A Film Independent Project Involve Short
A former actress finally finds her audience as a trad wife influencer, but when her marriage crumbles, she discovers how far she’ll go to keep the show alive.
About Project Involve
For 30 years and counting, Project Involve has been Film Independent’s most vital and impactful program. This robust program provides invaluable hands-on filmmaking experience from project inception to completion.
Each year, 30 filmmakers from diverse backgrounds are given the opportunity to hone skills, form creative partnerships, create short films and gain industry access needed to succeed as working artists.
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Meet the Team
Jacob Combs, Director
Jacob Combs is a director, writer and producer based in Los Angeles and a 2025 Project Involve directing fellow with Film Independent. Most recently, he directed the fiction short film THE ORANGE AT THE SEDER, which is currently on the festival circuit, with screenings at HollyShorts, BFI Flare London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, and the Austin Jewish Film Festival. His first live-action short as writer/director, WITHOUT, hit the festival circuit both in the U.S. and abroad during 2019 and 2020.
Jacob has developed his creative work at CineStory, the Stowe Story Labs, and the Nostos Screenwriting Retreat, and was part of the writers room for the Netflix comedy BLOCKBUSTER. He’s currently developing an original half-hour TV dramedy with Blockbuster showrunners Vanessa Ramos and Jackie Clarke, as well as Bridger Winegar. Previously to that, he spent a 6-year stint at Pixar in a variety of writing, development and production roles. He wrote on an untitled feature in development and was part of the writers’ room for the original episodic series DREAM PRODUCTIONS. He also wrote several episodes of the Emmy-nominated Disney+ nonfiction documentary series INSIDE PIXAR.
In addition to his work in film and television, Jacob is a lifelong theater nerd who wrote the music & lyrics for ‘Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins’ (based on the beloved children’s book by Eric Kimmel), which has been produced annually since 2018 by Chicago’s Strawdog Theatre. Jacob is a graduate of Brown University.
Laura Hunter Drago, Writer
Laura Hunter Drago is a writer and producer based in Los Angeles and a 2025 Project Involve writing fellow with Film Independent.
As a writer, Laura is a winner of the Austin Film Festival’s Fiction Podcast Script Award, winner of the WeScreenplay Short Script Lab, and a finalist for the Bellem Entertainment Fellowship with Stowe Story Labs, among other accolades. She also wrote the Webby Award Honoree audio fiction series THE CRIME AT CAMP ASHWOOD.
Laura produced the acclaimed podcast ST. MARY’S SCHOOL (FOR CHILDREN WITH THE STIGMATA), and directed the Coven Film Festival runner-up animated short THE ECHO. For her debut feature as a producer, Laura helmed the stage-to-screen adaptation of Samantha Macher’s play, TO THE NEW GIRL, which was honored by Women in Media with the Parity in Action Badge.
An alumna of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts at The Atlantic Theatre Company Acting School, Laura’s first love was theatre… and though she now considers herself a retired–and recovering–actress, she remains a proud SAG-AFTRA member.
Jaycie Luo, Executive Producer
Jaycie Luo is a film executive who is passionate about shedding light on stories from historically underrepresented communities and telling them in bold new ways. As a former competitive ice hockey from the Bay Area (pre Inside Out), she learned from a young age how to carve her own identity among disparate cultures. After a career-ending injury led her to USC, it was during college when she discovered that working in film was no different than playing hockey – she was on a team again and striving towards a shared outcome with her peers and collaborators.
Jaycie got her start working in indie film finance and sales at various companies. She currently works at MRC, where she now oversees marketing, sales, and publicity across the studio’s film slate as well as ensures smooth studio operations across business functions. From executing global campaigns for Knives Out and Saltburn to working with emerging filmmakers on Fair Play and American Fiction, Jaycie’s vast scope of experience has led her to champion quality stories with universal appeal.
Jaycie is currently a Film Independent Project Involve Fellow, where she aims to dovetail her business and creative instincts by shepherding the next generation of filmmakers in the feature space. Jaycie most recently served as a Narrative Shorts Juror for SXSW 2025.
Casey Naranjo, Producer
Casey Naranjo is an Irish-Ecuadorian filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her producing career unofficially began as a curious 8-year-old with a video camera in her home state of New Jersey. She earned her BFA in Television Writing and Production from Chapman University where she found her love of producing and writing.
Casey has worked in production roles at A24 as their first ever physical production intern, FX Productions pilot series Kindred, HBO MAX’s Emmy award-winning series Insecure, The Montecito Picture Company for development, and Partizan for various commercial projects. She currently works as a Senior Production Manager for digital media companies Jubilee Media and Nectar, creating unscripted short-form content with over 3 billion views across platforms. Her most recent series Nectarhouse was Nectar’s biggest endeavor yet. She has also produced other viral series such as Swipe or Swap, Middle Ground, Surrounded, Versus 1, and Odd One Out.
She is a producing fellow in Film Independent’s 2025 Project Involve program and her creative work aspires to tell raw, authentic stories that are deeply human, relatable, and empathic.
Omer Lotan, Cinematographer
Omer Lotan is a cinematographer based in Los Angeles, originally from Tel Aviv. A graduate of ‘Minshar School of Art’, his work spans narrative and documentary films, commercials, and music videos. His narrative work, such as The Visit, Thunder from the Sea, and Clinging, has been selected and awarded at prestigious festivals, including Cannes, Camerimage, and the Jerusalem Film Festival. The documentary feature he shot in Uganda, Homeboys, gained success at numerous film festivals worldwide. He has shot commercials for global brands such as Wix, Visa, and Doritos.
In 2020, Omer moved to Los Angeles to further engage with the international film industry. In 2022, he lensed the feature film Jacob the Baker, a multinational film produced by Indian Paintbrush, which streams on Amazon. As a 2025 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow, Omer continues to pursue meaningful and artistic cinema, bringing innovative visual storytelling to diverse projects.
Amy Rosenberg, Editor
Amy Rosenberg is an award-winning editor and 2025 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow, represented by Cut+Run. Known for blending technical precision with emotional depth, her work spans commercials, branded content, and narrative projects. Her edit of Dove’s The Code earned an Anthem Award and a Cannes Titanium nomination, showcasing her ability to merge storytelling with advocacy for diversity and inclusion. Driven by her heritage and a deep commitment to representation, Rosenberg tells nuanced stories of human perseverance and resilience—crafting narratives that are both artful and deeply human.
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