Ken Kokka, born and raised in Berkeley, is a recent graduate of the MFA Directing Program at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Prior to enrolling in the MFA Program at UCLA, Kokka worked in film production in a variety of roles, including production management for Academy-Award winning documentary filmmaker Steven Okazaki at Farallon Films, and visual effects production at Tippett Studio on films including Starship Troopers, The Haunting, and Evolution. Kokka has written and directed several short films, including The Chessmen, a dramatic narrative about the plight of Japanese-Americans returning to their former neighborhoods following their internment during World War II; and glimmer, his thesis film about a family’s struggle to maintain its balance after a devastating loss. Most recently, Kokka has been working in Beijing and Shanghai with the visual effects team on John Woo’s film Red Cliff.