Faculty
Teachers are the heart and soul of every school, and the faculty at the San Francisco Film School is comprised of accomplished, award-winning directors, producers, writers, musicians, editors, actors, art directors and sound designers. All faculty members are working professionals, experts in their field, whose goal is to help students develop their craft every step of the way and nurture their passion for making films. Small class sizes assure individual attention and grant greater access to the digital filmmaking equipment. Our amazing teachers and project-based curriculum is what gives our students the real-working experience necessary to succeed in the competitive entertainment industry.
The screenwriting sessions with our instructor, Fred Ritzenberg, have also been invaluable. To have a vastly experienced AND working screenwriter teaching in our program has helped with my goals and vision for my stories.
Faculty Recognition
AFI FEST, BFI London Film Festival, Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, Toronto, Tribeca and Venice
Jeremiah Birnbaum
Founder & PresidentDirector, Producer, Writer, Editor
Jeremiah Birnbaum is President & Founder of the San Francisco Film School, and has worked as a director, producer, screenwriter, editor and educator in filmmaking for over 30 years. He is also president of Fog City Pictures, one of the most prolific feature film production companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the last ten years, Fog City Pictures has developed and produce a variety of feature films and documentaries which have screened at dozens of festivals around the world and gone on to be released in theaters, on DVD, VOD, and iTunes. Fog City Pictures has a reputation for working with San Francisco’s most talented filmmakers, cast and crew, as well as for bringing in talent from Los Angeles and New York City.
Frederick Ritzenberg
Dean, Screenwriting and Producing InstructorProducer / Screenwriter
Fred Ritzenberg has been in the film business for over twenty-five years. He produced and directed (with David Leivick) the critically acclaimed feature film, GOSPEL. Most recently Fred produced ZAYTOUN, a feature film about a 12-year-old Palestinian refugee, and an Israeli fighter pilot shot down over Beirut, Lebanon in 1982. It stars Stephen Dorff. ZAYTOUN premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was runner-up for the People’s Choice Award. It had its European premier at The BFI London Film Festival. The US premier was at AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles. Fred has written screenplays for some of Hollywood’s top name producers, including Joe Roth, Ted Field, Scott Kroopf, Daniel Melnick, and Dick Clark Entertainment. Fred is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Santa Clara University, and has mentored aspiring screenwriters in San Quentin Prison at Patton University. Fred is a member of the WGA (Writers Guild of America).
Natalie Zimmerman
Documentary Filmmaker
Natalie Zimmerman is a filmmaker, educator and activist. Natalie’s film and media work has been exhibited, screened and broadcast worldwide in diverse contexts including: Independent Feature Project (IFP) Spotlight-On-Documentary Program (NYC), Cinema Politica Global Network, CBC Broadcast Corporation, London-based Press TV, Anthology Film Archive NYC, Kunsthalle Dusseldorf, World Affairs Council and Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna.
She is a former Fulbright Scholar, Headlands Center For the Arts Resident Fellow, and Resident Artist at the de Young Museum of San Francisco, where she created Social Dreaming in the 21st Century — an exploration of the collective dynamics of dreaming, social revolution and its relationship to storytelling and film. In 2017, she co-organized a gathering of indigenous and western women engaged in climate change activism – On Fertile Ground: Integrating Perspectives Toward a Collective Future was awarded funding by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Her media educational project, Kiribati Digital Storytelling LAB was recently awarded funding through New Zealand-based Development and Conservation Trust. Zimmerman is currently in the final stages of production on her lyrical nonfiction feature film set within the context of climate change and rising seas, OCEANIA: Encounters on the Edge: www.oceaniathefilm.com.
Zimmerman holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts and a Film Certificate from New York University and lives north of San Francisco on the edge of an old growth forest—native lands of the Coast Miwok.
