Cindy Baer

Award-winning filmmaker Cindy Baer began her career as an actress with the Boston Children's Theatre at the age of 14. She has performed in over two dozen stage plays, including the critically acclaimed roles of Essie in the Pasadena Shakespeare Company's production of "You Can't Take It With You," and Jill in the 30th anniversary production of Leonard Gershe's "Butterflies are Free" at the prestigious Matrix Theatre in Hollywood, which she also produced. Cindy founded the production company Free Dream Pictures in 2001, and made her feature directing/producing debut with Purgatory House (2004), which was written by a 14-year-old at-risk girl that Baer mentored in the Big Sisters of Los Angeles Program. She cast the teenage writer Celeste Davis opposite newcomers Johnny Pacar (Disney's Now You See It... (2005), NBC's Flight 29 Down (2005)) and Brian Dietzen (NCIS (2003)), in their acting debuts, alongside Jim Hanks, the talented younger brother of Tom Hanks. "Purgatory House" became a critical darling, garnering feature stories in over 60 publications, including NPR's "All Things Considered", The New York Post, The Chicago Tribune, and CBS Radio. It won 12 film festival awards, 2 Prism Award Nominations, and appeared on several critics' lists for "Best Films of the Year" before securing distribution with Image Entertainment. Baer's second feature Odd Brodsky (2014) which she directed, produced and also co-wrote with her cinematographer husband Matthew Irving, had similar success, appearing in 30 film festivals and winning 21 festival awards. It was a critical darling, 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and reached #19 on the iTunes independent Comedy Charts in the United States, #13 in the United Kingdom, and #2 in Sweden and Armenia. The screenplay reached #1 on Amazon's Best Sellers charts for screenplays. She is also the co-founder of the California nonprofit organization Patron of the Arts, whose mission is to help emerging filmmakers create work and connect with audiences.