Bethany Rooney

Director, Law & Order

Bethany Rooney began her directing career on the 1980’s iconic television show, St. Elsewhere, where she served as Associate Producer. She has since directed nine TV movies and more than 250 episodes of prime-time narrative shows, most recently Law & Order, Chicago PD, Law & Order SVU, The Rookie, Criminal Minds Evolution, and Chicago Med. Bethany also served as Producing Director on two series: Bull and The Originals. She has directed Oscar winners and Emmy contenders Denzel Washington, Hilary Swank, Mariska Hargitay, Angela Bassett, George Clooney, Alfre Woodard, Felicity Huffman, Sally Field, and Robert Downey, Jr., among many others. She has served the Directors Guild of America in numerous ways: as a member of the National Board, co-chair of the Women’s Steering Committee and member of the Western Directors Council. She co-created two of the industry’s leading diversity director training programs: Warner Bros. (2012) and the DGA’s Directors Development Initiative (DDI, 2015.) Teaching rising directors is one of the ways Bethany continues to learn about and love storytelling. She co-wrote (with Mary Lou Belli) the industry’s preeminent directing craft textbook, Directors Tell the Story, which Rooney uses when she teaches the WB Access Craft Intensive and the NBC-Universal Launch program. Bethany is a wife and mother and lives in Los Angeles.

Chase Joynt

Director, Framing Agnes

Chase Joynt is a director and writer whose films have won jury and audience awards internationally. His debut documentary feature, Framing Agnes, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator Award and the NEXT Audience Award. With Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase co-directed No Ordinary Man, a feature-length documentary about jazz musician Billy Tipton, which was presented at Cannes Docs 2020 as part of the Canadian Showcase of Docs-in-Progress. Since premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020, No Ordinary Man has been hailed by The New Yorker as “a genre unto itself” and Indiewire as “the future of trans cinema.” The film has won 9 awards on the international festival circuit, including being named to TIFF Canada’s Top Ten. Joynt’s first book You Only Live Twice (co-authored with Mike Hoolboom) was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist and named one of the best books of the year by The Globe and Mail and CBC. Most recently, he directed episodes of Two Sentence Horror Stories for the CW, which are now streaming on Netflix. With Samantha Curley, Chase runs Level Ground Productions in Los Angeles.

 

Cherien Dabis

Co-Executive Producer, Ramy

Cherien Dabis is a critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated Palestinian American film and television director, writer, and actor dedicated to telling complex, authentic stories about under and misrepresented communities. Esquire Middle East recently named her amongst “The Esquire 40: Meet the Arabs Who are Changing Film and TV.” Last year, Dabis was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for the critically acclaimed and groundbreaking episode “The Boy From 6B” on Hulu’s hit show Only Murders in the Building, starring comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short alongside Selena Gomez. Other episodic directing credits include Hulu’s breakthrough comedy Ramy and Netflix’s Ozark. Her television writing and producing credits include Showtime’s original, groundbreaking series, The L Word, and Fox’s hit, Empire.

Christine Swanson

Director, P-Valley

Christine Swanson is a multiple award-winning director from Detroit who earned her MFA in Film from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Christine also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame double majoring in Communications and Japanese. Christine’s movie directing credits include the network and cable television records breaking The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel, starring Aunjanue Ellis. The film won “Best TV Movie” from the African American Film Critics Association and the Satellite TV Award for “Best Television Movie.” The film was nominated for five NAACP Image Awards including “Outstanding Directing in a Television Motion Picture” for Christine and the Critics’ Choice Awards Nomination for “Best Television Movie.” Christine has also directed All About You, All About Us, To Hell and Back, Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story (which broke network ratings as the most watched original movie in the network’s history) and For the the Love of Ruth, for which Christine earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for “Outstanding Directing in a Television Motion Picture.” In addition to writing the above movies, Christine was a screenwriter for Woman Thou Art Loosed. Christine’s television directing credits include episodes of Chicago P.D., FBI, P-Valley, MacGyver, All American, Roswell, New Mexico and Homecoming. Christine resides in LA with her husband and four amazing children.

