Created in honor of our 50th Anniversary, this flagship program welcomes Fellows from all areas of the entertainment industry for a year of mentoring, master classes, network building, and one-on-one career strategy sessions.
WIF Fellows
2023 WIF Fellows
Cinematography Fellows
Director Fellows
Writer Fellows
Producer Fellows
Business Fellows
Artisan & Crew
Andrea Mereles
Andrea Mereles
Andrea González Mereles is a cinematographer that specializes in narrative storytelling. Her projects have been screened in numerous international film festivals; Viena, Zurich, LA Film Festival, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, among others. Her most recent feature film, as a cinematographer, was awarded the incentive FOCINE funded by the Mexican Institute of Cinematography. Andrea has been supported by the prestigious Fulbright program and the American Film Institute Conservatory to develop her career. She was a Project Involve Fellow and a Berlinale Talents participant. She’s an active member of the International Collective of Female Cinematographers and Apertura. Her commercial clients include Ford, Grindr, Heineken, Bank of America, Amazon and Netflix. With 10 years of experience as a director of photography, her true interest lies in the art of telling stories. Cinematography is a professional journey she’s embarked on but it’s also a personal one. Her intention is to understand what it means to be a human being; weaknesses, strengths and doubts, to portray it in her body of work. She’s currently based in Los Angeles, CA.
Emilia Mendieta
Emilia Mendieta
Hailing from Wichita, Kansas by the way of Quito, Ecuador, Emilia Mendieta Córdova is an Ecuadorian-American Cinematographer with a passion for bold visual storytelling. She is a graduate of Vassar College and has an MFA in Cinematography from the AFI Conservatory. She is also a 2022 Zeiss + Women in Media Altitude Awards Semi-Finalist. Emilia has lensed award-winning films that have screened at the LA International Film Festival, ARFF Paris, Portland Film Festival, Golden State Film Festival, Cannes World Film Festival, Cannes International Pan African Film Festival, Cinequest, and the CineGear Film Series. Her notable collaborations include Mark S. Allen’s feature directing debut AMY’S F-IT LIST and over 14 award-winning music video collaborations with Charley Young. Emilia also produced, directed, and shot a short-form food show and PROMAX-nominated promos for ABC10 (KXTV). Emilia has also worked as an educator – teaching or guest lecturing cinematography at the AFI Conservatory, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Universidad de las Américas, University of New Orleans and California State University-Northridge. She is an active member of the ICF+C (the International Collective of Female+ Cinematographers), the Chicana Directors Initiative, Women in Film, Women in Media, and El Viaje Films Collective. Emilia is multilingual (English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese), a classically-trained cellist, amateur Astrophotographer, culinary arts enthusiast, a Part 107 FAA Certified Drone pilot, a regular at the hot yoga studio, and a massive Star Wars fan.
Jo Jo Lam
Jo Jo Lam
Jo Jo is a cinematographer born and raised in Hong Kong who has lived and worked in Australia, the UK, and France. She’s based between NYC, LA and Paris and speaks English, French and Chinese fluently. Her feature debut, Playland, had its world premiere in the Tiger Competition – International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2023. It’ll have it’s North American Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this summer.
LaDawn Manuel
LaDawn Manuel
I am an LA-based Cinematographer by way of Cleveland, OH. I’ve lived and worked in the DMV from 2015 until my recent move to LA. I suppose I’ve always had an interest in art . I started drawing when I was a child, that got me into painting, photography, and ultimately film. Creatively my inspiration comes from a lot of different artists Carrie Mae Weems, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Bradford Young, Ernie Barnes I could go on, these artists I feel no one else captures intimacy quite like them. My work is about self-discovery, intimacy, and vulnerability. I’ve run full force to and from these subjects in life and I believe my subjects do the same. It’s quite the journey.
Michelle Clementine
Michelle Clementine
Michelle Clementine is a cinematographer who pulls from her immigrant roots to tell universal tales. Her career in film began with an internship at TriBeCa Film Festival in 2005. After graduating with a B.F.A. in Film Production at Brooklyn College, the Bronx native joined IATSE Local 600 Camera Guild in 2010. In 2018, Clementine was part of the inaugural Cinematography Intensive for Women at American Film Institute and began shooting a slate narrative films and television shows. With experience in Oscar winning feature films, documentaries, commercials and music videos, Michelle has a practical approach to filmmaking that enhances the creative flow. Her visual projects show an appreciation for sublime minimalism. Michelle is based in LA.
Nichole Ruiz
Nichole Ruiz
Nichole Ruiz is a Director of Photography based in Los Angeles, CA. Born and raised in the Philippines, Nichole received her undergraduate degree from The University of the Philippines Diliman. In 2016, she studied at the New York Film Academy where she got her certificate in Filmmaking. Since then, Nichole has shot feature films, short films, music videos and web-series. Nichole’s most recent feature, TAHANAN (HOME), is currently in the festival circuit and was awarded the grand prize for best feature film at the Culver City Film Festival 2022. Another project she shot is FOR THE LOVE OF DOGS, a comedy web-series directed by Jess Rona, featuring Jake Johnson and Taylor Schilling.
Pip White
Pip White
Pip White is a British Cinematographer and Photographer of film, commercials and music videos. She received a BFA from Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design and received a MFA in Cinematography from AFI Conservatory where she was recognised as a PIGOTT/ BAFTA SCHOLAR. Prior to her AFI Fellowship, Pip worked as a camera assistant and operator for nearly a decade on both indie features and blockbuster franchises. Pip has developed her craft under the tutelage and mentorship of esteemed Oscar and BAFTA winning cinematographers alike. Since graduating AFI, Pip has been featured as a part of the BAFTA LA Newcomers Talent Programme and is a member of the ICG Local 600. Over the past year Pip has lensed two feature films both currently in post production. In Spring 2022 she completed filming in Vancouver on the indie Sci-Fi Thriller ‘PARALLEL’ starring Danielle Deadwyler (Till, Station Eleven, Harder They Fall) and Aldis Hodge (The Invisible Man), directed by Kourosh Ahari. Most recently Pip completed principal photography in Florida on the independent feature ‘SPIDER AND JESSIE’ starring Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters Afterlife), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) and Jojo Regina (Where the Crawdad Sings) directed by Dan Kay and produced by Joe Restaino (PIG, Passing). Pip splits her time between London and LA.
Sarah Whelden
Sarah Whelden
Sarah’s award-winning approach to cinematography always puts the story first. It starts with asking “why” before considering “how.” As a trans and queer woman, she has a special place in her heart for those in the shadows. She is drawn to narratives that highlight the often chaotic reality between humans and their surroundings, and to characters that are eager to find themselves but may not know where to start. Sarah has lensed multiple award winning films and short form work. Her cinematography has been screened in festivals worldwide, and her feature work can be found on most streaming platforms.
Alejandra López
Track A DirectorsAlejandra López
Track A Directors
Alejandra’s short film “The Blue Cape”, which she wrote and directed, has screened at Oscar® qualifying Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Guadalajara International Film Festival, Aspen Shortfest, among others, and was acknowledged with an Honorable Mention in the category for Best Live Action at Cleveland International Film Festival. She was a staff writer on Sony Pictures Television’s “Startup” and has directed fictional podcasts such as “Wolverine: La Larga Noche” starring Joaquin Cosio for Marvel Entertainment and “Tejana” starring Stephanie Beatriz for Telemundo. Alejandra has been selected on the Starz #TakeTheLead Writers’ Intensive, WIF Directing Fellowship, and the Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Directors’ Program. Originally from Puerto Rico, she’s repped by Bellevue Productions and WME.
Auden Bui
Track A DirectorsAuden Bui
Track A Directors
Auden Bui is an award winning director. Her short THE LOST CITY OF TOMORROW was the recipient of the DGA student award, The Caucus Foundation Award, Irving Lerner Endowment Fund and The Charles and Lucille King Foundation, among others. Her short DREAM BOY OR THE PURSUIT OF BEING starring Jordan Prentice (In Bruges) is streaming on Shudder. Her other short TRAIN STOP premiered at Dances with Films and has played at over 40 film festivals around the world. She was a participant in the Warner Brother’s Television Director’s Workshop, WIF Directing Fellowship, and Ryan Murphy Half Initiative. She was the creative director for GoldenVoice’s music festival Arroyo Seco Weekend from 2017-2018. Her client list includes Google, Huawei, Cartier, Levi’s, Target, Smashbox, Vice, MTV, Disney, Blumhouse, Doc Marten, Moleskine, and she frequently collaborates with actress Anna Akana. At age 6, she came to the States with her family as a refugee from Vietnam. She double-majored in Business and Film Studies at UC Berkeley before receiving an MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. She is an award winning photographer having exhibited at UC Berekely School of Architecture and the Southern Utah Museum of Art. An avid seeker of unfamiliar adventures, she has been to 7 continents (Antarctica twice) and has a life goal of visiting every country in the world. In addition to her cinematic work, she has volunteered at refugee camps in Bangladesh, at missions in Skid Row and recently completed a half marathon in Egypt with the Skid Row Running Club.
Erin Lau
Track A DirectorsErin Lau
Track A Directors
Native Hawaiian filmmaker Erin Lau has dedicated her life to creating stories exploring empathy, identity, and family. Since graduating from Chapman University’s MFA program, Erin has continued her growth through opportunities with the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Studios, MTV, Powderkeg’s Break The Room, Nia Tero, Points North Institute, Film Independent’s Project Involve program and Episodic Directors Intensive. Through her past work with Jubilee Media, she has also created branded content for Google, SK-II, and Always. Erin’s short films have screened in over 50 festivals across the world. Her Chapman thesis THE MOON AND THE NIGHT received support from the 2017 Sundance Native Lab and was shortlisted for the Student BAFTA awards. The film was later licensed by the Criterion Channel. With the support of Film Independent’s Project Involve program, Erin was able to direct her next movie, ALL I EVER WANTED, which won Best Comedy at the 2022 Hollyshorts Film Festival. Her latest film INHERITANCE was also supported by Tribeca Studios, Netflix, and Gold House through the Future Gold Film Fellowship. It recently premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Oscar-Qualifying Best Hawaiʻi Short Award at the 42nd Hawaiʻi International Film Festival.
