DERON ALBRIGHT (The Legend of Black Tom) is a professor of film studies and video production at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. He has been producing short films since 1992. The Legend of Black Tom marks his return to independent narrative production following a series of short video-only projects, an experimental exploration of Las Vegas in his video Vegas Suite, the completion of two feature screenplays, and work as a Director of Photography on Francisco Menendez's Medio Tiempo, which aired on Showtime in September, 2001. Mr. Albright has written, directed, and produced over a dozen short films and has worked professionally as director of photography on several others. The Legend of Black Tom has screened at eight festivals to date and has won awards for Audience Choice--Best Animated Film (Sedona) and Best Animated Film (Philadelphia Festival of Independents).

FREDRICK ARMSTRONG & JAMES P. HARTE (Motherless Child-- Remnants of the Subway) Fredrick Armstrong is President of Animatus Studio and the Animation Workshop in Rochester, NY. He and motion picture editor James P. Harte have been making films for most of their lives, successfully avoiding other occupations. Both are graduates of the School of Flickering Images.

TSIVIA BARKAI (Vika) was born in Beit-El, Israel in 1979. She began her studies at the Sam Spiegel Film and TV School in Jerusalem in 2000. Vika is her graduation film.

JOHN M. CERNAK (Dear, Sweet Emma) was an award-winning graphic artist before becoming a digital animator. Proficiency in the traditional art skills of graphic design, photography, and illustration has given him an understanding of composition, lighting, and image-based story telling, which now serve as the foundation for his animation.

LOREN E. CHADIMA (Cries from Ramah) has directed over twenty critically acclaimed productions for the theatre. She has studied Shakespeare in London, was a theatre major at the University of San Diego, and received a Master's degree from the Brown University Trinity Rep Consortium. Cries from Ramah, Loren's second film as producer and director, was awarded Best Short Film at the Sedona International Film Festival.

BEN CHAVDA (SYN) was a graduate student at Regent University at the time of production of SYN.

RAUL GARCIA (The Tell Tale Heart) was born in Madrid, Spain. He studied filmmaking at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. He has worked professionally in animation since age 19 when, while still in college, he was hired to work as an animator for legendary TV animation studio Hanna-Barbera. After 8 years working in a TV series, Raul left Spain to join the international cast of Asterix and Caesar's Surprise in Paris, starting his career as an animator in feature films. In 1983 he co-directed the award winning short Woman Waiting in an Hotel as part of the Olympics of Animation at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games. Raul has worked as an animator in 26 feature films, including 9 years as a Disney animator in films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Aladdin, Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, and Fantasia. He was Sequence Director in Rugrats in Paris, Jimmy Neutron, and The Wild Thornberrys Movie.

MELISSA JOAN HART (Mute) has been a TV and film actress for 25 years. She may be most recently known as the star of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Melissa started directing TV five years ago, but this is her first adventure in filmmaking.

THOM HARP & MIKE STANDISH (Driver's Ed) Thom, the Director and Co-Writer of Driver's Ed, has been a cinematographer in Seattle for the past ten years, balancing work on commercials, music videos, and corporate campaigns with independent shorts, features, and documentaries. He has turned his attention back to writing and directing, and his three shorts 8 Minutes to Love, Afternoon Delight, and Driver's Ed are currently playing the film festival circuit nationwide. Mike, the Co-Writer and Co-Producer of Driver's Ed, comes from a theater background, having co-founded the Seattle improvisational comedy troupe The Temps and the sketch comedy troupe Some Kind of Cult, for which he wrote, acted, and directed. Since 2000 he has been an editor for various Walt Disney Company web sites, including movies.com.

CHRIS JOHN (Karma) has over fifteen years experience in the entertainment industry. This has given him an opportunity to explore a wide variety of art forms: television, film, Gold Record producing, and now, writing and directing. Karma is his second short film.

ADAM J. KREPS (The Butler of the Van der Waal House) is a graduate of the Florida State University Conservatory of Motion Picture Arts. He received a Shoestring Trophy at last year's festival for The Sky is Falling, a dramatic film which also won him a Student Emmy Award. In his first year at college he produced and co-wrote The 17th Man, a Student Award winning comedy film. The Butler of the Van der Waal House was recently chosen Best Short at the Asheville Film Festival. Originally from New York City, Adam currently lives in Los Angeles.

MING LAI (Pawns of the King) is a producer/writer/director. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in English, and California State University, Long Beach with an M.A. in English. In 2005, Pawns of the King won the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival, was selected to screen at the Asian American International Film Festival, and won Best Narrative Short at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. In addition to being a filmmaker, Ming is an award-winning creative director and copywriter for TV commercials and print ads. He has won numerous national and regional awards including One Show, Clio, and Addy awards. He is currently helping to develop a feature film that he wrote about the Nanking Massacre.

PETER LEPENIOTIS (Surly Squirrel) has been working in the animation industry since 1993. This is his first film as writer/director. He is currently working on a feature film at IDT Toronto.

MARC LESSER (When the Moon is Full/Cuando la Luna Esta Llena) received an M.F.A. in filmmaking from City College of New York in 2005. His recent projects include directing a behind-the-scenes featurette for the independent film The Oh in Ohio, and collaborating on Hal Hartley's short film Conspiracy. He is a producer of Video and Multimedia at ivillage.com.

CONSTANT MENTZAS (Liberte Conditionelle/ Suspended Sentence) resides in Montreal, where he is currently completing his Master's in film studies. This is Constant's second short film. His first film, Aspiration (2003), won many prizes, including best short film at the Toronto International Film Festival. During his Bachelor's studies he collaborated on many films, including Rouge sur fond blanc, winner in the 2001 Montreal International Film Festival (best experimental short) and Project Y (best short film).

