It began as a quest to find a really good cup of coffee in Paris.

We love Paris. But we also love good coffee. And as those who love good coffee know, until very recently, it wasn't easy to enjoy the two together.

But now that's changing. Fast. In just the past few years -- two decades after specialty coffee was embraced by other world-class cities -- indie coffee shops are increasingly popping up in the City of Light. Call it La Nouvelle Vague of coffee.  And like the radical French New Wave filmmakers of the '60s, we've found the rebel barista-owners behind the specialty coffee movement to be just as passionate, outspoken and iconoclastic.

In their mission to bring good coffee to Paris, they are experimenting with the concept of what a Parisian café is — and inventing a fresh, decidedly French coffee shop style for a new generation. Natives, expats and tourists alike are increasingly discovering — and digging — this hip alternative to Paris' traditional cafés.

The Paris Coffee Project strives to capture this moment in the city's stylish, storied café history. The moment when Parisian café culture forever changed — and coffee lovers around the world took notice.

Gar Hoover
Writer/Director

Gar is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. His work has taken top honors at film festivals nationwide, including Phoenix Film Festival, Asheville Film Festival and Moondance. His latest narrative project Curtains, about a theatre legend in a career tailspin, premiered at the 21st LA Shorts International Film Festival and recently received its 20th laurel on the festival circuit. 

He is creative director at ideafarm, a boutique branding and digital content agency, for which he has shot numerous short films, branded entertainment, music videos and web series.

He is also a member of the Film & TV Faculty at The Second City, where he and Beth lead Story workshops, and teaches screenwriting and Story for Film & TV at Loyola University to students in the International Film Studies program. An accomplished photographer, his series on the art of the Berlin Wall is currently on exhibit marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. See more about Gar at Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/garhoover.

Beth Hoover
Writer/Producer

Beth began her writing career as a  journalist after graduating from the University of Virginia, where she studied English literature. 

Beth’s feature scripts have won recognition from prestigious writing competitions including PAGE Awards, Fresh Voices, American Zoetrope, Austin Film Festival and the Nicholl Fellowships, and she has produced a variety of web series, music videos and short films.

She teaches screenwriting and story as a team with Gar at Loyola University and at The Second City. She's on the advisory board of Women in Film and earlier served as a screenwriting mentor. She is also a partner at ideafarm films, a creative studio and film production agency that works with corporate and non-profit organizations to bring their stories to the marketplace. See more about Beth at her LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bethahoover.

Chris Cady
Production Assistant

Chris recently graduated from Loyola with magna cum laude honors and an armload of awards. The self-appointed darling of the university's film program, Chris was the inaugural recipient of its Outstanding International Film and Media Studies Major award. His short films have screened at university festivals and competitions, winning Best Picture at Campus Movie Fest and securing a berth in the Short Film Corner at Cannes.

Prior to joining the Paris Coffee Project, Chris worked on the documentary Chicago a Cappella and most recently saw his stop-motion animation short chosen for Chicago Filmmakers' 2014 Short Story Showcase. When not working on films or taking classes at The Second City, Chris can be found maintaining his rep as the nicest guy on the planet.

Amanda Kopec
Production Assistant

Fluent in French, Amanda is behind the translations and subtitles for the Paris Coffee Project. She recently graduated magna cum laude from Loyola where she double-majored in International Film Production and French. She is a member of Pi Delta Phi, the French National Honor Society recognizing outstanding scholarship in French language and Literature, and was the recipient of the prestigious Claudel Key Award for excellence in the study of French. 

Among her film awards at Loyola, Amanda and her team won Best Comedy at Campus Movie Fest 2013 and, most recently, she served as the production designer on Muddy Girl, which nabbed first place at the 2014 Student Film Festival. In addition to film projects, she works with Chicago Wilderness as a freelance videographer and web designer, creating videos that promote the importance of outdoor play for youth.

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