Angelo Salvatore Restaino

Born in a quiet Washington town, Angelo discovered his love for movies at a very young age. But it wasn't until the middle of pursuing a biblical studies degree at Simpson University, where his passion and opportunity would collide. In the fall of '04, the Los Angeles Film Studies Center would bring him to Hollywood and land him an internship in the feature production office at 20th Century Fox.

His time on the studio lot earned him acceptance into Act One, an intense writing program designed to guide and mentor budding storytellers. By the fall of '07, he was surrounded by a tight-knit group of filmmakers, who were young, talented, and just as broke as everybody else. Yet it was through these intimate relationships that he found success, launching Paper Crane Productions' first short film, Grande Drip.

It featured music from Ingrid Michaelson and a hilarious cameo by the director of Pretty Woman, Garry Marhshall. Angelo would go on to write and produce several commercials along with his second award-winning short, Knight to D7, which featured performances by Emmy-winners Jackée (Sister Sister, 227) and Hector Elizondo (Chicago Hope, Valentine's Day) scored by the Grammy-winning composer, Mateo Messina (Juno).