JEN McGOWAN (Confessions of a Late Bloomer) began her career in 1997 when she graduated with her B.F.A. from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied acting. She directed her first film, She Never, in 2000, and in 2001 was accepted to the M.F.A. program at USC for film. Confessions of a Late Bloomer is her thesis film. Awards she has received include The Caucus Foundation Grant and an award from Women in Film that recognizes talented women filmmakers. She is currently involved in directing a feature film The Missing Children's Club.

STEPHEN KEEP MILLS (A Cigar at the Beach) graduated from the Yale School of Drama. He has performed with leading regional theatre companies in the U.S. and Canada and has appeared on Broadway and prime time TV. Cigar is his directing debut as a filmmaker.

MICHAEL NAKACHE (Convivium) studied at Acting International acting school and Ecole Superieure Libre d'Etudes Cinematographiques (ESEC) Production. This is his second short film.

BRYAN NORTON (Penny Dreadful) has a degree in Cinema Studies from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.F.A. from NYU. Originally from Rochester, NY, he is an award-winning director whose films have played in many festivals.

HIDETOSHI ONEDA (La Belle Dame Sans Merci) graduated from the Art Center College of Design and joined Japanese advertising giant Dentsu in 1992. He began as a print ad art director, but had an opportunity to direct commercials. He left Dentsu in 2002 to focus on directing film. This is his first short film.

YISHAI ORIAN (Happy Birthday Yemima) was born in Israel in 1977. He began his studies at the Sam Spiegel Film and TV School in 2000. His school location film was Friends or Heaven, and Happy Birthday Yemima is his graduation film.

JAMES OXFORD (Smart Card) has been working as a conceptual designer in the film business for ten years. During this time he has participated in a number of the biggest films in Hollywood. Beginning with Men in Black, he designed creatures with Rick Baker. Moving to the Art Department, he storyboarded the third act of Jurassic Park, The Lost World, directed by Steven Spielberg. Recently he has designed concepts for The Last Samuri (Edward Zwick), costumes for X-Men 2 (Brian Singer), and major sets for Chronicles of Riddick (David Twohy). Smart Card is Mr. Oxford's directorial debut.

DAVE PULS (Sharks in the Water) has been the Creative Director at Animatus Studio since 1992. His independent films, called Fresh Toones, have been shown in many festivals throughout the world and on WXXI-PBS. Sharks in the Water won the Best Animation Award at the Red Bank International Festival and Best of the Festival at the Berkeley Film Festival.

DAPHNE RAVES (Perfect Little Pots) grew up in Tucson, Arizona among cacti, coyotes, and great Mexican food. During the course of her career at Florida State University, Daphne wrote a feature-length screenplay, wrote and directed four short films, and worked on close to 40 student films in all capacities, including producer, editor, first AD, production designer, and cinematographer. She graduated from FSU in 2005 and now resides in Los Angeles, where she continues to write and work in many facets of the film industry.

MICHELLE SCHMIDT (RPS) is originally from Chicago, where she worked 17 years as an elementary school teacher. In 2001 she returned to school to study filmmaking. RPS is her graduate project at Regent University in Virginia. She is drawn to stories that celebrate rich diversity in humanity, raise questions, offer hope, and show transformation. The Aurora Platinum Award Best in Show and Aegis Award of Excellence were among several awards RPS received.

CHRISTINE SHIN (Janie) is the Director/Writer/Producer of Janie. She was born in Korea and studied at the University of Wisconsin and USC School of Cinema and TV. She was selected as one of ten finalists for the 2004 Coca Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award, and is an Honoree for the 2005 Project Involve by Film Independent (IFP/LA). Christine lives in Los Angeles and plans to pursue a career in directing and producing. Janie has screened at the Arizona International Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, Palm Beach International Film Festival, and Tiburon International Film Festival.

FABIO SIMONELLI (Viola Fondente/Candy Viola) has worked in the film industry as First Assistant Director since the early 1990's. In the past few years he has worked with the most important young Italian filmmakers: Davide Ferrario, Cristina Comencini, and Antonio Albanese. After debuting as director in 2001 with his short film La Prossima Volta, his latest 35mm short film is Candy Viola.

CRISTINE SPINDLER (Sirah) was born in Washington, DC. Cristine has worked at Florida State University as an actor and a volunteer on many films. She was invited to study at the FSU Film School for an M.F.A. in film.

MICHAEL SPORN (The Man Who Walked Between the Towers) opened an animation studio in 1980. He has made over 35 half-hour films and more than 25 short films. His film Doctor DeSoto was nominated for an academy award. This year The Man Who Walked Between the Towers has been in festivals in Nashville, Tribeca, Branford (England), Chicago, and Palm Springs, and was awarded a 2006 Carnegie Medal for Best Children's Video. The narration was done by Jake Gyllenhaal of Brokeback Mountain fame.

R. STEPHEN SUETTINGER (Wentworth) graduated from Colgate University. He worked on seven feature films and was a production coordinator for the Discovery Channel before making his first short film, Writing Wrongs. A Shoestring Trophy winner in 2000, he went on to receive an M.F.A. from USC's School of Cinema-TV. Wentworth is his thesis project.

NACHO VIGALONDO (7:35 De La Manana) has been awarded 16 national short film prizes in his various roles as actor, screenwriter, and director. Nacho has just completed a new short film titled Choque and is looking forward to his first feature film project Timecrimes, a relentless science fiction thriller to be completed this year.

LAUREN WAGNER (The Counter) is a Shoestring Trophy winner for Spikedriver (2003) and has family in Western New York. Lauren's background is in television production. A recent graduate of the Master's program at the University of Southern California, she is currently freelancing in Los Angeles. She wants to combine her love of filmmaking, history, and social justice.