Michelle Askew
Michelle Askew is a writer/director/actor born and bred in Staten Island, New York where Sunday dinners felt like a firehouse and storytelling consisted of shouting at the dinner table. She was most recently a staff writer on the upcoming third season of Netflix’s GINNY & GEORGIA. Her comedy feature, HOT GIRL SUMMER, was the Overall Winner of the 2020 LaunchPad Feature Competition, and subsequently a 2021 Blacklist selection. Her short film which she wrote and directed, GAY-ISH, led by an entirely female crew, won the 2023 Best LGBTQ+ Short Film Award at the Burbank International Film Festival. She also directed the one woman show, PIPING HOT through the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it claimed four stars from BroadwayWorld and The Scotsman. Michelle creates stories that explore what it means to be a woman today through a comedic lens because if you don’t laugh at it, you’ll never get through it! A voice once described as “Gen-Z chaos” Michelle’s vision balances the passion and fury of a teenage girl with the forgiveness and hindsight of her mother. She hopes to continue writing, directing, and acting, because she’d have to move back to Staten Island and become a firefighter if it doesn’t work out. She holds a BFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California and is currently repped by Artists First and United Talent Agency.
Michael Budd
Michael Hamish Budd is an Australian film actor, director, and producer. Michael received nationwide International and international press as the Director/Producer for Rubys Choice, starring Jane Seymour OBE and Jacqueline McKenzie.
Michael has Directed Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and ACCTA Award Winners. He is best known as an actor for playing the Zion Controller In Matrix 2-3 and Esmael alongside Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Bruce Willis, and Sigourney Weaver in The Cold Light of Day.
Michael is the first Australian born of African American descent to direct, produce and star in a feature film in Australia. Owner of Amazing People Pictures On the 7th of March 2022, Ruby’s Choice premiered in Santa Barbara, California, at the 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where it was Nominee for Best International Feature Film.
At the Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF) on September 24,2023, Michael Budd led ‘Ruby’s Choice’ to triumph in two significant categories, winner of Best Foreign Film and Best Feature Film. The prestigious event, attended by a star-studded audience, coincided with the honouring of the legendary filmmaker Tim Burton. Despite massive logistics deviations, production cuts, and an entire state change for filming, all in the middle of the pandemic, Michael Budd demonstrated incredible strength, fearless leadership, and overwhelming resilience to see the Ruby's Choice completion.
Other notable films In 2013, he directed, produced and Starred in "Love of My Life", Michael again directs, produces and stars in "Enter Sanctum", a Sci-Fi due to release in 2024
Michael is fast proving himself to be one of Australia's leading independent filmmakers.
David O'Leary
David O'Leary is a film and TV writer/producer, whose recent credits include working as Consulting Producer/Writer on Season 3 of NBC’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime". O’Leary also Created and Executive Produced the UFO drama series “Project Blue Book” starring Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”), which Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis also Executive Produced. "Project Blue Book" ran on HISTORY for two seasons, aired in over 165 countries, and was the #1 new cable drama series of 2018/19. O’Leary has since sold projects to TNT, Miramax, Universal TV, A+E Studios and others. As a film producer, he co-produced the reality-hopping sci-fi thriller feature “Parallel” (2020) released by Vertical Entertainment, and the Netflix supernatural hit film “Eli” (2019), both available on streaming now.
Joe Camareno
Joe Camareno is an American entertainment professional who hails from Los Angeles. He is also a multi-award-winning producer, writer, director, and a producing partner and co-owner of Brodiaea Pictures, Inc. He was nominated for a 2019 Imagen Award in the Best Actor category for Tin Holiday, alongside Antonio Banderas, Andy Garcia, and Anthony Ramos.
