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Talkhouse

Samantha Smart is an actress, writer, and producer whose debut feature, <a href="https://www.freestyledigitalmedia.tv/film/charliebird/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charliebird</a>, received the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at the 2025 Tribeca Festival and will be released by Freestyle Releasing beginning February 27th. Smart can also be seen in the Academy Award–nominated live-action short Jane Austen’s Period Drama, executive produced by Emma Thompson and directed by Julia Aks and Steve Pinder, currently playing in theaters. Following sold-out screenings at Tribeca and widespread critical acclaim, Charliebird went on to receive top jury honors at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival and the Coronado Island Film Festival, as well as the Marcello Petrozziello Award at the Lucca Film Festival. Smart’s acting credits include a recurring role in The CW’s Riverdale spin-off series Katy Keene, as well as a recurring role on CBS’s Bull. She has also appeared in guest-starring roles on Dear White People and God Friended Me. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Smart holds degrees in classical music and dance.

Samantha Smart

Film

First Nights

Timour Gregory is a British-Egyptian film director and the founder of Highway Child, a mission-driven creative studio focused on humanitarian storytelling. Sasha Schneider is a producer and director whose work explores the intersection of representation and the arts. They are the directors of <a href="https://www.sulufilm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beam Me Up, Sulu</a>, available February 17 on digital platforms to rent or buy. (Photo by Radhika Chalasani.)

Timour Gregory and Sasha Schneider

Towards a Pop Culture of Ideas or: In Defense of Trekkies

Warped depravity in pop bubblegum packaging, Emma Higgins is a writer and director interested in telling stories she hasn’t seen before through a genre lens. Emma’s debut feature as writer-director, <a href="https://fela.tv/work/special-projects/sweetness-first-look/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sweetness</a>, premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival to rave reviews and is out now in theaters. A coming-of-age story for the digital age exploring the line between innocent fandom and twisted obsession, it stars Kate Hallett and Herman Tømmeraas. A self-taught filmmaker, Emma established herself directing commercials and music videos, helming Jessie Reyez&#8217;s music video “No One’s in the Room,” which earned the esteemed Video of the Year win at the 2021 Juno Awards. Emma currently lives in Los Angeles, where she enjoys living amongst the coyotes and nurturing the filmmaking community.

Emma Higgins

Sinking into Sweet Uncertainty – Otherwise Known as Making a Movie

Matt Johnson was born and raised in Toronto and is the writer-director of The Dirties (2013), Operation Avalanche (2016) and BlackBerry (2023). He is co-creator of the cult comedy series Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017-19), the predecessor to the new film Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, which is being released by Neon on February 13, 2026. His next film is Tony, a biopic about young Anthony Bourdain starring Dominic Sessa and Antonio Banderas.

Matt Johnson

Three Great Things: Matt Johnson

Jon Stahl is a writer and producer operating at the intersection of traditional media and the creator economy. He worked in the writers’ room on the final two seasons of HBO’s Veep and wrote on FOX’s animated sitcom HouseBroken. He is the author of <a href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-153332382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How Not to Be a TV Writer</a>, a Substack newsletter discussing creative work and industry change, and the creator of the comedy micro-series <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@CasenPointe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Casen Pointe: True Crime Detective</a>, which premiered on Jan. 20th, 2026. He is the Chief Creative Officer of Pointfake Media, where he focuses on comedy-forward storytelling, and the CEO of Prolog, a creative development software platform which was acquired in 2025.

Jon Stahl

From Newsletter to Pilot: How I Accidentally Rebuilt My Writing Career

Jessica Harrop is executive director of <a href="https://www.sandboxfilms.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sandbox Films</a> and an Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning documentary producer who has dedicated her career to inspiring passion about science through film. In her role at Sandbox Films, she oversees all project decisions and company strategy and acts as an executive producer across Sandbox Films’ documentary slate  — including Oscar-nominated Fire of Love; Sundance Special Jury-Prize winning All Light, Everywhere; Emmy-winning Fathom; and Fireball, a documentary directed by Werner Herzog. Jessica has produced content for a variety of outlets including Netflix, Showtime, Discovery, National Geographic, and PBS. As an establishing partner of Sandbox Films, Jessica’s passion for science storytelling shines through in each project she produces. She holds a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a Certificate in Theater from Princeton University, where she also co-taught an undergraduate film course on communicating climate change. Jessica is a member of both PGA and WGA and she serves on the board of Reel Works Teen Filmmaking. (Photo by Ruvan Wijesooriya.)

