Resumes
   

Edmund Messina: Director, Editor, Producer, Writer


Edmund Messina MD, a native of New York City, is a practicing neurologist and filmmaker in East Lansing, Michigan.

In his early 20's, he moved to France where he was a free-lance writer/translator who began to study film at the University of Lyon and later to study screen writing at Columbia College in Chicago. His experience with actors began when he directed actors from the National Academy in St. Etienne, France, for his many16mm shorts.

He has written, produced and directed many educational films, videos and experimental pieces in France and the United States, and has produced multimedia educational projects in Chicago prior to attending medical school at the University of Illinois and a Neurology Residency at Washington University in St. Louis.

He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, which he considers a very useful preparation for directing characters with complex psychological issues in his films. He has a very strong interest in visual and narrative experimentation and holds a patent for an artificial intelligence engine which can construct narrative video streams customized to personality of the individual viewer.

He and his son Dan Messina, a television editor in New York, jointly produced and directed "Life and Migraine", a 2005 documentary for PBS, which won the Media Excellence award from the National Headache Foundation.

Now that Lily's Mom is completed, he is working on several ideas for additional films which deal with the emotional aspects of illnesses and personality disorders. His experience with dramatization and his medical background make him uniquely suited to produce "believable" medical dramas.

 

Kimberly Harsch: Lead Actor: "Mary"


Kimberly Harsch had her introduction to film as the delusional Elizabeth in the award winning short film "Rose Colored Glasses." Since then she has appeared in films such as "The Christmas Bunny" with Florence Henderson, "Things Fall Apart" with 50 Cent and Ray Liotta, and had a principle role opposite Walter Nudo in "Hopeful Notes" which took first prize at the International Social Commitment Awards in Italy. Kimberly is also an award winning stage actor. Her most recent stage credits include Louise in "Always Patsy Cline," Elvira in "Blithe Spirit," and the title role in "Educating Rita." She continues her studies at the Kurt Dreyer Actors' Studio in Holland Michigan.

 

Connie Cowper: "Therapist"


Connie Cowper is a stage and film actor from the Detroit area. She made her screen debut in “The Spiral Project” which was nominated for an MTV Movie Award. Since then she has worked both on local independent films and L.A. based projects, such as “Stone” with Robert De Niro. Her roles have ranged from an elegant leader in a futuristic world to a homicidal crone with a meat cleaver. Connie was recently nominated for Best Supporting Actress in “True Extremes” which will premiere at the Detroit Independent Film Festival March 2011.

Don Cochran : "Mike"


Don Cochran was born in Logansport, Indiana to the parents of George and Diana Cochran. He grew up in a family that had a strong passion for music with his father being an accomplished trumpet player at a young age. In his teenage years he sang in Gospel quartets with his father which led into musical theater. His first play was the musical Oliver at Lansing Everett High School where he played the mean character of Bill Sikes. After that he went to college for a year and studied music and performance then joined the Army. He never stopped performing and studied theater and acting at Lansing Community College and The Actors Workshop in Royal Oak, Michigan. He is still working hard and loves being an entertainer and actor.

 

Chris Goeckel : "Dr Caldwell"

Chris Goeckel was born in Buffalo, New York and calls Cleveland home but has lived in East Lansing, Michigan for 27 years. With a career in the trucking industry now spanning 30 years, Chris took up the hobby of acting in community theatre in 2003.
Since then, he has appeared in over a dozen shows in the Lansing, Michigan area and has been recognized with two Supporting Actor awards. Favorite roles have been Lennie in Of Mice and Men, Uncle Chris in I Remember Mama and Harold Baker in Come Blow Your Horn.
He has appeared in medical training films produced and directed by Dr. Edmund Messina, but his role in Lily’s Mom is his first in a feature film.
Chris has been married for 26 years to his wife Cindy. They have two daughters, Amy and Alyssa.