He co-created and produced the multi-award-winning limited series, Linked by Love; directed four of the six episodes. The single-camera series stars Michelle N. Carter (Mass, The Rookie: Feds, The Goldberg’s) and Shirley Jordan (Abbot Elementary, Most Wanted Santa, S.W.A.T.). The limited series is currently enjoying a successful run on the streamers. Prior to that, he was the series director for the highly regarded and nominated digital series, Sister President, as well as the educational digital series Fixing Paco, starring Paul Rodriguez. Joe’s work on “Paco” lead to him taking Best Director honors at the 2012 Reel Rasquache Film and Art Festival, and the series went on to receive a 2013 People’s Telly Silver Award for Best Program or Webisode, in addition to several 2013 and 2014 Imagen Award nominations, Joe was also the series director and producer for the 2010 Imagen Award-winning web series Ylse.
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With a solid background in theater, and live show production, Joe has produced and directed a number of original plays at theater companies across Los Angeles, including the critically acclaimed Lost Angeles at the Lillian Theater in Hollywood. As a writer of educational children’s shows, Joe co-wrote The Environmental Defenders, produced by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW), as a touring production for the Los Angeles County elementary schools from 1995 to 2005. Praised for its merits by educators and a fast favorite among students, The Environmental Defenders won numerous awards, including the 1999 Productivity & Quality Award of Los Angeles County; the 1999 PRSA Prism Award; a 2001 Telly Award; the 2000 National Association of Counties Achievement Award; and the 2000 Association of Visual Communicators Award of Distinction.
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As an actor, Joe has a career spanning 30 years in front of the camera, having performed in more than 400 TV commercials and over 600 radio spots. He has been a campaign actor for Farmers Insurance and AT&T, as well as the campaign voice for Homeland Security, White Castle, Burger King, Taco Bell, CitreShine Shampoo, and most recently, NutriBullet Rx. He has guest-starred on many hit television shows, including memorable recurring roles on The Shield and Unfabulous. Film roles include Alone Time, Expired, Tin Holiday, and Edith & Harvey.
​His latest directed feature film Tin Holiday has garnered multiple nominations and wins including Best Director, Best Comedy, and Best Story all across the globe. Tin also secured distribution with Here Media for on-demand showing on their Here TV network and for streaming on AppleTV, GooglePlay, Amazon Prime, and VUDU. He is attached to direct 3 horror films starting 2025 in Australia and Canada, the first being a novel he adapted for the screen, Dark and Broken Things by John Mulhall.
Matt Harry
Matt Harry is a writer, director, and editor. He has edited over 25 books, published four novels, created two immersive plays, and written for film and television. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two boys.
Kat Conner Sterling
​Kat Conner Sterling was born and raised in Memphis, TN. She fell in love with acting when she began performing in local theatre at age 10. She ventured into film and television in 2019 as she began acting in notable shows such as Marvel's The Gifted, Fox's 9-1-1, and Fox's The Resident. She went on to win her first feature film role as a lead (Presley Borvsky) in Netflix's A Week Away after sending in a self tape for a national open call. Producers and casting loved her audition so much that she booked straight from tape without a callback. She went on to perform in other major features such as Netflix's We Have a Ghost, starring alongside Cheryl Hines in the indie feature Popular Theory, and most notably as Max in the Universal/Blumhouse blockbuster film Five Nights at Freddy's.
Jes Macallan
Jes Macallan's acting career is extensive, including upwards of 130 episodes as a lead in different episodic series and films. Before her series regular role in the superhero show, DC's Legends of Tomorrow (Netflix), Macallan starred in ABC's hit drama series, Mistresses (Hulu). A few of her other numerous television credits include The Company You Keep, Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS: LA, and Justified. She also starred in the pilot Crash and Burn, executive produced by Tony Hawk as well as the miniseries Relationship Status, executive Produced by Milo Ventimiglia which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival with critical accolades.
As an episodic director she has directed while simultaneously acting in episodes of the VFX/SPFX packed DC's Legends of Tomorrow. She has also gone on to direct on the legal drama All Rise for OWN, as well as multiple episodes of All American and the spinoff show All American: Homecoming for Netflix. In the fall she is slated to direct an episode of the hit NBC show, Found.
Early on in her acting career she was inclined to pursue her ever-present passion for directing and she began shadowing veteran directors she admired. In 2016, with a non-existent budget, she wrote, produced, and directed her short film Self, E as a directorial sample piece. Upon submission to a few select festivals, the film was accepted and well received. The Dances with Films Festival held a screening of the short at the famous TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The film, as well a cohesive application, secured Macallan's admittance to the highly competitive Warner Bros. Television Directors Workshop. She is a proud graduate of the class of 2019.