Deborah Riley Draper

Director, The Legacy of Black Wall Street

Deborah Riley Draper is an award-winning and critically-acclaimed filmmaker and advertising agency veteran. Variety Magazine named Riley Draper to their “2016 Top 10 Documakers to Watch“ list. Her latest film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is nominated for the 2017 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Documentary – Film and is eligible for Best Original Song for the 2017 Oscars. Her groundbreaking fashion documentary Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution was seen at film festivals and fashion weeks around the world and has been optioned by Director Tate Taylor (The Help and Girl on the Train) for a feature film. Versailles ’73 enjoyed a successful broadcast debut on LogoTV in 2015. Riley Draper’s leadership in advertising can be seen in campaigns and projects for Lamborghini, Coca-Cola classic, ExxonMobil, HP, AT&T, FedEx, and The Georgia Lottery Corporation. She has earned two regional Emmys, a Gold Effie and several Addy Awards. Draper’s 12+ years of agency account management and strategy experience includes roles at Ogilvy Atlanta, BBDO, Publicis and Tracy-Locke. She is a Johnson & Wales University Distinguished Visiting Professor and Indiana University Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecturer. The diehard FSU Seminole resides in Atlanta.

Gwen Wynne

Founder, EOS World Fund

Gwen Wynne is a Director, Producer, and Screenwriter and Stage Director working in dramatic features, documentaries, and theatre. Her directing and producing career highlights championing emerging writers, designers and filmmakers telling untold, provocative and taboo stories marginalized in our culture. Wynne recently produced Director Pamela Tom’s festival award winning documentary feature debut Tyrus with her production company Apricot Films, LLC. A two-decade journey, Gwen and her production company championed the Director and helped to bring Tyrus Wong’s story out of obscurity to the public. Tyrus had its World Premiere at the “2015 Telluride Film Festival”. Tyrus broadcast on PBS’s “American Masters” in Fall, 2017 with a limited theatrical distribution in the United States prior to its television broadcast. Before completing Tyrus, Ms. Wynne directed, produced and wrote film festival award winning drama Wild About Harry (aka American Primitive); this was her feature film debut. The film won “Best of the Fest” at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival and played in festivals throughout the United States and the world garnering recognition and awards. Wynne began her career on Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre scouting for new plays. From there she co- founded and served for six years as Artistic Director of The No-Neck Monsters Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. There she directed new plays and forgotten classics plus developed an after-school drama program for inner city children. The company was also given special recognition at The White House for this drama program for at-risk youth by Hillary Clinton. One of Wynne’s more successful and radical ventures was directing one of the first rap musicals ever produced, Sanctuary, D.C. by Ralph Brown and composed by Scott Davenport Richards, about runaways and homeless youth in D.C. which became an underdog hit. Sanctuary, D.C. was nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards including Best New Musical and Best Actress in A Musical. Other plays and productions included Bloomsbury Publishing’s acclaimed British novelist Stuart Browne’s ANGEL, also nominated by the Helen Hayes Awards for Best New Play. Wynne’s theater company also cast emerging talent (like Jeffrey Wright before his Tony winning starring role in Angels in America on Broadway) in ANGEL and the classic, rarely produced play by Tennessee Williams’, Kingdom of Earth. Funders of her company included The National Endowment for the Arts, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Comic Relief, The Rockefeller Foundation, Comic Relief, The Annenberg Foundation and many others. Wynne received her B.A. from Brown University double concentrating in Theatre Arts and Literature & Society and later received her MFA from University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. Wynne is a Directing Member of the Directors’ Guild of America (DGA). She serves on the DGA’s Women’s Committee promoting change in the entertainment industry’s hiring practices towards women and minorities. She is married to fellow USC Cinematic Arts graduate, Bob Bell. Bob has made a career at Apple Computers engineering the greatest software in the world.

Isabel Sandoval

Director, Lingua Franca

Isabel Sandoval is a Filipina filmmaker and actress based in New York. The Museum of Modern Art described Isabel as “a rarity among the young generation of Filipino filmmakers” while Criterion has touted her as “one of the most exciting and multitalented filmmakers on the indie scene.” In 2019, Isabel became the first transgender woman of colour to compete at the Venice Film Festival with her feature Lingua Franca. The film was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards and won the award for best narrative feature at the Bentonville Film Festival. For her performance, Isabel was named Best Actress at the 18th International Cinephile Society Awards, and at the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival. Earlier this year Isabel directed Shangri-La, a short film for the Prada Group’s acclaimed MIU MIU Women’s Tales series. Currently, Isabel is developing a drama for FX, and a feature film about the haunting of a Spanish conquistador in the 16th century Philippines. Her first two features, Señorita and Apparition, are currently streaming on The Criterion Channel.

