Steven Ascher & Jeanne Jordan
Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan are Oscar nominated, Emmy and Peabody winning filmmakers, and founders of West City Films. Their feature documentaries include Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern, which won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance, the Prix Italia, a Peabody Award, and IDA distinguished Achievement Award. So Much So Fast premiered at Sundance, was released theatrically to critical acclaim, and was broadcast worldwide, including PBS’s Frontline. Raising Renee premiered at Full Frame and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming.
Their most recent feature is Our Towns for HBO. Other collaborations include Emmy-winning portraits of artists, including Chuck Close and Shimon Attie. Ascher’s short Looking Forward premiered at DOC NYC.
Jordan edited two episodes of the landmark civil rights series Eyes on the Prize and dramas for American Playhouse. She was Emmy nominated series producer of PBS’s Postcards from Buster.
Ascher is author of The Filmmaker’s Handbook, a bestselling text used internationally. He has taught narrative and documentary filmmaking, most recently at MIT and Harvard, where he was a visiting professor.
April Wright
April Wright is an award-winning filmmaker who fell in love with movies at drive-ins and decaying movie palaces growing up in Chicago and Miami. She brings a fresh and creative approach to her narrative projects and documentaries, and is drawn to material inspired by real people and events, especially underdog stories from an underrepresented point of view.
April’s first documentary Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie was released on drive-in screens on June 6, 2013 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first drive-in which opened in Camden, NJ in 1933. The son of the inventor of the drive-in Richard M. Hollingshead III appears in the doc along with legendary movie producer Roger Corman. The film remains the definitive movie on the topic.
Her documentary Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace was a follow-up to the original, shining attention on the magnificent indoor theaters that were mostly built during the peak of the studio system. It released theatrically in 2019-20 throughout the US and Canada, and won numerous Best Documentary and Grand Prize awards at festivals prior to its 2020 premiere on Turner Classic Movies.
Both documentaries are available on streaming platforms and DVD.
Richard Bailey
Richard Bailey’s movies The Dark Sisters (2023), King Judith (2022) and A Ship of Human Skin (2020) are available in wide release through various streaming services. His movies have shown at Alchemy Moving Image, Anthology Film Archives, Arizona Underground, AVIFF Cannes, Berlin Revolution, Black Maria, Dallas VideoFest, Hyperreal Film Club, Proyector International, SENE, SXSW, and many other festivals.
Jeffrey Schwarz
Jeffrey Schwarz is an Emmy Award-winning producer and director known for an extensive body of non-fiction work. His latest feature documentary is Commitment to Life, which chronicles the city of Los Angeles’ response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. It premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February, 2023.
His previous film, Boulevard! A Hollywood Story, is about Gloria Swanson’s attempt to adapt Sunset Boulevard into a musical and the resulting threesome with her songwriters. It premiered at Los Angeles Outfest in 2021. Other work includes The Fabulous Allan Carr (2017), about the flamboyant producer of Grease and La Cage Aux Folles, Tab Hunter Confidential (2015), a biographical portrait of the 1950s screen heartthrob, I Am Divine (2013), about the international drag superstar and John Waters’ leading lady, and HBO Documentary Films’ Vito (2011), the Emmy-winning portrait of beloved gay activist Vito Russo. Vito was nominated for two 2013 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Historical Programming, as well as a 2013 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary. Schwarz’s other films include Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon (2008) and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story, which won the 2007 AFI Fest Documentary Audience Award and aired on Turner Classic Movies.
Donna Marvin-Platt
Donna Marvin-Platt, a modern day “renaissance woman,” is an award-winning art director and filmmaker, as well as a writer and comedienne. She has over 30 years creative direction experience in the field of medical advertising and has also acted and sang professionally, performing sketch comedy at such venues as Caroline’s, NYC. She wrote and produced the one-person show Life in the Short Lane which she performed at the 78th Street Theatre Lab in NYC. Her last film, the comedic short, Mini Happy Returns, was presented at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.
Originally from New Rochelle, NY, Donna received her BFA in Design from Carnegie Mellon University and currently resides in Glen Ridge, New Jersey with her husband and two young adult children. Missed Conceptions is her first feature documentary.
Peter Flynn
Peter Flynn is a documentary filmmaker and educator. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and teaches courses in media production and film history at Emerson College.
Peter was born in Dublin, Ireland and lives with his wife, son, and two cats in Boston, MA.
His films include Film is Dead. Long Live Film (2024), The Dying of the Light (2016), and Blazing the Trail: The O'Kalems in Ireland (2011).