Macallan's passion for storytelling as a director (and actor) thrives with a deep and meaningful character driven script. Her performance background affords her a profound understanding of character exploration on screen which is reflective in her process as a filmmaker. Her extensive experience in television, in front and behind the camera, has also afforded her the understanding and importance of communication, budget comprehension, and effective time management.
Macallan's artistic journey in the performing arts started early as she began dancing at the age of three. She studied classically into her 20's, with a rigorous syllabus including modern, jazz, ballet, pointe, tap and musical theater, with a well rounded focus on all forms of dance and expression. Throughout her decades of classical training she participated in master classes with legends such as Luigi, Mia Michaels, and Eddy Toussaint. She studied endless variations of dance techniques including Fosse, Graham, Ailey, Tharpe, Cunningham, and Balanchine to name a few. While her artistic expression and performance goals were fulfilled on stage though movement, the rigorous training caused early injuries. She made the difficult decision to continue dancing while in college, but not to pursue dance professionally.
She earned a bachelors degree in Business Administration, with a focus on International Marketing from the University of Florida. During her studies she traveled to Europe often, immersing herself in her passions for European culture and language, especially Italian. Her degree includes a study abroad term at the prestigious Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Although it wasn't a grand passion, while on her academic path she was grateful to be able to take the opportunity she was offered to model in Miami, New York, and Milan. She later studied acting in Los Angeles, but yearned for a more comprehensive drama program. She relocated to New York City to attend the highly regarded, Meisner intensive acting program, at the conservatory-based Maggie Flanigan Studio.
Nic Bishop
Australian actor NIC BISHOP has enjoyed an almost 30 year career that has spanned Television, Film, and Theater.
He is perhaps best known to International audiences for his starring role in the ABC network crime drama BODY OF PROOF, as a medical investigator, opposite Dana Delaney, for three seasons, and also his starring role in the USA network original international spy drama COVERT AFFAIRS, playing an ex navy seal turned private contractor. He had a recurring role on season one of the Apple drama series TRUTH BE TOLD, opposite Octavia Spencer, Aaron Paul, Lizzy Caplan, and more, and a recurring role on the FX network drama series SNOWFALL.
His last feature film, THE JESUS REVOLUTION (Lionsgate) with Joel Courtney and Kelsey Grammer, opened in 2023 to great box office success.
Another recent film THE ROYAL, in which he plays Baseball Hall of Fame legend, George Brett, is now streaming after a limited cinema release in the US.
Other film credits include THE LEARS, which premiered at the Nashville International Film Festival, and had much festival acclaim. He stars alongside Anthony Michael Hall, Sean Astin and Bruce Dern, and, WOODLAWN, in which he was the lead opposite Jon Voight, Sean Astin, and C.Thomas Howell.
His Television credits include S.W.A.T. (CBS), DC LEGENDS OF TOMORROW (CW/NETFLIX), TRUTH BE TOLD (Apple Tv+), SNOWFALL (FX), SCALPED (WGN), DOMINION (SCI-FI), COVERT AFFAIRS (USA), CASTLE (ABC), CSI (CBS), NCIS: LOS ANGELES (CBS), HOT IN CLEVELAND (TV LAND), THE GLADES (A+E), BODY OF PROOF (ABC), NECESSARY ROUGHNESS (USA), PAST LIFE (FOX)
Prior to his US success, Nic had an extensive career in Australia spanning 10+ years, starring in a broad range of Theatre, Film, and Television.
His other Film credits include STAY THEN GO, THE MENTOR, BLACK LIMOUSINE, PUNISHMENT, WALKING ON WATER, MY MOTHER FRANK, POWDERBURN, OCCASIONAL COARSE LANGUAGE, THE SUGAR FACTORY.
He is attached to a variety of projects in various stages of development.
Nic is also a graduate of the most prestigious drama school in Australia, The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he obtained a Bachelor of Dramatic Art.
