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ABOUT US Before North is a collective of highly creative individuals who love making movies. It all started after attending the early 2003 premiere of a feature pioneered by a friend of ours, we were inspired to assemble a crew and make one of our own. It began in autumn of 2003 with pre-production of "One: A Story of Six", our first feature film. Back then, the team consisted only of Laura Greenwood and myself (Jono Schaferkotter) and, as we obviously couldn't complete the project singlehandedly, we called for help from anyone and anywhere. Pulling in long-time friend Cole Medeiros and scoring newcomers Jay Wertzler, Krystle Yuzon, Sara Laue, Ryan Bradford and several others, we were on our way. Weekend by weekend, we slaved for over three months shooting what would eventually be a truly unique look at college life by the people that lived it. 
The collective became a good bit more credible with the filming of our second feature, "The Ballad of Jacob Wonder & Wesley Precious", in 2005. Jay Wertzler and I wrote, directed and starred in this existential western about the end of the world, with Laura Greenwood producing, acting and heading the costume/makeup department. With immeasurable help from family and friends (Krystle Yuzon, Dan Miller-Schroeder, Carlin Thomas, Steve Mucci, Gail Bradley, John Wertzler, etc. ), the three of us worked beyond our previous limits on this larger-than-life production, pushing it further than anything we’d ever seen done before. We created a beautifully cinematic film by shooting at a variety of eclectic locations (the middle of a lake, on rooftops, graveyards and in a classic car), and also by building large-scale sets alongside a choreographed sword fight that travels through space and time. 
After the controversial success of "The Ballad", Before North chose to take a year off in anticipation of their next project. No one can argue that the collective made huge strides on the 2007 production of "The Beginning", a horror film aiming to join ranks with all the zombie 'cult classics'. With the remarkable crew consisting of myself, Laura Greenwood, Devin Fearn, Theresa Hioki, Sara Schutt, Cole Medeiros and more, Before North™ had never been more prepared to tackle their largest and most ambitious project to date. Jumping into the horror genre via Devin Fearn's screenplay debut was a unique challenge that would prove more rewarding than any of us could have imagined. Premiering to a sold-out audience of nearly six-hundred people at the avante-garde Rio Theater was an unbelievable experience that left both cast and crew incredibly proud. |