Film Programs

Eleazar Palma

Professor of Film & Chair of Communications Media

Born and raised in southern California, Eleazar has always had a passion for filmmaking and storytelling. His love for his Catholic faith led him to JPCatholic where he learned to create great art while growing in his faith. With his background in film production and an MA in Higher Education, Eleazar is passionate about giving back to students what he has received over the years.

His recent credits include being the production coordinator on What Remains, a feature film written and directed by his colleague Nathan Scoggins and producing O, Brawling Love! the inaugural project for the feature film program at JPCatholic.

Christopher Riley

Professor of Film

Christopher Riley is a screenwriter, director and author with a career stretching from his groundbreaking 1999 film After The Truth, a multiple-award-winning German-language courtroom thriller, through screenwriting assignments for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, Sean Connery’s Fountainbridge Films, Paramount Pictures, Mandalay Television Pictures and the Fox television network, to his directorial debut on the award-winning 2022 short film No Time Off for Good Behavior and his feature directing debut, the 2024 family revenge comedy No Reception. He is the author of the classic screenwriting reference The Hollywood Standard and The Defining Moment: How Writers and Actors Build Characters. He has taught screenwriting at the graduate and undergraduate levels for more than 20 years.

George Simon

Professor of Film & Creative Director of the Feature Film Program

George’s passion for filmmaking began when his family moved to American Samoa. His father purchased a VHS camera to document the seven years spent abroad, and it wasn’t long before the camera was commandeered by George and his older brother, who spent those years making movies together. After returning to the states, George studied broadcasting and cinematic arts for two years at Central Michigan University. Desiring a more hands-on curriculum and spiritually nourishing college experience, he transferred to JPCatholic, where he completed his undergraduate studies in screenwriting and attained his MBA in producing. While pursuing his BS degree, he directed the award winning short film 'Get Clean' promoting the sacrament of reconciliation.

His recent writer-director credits include “Almost Home”, an award winning short from the 8Beats Anthology, “The Scar”, a high-concept fantasy epic, and the feature film “Don’t Get Eaten”, a family comedy. His recent producing credits include “No Time Off For Good Behavior”, written and directed by colleague Christopher Riley, and “O, Brawling Love!” the inaugural project for the feature film program at JPCatholic.

Nathan Scoggins

Professor of Film

Nathan is an award-winning filmmaker, whose credits include The Least of These, released in 2011 by Universal and starring Isaiah Washington (Grey's Anatomy) and Robert Loggia (Independence Day); the TV movie The Perfect Summer, starring Eric Roberts; and the 2022 film What Remains starring Cress Williams (Black Lightning), Kellan Lutz (Twilight), and Anne Heche (Volcana). He won the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest in 2012 and 2013 with “Sling Baby” and “Fashionista Daddy”. In addition, two of his award-winning short films were released by Lionsgate on DVD in 2008. He has written and developed projects for many companies in Hollywood. Nathan holds a BA in English and Film from Wesleyan University.

Bill Marsilii

Adjunct Professor of Screenwriting

Bill co-wrote Déjà vu - a romantic time-travel thriller, which at the time was the highest-priced spec screenplay of all time after selling to Jerry Bruckheimer and Touchstone Pictures for $5 million. Déjà vu, which starred Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer and Jim Caviezel, grossed more than $180 million worldwide. Marsilii sold 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo to Walt Disney Pictures, and with his Deja Vu partner Terry Rossio, sold Lightspeed, a space adventure to Bruckheimer/Disney. More recently, Marsilii adapted the sci-fi comic Sebastian X for producer Gale Anne Hurd and director Martin Campbell, and sold an original project, Cold, to Lionsgate with Reese Witherspoon attached to star and produce. Marsilii has been a guest lecturer at a wide variety of film and screenwriting programs, including those at UCLA TFT, USC, NYU, and Pepperdine. He has served as a mentor for the Act One Screenwriting Program.

Sam Sorich

Adjunct Professor of Film

Sam Sorich is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Glass Darkly Films. He began his passion for filmmaking in 5th grade, filming skateboard videos with his best friend Dan, and home movies with his ten siblings. After studying philosophy as an undergraduate, Sam worked as an editor and camera operator at Salt and Light Television in Toronto. He then returned to Chicago as a freelancer working closely with Spirit Juice Studios for many years. In 2017, following the first Catholic Creatives Summit, Sam created and co-executive produced 8beats, an anthology series comprising 8 short films inspired by the Beatitudes. Sam has created two feature documentaries, one on the life of Henri de Lubac, executive produced by Ignatius Press; and Things Hidden: The Life and Legacy of René Girard (2024). Sam is married and has two sons.

Shun Lee Fong

Adjunct Professor of Media Law

Shun Lee is the CEO and Creative Principal of Genuine Productions, LLC - a creative media production company with a focus on film, new media and music. He is also the fonunder and creative director for 'The Greenhouse' - a non-profit organization for training, equipping, and engaging creative artists. He practiced law for 5 years in Omaha, Nebraska, focusing on civil litigation, corporate transactions, intellectual property, and media law.