Kameishia Wooten
Track A DirectorsKameishia Wooten
Track A Directors
Kameishia is an award winning Writer and Director based in LA, known for creating socially impactful content that challenges societal norms. She has written, directed, and produced 7 short films and a web series. Most recently, she was selected for Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative as a shadowing director. She is a 2022 Fellow of WIF’s inaugural Shorts Lab supported by Google for her short film, “Choices.” Her feature screenplay, Destiny’s Road was selected for the WIF/Sundance Financing Intensive and a finalist for the Stowe Story Lab Fellowship. The proof-of-concept version of the same name has screened in over 20 film festivals and has received several awards. Originally from NC, Kameishia earned her MFA in Directing from Columbia College Chicago and is a UNC Chapel Hill alum. She’s worked in various production and business affairs roles at Disney, Paramount, and Netflix. She serves as a board member for AWD. Kameishia’s ultimate goal is to create content that entertains while promoting culture, inclusivity, and community.
Michelle Steffes
Track A DirectorsMichelle Steffes
Track A Directors
Michelle Steffes is an award-winning writing/director whose short films have played in film festivals around the world and have aired on Hulu, FXX, and Freeform. She directed the fantasy drama Driftwood for AFI’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women. Her sci-fi black comedy The Interview, which won grand prize at the Academy-qualifying USA Film Festival, led to her invitation to join the short film branch of the Academy. She also produced Destin Cretton’s Academy short-listed short film Short Term 12 and Lowell Frank’s student Academy Award finalist short film Day Labor. During the pandemic, Michelle directed several commercial campaigns for VTech/LeapFrog, the short branded horror/comedy film Summoned for M&Ms and 20th Digital, and the short drama film Life Partners for Disney Television Discovers Talent Showcase. Michelle directed her first feature, For When You Get Lost, a coming-of-middle-age comedy-drama about family, death, and beer, in the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 2022. For When You Get Lost is currently in post-production. Michelle was a recent fellow in The Black List and Women in Film’s feature screenwriting residency program as well as a recent fellow of the Walt Disney television directing program, through which she shadowed directors on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hulu’s Love, Victor and High Fidelity. Previously she shadowed on TNT’s Murder in the First and Netflix’s One Day at a Time. Michelle previously worked as the Director of Development at Larger than Life Productions for writer/ director Gary Ross and helped develop Seabiscuit and the animated film The Tale of Despereaux. Michelle has trained in directing at Beverly Hills Playhouse, AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, Judith Weston’s directing labs, Los Angeles Film Studies Center, and in comedy improv at iO West. She has previously served on the boards of Film School Africa, a South Africa-based non-profit dedicated to training young people in filmmaking, and the Alliance of Women Directors, committed to gender diversity in the director’s chair.
Myra Aquino
Track A DirectorsMyra Aquino
Track A Directors
Myra Aquino is a writer-director who grew up in Guam and the Philippines, and a graduate of the UCLA MFA Directing program. Most recently, her thesis film BEAUTY QUEEN won multiple awards internationally, including the 2022 Jack Larson Southern California Filmmaker Award from the KCET Fine Cut Festival of Films and the 2021 Best Short Film from the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. She was recently selected as a 2023 WIF Directors Fellow, and her award-winning short films have gone on to screen at multiple Academy-qualifying film festivals worldwide. She’s currently in development on her first feature film SAINT MALO, a mother-daughter chamber psychodrama, and a proof-of-concept short for her coming-of-age dramedy feature LAMB, with the support of the Panavision Camera Grant and Pacific Islanders in Communication, respectively. Her writing has been supported by the Humanitas New Voices Fellowship, the Women in Film x Black List Feature Residency, and the Alfred P. Sloan Athena Writers Lab Fellowship. Myra has also received an MD and Masters in Public Health from the University of Miami. With her eclectic background, Myra is a character-driven writer and director interested in exploring deeply flawed characters who struggle to reconcile their multiple identities against complex sociopolitical environments. She’s passionate about exploring the impacts of multiculturalism and globalization on Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander, and other underrepresented communities.
Carly Usdin
Track B DirectorsCarly Usdin
Track B Directors
Carly Usdin is an award-winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles, whose work combines heightened imagery with a commercial comedic sensibility, all through a queer, trans lens. Their first feature, “Suicide Kale,” won Audience Awards at Outfest (Best First Feature) and NewFest (Best Narrative Feature) and is available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Kanopy. Their short film “Misdirection” played over 60 festivals worldwide, winning Best Director at the LA Diversity Film Festival and Best Comedy Short at NewFilmmakers LA. Carly is also the creator and writer of two comic book series for BOOM! Studios: “Heavy Vinyl” (nominated for a 2018 Prism award) and “The Avant-Guards” (nominated for a 2020 GLAAD Award). In 2017 Carly served as showrunner and director for the scripted horror/comedy anthology series “Threads,” produced by New Form for Verizon’s go90 platform; in 2019 they directed four episodes of the interactive comedy series “Wizard School Dropout” for Eko. Carly has spent years making short-form narrative and branded content for clients like Funny or Die, CollegeHumor, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, World of Wonder, CBS, Fullscreen, TruTV, Viacom and YouTube. Most notably, they directed the third season of Awkwafina’s digital series “Tawk,” and their campaigns for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” have won a One Show Pencil and multiple Promax BDA Awards. Carly is an alum of Universal’s Directors Initiative, AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, was a semi-finalist for the 2022 Commercial Directors Diversity Program and a member of the inaugural class of Goodby Silverstein & Partners’ artist-in-residence program, RESIDENCE. Recently they were selected as one of three filmmakers for Hello Sunshine’s branded “Meet Cute” series, writing and directing a queer romantic comedy called First Date. Currently they are developing several film and television projects.
Gabriela Revilla Lugo
Track B DirectorsGabriela Revilla Lugo
Track B Directors
A dramedy writer/director/producer and daughter of formerly undocumented immigrants, Gabby Revilla Lugo started her career in physical production then ventured into the independent feature space where she worked with names like Damian Chazelle on his award-winning short film, Whiplash. She had success with films including the award-winning Palm Springs, The Starling, and Fox Searchlight’s Next Goal Wins, written and directed by Taika Waititi. Gabby was staffed on ABC’s hit drama, A Million Little Things, and taught screenwriting at the Script Anatomy school. In 2021 Gabby sold multiple podcasts and landed a feature film writing job for Mattel. She also sold 15 Candles, a TV pilot based on John Hughes’ 16 Candles, to Peacock, alongside UCP, Selena Gomez and OJALA, which award-winning playwright, Tanya Saracho, leads. She worked on the TV series Brujas and completed the 2022 WGA’s showrunner training program and the 2022 Starz Program for underrepresented writers. Gabby has several TV projects in development, including with 3PAS and Gina Rodriguez at ABC Signature. She also partnered up with Linda Yvette Chavez to develop a Chicano historical fiction dramedy and is working with Canadian company MUSE, on multiple projects. She is repped by Talitha Watkins and James Shani @ Color Creative and Chris Abrahmson at Felker Toczek Suddelson Abramson McGinnis Ryan.
Halima Lucas
Track B DirectorsHalima Lucas
Track B Directors
Halima Lucas is a heart-driven LA-based filmmaker and TV writer from Stockton, California. Her short, Amelia’s Closet, became a finalist for the 43rd Student Academy Awards and also won the 2017 American Black Film Festival HBO Short Film Award. Following the success of her film, Halima was selected for Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative TV Director Shadowing program, as well as the Break The Room fellowship, where she helped develop and write the webseries East of La Brea, which was produced by Paul Feig’s Powderkeg, premiered at SXSW in 2019, and won at UrbanWorld Film Festival. She was then selected for the 2018-2019 Nickelodeon Writing Program and ultimately landed a development deal on a live-action multi-cam project. Currently, she’s a Story Editor/Producer on Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and continues to create content for all ages – the most recent being the short film Plan LMNOP, which was made in collaboration with GFS, Endeavor Content, Deutsche Bank, and LA Frieze and officially selected for Urbanworld Film Festival and Martha’s Vineyard AA Film Festival.
Kat Mills Martin
Track B DirectorsKat Mills Martin
Track B Directors
Kat Mills Martin is a critically-acclaimed filmmaker from Hawai’i. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied experimental theater, dance, and cinema. Her work has screened at Raindance Film Festival, Inside Out Toronto, Cinequest, LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, and Hawai’i International Film Festival, among others. Traversing the transcendent to the mundane with equal reverence, Kat’s work deconstructs elements of our human experience with compassion and humor. Kat’s award-winning debut feature film WAKE UP, LEONARD, a fully improvised comedy, screened at 20+ film festivals worldwide and recently secured distribution.
Tess Paras
Track B DirectorsTess Paras
Track B Directors
Tess Paras is a director with a multi-hyphenate background in comedy and musicals. Her latest short, Perry And A Pause, was developed under the Powderkeg:FUSE Director’s Incubator and produced by Paul Feig. She has directed for Roku Brand Studio and is most known for being a two-time director and executive producer of the ViacomCBS Showcase, an hour-long digital sketch comedy show. As an accomplished actress, last year she starred opposite Jo Koy in JOSEP (ABC), the first Filipino-American sitcom pilot. She recurred on the Emmy award-winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW), and after heavily recurring on Just Add Magic, she became a series regular on its Daytime Emmy nominated spinoff Just Add Magic: Mystery City. Notable credits also include: Lucifer, Reno 911!, Grimm, and The Good Wife. Paras was previously a digital producer at Fusion, where she wrote and starred in viral political comedy sketches. She contributed a series of comedic essays to the NY Times Best-Seller, Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now (Harper Collins), and has been profiled by the LA Times for her commitment to reducing mental health stigma in the Asian American community. She’s a proud daughter of immigrant doctors and has lots of stories about her former life as a cruise ship singer.