He has also been a sought after Screen Acting teacher, for the past 15 years. He has taught workshops and masterclasses at colleges and studios all over Australia, in New Zealand, South Africa, Vancouver, and Los Angeles.
Elizabeth Blake-Thomas
​ELIZABETH BLAKE-THOMAS is a British award-winning director based in Los Angeles. Her romcom "Just Swipe", starring Full House/Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin is a Pluto original, she directed action/thriller "Hunt Club" starring American Beauty's Mena Suvari and The Wrestler's Mickey Rourke, available on various platforms. She recently exec produced thriller "Et Tu" starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Malcolm McDowell, and co-produced Sony AFFIRM's "Moonrise". Elizabeth is the co-founder and resident director of entertainment company Mother Daughter Entertainment. Her latest directing projects include PureFlix Original, "Shadrach", as well as Xumo's YA supernatural thriller, "Karma: Death at Latigo Springs", starring a stellar ensemble cast including Once Upon A Time's Isabella Blake-Thomas, Candyman's Tony Todd, and Disney Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3's Terry Hu and Pearce Joza.
Tony Muscio
Tony Muscio helps BIFF with industry outreach and details related to the gala. Film credits
include producer on ALL I WISH (Sharon Stone and Tony Goldwyn) and theater credits include, WORDS, produced at Actor’s Co-Op Hollywood and published in the United Kingdom by ThePlaywrights Publishing Company. Tony is a graduate of Cornell University where he studied hotel administration and playwriting.
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Israa Al-Kamali
Israa Al-Kamali is a multi-award-winning LA-based director, screenwriter, and Co-Founder of the Independent Iraqi Film Festival. She has written and directed several narrative films, a music video, and a spec commercial.
Al-Kamali is a Quarterfinalist at The Academy’s (The Oscars) Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship 2023 for her feature script The Anxious Place. The script was one of only 364 entries to emerge from the 5,599 screenplays submitted from around the world. It also placed as a Quarterfinalist in Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards (2023), San Francisco International Screenwriting & Cinema (2022), an honorable mention in Big Apple Film Festival Agents and Managers Networking Lab (2023), and a finalist in Ouchy Film Awards in Switzerland (2023).
Al-Kamali was a fellow at Warner Bros Discovery Access x Middle East Artist Advocacy Coalition accelerator lab’s first cohort. The lab is designed for mid-level Middle Eastern writers, directors, and actors with extraordinary talent. Al-Kamali was a recipient of an Artist Travel Grant (2023) by 10 Arts Foundation, this grant is given to artists who demonstrated talent in their visual or performing art discipline, grade performance, referrals from faculty and administration about their impact on the community, and the prospect of future success in their field.
Her horror film Instincts (US, 2023), which she wrote and directed, won 6 awards and was selected in 16 film festivals in US and Europe, these festivals include Burbank International Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival (2 sold-out screenings), Santa Monica International Film Festival, Worldfest Houston International Film Festival (Finalist, Canadian Screen Awards Qualifying), etc. Her comedy film Ping Pong (US, 2024) won Best Short Film at World of Women Fair Middle East and is an official selection at Dallas International Film Festival Shorts (Canadian Screen Award-Qualifying), she won a finalist award for her film Who is Blind? (US 2024). In addition, her experimental film The Color of the Fireworks (US, 2024) won Best Documentary Short and Best Micro Short at the LA Underground Film Forum, it was also an official selection at Philadelphia International Film Festival.
Al-Kamali co-founded the Independent Iraqi Film Festival in 2020, the first independent film festival of its kind. The festival was featured in various international platforms such as GQ Magazine, i-D Magazine, BBC Arabic, etc. and received wide success and appreciation. She is also a jury at the Burbank International Film Festival at the heart of the Media Capital of the world.
Al-Kamali holds a Bsc. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MFA in Filmmaking from New York Film Academy (LA).
