The Test

Director / Writer / Producer / Actress Victoria Negri is a quadruple threat force of nature. We caught up with her surrounding the debut of her first time directorial feature release, 'Gold Star' with Oscar nominee Robert Vaughn, to discuss marathon running, transforming one's pain into art, and her unique upbringing as the child of a father 60 years her senior. Join us for this open, vulnerable, and deep-well discussion on dying, living, and & all the messy in between.

Writer / Director Olivia Newman's longstanding passion for writing and acting paved the way for her successful launch into filmmaking. Raised in Hoboken, NJ by openminded, politically active, musically minded parents that met in the PeaceCorp, her childhood was shaped by performing in the school plays of the school her mother founded and spearheaded & by a year abroad in France her junior year in H.S. A crisis of identity in college led to a discovery of French Cinema & an eventual launch into directing when she enrolled at Columbia for grad school. A Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab alum, her films have received support from the Sundance Institute, HBO and The Caucus Foundation, and have been broadcast on PBS. She is in postproduction on her first feature, First Match, soon to be released on Netflix. Join us for this inspiring talk that touches on everything from outsiders, to racy too-young screenings of The Accidental Tourist, to Ed Harris giving film notes on a pregnancy ball.

Cinematographer & Gaffer Yessica Curiel Montoya has been bucking the norm all her life. Born in a small town in Mexico to working professionals that always encouraged her independent spirit, she set off for a film career in college and never looked back. She continued her studies in New York City and stayed on an artist's Visa that quickly led to regular gigs in the city. Often the only woman in her department & sometimes the only one on set, she was very candid with us about her experiences with everyday sexism & what it's like to be an immigrant in America today. Don't miss this very open & heartfelt conversation that covers everything from the role of artists as activists to carrying all the heavy equipment on set.

Director Elizabeth Nichols splits her time between quicksilver NYC and the slow savannah of Arusha, Tanzania in Africa. She collaborates on films with her Maasai students that are part narrative / part documentary & she also makes movies in New York City. Raised in Princeton, NJ in an artist / architect household where projects were king, she quickly developed a questioning & independent spirit. A child photographer, she tried her hand at theater post undergrad before finally settling into her current nomadic life of pedagogy & filmmaking. www.elizabeth-nichols.com www.ieftz.org

New England born Virtual Reality Director Annie Lukowski might have been a banker or a professor of Theology if she hadn't made the impractical-in-her-parent's-eyes-leap to Hollywood & start hitting it out of the park from the very beginning. Her first gig was as an intern on the five time Oscar nominated Todd Field film In The Bedroom. From there she landed an Art Department position on a George Miller developed production of Wonder Woman that never came to be. No matter, because she soon branched seamlessly out on her own into the cutting edge world of Virtual Reality, developing her own passion projects alongside content for studios & big commercial clients through her company Vanishing Point Media. Join us for this enlightening & exciting chat about how VR gets made & where its headed.

Aussie Writer / Director Elissa Down won the Crystal Bear Award at The Berlin Film Festival for her autobiographically inspired feature film debut "The Black Balloon" with Toni Collette. Growing up the daughter of a nurse and a soldier and the oldest sister to three brothers, two of which are autistic, she quickly learned the art of a good & amusing story. Ever charming, her projects tend to explore embarrassment in all of its messiness & humor. Join us for a winding chat on the fascinating life of this absolute delight.

Art Director and Executive Director of Women In Media, Tema Staig is a powerhouse do-er creative on a mission. Tema's company, Women In Media, is a growing contact list of women in all areas of film production. Bechdel approved, her organization provides thousands of options for creating greater gender parity on any film set. From DJing in New York City when virtually no women were spinning in clubs, to set designing in LORT theaters across the country to Art Directing and running product placement for indie hit 'Kissing Jessica Stein,' Tema has lived and worked in so many creative worlds. Tune in for this exciting and open chat that delves into everything from how Tema's grandparents escaped the Holocaust via Cuba to her assistant production designing on 'American Splendor' to how she retired from chemical laden set painting when she became pregnant with her daughter.

Producer Kristen Murtha is who you get when you want it done and with excellence. Raised outside Boston in a pragmatic, Irish American family, Kristen's producer star was born while watching a behind the scenes special on Finding Nemo while still in elementary school. Post college, she landed in sunny LA and soon started working for DreamWorks on giant studio animation projects like Rise of the Guardians and How to Train Your Dragon II. A consummate go-getter, she continuously took on smaller indie projects in her limited off hours from Studio Production Coordinating, steadily building up an impressive body of work that includes Associate Producing on The LEGO Ninjago Movie & Co-Producing Sundance indie favorite Band Aid, recently released through IFP & Sony Worldwide. Michal recently brought her on as Producer on her narrative feature, Born That Way. Join us for this must-listen talk that covers everything from all female crews to strolling the streets of Sydney with Jackie Chan.

TV Writer & Actress Grace Nkenge Edwards knows funny. Born in Guyana, South America to a linguistics professor & an accountant that immigrated to Michigan when she was a toddler, she started acting & creating stories from a young age. After pursuing an acting career in NYC post college, she found her way into writing, eventually becoming a writer assistant on INSIDE AMY SCHUMER (as well as being a contributing writer and actress in some sketches), a writer assistant for BROAD CITY, a writer for NICOLE BUYER's show and a writer for the newest season of UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT. Join us for this wonderful chat with this fierce and funny force & learn all the inside secrets to finding your own way into the Writer's Room.

Gina Atwater is a wonder. As an over-achieving independent spirit raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, her desire to tell character driven period piece stories led her to Columbia University where she created an award winning short that later caught the attention of her boss at CAA. Soon recommended for a job with JJ Abrams, she eventually found her way to Bad Robot & then The Writer's Room of HBO's Westworld. Join us for this insider look at how hard work, good character, whip smarts, & moxie pays off in droves.