Carolee Carlson
Psychology InstructorTherapist
Carolee Carlson is a working therapist who earned her Masters degree from The Wright Institute in Berkley, California, and also holds an additional Masters and training in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University. The style of psychotherapy she practices calls upon the strengths of various evidence-based and experiential modalities to support clients in the changes they seek. This includes eco-therapeutic practices, mindfulness-based techniques, semantics, attachment and psychodynamic theories, as well as EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples), and play therapy for children.
She welcomes clients from all walks of life, including LGBTQIA clients, as well as clients from diverse cultural backgrounds, and those in traditional or non-traditional relationships.
Ms. Carlson has worked with many non-profits supporting climate change, endangered species, and sustainability. She has also developed and co-directed applied curriculum in sustainable careers.
Robert Dalva
In Memoriam 1942 - 2023An Oscar-nominated film editor, Robert grew up in New York City. After graduating Colgate University in 1964, Robert Dalva attended the University of Southern California as a graduate student in the Cinema Department. After USC Dalva edited TV commercials, directed educational films and cut LIONS LOVE, directed by French director, Agnes Varda. In 1969 Dalva and his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work at Francis Coppola’s newly formed American Zoetrope. He directed, shot and edited over 100 national TV commercials. In 1977 he returned to editing to cut an ABC movie of the week, FOREVER, directed by John Korty. In 1978 Dalva edited THE BLACK STALLION, directed by Carroll Ballard. Dalva was nominated for an Academy Award for editing. In 1983 he directed the sequel, THE BLACK STALLION RETURNS. He made a prize-winning documentary, VOYAGE FROM ANTIQUITY, in 1986 for NOVA, winner of a Gold “Hugo” at the Chicago Film Festival. In 1995 Dalva edited JUMANJI directed by Joe Johnston. Robert edited OCTOBER SKY in 1999, another feature directed by Joe Johnston, In 2001 He edited JURASSIC PARK III again with Johnston at the helm. Dalva edited HIDALGO in December of 2003, again directed by Johnston. Robert edited THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO in 2005, directed by Jane Anderson. He cut TOUCHING HOME IN 2007, a low-budget feature film directed by Logan and Noah Miller. Dalva directed an episode of Star Wars: Clone Wars for Lucas Animation. Called “The Deserter” it aired on New Year’s Day, 2010. In 2011 Dalva edited CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE FIRST AVENGER, with Jeff Ford, directed by Joe Johnston. In 2012 he edited LOVELACE, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and SWEETWATER, directed by Logan and Noah Miller. Both films played at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013.
Vince DiPersio
Three-time Academy Award nominee and multi-Emmy winner Vince DiPersio has had a long and eclectic career in the film and television universe. Vince is a graduate of Goddard College, the American Film Institute and the Sundance Directors Lab. He’s written and directed two independent feature films, done re-writes of scripts for Robert Townsend and Ed Zwick and has directed several multi-award-winning feature length documentaries. Lately Vince has been show-running multi-episode nonfiction series for various networks. His most recent projects detail the murder of Tupac Shakur, the ill-fated life and career of NFL player Aaron Hernandez, the rise of hate in America over the last few years and Kim Kardashian West’s efforts to effect prison reform. Vince was born and raised in Philadelphia, served in the US Army and has taught at the Community College of Philadelphia and at the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam. He could also point you to the only place in Philly to get a cheesesteak if you want the real thing.
Clay Frohman
Clay was born in Chicago, as the song goes. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and worked as a journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Rolling Stone magazine before moving to Los Angeles and embarking on a career as a writer for film and television. Feature film credits include DEFIANCE, UNDERFIRE, THE COURT-MARTIAL OF JACKIE ROBINSON and THE DELINQUENTS. Television credits include SHANNON’S DEAL and HEARTS ARE WILD. Clay has been a WGA member since 1974. He currently serves on the Arbitration Committee and Policy Review Board. For the past seven years Clay has participated in a Writers Guild Foundation program to mentor military veterans interested in writing for film and television.
