Department of Cinematic Arts and New Media

Amine Kouider, MFAChair of the Department of Cinematic Arts and New Media, Assistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media

Amine Kouider is an award-winning filmmaker, Chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts and New Media, and a founding member of David Lynch Foundation Television. He has worked as the producer, director, director of photography, and editor on projects around the world, including subjects such as high-security prisons, street children in Colombia, homeless men in New York City, refugees in Uganda, teenage prostitutes in Los Angeles, Buddhist nuns in Thailand, and Pandits in India. His works include the feature-length Rue Des Vandales and a surrealist narrative short film, The Land of Nothing.

Cody Olivas, MFAAssistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media

Cody Olivas is a graduate of the David Lynch Master in Fine Arts Film Program. He received an Achievement Award for his thirty-minute Thesis Film Apotheosis in the 2019 Iowa Motion Picture Awards. Cody’s proficiency with on-set film production, sound production, and sound design has granted him many opportunities to work in and teach the art of filmmaking. He learned from professionals such as David Lynch, Jim Carrey, Peter Farrelly, and Bill Borden, and worked as an assistant director alongside world-renowned acting coach Anthony Meindl.

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Stuart Tanner, MAAssistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media

Professor Tanner is an acclaimed producer and director of documentary films, including: Saving The Disposable Ones, a documentary that takes you to the heartbreaking streets of inner city Columbia; Time Team, for the Channel Four/Discovery series, uncovered the mysteries of one of the first man-made monuments built on the British landscape; Children of Vengeance, a documentary for the BBC on the Arab-Israeli conflict, won the Foreign Press Association's Story of the Year award; Profits of Doom), an investigation into the policies of the World Bank and IMF in developing nations, was chosen for viewing at the North South film festival; Death on the Silk Road, on the effects of nuclear testing in China, won the Rory Peck Award for Journalism in 1999; The Mahogany Trail, on the plight of Amazonian Indians whose reserves are invaded for mahogany wood for export to foreign markets, won the Bill Travers Insight Award at the London International Environmental Film Festival.

Paul J. Morehead, MFAAdjunct Assistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media

Paul J. Morehead is the founder of Morehead Media and an award-winning animator and illustrator. His podcast, The Free Radicals celebrates people who embrace different spiritual systems and self-development tools to unlock their unique creativity, self-awareness, and energy within to live a freer life. He is also a digital nomad and loves creating visual stories. Paul has his MFA in Comics from CCA (California College of the Arts). He is a RYT® 500 yoga teacher, having trained in Rishikesh India. He is also a graduate of the London Real: Broadcast Yourself Podcasting course and a facilitator of the Empowerment Process. Paul can be found drawing, practicing yoga, podcasting, or researching self-development and consciousness-based practices.

Cherisse Leopold, MFAAdjunct Assistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media

Cherisse Leopold grew up outside of Washington, DC, in Maryland. She went to Emerson College in Boston for her undergraduate degree where she obtained a BA with a major in Film. After she graduated, Cherisse moved out to Los Angeles with an internship at the production company that produced some award-winning TV shows. Many major film and TV productions hired Cherisse after that for various production work. She’s worked with all the big studios in Los Angeles like Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros., 20thCentury Fox, and more. While learning Transcendental Meditation, Cherisse earned an MFA degree in Screenwriting at The David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts. Since then, she has been hired to write several short screenplays and one full-length screenplay.

Rodolfo E Rincones, MFAAdjunct Assistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media

Rodolfo E Rincones is a filmmaker, illustrator, fine-artist, and musician. He has worked as a director, production designer, art director, editor, motion graphics, VFX, and animator for various international projects. His thesis short film “DreamLogic” was a semifinalist at the 47th Student Academy Awards and was recently selected at the Oaxaca FilmFest and Philip K Dick European Film Festival. He is currently the Production Director for a series set to air on “a famous streaming platform” in 2021, and is in the early stages of pre-production for his first feature film, a surrealist tragedy/comedy, “The MadHaus”. He is from the politicized border of El Paso and Juarez, where he has participated in several social activist movements. Rodolfo graduated from the David Lynch MA in Film in 2015, and from the MFA in 2017.

Phyllis Khare, BAAdjunct Assistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & New Media

Phyllis Khare is one of the original authors of Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies, 1st and 2nd Editions, with Andrea Vahl and Amy Porterfield, and the author of Social Media Marketing eLearning Kit for Dummies. She co-founded Social Media Manager School, an international online training program, with Andrea Vahl. The School was acquired by Agorapulse. Phyllis also developed a highly acclaimed time-management program for entrepreneurs that is continuing to transform lives. She's been honored to be part of many other books on social media marketing. She contributed the chapter “How to use YouTube for more Business” for Digital Marketing Growth Hacks: The World’s Best Digital Marketers Share Insights on How They Grew Their Businesses with Digital. She's also been quoted and featured in many books and developed and presented training sessions for Social Media Examiner, Marketing Profs, and Social Media Clubs. She was a TEDxWomen speaker and has been on multiple podcasts, including Grey Matters. with Steve Dotto.

Ken WestLecturer in Photography

Professor West has extensive knowledge and experience of almost every aspect of commercial photography and printing. He is a master photographer, from a long line of photographers and artists. In the master-apprentice tradition, he learned about the principles of photography from his grandfather and father. His early photographic training included working for Hallmark Cards. His landscape photographs have been exhibited at the National Center for Nature Photography, America’s first and only center devoted exclusively to nature photography. His landscape photographs are featured on Public Television and his exhibition prints are displayed in corporate and institutional settings. He is especially appreciated for his work with landscape photography and his use of high dynamic range imaging (HDR) techniques. View his work online.