CAST
Lindsay Magid (Serafina)
Lindsay Magid is an actress born and raised in Michigan, who moved out to LA to follow her dream of being in the film industry. She studied film in school and sparked a passion for performing at a young age, participating in theater for most of her life. Getting the opportunity to work on a film like Never Me meant everything to Lindsay. The overturn of Roe v. Wade was a sickening loss of independence to women everywhere. The barbaric retraction of women’s rights only created frustration and rage for Lindsay, so when she came across a project highlighting the consequences of this loss, she jumped at the chance to audition. What women do with their own bodies is their choice and the law makers who are choosing to take that away will never understand how unruly it is to decide something like that for someone else. This film displays a beautiful array of emotions within relationships and what it means to have the support system around you in times of need. Lindsay was beyond honored to portray a woman experiencing the rollercoaster of womanhood, and hopes this film highlights how important it is to make your own life changing choices.
Erica Mae McNeal (Ava)
Erica Mae McNeal is an actress born and raised in Erie, Colorado. She moved to Los Angeles after she graduated high school to pursue her dream in acting and modeling. She studied and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Acting at AMDA College and Conservatory. Like everyone, Erica Mae was furious when Roe V. Wade was overturned. She strongly believes that the people with the body anatomy of who Roe V. Wade is affecting, should be the only people making decisions about what to do with their body. She thanks the cast, crew and her amazing producers and director for making such a strong and beautiful statement.
Caroline Knight (Julia)
Ever since Caroline was little, she has had the dream of becoming the next big Hollywood actress. Whether it was Pixar movies or school drama classes, Caroline always took inspiration from the world around her and put it into her acting craft. Her parents recall that from the moment she started talking, she was storytelling, and it hasn’t stopped since. Never Me is Caroline’s first film, and it could not have been a better experience! Exploring her character, Julia, was an enlightening process. To portray a character who supports one of her dearest friends going through such a traumatizing ordeal hits home for Caroline. Throughout the process, she felt immense support and kindness from the cast and crew and could not be more grateful. While exploring the script, Caroline found tremendous passion for the story of a teenage girl fighting for her autonomy and choice in a state that opposes this right. She is very grateful to live in a state where the right to abortions is protected, but she believes it should not have to be this way because every person should have the right to their own body.
Lauren Selman (Mom)
Lauren has been creating films since she was just 13 years old, when she first got her hands on a camcorder. Back then, there were only five effects to choose from, and it took a lot of cords and playback to get them digitized and edited. Nowadays, creating films is much easier, as we can make them right on our phones. She feels honored to help students share their stories through this medium. Growing up, she was quite shy and struggled with speaking up. However, when Lauren’s parents enrolled her in theater classes, she found her voice and learned how to effectively communicate her message. She believes in the power of acting and making films as a vehicle to help people find their own voice and message. Despite recent attempts by the Supreme Court to restrict the rights of people with wombs to access abortions, we will continue to fight for our rights and ensure that everyone has autonomy over their own bodies.
Debra Manning (Grandma)
Debra is an actress from Medford, Oregon. She grew up in Humboldt County, California. As a young child her dream was to be an actress. She took an improv class in college and got hooked on performing. However, her acting career didn’t begin until 4 years ago. She is passionate about this film because it shows the effects of what can happen because of the over-turning of Roe v Wade. She is outraged that women in so many states no longer have the right to choose what is best for them. Debra feels blessed to have been a part of this film. The cast and crew are all remarkable!
Sean Robert Smith (Dad)
Sean has been acting for about one year. He’s been in over 40 short films and has a passion for transformational storytelling. As an actor, he loves helping bring the visions of the writer and director to life on the screen. He also has a passion for social justice and equality, so when he saw the listing for Never Me, he was instantly drawn into the script. Even though he plays as antagonistic role in the film, he enjoys contributing to this message and discussion being amplified in a powerful way as one of the most critical current events in our country right now.
Charles Rahi Chun (Doctor)
Rahi Chun retired from acting in 2016, after appearing in over 100 episodes of television and films over a 25-year career (as Charles Chun), including playing Dr. Wen, the attending surgeon on Scrubs for 5 seasons, Dr. Jerry Lee, chief hematologist on the Young & the Restless, Dr. Misra, chief oncologist on General Hospital, and other medical shows such as Dr. Ken, House, ER, Providence, and Chicago Hope. He was grateful and complete with his acting career, and certainly had no desire to play another doctor on screen… Until that is, he received the script for “Never Me.” So moved was he by the story, the team behind the film, its intentions, and message about the importance of every human being having the right to choose what is best for their own body, he was happy to don a doctor’s lab coat once again and be a part of this wonderful story-telling experience.