Tom Cohen
Tom Cohen is a multiple Emmy Award-winning Showrunner, Executive Producer, Series Developer, Writer, Producer and Director. As EP and Showrunner of the long-running series Cash Cab and Cash Cab Chicago on Discovery Channel, he was nominated for 6 Daytime Emmy Awards, winning 3 times. He went on to create and serve as Executive Producer of the docu-follow series Bandit Patrol for Nat Geo Wild. In 2018, a documentary/archival series he created called Story of Cool aired on MSNBC, with LL Cool J as Executive Producer. As president of his production company, Wanderlust Entertainment, he is currently developing series for a variety of networks, producing PSAs and digital short-form films for a wide range of clients. In 2016, he started a small production company dedicated solely to making films about animal welfare and environmental issues and, to date, has made over 25 short films for the cause, including some animated shorts. Other film clients include adoption advocacy organizations, corporate clients, PBS, Nickelodeon, and others. Tom has also produced series and short-form films for History Channel, NBC, National Geographic Channel, Spike, Fox Sports, VH1, ABC Family, TLC, and others. He’s also a writer, essayist and comedic content creator. In 2013, his first book “Dogs With Old Man Faces” was published by Running Press.
Candice Marshall
Candice Marshall was the first student to earn a Ph.D. In Industrial and Computational Mathematics from Morgan State University. She also earned her B.S. and M.A. in Mathematics from the same institution. She was the recipient of the William H. Proctor prize for her research in mathematics. Her publications include Some Algebraic Structure of the Riordan Group which was published in the Linear Algebra and its Applications journal and Another Method of Constructing Pseudo-Involutions in the Riordan Group which was published in the Congressus Numeratum journal. She teaches Mathematics and Actuarial Science courses at Morgan State University. She enjoys making mathematics fun for her students.
Pietro Pinto
Pietro Pinto studied Art and Cultures at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. He has also studied at the Jerusalem SBF, the Sorbonne in Paris, the Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión de Cuba. In 2019 he completed his MFA at San Francisco State University Film School. In 2017, Pinto shot Rosita, presented at the Venice Film Festival within the I Love GAI program. In 2018 he directed the documentary Jerusalem In Between, presented at the Jerusalem Film Festival. His MFA graduate thesis film, Adam, will have its world premiere at the Venice International Critics’ Week in the fall of 2020. In addition, several still photos from his new short film, Icarus, will be featured at the Open Exhibit at the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco in the fall of 2020. Besides filmmaking, Pinto teaches in the Cinema Department of the San Francisco Film School. Learn more at pietropintofilms.com
Bryan Boyce
San Francisco native Bryan Boyce is a film and video artist whose work skewers American culture through appropriation and perversion of found footage. His work has screened at film festivals internationally.
Jesse Gonzalez
Writer, Director, Producer
As an independent filmmaker/content producer based in the East Bay, Jesse Gonzalez’s work includes high-end corporate videos, televised interviews and on-line video content for such clients as ForaTv, SquareVision Entertainment, HEAL Pilates, Pro-Video Productions, Destination America and many more. Recently shifting his focus from corporate videos to his true passion, storytelling and narrative film, Jesse launched NoFame Cinema in 2019 and his current project “In a Breath”, co-produced with Dandelion Wishes Productions is currently in post-production.
Brandon Hamilton
Director, Writer, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Actor
Brandon Hamilton is a multiple award winning director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor, and actor. In addition to instructing he runs 2 production companies. The first, Dark Wolf Films, has produced 5 feature length films as well as multiple shorts and music videos all made with micro budgets in addition to utilizing both former and current alumni. The second, Pro Video Productions, specializes in high-end corporate videos, televised interviews, and documentaries which garnered him the prestigious Emmy Award in 2010.