Dick Atkins
Dick Atkins has been producing and writing movies and television for many years, first as Vice President of Production for Telecom Entertainment (a subsidiary of the advertising agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles) and then for his own companies, A-Films and Atkins Pictures Inc. He was producer of the feature films Asunder in Virginia, and Forced March (which he also wrote) in Hungary, in addition to serving as executive producer or producer on numerous television movies for network and syndication, including Murder in Coweta County and The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story, a health and lifestyle cable series, three documentaries, an original eight-part video series and pilots for syndication and cable. He also has written three original theatrical shows for teenage performers, and directed many hours of documentary footage in Mongolia with the Dalai Lama and Richard Gere.
One of his current projects, The Dinner Set Gang, was profiled on both CBS/60 Minutes (story nominated for an Emmy) and Court TV. He has worked with many stars, including Kiefer Sutherland, Johnny Cash, Andy Griffith, Richard Gere, Blair Underwood, Angela Lansbury, Lee Remick, Marsha Mason, Mary Steenburgen, Ron Silver, Gregory Harrison, Kenny Rogers and Chris Sarandon, and with award-winning directors and writers.
Jill Salvino
After a successful advertising and commercial career Jill Salvino began directing for film and television. She has directed seven short films. Taking it for Granted won Best Drama at NYC’s Downtown Film Festival, two episodes of The Sonnet Project presented by the New York Shakespeare Exchange and Lies People Tell which premiered in the San Pedro International Film Festival. Lies was chosen by the New York Women in Film and Television as one of their Top Short Films of the Year. Six Degrees of Charity featuring Kevin Bacon raised money for various charities. My Second Backpack is part of the state curriculum for senior year New York kids.
Between the Shades was Jill’s documentary feature directorial debut and was featured day of release in The New York Times and is currently licensed in Universities across the country, available on most platforms and has made its network premiere. Salvino also lectures and does LGBTQI+ panel discussions for corporate America with cuts of this film.
Salvino is a member of Promax, long-standing chair of the Telly Silver Counsel, and a Member of the New York Women in Film and Television, as well as the Emmy Academy. Jill has accumulated over 200 industry awards including: Promax, Tellys, NY Festival, Addys, and an Emmy.
Brian Patrick Butler
Brian Patrick Butler is the writer and star of Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea, and he recently directed Michael Madsen (Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight) in the upcoming horror comedy A Corpse in Kensington. Before Hemet, Brian wrote and directed the critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic satire Friend of the World which currently holds a 91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
As an actor, Butler has co-starred in films with Zach King and has recently starred as the eponymous gangster in Liar Liar and screenwriter Paul Guay's parody The Godfather. He will also be starring as the title serial killer in the upcoming horror comedy feature Morte.
Andrew Jara
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, writer/director Andrew Jara is a Latino filmmaker who has made three feature films and is interested in pursuing real themes and situations while bringing more voices to film. Andrew's features and shorts have played festivals all over the world and have been featured on multiple streaming services. His latest feature, The Empty Space, a cosmic horror about mental illness, won the "Best of the Fest" award at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival. Andrew hopes to continue making genre films that reach people on a level beyond entertainment value and bring a Latino perspective to a wide audience.
Joshua Nelson
Born and raised in The Bronx, NY, Joshua Nelson is an award winning actor, writer, director, and former lead singer of the heavy metal band New York’s Finest. Early on, Joshua wrote and produced several feature films including Skinned Alive (Lionsgate) and Aunt Rose (Anchor Bay). More recently Joshua has written and directed the films Aware of the Wolf, The Things We Cannot Change, Triaphilia, and Psycho-Therapy.
Cory Baxter
Cory Baxter is an independent writer and filmmaker. Having a lifelong interest in science fiction, he is an enthusiastic reader of books and movie watcher of the genre. At mid-life, he decided to write his own self-published fantasy novels. Eventually, his passion culminated with creating a motion picture based on characters from his books. Thus, he wrote the screenplay and directed the motion picture, Markus Bixby.
Tijuana Layne
Tijuana Layne has garnered several Best Actress Awards internationally, as well as awards as Best Director. She has achieved outstanding accomplishments in the realms of writing and producing and has contributed her talents to social issues.
In the past ten years, Ms. Layne has concentrated her energies and talents as an actor in film, such as her role as Cha Cha, in Mary Kay Letourneau: All American Girl with Penelope Ann Miller. During this time, she made the transition as both writer and producer on her own independent film productions, founding Three Eagles Productions.
