KC FIlmFest International
Director-producer-actor
Raphael Sbarge has been a working actor for more than five decades. Growing up in New York City’s lower East Side, he began working at age 4 on Sesame Street. He has appeared in dozens of movies, including Risky Business, My Science Project, Independence Day, Pearl Harbor and Vision Quest.
Raphael’s resume includes more than 100 guest appearances and series regular roles on network television shows including the long-running ABC hit Once Upon a Time, the TNT series Murder in the First, and The Guardian for CBS. He has recurred on series including Star Trek Voyager, Dexter and Prison Break. Raphael has also performed on stage in theaters around the country and appeared in five Broadway productions.
His first narrative short, The Bird Who Could Fly, an immigrant Korean story, set in K-town, Los Angeles with an all-Asian cast, has won numerous awards and garnered many laurels at film festivals around the country and internationally, including best narrative short at the Greenpoint Film Festival and DisOrient Film Festival, and winner of the best short, best drama, best ensemble and best director awards at the Asians on Film festival.
Raphael also produced and directed a short film, Is There Hope for Planet Earth, in conjunction with the California Institute of Technology. It was acquired and aired on KCET/PBS featured as part of the station’s Emmy- and Peabody-awarded news program SoCalConnected. Raphael next produced and directed A Concrete River, a film about the history of the Los Angeles River that was also acquired by KCET.
LA Foodways, a six-part digital series and one-hour feature that Raphael directed and produced, debuted in January 2019, and airs on KCET and online. The series, which was co-produced with KCET, highlights Los Angeles’ farming history, contrasted against the fact that there are 1.5 million people dealing with food scarcity or living in food deserts in Los Angeles county, the largest in the country.
FILMMAKER-MEDIA ARTIST-EDUCATOR
Jackson is the director of Temple University's Diamond Screen Film & Media Arts Festival. has served as a juror for the Phoenix Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival, and Glass City Film Festival, and acted as the social media director for the Arkansas Cinema Society. Jackson is currently completing her MFA in Film from Temple University and currently developing her first virtual reality experience based on The Yellow Wallpaper short.
Actress-SONGWRITER-SINGER
Karen David is a multi-hyphenate talent – actress and singer/songwriter – who has found equal diversity in her film, television, stage, and recording career. Born in Shillong, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas; raised in Toronto; and the daughter of a half-Chinese, half-Khasi mother and an Indian father, David discovered her love of performing at a young age.
At 17 she won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied jazz and gospel. It was there she discovered a flair for songwriting and the desire to pursue her love for drama, which led her to study at the Guildford School of Acting in London.
Her first professional acting role came shortly after graduation in the original stage cast of the London West End musical Mamma Mia! David can currently be seen as a series regular in the AMC Network show, “Fear The Walking Dead” as Grace. She is also recurring in the CW series “Legacies” from executive producer, Julie Plec , and on the ABC series, “The Rookie”. She has also had recurring roles on HBO’s “Barry” alongside creator, Bill Hader, and on CBS’ long-running drama”Criminal Minds”, as well as major arcs on YouTube’s “Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television” and ITV’s “Cold Feet”, and as Princess Jasmine on ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.” Best known to US audiences for her breakout role as Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia in ABC’s “Galavant”, David showcased both of her passions – acting and singing – in the musical fantasy series. Created by Dan Fogelman (This Is Us), the cult hit featured music by the award-winning composer, Alan Menken.
She got her start in television in the UK on BBC’s BAFTA nominated Waterloo Road and the BBC’s comedy series Pixelface, produced by comedian, Graham Norton’s company, So Television. From there she landed roles on MTV’s “Top Buzzer” and Cinemax’s action thriller “Strike Back”, and guest-starring roles on ABC’s “Castle”, FOX’s “Touch” alongside Keith Sutherland, and NBC’s “Timeless.” David’s film career began with a supporting role in the UK cult hit, “Bollywood Queen”, opposite James McAvoy. This led to co-starring roles in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins”, the Vince Vaughan comedy, “Couples Retreat”, and Millennium Film’s drama, “Red Lights”, starring Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro. David has had starring roles in the heartwarming independent comedy, “The Tiger Hunter”, Universal Pictures’ “The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior”, and the acclaimed Netflix British comedy romance, “Amar Akbar & Tony.” More recently she portrayed a tough FBI agent in the blockbuster, “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” and will next be seen in the upcoming independent film, “Sand & Snow.”
On the musical front, David is continually refining her passion for writing and recording “feel-good indie-girl pop with a twist” in between filming. In the wake of her hit 2003 single, It’s Me (You’re Talking To), which became a Top Ten hit in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as BMG’s fourth highest airplay hit for a debut artist, she released her first two EPs, The Live Sessions EP (2008) and Magic Carpet Ride (2009), followed by the 2010 single Hypnotize and three mixes. David worked with A.R. Rahman, (Slumdog Millionaire), to help develop the soundtrack for the Bollywood-themed musical, “Bombay Dreams” alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black. They subsequently created the theme tune for the British drama, “Provoked”, in which David had a supporting role. In addition, David is an avid supporter of charity who devotes much of her time to campaigning for various issues, including the Alzheimer’s Association, and is also an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust. She is also an active supporter of SOS Children’s Villages Foundation and Designers Against AIDS.
Director-artist
Skizz Cyzyk has been a fixture on the film festival circuit since the mid-90s, having held positions at Slamdance (lead projectionist/advisory board, since 1997), MicroCineFest (founder/festival director for 10 years), Maryland Film Festival (Programming Manager for 9 years), Atlanta Film Festival (Technical Supervisor/projectionist for 9 years), and serving on juries and advisory boards at several other festivals.
His films include award-winning documentary features ICEPICK TO THE MOON, HIT & STAY, and FREAKS IN LOVE; many short films including DAVID FAIR IS THE KING, ALFRED JARRY & PATAPHYSICS, and MANAGERS CORNER; plus music videos for Beach House, Young Fresh Fellows, Meatjack, and many more. He plays drums for Half Japanese, Mink Stole & Her Wonderful Band, The Stents, The Jennifers, and Garage Sale. He is also the electric-ukulele-playing front person for Go Pills. He has been a frequent contributor to zines like Cashiers du Cinemart, Go Metric!, and Counteroid, and is a regular guest on The Projection Booth Podcast.
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