SYNOPSIS
A men’s support group descends into chaos when one member appears headed for a breakdown and long-standing resentments and secrets threaten the trust between the men.
The Independent Feature Screening Series provides the opportunity for independent producers, directors, writers and actors, to discuss the process of creating a feature length film while at the same time inspiring our audience to create their own work.
PANELISTS BIOS
Joseph Culp, producer, writer, director, actor
Son of late iconic actor Robert Culp, Joseph has been working in theatre, film and television since 1982. Joseph most notably was seen by television audiences as “Archie Whitman”, the Depression-Era father of “Don Draper” in the hit series Mad Men. He is the first actor to ever play Marvel super-villain “Doctor Doom” in The Fantastic Four. As an actor and filmmaker he won international critical acclaim for his performance as the starving writer in the award-winning film Hunger, an adaptation of Nobel winner Knut Hamsun’s 1890 existentialist masterpiece, which he also produced. Hunger is the first digital feature film to be based on a classic work of literature and won Best Feature awards at Moondance Film Festival and FAIF Film Festivals. Joseph also produced and co-starred in the award-winning indie feature The Reflecting Pool, the first investigative drama to challenge the official version of the 9/11 attacks. Called the ”All The President’s Men of its time”, the controversial film screened internationally to rave reviews, garnering a Columbine Award at Moondance Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at Chicago’s Polish Film Festival. Joseph directed the short film TRACES , a drama about two desperate women on the run, an official selection at Nordkapp Film Festival in Norway, Palm Springs International, Tucson, and Hollywood Film Festivals. He produced and co-starred in Voice of Life by Knut Erik Jensen, which won Grand Prix at Northern Character Festival in Murmansk, Russia. Welcome to the Men’s Group is his feature film debut as a director.
Scott Ben-Yashar, executive producer, writer
Scott started as an actor at a young age, working with Producer/Director Stanley Kramer in Bless the Beasts and Children. He went on to do roles in television, film and theater - both in Los Angeles and New York. Always interested in the production side, Scott has produced theater in Los Angeles and later in New York, where he co-produced and acted in Ashes off-Broadway. Returning to Los Angeles, Scott wrote Saturday morning cartoons for children. He later joined his wife’s documentary film production company, Nostalgia Productions, where he learned editing and how the disparate elements of film/video are put together. After that, he went on to work in and develop businesses in other fields, including garment manufacturing in Italy and the healthcare field. “Welcome to the Men’s Group” marks Scott’s return to the film industry, where he started out.
