Introducing our panelists for day two of Female Voices Rock Film Festival, Sunday 6 December 2020:
CREATING IMPACTFUL DOCUMENTARY FILMS
10:00AM PST | 1:00PM EST | 7:00PM GMT/CENTRAL
AMY ADRION | DIRECTOR/WRITER
Amy Adrion is a director and writer whose work has screened at the Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca Film Festivals, been broadcast on STARZ, PBS and MTV, and won numerous awards. HALF THE PICTURE, Amy’s debut feature, celebrates the groundbreaking work of women film directors and had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. HALF THE PICTURE was released theatrically by Gravitas Ventures and has been sold to broadcast networks around the world. HALF THE PICTURE won the #WhatNext Award at Sundance: London, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Lighthouse Film Festival and the Impact Award at the Through Women’s Eyes Film Festival.
Amy won a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Student Film Award for her narrative short SHOEGAZER, which was Executive Produced by Miranda July. Amy is currently writing a comedic coming-of-age script about a high school girls basketball team based on her experience playing ball in suburban New Jersey, is in early production on a documentary about modern day cowgirls in Colorado, and is attached to direct PICANTE, a wild, feminist Western about a motley crew of rebellious prostitutes in the Old West.
EVA LIPMAN | FILMMAKER/PRODUCER
Eva Lipman is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and produces creative content for film, television and live events. She produced HBO's JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY, Academy Award nominee and winner of the 2016 Sundance Audience Award and the 2016 Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. Other recent credits include Netflix's DEVIL AT THE CROSSROADS, Netflix's WHO KILLED JAM MASTER JAY and HBO’s BECOMING WARREN BUFFETT. She began her career in broadcast journalism with CNN and the Canadian Television Network (CTV) and participated in coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
More panelists TBA soon.
Event time: 10:00AM PST | 1:00PM EST | 7:00PM GMT/CENTRAL
BREAKING INTO THE WRITERS ROOM
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COVERFLY
11:15AM PST | 2:15 PM EST | 8:15PM GMT / CENTRAL
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CAMILLE CORBETT | SCREENWRITER
Camille is an Atlanta native and a queer-identifying, first-generation Jamaican. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama and a Fulbright Scholar. Camille is currently staffed on the upcoming Jamie Foxx series, DAD, STOP EMBARASSING ME, for Netflix and has recently written episodes on the Quibi series BREF. She has traveled to 18 countries and speaks 3 languages (English, Spanish, Turkish).
LUCY LUNA | SCREENWRITER
Lucy’s multi award-winning feature script, Sophie & Valentina, has led her to the beginning of her professional journey, having won the 2019 HBOAccess Writing Fellowship, the ScreenCraft Fellowship, and placing on the Young & Hungry List. She wrote on CW’s Two Sentence Horror Stories, and is currently writing on CBS’ All Rise. Lucy focuses primarily on the horror, thriller, and drama genres.
LIZ STORM | SCREENWRITER
After producing her first short, "Traces," her film was an Official Selection in the Palm Springs International Film Festival. As a screenwriter, she's developed and written projects with Imagine Television, Team Todd, Broken Road Productions, Gil Netter Films, Mar Vista Entertainment and Bazelevs Productions among others.
SHIWANI SRIVASTAVA | SCREENWRITER
Screenwriter, Jersey girl, and general wonderer of the world, Shiwani's script Wedding Season won Screencraft Comedy Contest 2018, and shortly after signed with Nicholas Bogner at Affirmative Entertainment. She has bachelor’s degrees in English and Journalism & Mass Communication, and a master’s in South Asian Studies and is passionate about cultural representation in film and TV.
Event time: 11:15AM PST | 2:15 PM EST | 8:15PM GMT / CENTRAL
Get a full film festival pass or sign up for this event here. individual sign-up link for this event will be added soon... watch this space!
BUILDING COMMUNITIES
12:30AM PST | 3:30PM EST | 9:30PM GMT / CENTRAL
D'ARBY ROSE | FILMMAKER/CONSULTANT / ARTIST
D'arby Rose is a filmmaker, consultant, advocate, artist, and a proud Virgo. She has a passion for working with marginalized creatives and professionals to implement self-worth into their lives, while helping dismantle white supremacy in the workplace. Her work as a director and producer focuses on intersectional feminism in front of and behind the camera working primarily with marginalized entrepreneurs, politicians, activists, nonprofits, and artists. With nine growing years under her belt in the film industry, she saw an immediate need for accessible resources and community amongst marginalized film professionals, so she started and co-ran a film community collective called Color Film.
