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Aaron C. Wong is a writer and filmmaker based in Portland, OR. After undergrad at UCLA studying British Literature and grad film school at SCAD, Aaron established himself as a cinematographer, with films he’s lensed honored with BAFTA and Africa Movie Academy awards. He’s also often served as an editor, including work for the national ABC News.
In 2013 Aaron founded a successful commercial production company. He’s now transitioning into telling his own stories, with his screenplay GARAMBA being a Nicholl Finalist. His background of mixed race and first-generation, his father an immigrant from Hong Kong, along with his identification as a Southerner, his childhood spent in Memphis, TN, have resulted in Aaron’s desire to seek out voices and stories lesser heard but not necessarily quieter.

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Alex Bijan Zandi is an Iranian-American filmmaker and artist based in Brooklyn. His work explores the social challenges and enchantments of the Middle Eastern diaspora. Zandi’s films have screened at film festivals globally including Montclair, Maryland, Brooklyn, Urbanworld, and Amsterdam (Best Experimental Film). He is a 2023-2025 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and was a 2022 Reykjavík Film Festival Talent Lab Fellow. Zandi received an MFA in Film/Video at Bard College and a BA at the Washington University in St. Louis where he was awarded the Howard Nemerov Prize for Poetry. His debut feature film in development, SAFFRON THREADS, participated in the MACRO x The Black List Feature Screenwriter Incubator and Stowe Story Labs. His work has also been exhibited at Abrons Art Center, Knockdown Center, and art galleries internationally.

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Alexander is an award-winning filmmaker, journalist, director, producer, cinematographer and editor, with over 10 years of experience in New York producing premium documentaries for film & television for clients like Nat Geo, CNN, A+E, Scripps News, and more. He’s a Columbia Du-Pont Award recipient, and two-time grand jury award winner at festival world premieres. His work focuses on global conflict, human rights, conservation and politics.

He has worked for, CNN: Fareed Zakaria, National Geographic, NBC Peacock, Channel 4, A+E. As a journalist, he’s reported from the January 6th Capitol Riot, covering the opioid epidemic, US Mexico Border, UFOs, Covid-19, The Syrian Civil War, illegal puma hunting in Patagonia and ISIS’s genocidal campaign against the Yazidi community in Kurdistan.

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Originally hailing from the West Coast, Amelia Moses is a Montreal based director and screenwriter. As a filmmaker she’s interested in female-driven stories of the macabre and the uncanny. Her work is heavily inspired by horror cinema and storytelling, using horror tropes and imagery as a lens to explore anxiety and fear. Her first feature BLEED WITH ME premiered at Fantasia and was distributed by Shudder in 2021. Her second feature BLOODTHIRSTY was the closing film at Fantastic Fest and was nominated for two Canada Screen Awards. In 2023 she directed the thriller GUESS WHO for Tubi and her new short film HER BODY will be starting its festival run at this year’s Off-Courts Trouville. She also recently won the Jean-Marc Vallée bursary at the Banff World Media Festival.

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Curious, nimble, intuitive — Director/Cinematographer Andrew Wonder is renowned for uncovering the overlooked aspects of the human experience. A Lion, Emmy, and Pencil award-winning filmmaker, his viral documentary ‘Undercity,’ hailed as ‘one of the most iconic urban exploration videos ever.’ His debut feature, ‘Feral,’ praised by the New York Times as ‘powerful, revelatory,’ boasts a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. After graduating from NYU, Wonder was mentored by Paul Schrader, serving as second unit director and associate producer on ‘Dog Eat Dog’ (Cannes 2016) and co-directing ‘The Future of Movies’ for La Biennale di Venezia’s 70th anniversary. His latest collaboration with Schrader, as cinematographer on ‘Oh Canada,’ premiered in competition at Cannes 2024.

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ANN LUPO is an award-winning filmmaker currently based in Portland,OR. Her debut feature film, IN REALITY, which she wrote, directed, produced, edited and starred in, screened at festivals domestically and internationally winning eleven awards. After completing a festival tour in 2018, she lead a self-distribution campaign to release the film in 2019 on VOD platforms.