Morgan Butler
Morgan is a social media marketer, photographer, videographer, and creative director currently serving as the first-ever Digital Director for U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip, James E. Clyburn. In her current role, Morgan translates government policy in 280 characters or less and works to make politics a little more entertaining. She has garnered millions of impressions across the Whip’s social media platforms, created the first-ever podcast for a member of House leadership, and achieved hundreds of thousands of views on her original video content. Prior to working for Whip Clyburn, Morgan worked for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. In addition to her work on Capitol Hill, Morgan also fuels her love of sports by working as an in-house television director at the Capital One Arena for the Washington Wizards and Georgetown Hoyas.
She holds a Master of Communications degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Grambling State University. When she’s not working, Morgan enjoys watching horror movies, exploring the great outdoors, cooking, and spending time with her family and five pets.
Yoel Herzberg
French born, Tel Aviv based production designer Yoel Herzberg designed numerous feature films by award-winning directors such as Julian Schnabel’s MIRAL, Radu Michaelanu’s VA, VIS ET DEVIENS, Ziad Doueiri’s THE ATTACK, Yuval Adler’s THE OPERATIVE, Eran Riklis’s ZAYTOUN, DANCING ARABS and VULCAN JUNCTION, Guy Nattiv’s MABUL-THE FLOOD, Nadav Shirman’s THE GREEN PRINCE, Veronica Kedar’s FAMILY, Joseph Pitchadze’s BESAME MUCHO and Hani Abu Assad’s OMAR. Television projects he designed include Apple TV’s acclaimed series TEHRAN (Daniel Syrkin), WHEN HEROES FLY (Omri Givon) which won first prize in the 2018 Canneseries Festival and was picked up by Netflix, THE PROMISE (Peter Kosminski) for British Channel 4 and DIG (S.J. Clarckson) for USA Network. Yoel also designed Givon’s latest French-Israeli coproduction THE GRAVE, is currently working on Israeli/Palestinian writer and director Tawfik Abu Ziad’s series BEYOND THE FOREST (working title) and is scheduled to shoot the 2nd season of TEHRAN this summer. Yoel has been teaching production design for almost 20 years, has received numerous nominations and prizes for his work, is the co-owner of the Domaine Herzberg Winery which he runs with his father and is a human rights activist and journalist, focusing on refugee and minorities rights. Yoel serves on the Feature Film Commission of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television and is also a member of the European Film Academy.
Pamela Gray
Acting/Directing InstructorPamela J Gray received her MFA in theatre from The Yale School of Drama. For over two decades she has made her living as an actress in theatre, television and film. Pamela has worked in over 30 theaters throughout the country as well as lead roles on Broadway (including Butley, Present Laughter), in Television, (including Agent Amy Tyler on Sons of Anarchy, The Sinner, Law & Order), and Film (including Michael Clayton, The Devil’s Advocate, Carbon Canyon). Pamela has been teaching acting at the college level as well as private coaching for over ten years in NYC and in Los Angeles, She is thrilled to be a part of the San Francisco Film School team.
Steve Romanko
Audio InstructorSteve Romanko is a Writer, Sound Designer and all around artistic jackdaw, living and working in San Francisco and Los Angeles. His thirty years of experience in entertainment cover feature film work at Skywalker Sound through independent films & television. This work informs his two decades of arts education. Steve’s recent sound editorial work on the feature documentary ‘Mayor’ and Sundance Institute feature film ‘The Evening Hour’ are currently in theaters and streaming. Steve runs 13th Generation Productions and is busy developing a 2D animated television series, comic book series and podcast drama for the IP ‘The Dragons of Melgor’.