Lesli Linka Glatter 

President, DGA

Lesli Linka Glatter is a Director of film, network, and premium cable television drama, with both pilots and episodes to her credit. Lesli’s TV work includes The Morning Show, Homeland, The Newsroom, The Walking Dead, Justified, Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex, True Blood, Mad Men, The Leftovers, The Good Wife, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, ER, Freaks and Geeks and Twin Peaks. Lesli has also directed numerous pilots including Gilmore Girls, Pretty Little Liars and SIX. Her films include Now and Then, The Proposition and, for HBO, State of Emergency. Lesli has been a Producing Director for the last 20 years, and is currently the Executive Producer/Director of Love and Death, an HBO limited series written by David E. Kelley and starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons. Lesli was the Executive Producer/Director of the award winning series Homeland for 6 seasons. She began her directing career through the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, in which her film Tales of Meeting and Parting was nominated for an Oscar. Lesli has been nominated for 8 Director’s Guild of America (“DGA”) Awards, most recently winning her third DGA Award for directing the Homeland series finale, having won twice before for Mad Men and Homeland. Lesli has received 8 Emmy nominations and a Humanitus Award nomination for HBO’s State of Emergency. Lesli is currently developing projects for Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Epix and HBO. Lesli recently signed a first look deal with Universal Television and formed Backyard Pictures with her producing partner, Cheryl Bloch. Lesli currently serves as the President of the Directors Guild of America. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Directors Branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lesli is an advisor at the Sundance Institute’s Director’s Lab and has been committed to mentoring for many years and most recently helped develop the successful NBC program, Female Forward. Lesli has received the Caucus Foundation Award, the Dorothy Arzner Directing Award from Women in Film and the Franklin Schaffner Award from the American Film Institute, as well as an Honorary Degree from the American Film Institute. Prior to her work as a director, Lesli was a modern dance choreographer who worked throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S.

Lynette Howell Taylor

President, 51 Entertainment 

Lynette Howell Taylor is a UK born Academy Award and Emmy nominated producer and the founder of 51 Entertainment. Lynette most recently produced the Broadway play POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive written by Selina Fillinger and directed by five-time Tony award winner Susan Stroman, which ran at the Shubert Theatre. Lynette produced Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut A Star is Born, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Lynette served as Executive Producer on Derek Cianfrance’s HBO limited series I Know This Much Is True starring Mark Ruffalo, which earned Ruffalo a Golden Globe and an Emmy. She also produced the 92nd Academy Awards Ceremony, which took place on February 9, 2020. Lynette has produced over 25 movies in the last 15 years including The Accountant, directed by Gavin O’Connor and starring Ben Affleck and JK Simmons as well as Captain Fantastic, written and directed by Matt Ross and starring Viggo Mortensen. She also produced the directorial debuts of Matt Ross with 28 Hotel Rooms and Brie Larson with Unicorn Store. Additionally, Lynette produced Wander Darkly, written and directed by Tara Miele and starring Sienna Miller and Diego Luna, Big Eyes directed by Tim Burton, Ryan Fleck’s Oscar nominated Half Nelson, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Oscar nominated Blue Valentine, both directed by Derek Cianfrance, Alex of Venice, Terri, On the Ice, Stephanie Daley, Phoebe in Wonderland, The Greatest, An Invisible Sign, Mississippi Grind, Levitated Mass, and multiple episodes of the award-winning ESPN 30 for 30 docu-series. Lynette is a member of Women in Film, a Reframe Ambassador, a Sundance Creative Producers Advisor, and a founder of the Horizon Award. In 2020, she was elected by her peers to the Producers Branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors.

Mary Lou Belli

Governor, Television Academy 

Mary Lou Belli is a Two time Emmy award-winning filmmaker who has been directing television for over 30 years including NCIS New Orleans, Black Lightning, Bull, Legacies, Station 19, Pitch, Monk, Famous In Love, Devious Maids, The Quad, American Woman, and Hart of Dixie as well as Wizards of Waverly Place, Sister, Sister, Girlfriends, and The Game. Her short film, Straight Eye for the Gay Guy won “Best Mini-short” at the California Independent Film Fest where she also premiered I Heard Something, a thriller that went on to play fests internationally. She has done ground-breaking work on web-series. Her award-winning short, America, is currently on the fest circuit. She is also Producing Director and Executive Producer of Ms. Pat. Mary Lou served two terms as the Co-chair of the Women’s Steering Committee at the DGA where she also serves on the Western Director’s Council, and the Leadership Council PAC and as an alternate to the Board. She is an Honorary Board member of the Alliance of Women Directors and Advisory Board member of Women in Media and a long time member of Women In Film. She has served as judge and/or guest speaker for the CSU Media Arts Fest, a judge for the Miss America Outstanding Teen Pageant, a jury member at the Sapporo Short Festival, Newport Beach Film Fest, Regina International Film Festival, and The Voice awards, a lecturer at the Chautauqua Institute, and a panelist for Women In Film, the DGA, SAG, and AFTRA and the LA Times Festival of Books. Mary is the current Governor of the Television Academy. She has been a guest artist at the International Thespian Festival for secondary school theatre where she gave workshops to thousands of teens and high school theatre teachers. Through her teaching, she supports many of the vibrant diversity programs including ABC/Disney, CBS, Sony, HBO Access, AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, and Warner Bros. Directing Workshop mentoring the next generation of directors. She is the co-author of four books: “The NEW Sitcom Career Book,” “Acting for Young Actors,” and “Directors Tell the Story” which she co- wrote with fellow DGA member Bethany Rooney. Her 4th book, ” Acting for the Screen” was published by Focal Press summer 2019.

