YOICHI UTEBI

Yoichi Utebi, Happy Science Head Minister, Producer and Vice President of HS Productions

Born in Japan in 1968, Yoichi Utebi grew up in Beirut, Lebanon and New York City. Raised in a rare Japanese Christian family, he was deeply touched by Muslim culture and the beauty of Lebanon during his formative years in Beirut. However, the Middle East also exposed Utebi to the horrors of war, as he and his family dodged bullets and bombings before fleeing to New York, leaving everything behind in a sudden evacuation.  The next 10 years in New York exposed Utebi to friends from multiple cultures and ethnicities. His rock band produced a popular album and gained quite a following in the city before Utebi decided to forego his musical pursuits and return to Japan.

After 12 years of experience in marketing and senior management at various American IT companies in Japan, Utebi joined Happy Science in 2010, where he quickly rose to Director of International Communications. In 2015, he was appointed Head Minister of Hawaii, and in 2018 he led the temples in Okinawa. Utebi is currently leading Happy Science’s International Media Division and is the Vice President of HS Productions and producer of “Immortal Hero.”

ABOUT IMMORTAL HERO

Makoto Mioya, a highly successful Japanese author and publisher, has a life-threatening, near-death experience. Powerful spiritual beings with whom he has communicated most of his adult life visit Makoto to remind him he has the power within to heal himself. Reborn, Makoto commits his life to sharing the almighty wisdom he receives from the spiritual realm. As doubters, including some of his own family, challenge and question his new-found ardor, Makoto must find a way to connect with his family and the ‘family of man’ to inspire a better world.

RYAN MOORE

Producer Ryan Moore is the founder of Experience 360°, a Burbank-based Virtual Experience Design Studio that has been creating branded and narrative immersive content since 2015.

In the spring of 2017, the company produced its first feature Speed Kills VR with John Travolta and TopDog VR.

Mr. Moore’s career within film production experience includes experimental branded content (Disney, Toyota, GoPro), TV commercials (Pepsi, Jack In The Box), music festival coverage (Fuse Media), and Reality TV (Bachelor/Bachelorette).

DTLA FILM FESTIVAL DOME SERIES – OCT 23-27, 2019

“Someday, in the not too distant future you’ll be able to go to a movie and the movie will be all around you. The movie will be over your head, it will be 360 degrees around you.”

– Steven Spielberg, TIME Magazine in 2006

Predicted 13 years ago by Steven Spielberg, we know what the next ‘Big Thing’ in film presentation is: Dome Films. Using 360-degree camera popularized by VR and AR productions, dome filmmakers create a unique, immersive experience by screening the films in specially built dome theaters (not unlike planetarium theaters that can be found in observatories around the world).

In the DTLA Film Festival’s Dome Film Series — the first-ever in Los Angeles — we’ve selected the best films across the globe with a focus on narrative storytelling. Co-Presented by Vortex Immersion Media, the series includes several Dome Film World Premieres of narrative features from internationally known filmmakers including Randal Kleiser, Lena Herzog, Robot Koch, Darcelle XV, James Hood, Grammy-winner Jacob Collier, as well the first feature-length dome-film documentary to be released in the U.S

All screenings will take place October 23-27th at the Vortex Dome Theater at L.A. Center Studios in DTLA and the Wisdome Immersive Art Park in DTLA’s Arts District.

HENRY PRIEST

Henry Priest is a Educator, Motivator, Producer of film, TV and live events, actor, and Co-Founder and Festival Director of Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) Film Festival.

Known for Veritas (2007) and Beyond the Mat (2013).

Having produced many film, TV and live events, Mr. Priests work has been showcased all over the world including some of the most prestigious film festivals as Festival De Cannes in France, Tribeca Film Festval in New York and AFI Fest in Los Angeles. Henry began his career in the film industry in 1989 when he was featured as an actor in Walt Disneys feature wrestling film titled Spooner, starring Robert Urich and Jane Kazmarik. The film called upon Henry’s knowledge of collegiate wrestling as he choreographed wrestling scenes for the production team.

Since then he has established himself as the go-to person to produce scenes that require Collegiate, Greco-Roman, or Freestyle wrestling. He has written, directed, choreographed, and cast wrestling scenes in international and national commercials for companies like Nike, Adidas, SBC Global and others. Henry recently served as a wrestling consultant to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). His film “Legendary,” stars WWE superstar John Cena, Oscar nominated actors Danny Glover and Particia Clarkson; Devon Gray and Tylor Posey. Early in his career Henry produced the awrd winning film titled UnderDog. The comedic wrestling film has been featured in the prestigious AFI Fest and in many festivals across the country including the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

With the success of UnderDog, Henry received an award as an Outstanding Producer during the 2004 National Association of Latino Independent Producers Conference (NALIP) in February 2004. Recently, Henry Produced the wrestling Documentary titled Veritas. The story of NCAA All American wrestler John Trenge. His latest film titled American Identity received a standing ovation on closing night at Festval De Cannes in France, considered to be the most pretigious film festival in the world.

