About Us
First thing's first... if you came here looking to find films about middle-aged women on the prowl for young men, you're in the wrong place. It's not that type of cougar.
The Cougars Film Group started in 2003 as a team for the Atlanta 48 Hour Film Project. The group was a collaboration effort between PlatoVision Pictures, members of the Behind the Nine production team, GuerILLA Films and other groups. The "Cougars" name originally started as a joke, since we could not come up with a team name for the 48 competition. As a result, Michael D Friedman, who was producing the project, decided to pick a name that sounded like a high school football team -- it also is an homage to the film Kicking & Screaming (the Noah Baumbach one, not the Will Ferrell one).
Together, the Cougars produced the short Exclusive, which was well received. Since we enjoyed working together, we decided to continue to work on projects in a collaborative effort. Cougars Film Group has earned many awards for their short and feature films since first forming in 2003.
The group also founded Atlanta-based film magazine, CinemATL, and the Atlanta Screenwriters Group.
The Starting Six
The main core of the Cougars team consists of...
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Eric Bomba-Ire |
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Chris Burns Actor, Producer, Writer, Director |
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Michael D Friedman Writer, Director, Producer, Actor |
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Martin Kelley Writer, Director, Producer, Music Supervisor |
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Dan Slemons Director of Photography, Editor, Gaffer |
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Dave R. Watkins Actor, Assistant Director, Producer, Director, Writer |
Coming Off the Bench
While these folks aren't "official" members of the Cougars team, we collaborate with them often, and always enjoy working with them. They are definitely members of the Cougars family.
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Jason Amerson |
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Ben Bailey Actor, Producer, Writer |
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Becky Biggs Make-Up, P.A. |
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Sam Carter Writer |
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Philip Covin Actor |
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Markleford Friedman Music |
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Stephen Hart Script Supervisor, Sound |
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Jason James Still Photographer, P.A. |
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Charles Judson Actor, P.A. |
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Robert J. Lee Writer, Director, Actor |
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James Magliocca Director of Photography, Editor |
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Bernie Miller Still Photographer |
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Muta'Ali Muhammad Director of Photography |
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Tracy Page Locations |
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Chris Tsambis Director of Photography, Editor |
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Lisa Ward Editor, Post Effects |
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Samantha Worthen Actress |
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Tracy Yarkoni Actress |
About PlatoVision Pictures
PlatoVision was founded in 1998 by Eric Bomba-Ire and Dave R. Watkins, two graduates of the Art Institute of Atlanta. Their goal was to create an environment where they can explore their passions for film & video.
In 2001, Chris Burns and Michael D Friedman joined with PlatoVision on the set of the TV-series "Witch Hunters Extraordinaire." Over the years, the company produced several award-winning independent features and short films, including The Final Play and Stragglers.
Eventually the PlatoVision name was retired in favor of Cougars Film Group, though it has been known to make an appearance every now and then...