Currently, D'arby is building a new business as a Consultant and Advocate for self-worth, freelances as a Director and Producer, spends an equal amount on her mental health, and has found a new pajama hybrid style appropriate for work video calls. She is from Oakland, CA, and based in Los Angeles.
RUTH DU | DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Ruth Du is a director and producer who gravitates towards relationship-based stories with a genre twist. She constantly pushes diverse representation, in front and behind the screen and believes that the filmmaker’s greatest gift is an audience. Du received a B.F.A. at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and subsequently worked multiple production positions in New York City. Her extensive experience ultimately led her to produce feature film The Archer which premiered at SXSW 2017. Her directorial credits include digital series Seeking and TV movie Your Baby Is Mine.
Du was the Executive Director of the AT&T Hello Lab Mentorship Program, working closely with Lena Waithe to produce five festival selected short films. She is a 2020 Film Independent Project Involve Directing Fellow and recently finishing principal photography of her short film titled Yugen, starring Christine Ko (Tigertail, Dave). She currently resides in Los Angeles and enjoys singing and dance competition shows in her spare time.
VICTORIA EMSLIE | ACTOR/CEO PRIMETIME
Victoria Emslie is a British Actor known for her work in Downton Abbey, The Theory Of Everything, The Frankenstein Chronicles and 12 Monkeys. She is the Time's Up UK liaison for ERA 5050 and Founder & CEO of Primetime, the vetted global visibility platform for all the women working above and below the line behind the camera, providing the Entertainment Industry with a simple solution to find and hire gender-balanced teams. Launched at Cannes Film Festival, Primetime has members in over 50 countries, including multi-BAFTA, Emmy and Academy Award winners. The solution is simple, sign up is free and our slogan is #NoMoreExcuses.
Event time: 12:30AM PST | 3:30PM EST | 9:30PM GMT / CENTRAL
PODCASTING
1:45PM PST | 4:45PM EST | 10:45PM GMT / CENTRAL
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ERIN LANN| COMEDIAN/WRITER/PODCASTER
Erin works as an actor, writer, and comedian in Los Angeles - by way of Chicago. She currently writes podcasts at Spotify. Credits include writing and performing with The Second City National Touring Company, Second City's Improv All Stars, and Second City Theatricals. She's written freelance for The University of London at Goldsmith's and The Second City Network. She's performed with The Annoyance Theater’s house ensemble directed by Mick Napier, The Laugh Factory Chicago, and IO Chicago. Erin's comedic essays are published in "The Awkward Phase" available at Barnes and Noble. Her blog project Ride Share Rant received accolades from The Red Eye Chicago. She has written copy and blogged for Baird & Warner, Dreams for Kids, Lincoln Property Company, and Redmoon Theater.
DANIA RAMOS | SERIES CREATOR/WRITER
Dania is the series creator and writer of Timestorm, a middle grade audio fiction series produced by Cocotazo Media in partnership with the TRAX network from PRX. Timestorm was named a 2020 Webby Awards Honoree and was selected for the inaugural cohort of the Google Podcast creator program. She’s the author of the middle grade mystery novels Who’s Ju? (2015 International Latino Book Award for Best YA eBook, 2015 ILBA Mariposa Award finalist, and 2017 Sakura Medal nominee) and Ignacio in the Dark. Her stage plays have been produced or developed by Luna Stage, Writers Theatre of New Jersey, Speranza Theatre Company, Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, Repertorio Español, and Teatro Vivo. She was a finalist in the MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition and the recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Playwriting Fellowship. Dania is a drama and creative writing teaching artist for New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She holds an MA in creative writing from Wilkes University and a BFA in theatre performance from Montclair State University. She’s a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators, the Podcast Academy, and Actors Equity Association.
NATASHA LEWIN | OSCAR-QUALIFYING WRITER/DIRECTOR
Natasha Lewin became an Oscar-qualifying writer & director with her short, CHATTER, which was based on her National Endowment for the Arts diversity scholarship-winning play of the same name. CHATTER the play had a sold-out run. Over quarantine, Natasha wrote, directed and launched her dramatic narrative podcast, WHITE PRIVILEGE: RADIO PLAY now in production for Season 2. Natasha was an inaugural Black List x Women in Film Feature Fellowship winner for her feature, FREEDOM RIDERS, based on the 1961 Freedom Rides. As Chief Writing Officer for Zuckerberg Media, Natasha co-authored two books with Randi Zuckerberg—one a New York Times bestseller. She and Randi co-created children’s podcast, ONCE UPON A TIMESTAMP. Natasha authored her first book when she was the Managing Editor of High Times magazine. Natasha is both Black and Jewish. She was born with significant hearing loss, yet was a former touring musician and, alongside writing and directing narrative podcasts, she also creates the sound design for each show.
