Director/DP/Editor: Gregory Mohn
Gregory Mohn was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1971. His interests in photography started in the late 70’s after handling an old cartridge film camera with the rotating flash cubes. After moving to the Central Florida area in 1982, his first experience with film making was with a then-giant shoulder VHS recorder and he experienced the satisfaction of creating something and showing it to family.
Through high school, he dabbled in film making with his friends, but it wasn’t until the mid 90’s, again making short films with friends while attending the University of Central Florida, when he really started seeing it as a form of expression. By the late 90’s, Gregory had built a good understanding of photography and it would become his sole interest through much of the 2000’s. But by early 2012, still photography was becoming stale and the market of startup photographers over saturated. Gregory decided to move into a new challenge with film making.
With a strong background in still photography, the jump to cinematography wasn’t a large one. He had written a few screenplays and treatments through college and into adulthood, and even had an early turn with directing in the short film Daylight Saving Time. Since 2012, Gregory has worked on several local short films and also participated in two years of teaching a summer film camp for kids aged 11-17 where short films were written, filmed and produced on an extremely limited time table.
It was on the set of Exhume, hired as behind the scenes photographer and videographer, where he learned most about the cinematic process.
Gregory Mohn writes, shoots, directs and edits, in part or in whole, most of the projects he takes on. His latest project, Thursday Night Downtown is his most ambitious project to date, and without doubt, his most polished effort.
Executive Producer/Co-Writer/Lead Actor: Dina Najjar
Dina Najjar grew up in Jacksonville, Florida where her love for acting started at a young age. She is of Middle Eastern decent and proudly speaks fluent Arabic. Dina was involved in theatre from elementary school through high school. In her senior year, she was part of a theatre production class where she had the opportunity to work on all aspects of putting on a play. She ended up winning the best actress award in her school for her portrayal of Renfield, the crazed lunatic asylum inmate (usually played by a man), in Dracula. She still treasures this moment as being one of the most memorable in her life.
​
Dina has starred in numerous films, commercials/industrials, web series, and plays. She had the dream of making her own movie. To create something and see it come to life before your eyes was a truly magical experience. Her friend Jessica Montgomery, whom she met while studying at Art’s Sake, shared the same dream. Together they worked to write Thursday Night Downtown. Dina wanted to make a fun film that people could enjoy and would make them laugh, yet also resonated with them and had characters they could relate to. She believes this was achieved and is truly proud of this film. She hopes others enjoy watching it as much as she enjoyed creating it!
Executive Producer/Co-Writer/Lead Actor: Jessica Montgomery
Jessica Montgomery is Actor, Filmmaker, and Artist from Coral Springs, Florida. Her father is British and she is a dual citizen of the US and England. As the daughter of an artist, she has been involved in both the performing arts and in studio arts from a very young age. She currently resides in Orlando, Florida and has trained under Michael Marinaccio of Mad Cow Theatre and Yvonne Suhor of Art’s Sake Studios. Jessica has appeared in numerous indie films and theatre productions. She has also been featured in many commercial and print works. Her passions outside of acting include SCUBA diving and different forms of studio art including printmaking, painting, and drawing. She is also a member of International Mensa. Thursday Night Downtown was Jessica’s first collaborative effort as executive producer, screenwriter, and lead actor of a short film. It was an enormously enjoyable experience and she is incredibly proud of the finished work.
Assistant Director: James Stacey
Originally from Bismarck, ND, James has always had a strong desire to create stories and entertain people, by giving them a means of escape from their day to day lives. He decided to make that dream a reality in 2014 and moved to Orlando FL to attend Full Sail University. There he is currently pursuing a degree in film and producing, directing, and writing several short films during his time there and has plans to graduate next year.
