Stella Naymik
Stella is a go-getter. Since her first semester studying Digital Media Production at Kent State University, she has spent her time living and breathing filmmaking. Stella is a creative but also a realist— she excels in her writing and directing but also her producing.
Experience
Since starting her college education, Stella has been instrumental in the creation of a wide range of projects. She is incredibly involved, participating in multiple student organizations, which include The Female Filmmakers’ Initiative (FFI) as the Director, The Creator Collective as former Secretary, and The Kent State Writer’s Room. She is the Executive Producer of mood9, a student-led start-up production company associated with LaunchNet at KSU. Most notably, she has produced a pilot episode titled “Bunkers” for a Production 2 class that won Best Editing and Best Actor at the Flash Film Festival. She shot a short film for FFI titled “A Positive Outcome,” which received an Award of Excellence through the Broadcast Education Association. She has also produced a Production 1 project called “Dusty,” a 20-minute short titled “KAYO!” for The Creator Collective, and has participated in countless other student and indie productions in various roles.
In the past year, Stella has taken part in multiple 48-hour film projects. As a co-writer and Assistant Director, her team, Friends Per Second, took home Best Cinematography and third place overall for their short, “Wilted,” in Cleveland’s chapter of the competition. Following their success, the re-branded team, Frights Per Second, also participated in the Horror and Sci-fi themed Cleveland 48-hour film project with “Charred Memory,” which recently screened at the Short Sweet Film Fest. This past February, she made her directorial debut, participating in the College 48, with the team, now Flashes Per Second, named after Kent State’s mascot, and their comedy short, Buzzer Beater.
Learn more about these projects and more in the Portfolio section.
Stella has also studied Italian cinema abroad in Florence, Italy, and documentary filmmaking under guidance from 1895 Films in Monte Carlo, Monaco. She has also interned with The Greater Cleveland Film Commission, Shape Cleveland, and the National Film Festival for Talented Youth.
She is currently gearing up to start her honors thesis and capstone project in the fall.
To see Stella in action, click here.
Acting Experience
Stella is also an actor. She is sometimes also known as Stella Marino. She is currently a theater minor at Kent State and can often be found acting in student films, participating in theater productions, or doing Extra work locally.
Stella’s acting resume and reel can be found in the Resume tab.
Personal
When Stella is not making or acting in films, she can be found working at the Kent State Writing Commons, running her Etsy shop, and making videos for her YouTube Channel, Stella’s Book Nook.