Ilia Krisulas, who graduated from CSI in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and a minor in Corporate Communications, is pursuing his passion for filmmaking. He has created Seashelves Productions, along with two other friends, where he and his partners produce mostly comedy films, delving into the horror and drama genres as well.

“We’ve been an official LLC for about two years, and in the process, have created a following for our brand, Seashelves Productions, on our YouTube channel where we produce our own original content,” said Krisulas. “Growing our brand got us recognized by another Staten Island film production company, Fuzz on the Lens Productions, and that led to multiple opportunities to work on feature films and learn more about the industry, and in turn use that knowledge in our own work.” 

Krisulas actually started out with a different major, Electrical Engineering, with the original goal of working for Con Edison, hoping for an average salary of about $80 to $100K per year. However, after a month in this major, his plans changed and he switched to Communications.

“My major in Communications allowed me to have pre-req classes such as Intro to Film and other film-related courses that gave me experiences of creating film projects with a group of like-minded people,” Krisulas noted. “These experiences influenced me to want to continue that passion of having a career in filmmaking.”

His change of majors not only gave him that passion and drive to get into filmmaking, he also received assistance along the way from a popular instructor who was his advisor in his junior and senior year.

“Reece Peck is definitely the G.O.A.T. when it comes to professors. I felt like I was able to excel through his classes because of his great teaching, but I almost never considered him a professor, but rather a mentor in how to view, understand, and communicate the way our society is intertwined with media,” Krisulas commented. “He definitely knew the right way to approach a conversation and that’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing in my life.”

He also received help from Cheryl Craddock, Associate Director of CSI’s Verrazzano Honors Program.

“I have to give a shout out to Cheryl Craddock for being an absolutely amazing advisor to me, going into CSI under the Verrazzano Honors Program,” said Krisulas. “She was definitely my first CSI hero at the start of my college career!”

Looking to the future, Krisulas stated that a new project is currently in the writing phase and beyond that, “we plan to keep creating our own content while pursuing client work and collaborative work with other production companies.”

Looking back on his experiences, so far, his advice for CSI students is “Keep chasing the dream whatever it may be, and if it feels out of reach, just be patient, work toward it to the best of your ability. And most importantly, give it time because one of the most important things I’ve learned is that nothing happens overnight. Great things build over time!”

By Vinny Masocol