Jalen Carter, a graduate of the University of Iowa, has worked in various roles within the entertainment industry. Currently, he is a production assistant on Happy’s Place, a multi-cam sitcom filmed at Universal Studios. Jalen's experience spans from production internships to working at post-production houses, where he has developed a deep understanding of production processes. He emphasizes relationship-building and taking advantage of opportunities to further his career.
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Originally from Nigeria, Joseph Godslaw recently graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Film Studies. His academic career was marked by a series of experimental short films, each pushing the boundaries of conventional narrative. Joseph aspires to become an executive in television production or a creative director at a major studio, using his platform to tell inclusive, compelling stories that resonate across cultures.
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Angelica Quiñonez is a filmmaker with a passion for directing and writing. She was a previous participant in NBCUniversal's Creative Impact Lab, where she shadowed as a directing and producing apprentice. Angelica is currently in post-production for her short film Jamaica, for which she received a grant from The Alliance. Her work focuses on creating personal and humorous stories that bridge her curiosity about the world with her love for storytelling.
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J.J. Tolibao is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who graduated from California State University Long Beach with a degree in Film & Electronic Arts. He directed the short film Twin Aces, which screened at various festivals. J.J. has worked as an editing apprentice for NBCUniversal and freelances as a video editor on a variety of projects. He is currently a teaching assistant at Venice Arts, helping young filmmakers develop their skills.
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Semira Paul completed her studies at Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts, graduating summa cum laude. Initially focused on photography and dance, she transitioned into film, aspiring to become a cinematographer. Semira is also a professional wrestler, currently signed with WOW Women of Wrestling. She’s an alumna of Venice Arts’ Digital Storytelling Fellowship, Fall 2023 cohort.
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Michael Rubino has recently scored two successful seasons of Nickelodeon’s hit series It’s Pony and has collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering to create music for Disneyland’s re-imagined Mickey’s ToonTown. With over 20 years of experience, Michael has composed for major Hollywood studios such as Disney, DreamWorks, DC, and Marvel. His passion for orchestral music allows him to create strong emotions through memorable melodies, whether using a full orchestra or hybrid soundscapes. mikerubinomusic.com

Gabrielle Grubbs is a composer and songwriter from Indianapolis, Indiana, currently based in Los Angeles, California. She started writing songs at a young age, and learned piano and guitar to accompany herself. After graduating with her Bachelor’s degree, Gabrielle spent several formative years working as a public school educator. In 2022, following her desire to write and create music professionally, Gabrielle began her foray into film scoring by participating in the NYU Screen Workshops. She has studied music composition at Berklee College, Anderson University, and European American Musical Alliance Institute. In 2024, she completed her grad work in Music Scoring for Visual Media at Indiana University. She was chosen for Film Independent’s Project Involve program, where she worked on a new short film score, which will be released in 2025. Gabrielle loves story-telling through music and song, and the capacity for imagination that scoring for media provides. She is passionate about the role of music and the arts in community building.

Yuri Lowenthal is a BAFTA-nominated actor best known for his work in video games and animation. He has lent his voice to characters like Spider-Man, Ben 10, and Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto. Beyond acting, Yuri is an author and producer, having co-written the award-winning book Voice-Over Voice Actor with his wife, actress Tara Platt. Together, they run Relentless Productions, a media company focused on storytelling across various platforms.
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Tara Platt is an actor, producer, and author who has worked on projects such as Insomniac's Spider-Man, Fire Emblem, and Hearthstone. In addition to her acting career, Tara has co-written books and given a TEDx talk with her husband, Yuri Lowenthal. Together, they run Relentless Productions, focusing on creating content that blends storytelling and personal experiences. Tara is passionate about bringing authentic narratives to life in both voice and on-screen acting.
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Zeno Robinson is an American voice actor known for both Western animation and English-language dubs of Japanese anime, and has also worked on various video games and audiobooks. Starting his acting debut as Alan in Ben 10 at just 14 years old, some of Zeno’s major animation roles include Remy Remington in Disney's Big City Greens, Cyborg/Victor Stone in Young Justice, Omar in Craig of the Creek, and Hunter in The Owl House. A few of his anime roles include Hawks in My Hero Academia (for which he won Best VA Performance at the 2021 Anime Awards), Akira in Zom 100, Goh in the Pokémon, Vanitas in The Case Study of Vanitas, Gamma 2 in the Dragon Ball Z Super Movie, and many more. Instagram.