As an actor she was named one of the Best Movie Performances of 2019 by IndieWire alongside Lupita Nyongo, Elizabeth Moss, and Brie Larson.
As an editor her work ranges from Ford F150 commercials, to U2 Music Videos, to Vimeo Staff Picked short docs.
As a human she’s a gushing dog-mom, a double pisces, and a native plant enthusiast.

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Brian Lawes is an American film director, writer, and producer whose award-winning films have played across the world, with premieres at Palm Springs International ShortFest, HollyShorts, and Indy Shorts. His Oscar-qualifying short Lost Kings won Jury Awards for Best U.S. Narrative Short at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival and Best Short at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, before being acquired for global distribution by NITV.

As a Likewise Directors Fellow and Sundance Collab graduate, Brian is actively developing the feature adaptation of Lost Kings from the support of these programs. His work is guided by a commitment to creating films that entertain, inspire, foster understanding, and provoke dialogue. His dedication to community and storytelling has also been recognized by OVAC and the Camera Ambassador Community Builders grant.

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BRIANA COX is the oldest of seven children and a first-generation academic who started out as a prose writer, with works that can be enjoyed via the Studio Ensemble Arts Exchange and Tales from the Radiator short story podcasts. She began writing scripts as a playwrighting Fellow in 2019 with the TN Playwrights Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. She has since produced stageplays in Nashville and Beverly Hills through the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performance Art. She is a Stowe Story Labs alumna and fellowship finalist, Nashville Film Festival screenwriting finalist, and Stage32 Feature Screenwriting 2024 Fellow. She is currently a TN Playwrights Studio workshop instructor and is producing and directing her first television pilot with fiscal sponsorship through Stowe Story Labs.

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Creaghead produced the award-winning short film “FLEX” (Outfest, 2020) and “Unicorn” (Tribeca, 2022). Previously, she produced Janelle James Comedy Festival and The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival and curated stand-up comedy showcases for Brooklyn Academy of Music and IFC in New York City.

Now based in Los Angeles, she’s written, directed and produced “Relationship to Patient” (2024), a proof of concept for a feature film based on a true story. Starring Eleanore Pienta (“A Different Man,” 2024; “Soft & Quiet,” 2022) and H. Jon Benjamin (Bob’s Burgers; Archer), it premiered at Santa Barbara International Film Festival and internationally at Brussels Short Film Festival where Eleanore won Best Actress for her performance. With humor and humility, Creaghead’s work explores how we really relate.

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Chaconne is a filmmaker from Portland, OR, now living in Brooklyn, NY. Her work explores power dynamics and desire through the female gaze. Her short film ‘Scotty’s Vag,’ is about sorority hazing. It premiered at SXSW 2023 and won Best Narrative Short at Atlanta Film Festival. It’s streaming on Vimeo, where it received a Staff Pick. Chaconne’s previous short, ‘In Sync’ is about a strained mother-daughter relationship. It premiered at Maryland Film Festival 2021, and is streaming on NoBudge. As a screenwriter, Chaconne has written for Amazon’s upcoming ‘Cruel Intentions’ TV series, and previously for their ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. Chaconne holds a BA in Creative Writing & Film from Johns Hopkins University.

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Destinee Stewart is a bold & dynamic filmmaker from Dallas, TX, drawn to stories that highlight the complexity & nuances of women and BIPOC individuals. Recently, Destinee was selected as a director for Issa Rae’s Find Your People Program, receiving $50k for a short film. Her proof of concept script for the psychological thriller “WADE IN THE WATER” was a finalist for the 2024 Short Proof of Concept Accelerator supported by USC Annenberg, Netflix, & Dirty Films. Her film, “THE OTHER PARTNERS,” premiered at the Academy-qualifying RiverRun International Film Festival this year. Currently, Destinee serves as a creative lead for Netflix and has dub directed shows “IRON CHEF: BRAZIL,” “IRON CHEF: MEXICO,” “LOVE IS BLIND: SWEDEN,” and the film “IN HIS SHADOW,” to name a few.

