Kim is a Seattle-based Filmmaker and Producer with over 20 years of experience in video production, specializing in live-action broadcast commercials, digital media, and corporate videos. She is also the writer and producer of “Emotional Tourist: Raising a New Generation” a short film that explores how we can increase peace and create nurturing, creative spaces for future generations. She thinks deeply about peace, what it means and what it takes to build a sustainable peace, so in 2014, Kim founded an innovative mentoring program called Across the Bridge, which recently won the Creative Economy Contest at the Seattle Film Summit. She envisions a world where, together, we can safely go "Across the Bridge" to explore and create opportunities in the film, music, and creative industries, and most importantly, help young people develop their own creative agency to share their stories with the world!

As a middle child of Nigerian immigrants, Ogugua has lived a life shaped and informed by a myriad of perspectives and experiences that he enjoys capturing on film. He currently has a role within corporate finance and strategy, however in the past he’s also worked as a line cook, has led mentorship programs, and more recently as a scientist making life-saving medicine. An alumnus of UC Berkeley and UCLA, Ogugua spends his free time taking photos and taking his car to the racetrack.

Frank is an advertising art director and creative director who has developed campaigns for top brands in all media, including the production of dozens of TV commercials and web films. Over the past 20+ years, he has earned every notable industry award for his work, including the Cannes Gold Lion, The One Show, ADDY, ANDY, Clio, and Communication Arts. In 2008, Frank established Square Tomato, a creative practice dedicated to solving marketing problems in unexpected ways. He specializes in film direction, motion design, and visual effects.

Alan was a commercial video editor for much of his career. He founded World Famous in 2005 as a creative editorial and design studio. Since then Alan has grown World Famous into a full-service advertising agency and production studio. A vocal proponent of the creative economy, Alan has been on the Mayor's Economic Development Commission and is the Vice-Chair of Washington Filmworks, the managing organization of Washington's Motion Picture Competitiveness program. Alan also loves being a father and mashing up found-sounds into sonic wonders and infectious grooves.

Executive Director | Arts Integrated

Philip (he/him) is an award-winning filmmaker and educator with numerous short films screened at festivals worldwide. In 2015, Philip received his BA at Columbia College Chicago in Cinema Arts. After undergrad, he lived in Los Angeles, where he worked on numerous TV shows and movies. After switching his focus to education, Philip has taught various media education programs around the country. In 2020, he completed an MFA in Film + Media Arts, focusing on media education at Emerson College. Currently, Philip serves as the Executive Director of Arts Integrated, a nonprofit he founded to enhance education by creating tools for K-12 teachers to inspire art-based learning.

Visual and Performing Arts Program Director | Syracuse University Los Angeles Semester (SULA)

Anna Proulx was most recently the Director of Admissions for the American Film Institute Conservatory, a top ranked masters film program. She has an extensive background in both arts and higher education management. Previously, Anna managed the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, creatively supporting and working with international and domestic documentary filmmakers. Anna’s passion lies in finding, developing and supporting future storytellers through education – formerly at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and currently at AFI.

Film Community Manager | Seed&Spark

Bri Castellini is the Film Community Manager for Seed&Spark, a graduate-level adjunct professor for digital media, an independent filmmaker, and, regrettably, a podcaster. She's known for the 2017 short film Ace and Anxious (writer/director, 150k views on YouTube) and for her podcasts Burn, Noticed and Breaking Out of Breaking in, covering the USA television show Burn Notice and practical filmmaking advice, respectively. She has been described by collaborators as a "human bulldozer" and is honestly kind of flattered.

Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief | Directors Notes

MarBelle is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of independent film curation and interview platform Directors Notes. Since its formation in 2006 DN has been regarded as one of the web's leading curatorial platforms for independent film, working with filmmakers to create in-depth feature articles which reveal the painstaking development and production stories behind their award winning work for a worldwide audience of industry professionals, festival curators and dedicated film fans.

Venue Eduction Manager | BFI

Noel has been the Director of the BFI Future Film Festival since 2008 until 2019 and run a variety of programmes and events at BFI for 16-25 years old including London Film Festival and Flare Film Festival Education strand, as well as monthly Labs and regular BFI Scene screenings of young people’s films. He is currently the BFI Venue Education manager looking after funds for venues across the UK to programme events and opportunities for young people. He is particularly interested in supporting the talent development of young aspiring filmmakers, and supporting them to produce new work.

