The Space Program, a New York-based team of indie producers, describes itself as a collective. The way things work is that the three-person team collaborates on all projects — with one person taking lead and the others assuming supporting roles, depending on the film.

“We have been able to become a safety net for each other and for the films and the filmmakers,” explained Gus Deardoff, who runs the company along with Lizzie Shapiro and Lexi Tannenholtz. “It means there’s always someone available, which helps because filmmakers really need instantaneous contact with their producers at all times, and sometimes you get spread very thin. This way, we have several lines of defense.”

The company, which has worked on the feature debuts of Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”) and Emma Seligman (“Shiva Baby”), takes a particular interest in first-time filmmakers.

“We love working with people that we want to be able to grow with,” said Tannenholtz. “We pick directors who we know are going to be making a lot of movies over the course of their careers.”

One such filmmaker is Charlie Polinger, whose first film, “The Plague,” will premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year. It tells the story of a group of preadolescent boys who bully and torment each other at a water polo camp.

“It’s a violent sport,” said Shapiro. “The above-water game, you need to follow the rules, but the below- water game, you can scratch and kick and pull at each other. Charlie thought that was a perfect metaphor for the way boys can behave.”

The eerie film, which the Space Program team liken to the work of Todd Field, but required a global search to find the right setting and the necessary incentives.

“I budgeted that movie in New York, New Jersey, Vancouver, Toronto, Ireland, Budapest, Sophia, Bulgaria and Bucharest,” said Shapiro. “We were on the hunt for a big pool.”

They ultimately landed in Romania. Early buzz on the film is strong and Polinger has already lined up a new project, A24’s “The Masque of the Red Death” with Sydney Sweeney tapped for the lead role. As for the Space Program, they have a busy dance card. Up next is “Pure,” the latest film from writer and director Catherine Schetina (“The Bear”), which will star Zoey Deutch. It’s about a young woman who begins to rot from the inside out as her life threatens to unravel at her sister’s wedding. It’s just the kind of quirky, unique, out-of-the-box story that the Space Program was formed to support.

“Maybe we are not the people who do your ‘Star Wars’ with you, but after you’ve made your ‘Star Wars’ and you’d like to make a more personal movie again, we are the people that you really want to collaborate with,” said Deardoff.

Part of that means that the Space Program will keep rolling the money it makes on different productions into the next one, hustling to keep projects moving forward in a business where films frequently fall apart at the last minute.

“Every movie is different, and every movie needs something different,” said Tannenholtz. “And what success means for each movie is different across the board. So we have to approach everything with an individualized strategy. For indie movies, it’s not one size fits all.”

CITY SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

FINALS

At Birmingham

DIVISION I

#1 Taft d. #2 Carson, 25-10, 25-20, 25-17

DIVISION III

#1 East Valley d. #7 Maywood CES, 3-0

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Birmingham

OPEN DIVISION

#3 El Camino Real vs. #1 Venice, 6 p.m.

DIVISION II

#1 Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences vs. #2 Mendez, 3:15 p.m.

DIVISION IV

#10 Port of Los Angeles vs. #8 Hamilton, 12:30 p.m.

DIVISION V

#3 Harbor Teacher vs. #1 Wilson, 10 a.m.

AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific University’s women’s volleyball team has officially released its 2025 schedule, featuring 27 regular season matches, a pair of high-profile tournaments, and 14 contests at the Felix Event Center. The Cougars will look to build on a strong tradition of competitiveness in the PacWest Conference as they begin their campaign on September 4th.

The season kicks off with the APU/CUI Tournament, hosted at home in Azusa, where the Cougars will face Montana State Billings, Texas Woman’s, Regis, and Western Oregon. Following that, the squad heads into a tough Biola-hosted tournament featuring top regional opponents like Cal State Dominguez Hills and Texas Permian Basin.

“This year’s schedule gives us a great mix of early challenges and key home matches,” said Head Coach Chris Keife. “We’re excited to compete in front of our fans and take our program to new heights.”

A key stretch includes the team’s annual trip to Hawai’i in early October and pivotal conference battles against rivals Biola, Point Loma, and Concordia. The season wraps up at home on November 15 against Dominican.

Below is the complete schedule for the 2025 season:

2025 APU Women’s Volleyball Schedule

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Stay Connected

Follow APU Women’s Volleyball all season long at athletics.apu.edu and on social media @APUCougars for live coverage, match updates, and behind-the-scenes content.

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#GoCougars | #APUVolleyball | #PacWestVB

Yale Athletics

The Yale women’s volleyball team won their third straight Ivy League title this season. They cruised past their conference opponents during the regular season, only falling to Princeton in four sets and Cornell in five — both teams that they later crushed in the Ivy League Tournament.

In the past four years, the squad has accumulated an impressive 48–8 Ivy League record and three NCAA Tournament appearances under Head Coach Erin Appleman, who was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

This season, the Bulldogs fell to North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Although they won the first set 25-18 with contributions from all hitters and a great service run from senior Cara Shultz ’25, known for her unique serve, they dropped the next three sets to the talented Tar Heels.

The five players in the class of 2025 — Shultz, Fatima Samb ’25, Bella Chan ’25, Mila Yarich ’25 and Carly Diehl ’25 — have earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region, All-Ivy and All-Eastern College Athletic Conference accolades between them.

SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

FINALS

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 1

Mira Costa d. Huntington Beach, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11

At Mater Dei

DIVISION 2

Mater Dei d. Peninsula, 20-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-19

At Crossroads

DIVISION 8

Wildwood d. Katella, 3-0

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Cerritos College

DIVISION 3

Orange Lutheran vs. Tesoro, 10 a.m.

DIVISION 5

Esperanza vs. Kennedy, 12:30 p.m.

DIVISION 9

CAMS vs. Downey Calvary Chapel, 3 p.m.

DIVISION 6

Quartz Hill vs. El Toro, 6 p.m.

At Santa Barbara

DIVISION 4

Sage Hill vs. Santa Barbara, 1 p.m.