Jon Silver is Director/Producer/Writer working in Chicago. He is the Co-Founder of ShowPup Productions and the former Managing Director of The Annoyance Theater. Jon has worked with Second City and other theaters to produce comedy sketches, short films, web series and tv pilots. (Pets)

Christopher Conti - New York born, Chicago Bound, Chris was the driving force behind CONVERSATIONS CENTERED AROUND BLACK BODIES. The idea was born from a need to express emotional reactions to the countless videos of black people falling victim to violence. Freewrites revealed his own conflicting perspectives and identities, which he explored in the vignettes and planted a seed of curiosity concerning other people's views and personal opinions. Chris views these CONVERSATIONS as therapeutic art. (Conversations Centered Around Black Bodies: Black Lives Matter)

Daniel Brehm is a director/writer/producer/editor/special effects/animation artist whose 2 latest films "The Naked Truth" (an unorthodox satire/comedy about modern-day society) and "Identity Crisis" (a campy No-Budget feature film loaded with special effects and quick edits) are making the festival rounds! He was honored during production of "Identity Crisis" (when it was tentatively titled When Worlds Collide) that it was written about in Screen Magazine. Daniel Brehm's previous film entitled "Proliferation" won Best Sci-Fi at the Illinois International Film Festival 2014 as well as Official Selection at several other film festivals. He has also made several clay-animation films that have won indie awards and have been Official Selections at indie film festivals. (The Naked Truth)

Tiara Epps was born and raised in Chicago's Englewood community. Englewood is known for it's high crime rate. She grew up with a mother and father who have been married for over 30 years and two brothers and one sister. They are the reason she was able to stay on the right path in life. Tiara always thought she would play professional basketball at 5'3. However, her parents made her attend Chicago Vocational Career Academy. which was very far from her home. That's when her life changed. Tiara's sophomore year of high school, she had to pick a major. Radio/TV was the only thing that seemed interesting, Her teacher Mr. Badesch is the reason Tiara is a filmmaker. She was excited to learn the production side of television. Mr. Badesch asked Tiara to join a summer program where they got paid to make films. She was amazed at what she was doing and learning and knew she wanted to continue making films. Tiara majored in Digital filmmaking & Video Production at The Illinois Institute of Art. (Sunday)

Trent Welstead, Alex Salvato, and Caitlyn Murray currently reside in Blacksburg, VA where they’re pursuing Virginia Tech degrees in Cinema & Creative Writing, Cinema, and Multimedia Journalism respectively.

Trent’s a pensive, yet avid cinema enthusiast to nearly every extent imaginable. He loves the music of The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, and Def Leppard, among many other classic rock artists. When he’s not immersed in his own projects, you can more than likely assume he’...s watching anything and everything from The Criterion Collection with whomever he’s delighted to share the experience.

Alex enjoys watching old B-movies, playing video games, reading and writing short stories, in addition to a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. He has a vast knowledge of movie and television trivia — both obscure and mainstream. He's always looking for new ways to tell stories and is eager to move into the film industry after graduation.

Caitlyn is well versed both in front of the camera and behind. When she’s not working she enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching a wide array of films, collecting vinyls, having spontaneous photo shoots, drinking wine of any kind, using accents at parties, and pondering why she wasn’t born in the 1950’s. After she graduates in 2018, Caitlyn plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in video and film production. (Essence)

Michael J. Petty & Seth Wyberg met at Montana State University while attending the School of Film & Photography there. Immediately they hit it off and have been working together to write, direct, produce, and edit films during their time in Bozeman. (Absolution)

After a not so successful career in modelling and acting I got a bit depressed. During these dark days of wondering who I was and questioning my existence I found little pieces of happiness watching films. So I decided to buy a camera and teach myself how to film and edit.

I came across an online communication agency who were commissioning 10 minute shorts about gender. The first thing that came to mind was Lucy, she dances at The Box, a cabaret club where I waitress.

I didn'...t win the competition. Being fascinated by her story I decided to make this film any way.

Little did I know how special this actually was and how much I was going to learn about this delicate subject, about myself and the creative process.

This film is my first directorial debut.

We got our first selection at the New Renaissance Film Festival in Amsterdam and screened it there on the 5th March, where we won the award for "Best Reality Performance"

I hope Lucy will inspire you. (Melinte Reitzema, Director - Lucy)

About Hart Ginsburg:

In his films and as a psychotherapist, Hart integrates mindfulness with existentialism, believing that individuals are capable of developing meaning and joy in their lives. Originally, Hart formed Digital Tapestries, a multimedia group, to enhance his clinical practice. Digital Tapestries’ productions encourage participants to stretch beyond a surface response to discover their own hidden strengths and capacity for contentment.

Hart’s unique approach is derived from his life experiences. After personally facing depression and the confusion it causes, Hart was inspired to explore artistic ways to engage others in their own personal recovery. By drawing from the years he lived in Tokyo, Hart incorporates Eastern philosophy into his artistic and therapeutic style. Currently, Hart focuses his work on serving diverse immigrant and refugee populations. (Footsteps)

As a mixed-raced filipina/white woman, I value the importance of intersectionality and honoring complexity within our stories and movements. I believe in building power through healing, creativity and cultural work. My vision is to weave stories of identity, resilience and imagination together so that we can cultivate authentic representations of people living at the intersections and fringes of our society. (Battle Grounds: the hard hits of female poppers)