Ava Lalezarzadeh received 192 applications for eight open roles in her first film. Lalezarzadeh, a second-year theater student, and her casting director Emily Abbott, a third-year English student, turned away more than 150 people during their casting auditions for Lalezarzadeh’s original film “Pool Man.” The short film follows the story of a pool cleaner named John whose 5-year-old son is kidnapped, causing John to turn to religion. Read more...
Photo: Tanya Raisa, the actress who plays the character Joanne in the film “Pool Man,” poses next to Ava Lalezarzadeh, the writer and director, Grace Hawkins, the assistant director and Emily Abbott, the casting director (left to right). (Isa Saalabi/Daily Bruin)