In November 2010 Mr. Priest served as executive Producer of the 44th Annual NWCA All-Star Wrestling Match. The event was broadcast in 40 million homes on the Big Ten Network in an effort to raise funds to save the Cal State Fullerton Wrestling team. Thanks to many supporters that participated in the event such as actor Billy Baldwin, UFC superstars Randy Couture, Uriah Faber, Hector Ramirez, Mark Munoz and the cast of the new wrestling movie Beyond the Mat, the event raised over $200,000 for the struggling program.

Henry also serves the industry as a film festival director of the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles. With his knowledge of film in front and behind the camera Henry serves on the Screen Actors Guild Diversity Committees, nationally and locally. He serves on the advisory board of the Silverlake Film Festival, American Latino Film Festival and Skid Row Films. He is also the executive producer of National High School Coaches Associations Productions. Mr. Priest is an advocate for the arts. He is has been a guest speaker and panelist at events hosted by the Screen Actors Guild, Showbiz Expo Los Angeles, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and many other industry organizations.

He has appeared on radio shows on ESPN Radio, Radio Disney, KPFK Radio, 92.3fm and many more promoting his various films and events. He has also been featured on LATV, The Disney Channel, SiTV, TV Guide and many other TV spots. As an advocate for education Mr. Priest created and produced the Future Estrellas Young Latino Performers Conference, an event presented by The Walt Disney Company, Latin Heat Entertainment, Nostros and the Ricardo Montalban Foundation.

“Beyond the Mat,” releases early 2011 as part of Tribeca Film festivals All Access program. The film is edited by Academy Award winner Scott Conrad (Rocky, 1976) with the former Paramount Pictures senior marketing executive Susan Wrenn spearheading our marketing team. In her 20-year tenure at Paramount she constructed the campaigns for 300+ feature films, including for Titanic, Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Mission Impossible. Beyond the Mat stars Sara Fletcher, who is currently hosting her own TV show on Comedy Central titled Secret Girlfriend. You may have seen her in Maxim Magazine too! Also, Mark Hapka who plays one of the male leads, and is a regular on TV shows such as the Ghost Whisperers and Days of Our Lives. The lead actor John Wynn, was host of the hit TV show CD USA. Beyond the Mat also features UFC Hall of Fame member and World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Ken Shamrock and US Olympic Wrestling Champion and TNA Superstar Kurt Angle!

GIADA VALENTI

Singer and songwriter Giada Valenti is born and raised in Venice, Italy. Her career started in Europe where she was signed as a young singer with record label Sony BMG and had hits climb directly to the top of the charts. She has received critically acclaimed awards such as the prestigious San Remo Giovanni Talenti Nel Mondo and Festival di Castrocaro. 

In the United States she is most known for her stunning music special aired by PBS, entitled “From Venice With Love”. Because of the success of this television special, she has performed at theaters and performing arts centers all over the country. 

In November 2017 she made her debut as a headliner in Las Vegas with a concert at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. In October 2018 she made her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

One of her recent career highlights is being asked to perform with Andrea Bocelli. She sang several duets with him at a concert benefitting the Andrea Bocelli Foundation. 

For the past eleven years Giada, currently a resident of Las Vegas, has released her CDs “And I Love You So, “Italian Signorina” and “My Lullaby”, “From Venice With Love”, garnering rave reviews. She is currently working on new recordings with multi Grammy-winning producer Cheche Alara and Jorge Calandrelli.

Giada is also a Tiramisu expert. She has been featured on morning shows of ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC television doing cooking demos on how to make this famous Italian dessert. Giada is very passionate about food. She is a longtime member of the Accademia Italiana Della Cucina, a by the Italian government recognized cultural organization that checks out Italian restaurants around the world. Giada loves to go out for dinner with friends but can also be found in her kitchen experimenting with recipes.

WANDA WEBSTER and CHRISTOPHER MACK

Christopher Mack has been facilitating recovery groups in Los Angeles for the past 16 years. He has been interviewed many times (NPR, LA Times, USA Today, LA Weekly, and Nightline) because he has a unique perspective about the condition of homelessness and our human nature. He is a beloved fixture on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, having worked for JWCH as an outreach worker for many years. He is known to many as The Urban Sage. Because Christopher used music and singing to uplift himself from the daily tribulations, he co-founded The Urban Voices Project five years ago, a choir for the urban community and underserved population. 

Wanda Webster graduated from Drake University with a bachelor’s degree in Special Education and Psychology. When she moved to Los Angeles, she accepted opportunities in the entertainment industry working as a development executive and a literary agent. She discovered she had a natural gift at helping writers develop and fine-tune their scripts. Many of her writers won awards in their field. More recently, Wanda obtained a master’s degree in Education and Psychology from Pepperdine University. She created curricula for large non-profits in the areas of spirituality, social-emotional development, and addiction/recovery. Wanda has always been fascinated by human behavior and believes that supporting people to become the best versions of themselves to be her ultimate joy and purpose.