Abby Sun is an artist, film programmer, and researcher at the MIT Open Documentary Lab, where she is a graduate student in Comparative Media Studies and edits Immerse. Abby has bylines in Film Comment, Filmmaker Magazine, Film Quarterly, Hyperallergic, and other publications. She has served on juries for Palm Springs, New Orleans, CAAMfest, and DOC NYC, as well as nominating committees for the Gotham Awards, Cinema Eye, and IDA Documentary Awards. Abby has reviewed applications for the NEA, SFFILM, Center for Asian American Media, LEF Foundation, Sundance Catalyst, If/Then Shorts, and spoken on and facilitated panels at TIFF, NYFF, and other film festivals. Her latest short film, “Cuba Scalds His Hand” (co-directed with Daniel Garber), premiered at Maryland Film Festival in 2019. Most recently, Abby is the Curator of the DocYard and co-curated My Sight is Lined with Visions: 1990s Asian American Film & Video with Keisha Knight. She previously was senior editor of Nat. Brut and programm

Alanna Francis (she/her) is a queer Black womxn of color living in WA State. Follows her passion and greatest impact while rooted in interconnectedness and the spectrums of her identities. To evolve communities, people, and organizations past their plateau of checking diversity boxes to infiltrating with *holistic intentions integrations of systems meant to retain folx and create foundational change. Invested in uplifting our communities through authentic intentional relationships and aligned values & morals. Regardless of societal pressures and implications maintain alignment within themselves, throughout their businesses, and lives. Our magic is always within, what narrative is preventing you from swirling in it?

"Born on a military base in Madrid, Spain, Alyx Picard Davis lived in California, Wisconsin, and New York before her ninth birthday in Oklahoma City. She started at deadCenter Film as a volunteer in 2006 and currently serves as the organization’s Executive Director following eight years on the operations and programming sides of their annual Festival. Alyx previously worked amongst future rock stars at the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a proud graduate of UCO, where she received her BA in English-Creative Studies and served on the Alumni Association board. A charter member and current vice president of Exchange Rotary, Alyx also regularly contributes to several community organizations that focus on art, education, journalism, and placemaking. She currently serves as vice chair on the Board of Directors for the Film Festival Alliance, an international collaborative community of festival professionals."

From 2016 – 2020, Andria was the Executive Director of Inside Out, Canada’s largest LGBTQ film festival. She led Inside Out through a period of transformative growth that included establishing the world’s only LGBTQ Film Financing Forum, and the launch of two film funds – RE:Focus, which distributes more than $50,000 annually to queer women, trans and non-binary filmmakers, and the OUTtv Documentary Fund. Andria spearheaded a 4-year partnership commitment between Inside Out and Netflix that directly supports the development of LGBTQ filmmakers. Named ‘one of 15 Canadian women to watch’ by the CBC, Andria has been a featured speaker at festivals and conferences including SXSW, TIFF, Berlin’s European Film Market, Outfest, Greece’s Outview, Oslo Fusion, and the Iris Prize Producer’s Forum. She is a mentor in Soho House’s international Open House Mentorship Program and a member of Telefilm’s diversity and inclusion advisory.

Anne Chaisson, Executive Director of HamptonsFilm (home of the Hamptons International Film Festival) since 2012, founded the Advisory Board and served as co-chair for a decade. Chaisson began her career in the independent film world as a film producer garnering awards with feature films ROGER DODGER, P.S. and DIGGERS. Chaisson is a member of New York Women in Film and Television, the IFP, a founding member of the Film Festival Alliance, and has served on film festival juries and panels all over the world.

Director of Development, Montclair Film Aran has worked with Montclair Film on grants and sponsorship since spring 2011 before stepping up as Director of Development in July 2014 where she is responsible for developing plans for and overseeing all fundraising including government and foundations grants, sponsorship, membership and fundraisers and special events. Her professional consulting business, Smart Grants Fundraising (2009-2015) specialized in securing new sources of corporate, foundation and government for arts and cultural organizations. She has 20+ years of expertise in fundraising for the arts and developing comprehensive fundraising plans for nonprofit organizations, including past posts at the Montclair Art Museum and other museums in California, as well as developing and supporting past fundraising efforts for local nonprofits including Morris Arts, Human Needs Food Pantry, and Van Vleck House and Gardens among many others.

Ashley O’Shay is a DP and documentarian based in Chicago, IL, whose work focuses on illuminating marginalized voices. She has produced work for national brands, including Lifetime, Ford Motor Company, Boost Mobile, KQED, and Dr. Martens. Most recently, she filmed the final episode of Dr. Martens' "Tough As You" series, starring the band Phony Ppl, accruing over 65K views on social and web. In 2019, she co-produced the Chicago episode of KQED’s award-winning series “If Cities Could Dance,” which became one of their most viewed episodes to date. Her work also appeared in the critically-acclaimed Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly. She recently premiered her debut feature, Unapologetic, a deep look into the Movement for Black Lives in Chicago, through the experiences of two young, Black queer women. The film premiered at the 2020 BlackStar Film Festival, and is shortlisted for the 2020 International Documentary Association Awards.

I am one of the partners of the Texas Theatre. In a normal year, I handle the bar operations, event coordinating and rentals. In 2020 I became more involved in the day-to-day, staff relations and pandemic survival. I am also Festival Producer for the Oak Cliff Film Festival and handle multiple admin operations.