Charles Schner
Cinematography InstructorCharles Schner, cinematographer, has an illustrious career that spans over 30 years as a camera assistant, camera operator and director of photography. He has shot films for MGM, Sony, Warner Brothers and for Academy Award winning producer, Grey Frederickson. His feature film credits as 2nd unit director of photography and camera operator include Captain America: Civil War, Insurgent, Master and Commander, Zathura and The Big Lebowski. His television credits include American Horror Story, Glee, Salem, Medium, Invasion and The O.C. Charles taught as an Artist in Residence for two years at Five Towns College in New York and is now an adjunct associate professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Charles is excited to bring his practical experience to The San Francisco Film School and share his hard earned knowledge with his students. Charles Schner, cinematographer, has shot films for MGM, Sony, Warner Brothers and for Academy Award winning producer, Grey Frederickson. His feature film credits as 2nd unit director of photography and camera operator include Captain America: Civil War, Insurgent, Master and Commander, Zathura and The Big Lebowski. His television credits include American Horror Story, Glee, Salem, Medium, Invasion and The O.C
Michael A. Nickles
Directing/Producing InstructorMichael A. Nickles is an award-winning international filmmaker who has been an active part in the independent film industry for over twenty years. He began his career as a film student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where he graduated with top honors after receiving the school’s most prestigious filmmaking award, the merit-based WTC Johnson Fellowship. He went on to study with film director Cory Allen and legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner.
In addition to writing, directing, and/or producing over a dozen feature films, he also has extensive credits as an actor in feature films and television.
His latest feature, HOLLY STAR, which he wrote, directed, and produced is currently streaming on Netflix. Other films include: JUST PECK (starring Brie Larson), PLAYBACK (starring Christian Slater), the animated feature BUNYAN AND BABE (starring John Goodman), XII, the award-winning festival favorite, THIS IS NOT A FILM and the international golf drama SWING AWAY. As a cinematographer, he has worked on numerous documentaries, including the cult classic HANDS ON A HARDBODY, which Quentin Tarantino labeled as “one of the greatest documentaries ever made” and which went on to become a Broadway musical. Nickles is an Executive Producer of Heather Graham’s directorial debut, HALF MAGIC, and a proud member of both the WGA and SAG.
Russ Woody
TV Writing InstructorRuss Woody is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning television writer. He has written and produced Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Cybill, Becker, The Slap Maxwell Story, The Middle, and The Drew Carey Show, among other comedies. He has also written for Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere.
Andy Blumenthal
Editor
Andy began making shorts at UCLA Film School in 1974. He gravitated to the editing room, assisting on My Bodyguard, The Stuntman, Rabbit Test, and Diner. He continued for 30-plus years cutting feature films, television series, MOWs, documentaries and animation. He worked on Waiting For Guffman, Shocker, Tortilla Soup, Five Corners, The Natural, Waiting . . ., One Saturday Morning, My Babys Daddy, Mrs. Delafield Wants To Marry. On many of the shows he’d move between the editing room and directing 2nd unit. Inbetween jobs he began teaching editing at colleges in and around the Los Angeles area. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside.
Nandini Banerji
Bilingual physics faculty. I have taught physics at the University of Vigo in Spain for 10 years and at the Minnesota State Community and Technical College for 14 years. Recipient of the NISOD and the Minnesota BOT awards for teaching. Related to my Master’s and PhD thesis and also my post-doctoral research, I have a more than 25 publications in many areas of applied physics.
Val Kuklowsky
Postproduction Sound Supervisor in Hollywood for over 35 years with a long list of experiences (over 90 feature films and several TV series) bringing with him the knowledge of the relationship of Film and Sound, as well as the development of the sound design craft.
Responsible for TV shows such as Moonlighting in the 80’s and films such as Academy award nominated Independence Day in the 90’s, Academy Award winner U-571 in the millennium as well as a long list of releases covering genres across the spectrum.
Mr. Kuklowsky has recently devoted the last 5 years reflecting about his experiences and their relevance in today’s state of movie making. He has developed a lecture series that features the æsthetics and construction of the cinema soundscape experience.
All lectures were developed from experiences and personal professional philosophies and presented from a practical viewpoint.
Professionally, Mr Kuklowsky is very active in pursuing his own projects as well as consulting and mentoring.