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Elizabeth Leiter is a documentary filmmaker who is drawn to nuanced, thought-provoking, and emotionally resonant stories. She made her directorial debut with Frontline’s “The Abortion Divide,” which presents intimate portraits of women in the midst of decision making. Her second film, “Jane Goodall: The Hope,” earned several nominations including an Emmy for outstanding Nature Documentary and a Critics Choice for Best First Documentary Feature. She was the series director on Hulu’s “Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, Holiday Edition,” which won a James Beard Award and received a Television Academy Honor for inspiring social change. Elizabeth’s producing credits include Peabody nominated “Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day in March,” for PBS and “Parched,” for National Geographic.

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Ella May Sahlman is a passionate and multifaceted creative storyteller dedicated to bringing authentic, queer narratives to life. Through her art, she explores deeply personal and meaningful themes, using a variety of mediums to convey her stories. Writing, directing, photography, and music serve as her primary tools for producing films that resonate on an emotional level.

Her work often draws from her own experiences, delving into complex themes such as identity, gender, sexuality, and the trials of coming of age. Sahlman’s storytelling also touches on the everyday horrors faced by women, capturing these realities with a raw and unflinching perspective.

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Erin Galey  is a creative producer, writer, and director working in narrative, music video, and commercial spaces. Her work explores the voice of the athlete, soulful, character-driven stories, identity and empathy, and wild natural environments.

A graduate of NYU Tisch Grad Film, she studied under directors Ramon Menendez, Oliver Stone, Shekhar Kapur, Lesli Linka Glatter (directing shadow, HBO), and cinematographer Bobby Bukowski.Her thesis, Sahasi Chori (Brave Girl), premiered at SXSW and screened at 37 festivals worldwide, receiving critical acclaim and over 20 awards. In 2013, she founded the Oregon-based production company FLICKER. Her career in commercials and music videos includes work for brands like Nike, Project Rock, National Geographic, ODESZA, YouTube Music, The North Face, and adidas, and more.

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Fernando Andrés is a filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. His feature films Rent Free and Three Headed Beast both premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2024 and 2022 respectively.

His films examine sex, relationships, and society through a stylized queer lens and have screened at festivals including Outfest, New Orleans, and Austin Film Festival.

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Hanh Nguyen is an LA-based documentary filmmaker, originally from Vietnam and raised in Kansas City, MO. With a background in fine arts, she quickly found her voice in the medium of video. As a visual storyteller, Hanh feels deeply humbled by the people she encounters through her work. The thrill of embarking on new discoveries drives her passion, while the bittersweet emotions that linger when a project concludes are a constant part of her creative journey.

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Heather Older is an Oregon based screenwriter who has written and produced two award-winning short films. Prior to Oregon she resided in LA where she wore various hats and headsets, most notably as Production Coordinator for Jon Favreau’s Dinner for Five on IFC, and as a Project Manager in the Entertainment and Media Division at Korn Ferry International. She holds a BFA from Syracuse University and attended Central St. Martins in London where her concentration was storytelling through fine art photography. She is currently in pre-production for her directorial debut with the short film, Cockroach, which she also wrote. Heather also serves as the Executive Director for the McMinnville Short Film Festival located in Oregon wine country.

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Isaac Trimble is an Indigenous film producer from the Pacific Northwest with a passion for the performing arts that began in 1988. He advocates for the representation of Native peoples in media and has received numerous film accolades, and a lifetime achievement award for music. In 2017, Isaac and his crew won the Portland 48-Hour Film Festival, premiering at Filmapalooza in Paris and ranking in the top 4% globally. His experience in competition films has led him to serve as a juror for festivals like the BEND Film Festival’s Indigenous program. Recently, Isaac earned his MFA from the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC. Currently, he is focused on feature film projects and has collaborated with Native American filmmakers, including LaRonn Katchia and Joaquin Trujillo.