Tijuana Ricks
Track B DirectorsTijuana Ricks
Track B Directors
Hello! My name is Tijuana Ricks! I grew up in Gramercy, Louisiana, an industrial farming town of 6000 people in Southeast Louisiana. I was brought up in a big, loud, black Creole matriarchy. Like a true, Louisianian, I love to cook and love to eat. After getting my degree in Acting and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, I went on to study acting at the Yale School of Drama. Since graduating from Yale, I’ve been on Broadway, performed on regional stages, in film, and over 100 episodes of television. I’ve worked with Laura Linney (twice!), the unmatched Viola Davis, Dustin Hoffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman… all the Hoffmans! I’ve had the opportunity to work with some extraordinary talent behind the camera, too– people like Sian Heder, George Tillman, Jr., David Gordon Green, Amy Heckerling, Clark Johnson, and Scott Derrickson. I began directing and creating my own content in 2016 when I realized I had only worked with one black female director in my entire career. Since then, I have written, produced, and directed multiple short films and web series in both the comedy and drama genres. My work has been shown at multiple Oscar-qualifying film festivals including the St. Louis Film Festival, SeriesFest, SoHo International Film Festival, DC Web Fest (Gold Award Winner – All Souls), Chicago Southland International Festival, Flickfair (Audience Award for Short Drama – All Souls web series), Die Seriale (Best Director and Best Drama Series nominee – All Souls), Portland Comedy Film Festival (Best Director Finalist – Make America Bake Again!) and New York Television Festival. In 2022, I was honored to be awarded one of the coveted spots in the Ryan Murphy Productions Half Directing Initiative. In 2021, I was selected for the Black Directors Advancement Initiative with the Alliance of Women Directors. In 2019, I was selected as one of 15 finalists for the inaugural SeriesFest Shondaland! Women Directing Fellowship. My latest work, the web comedy The Corps, which I wrote, directed, and starred in, screened at the 2021 Urbanworld Film Festival and the inaugural ABFF Comedy Festival. The Corps is available to watch online at https://thecorpscomedy.com. As an actor, you can now see me on the Hulu comedy series Tiny Beautiful Things starring Kathryn Hahn as therapist Mel Green. I currently live in Los Angeles with my husband of over 10 years, Anthony.
Bev Chuckwu
Episodic WritersBev Chuckwu
Episodic Writers
Beverly “Bev” Chukwu is a Nigerian American writer, filmmaker, and script consultant. She has spent over seven years working in various mental health arenas and a year providing behavior therapy to neurodivergent youth and adults. Bev is an alum of the 2023 Black List x WIF Episodic Lab and her script PRINCE OF LAVENDALE STREET was the feature winner in the 2021 BlueCat Screenplay Competition. Speculative fiction about assimilation, the allures of groupthink, and mental health for people of the Black diaspora are at the forefront of her work.
Deanna Esposito
Episodic WritersDeanna Esposito
Episodic Writers
Deanna Esposito received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto, with a double major in Psychology and Criminology. During undergrad, she worked as a Courtroom Reporter at Toronto’s largest criminal courthouse. There, she discovered her love of storytelling and pivoted away from law school to obtain her MFA in Screenwriting at AFI (Class of ’22). Post graduation, Deanna participated in the 2023 Black List x WIF Episodic Lab and was awarded the 2023 AFI Writers Room Ready Award. Deanna is currently working as an Executive Assistant to a Lit Manager. She recently finished a role as a Writer’s PA for Peacock’s upcoming series APPLES NEVER FALL, based on the book by Liane Moriarty (BIG LITTLE LIES, NINE PERFECT STRANGERS). Her AFI Thesis film, OBJECT OF DESIRE, is in post-production and is set to premiere in 2023. Deanna is passionate about telling stories that subvert the male gaze and represent the identities and experiences of people who have not always seen themselves on screen. Her favorite stories to write are the ones she wished she had growing up.
Eudie Pak
Episodic WritersEudie Pak
Episodic Writers
Eudie Pak was born and raised in an immigrant working-class family from the Bible Belt – and has the grit and love of grits to prove it. Her childhood was surrounded by doomsday religion and too many trips to Disney World, which has naturally inspired her to write about the macabre and taboo in highly imaginative ways, with an extra side helping of irreverence. Her projects have gone on to level at screenwriting competitions such as Final Draft Big Break, Screencraft, and WeScreenplay Diverse Voices. This spring she was selected as a participant in the Black List x WIF Episodic Lab and in 2022 was a Circle of Confusion Writers Discovery Fellow. She is currently repped by Circle of Confusion.
Helen RY Sun
Episodic WritersHelen RY Sun
Episodic Writers
Laura Malatos & Helen Sun are a writing-filmmaking duo with an appetite for overly ambitious characters and darkly comedic worlds. Despite being born 5,000 miles apart (in Seattle and literal Moscow, Russia), they came together at USC and have been ride-or-die roommates ever since. Alongside writing, they collaborate on social media ads, music videos, and narrative films – jobs that have brought them unhinged experiences, from transforming their apartment into an underground bunker to staging medieval fights in the California mountains. They are excited to keep exploring heightened worlds in their work and bring complex queer and female-driven narratives to the screen whilst having a laugh.
Katherine Ruppe
Episodic WritersKatherine Ruppe
Episodic Writers
Katherine grew up rodeo racing and exploring the wilds in Michigan’s rugged Upper Peninsula. A love of imagery inspired her to get into the International Cinematographers Guild, breaking barriers as she advanced to camera operator on films and TV. Now Katherine writes about daring underdogs who go after the impossible, whether it’s rocketing to space or seeking justice. She’s developed an original crime drama with WBTV and her thriller feature TRUE NORTH is set to be produced by Resonate Entertainment. Katherine has won fellowships in the Black List x WIF Episodic Lab, the Humanitas New Voices program, PGA Power of Diversity Workshop, and both the Film Independent Episodic and Feature Labs. She’s been published in the New York Times and is a Sloan Foundation Grant Winner with LIFTOFF, her propulsive TV drama about America’s first six female astronauts.
Laura Malatos
Episodic WritersLaura Malatos
Episodic Writers
Laura Malatos & Helen Sun are a writing-filmmaking duo with an appetite for overly ambitious characters and darkly comedic worlds. Despite being born 5,000 miles apart (in Seattle and literal Moscow, Russia), they came together at USC and have been ride-or-die roommates ever since. Alongside writing, they collaborate on social media ads, music videos, and narrative films – jobs that have brought them unhinged experiences, from transforming their apartment into an underground bunker to staging medieval fights in the California mountains. They are excited to keep exploring heightened worlds in their work and bring complex queer and female-driven narratives to the screen whilst having a laugh.
Lorin Williams
Episodic WritersLorin Williams
Episodic Writers
Lorin Williams is a television writer and producer living in the Los Angeles area. After graduating from film school, she moved to Los Angeles where she produced unscripted television for several years and joined the Producers Guild of America where she currently serves on the national board. In 2020, Lorin pivoted to scripted television and started working as a script coordinator on Transformers: Earthspark for Nickelodeon where she wrote her first episode of television for the series. Currently, Lorin is a freelance writer on the second season of the Rugrats reboot.
Thea Rodgers
Episodic WritersThea Rodgers
Episodic Writers
Thea Rodgers is a Latine writer and actor who attended Emerson for a B.S. in neither. After starting her career as a producer’s assistant, Thea made the transition to creative work, placing in script competitions such as Acclaim, the Page Awards, and the A-List, and acting in theaters around Los Angeles and Mexico. She’s honored to have been selected to participate in the 2023 Mentorship Matters cohort and the 2023 WIF x Blacklist Episodic Lab. Recently, she was thrilled to write for the fourth season of the Emmy-winning interactive scripted show Artificial:Factions on Twitch, and to develop and write a YA vampire novel for Tapas Media. In her spare time you can find her talking about space at the Griffith Observatory.
Audrey Ellis Fox
Feature WritersAudrey Ellis Fox
Feature Writers
Audrey Ellis Fox is a filmmaker from Los Angeles with a degree in Modern Culture and Media from Brown University. Her short films have played at Oscar-qualifying festivals across the country and her past writing accomplishments include placements in the second round of the Sundance Development Track and the semi-finals of the Page International Screenwriting Awards. Audrey is also a commercial and music video director whose collaborators include Amazon, Columbia Records, Sony, Condé Nast, Warner Records, Epic Records, and many more. She was nominated for an MTV VMA for her directing work with Avril Lavigne, Travis Barker and Blackbear in 2022.
Cat Rhinehart
Feature WritersCat Rhinehart
Feature Writers
Cat Rhinehart is a Los Angeles-based writer and director. After being raised Southern-Baptist in Atlanta, Georgia, Cat took off to NYC where she studied film production at Brooklyn College. She wrote, directed, shot, and edited the award-winning documentary, “What’s Eating Ralphie May?” and wrote and directed the romantic comedy, “Brand New Old Love” starring Arturo Castro and Aya Cash, currently streaming on Hulu.
Kimba Henderson
Feature WritersKimba Henderson
Feature Writers
Kimba Henderson was born in Detroit into a Navy family and raised in San Diego where she played competitive tennis along with her siblings as a junior. She was fascinated by crime at an early age, constantly overhearing her court reporter mom dictate cases in the home. Regaled by these tales of “The Young & The About To Be Incarcerated,” Kimba’s love of storytelling was born. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she began her writing career penning true crime shows, as well as plays produced in Los Angeles and New York City and independent features often dealing with the legacy of misguided politics, crime, and all manner of bad decisions. As someone who has lived a life where she was often one of the few (or only) Black person in a school, a room, or at an LA Kings hockey game, she loves telling stories about people in unexpected places doing unexpected things. Currently, she is a Drama fellow in Fox Entertainment’s TV Writers’ Program and writing a play commissioned by the Company of Angels about the multi-cultural neighborhood of Boyle Heights from an African-American perspective.
Robin Cloud
Feature WritersRobin Cloud
Feature Writers
Robin Cloud is an award-winning director, writer, and comedian working in television and film. A recent graduate of the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, Robin has written and directed several films that have collectively premiered at BFI, Tribeca Film Festival, TIFF, and Outfest as well as many film festivals throughout the world. Her film This Old House is currently streaming on Hulu and her docuseries Passing: A Family in Black & White is available on Amazon. Cloud is a Kickstarter Creative Fellow, a graduate of Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad mentee program, a graduate of the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, and is currently a fellow in the Alliance for Women’s Black Directors Initiative. She graduated cum laude from Howard University’s School of Communications where she studied film under Haile Gerima and holds a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Architecture. Her production company, Cloud Creative Media, focuses on creating independent scripted and documentary series and films. She is represented by APA and Underground Management.