Ed Horowitz
Screenwriting Instructor
Ed Horowitz received his M.F.A. from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. He has sold scripts to Warner Brothers, Touchstone, Universal, WB-TV, VH-1, and various independent producers. His feature film credits include “On Deadly Ground” and “Exit Wounds” for Warner Bros., “K-9 P.I.” for Universal Studios, and the independent film “Shark In A Bottle.” His feature “The Perfect Dress” is at Sony Studios. In Television, he adapted the novel “Faith In Carlos Gomez” for Lifetime, wrote the mini-series “Heaven Beneath the Desert” for Halmi/Hallmark International, multiple episodes of “La Femme Nikita,” and one-hour pilots for Fox Television Studios, TNT, Lifetime, Freeform, CBS. Ed has taught screenwriting at UCLA, USC, and Chapman University. He is also an ASCAP songwriter and plays guitar in several bands.
Jan Johnson Goldberger
Jan Johnson Goldberger is an award-winning filmmaker and alumna of the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. While at AFI she became the recipient of the production award administered by the Institute: The Martin Ritt Production Award, named in honor of the socially conscious director of the film, Norma Rae. Jan was also a recipient of a Women In Film Award.
Ms. Johnson’s thesis film, Shooter won the first Moon Basin Hatchfest award. This film went on to be licensed by Home Box Office and ran for two consecutive years on HBO. Jan’s first independent short directing effort, Stone Mansion was one of the Showtime Network’s Black Filmmakers Short film Showcase award winners. Stone Mansion was licensed to the Showtime Network in 2011 and ran on that network for 10 years. Stone Mansion was also licensed to (PBS) and aired in 45 PBS markets over the course of two years and the Black Entertainment Television network (BET) for several consecutive years.
Ms. Johnson is a recipient of a grant from the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media, to develop a feature- length documentary on a landmark racial discrimination case. Jan has worked with actor/comedian, Damon Wayans as part of his production staff. Ms. Johnson Goldberger has produced several short films for the Showtime Network, including the award-winning short, Pants in the Family. Most recently Jan was a participant in the Producers Guild of America’s Diversity Workshop. Currently, Jan is in pre- production on a slate of feature films and television series, including: Outlaw, a Western based on a true story, Hit the Switch, an urban hip-hop musical, and Tag, You’re It, a teen thriller feature script written by Robert Dorian that is planning to shoot in the Fall of 2022 in New Jersey.
Vincent Arcaro
COMMERCIAL PRODUCING & DIRECTING INSTRUCTORVincent moved to Hollywood in 1976 and started working as a messenger at Kaleidoscope Films, a major player in the motion picture marketing industry since it was started in 1968 by Andrew J. Kuehn. Vincent soon advanced to head of production at Kaleidoscope, where he met his future business partner Caleb Deschanel. After leaving Kaleidoscope, Vincent produced for filmmaker Joe Pytka and at Angel City Productions for Caleb Deschanel. In 1994, Arcaro and Deschanel formed Dark Light Pictures.
At Dark Light, Vincent produced content for influential brands including The Coca-Cola Company, Budweiser, The University of Southern California, Reebok, AT&T, UPS, Perrier, Nestle, Burger King, Paramount Pictures, and Martell Cognac.
Mary Cappelli, JD, PhD
Mary Cappelli is a graduate and interdisciplinary scholar from USC, UCLA, and Loyola Law School, where she studied anthropology, theater, film, television, law, and literature. She’s taught at Emerson College in Boston and Nevada State College, written for television, and won numerous Los Angeles Theatre Critic awards for her productions. She now mainly focuses on participatory research, advocacy, and political performance—leading to articles such as “Standing with Standing Rock: Affective Alignment and Artful Resistance at the Natives Nation Rise March,” “Black Lives Matter: The Emotional and Racial Dynamics of the George Floyd Protest Graffiti,” as well as numerous others. She’s a self-professed, curious nerd who loves to share her passion for film, literature, and theater.