In 2003, he left his law practice and moved to L.A. to pursue acting, writing, and other creative opportunities. He has performed in a number of productions in film, theater, commercial, and print, and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has spent significant time on stage and in the recording studio as a songwriter and musician, playing several instruments. He has written a number of screenplays, articles, essays, and other works and is an often-requested speaker. He taught the Mass Media Law class for the Journalism and Mass Communications Department at Creighton University.

Shun Lee holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law and a BA (summa cum laude) in Journalism and Mass Communications from Creighton University.

Steve Barsotti

Adjunct Professor of Sound Design

Steve Barsotti is an educator, audio post engineer, and audio artist. He has been teaching college students for over 30 years, including at Columbia College in Chicago, the Art Institute of Seattle, Cornish College of the Arts, and The Seattle Film Institute. As owner/operator of Ragmatic Audio, Steve has recorded, mixed and mastered audio for client projects including podcasts, films, music, multimedia art, documentaries, and commercial projects. Ragmatic Audio’s mission is to work with non-profits, small businesses, museums, and more, discovering the untold stories of our culture. Steve is also an audio artist who performs and composes works in the style of Musique Concréte. His two solo CD's, Along These Lines and Say “tin-tah-pee-mic”, contain improvisations with amplified objects, field recordings, and electronics. His album Rarebit, with Eric Leonardson, features improvisations on invented instruments.

Melinda Simon

Adjunct Professor of Post-Production

Melinda is an Emmy-Award winning producer and editor. She graduated from JPCatholic in 2013 and has worked in Catholic media for over ten years. As a student, Melinda produced an award winning short film, which led to work on an international documentary project for New Evangelization Television. Melinda worked as a senior producer and editor for Spirit Juice Studios crafting documentary films, catechetical series, and music videos. Melinda currently works as an independent producer and editor. She has produced three award winning narrative films and continues to craft stories that are steeped in truth and love.

Courtney Moorehead Balaker

Adjunct Professor of Film and Acting

Prof. Balaker is an award-winning filmmaker, theatre director, and co-founder of Korchula Productions. Courtney wrote, directed, and produced Little Pink House, an award-winning feature film about Susette Kelo’s historic fight to save her home and neighborhood. The film stars two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out) and Emmy nominee Jeanne Tripplehorn (Grey Gardens). It has won a variety of awards including the HBO Audience Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival and the Vail Film Festival Audience Award. Additional film and television credits include Can We Take A Joke?, The Coddling of the American Mind, and America in Primetime, an award-winning PBS documentary series including interviews with Ron Howard, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Alec Baldwin.

She began her film career at Neo Art & Logic, a feature film production company with an overall deal with Dimension Films where she developed new screenplays and went on to serve as Vice President of Development. She spent five years in New York City directing Off-Broadway plays, working with actors such as George Morfogen (HBO's Oz) and Joseph Gorden-Levitt (Inception). Her theater credits include works at SoHo Playhouse, Ensemble Studio Theater, and Theater for the New City.

Courtney holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver and a master’s degree in theatre directing from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and King’s College London where she received classical acting and theater directing training under the leadership of Fiona Shaw and Lord Richard Attenborough.

John De Vito

Adjunct Professor of Film

John A. De Vito is an award-winning director of photography, lighting director, and gaffer. After gaining significant experience working in the Hollywood film industry, John moved back home to San Diego where he founded his own production company and marketing agency. John has been active for 10+ years with experience spanning narrative film, documentary, music video and commercial shoots, where he has primarily served as the director of photography. Recently, John has notably worked with prominent San Diego organizations such as the San Diego Padres, Qualcomm, and Tony Hawk.

Glen Hall

Adjunct Professor of Set & Production Design

Glen Hall is a Production Designer, Supervising Art Director, and Set Designer with a passion for storytelling through creative design. He’s worked on a variety of TV shows and indie films, with recent Art Direction credits that include Lioness (Paramount+), The Old Man (Hulu), Lessons In Chemistry (Apple TV+), Ms. Marvel (Marvel/Disney+), For All Mankind (Apple TV+), and Station Eleven (HBO Max). On the indie film side, Glen has Production Designed a range of feature films, including Sun Dogs, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, In-Lawfully Yours, Bad Roomies, Boone the Bounty Hunter, Red Line, and Not That Funny.

Based in Los Angeles, Glen’s work has taken him all over the world, from Budapest and Toronto to Atlanta, Fort Worth, Virginia Beach, and New York City. He has a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Graphic Design from Roberts Wesleyan College and has sharpened his skills in digital painting, 3D design, and drafting through programs at CGMA, Brainstorm School, Studio Arts, and UCLA Extension.

Kaitlyn Krikorian

Feature Film Faculty

Kaitlyn Krikorian grew up just outside of Toronto, Ontario. She moved to Southern California in 2018 to pursue a career in Filmmaking, graduating from JPCatholic’s film program in 2020. Since then she has worked in the industry as a cinematographer, editor, director and producer. She is the founder of State of Art, a non-profit offering community and support for San Diego creatives. Her recent work includes producing and directing music videos for Southern California based artists, as well as producing and editing JPCatholic's second feature film, No Reception.