LIZ MANASHIL

After graduation from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Liz directed television, shorts and music videos, including Beth Thornley’s YOU’RE SO PONY. In 2015, her debut feature (which she wrote, directed, produced and cast), BREAD AND BUTTER, starring Christine Weatherup, Lauren Lapkus, and Bobby Moynihan, was released by The Orchard. HelloGiggles called it, “an absolute must-watch for women everywhere.” Her second feature (which she wrote, directed, and produced), SPEED OF LIFE, starring Ann Dowd and Alison Tolman, was called “delightful in just about every way” by noted film critic Tim Cogshell (of NPR’s “FilmWeek”) and is airing on Showtime. Liz just wrapped a short, LINA, starring Laura San Giacomo and Sandra Seacat. She’s currently attached to direct 5 features, including Bloodlist 12’s THIN BLUE VEINS, I CAN CHANGE (with Jennifer Carpenter) and Natalie Higdon’s HOLD ME NOW. She was a co-founder of Constellation Incubator and is co-host of hit podcast “Making Movies Is Hard!!” For her dayjob, she does indie sales distribution consulting and sales.

CHELSEA STARDUST

Chelsea Stardust has been a horror film fan since the age of 10 when her father showed her George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Tod Browning’s Dracula. Chelsea attended Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College School of Film program where she focused on Directing. Upon graduating, Chelsea moved to sunny Los Angeles to pursue her filmmaking dreams. After working for comedy legends Ivan Reitman and Judd Apatow, Chelsea found her horror home at Blumhouse Productions (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister, The Purge, Get Out, Split, Us) where she served as the executive assistant to Jason Blum for several years. ​Since leaving her post at Blumhouse Productions in 2015, Chelsea started directing full time. Her first feature film, the science fiction thriller ALL THAT WE DESTROY, was part of the Blumhouse series Into The Dark and is currently available on Hulu. Her second feature film, the horror comedy SATANIC PANIC, was written by novelist Grady Hendrix and was released in 2019 and is available on Blu-Ray, DVD, VHS and is streaming on Shudder. She is repped by United Talent Agency and Heroes & Villains Entertainment.

SHARON ARTEAGA

Sharon Arteaga is a first-generation Mexican-American filmmaker, from Corpus Christi, Texas, who convinced her mom to buy her a video camera instead of a Quinceañera. Included in NALIP’s 2019 List of “Latinx Directors to Know,” Arteaga’s work playfully incorporates themes of generational, linguistic, and cultural differences and similarities between people. She has won numerous short film competitions with her films WHEN I GROW UP, PLANE PRETEND, and WHEN YOU CLEAN A STRANGER’S HOME. She was a 2019 Tribeca Chanel Through Her Lens finalist for her short screenplay IN TOW, which also won runner up at the 2020 New Orleans Film Festival South Pitch, was a Semifinalist in ScreenCraft’s Film Fund and most recently, was awarded the 2021 Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation Filmmaker Grant. Arteaga is currently developing her first feature film. She is also a passionate educator who loves empowering others to also tell their own stories through film.

HILLARY AND COURTNEY ANDUJAR

Twins Courtney and Hillary Andujar co-direct and design stylish genre films. Influenced by ’70s eurohorror and femme-fronted exploitation films, they live for narratives that are subversive and show feminist and queer perspectives. They were included in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film (2019), have received a grant from the Chimaera Project, and were AMC Shudder Labs and Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellows for their feature script LOVESPELL. They are represented by UTA for production design and XYZ Films for writing and directing.

MEI MAKINO

Mei Makino is a screenwriter and director. She grew up at the intersection of several identities, but never felt like any of them fully fit. This feeling was the seed for her coming-of-age debut feature INBETWEEN GIRL (2021 SXSW Visions’ Audience Award). The Cut praised the film for its “nuance and curiosity” and RogerEbert.com remarked on the film having a “stand out directorial approach.” When she’s not developing films and screenplays rooted in empathy, diversity, and humor, you can find her social media managing and digital content creating.