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Talkhouse

Tzvi is a writer director from NYC. His debut feature film, Killer of Men, made on a $10,000 budget, premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival, which Eric Kohn hailed as &#8220;one of the best debuts of 2024&#8221; and Oscar-nominated director Ramin Bahrani said &#8220;Tzvi has created the definition of low-budget auteur cinema.&#8221; Filmmaker magazine called it &#8220;an eerily austere serial killer drama, with a (possible) science fiction twist.&#8221; In his free time, Tzvi writes short fiction, essays on cinema, and runs the monthly screening series Film Underground, focused on democratizing cinema. He can be found on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/tzvi_shadowplayfilms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@tzvi_shadowplayfilms</a>.

Tzvi

Film

Time Stop

Julia Marchese is a filmmaker, writer, actor, podcaster, film programmer, VHS Vixen &amp; film critic. She’s known for directing the award-winning feature documentary Out of Print, an acclaimed exploration of repertory cinema culture and film preservation. She also adapted Stephen King’s short story I Know What You Need into an award-winning short film. Julia co-hosts the podcasts Horror Movie Survival Guide, The Loser’s Club and JodoWOWsky, reviews a VHS from her rainbow wall every day on her social media channels and writes about cinema for Talkhouse. Her work frequently explores nostalgia, genre cinema, physical media culture, and the communal power of moviegoing. She is @juliacmarchese on all platforms.

Julia Marchese

My Semester at Shermer High School

Gabby Kono-Abdy produced and costars in the romantic drama <a href="https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/wish-you-were-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wish You Were Here</a>, the directorial debut of Julia Stiles starring Mena Massoud, Isabelle Fuhrman and Kelsey Grammer, which is out now through Lionsgate. She is a bicoastal actress who has appeared in series such as Law &amp; Order: SVU, iCarly and Big Time Rush and has roles in such movies as Nighthawks, opposite Chace Crawford, and Agent Game, starring Mel Gibson and Dermot Mulroney. Gabby was the star and lead producer of Baker’s Dozen, a romantic comedic mini-series that premiered on Amazon Prime, and currently is working on several other producing projects with Universal, Lionsgate, and several independent production companies. Gabby recently publicly launched her production company, Little Fishy Films, which has optioned the rights to several bestselling novels and scripts, where various projects are currently in development. Gabby’s mission is to unearth the amazing books and authors who are currently flying under the radar. (Photo by Emma Silke.)

Gabby Kono-Abdy

From New Girl to Bookworm: How High School Loneliness Sparked My Love for Storytelling

Justin Martell and Matt Manjourides were producers on Fangoria&#8217;s Castle Freak with Seager Dixon serving as Unit Production Manager. Their company Not the Funeral Home produced <a href="https://vinegarsyndrome.com/collections/frontpage/products/street-trash-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Street Trash</a> in South Africa, which is now available on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome, and produces The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, which is currently in its seventh season on Shudder. The latest Not the Funeral Home film, Black Eyed Susan, is available for pre-order from Vinegar Syndrome <a href="https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/black-eyed-susan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Justin Martell, Matt Manjourides and Seager Dixon

How A Group of “Dumb Americans” Made One of the First Ever Horror Movies Shot in Albania

Julia Stiles’ feature directorial debut, <a href="https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/wish-you-were-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wish You Were Here</a>, is out now in theaters through Lionsgate. Called “one of the most fearless and talented actresses in Hollywood” by the Los Angeles Times, SAG, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Stiles starred in the 2019 film Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez, Lili Reinhart, Constance Wu and Cardi B. In 2011, Stiles received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her work on Dexter, opposite Michael C. Hall. She has played iconic roles in films such 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance, Mona Lisa Smile and the Bourne franchise alongside Matt Damon. Additional credits include Silver Linings Playbook, State &amp; Main, Hamlet and O. Stiles starred in the Hulu web series Blue for the WIGS network, with whom she teamed to create the web series Paloma, which she wrote and directed for two seasons. Stiles also wrote and directed the short film Raving, starring Zooey Deschanel, for Elle magazine’s film series, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and on the Sundance Channel. She is a graduate of Columbia University. (Photo courtesy Lionsgate.)

Julia Stiles

Best of 2024: Julia Stiles (Wish You Were Here) on Nightbitch

Sasha Rainbow is an award-winning New Zealand-born director whose new body horror Grafted is now streaming on Shudder. Her documentary Kamali, about a seven-year-old Indian girl skateboarder, was long listed for an Oscar, nominated for a BAFTA and was distributed through RYOT films. Sasha has been a mentee of the British Film Institute X British Academy of Film and Television mentorship since 2018 and attended the renowned Yaddo artists residency in 2019. In 2021, Sasha was selected as one of eight women for the Women in Film multi-hyphenate mentorship scheme in Los Angeles. Sasha is developing several feature-length scripted films, including BETA, a female lead sci-fi set in the Bay Area.

