| Richard Beer Richard has spent over 30 years working in film production, distribution, marketing and theatrical exhibition. He has served as an advisor, programmer and juror for dozens of film festivals around the world and as an editorial consultant for many independent films. Currently he is the Director of Programming for the independent Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, Washington and is a producer of the award-winning documentary WOODSRIDER and the upcoming A SONG FOR ALAN. |  |
 | Paula Bernstein Film journalist/filmmaker Paula Bernstein is a regular contributor to Filmmaker and No Film School. She was formerly an editor at IndieWire. Her short documentary film, “Sole Doctor” (2018) has screened at a variety of film festivals, including BendFilm Festival, the Napa Valley Film Festival and DOC NYC. |
| Laura Checkoway Laura is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and New York Times Best Selling author with a background in journalism and investigative reporting. Her 2018 film Edith+Eddie has won numerous awards including the IDA Documentary Awards Best Short and was nominated for the Oscar and Emmy for Best Documentary Short. The film is now available on iTunes. |  |
 | Bears Rebecca Fonte Bears Rebecca Fonté is the founder and director of Other Worlds Austin, the premiere SciFi Film Festival in North America, and is the former Director of Programming of AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL. Their current SciFi short PRENATAL has played 40+ festivals including Portland Film Festival, Boston SciFi, SciFi London and Destiny City. Prior to arriving in Austin, they wrote coverage for independent producers and coverage services in LA and placed in nearly every single screenwriting contest out there including Screenwriter’s Expo, Final Draft Big Break, Page International, Story Pros and Austin Film Festival. Bears Rebecca received their BA from Carleton College in British Studies and Theatre Studies and a MFA in Directing from Indiana University and has directed over forty plays. |
| Clemence Taillandier Clemence is a veteran of the independent film industry for over 15 years. She began her career as a theatrical and festival booker at Zeitgeist Films, a NY based distributor renowned for ground-breaking documentaries and award-winning foreign films which include THE CORPORATION, BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK and NOWHERE IN AFRICA. She now operates her own distribution services company and provides theatrical, festival booking and consultation services to boutique distributors including Film Movement and Distrib Films. |  |