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Seth Yanklewitz
​Seth Yanklewitz is an accomplished Emmy Nominated Casting Director whose award-winning body of work spans across film and television. After most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Casting and Talent for MGM Film and Television and MGM+ Network, Yanklewitz recently returned to his independent casting roots. He formed Yanklewitz/Pollack Casting. His most recent projects include the 20th Television/Hulu/ONYX series DELI BOYS, EARTH ABIDES and Steven King’s THE INSTITUTE for MGM+. Also, the indie feature INCOMING, which premiered on Netflix in August and was the number one movie for over a week, as well as the indie feature, ALMOST POPULAR, which premiered at the Dances With Film Indie Film Festival.
Before becoming the Vice President of Casting and Talent at FOX Broadcasting in 2011, Yanklewitz cast the comedy pilot for “New Girl,” which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. In addition to “New Girl,” Yanklewitz oversaw the casting of the Emmy-Award winning “Grease: Live,” as well as the remake of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Additional casting credits include M. Night Shyamalan’s “Wayward Pines” (feat. Matt Dillon), “Rake” (Greg Kinnear), “Lethal Weapon” (Damon Wayans return to television), (Will Forte’s) “The Last Man on Earth” and “Gotham,” among others.
Prior to FOX, Yanklewitz created Juel Bestrop and Seth Yanklewitz Casting. For six years, he and Bestrop cast some of the most successful comedies in history, including Golden Globe winner “The Hangover,” for which they won the Casting Society of America Award for “Outstanding Casting of a Comedy Feature.” His additional credits include “Blades of Glory,” “Four Christmases,” “Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” and “Project X”; and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy series “Eastbound & Down for which they were nominated for a Casting Society of America award for Outstanding Comedy Series Casting."
A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Yanklewitz originally attended the university to pursue acting, but quickly discovered an interest in casting when he interned at a prestigious commercial casting company. Upon graduation, Yanklewitz landed a casting assistant position for Jon Turteltaub’s “The Kid,” during which he introduced then-unknown child actor Spencer Breslin to the producers and Disney casting executives. After moving to Los Angeles, Yanklewitz spent three years working with Casting Director Bonnie Timmermann. Together, they cast large ensembles for dramatic films, including "Pearl Harbor," "Black Hawk Down” and “Spy Game.” He then moved into comedy, working on the feature film “Stuck on You” for the Farrelly Brothers.
Susan Walter
Susan Walter has been a writer, producer and most recently a director working in film and television for over two decades. Her feature film, ALL I WISH, which she also wrote, stars Sharon Stone, Tony Goldwyn, Famke Janssen and Ellen Burstyn. The film was released by Universal Pictures on March 30, 2018 and is now streaming on Netflix.
Susan’s writing credits include comedy scripts for Sony Pictures (“Seven Year Switch”), New Line (“Daddy’s Girl”), Paramount (“The Big Change”) and several independents. In between writing movies, she has sold TV pilots to Warner Brothers, The CW, ABC, and Lighthouse Pictures.
In addition to writing for film and television, Susan is also a novelist. Her first two novels, “Good as Dead “and “Over Her Dead Body” both hit number one on Audible across all categories. Her third book, “Lie by the Pool,” was an Amazon editor’s pick for fall 2023, and her fourth, “Running Cold” comes out in October 2024.
Susan is a native of Boston and graduated cum laude from Harvard University. She currently resides in Thousand Oaks, CA with her husband, two teenage daughters, and the world’s best dog.
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Marion Campbell Kammer
Marion Campbell Kammer was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. After graduating from Ohio University she moved to Los Angeles to find work in film and television. Her first job was as an assistant in the Youth Division at Coast to Coast Talent Agency, then she worked at Gersh for three years as an assistant to both Lorrie Bartlett and Bob Gersh. She went to TalentWorks two years after it's launch in 2002 and she was an agent there for 16 years and was made VP of Talent. She has been at Buchwald for a little over three years and was promoted to VP of Talent a year ago.
Joe Russell
​Joe Russell was born in Belleville, Illinois. He is a producer and actor known for the Netflix Original film XOXO (2016) the short film Laboratory Conditions starring Marisa Tomei and Minnie Driver and hundreds of short films commercials and music videos. He studied producing at UCLA and trained under the great Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach in NY.
