Film U

FILM U is a web sitcom about a third-rate film school, a hotbed of in-fighting and scandals, run by a staff of incompetents and has-beens.

Episode 5: A Visit from the Movie Star

The famous dad of a troubled student turns the school upside down.

Episodes

Episode 1: Where's the Chair?

The Film U student orientation goes horribly awry.

6:24

Episode 2: Meet the New Boss

The professors fight over who gets to run the school.

6:09

Episode 3: Inappropriate Guest Professor

A famous European filmmaker teaches a disastrous master class.

7:12

Episode 4: Who Stole the Camera?

The professors investigate a major theft.

6:40

Episode 5: A Visit from the Movie Star

The famous dad of a troubled student turns the school upside down.

7:39

Episode 6: Over the Edge

The professors band together to deal with a life-or-death crisis.

7:31

Cast

Carolyn Baeumler

Alice

Carolyn Baeumler will soon be appearing in the independent film “The Bride in the Box,” written and directed by Doug Bost and co-starring Acadia Bost and Victor Verhaeghe. Other film and TV appearances include “Diminished Capacity,” “The Last,” “Focus Group,” “Flightless Birds,” “Law & Order,” “Criminal Intent,” “Special Victims Unit,” “Iron Fist,” “Homeland,” “Red Oaks,” and the web series “Cop Doc.” Carolyn co-founded the theatre company Hourglass Group, best known for its revivals of Mae West’s play “Sex” and the adaptation of Ernst Lubitsch’s film “Trouble in Paradise.” Onstage she has portrayed Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Kay Francis, and Courtney Love in various Off Broadway and regional theatre productions. She originated roles in the world premieres of “Big Love,” by Charles Mee, and “The Beebo Brinker Chronicles,” adapted from the Ann Bannon lesbian pulp fiction novels by Kate Moira Ryan and Linda Chapman. She has also had the privilege to stand by for Cynthia Nixon, Elizabeth Marvel, Lili Taylor, and, most recently, Jessica Hecht in “The Price” at the Roundabout on Broadway. 

Scott Cohen

Billy

Scott’s upcoming and current film projects include “Braid,” “South Mountain,” “All the Little Things We Kill,” and “Write When You Get Work.” Past titles include “The Week Of,” with Adam Sandler, Mel Gibson’s “Get the Gringo,” “As You Are,” “The Other Woman,” with Natalie Portman, Ramin Serry’s “Loveless,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Kissing Jessica Stein,” Anastasia Traina’s “Natural History,” “Elfantasmagoria,” and many others. TV includes “Gilmore Girls,” “The 10thKingdom,” “NYPD Blue,” “Necessary Roughness,” “Allegiance,” “The Americans,” “Gotti,” “Street Time,” and, upcoming, ABC’s “The Fix,” among others. Theater includes Playwrights Horizons, MTC, Public Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival, The Mark Taper Forum, The Director’s Company, Angel Theater, Naked Angels, Voice and Vision, and the Culture Project.  Producing credits include Hallmark’s “Pearl in Paradise,” “Silk City,” “Threads,” and “The 10th Kingdom 2.” Directing credits include “Necessary Roughness” webisodes for USA Network. 

Will Janowitz 

Sebastian

Will Janowitz is an actor, writer, and producer. As an actor Will has had recurring roles on “The Sopranos” and “Boardwalk Empire” and guest starring roles on shows such as “Broad City,” “Mad Men,” “Louie,” and “Chicago PD.” As a producer, Will is developing a TV series based on the cult classic “Bad Lieutenant,” with Michael Imperioli and Tom Hardy executive producing. Will wrote a feature film for Elara Pictures, the Safdie Brother’s production arm, entitled “Love Muscle.” He is producing a film based on “Train Dreams,” the Pulitzer Prize-nominated novella by Denis Johnson. Will’s screenplay “Bishop,” was accepted into the 2017 Rotterdam Lab, and Aya Cash (“You’re the Worst”) is attached to co-star.

Orfeh

Victoria

Tony and Grammy Award nominee Orfeh is currently starring as Kit De Luca in “Pretty Woman the Musical” on Broadway. Other favorite Broadway credits include Paulette in “Legally Blonde: The Musical” (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, Broadway.com Audience Award), “Saturday Night Fever,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” and “Footloose.” Off Broadway includes “Love, Loss, and What I Wore,” “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” “Love, Janis.” TV/Film includes Netflix’s “The Good Cop,” “Sleeping with the Fishes” (with Gina Rodgriguez), “Across the Universe,” “Film U,” “Law & Order Criminal Intent,” “Sex and the City,” “Chappelle's Show.” She has performed at Lincoln Center with her husband, Olivier Award winner and Tony nominee Andy Karl. Her extensive recording career includes leading the nineties pop group Or-N-More, and she has performed with many music legends, from the O'Jays to Chaka Kahn. Her solo CD, "What Do You Want From Me," her latest single, "Forget My Name," and her live album "Orfeh & Andy Karl: Legally Bound—Live at Feinstein's/54 Below" are available on iTunes. Twitter: @official_orfeh, Instagram: @orfeh.

