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SPEAKERS

   Michael Polish won recognition as a director for his second short film, Bajo del Perro (Under the Dog), a film about Mexican boxing that played in festivals around the US and recieved five awards: Best Short at the San Antonio Cinefestival, Honorable Mention from the Director's Guild of America, the Young Filmmakers Award at The Walt Disney Company, Finalist at the South by Southwest Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Rochester International Film Festival. Bajo del Perro can be seen on both Bravo and The Independent Film Channel.
    Michael's first short film, Clown, is the story of a clown showing up on a day Coney Island is closed.
    He graduated from California Institute of Arts with a BFA in visual communications.

   Mark Polish and his identical twin brother, Michael, have written three screenplays together, all of which are named after Northwest American towns. Twin Falls Idaho is the first in the series. Mark also co-wrote, co-produced, and played the part of Poncho in Bajo del Perro.
   Mark began acting in elementary school and continued acting and studying film production through high school.