IPG Member Spotlight!

IPG Members Don’t Sit Still!

This is the first in an ongoing series of spotlights on IPG members, and what they are doing! If you haven’t met these IPG members, you should get to know them!

These brief listings are here to recognize that IPG members move forward creatively, on all cylinders. Our members are creatives who don’t wait for others to do things for them. That’s what makes them leaders in the film industry.

Today is a quick one - just brief highlights from some of our current members and their projects. We will be highlighting other IPG members in the future, and updating you on these members’ projects as well!

Interviews Coming!

And, we will be including interviews with our top movers and shakers. First up will be Xochi Blymer, DGA. Xochi has years as an Assistant Director on major productions, and has an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience. You want to read the interview! See Xochi’s imdb here.

This Issue’s Member Highllights

Alex Moreno - Alex is the founder of Future Leaders Of The World, a 501(c)(3) which works to turn around at-risk youth by introducing them to the creative craft of filmmaking. His company On the Move Productions focuses on content from a social-impact perspective. Its Future Leaders Of the World (FLOW) project is funded to tackle health disparities.

Students (under the age of 24) are taught a health curriculum, then charged with creating raw stories on the specific subject matter (i.e Substance Abuse/ Suicide prevention etc.). These stories are then turned into scripts that go through development. The highest rated script, scored by their peers on a Youth Advisory Board (YAB), gets produced into a professional "ice-breaker short film." An Educational Advisory Board then works with a few YAB members in designing a curriculum to teach the subject matter by using the produced film to new students.

Xochi Blymer - DGA Assistant Director with many years of experience in big and small productions - Xochi is also a producer and director in her own right. Her current production is Red Dog & Bates a documentary through her production company Gotta Grin Pictures. Red Dog & bates is an adventure documentary about two men walking from Los Angeles to Mexico City in 1958, and is currently in post production. It is in a rough cut stage, needing graphics, music, and all those post finishing touches. Website to learn more about the movie is ReddogandBatesthemovie.com and the trailer can be found at Vimeo.com/xochi/reddogandbatestrailer.

Larissa Elaina - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm17032437/ Larissa is one of our younger members, and doesn’t wait for things to happen - she makes them happen. She’s the creator and producer behind her current series project Sweet Everly, being produced by her production company Cosmic Eye Entertainment.  This sci-fi coming of age TV series is currently in the development stage with a filmed promotional video. They are launching a crowdfunding campaign this fall to support the next phase of the project.

Diamond Monique Washington - Diamond is the creative mind behind Diamond’s Dark House and the Artistic Director of Stage And Screen Innovations, overseeing the Virtual Theatrical and PUNC programs. She is the writer and director of her psychological horror feature The Rabbit Hole is in early pre-production now, and will be the first Filmpod Elite feature to be realesed in FilmPods.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai - (yes, that’s me, writing) - Aside from daily work at the IPG and SSI, I am one of the founders of the FilmPod and its Digital Box Office platforms. FilmPod and DBO are revolutionizing the way independent film is distributed and financed. We are in early stages of operations and startup funding, after having worked on the concepts for the last several years. This week, we passed into the first round of Pepperdine’s Most Fundable Startups program! FilmPod has already partnered with Cinefind.app and Branded Streams, and is actively seeking disruptive corporate partnerships and visionary private investors. FilmPod will hook your production up to the world.

Steve Taylor - Steve is the IPGs networking coordinator. He is a producer as well, and his company Bonfire Entertainment currently has two feature films going into preproduction shortly: Goathead is a Valentine’s-themed horror-comedy. The film is co-directed by Steve Deering and Matthew Rodriguez. The cast includes Bre Augsburg, Mishel Eckman, Neo Barnes, and Vanessa Evans. Targeting a February 2026 release, Goathead is designed for festival play and strong returns in the microbudget horror market. The other is Escape to America, a $1.5M high-concept immigrant comedy currently in final packaging. This film is written by Brooke Forbes and Emmy-winner Bob Colleary, with Forbes also starring. Confirmed cast includes Eric Roberts, Renee Taylor, Dominique Swain, Clare Grant, Bobby Lee, Kevin Davitian, and Matt Rife. Financing is underway with final director attachment in progress.