Alex Díaz started his career in storytelling after studying neuroscience but quickly transitioned into writing for TV. He and his wife, Julie Sagalowsky Díaz, have developed and executive produced series like SURFSIDE GIRLS for Apple TV+ and GENERATION for Fox Network. Alex has a passion for creating high-concept genre stories that focus on deeply human characters. Currently, he is developing a YA mystery horror series with 20th Century TV.
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Serena Smith, a four-time Emmy-nominated producer, host, writer, and dancer, has interviewed icons like Gloria Steinem and Pharrell Williams. She is the executive producer and host of On the Table and was previously a creative producer at MasterClass and Larry King Now. Raised in Montreal, Vancouver, and Chicago, Serena is a Northwestern Medill School of Journalism graduate. She lives in Venice with her husband, Ian Smith, and often performs at Stud Country.. LinkedIn

Jenny Fancy’s entrepreneurial mindset and background in early-stage startups have led her to a passion for combining creative ideas with practical strategy. Her core specialty is in brand strategy, creative digital content creation, programming, and bringing new products and brands to market. Jenny has extensive experience leading launches from development through go-to-market, with expertise in distribution, growth, and market positioning. She has worked with notable brands such as Dragun Beauty, Coastal Citizen, and JLo Beauty. LinkedIn

Darol Olu Kae is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker whose work challenges conventional storytelling structures. His innovative approach to sound and image intertwines with black expressive modalities in America. His short film, i ran from it and was still in it, won the Pardino d’oro for Best International Short Film at the Locarno Film Festival in 2020. Darol’s work has been screened at global institutions such as Sundance, Locarno, and BAM, and he was named one of “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine. LinkedIn

As a Los Angeles native, Ian Smith has been in the video production industry for over 15 years, beginning his journey by making videos with friends in high school. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, he embraced the digital DIY revolution, capitalizing on the emergence of platforms like YouTube. Today, Ian directs and produces across a variety of mediums, from documentaries to commercials. His expertise in visual composition and production management has earned him a respected reputation in the industry. LinkedIn.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Trevor Roach attended Butler University, where he majored in Digital Media Production. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue his MFA in cinematography from Chapman University. Trevor has shot award-winning short films, commercials, music videos, and feature films, including Night, Mother, which won a 2022 Webby Award. He is known for his ability to capture compelling narratives and visually striking compositions. Instagram.

Midge Costin holds the Kay Rose Endowed Chair in the Art of Sound Editing at the USC School of Cinematic Arts given by George Lucas in 2005. She produced and directed the award-winning feature documentary Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and its international premiere at Cannes Film Festival in 2019. She was nominated for Best First Time Director by Critics Choice Documentary Awards and the film received multiple awards and nominations including ACE (American Cinema Editors), MPSE (Motion Picture Sound Editors), Cinema Eye, and won the CAS (Cinema Audio Society) for Outstanding Achievement in Mixing.

Costin has been a feature film sound editor in Hollywood for filmmakers such as Tony Scott (Crimson Tide), Michael Bay (The Rock), John Waters (Crybaby), David Wolper (Imagine: John Lennon) and Amy Heckerling (Look Who’s Talking Too). Two of the films, Crimson Tide and Armageddon - for which she edited sound effects and dialogue - received Academy Award nominations for Sound Editing. Crimson Tide won the MPSE Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing. As a passionate teacher and advocate for creative use of sound in the cinematic arts, Costin has traveled worldwide to lecture on sound design & editing, and her career in Hollywood. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where she serves as a Branch Executive Committee, a past Board member of the MPSE, and was a long-standing member of the Editors Guild.

Jerry Ross embarked on his career as an apprentice and assistant picture editor from 1976 to 1979 before transitioning to a pivotal role as a sound editor on "Apocalypse Now." Continuing to contribute as a sound editor and supervisor on various films from the 1980s to the 2020s, Ross's expertise was notably showcased during a seven-year stint on "The Walking Dead." Currently serving as a Supervising Sound Editor at Warner Bros, Ross also dedicates time to the Board of Directors for MPEG Local 700 and the Executive Committee of the Sound Branch at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, exemplifying a commitment to mentoring and service within the industry.

David Fluhr attended Crane School of Music in NY, majoring in Electronic Music Composition. After coming to LA in 1980 to work as an office assistant at a state of the art post production facility, he began his career in sound for picture as a transfer operator, sound editor, and then a stage recordist/assistant. He then launched his re-recording career mixing documentaries, TV shows, and many of the high-profile music specials and videos at the time.

After winning 9 Emmys with 38 nominations and two Cinema Audio Society awards for his work over the next 10 years, he transitioned to live action film sound re-recording. In 2004, he was invited to Walt Disney Studios where he also began mixing animated films. Since 2004, David has mixed dialog and music on every animated film for Disney Animation Studios.