XPERIENCE J / CRYSTAL JUDKINS | POET/VOICE ARTIST/SONGWRITER
Crystal Judkins is a self-published author from Alexandria, Virginia. She is also a poet, songwriter, freelance voice over artist and all around creative. Crystal is the co-founder of Two Pens and a Grind Publications, where she continues to self-publish diverse and creatively provocative reads for all to enjoy. Most recently, she wrote and produced two scripted podcast series (audio dramas), "Past Due Audio Series" and "Kiss: The Audio Series." She has plans of using her love of sound to create innovative audio experiences that will change the face of audio dramas forever.
Event time: 1:45PM PST | 4:45PM EST | 10:45PM GMT / CENTRAL
WOMEN IN FILM CRITICISM
03:00PM PST | 6:00PM EST | 12:00AM GMT / CENTRAL
CATALINA COMBS | WRITER/CRITIC BLACKGIRLNERDS
Born and raised in So Cal, Catalina Combs aka Cat has had a love for film since she can remember. It started with the VHS of Jurassic Park. She would crank it up on the surround sound, turn off all the lights, and sit front and center on the couch with a large bowl of popcorn. (Which she still does to this day). Cat has a BA in English from Santa Clara University and an MA in Creative Writing from University of Denver. Her reviews have been featured on Blackgirlnerds.com and Blackfilm.com.
Cat has moderated film panels and interviewed stars like Harrison Ford, Kate Winslet, Rosario Dawson, Tessa Thompson, Jessica Alba, Gabrielle Union, Linda Hamilton, Jeff Goldblum, and Chris Hemsworth. Cat is writer and critic for BlackGirlNerds. She is also a Tomatometer approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. When she’s not watching and reviewing film, she is baking, playing monopoly, or playing soccer.
MELISSA SILVERSTEIN | FOUNDER/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Melissa Silverstein is the founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood, an initiative and website that educates, advocates, and agitates for gender diversity and inclusion in Hollywood and the global film industry. She is a speaker and consultant with extensive expertise in the area of women and Hollywood. She is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of The Athena Film Festival at Barnard College which is a weekend of inspiring films that tell the extraordinary stories of fierce and fearless female leaders. The 10th annual festival took place from February 27-March 1, 2020. She recently launched the Girls Club – a community for women creatives, culture-changers and storytellers to connect, create, network, advocate, support and redefine entertainment.
MORGAN ROJAS | CRITIC/HOST/FOUNDER
A brief stint as a child actor on the soap opera General Hospital sparked Morgan's passion for film & TV. After graduating with a B.F.A. in Broadcast Journalism and TV Production from Chapman University, she founded Cinemacy with the sole purpose to champion independent films and contribute to the growing number of female voices in film criticism. In mid-2018, she became an accredited “Tomatometer Approved” critic at Rotten Tomatoes, joined the Hollywood Critics Association, and Online Association of Female Film Critics. In 2019, she was chosen as a host for Maria Menounos & Keven Undergaro’s TV broadcast network, AfterBuzz TV, and has become a repeat distinguished speaker at Chapman University’s yearly Entertainment Journalism in the 21st Century panel. She also works in music supervision for your favorite guilty pleasure reality TV shows.
KAY-B | JOURNALIST/HOST/CRITIC/PODCASTER
Kay-B covers all things TV & film from reviews & world premieres to comic conventions & film festivals! She is the Season 2 host of The Color Grade Podcast, where we dive deep into tv & film from an unapologetic & unfiltered Black & Brown perspective! When she's not podcasting or writing for Collider or The Beat, she's co-hosting co-producing her brand new YouTube show Super Lady Hero Hour about all things Superheroes, or being a guest on shows like Pay or Wait, Pop Culture Planet & Kiss Your Franchise Goodbye.
When she's not interviewing some of her favorite artists, she enjoys world travel, great food, and delightful books. When she's not busy writing, you can find her rewatching her personal favorites: THE GOOD WIFE, LIVING SINGLE and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.
More panelists to be confirmed for Women in Film Criticism.
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Got any questions for our panelists?
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