producer/writer/director

Hanelle Culpepper is an award-winning director whose credits range from superhero action adventures to thrillers to character-driven dramas. Hanelle helmed the pilot for Star Trek: Picard, making her the first woman to launch a new Star Trek series in its 53-year history. She also helmed the pilots for Kung Fu and Anansi Boys.  Hanelle earned her B.A. from Lake Forest College and her M.A. from USC, but it was her selection for AFI's Directing Workshop for Women (DWW+) that launched her as an emerging director to watch. After directing independent features, Hanelle's television career took off when she participated in NBC Universal’s Directing Initiative. Her credits include Paradise, The Acolyte, Westworld,

Neuromancer, Matlock, NCIS:Origins, Parenthood, Sorry for Your Loss, Counterpart, Mayans M.C., American Crime, The Flash, Gotham, NOS4A2, S.W.A.T. and many more. Full credit list at IMDB

producer/writer/director

Amanda Sweikow is former Executive Director of Filmmakers Alliance and an award-winning writer/director with films such as, “That’s Not My Mother” (Beaufort International Film Festival, Garden State Film Festival), and “Plus or Minus: A Few Things I Thought I Should Consider” (Winner

Best Women’s Short Cleveland International Film Festival). She has also produced many films including, “My Last Day On Earth”, “Quetzal”, and “The Red Hourglass”. She most recently completed her second feature script “What Keeps You In”, and is currently working on the next one. She holds a B.A. in Cinema from San Francisco State University.

producer/writer/director

Jacques’ films include “Transaction" (Sundance Film Festival, Grand Prix du Jury Award, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival) and “The Dogwalker” (Los Angeles Film Festival, Best First Feature Film, Cinequest Film Festival, Best Cinematography, Ashland Independent Film Festival). In 1993, Jacques co-founded the global filmmaking community Filmmakers Alliance and created FA Productions in 2004. He was also Chief Community Officer of Withoutabox.com in 2005 and held that same post in 2018 at ConsciousGood.com. He was recently named Head of Production for the new streaming platform Menace TV. Jacques was a programming associate for the now defunct Los Angeles Film Festival since 2011 and has been an advisor, board member, programmer, juror or invited speaker at numerous film-related organizations and events.

writer/director

Jessica Janos has recently directed Suburban Swingers Club and Seduced for Lifetime as well as the award winning film she wrote and directed, Prettyface, a coming-of-age thriller starring Karsen Liotta, Annalise Basso and Patrick Schwarzenegger, produced by Academy-Award winner Fred Roos. She has also directed several music videos including Acid Waves for Pale Blue, From The Lotus for Prince and the recently released Do You Really Want to Hurt Me by Jesika von Rabbit. Her recent commercial work includes the Dr. Jaime Rutland interview with Grammy-Award winning musician Raphael Saadiq for Nike and a multi-spot campaign for The California Ballet. She is currently writing several screenplays, including a Henry Miller biopic she is co-writing with fellow director Gabriela Tollman. Janos began as a painter and photographer, where she was accepted into CalArts School of Fine Arts at the age of 16. She later went on to earn her BA in Film from the University of New South Wales in Sydney and her MFA in Directing at the AFI Conservatory.

writer/director

Deborah Lemen (Elizabeth) has worked 25 years in the entertainment industry and is a working actor, teacher, writer, director and producer who is established in both New York and Southern California.  Deborah has developed a well-known reputation as an actor, appearing in over 50 plays in both New York and Los Angeles and in film, working opposite Rob Schneider, Seth Rogan, Patrick Swayzzee and others. Film Credits include DEUCE BIGELO, POINT BREAK, WHISTLESTOP GIRL, A SECRET THING, written by MALIA SCOTCH MARMO with Griffin Dunn, and Judd Apetow's “Pineapple Express”, directed by David Gordon Green. 

director

George Zaverdas started as a drama major at the H.S of Performing Arts in NYC and is a graduate of the Califoria Institute of the Arts. George has since worked 26 years in the entertainment industry, starting in film market research test screenings for Nielsen, NRG, Ipsos, MPG & Indee.tv. George has directed and written numerous award-winning shorts such as “David And Goliath” which won audience awards all over the world including Manhattan Fest, Palm Springs Shortsfest and the LA Jewish Film Festival. “Unspoken”, his 2nd short film, won Best Dramatic Short at the St. Lawrence Int. Film Festival. George has also directed music videos and is currently shooting a documentary.

writer/director

Gabriela Tollman (Marie) is a native of Johannesburg, South Africa and holds a BFA from U.C.L.A.'s theater and film department, and an MFA from David Lynch’s Screenwriting Program at Maharishi University. She has directed over ten short films; which have played in festivals worldwide including; The Cannes Short Film Corner and The Sundance Film Festival. Several of her films have aired on television networks including HBO. Her first feature film titled "Somebody's Mother" was released theatrically in October 2017 to rave reviews. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Somebody's Mother tackles a terrible loss and its aftermath with knowing empathy." "Somebody's Mother" is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Tollman recently directed the short film LOVELY, co-wrote a feature about writer Henry Miller, and is attached to direct the award-winning screenplay titled APART.

writer/director

Shaz Bennett (Joy) Shaz’s debut feature film ALASKA IS A DRAG, that she wrote & directed was highlighted as one to watch in Vogue, Filmmaker and OUT magazine. Winning best feature film and Jury awards for Best Director at New Filmmakers LA, Leeds, Chattanooga, Urbanworld and the Smithsonian African American Film Festival among others. Bennett's first television writing job was on THE GLADES on A&E. She later joined the writing team for UnREAL on Lifetime and produced the popular spin off THE FAITH DIARIES. Shaz currently writes on the police procedural BOSCH on Amazon and directed on Ava Duvernay's QUEEN SUGAR on the Oprah Winfrey Network, currently on Showtime’s BILLIONS.

writer/director

Elyse Couvillion (Janae) Elyse’s film school took place on the sets of big-budget and independent features and commercials. After working in the

live-action visual effects unit at Lucasfilm, she worked camera on studio features where she could first-hand observe Academy Award and ASC award winning directors and cinematographers at work. She soon after began making her own short films and - from the whimsically experimental to existentially ironic - her short films have screened at every major film festival, and broadcast, screened and streamed in the US and internationally. 

Her Sundance award-winning short film “Sweet” is still being used as a teaching example film schools all over the United States. She’s currently she's in post production on her first documentary, “Steel Soul”, an exploration into the strong attachments humans can have for their automobiles and what this means as AI and robotics become more integrated into our lives.

writer/director

Cain DeVore (Davey) is the co-writer and Executive Producer of “Cold Brook”, the directorial debut of renowned actor William Fichtner. Other features include “Interstate 5” (Producer & Lead Actor) and “Sand Trap” (Associate Producer). Cain co-wrote and directed the award winning short film “Mitzi & Joe” and produced the short film “Melancholy Baby”. He also co-directed the short form documentary “Pablo Ferro – Untitled”. “Home”, a short that he co-directed and co-shot won the Canon SHOOTOUT filmmaking competition. Cain has shot, edited, produced and/or directed numerous dance videos for renowned dance choreographers such as Nicole Berger and Doriana Sanchez as well as shooting and edited music videos for the bands Black Windmill and the Swedish Jam Factory. He is also the Cinematographer on the web series “Tales of the Universe”. Cain teaches all levels of BFA Acting for the Camera, Dance Senior Reels and Kinetic Storytelling at AMDA as well as directs and edits AMDA Narrative Short and Dance Concert Films.