Jennifer Taylor
Born in Hoboken, New Jersey and raised in Florida, Jennifer Taylor made her film debut in “Wild Things” portraying Matt Dillon’s girlfriend. She then appeared in the Adam Sandler comedy “The WaterBoy.” But she is most well known for her work on the hit sit-com, “Two and A Half Men” where Jennifer played Charlie Sheen’s fiancée for nearly 40 episodes before Sheen left the show. Completing Season 1, she stars in “Saved By Grace”, an original television series by PureFlix.
Since moving to Los Angeles she has had recurring roles on numerous series such as “Burn Notice”,“Shameless”, and "The Young and the Restless". Jennifer has also starred in multiple Lifetime movies like “A Deadly Deed” and “Twisted Twin”. You can also see her in “Hostage House” on Netflix.
Taylor leads a multi-faceted life when she’s not acting. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science, enjoys do-it-yourself projects, and books. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children where she loves to cook from scratch and spend time with her family.
Adam Levy
Adam Reed Levy is an American film director, film producer, screenwriter, animator and character technical director. He is best known for his technical animation work on Oscar winning films such as Frozen, Zootopia, Encanto and Feast.
Adam entered the animation industry in 2009, starting out as a production assistant. From there he worked his way up in production management until he switched career paths and decided to learn the programs necessary in order to become a Technical Animation artist. In his off hours, Adam sought out advice and learned from some of the best directors in the animation industry in order to learn and improve his skills as a director.
"Flutter," released in 2023, was Adam’s directorial debut, starring Alfred Molina. "Flutter" made the 2023 Academy Award longlist for best animated short film as well as won numerous Best Animated Short awards during its festival run, one of those being at the Burbank International Film Festival.
Katie Keane
Katie Amanda Keane received her BFA and MFA in Acting, appearing regularly with Shakespeare Orange County. A working actor for over twenty years, she was a series regular on ABC Family’s, “Ruby and the Rockits”, created by and starring music icons Shaun and David Cassidy. Katie has recurred and guest starred on over thirty TV shows including “How I Met Your Mother,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” and “Prison Break.” She appeared in the global hit film “My Name is Khan”, starring Shah Rukh Khan, and co-starred in the Blumhouse/Amazon thriller “The Manor”, opposite Oscar-nominee Barbara Hershey. She also had a funny role in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” that was cut from the final film. The life of an actor...
Katie was encouraged to write her first TV spec script, “Stripper Moms”, by Tom Lennon and Ben Garant (“Reno 911!”, “A Night At The Museum”). That sample led to her next project, “Step Girlfriends” - about the nightmare of raising her boyfriend’s kids - which was optioned for development by CBS Studios, with Katie attached as EP, alongside Eric Tannenbaum (“Two and a Half Men”) and Lauren Gussis (“Dexter”). She then wrote the dark comedy pilot “Kanserous” about a woman in small town Kansas dealing with breast cancer, under the supervision of EPs Linda Wallem (“Nurse Jackie”) and rock music legend Melissa Etheridge. Katie’s first feature, “Rosé All Day”, starring Grammy-nominee Jenna Ushkowitz (“Glee”), Briana Cuoco (“Dead Boy Detectives”), and directed by Marla Sokoloff, won Best Comedy at the Sunscreen Film Festival, and was distributed by Vertical Entertainment. She is the writer and EP of “Pony Up” (a “Bridesmaids” meets “City Slickers” comedy) which was recently optioned by Thunderbird Studios and is being packaged for sale by UTA. She is currently finishing up an adult action comedy (“Goonies” for grown ups) for “Scary Movie” and “White Chicks” producer Rick Alvarez. Most recently, she wrote and is Co-Producer of the feature “Family Tree” for Village Roadshow. The dysfunctional family dramedy is based on an original idea by film and TV legends William Shatner and Tom Bergeron, who serve as EPs. It is scheduled to shoot winter 2024.
Katie teaches Acting for the Camera and Career Development at UCLA. She is a Board Member at both the Burbank International Film Festival and Vida School.