Dan Hwang (Receptionist)
Dan is an actor who is fascinated by the human experience and dedicated to bringing important stories to life. When he originally saw the casting call for this short, he applied to be background talent, as he had wanted to be a part of this meaningful production no matter how small or big the role. As we continue to live in a country where just a handful of people can dictate the legal rights of millions, he hopes we can keep creating art that invites people to choose humanity over archaic ideology. Empathy over virtue signaling. Choice over force. It was an absolute pleasure working with the cast and crew and he hopes that this film makes way for more stories to be told and voices to be heard.
CREW
Dani Nawrocki (Director, Producer, Writer, Composer)
Dani is a 16 year old filmmaker who was born and raised in San Diego, California. She’s been interested in the arts for as long as she can remember, and was originally interested in the entertainment industry as a child actor. Thanks to her business partner and best friend in the whole world, James, she was introduced to the production side of filmmaking and found a love for storytelling. This film has been a huge journey as it’s been in the works since August 2022. Although she’s lucky enough to live in a state where abortion rights are protected, the overturn of Roe v. Wade outraged her enough to take action by writing and directing this project. She is immensely grateful for all the support she’s received on this filmmaking journey; she couldn’t have done it without all the actors, consultants, and crew members that she’s connected with along the way.
James Mylenek (DOP, Producer, Editor)
James is a student creative and has worked in different aspects of film and music for over 8 years now, yet has always found himself behind the camera and screen. Producing “Never Me” has been the best experience for him. There is nothing like creating a project of this nature from scratch to finish with your best friend. He couldn’t have asked for a better cast and crew, where there was never a dull moment during filming. We were able to bounce off each other’s strengths to bring this story to life in the best collaborative way possible. His hope with this film is to bring awareness to a very real and possible situation along with starting conversations that will lead to change.
Cecilia Viera (Assistant Producer, Casting Director, Research Coordinator)
Cecilia Vieira was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but has spent the past 8 years living in California. While her interest in the arts is usually concentrated in music, she was brought into this film early on during pre-production by director Dani Nawrocki due to her passion for women’s rights and reproductive health. This is her first experience working in film, and she took on multiple duties under the umbrellas of casting, production, research, and coordination throughout production. She could not be prouder to have worked on this film because of her personal connection with the director Dani, and being able to watch her grow throughout the filmmaking process. Cece holds a strong belief that women’s stories should be told with care, love, and meticulousness.
John Lacuesta (Gaffer)
John is originally from a small town called Imperial, California and moved to San Diego to attend film school. After attending the Radio Recording and Film Connection he received a degree in cinematography and immediately started working as studio manager at EQ Studios in San Diego. He now works with Crystal Pyramid Productions as a camera operator, grip, and teleprompter operator. He is also known for working with local artists in San Diego directing music videos.
Sonia Whittle (Production Assistant)
Sonia is a 16 year old who loves filmmaking. She was born in the US but shortly after she moved to Chile and later Spain. It was there that she found her passion for film. Once back in San Diego, she was able to start creating films with my peers from school. She has been doing so ever since and she’s glad she got to work on this project because she believes that the overturn of Roe v Wade is a big issue today. She’s super grateful she was able to gain more experience in the film world by working with all these wonderful people.
Daniil Domanin (Production Assistant)
Daniil is a 15 year old filmmaker living in San Diego, California. He’s been interested in movies and film for most of his life. He decided to join the project not only because he love working on short films but also because it’s an important topic that has to be raised. He really enjoyed working with people so passionate about film and he’s glad he had the chance to be a part of the crew.
Isabel Lai (Production Assistant)
Isabel is a 15 year old student at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, California. Her film journey first started out as making fun little videos with my friends filmed on my phone that she edited together to show their parents. However, through the film class in school, she learned to appreciate the art and different styles of it. It was actually in this film class that Dani asked for volunteers for the crew, which Isabel was eager to volunteer for because it sounded like a great experience… and it was. Never Me was the first out of school and not on phone film she had ever helped work on, so she thanks everyone for opening her up to all the beauties there are in creating moving pictures.