The Power of Termination


No one can decide how you feel at this moment.

The Power of Termination is a 15-minute narrative short film set in Los Angeles. Erica and Dean, a married couple, attends what they think is their last spiritual therapy session, when they are surprised to find out about the “termination phase.” The movie uncovers the patterns and motives of human behavior when in a dangerous or rather conflicting situation. The Power of Termination uses comedy to comment on interpersonal attraction, misuse of power, and conformity.


Meet the team

Anna Rak


Director/Producer

Hailing from a small village near Krakow in Poland, Anna Rak currently resides in Los Angeles where she expresses herself artistically in film and theater as a director and actor. Anna initiated a much needed injection of cultural relevance into the theatre world by Co-Founding and serving as Artistic Director of the Eastern Bridge Theatre Troupe, which specializes in providing a platform for foreign artists to share their stories. Before the creation of Eastern Bridge Theatre, Anna trained at the prestigious Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York. After over 3 years in NYC, Rak traded coasts for the peaceful eastside of LA. One thing is for certain: Anna believes in living in the moment and the infinite power of storytelling.


Adam DeAngelo


Writer

Adam DeAngelo just graduated from Boston University majoring in Film and Television. While at B.U, Adam was a member of the improv troupe Liquid Fun and the President of the B.U Stand Up Club. He hopes to pursue comedy and has been writing scripts since high school. His first play, a musical about sex robots, was inexplicably performed at Newton South High School his senior year. Since then, he has taken various screenwriting classes that have taught him how to write stories that are thankfully less sex-y and less robot-y. Adam is excited to collaborate with Anna and Dustin adapting his play “Breaking Up” into the short film The Power of Termination.


Dustin Pearlman


Cinematographer/Producer

As a Boston native living in Los Angeles, Dustin Pearlman enjoys spreading his love for bold composition and expressive lighting. Dustin lensed numerous features, music videos, short films, and commercials since graduating from Northwestern University in 2004. His work has played a variety of international festivals including: Venice, Telluride, Chicago, Vancouver, Denver, San Diego, HollyShorts, and Los Angeles to name a few. In addition to his camera work, Dustin produced award-winning short films like Lucia No Besa A Nadie, the sequel-spawning-indie-cult Act Naturally, and music videos for Chali 2na, Harry Mack, Chase N. Cashe, Permanent Press, & D-Wirks. Aside from his dedication to cinema, he is an outdoor enthusiast and avid environmentalist.


Carly Larson


Producer

As Co-Founder & CEO of Grant Larson Productions (GLP), Carly Larson has produced numerous short films, educational videos, and feature films. GLP is a full service bi-coastal studio with offices in Burbank, CA and Eerie, PA complete with in-house post production facilities, sound stage, and film equipment.

Aside from her work as a Producer, Carly is a multiple media craftsperson with extensive experience as a Production Designer. Her company, BLK&GINGER, features a full design and fabrication studio on the GLP’s Burbank campus for building sets, carpentry, and a vast collection of props/set dressing.


David Lim


Executive Producer

David Lim is an experienced executive, manager, and consultant with expertise in business management, operations, administration, finance and technology. He is also a content creator and producer.

Before The Power of Termination, he was an Executive Producer on the first season of the comedy web series, LABELED, and for Eastern Bridge Theatre Troupe’s Foreign Voices Are Us, a series of live performances/events presented in various formats, co-produced & directed by Anna Rak.


Sally Brooks


Actor - Barbara

Sally is a bicoastal actress with numerous TV, stage, film and voice over credits to her name. She is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and studied at ACT Summer Training Congress. Some of her most recent credits include Better Things, The Middle, Someone You Know and the web series, Where the Bears Are. She has performed on stage at GeVa, Syracuse Stage, Capitol Rep and Studio Arena. Sally is a partner in the loop group, Hollywood Babble On, and has looped thousands of TV shows, including Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, Blackish, NCIS LA and Silicon Valley. She lives with her husband, daughter, 4 cats and 1 goldfish.


Brooke Nevin


Actor - Erica

Brooke started flexing her funny bone with Improv and Sketch shows on the Second City Stage in both Toronto and Los Angeles. Her comedic talents have brought her to the big screen starring alongside David Koechner and Melora Hardin in the Fox Atomic sports spoof The Comebacks and as the romantic lead in the subversive superhero comedy Alter Egos, which premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal. She has also garnered acclaim and Best Actress nominations from the Monte-Carlo International Television Festival and Gemini Awards for her turn as the flirtatious heart-on-her-sleeve Sonja in HBO Canada’s Call Me Fitz opposite Jason Priestley.

Other notable credits include Archie’s Final Project, Breakout Kings (A&E), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), S.W.A.T (CBS), Chicago Fire (NBC), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), and Lethal Weapon (CBS).


Huse Madhavji


Actor - Dean

Huse is best known for his series regular roles on HBO Canada’s Call Me Fitz and Bell Media/ION-TV’s hit hospital drama Saving Hope. Prior to that, Huse was a broadcaster covering entertainment on Etalk, Canada’s highest rated entertainment news program and hosting several shows on Star! (now E! Canada) where he sat down with some of the worlds most familiar faces. He splits his time between Los Angeles and Toronto and can be seen on stage is currently performing lives in LA, working the stand-up/improv circuit.


Production Stills

Our Set


Here's a sketch of the incredible set the team at BLK&GINGER built for us.

It takes a village...


so here's the rest of the credits!

This film wouldn’t have been possible without our production partners, Grant Larson Productions, and each of our amazing IndieGoGo supporters who made this a reality…

Production Designer: Megan Gillespie
Edited by Jeremy Rhodes & Alex Boskovich
Music by Maks Kubis & Bartosz Lasecki
Associate Producer: Seth Green
1st Assistant Director : Helena Sardinha
2nd Assistant Director: Rebecca Momo
Camera Operator: Andrew Baxter
Hair/MU/ Wardrobe: Rachel Jenkins
Script Supervisor: Adam DeAngelo, Stan Baranski
Production Accountant: Jen Aquillano
Production Sound Mixers: Brian Sly, Stephanie Roberts
Post Sound Mixer: Rafał Smoleń
Colorist: Jeremy Rhodes

Special thanks
Hilary Barraford, Sandy Helberg, Sam Martin Lewis, Tracy Mulholland, Lolade Rufai, Sonal Shah, & Lorin Shapiro.

Filmed on Location at Grant Larson Studios, Burbank, California, USA

Our Indiegogo Supporters:
Hilary Matkovich, Julian Sharasheff, Maddy Martin, Marcie Saganov, April Crawford, Andrew Burgie, Pat McCarthy, David Lim, Karli Marulli, Joanna Glica, Jenny Blando, Joel Peart, William Bodkin, Talia Shea Levin, Yuching Tsai, Alice Lussiana Parente, Marco La Villa, Olivia DeAngelo, Alexandra Kuznetsov, Louise Heller, Sarah Sosland, Justyna Kotra, Leslie DeAngelo, Joyce kauffman, Joseph Panico, Jimmy Bie, Jimmy Bie, Cristina Sebastian, Ejses, Kate Schnepf, Franny Alani, Luiza Westwood, & Lisa Monahan


Stay tuned for more updates