Suhashini Krishnan
Feature WritersSuhashini Krishnan
Feature Writers
Suhashini Krishnan is a screenwriter, director and producer whose writing has been recognized by the Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship and Slamdance, among several others. Suhashini spent most of her twenties either working in commercial production, waitressing/bartending, or wondering if it was too late to go to law school. Her works have been optioned and developed by various studios and production companies, including Screen Gems and Sad Unicorn. In 2021 she wrote and produced a short film, THE COMPANY WE KEEP, which was an official selection at a number of film festivals, including the SEATTLE FILM FESTIVAL, MARINA DEL REY FILM FESTIVAL, and won best Drama Short at the CULVER CITY FILM FESTIVAL. She directed, wrote, and produced the short film WAITING ROOM in the fall of 2022, and is currently in development on her feature directorial debut. Suhashini resides in California with her husband and two chaotic, disobedient dogs.
Tamar Feinkind
Feature WritersTamar Feinkind
Feature Writers
Brooklyn-born and Chicago-raised, Tamar lives in LA with her husband, two kids, and their lazy, senior dog. Descending from a long line of activists, Tamar believes that storytelling is the key to winning hearts and minds. Equipped with that knowledge, she has produced award-winning black box theater, founded a storytelling workshop for mothers, and eventually funneled her energy onto the page. Tamar is passionate about historical fiction that reflects upon modern injustices and centers themes of feminism, the search for identity, and the American Jewish experience. Tamar was a Jewish Writer’s Initiative fellow and is repped by Epicenter.
Ebony Elaine Hardin
Fiction Creative Producer － AEbony Elaine Hardin
Fiction Creative Producer － A
Ebony Elaine Hardin is an LA based Creative Producer with roots in casting for TV, Film, and Broadway. She’s worked with NBCUniversal, Netflix, TriStar, CH Media and Focus Feature on various TV series and films including Sense8, Pretty Little Liars, Baby Driver, Nocturnal Animals, Jason Bourne, and Dimension 20, among others. She produced the short film, Mr. Talented (dir. Rochée Jeffrey), which screened at the Austin Film Festival and competed in the HBO Short Film Competition at Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. With a passion for developing and producing projects with visionary creatives, Ebony currently producing Trashy People, a coming-of-age/environmental comedy written and directed by Marissa High which is participating in the 2023 WIF x Sundance Film Financing Intensive. She’s also in development on High’s second feature, The Worst Time of Your Life. In the short film space Ebony recently produced The Bluest Hour (dir. Logan Jackson), Dinner Party Dictator (dir. Bente Engelstoft), and The Flacalta Effect (dir. Rochée Jeffrey) which will be hitting the 2024/2025 festival circuit. Ebony is honored to have been selected as a NCBW Maya Angelou Phenomenal Woman Award Winner, a Constellation Incubator Producing Fellow, and a Film Independent Project Involve Producing Fellow. She holds a BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University with a minor in Business Administration.
Josie Andrews
Fiction Creative Producer － AJosie Andrews
Fiction Creative Producer － A
New Jersey native JOSIE ANDREWS began performing professionally at the age of eight, touring with Broadway musicals and appearing in countless Off-Broadway and regional productions before going on to write and record her own music. By thirteen, she was opening for Radio Disney acts including Raven Symone and the Naked Brothers Band. A double Trojan, Josie graduated as the Salutatorian of USC’s class of 2018, continuing at USC to pursue her M.F.A. in production. Her thesis film WANNABE which she wrote, directed, and created original music for debuted at LA Shorts, garnering many wins and nominations across the globe including Nashville Film Festival, Melech Tel Aviv, and Sydney Women’s International Film Festival. Her debut documentary tracking live theatre’s comeback amidst the Covid-19 pandemic titled WAITING IN THE WINGS played Santa Fe International Film Festival, won best doc at Noho Cinefest, and can now be seen on the PBS app through their Fine Cut series. An adjunct professor at USC, she now teaches a producing/development course and heads Dumm Blonde Productions where she’s wrapping up post for a short starring Sidney Flanigan and Cathy Moriarty titled LINE OF FIRE. She hopes to continue creating female-driven stories that make an impact.
Levi Alexander
Fiction Creative Producer － ALevi Alexander
Fiction Creative Producer － A
Levi was born and raised in Longmeadow, MA to a family that had little connection to the arts. He spent his teen years competing in snowboarding at a national level with his sights set on the 2018 Winter Olympics. Forced to reevaluate his path after a knee injury, Levi decided to pursue the only thing he loved more than snowboarding: movies. He returned to college and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. It was here that he wrote, directed and produced several short films – one of which won a New England Student Emmy. After college, Levi worked at a Northern California studio called Film Mare Island acting as liaison between the studio and multiple productions such as Transformers: Bumblebee and Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why. Levi received an MFA at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2021. Two of the films he wrote and directed went to over 10 festivals, and claimed awards at 7. Currently, Levi works at United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, CA for the company’s founder, Peter Benedek. Levi has worked as a production assistant on commercials and TV shows, most often working directly with talent running basecamps or with clients/agencies on commercials. As a filmmaker, Levi hopes to continue telling stories that explore the human condition and give positive representations of underrepresented communities.
Maisha Dyson
Fiction Creative Producer － AMaisha Dyson
Fiction Creative Producer － A
Maisha is a well-connected media Producer. In 2023, Dyson founded M23Media, LLC a women-owned film production company, that oversees and produces a slate of high-quality content for film, tv, and podcast/radio. Prior to M23Media, Dyson was hired and positioned by political commentator, Van Jones, to join his Magic Labs Media team as Director of Media Operations and as lead Executive Producer on the Amazon Original podcast “”Uncommon Ground w/Van Jones”” which was nominated for a Web Award 2022. In 2019, acting as Producer/Host of “”United We Slay”” on Rukus Avenue Radio & DASH TalkX, Maisha, a trailblazer was the only African-American woman producer and host to have a program (aimed to empower and inspire audiences through intimate interviews with remarkable women & people of color), on the world’s leading South Asian radio network. The Chicago native, got her start in production while working as a production assistant for Keenan Ivory Wayans Productions, on the Scary Movie franchise, while completing her master’s degree at Columbia University. Maisha is a Women in Film (LA) member and sits on the Adele Myers & Dancers national advisory board (Miami). Dyson is a proud Spelman College (B.A.) alumnus and Columbia University (M.A.).
Noor Lawson
Fiction Creative Producer － ANoor Lawson
Fiction Creative Producer － A
Noor Lawson is a British, trans-Atlantic film and television producer, now living in LA. Most recently she was the associate producer on Showtime’s critically acclaimed YOUR HONOR (2020-2023). Noor was selected for the 2022 Sundance Producers Intensive with feature film GASLITE, written and directed by Lilli Kay. Having been classically trained as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Noor is committed to telling character driven stories that connect with an audiences’ inner sense of joy and morality, to inspire action and lead to change.
Shelby Malone
Fiction Creative Producer － AShelby Malone
Fiction Creative Producer － A
Shelby Malone is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and a film producer with 23 years of entertainment industry experience under her belt. Most recently, she collaborated with her friend and colleague, director Sam Hargrave, on EXTRACTION (2020) and EXTRACTION 2 (2023) for Netflix. Though Shelby’s excited to have more large scale movies on her horizon, she’s produced films at the independent level, including with the very talented writer/director Audrey Rosenberg, and is eager to continue working in this space as well. She’s also actively developing her own projects as a screenwriter, both for film and television. Away from work, you can find Shelby hiking a local trail with her pup, Ivy, or grabbing a glass of wine with friends.
Lita Lopez
Fiction Creative Producer － BLita Lopez
Fiction Creative Producer － B
Adelita (aka Lita) Lopez grew up on the dusty community theater stages of Odessa, Texas, received a Bachelor’s degree in Acting & Writing from the University of Evansville, IN and spent her twenties on the storefront theater stages of Chicago. Shifting to film/tv, she has been a working actor in Los Angeles since 2006 and a proud SAG-AFTRA member since 2015. In 2019 she launched Luna Loba Creative, a production company dedicated to telling “”stories of the soul.”” Luna Loba Creative’s debut short , The Good Balloon, is a true “”miracle story”” written/produced by and starring Lita Lopez. The film hit the 2021 festival circuit with 10 official selections and multiple awards, including Best Indie Short, Best Women Short, Best Actress and a People’s Choice Award. It is available to stream at LoveWinsProductions.net. An award winning screenwriter, Lita was named one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch 2023 by the International Screenwriters Association. On-screen acting credits include work for CBS, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Nickelodeon, ABC, NBC, FreeForm & other networks, on shows such as Young Sheldon, Ratched, Good Girls Revolt, Insecure, Henry Danger, The Conners, Young & Hungry & more. Look for her in the pilot episode of the newly picked up NBC series, St. Denis Medical, starring Wendi McClendon-Covey and David Alan Grier. Lita is also a competitive league billiards player and offers beginner level lessons to women and families. She lives in Sherman Oaks with her domestic partner, David, and their two small fluffy dogs, Betty White & (Hal) Ashby. Lita identifies as Latina, the B in LGBTQIA and is a self-proclaimed Shrew, host of The Shrew Review vlog and podcast.
Bettina Fisher
Fiction Creative Producer － BBettina Fisher
Fiction Creative Producer － B
Bettina Fisher is the Senior Director, Early Career Talent Development, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She helped create and leads the Academy Gold Rising Internship Enhancement and Mentorship Program, an industry-wide diversity and inclusion talent development program. She and her team are responsible for recruitment, creating and executing the summer curriculum, and overseeing the Academy Gold Rising Production Track which is a workforce development program for students interested in behind the camera careers such as cinematography, costume design, editing, production design, sound, and visual effects. In 2015 she launched the Academy’s first annual Careers in Film Summit, an educational program to inform youth about the vast jobs in the film industry. Held in Los Angeles, California, the day-long event features industry panels and clips on various careers. Bettina previously worked as a producer and director at National Public Radio (npr) where she worked on shows such as the Peabody Award-winning “”Wynton Marsalis: Making the Music”” and “”Billy Taylor’s Jazz at the Kennedy Center.”” She has held positions at Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, Wake Forest University, and American University, where she was the Director of Strategic Programs and Partnerships and launched the Reel Journalism Film Festival. She has been a juror for New Filmmaker LA’s Best of NFMLA Awards, and the Pan African Film Festival. Additionally, she has produced numerous student short films and was one of the producers of “”The Black Ghiandola”” a short film for the Make a Film Foundation that featured Johnny Depp, Laura Dern, David Lynch, J.K. Simmons, Jade Pettyjohn, Penelope Ann Miller, Chad Coleman, among others. In 2022, she helped produce the short film “”I’m Not Your Hero,”” about the effect of the Covid pandemic on frontline workers that premiered at the Pan African Film Festival in 2023. Bettina is on the Board of ASPIRE, the Academy for Social Purpose in Responsible Entertainment, a member of the Cal State University Entertainment Alliance Advisory Council, and an Advisory Board Member of Media U. She has also served as a film juror for New Filmmakers LA, the Pan African Film Festival, and the Santa Domingo Film Festival.