Ms. Layne has written over 23 screenplays, producing eighteen, plus directing nine. Using the medium of film, she has earned respect in her edgy, provocative, performances, and social storytelling. Tijuana secured distribution for her second feature film, The Science of Fear, a film that she wrote, produced, directed and starred in, as well as her third feature film, The Color of the Heart.
Douglas Guarino
Douglas Guarino began his filmmaking career at a young age and has honed his craft throughout the years. With an excellent visual artistic sense, all of his projects offer something unique.
Douglas has worked with artists like Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera, Godsmack, and Josh Logan. His first feature length documentary, Morality: A Historical Perspective, was picked up by Insight Media and has global distribution. Douglas was able to exercise his storytelling skills directing music videos for Another Sight, BYSD, and NEM, and this led him to direct a number of short films including Creak, Family, and Wake Up.
He has also served as the director of photography on many projects, including Regret and Condo Hell. He has a thorough understanding of what it takes to direct actors and can create a scene that will resonate visually and emotionally.
Douglas has recently completed his second feature film, Trinitas, which is scheduled to be released in the winter of 2024.
Joe Leone
Sketch comedian/stage actor turned writer/director, Joe Leone is a proud New York native. A graduate of Skidmore College’s theater program, Joe’s recent accolades include winning “Best Writer” for his noir suspense-thriller Death Sentences at the Accord Cine Fest 2020, “Best Screenplay” at the Sydney Indie Film Festival 2019 with the caustic comedy Meant to Be Broken, and “Best Feature Script” at the BlueCat Screenplay Competition 2018 for the wryly cerebral fantasy Death of a Fool. His script Half Sisters was produced in 2022, and has received a theatrical release. Joe also wrote and directed Breakup Mountain (Best Twist, Top Indie Film Awards, 2023), Reap, Blood Falls, and Parched trilogy with the talented, perpetually thirsty crew of Parched Productions. A film he co-wrote will soon be released by Lionsgate, and he has a dark comedy currently in pre-production with Global Genesis.
Fred Zara
At age 15, Trenton, New Jersey native, Fred Zara, was the drummer for the punk rock band, Prisoners of War, playing venues in the Northeast, including Manhattan’s famed CBGB.
By the late 1990s, Fred began shifting his focus from music to film production. He has since been involved in dozens of documentary and narrative films, both in front and behind the camera. As writer and director his films have screened at film festivals across the US.
His 2009 feature-length documentary, Average Community, which chronicled his early days in Trenton, won awards at festivals in Philadelphia, Orlando, and NYC. In March of 2016, Fred’s narrative feature film, Read Me, premiered in New York City at the Queens World Film Festival and won the festival's award for Best Actor in a Feature Film.
Fred's third award-winning feature film, The Suicide of James Rider, was released by BayView Entertainment in 2020.
Brooke Harris Wolff
Brooke Harris Wolff has been a screenwriter, a member of a standup comedy duo with Wally Dalton, an improv acting teacher, a lyricist, a music producer, and a songwriter (her original songs can be heard on her album, The Last Broad Standing).
Recently, she completed a novelization (Killing Time in Beverly Hills); a sibling memoir (Growing Up Harris), written with Geoff, James, and Jonathan Harris; a graphic novel, The Best of All Possible Worlds, with a story co-written by Academy Award-winning production designer Rick Carter and illustrated by Talia Spencer. Brooke is also the executive producer of the album, These Are the Times—a one-of-a-kind musical, for which she wrote the lyrics, with music by Grant Johnson. Its music director/orchestrator was Doug Walter and producer John Koenig, and is available for purchase as a concept album on various streaming platforms.
Eye of the Storm is the first film Brooke produced and directed. A feature documentary, it chronicles American comedy by tracking the career of standup comic director, Howard Storm. It has been shown in 60 festivals and won 44 awards. She plans to base future films on her own screenplays. Meanwhile, she keeps writing, producing, and directing.
Steve Hermann
Steve Hermann is an award-winning filmmaker with over twelve titles as director. His genre of choice is supernatural horror which allows his mind to create stories that not only make you think, but also terrify you. His interest in filmmaking began when he started adapting his books to film, and now continues as original stories pop into his head and become his next short or feature film. Films directed by Steve Hermann are available on various streaming platforms, and his latest films, Attack of the Corn Zombies and Night of the Dead Sorority Babes, are distributed by BayView Entertainment.
Terry L. Jarrell
Terry L. Jarrell is an award-winning filmmaker and writer at Black Dog Filmz. With extensive experience in media, Terry has contributed to numerous national publications and has been involved in projects ranging from commercial advertising and small film productions to feature films.
