Meet the Family
Meet the amazing people who are part of the
PARACHUTES PAMILYA
We are not just a team. We are a FAMILY — committed to each other and to each other’s dreams.
Writer, Director, and 2021 CNN + Film Independent Original Docuseries Fellow LESLIE ALEJANDRO has been obsessed with film and television from a young age. As an accomplished photographer, her ability to tell stories through imagery, composition, and stills led her to pursue filmmaking. Her directing credits include the documentary short about surrogacy She’s Having My Baby, the short film Smile, starring Kevin Alejandro and DB Woodside, and Adult Night, in which she co-directed with Kevin Alejandro, starring Kevin Alejandro and Lesley-Ann Brandt. She also wrote and directed the brown-girl anthem music video, GOLD, as well as the horror-inspired music video UNDEAD. All films have received awards at various film festivals, such as The Mammoth Film Festival, Docs Without Borders, Rincon Film Festival, and the International Music Video Awards.
Having been in the entertainment industry for over 30 years, KEVIN ALEJANDRO loves all things filmmaking. This San Antonio, Texas native quickly found himself starring along some of the finest actors and working with some of the most creative professionals in projects, such as CBS’s current hit Fire Country, Netflix’s Lucifer, HBO’s Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated True Blood, and TNT’s Southland. With the formation of Alejandro Films, Kevin is determined to tell culturally diverse stories in an entertaining way, particularly within the Latinx community.
DANI DE JESUS, CNN Original Series + Film Independent Docuseries Fellow, is an award-winning educator and award-winning producer (Adult Night, A Woman Reported) from LA. After graduating from UCLA, Dani worked at Craig Anderson Productions (On Golden Pond, Meltdown, For the Love of a Child) as the Director of Development for six years. Dani created a production company ALEJANDRO FILMS with her sister Leslie Alejandro and brother-in-law Kevin Alejandro to tell the stories that need to be told and create conversations around issues that impact our world. Dani is a co-producer on the upcoming feature East of Western, featuring Dante Basco, and she’s currently in production on The Cassandra Project, a trilogy of short films about the consequences of women not being heard.
Talent manager and producer, EMILY CHO, has been nurturing talent such as Jaeden Martell, Dante Basco, and Ella Jay Basco for over 20 years in this industry. She produced indie films and music videos, such as Jaeden Martell's directorial debut These Walls and Ella Jay Basco’s brown-pride theme song Gold.
DEREK BASCO (actor, writer, producer) has been in the entertainment business for over 30 years, starring in shows such as Mayor of Kingstown, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Fabulous Filipino Brothers. He has been producing indie films and music videos, such as Versus and Ella Jay Basco’s brown-pride theme song Gold.
GILLIAN MAHAR is a passionate, dedicated, and creative Production Manager and Assistant Director. She has worked on projects for national brands, such as Blue Diamond Almonds and Twitter, music videos for artists, such as Logic, Rich Brian, and Halsey, and many short films and series for networks such as Netflix. Gillian draws experience in communications, management, and organization from her past career as a National Marketing Director where she worked with over 35 clients including several Fortune 500 companies.
Cuban American Casting Director and Producer NATALIE BALLESTEROS is a partner and founding member of Adams, Ballesteros, Luna Casting (ABL). This partnership was launched with the intent of highlighting a variety of artists in the entertainment industry, focusing on authentic and inclusive representation in both film and television. The trio has worked on various projects for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Branded Television, HBO, and most recently cast the inaugural presentation of the Warner Bros. Discovery Access Talent Spotlight. ABL Casting recently cast the Untitled Jenni Rivera Biopic feature film. As the former Director of Talent and Casting for CBS Network TV, Natalie covered several series, pilots, and other projects for the network. Prior to CBS, Natalie worked on a number of notable projects, including the Academy Award-winning Coco for Walt Disney Films/Pixar, Narcos: Mexico for Netflix, East Los High – The Movie and the series for Hulu, and Los Espookys and Icebox, both for HBO. Additionally, she cast the Amazon series, Soldados o Zombies series for Amazon International.
ALAN LUNA is a Casting Director and Producer for TV, Film & Animation. He's a partner with ABL Casting, a casting office founded by him and fellow Casting Directors Michelle Adams & Natalie Ballesteros. With over a decade of casting and development experience, Alan has collaborated on a number of projects with Netflix, HBO Max, Disney, Nickelodeon, Marvel Studios, Amazon, and various others.Over the past few years, he's collaborated on include Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (TIFF '22 - produced by Lin Manuel Miranda), Jenni a biopic about Jenni Rivera, the Long Game (SXSW '23), Marvel's Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Netflix’s Selena: the Series, Gentefied, The Chosen One, Disney Channel's remake of the their 1st original movie Under Wraps, it's sequel Under Wraps 2, Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion, Amazon's 1st Latin American Western ‘La Cabeza de Joaquín Murrieta, and many more. As a first gen Mexican-American, Alan believes supporting emerging artists in their filmmaking process creates a positive impact in the industry, which include promoting authentic representation on screen and behind the scenes, and creates a pipeline for historically unseen communities to share their stories.
Producer, JANE GURTIZA, worked as an executive assistant to producer Beau Flynn, overseeing day-to-day operations as well as assuming producer duties on upcoming projects on high quality films, which included Johns (David Arquette, Lukas Haas), House of Yes (lead actress Parker Posey winning at Sundance), and Little City (Josh Charles, Jon Bon Jovi, Penelope Ann Miller, JoBeth Williams, Joanna Going). Recently, Jane has produced films such as Ms. 3pm, VOID (Jason Patric, Elizabeth Keener), and East of Western (in post production). Jane is in development on upcoming films and TV shows, Rockaway Beach and Bank Robber.