Cecilia Salguero
Fiction Creative Producer － BCecilia Salguero
Fiction Creative Producer － B
In 2018, Cecilia moved to Los Angeles to focus her career as a Producer in Film and Television and found her first opportunity on a massively successful global sports documentary for Netflix. She has since then produced 4 other documentary projects for Netflix, HBO Max and Apple. Prior to that, Cecilia had 20+ years of experience as an Executive Producer in Advertising. She produced hundreds of commercials, working with top award-winning directors for prestigious brands including Nike, Coca-Cola & Budweiser. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards like a Grand Prix in Craft at the Cannes Lions Festival. Originally from Argentina, Cecilia always focused on international work, leading big global advertising campaigns. She is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
Jera Wang
Fiction Creative Producer － BJera Wang
Fiction Creative Producer － B
Jera Wang is a Chinese creative producer who has produced feature, episodic, commercial, and narrative short film projects in China, the U.S., India, and Mexico. Most recently, Jera produced “Expectant” at Film Independent Project Involve 2022, and the short film is selected to Bucheon Film Festival. Prior to that, “Only the Moon Stands Still”, her short film in Lena Waithe’s Rising Voices Fellowship which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival has won the audience award at AFI Fest. Her Chinese feature film, “Truth or Dare”, was theatrically distributed in China in 2017, and she is currently in post production on her second narrative feature to be shot in Los Angeles , “UndernThe Burning Sun”. Jera is a co-founder and producer for her company, Narval Films, in the San Gabriel Valley of L.A.
Kellie Brook Malone
Fiction Creative Producer － BKellie Brook Malone
Fiction Creative Producer － B
When she moved to LA from Detroit after graduating from the University of Michigan, Kellie started off in the music industry. She worked in marketing, promotions, artist development and publishing. Soon, Kellie would parlay those experiences and contacts into an opportunity to work in the film/TV industry. Kellie has been a producer and a production manager for various shows on CBS, FOX, Lifetime and FoodNetwork to name a few. Kellie has also produced music videos, regional plays and several short films. Her most recent short, Post Term, has won the 2022 National Board of Review Award as well as the Focus Features/JetBlue Airlines Short Film Showcase. Kellie is a confident, driven creative producer who strives to enlighten and entertain as she considers the projects to take on. 15 Love will be her first Feature.
Elizabeth Ai
Documentary Creative ProducersElizabeth Ai
Documentary Creative Producers
Elizabeth Ai is a documentary and fiction filmmaker, show creator, and fellow of Berlinale Talents, Center for Asian American Media, Film Independent, Firelight Media, Tribeca Institute and Sundance Institute. She’s currently in post production with her documentary feature New Wave and is simultaneously developing the dramatic series adaptation.
Jeanette Charles
Documentary Creative ProducersJeanette Charles
Documentary Creative Producers
Jeanette Charles is a storyteller and producer of Haitian-German descent; born and raised in working-class Black and Brown Los Angeles. Currently, she is the executive producer and lead producer for Salsa, un tumbao’ caribeño (Salsa, A Caribbean Swing) – a documentary about salsa’s cultural legacy and global movement produced and filmed in diverse locations like New York, Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Argentina. In 2023, From the Heart Productions advanced Salsa as one of its post-production finalists after being named earlier in 2022 to their “”Hot Films in the Making”” list. Jeanette is the founder of Ìyá Global, a coaching, consulting, and multimedia hub founded in 2020. She is also a PhD Candidate in History at the University of California, Los Angeles and in 2019 received her MA in History. Similarly, Jeanette has studied Film Marketing at UCLA and participated in the Sundance Co//ab Institute’s Intensive programs focused on Documentary Filmmaking and Production. Previously, Jeanette was a writer in Quito, Ecuador; editor in Caracas, Venezuela; and remote correspondent for grassroots media in Seoul, South Korea. She’s worked as a bilingual radio host and producer for KPFK Radio Pacifica and has appeared on a variety of podcasts, television, and multimedia programming in the US and abroad. Since 2008, she’s coordinated international group travel to Latin America and the Caribbean which catalyzed the foundation of her work as a language justice interpreter, solidarity activist, public speaker, and popular educator. Through her work, Jeanette aspires to build bridges with communities, institutions, and individuals – in the US and internationally – that are committed to documenting people’s histories and struggles for societal transformation through authentic storytelling in service of creating a better, more just world.
Rajal Pitroda
Documentary Creative ProducersRajal Pitroda
Documentary Creative Producers
Rajal Pitroda is a producer of fiction and non-fiction films. She is a Women at Sundance Fellow, a Sundance Creative Producing Fellow and an Impact Partners Producers Fellow. Rajal most recently produced “”Down a Dark Stairwell,”” a feature documentary that premiered at the 2020 True/False Film Festival and was broadcast on Independent Lens. Her work has been supported by Black Public Media, Firelight Media, Chicken and Egg Pictures, the Tribeca Film Institute, SFFILM and others. Prior to producing, Rajal was the Founder and CEO of Cinevention, a media company focused on creating marketing and distribution strategies for independent films. Rajal started her career in film working in international marketing for Bollywood movies based in Mumbai. She has a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from London Business School.
Shubhangi Shekhar
Documentary Creative ProducersShubhangi Shekhar
Documentary Creative Producers
Shubhangi Shekhar is a multi-hyphenate filmmaker hailing from the mid-western suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, and an undergraduate from New York University. She has development, digital production, directing, marketing, and journalism experience from award-winning and critically acclaimed global media companies such as A24, Verizon Media, Roy Kapur Films, Condé Nast Entertainment, and Patreon. She was also part of the inaugural class of The Salon Mentorship Program for up-and-coming South Asian talent in the directing track, under the mentorship of TV director Anu Valia. She has also received The New York City Women in Film (Pano) microgrant as a producer, and the Brown Girl Magazine x The Cosmos Care Fund microgrant as a writer and director for her projects. Along with producing, directing, and developing a handful of independent projects, she also supports and mentors up-and-coming South Asian writers as one of the writer’s room leads with the Rickshaw Film Foundation. Her artistic voice is fundamentally rooted in the cross-section between Western and South Asian cinema, and she aims to tell unique stories that gauge mass audiences across language, cultural, and gender barriers
Brittny Chapman
Physical ProducersBrittny Chapman
Physical Producers
Brittny Chapman is an aspiring Producer born and raised in Philadelphia, forged by New York City, and now flourishing in Los Angeles. She began her career in fashion, interning for the fashion closets at JANE and InStyle Magazine. It was at these publications where she was educated in the art of styling and learned how fit, color, and pattern of garments can enhance one’s aesthetic. Brittny’s passion for styling landed her in Los Angeles where she quickly transitioned from styling to costuming. Her first non-union costume position on Bounce’s Love That Girl revealed to her how garments can aide in telling a story on screen. This experience motivated her to work toward getting into the Motion Picture Costumers Union Local 705, where she would have more opportunity to work on projects with all of the major studios. After a year of diligence Brittny was able to work on an indie film called Hello My Name is Doris and a TV show called The League to gain her days to become an active union member of Local 705. Since then Brittny has also worked her way up the ranks to become a member of the Costume Designers Guild 892. Her membership and participation in both unions also lends to her leadership of her non-profit F.A.B.R.I.C. (Fighting for African American and Black Rights in Costumes), which provides networking, education and support for costumers and costume designers. Recently, Brittny has shifted her focus to Producing and is currently working with Line Producer, Bob Williams Jr., on the Ryan Murphy show 9-1-1. As Bob’s assistant, she also helps oversee 9-1-1’s Inclusivity Intiative, that exposes and educates historically excluded persons to the inner workings of a television production.
Genesis Socorro
Physical ProducersGenesis Socorro
Physical Producers
Genesis Socorro is a producer and production manager with years of experience in the world of film production. She has worked with top tier artists, directors and producer and managed over 300 projects that in combination have generated over 8 billion views on youtube alone. Her potential, talent and experience is evident in her work with a diverse portfolio including music videos, commercials, documentaries, feature films, photoshoots and editorials.
Kam Nurock
Physical ProducersKam Nurock
Physical Producers
I am a queer producer living in LA, with over 20 years of versatile production experience. Born in South Africa, I came up in the commercial service industry before heading to the UK in 2000 to work for multiple award winning advertising agencies, production houses and broadcast networks. I have produced in over 40 countries. I returned to South Africa as Agent K, a local fixer for international productions. Not content with staying in one place for very long, I moved to the US in 2018. My aspiration is to shift from commercial production into TV and Film. I believe that storytelling changes the world and I want to be part of that forever.
Louise Barretto
Physical ProducersLouise Barretto
Physical Producers
Growing up, Louise Barretto has always had a passion for intimate stories that connect viscerally. Like in well-crafted coming-of-age stories, it’s like you discover a part of yourself as you experience what the characters go through. Before moving to Los Angeles, she has worked as a TV producer for MTV Philippines’ weekly show Timeout. She co-produced No Vows, No Cows, which is a Film Independent Project Involve 2022 short. As a producer, she currently on post production on a proof-of-concept short titled A Family Guide to Hunting starring Margaret Cho, Kahyun Kim and Keong Sim. She has produced music videos for Iggy Azalea, Aidan Bissett, Elle E.D. Working across mediums, she’s produced magazine covers for Wonderland, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, The Wrap and has worked with talent such as Christina Aguilera, Saweetie, Kim Petras, Keiynan Lonsdale. She is also the Production Director for ABOOKOF Magazine. Her advertising credits include a billboard and social media campaign for Stoli Vodka and Shoe Dazzle. She also produced portrait studios at various events including the Film Independent Spirit Awards, People’s Choice Awards and IMDB’s San Diego Comic Con Portrait Studio.
Yoona Wang
Physical ProducersYoona Wang
Physical Producers
Yoona Wang is a bilingual female Line Producer based in Los Angeles. With her experience in problem-solving, she works closely with producers to bring creative visions to life through a seamless production process.
