The Team
Amazing Talents
Kristof Gillese
writer / director / key creative
Kristof is leaning heavily on his experiences growing up in a mixed Chinese-Canadian family for this project... growing up in his Cantonese grandparents restaurant accounts for many of the nuances felt throughout the film.
An "actors-director", Kristof booked approximately 20 principal roles in various commercials / short films / feature films and tv series in 2022 alone. Responsible for a wide variety of elements in all phases , he is also creating meaningful time with his wife and 2 children, Clare and Adam, who are both working professional actors and members of Actra/UBCP.
Connor Ghering
Producer / key creative
Connor has worked for a decade in the Vancouver Film Industry in a variety of different roles, from Background to Acting, Production Assisting to Assistant Directing, and taking a layover in Background Coordinating for 3 years to have the flexibility to work on his personal content creation, as well as working as a Producer for the newly formed State of Flux Productions.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Connor pivoted from Background Coordinating into Health and Safety Management, and has been in this role ever since, looking to further the integration of Health and WorkSafeBC/ActSafe standardization across this industry fraught with logistical challenges, short timelines, tight budgets, and big ego’s.
When he’s not on set, Connor is working with his wife to raise their two sons and chipping away at setting up Dumb Nerd Society, a company whose focus is changing the cultural definition of the word nerd from someone who is unconfident and irrelevant to someone who is passionate and creative, setting a strong tone of conscious self acceptance and self love for future generations.
Kit Mallet
Producer
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Wai Sun Cheng
producer
Wai Sun Cheng is an Asian Canadian filmmaker. His interest in film and motion picture work began at a very young age. Before he become a director Wai worked in the film industry as an VFX artist on major feature films and TV productions such as Blade Runner 2049, Fast and Furious, Fantastic Beast and where to find them, Miss Peregrine's home for Peculiar Children, Once Upon a Time and etc. With a strong background in VFX, Wai has a distinct style in his work and provides additional vfx knowledge in the process. Wai has worked on numerous distributed projects in the form of narrative feature, shorts, commercials and music videos. His work has been selected by several festivals around the world such as best cinematography nomination at the Leos, Los Angeles film festival, Seattle international film festival, Canadian Cinematographer film festival and etc. Through out the years Wai's work has also garnered several collaboration with many well known actors such as Bruce Willis, Timothy Murthy, Neal McDonough, Nathalie Boltt, Jonathan Lipnicki and etc.
Yandy Liu
Director of Photography
Born in Beijing and based in Vancouver, Yandy Liu is an award-nominated cinematographer with 14 films under her name in the past 3 years. Her works focus on the art of the image in motion pictures and help to bring the stories alive. With experiences from both the technical and artistic side of cinematography, Yandy is a hands-on problem solver who tackles the difficulty head-on and works with her team to find a solution. With a strong understanding of her department, Yandy also values the collaboration between different departments and strives to support the story with her skills.
Michael Walls
Special Effects Supervisor
A veteran member of the Vancouver Film community, I’ve worked in the Special Effects department for more than 30 years on all genres of shows. This has allowed me to learn the importance of my craft and the integration of physical effects with all aspects of the creative process.
I have had the pleasure of watching and learning from many of the most respected and talented members of the entire industry, and bring that training with me to all of the projects I’m involved with.
Whether it’s a big budget Feature, a mainstream TV series, MOW or a local Independent project, I enjoy the collaborative creative process and using all of the collective knowledge to solve any roadblocks in the journey to the final product.
Tyler Balascak
aerial camera
"Growing up, I've always had a love for the motion picture industry. Creating content was something I was always fascinated by. Over the years, drones have begun to make huge impacts in various applications. From major feature films, TV shows, short films, and more, drones are a very effective aerial alternative. Since getting my hands on a drone way back in 2017, I’ve always been really intrigued by their endless opportunities. Being the aerial cinematographer on Chinese Laundry allows me to hone in my creative skills while working on a project I truly believe in."
Bex Arnold
storyboard artist / concept artist
My name is Rebecca Rosemary Arnold but I am known to most as Bex. I define myself as a creative entrepreneur with a history in animation, content creation, visual storytelling and bio energetics. I appreciate and value the force of expression in life and the creativity one can harness and propel in their own autonomous experience through various mediums of expression, most notably, film. I have worked freelance globally and in local (VanBC) studios that has enabled me a breadth of diversity in experience in terms of the creativity one can compel through visual blueprints and dynamic storytelling.
On a personal vibe, I dig paddle boarding, creative writing, traveling, surfing, longboarding, forest walks, Qi Gong and tree climbing with my little human I made ten years ago.
Life is creative. Life is fun. I try to infuse these guiding principles in all that I do. I am very grateful and pleased to be here.
Ava Maria Safai
Locations Manager
Ava Maria Safai is a multi-disciplinary Middle Eastern artist who specializes in acting, music, writing and directing. She is a Dean’s List Graduate from UBC’s BFA in Acting Program and is actively pursuing her ARCT in Piano, Voice and Violin with the Royal Conservatory of Music. Past roles for Ava Maria have included: Regan (King Lear), Maddie Forbes (I Killed Maddie Forbes), VERA (INHUMAN/E), Iris (The New Margo), Alicia (Barefoot in Nightgown by Candlelight) and most recently, Female Drummer (Google TV).
Following the placement of her first hit single “Finding Hope” on Lifetime’s Dance Moms, Ava Maria released three albums, co-wrote music with her father for GrandMuse Pictures Ltd.'s Unmasked (which received its debut at the Cannes Film Festival) and, with support of the Canada Council for the Arts, co-wrote and produced the soundtrack for full-length musical “The Girl Next Door.” She has garnered over one million views on YouTube, been featured in Maclean’s magazine, and was selected as The North Shore News’ “Favourite Local Celebrity" (2018). Ava Maria is also a recipient of numerous awards, including the Don S. Williams Grant, the Evelyn Jasiulko Harden Scholarship in Theatre, the Rise Up Award and the Katie Drysdale Music Theatre Scholarship.
In 2020, Ava Maria founded her own non-profit organization The Harlequin Theatre Society, which to date has produced one original roving piece, an immersive feature film (later adapted into a sold-out theatrical production for the Stand Festival) and “I Killed Maddie Forbes,” a seven-episode limited series in which she not only took on the lead role, but that of director, executive producer and head writer as well.
Next, Ava Maria will be directing William Shakespeare's Hamlet at Presentation House Theatre and creating another original feature film in 2023 as part of The Harlequin Incubator program. She is excited to be working on Chinese Laundry, as her goal as an artist is always to work on projects that put underrepresented voices into the spotlight.
Pete Buddle
composer; *original score by
As composer, Pete Buddle played a key role in bringing the concept of Chinese Laundry to life on the screen. They brought their imagination and professionalism to the forefront while working on this production.