Writer-Director Jarrett Lee Conaway began making short films while attending the University of Virginia. Inspired by his studies of neo-realist cinema and independent filmmaking, Jarrett wrote and directed AM:PM; a 16mm black and white short about a student emergency medical technician battling insomnia. The film received the University’s first Independent Arts Grant was the catalyst for growth within the student film community. That year, Jarrett also worked for the Virginia Film Festival and served as president of the Filmmaker’s Society. In 2004, Jarrett graduated with a B.A. in Media Studies and received the major’s Bernard Mayes Prize for commitment to the principles of imagination and integrity. In 2007, while attending the USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate program, Jarrett directed Anthem, a sci-fi fable about two explorers who discover a time-capsule buried by the refugees of a nuclear war. The Thompson produced short propelled Jarrett to nation-wide exposure when he was chosen by Steven Spielberg, from a pool of 12,000 filmmakers, to participate in the FOX reality competition "On the Lot". [ Read More ]