Aanchal Khaneja
Advanced ExecutiveAanchal Khaneja
Advanced Executive
Aanch Khaneja is an executive and producer who has primarily worked with filmmaker-driven pods to build their development slate. She got her start at UTA, then joined Noah Hawley’s 26 Keys, and then went on to run development for Alma Har’el before joining Amy Aniobi and SuperSpecial. She mentors incoming executives within the industry and finds any way she can to support under-represented creators around the world. She was born in India, grew up in Singapore and attended Boston University as a Film/TV Major and a theatre minor.
Adriana Martínez Barrón
Advanced ExecutiveAdriana Martínez Barrón
Advanced Executive
Adriana Martínez Barrón was most recently Vice President of Drama Series Development at CBS Entertainment where she’s worked on the development of 2023’s “”Tracker”” (20thTV, series order), “”Matlock”” (CBSTVS, series order), “”Elsbeth”” (CBSTVS, series order) and 2022’s “”Fire Country”” (CBSTVS, series order), “”East New York”” (WBTV, series order), “”So Help Me Todd”” (CBSTVS, series order), “”Early Edition”” (CBSTVS & Sony, pilot order). Prior to that, Martínez Barrón served as Vice President of Film at Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment where she Executive Produced the film “”Let’s Get Merried”” starring Mishel Prada, Xosha Roquemore and Tahj Mowry for ViacomCBS and VH1. Following Longoria’s mandate to champion Latinx filmmakers, Martínez Barrón was pivotal in hiring first time Latina director Veronica Rodriguez who was nominated for a NAACP award for her work in the film. Previously Martínez Barrón was a Manager, Latin American Original Series at Netflix where she oversaw a large slate of series in Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia and launched more than 10 series, including “”Daughter from Another Mother”” (“”Madre Sólo Hay Dos””) a female-centric dramedy created by Carolina Rivera (“”Jane the Virgin””) which was seen by over 23 million households worldwide, as well as the anticipated upcoming season for the acclaimed “”Luis Miguel: The Series,”” which premiered on April 18 to raving reviews and “”Nicky Jam: El Ganador””, the biographical series about the reggaeton superstar. Simultaneous to that, she worked as a Manager, Latin America Content Acquisitions where she oversaw all creative aspects of a robust and varied slate of features in Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Spain, more than 15 of which were released during her time there, including the Alex and David Pastor psychological thriller “”The Occupant”” (“”Hogar””), the Alvaro Cervantes and Susana Abaitua starring romantic comedy “”Crazy about Her”” (“”Loco por Ella””), the Omar Chaparro starred musical featuring the songs of Mexican music icon Pedro Infante “”Como Caído del Cielo,”” and the Argentine noir thriller “”Intuition”” (“”La Corazonada””), among others. Prior to joining Netflix, Martínez Barrón worked as Creative Executive at Mexican Superstar Eugenio Derbez’s production company 3Pas Studios where she oversaw the feature “”Cómo es Él”” for Pantelion and the first season of “”LOL: Laugh Out Loud Mexico”” for Amazon. Martínez Barrón was a CBS diversity writing program mentor in 2023 and has been involved with organizations and initiatives such as TV Academy, HRTS, JHRTS, WIF, Colour Entertainment, LATB, Latinx List, LALIFF, NWFLA, Hola México, WOCUnite throughout the years, in her quest to advance other women, Latinos and people of color. As a writer, one of her spec scripts was a Quarterfinalist, Scriptation Showcase. Martínez Barrón is passionate about storytelling and loves working with writers, directors and producers to shape their stories by providing thoughtful and insightful notes in a way that is constructive and beneficial to the project. Adriana has a strong passion for diversity and inclusion and works consistently to identify and champion female and diverse voices. A graduate of the Peter Stark Producing Program MFA at USC, Martínez Barrón got her start in the U.S. as a Development Assistant for Sofia Vergara’s Latin World Entertainment and was the assistant to a Co-Producer for ABC’s “”Killer Women””. Martínez Barrón began her career in her native Monterrey, Mexico working her way up on set as an art and production coordinator in TV series, music videos and commercials. Adriana is a devoted dog mom, a voracious reader, an avid yogi, and an adventurous traveler.
Ashley Whitaker
Advanced ExecutiveAshley Whitaker
Advanced Executive
Ashley Whitaker was most recently VP of Television at Jay Z and James Lassiter’s production company, where Jay Z had an overall deal at Netflix. Prior to this, Ashley worked at streamer, Paramount+, in both development and current series where she provided creative support on original series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, THE GAME, GUILTY PARTY and STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS among others. Prior to Paramount+, she served as a creative executive at Harpo Films where she worked in television and film development. In this role, Ashley worked closely with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, helping to develop scripted content for the network, including series such as GREENLEAF, LOVE IS… and AMBITIONS. Before that she took a break from entertainment to pursue interests in public policy and administration in Washington DC. She began her career as a production assistant for ABC Studios and as an assistant at Creative Artists Agency.
Folashade Ade-Banjo
Advanced ExecutiveFolashade Ade-Banjo
Advanced Executive
Folashade Ade-Banjo is a Nigerian American creative strategist, storyteller, and filmmaker currently based in Los Angeles, CA. She holds a Philosophy and Film Studies Degree from Bates College. She currently is a Strategy Manager on the Franchise & Tentpole Series Team at Amazon Studios and primarily focuses on Sci-Fi / Fantasy projects. Since embarking on her creative career seven years ago, Folashade has led both micro and macro-budget campaigns across Google, YouTube, ‘X’, The Moonshot Factory, and Amazon Studios. As of late, her creative work has been recognized by ADAGE (as a 2022 Next Gen Recipient), ADCOLOR (as a 2020 Future Fellow), and ADWEEK.
Maryam Mehrtash
Advanced ExecutiveMaryam Mehrtash
Advanced Executive
Maryam Mehrtash is an award-winning Vice President of Integrated Marketing at Paramount Global overseeing Paramount+, CBS Entertainment and CBS Media Ventures. In her role, she is responsible for proactively positioning these iconic brands/platforms and their best-in-class IP to the marketplace and overseeing execution of partnership opportunities. Having spearheaded Paramount+’s go-to-market launch strategy in 2021, Maryam has led the team through a period of exponential growth by continually innovating in creating novel opportunities for brands. Maryam brings to her role more than 15 years of experience in content, marketing, sales and product across entertainment and media. The teams she manages have led award-winning TV360 cross-platform campaigns, and have been featured in AdAge as best in class. She has driven multi-million-dollar strategy and execution from Late Night, to The GRAMMY Awards, to some of entertainment’s top multi-platform franchises including Star Trek, Yellowstone spin-off 1883, The Challenge, and the upcoming Halo. Prior to Paramount, Maryam led the digital launch monetization strategy for KTLA 5 News, was a consultant and advisor to top media and television agencies, and produced two lifestyle television shows. A natural-born storyteller, Maryam’s clear-eyed vision, trailblazing spirit and creative drive have led her to constantly push boundaries to bring custom solutions to the industry at large. An active member of both Women in Film, and Chief, Maryam has been awarded a TeleFilm Pitch This! Scholarship at the Toronto Film Festival and a HotDocs Astral Media Emerging Filmmaker Award. She has a certificate of completion in TV Writing in Drama & Comedy, and was most recently awarded TV Week’s 40 Under 40.
Alexandra Kundrat
Mid ExecutiveAlexandra Kundrat
Mid Executive
Alexandra Kundrat is the Manager of Development at Avalon Television, an award-winning independent studio operating in the US and UK. Prior to Avalon, she worked in client representation at Creative Artists Agency and Grandview Management. Alexandra started her career in unscripted production and graduated from New York University.
Anja Block
Mid ExecutiveAnja Block
Mid Executive
Anja Block most recently served on the documentary team at Warner Bros Discovery, discovery+. At discovery+, her team commissioned and acquired over 50 original docs and limited series including: Emmy-Nominated A RADICAL LIFE, JANUARY 6TH, INTRODUCING SELMA BLAIR, FRANCESCO, REBEL HEARTS, the docuseries UNPRECEDENTED and SHAUN WHITE: THE LAST RUN, among others. Prior to discovery+, Block developed award-winning, mission-driven documentaries at Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions. Vulcan’s films include SUMMER OF SOUL, MASTER OF LIGHT, THE REASON I JUMP, and doc shorts LEAD ME HOME and HUNGER WARD. Block is a Documentary Programming TV Academy member, a 2023 WIF Business Fellow, and works with the LGBTQ+ nonprofits Outfest, Seattle Queer Film Festival, and RainbowLabs.
Annie Huang
Mid ExecutiveAnnie Huang
Mid Executive
Annie Huang is a first-generation Asian American who grew up in Vietnam, Taiwan, and Hong Kong before immigrating to the States at age 11, where she started learning English as her 4th language with the help of American subtitled films. She started her entertainment career in marketing and later pivoted into creative development, a decision led by her passion for filmmaking. Annie has over 6 years of experience working in creative development, film production, and marketing strategy at Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, CBS Studios, and Sony Pictures. She is a member of the inaugural class of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts GOLD program, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, WIF Fellow, a Soho House x Creative Futures Fellow, and an APIASF NBCUniversal Award recipient. Annie spends her free time producing independent projects with writers and directors from across the globe, hoping to one day produce content that transcends language and culture, and encompasses everything she values as a filmmaker.
Catalina Acebal-Acevedo
Mid ExecutiveCatalina Acebal-Acevedo
Mid Executive
Catalina Acebal-Acevedo is currently the Creative Assistant to the Head of Genre Series at Amazon Studios. Prior to this role she worked at Hello Sunshine and Rotten Tomatoes. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami, Catalina grew up as an avid reader with a love for stories across various mediums, from the captivating world of Avatar The Last Airbender to the profound writings of Toni Morrison. She holds an M.A. in Literary Editing and Publishing and a B.A. in English and Spanish Literature with a minor in Cinematic Arts from USC. She is an HRTS Foundation Fellow, a board member of JHRTS, a Women in Film Fellow, and an active member of both NALIP and the Latin Tracking Board. Catalina’s ultimate professional goal is to excel in development, particularly focusing on book-to-screen adaptations. She aspires to shape narratives that evoke powerful emotions and resonate deeply with audiences, just as her favorite stories have impacted her. Outside of work, Catalina is passionate about live music, nature, and education-volunteering weekly as a writing tutor at 826LA.