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Jeff Kardesch is a filmmaker and producer based in Brooklyn. Jeff’s film career began moonlighting as a director’s assistant while working in a sandwich shop in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s Radio-Television-Film program, Jeff’s portfolio includes narrative, documentary, music video, and commercial work, most notably the feature films ​The Ghost Who Walks (2020) and Rent Free (2024), and shorts Enchanted Cove, The Actor Prepares, Isme, and Nest. His work has been featured on Netflix & Peacock, and at BendFilm, Champs-Élysées Film Festival, SideWalk Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Oslo International Film Festival, One Point Four, Vimeo Staff Picks and more.

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Jessie Sears, a proud member of the Karuk tribe, is a producer, cinematographer, and photographer based in Portland, Oregon. She has worked on numerous films focusing on Indigenous communities and environmental and social justice. She is currently co-producing an environmental justice documentary, The Caldera, which documents a proposed lithium mine in Southern Oregon. She collaborated on the film Undamming Klamath, chronicling the Indigenous-led and largest river restoration in history. She is also a cinematographer for Oregon Public Broadcasting, contributing to their shows Oregon Experience, Superabundant, and Northwest Music. Jessie’s work spans documentary, commercial, and narrative projects, focusing on human connections and our unity with nature.

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João Henrique Kurtz is a Brazilian producer dedicated to projects that promote diversity, especially within the queer community. They co-wrote, co-directed, and produced their first short film “Satin Bird” in 2016; were Executive Producer of the series “Radio Zoo”, Executive and Development Producer for Star+ Original Series “Impuros”, and Development Producer of Lucas Camargo de Barros’ feature film debut as a director, “Petit Mal”, co-directed with Nicolas Thomé Zetune, premiering at the 29th FIDMarseille. Recently they produced the documentary feature “UÝRA: The Rising Forest”, whose world première happened in San Francisco at Frameline46, where the film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film was screened at BendFilm 2022, winning “Best Indigenous Feature”.

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Joe Peeler is a Sundance award-winning director and editor whose work has appeared on NETFLIX, HBO, FX, ESPN, Hulu and CBS. Joe began his career apprenticing under legendary director Peter Bogdanovich, and from there edited Lucy Walker’s documentary short The Lion’s Mouth Opens, which was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. Since then, Joe has edited many films including Alden Ehrenreich’s Shadow Brother Sunday; and multiple episodes of the Netflix original series Flint Town. Most recently, Joe co-directed Bad Press, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression. Bad Press garnered a New York Times Critics Pick and will be available on The Criterion Channel beginning this September.

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Johnny Kirk, a visionary filmmaker of diverse cultural heritage, skillfully probes the layers of reality, capturing fragments of our collective subconscious. As the mastermind behind Dark Blu Productions, he artfully orchestrates visual experiences that transcend the boundaries of truth and illusion.

Johnny’s films seamlessly blend social issues with ethereal themes, resonating with the pulsating rhythm of empathy. He challenges us to question, feel, and awaken within his captivating narratives.

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Jonathan Pickett is an Emmy-nominated creative producer / director. His documentary work focuses on well-observed stories happening in real time, captured with a sense of intimacy and playfulness. His work has been released through The New Yorker, GQ Magazine, New York Times, The Atlantic, ALTER, NoBudge, Short of the Week & Vimeo Staff Picks. He’s had projects premiere at film festivals like Sundance, Tribeca, Austin, Cleveland, Hot Springs, Seattle, Mountainfilm, Palm Springs, and dozens more. His most recent documentary “Chicken Stories” won the jury prize for Artistic Vision at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, after which it was acquired by The New Yorker and selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick. He produced “Mr. Somebody” which was a selection at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival.