Michelle Mower

CEO, Imagination Worldwide

Michelle Mower is the newest CEO of Imagination Worldwide LLC and successfully oversaw the acquisition and release of two critically acclaimed films—Amber Tamblyn’s directorial debut Paint It Black and the 2017 SXSW Audience Award winning feature film The Light of the Moon. Other acquisitions include international rights to Burning Bodhi starring Kaley Cuoco and SXSW award-winning thriller Like Me. In addition to heading up Imagination Worldwide, Mower is an acclaimed writer, producer and director whose work has been featured on Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) and Nuvo Television. Her debut feature film The Preacher’s Daughter, starring Andrea Bowen (“Desperate Housewives”), garnered the highest ratings for LMN that year. After that success, Mower wrote, co-produced and directed two more telefilms for the network, A Woman Betrayed and The Preacher’s Sin. She is currently in production on a docu-series titled Dayna Steele: Rock the 36, slated for release in September, 2018. Mower will next direct the dark teen comedy The Never List, to be released in 2019. Michelle is heavily involved in the film community in Texas. She has served on the boards of Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA) and Women In Film and Television (WiFT) and currently sits on the board of Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP).

Nina Ameri

Founder, Ameri Law

Nina Ameri has significant experience in several practice areas, so she is able to provide her clients with a holistic approach to legal issues. This approach entails analyzing the realistic outcome of a client’s legal issues while simultaneously making recommendations that will provide the best outcome for her clients – always keeping in mind their long term goals. This approach has been instrumental in securing great outcomes for talent as well as entrepreneurs. Ms. Ameri has always had a no-nonsense approach that has supported many clients in successfully closing deals. In order to protect her client’s intellectual property and preserve sweat equity, she doesn’t shy away from advising clients to walk away from deals not in alignment with their best interests. Clients are given personalized, hands-on representation and strategic business advice in every transaction.

Tamir Muhammad

Founder, Populace

Tamir Muhammad is a producer of film & television and founder of Populace. Current credits include the critically acclaimed HBO series Random Acts of Flyness. Muhammad previously oversaw OneFifty at Warner Media (formerly Time Warner Inc.), including developing & producing the original slate. Under his direction, OneFifty incubated several boundary-pushing projects before positioning them in the company’s divisions (Warner Bros., HBO, & Turner). Prior to joining Warner Media, Muhammad was VP, Content Development, for Tribeca Enterprise’s Digital Studios, overseeing development. He also previously served as VP of Film, TV and Online Programming at the Tribeca Film Institute, overseeing funding and development. Muhammad is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Grey Krauss Sandler Des Rochers.

Wendy Ettinger

Co-Founder, Gamechanger Films

Wendy Ettinger has been producing documentaries and narrative films for over 20 years. In 2005, with Julie Parker Benello and Judith Helfand, she co-founded Chicken & Egg Pictures in order to fund and mentor women documentary directors whose artful and innovative storytelling catalyzes social change. Over the past ten years, Chicken & Egg Pictures has awarded over $4 million in grants and 5,200 hours of creative mentorship to more than 200 films and filmmakers. These filmmakers and films have garnered a multitude of awards, including Academy and Emmy Awards – but as importantly have created change at home and globally for the issues they address. Most recently C&E supported films Trapped, Sonita, When Two Worlds Collide and Cameraperson all premiered at Sundance this year. In 2013 she co-founded Gamechanger Films, the first equity fund established to finance, and invest in woman narrative directors. Their first film, Land Ho, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and was released by Sony Pictures Classics, The Invitation premiered at SXSW and Lovesong premiered at the Sundance Film festival 2016. Wendy began her film career producing the Academy Award-nominated documentary The War Room. Also an activist and philanthropist, she believes deeply in the power of storytelling to create change through media, education, and the art. She serves on the board of the Educational Foundation of America, the 52nd Street Project and Imagine Science films.