A tech enthusiast with a background as an Apple Inc. trainer and consultant, Terry has a passion for innovative camera systems. He also hosted the popular Romero Pictures Indie Brigade - Drone Cav, where he explored drone technology, 360-degree cameras, and other cutting-edge tools for filmmakers.
Terry’s feature film, Harlow’s Haunt, has garnered over 100 international accolades, earning him recognition as Best Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Writer, and Best Horror Film, among others.
Deeply influenced by classic horror and thriller films from the 1960s through the 1980s, Terry draws inspiration from the works of Hitchcock, Hammer Films, and David Lynch. Currently, he is shaping the follow-up to Harlow’s Haunt, continuing his love for classic horror. Harlow’s Haunt is proudly released by BayView Entertainment.
Glenn Berggoetz
Glenn Berggoetz is the writer, director, and producer of twelve feature films. Such entertainment icons as Kane Hodder and Joe Bob Briggs have starred in Glenn's films. Glenn's most well-known films include To Die is Hard, Midget Zombie Takeover, Paralyzed with Fear, and The Worst Movie EVER!
Glenn has had four novels published, and his book on micro-budget filmmaking, The Independent Filmmaker's Guide: Make Your Feature Film for $2,000, was published by Hal Leonard/Rowman & Littlefield. Glenn is also the guitarist and primary singer for the band Norwegian Soft Kitten, which has had five songs reach #1 on indie charts in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.
Jeffrey Checker
Dedicated to capturing the truth, and presenting the outcome in an entertaining fashion, Dr. Jeffrey Checker and his team have traveled extensively throughout the U.S., helping people get rid of unwanted, supernatural beings in their lives.
Jeffrey has published three books and has appeared on numerous talk and radio shows. He is an advocate for the underdogs and the oppressed.
With six film festival wins and a movie on a syndicated streaming channel, Dr. Checker and his company, 777 Productions, is capable and ready to create emotionally driven, real-to-life horror films.
Manny Serrano
Manny Serrano is a multi-award-winning Director/Editor/Writer, and, along with his wife Lindsay, the co-founder of Mass Grave Pictures. They began producing their own horror films in 2008 and have since produced three feature films and over a dozen short films together.
Manny was named HorrorSociety.com "Director Of The Year" in 2013 for his first feature film, Blood Slaughter Massacre. In 2017 he wrote and directed his second feature, Theta States, and co-wrote/co-directed a third film with Lindsay, Dark Tales From Channel X. In 2020 both films premiered at the Macabre Faire Film Festival and are available through BayView Entertainment.
Over the years, Manny has lent his hand as a cinematographer, editor, and graphic designer for indie feature and short films, multiple web and TV series, commercials, and theater productions.
Manny recently completed his work as the Technical Director for the Long Island International Film Expo from 2020-2024, is the co-host of the Haunted Hangover Podcast, and is currently working on his fourth feature film with HWA writer Marc Abbott.
JT Kris
JT Kris was born in Sweden and has lived in Spain since the early 2000s. Being a huge horror nerd, he began making horror short films at the age of 12. As an adult, his love for photography led him into making his first feature film. His passion for horror has only grown, leading to five feature films shot on location in Spain.
JT’s first film I Think We're Alone Now was released in 2020, followed by Ghosts of Amityville, and found footage films, Ouija Clown and Don't Make a Sound.
The Arkansas Pigman Massacre is his fifth feature shot on location in Spain with remote roles shot in Texas, Utah, and exterior shots from Arkansas.
Jay Leonard
Jay Leonard is an independent filmmaker known for crafting compelling stories with shoestring budgets. Break Glass marks the fifth film that Jay has written and directed, adding to a growing portfolio that includes Death Before Discomfort (2014), The (Other) One (2017), and Middletown (2020). Jay's work is a testament to the belief that great films should not be limited by financial constraints—his latest project, Break Glass, was brought to life with just $1,800.
Jay is a champion of punk rock cinema, driven by a relentless passion for storytelling. His films explore the complexities of relationships, both romantic and platonic, capturing the raw, unfiltered emotions that define human connection. For Jay, filmmaking is more than just a career; it’s a rallying cry to create, no matter the obstacles.
Marty Ketola
Writing Fren-Zee director Marty Ketola has produced five feature films. Alongside Clif Campbell, he also co-wrote the critically acclaimed twenty-episode sci-fi comedy series, Zhon: The Alien Interviews (RobEric Media, 2013), which has the running time of two feature films.
Ketola is also an award-winning film editor, and recent work includes the short thriller Bequest (RicMel Films 2018) which has won awards at eighteen festivals.