Founded by filmmakers for filmmakers, with over fifteen years of experience in visual effects and post production, Monocular Films is a full service visual effects boutique specializing in elevated craftsmanship and unique flexibility.
Liam O’Donnell
Co-Founder
After graduating from Boston University in 2004, Liam began working with visual effects pioneers Greg and Colin Strause writing and consulting on their music videos, commercials and films including Fox’s Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) and Relativity/Universal’s Skyline (2010), which Liam produced and co-wrote. For Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2, Liam co-created the “Feebles” montage comically displaying the rest of the world’s unsuccessful attempts at creating their own Iron Man.
In 2017, Liam wrote and produced his directorial debut, Beyond Skyline for its star, Frank Grillo. The action-packed sequel, shot in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Indonesia featuring martial arts superstars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, proved to be a surprise festival hit with critics and fans alike. In 2019, Liam directed, produced, and co-wrote “The Other Side” segment working alongside acclaimed filmmakers Eduardo Sanchez and Timo Tjahjanto for Screen Media’s sci-fi anthology Portals from the producers of the V/H/S films.
In 2020, Liam returned to write, produce and direct Skylines. The ambitious threequel was shot in Lithuania, starring Lindsey Morgan, Alexander Siddig, Rhona Mitra and James Cosmo. Produced by Matthew Chausse, Skylines continued the franchise’s surprise success, charting on Netflix around the world where both it and Beyond Skyline are currently streaming.
Coming up, Liam is set to direct Sentient Entertainment’s Alphas, produced by Pierre Morel and written by Frank Hannah. Liam is also set to direct, write and produce his franchise’s fourth installment Skyline Radial. Other projects include the martial arts epic The Last Savage starring Iko Uwais. Liam co-wrote the script with Derek Kolstad, writer/creator of the John Wick series. Liam co-hosts the weekly Action For Everyone podcast focused on action films and filmmaking.
Phet Mahathongdy
Co-Founder
Phet Mahathongdy is an actor, writer, producer and director born in Laos, entering the US as a refugee when she was only two years old. Her parents raised her in Colorado determined to steer her towards a career as a doctor or a lawyer. Much to their continued bewilderment, she ended up studying Literature and Writing at the George Washington University along with classical theater at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. After graduating, she made her way to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the arts, acting in commercials before landing roles in film and television. After starting a family in 2009, she began to work more behind the camera, reading and developing screenplays for production companies as well as studying editing, photography, and directing. Her essay “Mother Love”, was featured in Troubling Borders: An Anthology of Art and Literature by Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora.
In 2018, she wrote, directed and produced the short film Go to Sleep: A Lao Ghost Story, which played at film festivals across the country including Cinepocalypse in Chicago where it won the “Best Scare” award. In 2019, she appeared in Screenmedia’s Sci-Fi anthology Portals alongside Neil Hopkins. She recently was cast in Ryan Murphy’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” for Netflix. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and four children.