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Joseph Sackett is an award-winning filmmaker who has written, directed, and produced projects that have screened in competition at the Festival de Cannes, Slamdance, and the Rooftop Films Summer Series among others. After receiving his MFA in Screenwriting and Directing from NYU Tisch Graduate Film, he was named as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. His first feature, “Homebody”, which won the Emerging Talent Award at Outfest LA, is available to stream on Peacock and Fandor. In 2022, he was a fellow at the Outfest Screenwriting Lab and a Martha MOCA resident through The Cabins Collaborative. He is currently in development on his second feature, “Cross Pollination”, which was invited to the NYU Tisch Purple List and the Sundance Screenwriters Lab 2023.

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Joy Jorgensen is the lead producer and founder of Killjoy Films. Joy has a Bachelor’s Degree from Columbia University and a Master’s Degree in Screenwriting and Directing at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Recent features include WE STRANGERS (dir. Anu Valia), which premiered at SXSW 2024, RUNNER (dir. Marian Mathias) which premiered at TIFF 2022 and HOMEBODY (dir. Joseph Sackett) which won the Special Jury Award for Emerging Talent at Outfest 2021. Notable shorts include LAPS (Special Jury Award Sundance 2016, dir. Charlotte Wells ) BLUE CHRISTMAS (TIFF, Sundance, dir. Charlotte Wells) and BAMBIRAK (Best International Short Film Sundance 2020, dir. Zamarin Wahdat.) Joy is a 2021 Sundance Producing Fellow, 2022 Rotterdam Producing Fellow, 2022 Torino Film Lab Script Editing Fellow, recipient of the 2022 New York Women in Film Grant, and a 2024 Ingmar Bergman Institute Resident at Bergman Island. She is a member of the Television Academy and the European Film Academy. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate Film department at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is based in Berlin and Brooklyn.

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Kara Grace Miller is a New York based producer working in narrative film, documentary television and commercial production. Their most recent project, Make Me a Pizza, premiered at SXSW 2024 and their narrative work has screened most notably at Fantasia Film Festival, Beyond Fest, Urbanworld Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival and the National Film Festival for Talented Youth. Their documentary television work with Public Record (HUSTLE, WE THE ANIMALS) is awaiting release across multiple streaming platforms and they’re currently traveling the country working as a Testimonial Producer for the Harris Walz campaign talking with Americans about healthcare access, abortion rights, union organizing and strengthening the middle class.

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Kat Lo has always been committed to the arts and social justice. She was a Student Delegate for Greenpeace, an Arts & Culture correspondent for Shift Magazine, chaired Yale in Hollywood’s Hong Kong chapter, judged Sundance London’s Short Film Competition, and sat on the Board of Neuehouse. In 2014, Kat founded a mission-driven brand called Eaton, and opened 2 hotels that foster creativity and community. She produced a number of short films, including “ATENCIÓN! MURDERER NEXT DOOR” (2021), which premiered on NYT Op-Docs and won an Emmy. Kat Lo has a BA in anthropology from Yale and an MFA in Film Production from USC. During her formative years, Kat fell in love with her hometown, Hong Kong, through its independent music scene.

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Keegan Sentner is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and journalist, as well as the co-founder of Camp Five Films and the founder of The Backlot newsletter on Substack. With a background in environmental journalism, Keegan has spent the past few years telling compelling stories about the human relationship with the natural world.

He has worked on several short films, including Return to Sender, which follows a crew of highliners attempting to break the U.S. record for the longest highline. Currently, Keegan is producing several feature documentaries, including one on shamanism in Guatemala and an environmental film exploring the conservation movement on the Jersey Shore. He is also directing a feature documentary that follows a crew of blind outrigger paddlers in California.

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Leo Aguirre is a writer and director born in raised in El Paso, Texas. After studying film and communication studies at the University of Texas at Austin, he worked as a photographer, cinematographer, and editor before fully transitioning to directing.

His work has been recognized internationally, with film and photography projects spanning styles and themes across the commercial, music video, and narrative landscape. In 2022, he represented Mexico at the Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh with his photographic work. He is deeply inspired by acts of kindness and compassion, and believes in the power of filmmaking to create empathy.

