The IFGA Advisory Board is made up of working and experienced professionals. Each has been in the industry long enough to amass practical experience to aid and offer insight, support, resources and/or services aimed at aiding, informing, and/or educating members and the IFGA.
The owner of Koa Aloha Media, B. Luciano Barsuglia, has been working in the entertainment industry since the early 1990s.
He founded the IFGA as a means to bring independent artists together in a productive and meaningful way.
While in college, he started as an editor and camera operator for a production company creating nationally aired infomercials. In the mid-1990s, he moved into the film finishing world, also working on trailers and credit sequences for companies such as UA/MGM, Buena Vista, and Sony Pictures Classics.
By the early 2000s, Barsuglia’s production company, Koa Aloha Media, started producing feature films, episodic content, and documentaries. Additionally, he has maintained working regularly in his field of specialty with post-production.
In addition to producing original content, Barsuglia has worked regularly as an editor on feature films, along with digital cinema package curation and creation, having helped more than 6,000 independent films have their day on the big screen.
He was also the founder and director of the SoCal Film Festival (now called the SoCal Film Awards), which has honored thousands of movies since its inaugural event in 2005. Additionally, he started the entertainment magazine INFLUX Magazine and Entertainment News, which has been publishing movie reviews and interviews since 1997. The magazine was printed and distributed physically until the early 2000s, when it made its transition to an entirely digital publication.
His latest ventures, AlohaStream, and OC Standing Sets are additional outlets to help independent filmmakers producer and share their content. AlohaStream is a platform to share the work of Koa Aloha Media alongside independent filmmakers. OC Standing Sets is a small and cost-effective studio with multiple standing sets always available for indie productions.
Trelanda “Tree” Lowe is a long-time professional in the industry, the owner of Vision Edge Media, the President, and Creative Conceptual Artist at Bourgeois Magazine LA, and an award-winning podcast show host of Phenomenal Disabilities.
Since 2020, Trelanda has held the role of a Post-Production Supervisor for ADA LeadOn Productions, winning the production team numerous awards. As a member of the disability community, Trelanda has provided mentoring as an LCA Core Leadership Mentor.
Additionally, Trelanda is actively involved as a juror for Aiva’s: Davey, Communicator, and W3 Awards, besides being a former journalist and judge for Women’s eNews.
Joe Orlandi is a professional director of photography and gaffer with 20 years of experience in the film industry.
Having either DP’d or gaffed over 30 feature films which include theatrical releases, hundreds of TV commercials, and many music videos of billboard top 100 artists.
He is an RIAA Certified 5x Platinum Record Award recipient for the music video work he has done. Working for studios and parent companies including LionsGate, NBC Universal, ESPN Films, PBS, MTV, and more.
Orlandi is the CEO of Everest Studios, an online sales and rental company that’s an authorized dealer for many major brands including Litepanels, Oconnor Support Systems, Blackmagic Design, Teradek, Tokina, Steadicam, and more. Handling online sales and help with any questions customers may have on equipment and also providing lighting and grip rentals to independent film productions.
He has also had a hand in formal film education, including teaching cinematography master classes, and teaching cinematography and lighting for 2 years at the New York Institute of Technology.
Andrew Roberts is a long-time professional in the entertainment industry as well as education. He has worked at multiple schools at the high school and college level as an educator and administrator where he has launched and guided Film and Media Arts programs.
Additionally, Roberts is an ambassador to Lumix brands, representing one of the premiere manufacturers of equipment aimed at independent producers.
Roberts works in the industry in a variety of roles, specializing as a director of photography and camera operator.
Jed Rowen is an award-winning actor who has appeared in more than 100 movies.
He’s gone toe-to-toe on the silver screen with many world-renowned actors, and he continues to be one of the hardest working indie actors in the business.
In addition to his acting prowess, Rowen is also an award-winning camera operator and editor.
Robert has been practicing entertainment law (among other areas) for 32 years, and he is a multi-award-winning independent film producer and actor.
He is also a best-selling author as he wrote the book “Voice Over Legal.” He is also a frequent speaker at entertainment conferences across the U.S.
One of the major cases Robert handled was against TikTok in the U.S. Federal District Court- Southern District of New York, for illegal use of the original Text to Speech voice, Beverly Standing.
Janet Wang is a founding member of the IFGA with extensive experience in the world of independent filmmaking as a producer, actor, stunt coordinator, and much more.
Steve Wollett is an award-winning Director/Producer with more than 180 films to his name. His work has been shown on six continents and in more than 40 countries. Steve is a founding member of the World’s Largest Film Library currently under construction in Jaipur India. As a storyteller, he has published thirteen books including The Gorgon’s Lament, and God’s Assassin. In 2020 Steve suffered great tragedy with the loss of his wife (Covid) and business (Fire).
As a coping mechanism he wrote Jack Be Nimble. Within five months he was well underway with turning that story into the feature film of the same name. The film entered worldwide release in September of 2022 and has won more than 20 awards in eleven countries.
Steve’s ability to turn every situation into something positive has allowed him to wear many hats in his lifetime. He has been a soldier, firefighter, paramedic, land surveyor, merchant, health care consultant, salesman, and even worked at Johns Hopkins doing cancer research. He holds degrees in Comparative Religion and Criminal Justice Administration and has authored/published a biological study in the British Journal of Biological Science.
As a lover of film, Steve sits on the jury for numerous film festivals.
Members interested in joining our Advisory Board can contact us.