Clara Yoon
Mid ExecutiveClara Yoon
Mid Executive
Clara Yoon comes to the WIF Business Fellowship as the Development Coordinator at Disney Branded Television Original Movies. Growing up without seeing people who looked like her making film and television, she didn’t think of such a career as even in the realm of possibility for a long time. Clara studied developmental psychology at Harvard College, initially looking to go into medicine. Her first job out of college was at a cancer hospital, until one day, she had the epiphany that if she could do anything in the world, it would be to tell stories for kids. To pivot, she then got her Masters at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Clara interned for PBS/WGBH at American Experience and Antiques Roadshow, and then went on to work in digital production for Roadshow for three years. From there, she picked up and moved across the country to Los Angeles, where she put on the Mouse Ears, working on movies for Disney+ and Disney Channel. Clara is so thrilled to have found community with Women in Film and to join the Business Fellowship with other folks as passionate as she is!
Erica Kolsrud
Mid ExecutiveErica Kolsrud
Mid Executive
As a seasoned Post Production Accountant/Controller, over the last ten years on over 35 films/television series, I am responsible for the accounting of multiple projects at different stages of completion. I work with film and television studios such as Lionsgate, FOX/National Geographic, AGBO Films, and Netflix. I manage the financial aspects of post-production, including budgeting, cash flows, cost tracking, variance analysis, projections, forecasting estimated final cost (EFC), generating cost reports, and financial statements. Other duties include reconciling bank accounts monthly for both foreign currency and USD, providing quarter close and fiscal year-end documents, managing accounts payable and receivable, working with third party companies on tax incentives and audits both within the US and abroad, and supervising a team of assistant accountants and payroll accountants to ensure all outstanding items are dealt with in a timely fashion. Outside of my career, I am actively involved with numerous organizations such as Tournament of Roses, Women in Leadership Advisory Member at Cal Poly Pomona, Board of Directors member for Delta Sigma Pi, and volunteer with Reading to Kids and Pasadena Pacers. As well as a member of other industry associations such as the Television Academy, Women in Film, and Alliance for Women in Media. In my free time, I enjoy reading, marathons (both running and television series binge-watching marathons), traveling, and finding free parking in the Los Angeles County area.
Jasmine Kent
Mid ExecutiveJasmine Kent
Mid Executive
Jasmine L. Kent is a brand marketing executive working at the intersection of pop culture and politics. With over 10 years of spearheading integrated communications campaigns and managing intimate to full-scale events, she has successfully led strategies that engage, excite, and educate audiences of entertainment networks and studios, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Passionate about the impact of Black America’s influence on mainstream media and global culture, she has raised over $100K in sponsorship and in-kind donations to give underrepresented storytellers and emerging executives opportunities to develop relationships with leaders in the entertainment industry – earning National Urban League Young Professionals’ Outstanding Member of the Year – Western Region award and New Black Power award. Jasmine has also received recognition by American Business Women’s Association – Diamonds of South Bay Chapter as the 2020 Young Women Entrepreneur of the Year. Jasmine earned a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and a Business minor from Virginia Commonwealth University and holds a certificate in The Business and Management of Entertainment from UCLA Extension. She currently serves as the Secretary of National Urban League Young Professionals.
Shakera Robinson
Mid ExecutiveShakera Robinson
Mid Executive
Born in the Big Apple and raised in New Jersey, Shakera discovered her innate passion for storytelling from an early age. As a child, she was captivated by the power of creating art that could deeply connect with an audience. The allure of the red carpet, adorned in a beautiful gown, was also fun for her to romanticize. Spending most of her days watching movies, TV shows, and music videos, Shakera knew a career in the entertainment industry was her true calling. During her time at Hofstra University, Shakera majored in Film Studies and Production, where she delved into the intricacies of the cinematic arts, honing her skills and expanding her knowledge of the business. Alongside her studies, she seized valuable experience through internships at truTV, Seventeen Magazine, and VH1. After college, Shakera embarked on a journey that led her to hold positions at well-known TV networks such as A&E, Fox, and National Geographic. It was during this time that she achieved a significant milestone by being selected as one of only four individuals for NBC’s Below the Line Diversity Program. Driven by a desire for growth, Shakera made the bold decision to venture into the unknown and relocate to Los Angeles-a place she had never set foot in before. Shakera fully immersed herself for six months on NBC’s unscripted shows “”Bring The Funny”” and “”The Voice.”” Following the conclusion of the program, Shakera seized the opportunity to leverage her experience and skills by securing a position at Amazon Studios. Currently, she thrives in the Drama Series department, where she actively contributes to shaping and developing compelling narratives for audiences worldwide. Shakera is determined to create opportunities for emerging diverse writers and directors. Above all, she aims to be a positive agent for change within the entertainment industry.
DaVida Smith Baker
RepresentativeDaVida Smith Baker
Representative
After assisting her employers manage the careers of A-listers at some of the most notable talent management companies in the entertainment industry, DaVida Chanel Baker decided to follow her entrepreneurial endeavors. Launched in April 2018, Baker’s Etcetera and Company boasts a robust and diverse roster of working actors and multi-hyphenates. Her clients have booked a number of features, have appeared on major networks and streaming platforms as well as write, direct and produce their own projects. The Louisiana native attended Southern University (Baton Rouge) and a Juris Doctorate from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Post law school, Baker moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in talent representation and production, landing jobs at some of Hollywood’s renowned management firms, including Brillstein Entertainment Partners, Handprint, and VCA. On the production side, Baker worked on major film and television productions. Baker also wrote, directed, and produced a series of short films, as well as wrote and produced a stage play that toured New Orleans, Atlanta and Chicago. She is currently in post-production as a producer on the documentary, “Thibodeauxville: Race, Riot and Resilience.”
Eva Ruiz de Chavez
RepresentativeEva Ruiz de Chavez
Representative
Eva is a Mexican filmmaker and the founder of Panamericana Pictures. She has worked as a producer for the Mexico and US Unit for Netflix’s El Chapo and is currently developing a new film called Corpus. She has studied communications and cinema in Mexico, Madrid, and UCLA. With over a decade of experience in the film industry, Eva has worked with top companies including IBERO 90.9 FM, AG STUDIOS, HBO, Netflix, and Talent on the Road, one of the major Mexican talent agencies for Latinos in Hollywood, where she held the role of Head of Office in Los Angeles. With her passion for advancing the Latin community in the film industry, Eva continues to strive for success and bring new opportunities to the underrepresented through her work as a creative producer for The Guadalajara Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Johnny-Louise Nute
Script SupervisorJohnny-Louise Nute
Script Supervisor
Johnny-Louise Nute is a Script Supervisor based in Los Angeles. Raised in Chicago and having attended college at Boston University, she considers herself a city girl through and through. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Film and TV with a minor in Sociology. Johnny is an active member of the entertainment industry, as well as a product of kindness, humanity, and service. She is looking to work with those that use their platform to create impactful storytelling. She is passionate about inclusive, creative, and knowledge-driven workplaces. Her “Because You Watched This” section on any platform will be made up of comedy, horror, dark fantasy, and only the best reality television streaming has to offer. Some of her other passions include ceramics, vegan cooking, and staying active. Johnny is currently focused on earning her eligibility to join IATSE Local 871 and growing her network of diverse filmmakers.
Emma Koh
Production DesignEmma Koh
Production Design
Emma Koh (she/her) is a Korean American artist, filmmaker/Production Designer, and advocate of #stopasianhate was born and raised in Southern California – specifically LA & the OC. She received her BFA from Cornell University (2011), MFA from AFI’s Production Design program (2014), as well as her MS from SCI Arc’s F&E Worldbuilding Thesis Program (2021). She was a recipient of the Tichi Wilkerson Kassel Scholarship by Women in Film, and Art Directed the Film Independent award winning film, SPA NIGHT, as well as JAMOJAYA, which made its debut at the most recent Sundance Film Festival, 2023. Since graduating from AFI, Emma has worked in commercials, music videos, indie features, network television, as well as a producer in VFX & Arch Vis during her time in NYC. You can watch her most recent work as Art Director for the newly released Netflix series, XO Kitty – a spinoff series of the film trilogy: TO ALL THE BOYS I LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han. She currently resides in San Gabriel Valley, LA, continuing to explore & articulate visually the intersectionality of (speculative) design, cultural identity, and history through storytelling, art, and tech.
Jenna Brewer
Production DesignJenna Brewer
Production Design
Jenna is a Los Angeles-based production designer and graphic designer with a BFA in Film & TV Production from Loyola Marymount University (’21). Most recently, she was an Art Director for Jubilee Media where she created show designs for multiple original series. She is also a production designer for ONYX Films, an all-female production company. Recently her collaboration with director Kirsten Hoang “”The Holy Path”” was released on Beyond The Short. She is passionate about telling female and POC-led stories about adolescence and young adulthood. In her spare time, she enjoys designing film posters for her friends, rummaging at flea markets, and taking advantage of Cinemark’s $6 Tuesdays deal.
Nya Patrinos
Production DesignNya Patrinos
Production Design
Nya Patrinos has worked as a Set Decorator in Film and Television since 1996. She was awarded a MFA in Set Design from UCSD/La Jolla Playhouse, a BA in Design of the Environment from University of Pennsylvania, and a Certificate in Illustration from Otis College of Art and Design. Nya received an Emmy nomination in Art Direction/Set Decoration for her Set Decoration on “Transparent”, an SDSA nomination for “Pam and Tommy”, an Art Directors Guild nomination for “The Morning Show”, and a Dramalogue Award in Set Design for the play “Flyin’ West.” Ms. Patrinos has taught design at UCSD, Columbia College, LMU, and FIDM. She loves drawing, yoga, and being in nature.
