Leo Behrens
Leo Behrens is an award-winning Norwegian director and cinematographer based in Los Angeles. He wrote, directed, and shot the short film SKIN, which won the Gold Medal at the 2023 Student Academy Awards and has screened at over 60 festivals worldwide, including AFI FEST, Newport Beach, and Oldenburg, earning 9 awards and 20 nominations. Following his Student Academy Award win, Leo was selected for the Academy Gold Alumni Mentorship Program.
Leo is a 2023 graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory and is represented by Zero Gravity Management. He is an associate member of both the Norwegian Society of Cinematographers (FNF) and the Society of Camera Operators (SOC). In 2024, he was selected for the ASC Vision Mentorship Program and awarded the Fresh Perspective in Cinematography Grant, sponsored by ARRI, AbelCine, and The ASC, which he used to shoot the feature film Shadow Watchers. In 2025, he served as a juror for Gullruten (Norway’s equivalent of the Emmys) and for the 20th anniversary of SEEfest.
As a director of photography, his recent work includes PACE, which screened at the American Pavilion at Cannes and the Cleveland International Film Festival (Oscar qualifying) among many others; THE LAST DRAFT, nominated for Best Horror Short at FilmQuest and selected for the Beverly Hills Film Festival; and EVAN EVER AFTER, which won the Audience Award at the Florida Film Festival (Oscar qualifying) and Best Documentary Short at Out on Film Atlanta (Oscar qualifying). He is currently in pre-production on the feature film OMA as director of photography, and is set to make his feature directorial debut with PACE, adapted from the award-winning short he shot.
Nora Bernard
Nora Bernard (@norajbernard) is a Los Angeles-based film programmer and artist development administrator who has supported filmmakers globally through publicity, marketing, education programs, and festivals. She has gained industry experience through organizations such as the Telluride, Tribeca, and Urbanworld Film Festivals, as well as the Sundance Institute. Originally from “The World’s Borough,” Queens, New York, it’s only natural she’d gain a passion for international storytelling. She brings a well-rounded approach to support emerging and mid-career creatives navigating today’s independent film landscape in the hopes of discovering new and innovative ways to distribute their work. A 2026 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow, she is currently in pre-production for her short film, “Training Wheels”, serving as Executive Producer.
Karen Cifarelli
TBD
Cheng Guo
Cheng Guo is a Chinese Art Director, Visual Development Artist, and 3D Artist whose career spans both China and the United States, bridging the worlds of animation and video games since 2013. He currently works for Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Outside of his artistic pursuits, he enjoys hiking with friends, playing video games, spending time with his cat Tori, and — most importantly — exploring the world.
Angelo Hatgistavrou
Angelo Hatgistavrou is an animation director, writer and producer who has worked with clients like Amazon, Netflix, Disney and Warner Brothers. He has been an Annie Awards Nominee and has had work shown at the Annecy International Film Festival. He is currently directing a new animated comedy series for Amazon and is developing an original feature film based on Greek culture and mythology through his production company Ionian Productions Inc and J. Todd Harris Productions.
Harrison James
Harrison James is a writer and director, born in Chicago and living and working in Los Angeles. Recent directing credits include: Cowboy Mouth, Savage Love, and Fool for Love, a series of Sam Shepard plays, and The Dreamer Examines His Pillow by John Patrick Shanley. Currently writing and directing Big Girls, a television series, and Shooting Star, a feature film, she has written for producers (Heather Graham) and directors (Julian Goldberger, Autumn DeWilde, and Melodie McDaniel). Her spots for Spies Travel, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, won the Bronze Lion at Cannes. She founded Girl Trip, a production company, panel series and film festival to advance emerging female and nonbinary filmmakers. She was on the Directing faculty and a Creative Thesis Mentor at the AFI Conservatory for 8 years, and is currently a Directing Advisor at Sundance Co//ab as well as a Screenwriting Mentor at CineStory. Harrison studied directing at Boston University, where she received the Dean’s Grant for Filmmaking, and graduated from the AFI Conservatory as both a Screenwriting and Directing Fellow. Devoted to being an actor’s director, Harrison has been studying with Nancy Banks for over 10 years.
Joey Liao
Chieh-Chih Liao is a Taiwanese animation director and visual artist based in Los Angeles. He holds an MFA in Animation from the University of Southern California. His work explores visual storytelling through observation and stylization. His film Fluff & Furious has screened at multiple film festivals, and his work has been recognized by Communication Arts and American Illustration.
Eric Nazarian
Eric Nazarian is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and photojournalist whose work explores the intersections of multiculturalism, memory, and narrative agency.
A graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Eric gained international recognition with his debut feature film, “The Blue Hour,” which premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and earned the Best Director award at the Arpa International Film Festival.
In 2008, Eric was awarded the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his original screenplay, Giants. His diverse filmography includes Bolis, part of an omnibus by the European Capital of Culture, and Tatanka, exploring healing and resilience within the Oglala Lakota community. He co-wrote the screenplay for Three Christs, starring Richard Gere and Peter Dinklage.
Eric’s recent feature, Die Like a Man is a rite-of-passage drama set in West Los Angeles on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.
Beyond the screen, Eric advocates for social and global change through the Integrating Cinema Communities (ICC) initiative to empower at-risk youth through audiovisual literacy and storytelling.
He is a fellow of Film Independent’s Project: Involve, the 20th Century Fox Writers Intensive (FWI) and a former fellow at the USC Institute of Armenian Studies.
Irene Soriano
Irene Soriano Saxon is a Los Angeles–based film curator, festival programmer, and film marketing & distribution strategist. She programs short films for the Sundance Film Festival and has curated film programs for the Norwegian Short Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival [Finland] and the QCinema International Film Festival [Philippines]. Irene has moderated industry conversations and filmmaker Q&As for Sundance London and DOC Leipzig. She has served on juries including LALIFF Market 2025, Kortfilmfestivalen, Outfest LA, and the Nashville Film Festival. Her work with Studio Iró centers on community, collaboration, and inclusive cinematic representation of diasporic Filipinos across global independent film spaces.