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María Del Mar Rosario is a filmmaker from Puerto Rico, navigating both narrative and nonfiction. As a writer, director, and producer, she aims to tell stories that trigger a reflection on notions of the Caribbean under a decolonial lens, while exploring the perspective of the body. Her work has screened at Tribeca, SFFILM, HotDocs, IDFA, New Orleans. With a BA in Creative Nonfiction and Film Studies from Columbia University, she later completed her postgraduate studies in Directing at the School of Film and Television in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba (EICTV). Maria del Mar was recently awarded the LALIFF/NETFLIX Inclusion Fellowship to write and direct the narrative short, Punta Salinas; as well as the PBS/Firelight Media Homegrown Fellowship 2024 for a short doc titled Escambrón, Playa.

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Megan Ashley Alan grew up in a small, rainy town in the Pacific Northwest, where she spent many days at the local cinema. Inspired by the magic of movies, she pursued film school in sunny Los Angeles, only to return as soon as she could to the familiar gray skies and thoughtful people. At 22, Megan found her way to Portland, Oregon, a queer and creative haven. Armed with a film degree and a working knowledge of Final Cut Pro, she bought a DSLR camera and spent the next 15 years gaining hands-on experience in video production.During this time, Megan founded a production company focused on supporting small, women-owned businesses and even found herself creating a documentary about Portland’s strip club culture. When she’s not immersed in screenwork, Megan enjoys traveling, paddleboarding, bachata dancing, and spending time with her adventurous partner and their very vocal Siberian husky.

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Mylissa spent her early childhood in Utah, before moving to Oregon, where she begun experimenting with film. She spent her 20’s in Seattle documenting the music scene before moving to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking. As a writer, director her films include, the award winning short films, That Party That One Night and Who Decides.

She is a Sun Valley Festival short film lab winner an alumni of The Reykjavik Talent Lab, a Screencraft finalist for her short story writing and short films. In 2020 she was a top 3 finalist for the Lynn Shelton “of a certain age” grant and a 2023 Ryan Murphy Half Initiative mentee. In 2021 she made her debut feature film, Everything in The End, filmed in Iceland on a micro budget. Her second feature, The Long Run will be released in 2025.

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Dad and Stepdad, founder of the production company Three Words, an award-winning Producer and Director, accomplished wanderer, steadfast optimist, novice hockey player, aspiring woodworker and ice cream aficionado.

Inspired by the idea that “every day is a school day,” Philip has an insatiable curiosity that he brings to both commercial and documentary filmmaking. This is the guy who’ll chase down any story. With a genuine hunger to understand. And an unshakeable desire to see hope in the day-to-day.

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Born in Mexico City in 1996. Raúl A. Rodríguez studied Communications, specializing in film studies, at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. His first short film, “Albatross,” premiered at the 50th Huesca International Film Festival. He has worked on various independent projects, including short films and feature films in Mexico. He’s currently developing a feature film script with his production company, Antitrama.

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Rex New’s feature writing debut, DANCE CAMP, received a WGA nomination for Best Children’s Longform, and was directed by Bert & Bertie. His second feature, BAD HOMBRES, was awarded Best Screenplay and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at the 2023 Mammoth Film Festival. In audio, Rex served as showrunner and director on MURDER IN HR, starring Kate Mara and Brett Gelman. The series was #1 on Apple’s Fiction charts and #38 on all podcasts. Rex served as head writer, director, and showrunner of both seasons of THE HACKER CHRONICLES, starring Michael C. Hall. The show received Webby recognition for Best Fiction Podcast and numerous other awards highlighting its mix of educational content and thrilling fictional storytelling.

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Roberta Cumbianchera hails all the way from Lanús, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. She was drawn to performative arts, and art as a form of protest since young age. In 2020, she was awarded with the ”Best Screenplay” grand prize by the Script to Screen program at Catalyst Film Collective, and in 2022 she was awarded with the grant ”Vision” by Women In Film- Portland Chapter, allowing her to continue with her directorial path and finish her first film, ”Navidad de Reserva”. In 2024, she was awarded with ”Special Mention – Best Shortfilm” by the Argentinian organization La Mujer y El Cine (Women and Film) and looks forward to a bright career in filmmaking, while framing the unseen stories of the working class.