Jessica Presley
Jessica is a political appointee on behalf of the Biden Administration’s White House for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where she handles digital content strategy for the Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA. Previously, she was the Director of Digital Strategy for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Digital Advisor to the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. She has ghost-written and designed content for nearly 20 campaigns and 200 Members of Congress. Jessica has led digital communications for offices in both the House and Senate on Capitol Hill, including two committees, one Senator, and both Impeachments against former President Donald John Trump. She is a founder of the Democratic Digital Communications Staff Association and the Bipartisan Digital Advocacy Caucus, an Advisory Board Member of the Digital Academy and Digital Masterclass, and the founder of Digital Day on the Hill, Cyber Day on the Hill, Digital Bootcamp, and Tech Talks.
Haley Williams
Hayley Williams is a BAFTA nominated, BIFA winning Producer from the UK. She developed an award winning music video department and a number of successful directors making videos for artists from Michael Kiwanuka to Lewis Capaldi before moving into more narrative work. She produced short film ‘CALVING’ directed by Louis Bhose which was awarded by Canal+. She also worked on Ben Reed’s Portrait Of Kaye which won Special Jury Prize at Sheffield Doc Fest and was acquired by Criterion Collection. Most recently Hayley was the co-producer of feature film FEMME, starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay which was produced by Agile Films, BBC Films and Anton off the back of the BAFTA winning short film which she also produced. Hayley was part of this year’s BFI Network Scheme at London Film Festival. She has a number of projects in development, and is most passionate about stories that are moving, thought provoking, and full of heart.
Autumn Dea
Autumn Dea is a film, television, and commercial editor based in Los Angeles, CA. Originally hailing from the Philadelphia PA area, Dea is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts. Dea’s unique editorial background has allowed her to work with a variety of high-profile artists and actors including; Beyonce, Lizzo, and Ewan McGregor. Her recent work on Netflix’s documentary series, ‘Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult’, directed by Derek Doneen, helped catapult the show to success with the series debuting at #1 in over 10 countries.
Her recent feature film ‘Bleeding Love’ (Vertical), directed by Emma Westenberg and starring Ewan McGregor and Clara McGregor, world premiered at SXSW 2023. The film quickly garnered industry praise and was chosen as one of the must-see films of the festival by Deadline’s SXSW 2023 Hot List. Previously, her feature film ‘Shithouse’ (IFC) directed by Cooper Raiff, won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW 2020 and was named Vanity Fair’s 10 Best Movies of 2020.
In addition to her narrative work, Dea also has a passion for documentary editing. Her documentary work includes feature films; ‘Love, Lizzo’ (HBO Max) directed by Doug Pray, ‘Trap Jazz’ (Hulu, Disney+) directed by Sadé Clacken Joseph, and “The Death of My Two Fathers” (PBS) directed by Sol Guy.
Michael Poryes
Michael Poryes is an Executive Producer, Showrunner, four time Emmy nominee, three time Kid’s Choice award winner, best known for creating Hannah Montana, That’s So Raven, and Raven’s Home. Currently, he is Executive Producing a new live action series he also created called, Home Sweet Rome, an International Co-Production that will soon air in The US market on MAX, May 16th. Before he ventured into creating his own series, Poryes was on the creative teams of Saved by the Bell, Veronica’s Closet, Cybill, amongst others, and was a Humanitas Award nominee for his work on Roseanne.
Jamie Lorente
Jamie Lorente is a first-generation Cuban American, veteran, and writer of poetry, prose, and scripts. She facilitates free writing workshops for veterans, in collaboration with Returning Veterans Project. She serves as the Writing Mentor at San Francisco Film School and co-teaches writing related courses. Lorente currently has work published in the anthology, My Teeth Don’t Chew on Shrapnel, including the poem, My Body is, which has been further discussed and reproduced in the upcoming book titled, Poetic Prosthesis: Trauma and Language in Contemporary Veterans’ Writing (Edinburgh University Press), by foreign linguistics professor, Ron Ben-Tovim. Her forthcoming book, My Father Is, will be available in 2025. Her current projects include multiple feature length scripts in phases of production.