Emily Chang :: Writer/Director/Producer Emily Chang is a spoken word poet who is also a writer, producer, and actress in television, journalism, and film. Alongside Dan, Emily wrote and co-directed the comedic mockumentary, The Humberville Poetry Slam, Pilsenation Productions' first endeavor. Most recently, she associate produced the documentary, 25 To Life, which was selected to be part of Tribeca Film Festival's All Access Program. She's also a staff producer and development executive at IATV, where she's produced a number of short form segments, including stories on the Tribeca Film Festival, the NY-Tokyo Music Festival, and commercials for clients such as Chevy, Wal-Mart, and the Las Vegas Board of Tourism. Emily co-founded the national arts collectives, I Was Born with 2 Tongues, and Mango Tribe, whose theatrical and touring productions she successfully produced from 2000-2005. Her artist work has been the recipient of grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment of the Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council. Emily holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Dan De Lorenzo :: Director/Producer/Writer Dan De Lorenzo graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a BFA in Film Directing. Dan's repertoire of work has spanned both television and independent film. His thesis film, Pumpkin Boy, a buddy movie about two slackers driving a wedding van, received rave audience reviews at the Dusty Film Festival and Awards. He co-wrote and associate produced the TV show, "Uncle Morty's Dub Shack," a slapstick sitcom akin to Mystery Science Theater 3000, which was called "simultaneously stupid and brilliant" by the San Francisco Chronicle and "consistently hilarious" by Salon.com. Dan has also worked with sketch comedy group The Whitest Kids U Know (now on IFC) on several video sketches and TV pilots, and with Adrien Grenier on his dark comedy, Euthanasia, and the short thriller, Across the Hall. Dan's other work includes associate producing the stand-up series, "Comedy Zen," and being a part of the art department on the independent film, Half-Nelson. Shilpi Gupta :: Producer Shilpi Gupta started her filmmaking career with the award-winning short documentary, When the Storm Came, which Shilpi directed, produced, shot and edited while at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. The film profiles a village in Kashmir that allegedly survived a mass rape at the hands of the Indian Security Forces and continues to survive the stigma that haunts it, culminating with a stark reminder that rape has been used as a tool of war across the world throughout time. Her first film, When the Storm Came screened at festivals across the country and won nine awards to date, including the 2004 Sundance Film Festival jury prize for short-filmmaking, a student Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and two College Television Awards from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Shilpi continues to work on numerous projects in various capacities, from editing a feature-length documentary about a boy wonder who started a resistance magazine while living in a Czech ghetto during World War II, to co-producing a dramatic feature about the aftermath of September 11 on the Afghan community in Queens, to shooting in the conflict territory across the Burma-Thai border. This year Shilpi joined forces with Emily Chang and Dan De Lorenzo to form Pilsenation Productions, a budding directing/producing partnership. They produced their first short comedy together: The Humberville Poetry Slam, a comedic mockumentary delving into a quirky small town poetry slam team with their eyes set on the National Poetry Slam. About the Filmmakers
emily c. chang
dan de lorenzo
shilpi gupta