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In twenty words or less, Stacey is a mother, wife, advocate, a little blue dot in a big red state, and a filmmaker. She imbues her stories with her varied life experience – from having lived in all four corners of the country; to being raised by a single mom; to becoming a mom when she came home to find a baby on her couch (and he’s still there 17 years later!); to later being diagnosed with infertility only to find out on her 40th birthday she was pregnant. As a writer, she takes these experiences and infuses them into clever and authentic female characters. She’s written/produced 5 short films (directing 4 of them), screening at over 60 festivals on 4 continents. In various producer roles, her films have screened at Sundance, Tribeca and SXSW. She is currently producing SHOW ME THE LINE, a documentary about the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF decision. As a lawyer, she’s represented A24, Hartbeat and others on a variety of projects, including MAXXXINE, DIE HART 3, THE IRON CLAW, JANET PLANET, and PEARL.

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Alumni of Chapman University, Tanner Matthews is an award-winning writer/director and cinematographer based in Los Angeles, CA. His feature directorial debut, The American Dreamless, was sponsored by Kodak in 2016 and in 2019 he co-directed a feature documentary, Bombie, that premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in London. In the summer of 2021, he wrapped post-production on La Jaca, a short film starring Luciana Elisa Quinonez (Starfish) and Lorenzo Parro (Confetti) that premiered at the Sidewalk Film Festival in 2022.

Other notable festival credits include Atlanta, Cinequest, Hollyshorts and Newport Beach. As writer, he has been invited to and collaborated on projects within the Cine Qua Non Lab and Sundance Collab programs in 2022 and 2020, respectively.

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From Merchant seaman to geologist and chef, Tova’s career trajectory towards filmmaking is as layered and experiential as the stories she likes to tell. Her films frame original, character-driven narratives with perceptive imagery to reflect nuanced relationships between communities, cultures and environments April 2024, Fire Tower documentary film had its World Premiere at Hot Docs film festival in Toronto where it won the audience choice award for best mid length film. In 2022, Tova pitched Fire Tower at the Available Light Film Festival where she was awarded the jury-selected prize. In 2021, Tova’s short film Harashama earned her the Emerging Artist jury prize at the Dawson City International Film Festival’s 48 Hour Film Challenge. Tova is currently stationed in the Yukon, Canada.

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Verónica is Mexican-American documentary filmmaker from Portland interested in how cultures entwine with the environment. For fifteen years, Verónica’s career has spanned filmmaking sectors, from editing in London to working as a DP Mexico City. Her recent documentary Caretaker screened at over thirty film festivals including DocNYC. Her past work has been selected by SXSW and the Getty Museum. She is a contributing journalist and board member at the nonprofit IndigenousNetwork, and is a two-time EMS grant recipient. She is a current fellow of the Jeff Bezos Earth Fund as well as serves as a mentor of the AXS Film Fund’s 2024 cohort. Her work has been supported by Film Independent and Native American Journalist Association. She is working on her first feature, Thirteen Wind Jaguar.

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Ayo Kepher-Maat is a seasoned acquisitions executive in the film industry, currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at Decal, a joint venture between Neon and Bleecker Street. In her role, she oversees the acquisition and distribution of independent films, such as the 2023 romantic comedy Which Brings Me to You. Prior to this, she worked at Neon, where she managed the acquisition of notable films including the Sundance documentaries Ailey and All Light Everywhere. Kepher-Maat continues to be a key figure in the distribution of independent cinema​.

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Bing Liu is an award-winning documentary filmmaker best known for his critically acclaimed film Minding the Gap (2018), which won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Born in China and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Liu’s work often explores themes of youth, masculinity, and complex family dynamics. He has also worked as a cinematographer, including on the acclaimed documentary series America to Me (2018). Liu’s filmmaking blends personal narrative with larger social issues, creating poignant and intimate portraits.

