Michelle Steffes is an award-winning writing/director whose short films have played in film festivals around the world and have aired on Hulu, FXX, and Freeform. She directed the fantasy drama Driftwood for AFI’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women. Her sci-fi black comedy The Interview, which won grand prize at the Academy-qualifying USA Film Festival, led to her invitation to join the short film branch of the Academy. She also produced Destin Cretton’s Academy short-listed short film Short Term 12 and Lowell Frank’s student Academy Award finalist short film Day Labor. 

During the pandemic, Michelle directed several commercial campaigns for VTech/LeapFrog, the short branded horror/comedy film Summoned for M&Ms and 20th Digital, and the short drama film Life Partners for Disney Television Discovers Talent Showcase. 

Michelle was a recent fellow in The Black List and Women in Film’s feature screenwriting residency program as well as a recent fellow of the Walt Disney television directing program, through which she shadowed directors on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hulu’s Love, Victor and High Fidelity. Previously she shadowed on TNT’s Murder in the First and Netflix’s One Day at a Time. 

Michelle previously worked as the Director of Development at Larger than Life Productions for writer/ director Gary Ross and helped develop Seabiscuit and the animated film The Tale of Despereaux. 

Jennifer Sorenson is an actor/producer/writer. She wrote and played ten roles in the award-winning, viral parody ORPHAN IS THE NEW ORANGE which was named one of the Top Ten Short Films of the Decade. Other writing includes: FOR WHEN YOU GET LOST- a feature dark comedy about family, death and beer. NO BACKSIES- a comedy short about life in the pandemic, SEE ME- a virtual reality short about the exploration of women reclaiming their bodies from the patriarchy, WHAT ARE THE ODDS- a healthcare PSA & I FART IN MY SLEEP: CONFESSIONS OF AN EMBARRASSING LIFE- a full-length play, which premiered in Los Angeles. She was a finalist in the PSA program for Women in Film. She has produced several successful short films and two features, the aforementioned FOR WHEN YOU GET LOST, which will have its World Premiere at the Austin Film Festival this fall, and a sci-fi/western feature SUFFER, starring Naomi McDougall Jones. Her production company, Aegis Creative Media, is in development for its next feature CHURCH & STATE based on the Off-Broadway play of the same name. 

 Meredith Riley Stewart (Producer) was born and raised in Alabama, Meredith now calls Los Angeles home. Her first feature film, THE GREATEST INHERITANCE, in which she stars alongside Mena Suvari and Jaleel White, distributed by Vertical Entertainment, premiered in spring 2022 and is currently available on Amazon.

Her most recent feature, FOR WHEN YOU GET LOST, will world premiere at the Austin Film Festival in 2023. Her award-winning short, AMERICAN DREAM, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, won Best Acting at the LA Shorts Fest, Grand Jury Prize for Best Short at the Seattle Film Fest and just completed its festival run. 

As a multimedia producer and founder of Halcyon Content, Meredith has created multiple digital series (WIF’s FLIP THE SCRIPT, AUTOCORRECTFU, SHAPING OUR STATE), short films (ORPHAN IS THE NEW ORANGE, MISS UNDERWATER, NO BACKSIES) and a virtual reality experience (SEE ME). With Aegis Creative Media, Meredith is currently in development for her next feature, CHURCH & STATE, based on the award-winning Off-Broadway play of the same name. Meredith is a Television Academy member and Women In Film Peer fellow and has served as an AFF Script Semifinalist Judge for the past three years. Above all, Meredith is passionate about using media as a platform for social change. 

Kerry Carlock (Producer) is one half of the filmmaking duo Dos Goats with her husband Nick Lund-Ulrich. Their first feature, Armstrong, is a micro-budget superhero drama starring Vicky Jeudy (Orange is the New Black) and distributed domestically by Screen Media and Amazon Prime. Armstrong is the proud recipient of the ReFrame Stamp sponsored by Women in Film and the Sundance Institute. Dos Goats is currently in post production on their second feature, Suffer, starring Naomi McDougall Jones (Bite Me). The film follows an intrepid noblewoman who must survive an Evil Prince and avenge the death of her Queen using a magic she knows nothing about. Before becoming a full-time filmmaker, Kerry served as the SVP of Programming for Pie Town Productions overseeing HGTV favorites Flip or Flop and House Hunters. She earned her stripes as a producer on over twenty primetime series including Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Miami Ink, LA Ink, Trading Spaces, and Joan Knows Best starring Joan Rivers. 

Alethea Root (Producer) is an award-winning producer and director. Her feature GOOD SIDE OF BAD was the opening night film of Dances with Films 2023 and won the AUDIENCE CHOICE award at the Festival of Cinema NYC. She produced the Emmy winning short film, A LOVE STORY and her first feature film, PART TIME FABULOUS, won eight film festival awards, including two Audience Choice Awards, the Film4Change Award, and the Exploring Humanity Award, for her directing. Root directed the music video, LONELY, which won three best music video awards. She produced and directed with her company Aegis Creative Media, a VR short called SEE ME that explores the male gaze in a post MeToo world, youtube hit, ORPHAN IS THE NEW ORANGE, that has garnered over 3M views on its youtube channel and she is a producer on, FOR WHEN YOU GET LOST, world premiering at the Austin Film Festival 2023. Alethea is committed to telling paradigm-shifting stories that help elevate the human condition.

April Frame is an Emmy-nominated cinematographer based in Boise, ID. She has 15 years of experience as a DP/Operator and Field Producer. April graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film Production from the University of Colorado Denver. In 2007 she moved to Alaska, where she honed her skills as a storyteller, working on everything from reality television including Coast Guard Alaska and Ocean Mysteries to commercial campaigns, indie feature films and the award winning documentary series The Ketchikan Story Project. “For When You Get Lost” marks April’s 3rd feature film.