Rupali Ingle
Production DesignRupali Ingle
Production Design
Born in Rangilo (Colorful) Rajasthan and raised in the city of dreams Mumbai, India, Rupali is a quirky visualizer who loves to dive deep into imaginative fantasy world’s full of color & dimension to create interesting environments for the characters of a story. She is a member of the Art Directors Guild Local 800 as an Assistant Art Director and was a participant in the ADG Production Design Initiative Program in 2021. She is also a current participant in the BAFTA Newcomers Program as a Production Designer based in LA. She won & got nominated for several ‘Best Production Design’ Awards for her short films ‘A Yemeni’ & ‘The House of the Butterfly’. Her credits include the hit paramount plus series ‘Star Trek Picard : The Final Season’, Fox show ‘9-1-1’ S6 , Abbott Elementary S1, White Men Can’t Jump and Bollywood Movie ‘Kedarnath’. Rupali graduated with an MFA in Production Design from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film & Media Arts in 2021 where she was a fellowship recipient. She loves to play with color, pattern, texture and graphic design to create impactful environments for effective storytelling. Please visit www.rupaliingle.com to check out her quirky creations.
Ella May
Music SupervisorElla May
Music Supervisor
Born and raised in New York City, Ella has always been a fan of theater, music and film. She moved to Los Angeles four years ago to become a music supervisor. At Tulane University in New Orleans, Ella fell deeply in love with the music and culture of the city. It inspired her to use music as a tool for her films. Music and film has driven her to create meaningful art. Her work explores themes of identity, gender, sexuality and the horrors we experience on a daily basis as women. With 8 shorts under her belt, Ella is at her happiest when she is directing.
Jasmin Benward
Music SupervisorJasmin Benward
Music Supervisor
Jasmin Benward (She/They) is a multi-hyphenate artist (author, writer, singer-songwriter/top liner, indie music supervisor, emerging composer), Educator, and Family Wellness Instructor born in Texas and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Jasmin received her BA from Georgia State University in Film followed by an M.S.Ed from the Metropolitan College of New York. Jasmin has worked in public service for over ten years to support students and families with disabilities from academics, to nutrition, songwriting, and yoga. Jasmin relocated from New York to the Greater Los Angeles area to pursue her second careers in writing and music after completing her first children’s book in 2021. Jasmin holds proud varying memberships to the Composers Diversity Collective, Guild of Music Supervisors, Women in Film, Women of Color Unite, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators amongst other inspired organizations. Jasmin is repped by 22MediaWorks for children’s literature and received acceptance into the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) Amp program (’22) for her promise in music. She is a recent participant in the inaugural Girls Who Listen x Jrumz songwriting camp (’23). Jasmin is a current Sync Music Intern with Madden Flow Entertainment. Her editorial work can be found in the Black Femme Collective, Refinery29, Healthline, and Cashmere Magazine. Jasmin is excited to complete her debut novel in 2023.
Elizabeth Dunn
Key GripElizabeth Dunn
Key Grip
Elizabeth Dunn is a writer and director committed to highlighting realistic women’s experiences and highlighting their voices through her work. In addition, she works as a key grip and teaches set safety courses for fellow students. Born and raised at the Jersey Shore, Elizabeth discovered her love of filmmaking at a young age and graduated with her bachelor’s in TV and Film with highest honors at just 16 years old. A classically trained pianist, her creative accomplishments include her published children’s book, MacCarrig, and her award-winning short documentary, Glassboro: The Beginnings. Now 19, Elizabeth is based in LA and is working towards her M.F.A in film at ArtCenter College of Design.
Ashley Monti
EditingAshley Monti
Editing
Ashley Monti is a film editor based in Los Angeles. Raised across two continents, Ashley spent her childhood in Rome, Italy. At fourteen, she moved to Toronto where she discovered the magic of filmmaking and editing. Her most recent work, MOVING OUT, a short film developed and financed via Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship Program, won Best Female Short Film at FilmOut San Diego, Best LGBTQIA short at San Diego Film Week, and Best LGBTQ Themed short film at City of Angels Women’s Film Festival and has screened at over 20 film festivals. Ashley has collaborated with director and television writer Tazbah Chavez (HULU’s Reservation Dogs) on the short film YOUR NAME ISN’T ENGLISH, developed through AT&T’s Hello Lab Mentorship program. Most recently they collaborated on the music video BIGGER PICTURES for American hip/hop duo Atmosphere (Rhymesayers Entertainment). Ashley has also edited VIOLA FRANCA, an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival and nominated at Italy’s Academy of Italian Cinema. As a staff editor for Cutting Room Floor Entertainment, she edited documentary feature film, BRIDGE released on Fox Television Stations. She is an alumni of the American Film Institute and Film Independent’s Project Involve. Between projects she enjoys hiking and cooking homemade pasta.
Christine McAuliffe
EditingChristine McAuliffe
Editing
Christine McAuliffe is an award winning genre filmmaker whose work has been shown in numerous film festivals across the world. She holds an M.F.A. in Film Production from Loyola Marymount University where she cut her teeth in editing and production sound mixing, her favorite departments. Christine’s authentic storytelling empowers and connects underrepresented communities. This is best illustrated by her work on Kameishia Wooten’s film “”Choices”” about high school girls facing an impossible decision, as well as her own film, “”Maricruz””, which portrays anti-gay conversion therapy through a fantastic lense. Originally from North Jersey, she now makes a home in Los Angeles as an independent filmmaker.
Ilana Rozin
EditingIlana Rozin
Editing
Ilana works as an assistant editor by day, and short film creator by night. She edited her first feature, The Daphne Project, in 2020 and it premiered at the Bentonville Film Festival. In 2019, Ilana and her writing partner, Megan Carroll, won the Sloan Foundation Screenwriting Award for their script, “The Bone Wars.” Trained as a stage director before transitioning to film, Ilana worked in theatres in Chicago, Iowa City, Raleigh, and Los Angeles. Ilana holds an MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in Film and TV Production.
Joanna Phillips
EditingJoanna Phillips
Editing
Joanna Phillips is a creative and dedicated editor who has worked on the award-winning NBC television show This Is Us, as well as Amazon’s The Wilds, and the Hulu limited series Saint X. Previously, she has worked on numerous films and television shows as an assistant editor, including the Academy Award-winning Nomadland, Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Hulu’s Dollface, among others. In her free time, she enjoys attending musical and theatrical performances, creating ceramics, and practicing yoga and meditation.
Meredith Mantik
EditingMeredith Mantik
Editing
Meredith Mantik has edited four narrative features, five documentary features, and numerous short films and commercials. Her documentary ALICE IS STILL DEAD won Best Autobiographical Documentary at DOC LA Film Festival in 2019 and her most recent narrative feature, DOWNEAST, was distributed by Gravitas Ventures and is currently available on Showtime. She has worked as lead editor on the Discovery series BERING SEA GOLD, junior editor on the BAFTA-winning series EXODUS: OUR JOURNEY TO EUROPE, and assistant editor on the NBC series YOUNG ROCK, the Amazon/Hello Sunshine film SOMETHING FROM TIFFANY’S, and the upcoming Amazon film THE BURIAL, starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones. Meredith studied Creative Writing at Idyllwild Arts Academy, holds a BA in English, Film, and Philosophy from Colorado College, and, upon graduating with distinction from the UK’s prestigious National Film and Television School’s Editing MA course, received an AVID Excellence in Editing Award for her work on SWEET MADDIE STONE, directed by Brady Hood. SWEET MADDIE STONE went on to win Best British Short Film at London Critics’ Circle Awards and Best Short Film of the Year at the ODEON Film Awards, and was a Semi-Finalist at the Student Academy Awards.
Molly Biscardi-Silver
EditingMolly Biscardi-Silver
Editing
Molly Biscardi-Silver, a Los Angeles local poet with a love for storytelling, began using her 13 siblings for character inspiration. For her, storytelling began in being able to bring to light her own experiences as well as create space to help share and empower the experiences of others. She grew passionate about the ways these stories could impact how others may feel, thus starting her love for filmmaking. Having lost her father to Parkinson’s disease and a close friend at a young age, she grew more passionate about speaking for those that don’t yet have or that no longer have a voice. Through life, college and Oxford University, Molly continued to become more submerged in the power filmmaking could have on others, as a means of expression, shared vulnerabilities, and a place in which stories could come home to. Starting as a production assistant for HBO’s limited series Camping, Molly was able to see firsthand the impact the editorial team had on the show and bringing that story to life. She went to work on The Way Back, as the first Post Production Assistant within the Warner Bros. Access to Action Program. Here she was featured and noted as “”a strong female voice within production””, receiving an honorary mention for International Women’s Day (March 2019). Molly then went to work on Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and it was here where she really fell in love with editing and even more so with the filmmaking process. Being a part of that editorial team was a dream come true. In 2020, Molly was selected for Motion Picture Institute’s Editing Fellowship where she was able to work as an editor in partnership with Smock Media. Molly also worked on Marvel’s Shang Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings and The Fabelmans.
Alexis Carrie
Costume DesignersAlexis Carrie
Costume Designers
Alexis Carrie is a LA based costume designer and textile artist. Recent and upcoming film, television and theatrical credits include A Place of Bones (Goldrush Entertainment), Legacies Season 4 (Warner Brothers) What to Send Up When It Goes Down (Congo Square Theater) Untitled Baby Play (IAMA Theater). Originally from Washington D.C, she has an MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities from the University of Chicago. She is an alum of the artEquity National Facilitator training and seeks to bring the practices of equity and inclusion to all her projects. She is a proud founding member r of First Floor Theater in Chicago. You can find her work at alexiscarrie.com
Kristian Candie
Costume DesignersKristian Candie
Costume Designers
Hi, I’m Kristian Candie, originally from Springfield, MO. I work in Costumes at University Studios. When my head isn’t in the clouds with film and television, I enjoy singing and tending to my many plants.
Ruth Araujo
Costume DesignersRuth Araujo
Costume Designers
Ruth Araujo is a Mexican costume designer and costumer based in Los Angeles and Mexico City. She is also a graduate from UCLA TFT and a Fulbright Scholar. With a background in fashion design, she started working on film and television, finding in story telling a new love for garments and how they help build a character through subtleties and details that make them unique.
Jasmine Gutierrez
Casting DirectorJasmine Gutierrez
Casting Director
With a passion for entertainment, Jasmine Gutierrez, CSA has the creative eye, attention to detail, and energy needed to make the vision of a production come to life. Since 2008, she has had the privilege to work with some of the most talented and hard-working entertainment professionals. Jasmine loves what she does, and it shows. She is dedicated to making sure each of her client’s expectations are not only met, but exceeded. Jasmine works tirelessly to ensure every production is cast the best it can be. She prides herself on her practice of inclusive casting, attempting to be as diverse as possible when possible.