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Cassian Elwes is a highly respected independent film producer and agent, known for his work on films like Dallas Buyers Club and Mudbound. He has been instrumental in connecting independent filmmakers with the resources they need to bring their projects to life. Throughout his career, Elwes has built a reputation as a champion for indie cinema, producing more than 30 films that have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He is the founder of the Horizon Award, which supports women directors​.

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Christine Vachon is an influential independent film producer and co-founder of Killer Films, recognized for her work on groundbreaking films such as Boys Don’t Cry, Far From Heaven, Carol, and Still Alice. Last year, Vachon was nominated for an Oscar for producing the breakout hit Past Lives. Throughout her career, she has championed daring stories that often focus on marginalized communities, particularly within the LGBTQ+ sphere. Vachon is also known for her long-standing collaboration with director Todd Haynes. A mentor and educator, she serves as the artistic director of the Stony Brook Film MFA program.

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Craig Kestel is a top talent agent at WME, representing some of the most sought-after filmmakers in the industry. His clients include high-profile directors like Ryan Coogler, Dee Rees, Cary Fukunaga, Robert Eggers, and Reinaldo Marcus Green. Kestel is known for his keen ability to spot emerging talent, helping to elevate projects such as Monsters and Men and Fruitvale Station. With a reputation for guiding filmmakers through the complexities of the industry, Kestel plays a pivotal role in shaping the careers of contemporary auteurs​.

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Effie Brown is a celebrated producer and CEO of Gamechanger Films, where she focuses on supporting diverse voices, including women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. Known for films such as Dear White People and Real Women Have Curves, Brown is a champion for diversity in Hollywood. She rose to prominence with her appearance on Project Greenlight, advocating for racial and gender representation in filmmaking. Brown continues to influence the industry with her dedication to inclusive storytelling​.

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Kevin Iwashina is a leading figure in the documentary film industry, having served as Head of Documentary at Endeavor and CJ ENM’s FIFTH SEASON. During his tenure, he oversaw projects such as the Emmy-nominated Being Mary Tyler Moore and The Apollo, Netflix’s Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, and Apple TV’s The Elephant Queen. Iwashina previously founded Preferred Content, an independent sales and production company, where he produced acclaimed films like Long Shot and the iconic Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Before that, he spent a decade at CAA, where he played a key role in packaging and financing major films, including Crash and The Hurt Locker. Iwashina’s career began in the mailroom at UTA, and he holds a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in French Language & Culture from UCLA. His extensive experience spans across development, production, and distribution, solidifying his impact on the global film landscape.

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Guinevere Turner is a writer, director and actor who has been working in film and TV since her 1994 debut film Go Fish, which she wrote, produced and starred in. She teamed up with director Mary Harron to write the films American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page and the 2019 film Charlie Says. She was a writer and story editor on Showtime’s The L Word, and she played the recurring character Gabby Deveaux on that show. She has written and directed seven short films, two of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

She can be seen in acting roles that include The Watermelon Woman, Chasing Amy, American Psycho and The L Word.  Guinevere taught screenwriting at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, University of Georgia, UCLA and NYU. She published an essay in The New Yorker in April of 2019, and expanded on that essay in her 2023 memoir When the World Didn’t End from Penguin Random House. Her most recent screenplay,The Highway that Eats People, goes into production in November of 2024.

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Sydney Freeland is a Native American filmmaker of Navajo descent, best known for her work exploring indigenous and LGBTQ+ themes. Her breakout feature Drunktown’s Finest premiered at Sundance in 2014, earning critical acclaim for its nuanced portrayal of Native American life. Freeland’s work extends to television, where she has directed episodes of popular shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Reservation Dogs. A recipient of the prestigious Fox Directors Lab Fellowship, Freeland continues to be a powerful voice for underrepresented communities in media​.