Jessica Harrop

Finding the Magic and Humanity in Science on the Big Screen

Janek Ambros is an Independent Spirit Award–nominated producer and director whose films have won honors at Venice, Sundance and GLAAD, and have screened at major festivals around the world. As a producer, his credits include Human Capital (starring Maya Hawke and Marisa Tomei), Ten Thousand Saints (starring Ethan Hawke and Hailee Steinfeld), Monica (winner of the Arca CinemaGiovani Award at the Venice Film Festival) and In the Summers, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2024. As a writer and director, Ambros has helmed projects such as the psychedelic farce Mondo Hollywoodland, a sequel to the 1967 cult classic, executive produced by Oscar nominee James Cromwell, which is now available on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mondo-Hollywoodland-Janek-Ambros/dp/B0DFZM53LP" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prime Video</a>; the political documentary Imminent Threat, examining the War on Terror’s impact on civil liberties; and Ukrainians in Exile, executive produced by Liev Schreiber and two-time Oscar winner Janusz Kamiński. He is the founder of <a href="https://www.assemblylineentertainment.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Assembly Line Entertainment</a>, established in 2012. You can find him on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/janekambros" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://x.com/janekambros88" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/assemblylineent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Assembly Line</a> on Instagram.

Janek Ambros

How Francis Ford Coppola Taught Me to Build, Not Just Direct

Robert Kolodny is a director, writer and cinematographer based in New York City. His feature film directorial debut, <a href="https://www.thefeatherweight.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Featherweight</a>, a biopic of the boxer Willie Pep starring James Madio, Ruby Wolf, Ron Livingston and Stephen Lang, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was released theatrically in fall 2024. As a cinematographer, Robert has shot on films by Josh and Benny Safdie, Alex Ross Perry, Robert Greene, Laura Poitras, Sean Price Williams, David Byrne, Taylor Mac and Cecilia Vicuña. His short film Fly on Out screened at the 67th Cannes Film Festival in the Court Métrage. His direction of the TV series Frankie Cooks, earned him a New York Emmy Award. In 2022, DOC NYC named Robert one of its 40 Under 40 Filmmakers. Robert is a prolific film-viewer and a lifelong student of the craft and history of cinema. When not making or watching films, he is a professor of film at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Robert Kolodny

David Lynch and I: Involved in a Mystery

Irene Sofia Lucio is a Puerto Rican actress who is starring as Isidora in this season’s most acclaimed Broadway play, <a href="https://liberationbway.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liberation</a>, which closes on February 1. Irene created the role of Patricia in Jeremy O’Harris’ award-winning Slave Play, a role she carried from workshops through its runs Off-Broadway, on Broadway, on the West End, and in Los Angeles. Irene co-wrote, performed, and co-produced the webseries B.U.T.S. (Bi-lingual, Underrepresented, Titless Sallies), which won Outstanding Comedy at the NBCU Short Film Festival, and also wrote the animated series Super Ellas, about Latina trailblazers, winning the Gracia and Silver Telly Award for Best Animated Series. She has several screenplays in development with CBS and Dentsu Storylab. With degrees in Comparative Literature and Theatre from Princeton University and an MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Irene is a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who currently resides in New York City.

Irene Sofia Lucio

To Protest or Not to Protest

Anna Konkle can currently be seen in the comedy thriller <a href="https://mpcafilm.com/getaway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Untitled Home Invasion Romance</a>, starring Jason Biggs and Meagan Rath. She is the co-creator/co-star of PEN15, the critically acclaimed television series for Hulu which received Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the second year in a row. Anna also directed several episodes in season 2. Her other recent TV appearances include Apple&#8217;s Murderbot, starring Alexander Skarsgard from the Weitz Brothers and the Apple+ series The Afterparty, from Lord-Miller. Anna&#8217;s memoir, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/677456/the-sane-one-by-anna-konkle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sane One</a>, will be published by Random House in May. (Photo by Sela Shiloni.)

Anna Konkle

Three Great Things: Anna Konkle

Leah Warshawski specializes in producing and directing documentaries, television, commercials, corporate videos, non-profit and brand videos around the globe. Her career in film began in Hawai’i for shows including Lost and Baywatch. Leah&#8217;s first feature doc, Finding Hillywood, took place in Rwanda and won six awards after its Seattle International Film Festival premiere in 2013. Her second feature doc, Big Sonia (2016), won 22 awards, screened for Congress, qualified for an Academy Award, and had a three-year run on PBS. Last year, Leah launched a nationwide screening and impact tour for her award-winning short film, Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool (2023), filmed in Lahaina before, during and after the devastating wildfires. Leah also consults with filmmakers about audience engagement, distribution and social impact. Her personal journey is the inspiration for her TedX Talk called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkAMHQhabkU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;How Do You Cope with the Trauma You Didn’t Experience?&#8221;</a> and the subject of a chapter she wrote for Soul Success, a #1 best-selling book on Amazon. She is currently based between Seattle, Idaho and Maui.

Leah Warshawski

Big Sonia and the Big 100

Lily Lady is an artist from New York City. Lily&#8217;s journalism can be found in Office and Dirty Magazine. Their latest poetry collection is NDA (Far West Press, 2024) and their feature film, <a href="https://www.factorytwentyfive.com/sams-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam&#8217;s World</a>, is available digitally on Tubi, Amazon Prime and more platforms via Factory 25. (Photo by Max Lakner.)