Cinematographer and Producer, NICK MAHAR, has emerged as a refreshing young talent at the forefront of commercial, music, and narrative cinematography. His work portrays a saturated and hyper-real world. Nick has worked for some of the biggest names in music like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, LOGIC, Sage the Gemini, and Trey Songz while lensing some of the biggest commercial brands in the world. Countless brands have relied on Nick’s keen eye for details to bring their content to life. In 2018, he made his way back into the narrative world where his shorts and feature work toured dozens of festivals across the globe.
Film and commercial director and editor TODD SANDLER has made his mark in the entertainment industry having worked with heavyweights such as Amblin Partners, Dreamworks, Disney, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros., Paramount, Bad Robot and The Kennedy Marshall Company. His work includes feature length narrative films, TV Shows, documentaries, trailers, tributes and commercials. He cut the theatrical trailer for Steven Spielberg’s award-winning feature War Horse. He has edited films such as the blockbuster The Legend of Tarzan, The Parting Glass directed by Stephen Moyer, and Lee Daniels’ Pimp. He recently edited episodes of POP TV’s Flack. Sandler recently directed the ensemble drama A Cohort of Guests from Alejandro Films.
JACKIE TOYAMA is passionate in film, art and social justice. Her hometown, Long Beach, CA, is where she gained perspective on not only art from watching film and TV, but admiring art in all forms from different cultures and listening to stories deep rooted into the history and culture of the city. As a graduate from Chapman University’s Film Production program, she has been able to learn and apply color, design, and different styles into various short films and other projects ranging from social media videos to music videos. Jackie loves to collaborate in film to achieve the best visual storytelling possible. She has experience working as a PA, Art PA, Set Decorator, Art Director and Production Designer, as well as executing and assisting in the construction process of various prop and set builds in independent and commercial projects.
ZACH McCLEAN is an illustrator and storyboard artist, crafting cinematic worlds through the use of dramatic lighting, rich color, and thought-provoking themes. He’s based in Vancouver, Canada and renowned for his work with industry giants; Disney, BMW, Sony and Microsoft. Since 2013, he’s worked in the entertainment industry, contributing to iconic franchises such as Halo and The Addams Family. In 2020, he entered the web3 space, collaborating with the Wilder World Metaverse. His ongoing journey in the web3 space, has presented the opportunity to have his cyberpunk themed illustrations, exhibited and purchased by notable art collectors. Zach continues to work with clients around the globe and create digital illustrations which narrate issues of our modern day.
ROBIAT BALOGUN, hailing from Nigeria and navigating the East Coast before settling in California, has a versatile background in the world of fashion. With a keen eye for style, she has mastered the art of wardrobe curation across many platforms. With over a decade of experience, she has left her mark on the industry, working on campaigns with esteemed brands such as Netflix, Disney, Target, and Walmart. Collaborating with notable artists in music and film, including Alejandro Films, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Chandra Wilson, Nia Sioux, and Asher Angel, she brings her unique style to the forefront. Her dedication to fashion goes beyond aesthetics; it is a narrative woven into the fabric of experiences that resonate long after the spotlight fades.
DENISE SANTOS is an Emmy-winning Filipino musician and composer based in Los Angeles, CA. Having previously worked as in-house composer at Hans Zimmer and Sony/ATV's Bleeding Fingers Music, her music has been heard in a multitude of movies and TV shows, most recently in Island of the Sea Wolves (Netflix), Eden: Untamed Planet (BBC America), and Primates (BBC One/PBS). Largely influenced by classical, orchestral, rock, and pop music, Denise loves to blend these different genres to create uniquely powerful compositions that help uplift diverse stories, filmmakers, and creators.
BEN SOKOLER, a Los Angeles native and lifelong musician, started his career in music supervision in 2013 after earning his bachelor's degree in music industry from Northeastern University. Over the last decade, Ben has supervised a wide range of film and television projects, receiving multiple nominations for outstanding music supervision for his work, serving the highest quality music to the content creators he collaborates with. Supervision credits include award winning films Roxanne Roxanne, The Rider, I Can Only Imagine and tv series Love Death + Robots, Inside Job, and Exploding Kittens. Ben has also worked on projects like Homeland, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, BoJack Horseman, Young Sheldon and many more.
SARAHBETH ZOHREHVAND is a recent graduate of UCLA, where she studied psychology and theater. During her time as a student, she interned for Warner Bros Discovery, the New Media Film Festival, and The Cassandra Project. Through UCLA’s alumni program, Sarahbeth had the privilege of learning under the mentorship of Parachute’s very own Dani de Jesus. Currently, Sarahbeth is a working actress in LA and is honored to be involved with such an impactful project.
KYOMI WONG, also known as KIKI WONG, has spent a majority of her life surrounded by people and the means to create art in many mediums but the one that she found herself most gravitated towards was performative arts. Every part from the performance to behind the scenes sparks new interests and a deeper appreciation for the work and dedication that goes into creating and telling stories this way. She started acting when she was young and grew to love the performance and passion necessary for connecting to characters, but as she learned more, the technical and production aspects called to her next. She attended California State University, Long Beach for Theatre Arts to gain a deeper connection to performance and had the opportunity to crew multiple stage performances from straight plays to musicals in various different departments such as production, lights, and costumes.