Jon Lance Bacon
Writer-Director

Gezell Fleming
"Josephine Griggs"

        Jon Lance Bacon comes to filmmaking by way of literary study, having earned a Ph.D. in English from Vanderbilt University.
        Though grad school may be worlds away from film school, Bacon believes that doing a dissertation helped him as a screenwriter and director: "Writing a book prepared me to take on a long-term project -- something that required a lot of focus, a lot of patience -- and really enabled me to get my vision across."
        Cambridge University Press published his book, Flannery O'Connor and Cold War Culture, which links short stories and novels by the Southern writer with advertising, comic books, political cartoons, tv sitcoms, and sci-fi films from the 1940s to the 1960s. A reviewer described the study as "fascinating and provocative . . . 
one of the most exciting and original books on O'Connor in recent years."
        Drawing on his English background, Bacon has adapted two screenplays from works of classic American literature: The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Imp of the Perverse by Edgar Allan Poe. Inspired by such writers -- and directors as different as Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Altman -- Bacon aspires to make films both entertaining and thought-provoking.
        After moving to North Carolina to take advantage of opportunities for independent filmmakers, he co-founded Dagtype Films, LLC, with Steven P. Neilson.
        "Foresight is just the beginning," says Bacon. "I've found something I really love to do."

 

        Playing the lead in Foresight marked a comeback for Gezell Fleming -- both personally and professionally.
        "This was my first career opportunity after cancer," the actress recalls. "I had just grown my hair back from some very brutal chemo episodes, and I was just getting my strength back, and I really needed to be thrust back out there. It was a real shot in the arm to know that, yes, I can still do this."
        Fleming has been acting professionally for more than 25 years. Known for her "rubber face," she has had major roles in several independent films, including Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, Higher, and Watching Over Lydia.
        "As a child, I wanted to be an actress," says the Charlotte native. "However, I was a chronic stutterer and couldn't even say my own name."
        Her life changed in high school, when she understudied the female roles in a musical.
        "One of the girls was out one night," Fleming remembers. "I did her role, and I learned on the stage how not to stutter. I've been acting ever since."
        According to Fleming, her experiences helped her identify with Josephine Griggs, the detective she portrays in Foresight.
        "My life really prepared me to play this character," she says. "Josephine Griggs is an African American woman in an environment where she's the only one of her kind, and I've been in that situation so many times, in the workplace. I have been in situations that were very racially charged, and have had to overlook that to get a job done."

 

Steven P. Neilson
Producer

Chris Westmoreland
"Dennis Clermont"

        Years of management experience prepared Steven P. Neilson for his role as the producer of Foresight.
        Since earning his M.S. in health services administration from the University of St. Francis, Neilson has worked in the pharmaceutical industry, primarily in corporate planning and operations. Currently, he manages international clinical trials for a European firm.
        In 2005, he brought his business savvy to a more creative enterprise -- partnering with Jon Lance Bacon to found Dagtype Films, LLC.
        "In our relationship as producer and director, we operate with mutual respect for each other's opinions and expertise," says Neilson. "That creates a really good balance, which comes through in the finished product of Foresight."
        As a principal clinical project manager, Neilson oversees contracts worth millions of dollars, but he had a different challenge in producing Foresight: creating a high-quality film on a low, low budget. Often, that meant relying on the kindness of strangers.
        "As a producer, you're always pitching the project, whether to procure an interior or an exterior for the movie," says Neilson. "I found in strangers an excitement level that surprised me, and it made me feel good to know there are people out there who really support independent filmmakers."
        The New Jersey native looks forward to future film projects, whatever the budgets may be, as he builds his second career:
        "Being a first-time producer was truly a life-altering experience, both exhausting and rewarding."

 

        Chris Westmoreland launches his film career with the role of Dennis Clermont in Foresight.
          Westmoreland responded to the Foresight casting call shortly after finishing classes at the Actors' Theatre of South Carolina. He was so new to the profession, his headshots were simply enlarged snapshots, taken by his mother.
        Nevertheless, the filmmakers felt he had the right look for the part of Clermont. At the audition, Westmoreland's natural talent -- especially his dramatic intensity -- confirmed him as their first choice.
        "I've wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember," says the native of Woodruff, South Carolina. "It's all I ever wanted to do."
        Working on Foresight "was like film school for me," Westmoreland adds. "I was very lucky to have this as my first film -- something with such passion and such artistic drive."

 

Bruce Kiesling
Composer

        In composing the score to Foresight, Bruce Kiesling drew from a wide range of musical experience.
        A conductor as well as a performer -- on piano and harpsichord -- Kiesling has worked with orchestras, ensembles, and theatrical groups from coast to coast. He trained at the University of Michigan School of Music; the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where he earned a doctorate in orchestral conducting; and, most recently, the North Carolina School of the Arts.
        Kiesling, who currently serves as resident conductor for the Greensboro Symphony, has written original music for six feature films -- and many shorter productions -- in the past two years. He also conducts recording sessions for his film scores and those of other composers.
        "We were very fortunate to get him to score our movie," says Foresight producer Steven P. Neilson. "We always wanted the music to be a character in the film, and Bruce achieved that."