Sasha Rainbow

How I Lost My Face

Summer Shelton was the recipient of the 2018 Independent Spirit Producers Award. Her directorial debut,<a href="https://www.summershelton.com/films/project-one-youandithemovie" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> You &amp; I</a>, which she also wrote, produced and co-starred in opposite Clayne Crawford, is now available on digital. She produced the acclaimed films Maine, Keep the Change, People Places Things and Little Accidents, and is a frequent collaborator of Ramin Bahrani, including working as associate producer on his features Goodbye Solo and At Any Price. She was the recipient of the inaugural Bingham Ray Creative Producing Fellowship, awarded by the Sundance Institute (2012), a Rotterdam Producing Fellowship (2013), Film Independent Sloan Producing Fellowship (2014) and Cannes Producing Fellowship (2021) awarded by the Gotham.

Summer Shelton

On Losing It All and Gaining Back My Voice

Jim McKay is a filmmaker and co-founder, along with Michael Stipe, of C-Hundred Film Corp. McKay broke through with his debut feature, Girls Town (1996), the landmark Sundance-winning drama which is now in theaters in a <a href="https://www.filmmovement.com/girls-town" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new 4K restoration</a>. His other directorial features include Our Song (2000), Everyday People (2004), Angel Rodriguez (2005) and En El Septimo Dia (2017). He has produced and directed a full-length documentary, Lighthearted Nation; a feature-length concert film, R.E.M.’s Tourfilm; numerous music videos; and an award-winning series of public service announcements called Direct Effect. McKay has also directed numerous TV shows, including The Wire, Big Love, Law and Order, In Treatment, Treme, Mr Robot, The Americans, The Good Wife, Breaking Bad, Rectify and Better Call Saul. Visit <a href="https://jimmckayfilm.com/">jimmckayfilm.com</a> for more info.
Anna Grace is an actor, writer, and environmental lawyer. She is known for her work on Girls Town and has received grants and awards for her writing, including a New York Foundation for the Arts Award in Fiction. She was a trial attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice enforcing federal environmental laws from 2014 to 2021. More recently, she served as senior counsel and legal strategist for an environmental response trustee responsible for remediating and revitalizing contaminated sites across the United States.

Jim McKay and Anna Grace

Letters from Girls Town

Neil Burger is the director, writer and producer of the new thriller <a href="https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/inheritance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inheritance</a>, starring Phoebe Dynevor, which is now in theaters through IFC Films. His recent feature directing credits include Lionsgate’s The Marsh King’s Daughter starring Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn; and The Upside, starring Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart and Nicole Kidman, which grossed over $100 million in North America and was Burger’s third number one opening in a row. He also directed Divergent, starring Shailene Woodley and Kate Winslet; Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro; and the critically acclaimed The Illusionist starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. His directorial feature debut, Interview With the Assassin was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. Burger directed and executive produced the pilot and the final episode of Billions, the Showtime series starring Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti that ran for seven seasons. He also directed the first season finale of Showtime’s The Agency starring Michael Fassbender, Richard Gere, and Jeffrey Wright. (Photo by Chris Chapman.)

Neil Burger

Best of 2024: Neil Burger (Inheritance) on Nosferatu

Jharrel Jerome is currently playing the lead role in the biopic of wrestler Anthony Robles, Unstoppable, also starring Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle and Bobby Cannavale. He had his breakout role in Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award-winning film Moonlight and won many awards, including an Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Miniseries, for his performance in Ava DuVernay’s minseries When They See Us. His additional film credits include Selah and the Spades; Monster, opposite Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Wright, Tim Blake Nelson and Nas; Concrete Cowboy, alongside Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin; and First Match, with Colman Domingo. Last year, Jerome starred in the lead role of the Prime Video absurdist realism comedy series I’m a Virgo, from writer-director Boots Riley, and was also seen in the limited drama series Full Circle, from director Steven Soderbergh, for which he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Jerome is also a hip-hop artist, who in 2023 released with his debut project, Someone I’m Not. (Photo courtesy Amazon Studios.)

Jharrel Jerome

Best of 2024: Jharrel Jerome (Unstoppable) on The Penguin

Amber Sealey is an award-winning filmmaker whose most recent film, <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/out-of-my-mind/5U9QeQMDIDaj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Out of My Mind</a>, premiered at Sundance 2024 to multiple standing ovations and is now streaming on Disney+. Based on the bestselling YA novel of the same name, it stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby and Judith Light, with Jennifer Aniston voicing the inner life of the lead. Her feature No Man of God, starring Elijah Wood and Luke Kirby, was theatrically released in 2021 to rave reviews. Her feature No Light and No Land Anywhere was theatrically released by Factory 25 and won a Special Jury Award at the LA Film Festival. Her second feature, How To Cheat, won Best Performance at LAFF and both Best Narrative and Best Acting at BendFilm. Her first film, A Plus D, was released by IndiePix. Sealey has a BA in theater arts and modern dance from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MA from The Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She studied Shakespeare at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She was born in England and lives in Los Angeles with her family. (Photo by Jack Caswell.)

Amber Sealey

Revisited: Neurodiversity is the Fucking Coolest Thing in the World

Joel Potrykus resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he works with a filmmaking band, Sob Noisse, including long-time collaborator Joshua Burge. His latest feature, <a href="https://tribecafilm.com/films/vulcanizadora-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vulcanizadora</a>, makes its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2024. His films Ape, Buzzard, The Alchemist Cookbook and Relaxer have premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, and have screened at the Lincoln Center and the MoMa. He teaches filmmaking at Grand Valley State University.