Producer // VP of Sales & Distribution | Vanishing Angle

Benjamin Wiessner is a producer and VP of Sales & Distribution at Vanishing Angle. He was named to Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Indie Film in 2012 as part of ornana films, where he began producing and distributing shorts and features with partners across the world. He has produced short films in both hand-drawn animation and live action, with awards at festivals including SxSw and Sundance. He has also worked on numerous features with premieres at Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, Cannes, and Tribeca, including producing and self-distributing THUNDER ROAD (SxSw 2018 Grand Jury Prize). He consults, mentors, and consoles numerous early career filmmakers. Raised by educators, he frequently speaks about filmmaking, distribution, and film marketing at film schools, festivals, and conferences from Cannes to Kazakhstan. In 2018, he co-founded the Short to Feature Filmmaking Lab and in 2020 he helped launch the Vanishing Angle Post Grant for short filmmakers.

Festival Director of Children’s Film Festival Seattle | Northwest Film Forum

Kendra Ann Sherrill brings her strong passion for film and youth to her role as the Festival Director for the Children’s Film Festival Seattle, which is the largest festival on the Wet Coast dedicated to children’s films. She is also the Editor of the award-winning local children’s television series Look, Listen, and Learn and enjoys making films for youth as a filmmaker herself. Her excitement for fostering film in the community has lead her to serve on boards for organizations such as the Spokane International Film Festival, the Spokane Film Project, Terrain Arts and now the NFFTY Industry Advisory Board!

Director of Programs, Media Arts Lab | Jacob Burns Film Center

As Director of Programs, Media Arts Lab, Sean leads the growth, overall strategic vision, and wildly talented staff of the education program and Creative Culture–an artist support program for emerging and established filmmakers guided by a philosophy of inclusion and collaboration. Sean's work in media literacy has received support from the MacArthur Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities as well invitations to share work with the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities through Turnaround Arts. Since 2016, Creative Culture’s fellowship program has produced short films steadily selected at film festivals like Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW with acquisitions by Criterion, Fox Searchlight, POV, and other reputable outlets. In support of feature films, Creative Culture’s residency program is curated in partnership with sister organizations like Black Public Media, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and Sundance Institute.

Creative Economy Advocate | City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture and Office of Economic Development

Alex Rose brings her passions for music, culture, and community to her work at the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture and Office of Economic Development. As Creative Economy Advocate, Alex connects young people to creative careers, supports the Seattle Music Commission, and brings creative entrepreneurs together to network and access resources. Additionally, through this role she has been a lead team member for Film Career Day, co-produced in partnership with NFFTY. With a background in digital marketing (including roles at SIFF and the YMCA of Greater Seattle), Alex is drawn to the magic that happens at the intersection of creativity and technology. She is also a singer and bandleader (The Pazific), thrift store hawk, and mom.

Senior Manager, Ignite | Sundance Institute

Toby Brooks is the Senior Manager of Sundance Institute's Sundance Ignite Program, which cultivates and supports a new generation of filmmakers. Brooks has worked for Sundance Institute for over 8 years, first as the Assistant to the Director of the Sundance Film Festival. From 2012-2017, Brooks was a member of the Emerging Leaders Council at Outfest, an Los Angeles film non-profit that promotes LGBT equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBT stories on the screen. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, he received his B.A. from UCLA.

Academy Manager & Mentor | BAYCAT

Azul M. Quetzalli is a first generation Mexican artist and educator residing in unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. Her creative work ranges from narrative illustration to graphic design, and centers around themes of identity, heritage. Azul's passion also lies in education and trauma-informed restorative practices. She currently works as Program Manager at BAYCAT Academy, a non-profit organization that educates and employs youth and young adults facing economic barriers and who aspire to bring meaningful change and representation to the media industry.

Founder | A Creative

Matt Cici is a brand strategist, educator, and award-winning filmmaker and actor based in Minneapolis, MN. In 2007, Matt founded A Creative to empower creatives to pursue their passions and foster youth education. Since then, he has created online platforms to provide youth with more opportunities for equitable access to resources and funding, including at Twin Cities Film Fest and Project Legacy. He received his BA in Film Studies and Communication Studies from Hamline University. Matt has enjoyed working with organizations like Catalyst Stories, Institute of Production and Recording, Headwaters Entertainment, Duluth Superior Film Festival, among several exciting nonprofits. For fun, he likes playing soccer, biking year-round, beta testing apps, and traveling with family.

Education Manager | SIFF

Megan Garbayo López is the Education Manager at SIFF, where she cultivates new and deepens existing audiences with education through filmmaking and film appreciation experiences. Megan previously worked as Outreach and Education Manager for Three Dollar Bill Cinema, where they managed the Reel Queer Youth filmmaking program. Megan is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter with a passion for changing hearts and minds by building community through film. A true child of the West, Megan grew up in Texas, California, and Oregon before receiving their B.A. at Emerson College in Boston. Megan has also trained on attachment with the BBC in London with a focus on factual television production. Megan’s passions in life are closing the arts access gap in underserved communities and promoting media created for and by young people.