Katie Amanda Keane received her BFA and MFA in Acting, appearing regularly with Shakespeare Orange County. A working actor for over twenty years, she was a series regular on ABC Family’s, “Ruby and the Rockits”, created by and starring music icons Shaun and David Cassidy. Katie has recurred and guest starred on over thirty TV shows including “How I Met Your Mother,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” and “Prison Break.” She appeared in the global hit film “My Name is Khan”, starring Shah Rukh Khan, and co-starred in the Blumhouse/Amazon thriller “The Manor”, opposite Oscar-nominee Barbara Hershey. She also had a funny role in Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” that was cut from the final film. The life of an actor...
Katie was encouraged to write her first TV spec script, “Stripper Moms”, by Tom Lennon and Ben Garant (“Reno 911!”, “A Night At The Museum”). That sample led to her next project, “Step Girlfriends” - about the nightmare of raising her boyfriend’s kids - which was optioned for development by CBS Studios, with Katie attached as EP, alongside Eric Tannenbaum (“Two and a Half Men”) and Lauren Gussis (“Dexter”). She then wrote the dark comedy pilot “Kanserous” about a woman in small town Kansas dealing with breast cancer, under the supervision of EPs Linda Wallem (“Nurse Jackie”) and rock music legend Melissa Etheridge. Katie’s first feature, “Rosé All Day”, starring Grammy-nominee Jenna Ushkowitz (“Glee”), Briana Cuoco (“Dead Boy Detectives”), and directed by Marla Sokoloff, won Best Comedy at the Sunscreen Film Festival, and was distributed by Vertical Entertainment. She is the writer and EP of “Pony Up” (a “Bridesmaids” meets “City Slickers” comedy) which was recently optioned by Thunderbird Studios and is being packaged for sale by UTA. She is currently finishing up an adult action comedy (“Goonies” for grown ups) for “Scary Movie” and “White Chicks” producer Rick Alvarez. Most recently, she wrote and is Co-Producer of the feature “Family Tree” for Village Roadshow. The dysfunctional family dramedy is based on an original idea by film and TV legends William Shatner and Tom Bergeron, who serve as EPs. It is scheduled to shoot winter 2024.
Katie teaches Acting for the Camera and Career Development at UCLA. She is a Board Member at both the Burbank International Film Festival and Vida School.
Eric Conner
Eric is thrilled to be joining the Burbank International Film Festival Advisory Board. He has taught hundreds of aspiring storytellers at the New York Film Academy (LA), the Writer’s Store, the Animation Guild and Starcoach – China. At NYFA, he’s interviewed dozens of entertainment professionals including Django Unchained producer Reginald Hudlin and John Wick director Chad Stahelski.
He recently produced the feature length documentary Other Voices (Aswat Acherim), available on Amazon. His work has also been featured on the Howard Stern Show, On Demand Cable, Entertainment Tonight and Ranker.com. Eric is the current chair of the Burbank Cultural Arts Commission, first appointed to BCAC by the City Council in 2019.
You may have seen Eric appear regularly on a Geekscape podcast, perform as plant victim Mr. Mushnik in Conundrum’s Little Shop of Horrors or share his true tale of being a woefully underprepared Santa Claus at JAM Creative’s Jingle Tales (the Colony Theatre). He’s also worked with HollyShorts for several years as a film judge and moderated multiple panels / Q&As at their annual festival.
A rare native Delawarean, Eric lives in Burbank with his wife Lauren, sons Alex & Judah and their chaotic canines Fezzik and Iggy Pup.
Craig Van Sickle
Craig Van Sickle has written, produced, and directed hundreds of hours of television and film. His decades of creative work have covered a broad imaginative spectrum; collaborations with George Lucas, Stephen King, Stephen J. Cannell, George Clooney and Vince Gilligan among others. His creation and show-running of his NBC cult-classic series The Pretender - his Emmy-winning Wizard of Oz reimagining, Tin Man, and published novels are among his favorite projects.