Berenice Robinson started her career in France at Buena Vista International Europe in 1992, then moved to London in 1993 as the Director of Film Operations for Europe, supervising International releases for both Live Action and Animated Titles over 32 territories. She then moved to LA in 1996 as a Supervisor of Post production for Walt Disney Animation.

Her first movie was Hercules and worked closely with Directors John Musker and Ron Clements. Berenice became the head Post Production at WDAS in 2006. Berenice has worked on more than 20 animated titles and just recently finished “Strange World" and is working on the 100th year Anniversary Feature release for 2023.

Jon Jon “JJ” Augustavo is a Filipino-American filmmaker born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He currently works out of Los Angeles, California as a film, commercial and music video director.

He’s directed unique projects for brands like Adidas, Jordan and Cadillac and has over 4 billion views of his music video works with artists like Shawn Mendes, ScHoolboy Q, Kygo, Mike Posner and Macklemore. JJ’s music videos have won a handful of international awards. His shorts have screened at various festivals, notably “Just a Kid from $eattle” at Sundance in 2018.

JJ is repped by WME and Redefine Ent for film and television and MSSNG PECES for commercials.

JJ is currently developing the “Just a Kid from $eattle” feature with producers Asher Goldstein, Destin Daniel Cretton and Stephen “Dr” Love.

the reggies (Jake Herman and Clay Dirkse) are a creative super group that has worked with a variety of artists and brands across the music, fashion and branded content space.
Their music videos have received over 100 million views working with artists that include DJ Shadow, Max, Dillon Francis, and Yung Gravy. Branded content work includes clients Red Bull, Beats by Dre, Coachella, and Arizona Hard.

Best friends and collaborators, they graduated from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, while simultaneously pursuing directing careers and fostering relationships with musicians and brands along the way. They are currently based in Venice Beach, Dirkse grew up in Portland (OR) and Herman is an LA native.

Clark Burnett is an associate producer at Florentine Films, Ken Burns’s production company, working on a film called “Emancipation to Exodus,” a documentary that looks at the Reconstruction era through the very beginning of the Great Migration. It’s set to broadcast on PBS in 2027.

Previously at Florentine, Clark worked as an associate digital producer for UNUM, a media platform that uses the Florentine filmography to place current events in their historical context and trace themes throughout history. He interned at the company in 2016.

Clark is a director in both documentary and narrative film. In college, he also interned at Genius, the music website, and Acres, a commercial production company. While in undergrad, he co-created Now, In Color, a docuseries dedicated to expanding the perception of Blackness in America. It has been featured in The New York Times, Teen Vogue, The Huffington Post, Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR), and other outlets. His short films and documentaries have been recognized by such places as The New Haven Documentary Film Festival, The Garden State Film Festival, and The Yale Policy Lab.

A 2018 Princess Grace Foundation Honorarium recipient, Clark’s short film Athol Park premiered at the 2020 National Film Festival for Talented Youth and took home an audience award. In February 2021, Clark joined Ken Burns and Sarah Burns on a virtual panel at Yale moderated by Thomas Allen Harris.

Clark graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in sociology in 2019, earning distinction in the major.

He has the Florentine family to thank for a growing interest in karaoke.

Caitrin Rogers is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who has produced documentaries on a wide variety of subjects from war and politics to music and sports. Her credits include the Emmy-winning THE TILLMAN STORY, the Grammy-nominated THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS: YO-YO MA AND THE SILKROAD ENSEMBLE and 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, which won numerous awards including the 2014 Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary and the 2015 Grammy for Best Music Film. Most recently, she produced TAYLOR SWIFT: MISS AMERICANA, ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN, MICKEY: THE STORY OF A MOUSE, BONO & THE EDGE: A SORT OF HOMECOMING, THE SAINT OF SECOND CHANCES and the series UGLY DELICIOUS, WORN STORIES, SONG EXPLODER and WATCH THE SOUND WITH MARK RONSON. Her upcoming projects include PIECE BY PIECE, an animated LEGO movie about the life of Pharrell Williams.

Zachary Edwin is a Director of Development at IPC where he has worked on series and features for both Nonfiction and Scripted across streaming platforms and cable outlets. He has spearheaded original development projects at a range of budgets for digital, linear, and branded networks. Prior to their acquisition by Sony, he worked closely with Don Cheadle’s This Radicle Act and their slate of projects.

Zach started at IPC in 2018 and is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara’s Biopsychology program. He currently resides in Santa Clarita.

I started my entertainment industry career as a Page in the NBC Page program in 2008. After 6 months in the program, I was able to segue that into an opportunity with the Ellen DeGeneres Show. I spent 5 seasons in the Audience Department at 'Ellen'.