Bears Rebecca Fonté is a transgender filmmaker, festival programmer, and journalist. She founded Other Worlds Film Festival after two years as the Director of Programming for Austin Film Festival. She also programs midnighters for SF Indiefest and consult on festivals around the country. Her short, ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, was selected for 70 festivals including Fantasia International Film Festival, Dances With Films, Sci-Fi London and Boston SciFi. Other shorts CONVERSION THERAPIST, PRENATAL, THE SECRET KEEPER and SMURF #47 played at a combined 100 festivals. Bears Rebecca was a producer on Sundance Jury-Award Winning short THE PROCEDURE and the documentaries CLOSER THAN WE THINK and ARTIST DEPICTION. Her feature thriller iCRIME, which they wrote and directed, was released on DVD by Breaking Glass in 2011.

Benjamin Wiessner is a producer and distributor, serving as Vanishing Angle's VP of Sales and Distribution. 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 self-distributing shorts and features with broadcast partners across the world, including Canal+ and PBS. He has produced over a dozen short films in both hand-drawn animation and live action, with awards at festivals including SxSw and Sundance. He has also worked on a dozen features, including producing THUNDER ROAD (SxSw 2018 Grand Jury Prize). He consults, mentors, and consoles numerous early career filmmakers. Raised by educators, he frequently speaks about creation, distribution, and film marketing at film schools, festivals, and conferences. In 2018, he co-founded the Short to Feature Filmmaking Lab.

Beth has been with SIFF since 2003, and is responsible for managing the artistic vision of SIFF, including all aspects of film programming, the staff of film programmers, and both the 25 day Film Festival as well as SIFF Cinema’s 5 year-round screens and the SIFF Education team. She secured SIFF’s status as an Academy Award® qualifying festival for short film in 2008. Before starting at SIFF in 2003, Beth worked with the Sydney Film Festival, as a programming assistant. In addition to her daily work in programming, Beth has served on juries and panels in Palm Springs, Park City, Cleveland, Calgary, Vancouver BC and Berlin, Germany.

Beth Gilligan relocated to Boston in 2009 to join the Coolidge Corner Corner Theatre Foundation, where she currently serves as the Director of Development & Marketing and oversees the national Science on Screen grant initiative (funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation). Prior to that, she worked for several years for the Hamptons International Film Festival. Beth has a M.A. in film studies from the University of East Anglia.

As Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement at Full Spectrum Features, he’s charged with making sure its films are supported with powerful, attention-grabbing social impact campaigns and appearance in film festivals, educational institutions, and community organizations. Brian earned his MFA in Creative Producing at DePaul University in Chicago and his BA in Digital Journalism and Communication, Media, and Film at the University of Windsor in Canada. He has produced educational PSAs, a horror film in VR, an episode of Land and Sea for CBC, and a documentary shot in Canada, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. He also adapted a novel into a film and produced films that played at festivals such as Cleveland International FF and HBO's NY Latino Film Festival.

Brighid Wheeler has been (willingly) held captive in the film festival world for most of her adult life. Having run the gamut from volunteer to THE ‘Queen B’ (nickname earned as Festival Coordinator), she currently serves as the Senior Programmer for the Indie Memphis Film Festival. Outside of the festival, you’ll most likely find her mentoring, guiding and encouraging the filmmakers in Memphis. She often attributes this as her main source of inspiration and what continues to drive her work at Indie Memphis. Brighid has served on countless juries and panels at festivals and conferences across the country and considers each experience an honor as it allows her the opportunity to support our current and next generation of storytellers.

Bryan Glick is just your typical non-binary gay agnostic Jew. They are a film sales and collaborative distributor focusing on prestige films for underserved communities via their company GQue Films. Their current lineup includes award-winning films from 2020's Tribeca ("The Last Out"), Heartland ("La Dosis") and Hot Docs Film Festivals ("Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story"). They have spoken about creative approaches to distribution at festivals/markets around the world such as Sundance, SXSW, Outfest, Hot Docs, Bogota Audiovisual Market, and Doc Edge NZ.

Carlos Corral is a Texas filmmaker with true grit. With more than 13 years of experience working on a variety of high-profile television, documentary and feature film productions, he is among the most prolific personalities in the Texas film scene. Known mostly as a location sound mixer, his credits include producer, director, and editor — just to name a few.

Carrie Richer is the Artistic Director of three film festivals at the Roxy Theater, Missoula Montana’s celebrated community cinema. Richer heads the teams for the 44-year-old International Wildlife Film Festival each Spring and manages/ programs the smaller Montana Film Festival and Kiddomatic children’s film festival in the Fall. Carrie has an MFA from San Francisco State in Cinema, a BA from Bates College in Dance and Anthropology, and continues to create dance films which have made their own festival rounds this past fifteen years. Carrie’s many years of programming experience have vacillated between film and interdisciplinary arts in theaters, performing arts centers, galleries, and through nonprofit organizations. Carrie directed operations for Jackson Hole Wild Media Awards, conference and film competition from 2007-2011 before designing and beginning the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts Creative Initiatives Residency program in 2016. Carrie moved to Missoula, MT in 2018 and was