Bryan Terrell Clark

Milton

Bryan recently appeared as George Washington in the record-breaking Broadway box-office smash hit “Hamilton.” He made his Broadway debut playing the iconic role of Marvin Gaye in “Motown: The Musical,” which received a 2014 Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theater Album. Bryan also starred opposite Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett in the acclaimed drama “Fences” at the Pasadena Playhouse. Additional theater credits include the Mark Taper Forum’s production of “Immediate Family,” directed by Phylicia Rashad, the Alliance Theatre’s “Sophisticated Ladies,” and “His Girl Friday” at the Guthrie Theater. Bryan’s numerous television appearances include CBS’s “NCSI: New Orleans,” “Blue Bloods,” “Person of Interest,” “Unforgettable,” “CSI: NY” and “The Unit.” He has also had roles on NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura,” Fox’s “Empire,” USA Network’s “Royal Pains,” as well as BET’s “The New Edition Story” and “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” Bryan recently completed filming Ava DuVernay’s "Central Park Five,” to air on Netflix in 2019. In addition, Bryan appeared in the film “Collateral Beauty,” which was released in 2016 by Warner Bros.

Jarlath Conroy

Boomer

Broadway credits include “The Seagull,” “The Weir,” “The Iceman Cometh,” “On the Waterfront,” “Philadelphia, Here I Come!,” “The Visit,” “Ghetto,” and “Comedians.” Off-Broadway credits include “Happy Days,” “Loot,” “The Coward,” “A Man of No Importance,” “A Life,” “Our Lady of Sligo,” “A Couple of Blaguards,” “Gardenia,” “Translations,” and “The Matchmaker.” Jarlath has worked extensively in regional theaters, where he earned Helen Hayes and Barrymore Awards. Movies include “True Grit,” “Kinsey,” “The Art of Getting By,” “Across the Universe,” George Romero's “Day of the Dead,” and “Heaven's Gate.” TV appearances include “Law and Order SVU,” “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” “NYPD Blue,” “The Beat,” “Summer,” and “A Marriage: O'Keefe and Stieglitz.”

Ali Reza Farahnakian

Sergei

Ali Reza Farahnakian has worked at “Saturday Night Live,” The Second City, and ImprovOlympic, and he was a founding member of UCB and The PIT. He has performed on the Steppenwolf Mainstage in Chicago, BAM, and Playwrights Horizons in N.Y.C. He has appeared in films, television, commercials, voiceovers, and more. He lives in N.Y.C. and teaches at ThePIT-NYC.com in N.Y.C. and ThePIT-ChapelHill.com in Chapel Hill, N.C. 

Taylor Trensch

Junior

Broadway roles include Evan Hansen in “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Hello, Dolly!” with Bette Midler, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,” “Matilda the Musical,” and “Wicked.” He appeared in the first national tour of “Spring Awakening, Off Broadway in “Bare” and “Rent,” and in world premieres at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Barrington Stage, and La Jolla Playhouse. Television appearances include “Archibald’s Next Big Thing” (Netflix) and “Nella the Princess Knight” (Nickelodeon). Taylor trained at Elon University.

James McCaffrey

Maker

James McCaffrey can most recently be seen on the second season of Spike Lee’s hit Netflix series “She’s Gotta Have It,” returning to his role of wealthy art connoisseur and real estate developer Danton Phillips. This year also saw him joining the Marvel Universe as the duplicitous film director Max Tatum in “Jessica Jones.” James is well known for his series-regular role on all seven seasons of the hit FX series “Rescue Me.” Other television credits include his recurring role of Gordon Specter on "Suits," “Bull,” “Chicago Med,” "Revenge," "The Following," "White Collar," “Hack,” “Beautiful People,” “Sex and the City,” and “Canterbury’s Law.” Notable film credits include “Blind,” “I Dream Too Much,” “Like Sunday Like Rain,” “The Suspect,” “Compliance,” “Excuse Me for Living,” “The Orphan Killer,” “One Fall,” “Meskada,” “Camp Hope,” “Broken English,” “Hotel Shanghai,” “American Splendor,” “The Tic Code,” “Distress,” Spike Lee’s “She Hate Me,” “Hide & Seek,” and “The Truth About Cats and Dogs” opposite Uma Thurman. James has been a proud member of The Actors Studio, and he started his own theatre company, The Workhouse Theatre, in Tribeca. Off-Broadway productions include “The Scape,” “The Florentine,” “Lovers & Madmen,” “In Ten Cities,” and “Gross Points” alongside Alec Baldwin.

Billy Calder

Shadow

Billy Calder was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.  He received his MFA in Acting from the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University. He is a founding member and Producing Director of CRASH Theater Co., a collective of theater artists based in New York City. Billy has worked in film, television, theater, and improv in New York City, as well as regionally and internationally. Film/TV credits include “The Forger” (with John Travolta), NBC’s “Allegiance,” and “My Friend Will” (Tribeca TV Festival Fall Pilot Season Selection). Stage credits include “TaRaRaBOOM: A Three Sisters MishMash” (CRASH Theater Co.), “All Our Tragic,” by Sean Graney, and “American Sojourns,” three Thornton Wilder one acts performed at the Moscow Art Theatre. crashtheater.com

Show Creators

Ramin Serry

Ramin Serry has written and directed two critically acclaimed feature films, “Maryam” (2002; “Two Thumbs Up” - Ebert & Roeper) and “Loveless” (2011; “Thumbs Up” - Roger Ebert). His short films “Don’t Call It a Comeback” and “Future Hero” were Vimeo Staff Picks and official selection at several film festivals. Serry teaches screenwriting at Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, and University of Georgia.

Shauna Lyon

Shauna Lyon is the editor of Goings On About Town at The New Yorker. She founded Streetlight Films, with her husband Ramin Serry, where she has produced the critically acclaimed feature films “Maryam” (2002) and “Loveless” (2011), as well as several short films, most recently the short comedies "Don't Call It a Comeback” and "Future Hero." Lyon co-wrote, with Serry, a romantic comedy, “The Commitment Pill.”