THE FILMMAKERS
John P. Vourlis
Writer/Director/Producer
John Vourlis has 25+ years’ experience working in the entertainment industry. John has written screenplays and various treatments for Academy Award nominated actor James Cromwell’s production company, Koshari Films; for actor John Kapelos’ (Breakfast Club, Justified) production company Carpuzi Films; nine scripts for the children’s educational DVD series Rainbow Valley Heroes, and the text for several video games for Acclaim Entertainment. He has been a semi-finalist for the prestigious Nicholl’s Fellowship in screenwriting, and a semi-finalist for the Stage 32 Action/Adventure and True Story screenplay contests.
Vourlis also produces and directs documentary films. His first documentary, Breaking Balls, about the cultural impact of the game of bocce on the Italian-American community of Northeast Ohio, was an official selection of the 2017 Cleveland International Film Festival and the 2017 Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, where it played to sold out crowds. The film was picked up for distribution by Virgil Films.
His current documentary feature film, The House Next Door, about the devastating effects of the foreclosure crisis on his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, was named an official selection of the 2022 Chagrin Documentary Film Festival as well as the 2023 Columbus International Film & Animation Festival and the 2024 Magic of Cinema Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
John is also a published author of short stories, a comic book, a travel memoir about Nepal called Yoga For Freedom, and the college screenwriting textbook Understanding Screenwriting (published by Kendall Hunt). John also launched and ran a software company, Story Vision, which developed and marketed the first ever writing tool for interactive media storytelling.
Vourlis is currently an Instructor in the School Film and Media Arts at Cleveland State University. Before teaching, he was a VP/General Manager at the Academy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning Hollywood specialty lighting company, Luminys Systems Corp. Prior to that, he was a Story Analyst for Nippon Herald Films (a Japanese film distribution company) where he analyzed scripts for films being considered for financing and distribution. While there, he worked closely with the VP of the U.S. division of the company.
John has an M.F.A. in Film Production from the highly acclaimed USC School of Cinematic Arts, as well as an M.A. in English and a B.S. in Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Once upon a time, he also worked in Space Propulsion Technology at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland before embarking on his career in film.
Graham Emerson Beck
Producer/Editor/Writer
Graham Emerson Beck has 10+ years in the film and television industry working on a multitude of various projects along with wearing a slew of different hats. Beck has been a part of or the head of the Locations Department on a number of films including White Noise (Netflix), Shooting Stars (NBC/Universal), Lost & Found In Cleveland, Bikeriders (New Regency Productions), Blade (Marvel Studios/Disney), among others.
Beck has produced and edited a number of projects over the years, including the short poetic documentary Out For Fame which garnered a nod from the 2021 Short. Sweet. Film Fest in Cleveland, Ohio. He was brought on to edit and later produce The House Next Door, a documentary about the American housing crisis of 2008 that put the Cleveland neighborhood of Slavic Village in the middle of an economic disaster. The House Next Door was an official selection and sold out multiple showings at the 2022 Chagrin Documentary Film Festival. It was also selected by the 2023 Columbus International Film Festival & Animation Festival in Columbus, Ohio, as well as the 2024 Magic of Cinema Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
Beck is the co-creator and producer of competitive-reality television show, Spilled; a show that puts the shine back on the mixologist and the service industry through a gauntlet tasks and challenges. He has also produced, directed, and edited a handful of short films including Connection and Silna Kobieta, along with a number of music videos various bands, including the post-rock group Seeress and commercials for Cleveland college radio station WCSB 89.3FM.
Graham Emerson Beck graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University’s Film School. Beck grew up just outside of Detroit, Michigan and currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio with his partner Katie and their cat Mini.
Evan W. Prunty
Producer/Cinematographer
Co-founder of Cleveland media production company Black Valve Media with his cousin Hunter Prunty, both Cleveland natives. Black Valve Media specializes in video production as well as photography. Black Valve provides video production services ranging from national commercials, to directing music videos for local music artists. Based in a multi-service video and photo studio, the company also prides itself in providing a space for artists and creatives to work on their projects.
Evan has been a freelance photographer doing work for Cleveland Magazine, as well as a variety of other publications. He also created the online music publication Pulmonary Sound. Worked at Bad Racket Recording Studio since January 2015 producing the Live From Bad Racket video series as well as other projects.
Evan is a graduate of Cleveland State University School of Film & Media Arts.