Currently he is prepping Veil, a Sci-Fi thriller for Starling Entertainment and is also in negotiations for a feature film reimagining of The Pretender. Craig has taught many writing/directing/acting workshops, participated in TV/Film panels and has been a featured speaker at numerous media conferences and Cons in the Writer, Geek, Tech,
Entertainment, Sci Fi, and Scholastic worlds.
His scriptwriting mentoring company, scripTVisions.com, has helped countless unknown writers across the globe realize their goal of writing for TV professionally.
Pascal Combes-Knoke
Pascal, a French American dual citizen, lives in Malibu Lake, CA. He studied film theory at the University of Pennsylvania and film production at Chapman University. Then back to LA as a Steadicam operator. He soon followed his call to become a full-time IATSE DP. He wakes up every morning to make people FEEL SOMETHING using images. He is emotionally attracted most to characters of conflict who we empathize with against all odds and uses visual language gravitating towards French impressionistic naturalism. Pascal loves Arri color science and owns both Alexa 35 and Alexa Mini LF. He loves to play guitar, drums, chess, and mountain bikes as much as he can.
Pascal just wrapped principal photography on PERFECTLY IMPERFECT (starring Dermot Mulroney) and has finished production on DARKNESS OF MAN (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme) and BOUNTY (starring Stephen Dorff & Ron Perlman). Pascal is concurrently in development on several exciting films to begin principal photography in 2024!
Dale Fabrigar
Dale Fabrigar is an independent, multi-disciplinary creative and has long been using his imagination and visual sensibilities to communicate and tell stories in a visual way.
Dale has produced and directed numerous award-winning films and projects over his ever evolving creative career. Notably known for his complex and heartfelt, award-winning drama, LONELY BOY (2013). His other independent film titles include, 100 YARDS (2018), AREA 407 (2012) and the inspirational holiday drama, MIDDLETON CHRISTMAS (2020) - As well as a variety of scripted reality, music videos, corporate films, infomercials and live theater productions.
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D-RAILED (2018), which he directed, co-wrote, and edited won over 50+ awards on the film festival circuit, including two wins for Best Director. His latest feature, THEY CRAWL BENEATH (2023) was recently picked up for distribution by WellGoUSA and can be seen on various streaming platforms. Dale is currently in development and producing two, true-life, epic feature films, TRIANGLE and THE SPEAR OF DESTINY, both written by Oscar nominated Screenwriter, Stephen Rivele.
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He recently wrapped directing THE CHRISTMAS CHAIN and VERY FRIGHTENING TALES for television and is currently in post-production for THE SAVE and the comedy series, ON ALL FOURS (featuring JON LOVITZ) - both of which he produced and directed. His other television credits also include PET DOCTORS OF ATLANTA and SOUL FIRE RISING.
Regardless of genre - Dale strives to entertain by telling uncompromising stories about the power, strength and often flawed character of the human spirit.
Tané McClure
Tané McClure is a lifelong film, television and music professional with over 60-plus Film Festival Awards and 20 nominations as well as earning the coveted LA Press Club - National Journalism Award. She has worked on both sides of the camera and microphone as an actress, producer, writer, director, editor, VFX artist, film sound designer, and also as a professional singer under the name Tané Cain.
Her current 2024 feature film release is the thriller/horror: "Séance Games - Metaxu" which she co-wrote, directed, produced, and edited. The film won over 36 Film Festival Awards and was successfully distributed with broad carriage by Gravitas Ventures Distribution (Domestic), and Adler and Associates Entertainment Distribution (Foreign).
McClure wrote and produced the recently wrapped family feature film “Kaitlyn’s Chance”, starring Sean Patrick Flannery, Jaime King, Jennifer Taylor and Chris Mulkey. Expected release is 2025.
As a producer/director/editor, some of Tané's award winning and nominated productions include: "Love Betty White: The Betty White Story"(National Journalism Award), "Just Call Me Hef: The Hugh Hefner Story", "Big Shots", "Inside Autism", "Rockstar", "Voyager 2150", and the feature film “Trance”. Awards include: Best Film, Best Director, Best Music, Best Editor, Best Woman Filmmaker, Best Visual FX, Sound Design, Screenplay and more.