Kern Saxton is an award-winning independent writer, director and editor based in Los Angeles, California. He received his BFA in Filmmaking with an emphasis on Directing from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied under numerous industry professionals, including producers Dale Pollock (Set It Off, A Midnight Clear) and Nicole LaLoggia (Swingers), screenwriter Ron Stacker Thompson (Hoodlum, Deep Cover), and producer/director Wayne Crawford (Valley Girl, Night of the Comet). During his four-year stint at UNCSA, Kern crewed on over 25 short films in various capacities, working alongside such emerging talents as Aaron Katz (Cold Weather, Land Ho!), Chad Hartigan (This Is Martin Bonner, Morris From America), Zach Clark (White Reindeer, Little Sister), Brett Haley (I'll See You In My Dreams) and Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim, Clash of the Titans). Kern's junior year effort, Roadside Convenience, was selected for competition at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival, and has screened on UNC-TV as part of the North Carolina Visions program. Upon graduation, Kern relocated to Los Angeles to shadow producer/director John Flynn on the Lifetime Television show Strong Medicine and direct for the show's second unit. Kern has developed several feature films with acclaimed producer Paul Aaron (In Too Deep, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey) and writer James Waugh at Suntaur Entertainment, and has co-produced the internet comedy series Porntourage with Waugh and Millionaire Matchmaker star Destin Pfaff. His zombie short film Deader Living Through Chemistry was chosen by master of horror George A. Romero for inclusion on the DVD and Blu-ray release of Diary of the Dead, which was distributed by Dimension Films. Most recently, he directed, edited and co-produced the thriller Sushi Girl, starring Mark Hamill, Tony Todd, James Duval, Noah Hathaway, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Danny Trejo and Sonny Chiba. Sushi Girl was distributed domestically by Magnolia Pictures' genre arm, Magnet Releasing, and has seen release in theaters and home video in countries around the world.