “Savior of None”.

Gwen also enjoys working behind the camera.  Her first on set experience was as production manager for television show pilot, “Around the World in 80 Dances” and she currently works regularly behind the camera as a script supervisor for Back 2 One Productions and Ambra Productions.

Enjoying the collaborative spirit of independent films, she loves the unique opportunity to apply all of her skills and talents to enhance a project and is co-producing a television series, “San Francisco Justice” as well as co-writing a feature film, “Z-14”.

Extremely versatile, she also writes, acts and directs comedy shorts for a sketch comedy team, and looks forward to directing a feature length film, “Alone”, next year.

 

“I am so very grateful to be part of this exciting film project, and love the enthusiasm, spirit and vision of Bryan Bachar and his team!”, says Gwen.

 

Happy to have you aboard Gwen!  You’re a gem.

 

 

– The one studios crew