In 2013, I accepted a position on the production side of the industry on The Queen Latifah daytime talk show. As an assistant production coordinator, I climbed the ladder to production manager in a matter of a few years working for production companies such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Game Show Network and Pilgrim Media Group until I ultimately ended up at IPC in August of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working in production, I did a number of amazing things during my career. I've worked on large outdoor concerts for artists like Taylor Swift and One Direction; I've traveled the globe and worked on a game show in Belfast, Ireland; I've followed street racers across the country for 'Street Outlaws' on Discovery Channel and met world famous chefs while managing the Emmy nominated 'Selena + Chef' for Buckingham Television.

After spending most of my adult career in production, I decided to move into a field that gave me more flexibility in my personal life. Working in production accounting has allowed me the opportunity to not only stay within IPC but to continue to grow professionally as IPC was purchased by Sony in March 2022.

Zlata Osadsky is a manager of Business and Legal Affairs department at Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction. In her current role, Zlata handles business and legal affairs activities across development and production including drafting and negotiating various network and talent deals. She has worked on multiple projects, including American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

Prior to joining SPTNF in 2018, she gained valuable experience clerking at the LA County District Attorney’s Office, serving as a volunteer mediator in the Downey Courthouse and assisting a litigation attorney in her homeland, the Ukraine, for more than 2 years.
Zlata holds a Master of Laws Degree in Dispute Resolution from the Pepperdine University School of Law.

Nijla Mu'min is a writer and filmmaker from the East Bay Area. Her work is informed by poetry, photography, music, fiction, and dance. In 2014, she was selected for the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive, and she was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Screenplay at the Urbanworld Film Festival, for her script Noor, which also garnered recognition from The Black List Muslim List and the Islamic Scholarship Fund.

Her debut feature film, Jinn, premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, where she won a Special Jury Award for Screenwriting. Jinn, a New York Times Critic’s pick, was released in 2018 by Orion/MGM. That year, she also directed an episode of "Queen Sugar." In 2019, she received the MPAC Media Award for Courage and Conscience and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. That same year, she directed an episode of HBO’s “Insecure” and she wrote for the Starz show “Blindspotting.”

In 2020, she wrote and directed an episode of the Apple series, "Swagger.” She also wrote and directed a short film for Netflix, entitled Black Prom. In 2021, she directed an episode of “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” for Hulu. In 2022, she directed episodes of "All Rise" for OWN, "Swagger" for Apple, and "East New York" for CBS. She is a dual-degree graduate of CalArts MFA Film Directing and Creative Writing Programs, and a graduate of UC Berkeley.

Marco Rosas is a Mexican-American editor born and raised in the Chicagoland area. He graduated with a B.A. in Film from Columbia College Chicago. With 10+ years in post production,

Marco’s editorial experience ranges from commercials, music videos, VR, social media, short and feature length films, and T.V series. He currently works in the world of film and scripted television in Hollywood. Some of his recent credits include HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and Burnout, a short film produced by Jamie Lee Curtis.

Outside of work, Marco finds pleasure in watching football, movies, playing DND, being physically active, getting lost in movie scores, and savoring the vast world of tea.

Christian Rozier began his career as a music video and commercial director, producing broadcast videos for politically engaged artists and content for Hearst Interactive and Geffen Records. His documentary credits include the world-tour music film 'Among The Trees', and the multiple award-winning documentaries 'Racing the Past' (2014) and 'When the Rabbit Got the Gun' (2021).

Christian is the director of the feature film 'Apache Leap' (2022), produced in collaboration with the San Carlos Apache Tribal Reservation community in Eastern Arizona. Apache Leap premiered at the Portland Film Festival and subsequently received numerous awards during its festival tour. The coming-of-age film officially released in Spring of 2023 to audiences worldwide.

Christian Rozier is also an Associate Professor of Film Production in the School of Visual Studies at the University of Missouri.

Andrés Vázquez is a writer and director from Los Angeles whose work explores themes of intergenerational memory, spiritual mysticism, and the transformation of diasporic and detribalized narratives into intimate traditions and haunting mythologies. As the seventh son of migrants and a descendant of the Bracero Program and Mexican Repatriation, his storytelling searches for the beauty that can be found in darkness and embraces its ability to help us look deep within ourselves.

He has directed and produced for major brands such as Lululemon, Estrella Jalisco, and Warner Media. He recently collaborated with Futuro to create original episodic content in partnership with Warner Media 150. His work has premiered with Remezcla, NPR Music, NALIP, Urbanworld Film Festival, and won Best Experimental Film for his short The Burning Plain at the Official Latino Film Festival. His script, Despierta, won the Sundance Co//ab “Sound as Storytelling Challenge” presented by the Dolby Institute.

Andrés is currently in post production for his hybrid documentary No Hables (Don’t Speak), and is developing his first feature film.