24-HOUR SELF-STORAGE

Psychological Thriller Pilot by Keshia Thomas

LOGLINE: At a 24-hour self-storage facility, a college student's routine is disrupted by a relentless stranger, setting off a chain of events that exposes the unsettling truth hidden behind her carefully constructed life.

WRITER BIO: Keshia Thomas is a writer and filmmaker whose work explores the emotional and psychological landscapes people carry beneath the surface. Blending grounded realism with elements of drama, horror, fantasy, science fiction, and psychological tension, she crafts stories centered on family, identity, and the unspoken truths that shape human behavior. Her storytelling is rooted in atmosphere and character, often weaving immersive worlds where internal conflict manifests in unsettling and unexpected ways. Keshia’s work is driven by a desire to create moments that linger—experiences audiences absorb, reflect on, and carry with them beyond the screen. She is the writer, director, and producer of the award-winning short film Don't Look In The Corner, which received Best Director Short Film at Cinema Royale: Paris Edition, and the writer of the award-winning short scripts Crusin, Office Gossip, and Vultures. Through her work, Keshia continues to develop a distinct voice that merges intimate storytelling with elevated genre elements, creating narratives that are both emotionally resonant and psychologically haunting.

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July Script Club

SENSE8

Written by The Wachowskis

In Script Club, we read and dissect scripts for the purpose of helping writers to better create them, actors to better portray them, and directors to better visualize them. We will post a script each month.

Participants will have roughly a month to read the script before we hold an online gathering for a semi-moderated discussion of the script.

HOSTS/MODERATORS: Kendra Christel

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WRITE. CAMERA. ACTION!

A discussion about filmmaking’s collaborative journey from page to moving pictures

Hosted by Writer/Director Andi Behring

Acting Coach Lisina Stoneburner

Lisina Stoneburner has been actively coaching actors of all ages since 1991. Lisina has a very direct approach to actors and to teaching. Create a working relationship where the actor feels capable of being vulnerable and aware of their own range of capabilities and then challenging the actor to move beyond the obvious and create new and believable moments that are unique to the audience. Lisina works quickly to get to know the actor and accurately pinpoint what they have to access. Continuing then to show the actor, through interrogative script analysis and character development as well as preparation techniques how to create quality performances. 

Lisina is the Founder and Co-Executive Director of The Company Acting Studio. Originally from New York City, she is a well known teacher, acting coach and on set coach. Her school, established in 1996 is considered one of the Southeasts most elite acting programs for kids and adults. 

Lisina is one of the most sought after on-set coaches in the southeast region. Her work with some of the most popular and long running television shows and blockbuster feature films is well known and highly regarded in the film and TV industry.

Lisina Stoneburner brings decades of acting training, performance and on-set coaching for Studio Feature Films and Hit Network TV Shows (Little House on the Prairie, We Were Liars, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Legacies, PValley, Amazing Stories, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Dynasty, The Following and more)  to the curriculum of this 'working actor' styled program that trains the actor to be in their most competitive state at all times.

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STARSEED

Sci-Fi Short by Jessie Hymowitz

LOGLINE: When Jane, an unassuming archivist, in an attempt to prove her favorite author, thee Christen Preston, is queer gets mixed up in a generational long family drama.

WRITER BIO: Jessie S. Hymowitz is a passionate writer. She has won one Wildsound Festival award and was a finalist for the Mystic Film Festival. Her goal is make stories that keeps the world of imagination going.

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WE ARE NOT ALONE

Sci fi Feature by Daniel Lynch

LOGLINE: When an orphaned boy uncovers discovers that an omnipotent alien intelligence is quietly observing Earth, he teams up with a relentless investigative journalist to expose the truth- before humanity makes first contact with a godlike force it cannot survive.

WRITER BIO: I create stories for so that grandkids and grandparents can have a chance to create new memories together.

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BATHHOUSE BETTY'S DIARIES

Adult Ensemble Comedy Pilot by Breeze Vincinz

LOGLINE: After inheriting a Harlem bathhouse, a disgraced Wall Street socialite clashes with its queer community, forcing her to confront prejudice, identity, and unexpected belonging while fighting to survive

WRITER BIO: Breeze Vincinz is a bold transgressive fiction screenwriter, spoken word artist, and self-publisher of two books. After relocating from Los Angeles to Waldorf, Maryland, he champions Black Lives Matter, LGBT rights, comedy, spirituality, pancakes, and an undying love for Tori Amos. His work blends humor, edge, and soulful cultural storytelling.

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BREAD & CIRCUS

Supernatural Drama Feature by C.B. Hartford

LOGLINE: A progressive young pastor in a struggling community goes viral when he discovers a holy miracle but he must unravel the truth behind it when he begins to suspect he has made a deal with the devil.

WRITER BIO: Comika is a screenwriter and founding member of the B3 film collective in Oakland that focuses on strange stories and twisty tales. She has worked with Community Works West writing plays and new media projects for their Art & Social Change program and was the head of their Creative Writing Program: WRITING ON WALLS: Storytelling in the Digital Age. Her latest short film The Interview premiered at the Vertifilm Festival in Prague and her award winning web series The Grey Area is available on the PARAflixx platform.

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YESTERDAY'S TOMORROW

Psychological Thriller Short by Nija Green

LOGLINE: Forced to kill her lover, a trapped assassin struggles against her handlers to trigger a time-travel glitch before she runs out of ways to escape.

WRITER BIO: From microbiology to the blank page, my characters are too relentless to be kept in a lab! Sheesh! After pursuing a "stable" science career to please my traditional Black family, I finally let my stories take the wheel. Now, I’m a comedy, sci-fi, and romance writer crafting flavorful, culture-rich stories that celebrate all things Black and Brown, with an occasional taste of ratchetness, of course.

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WRITE. CAMERA. ACTION!

A discussion about filmmaking’s collaborative journey from page to moving pictures

Hosted by Writer/Director Andi Behring

Make Up Artist Crystal Portillo

Crystal Portillo is a Chicago based makeup artist specializing in prosthetic design, application and fabrication. She has been working in the industry for the past 20 years and enjoys being hands-on in the process from script to screen. She currently runs a full service makeup effects studio and creative lab with a crew of talented artists. From making prosthetics, medical simulation, head/full body replicas and prop fabrication we love to watch characters come to life! Check out some of their work at www.cirquefx.com

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Starting & Sustaining

A Conversation About a Career in the Film Industry

OUR GUESTS

WRITERS GLENISE MULLINS & ROBIN FUSCO

FLAWED PROTAGONISTS PODCAST

After spending nearly a decade in post-production, Glenise Mullins transitioned into scripted television with her first staffing position on Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Since then, she has worked on a string of acclaimed broadcast, cable, and streaming series, including Lionsgate’s John Wick: The Continental, Paramount+‘s Star Trek: Discovery, Apple’s Surface, HBO Max’s Warrior, Amazon’s Outer Range, Apple’s Invasion, and most recently FOX’s Memory of a Killer.

Glenise has developed projects with Plan B, Mad Chance Films, and Meynon Media. She is currently pitching original projects with Seven Bucks Productions, Escape Artists, and FOX Studios.

On the feature side, Glenise has written for Blumhouse and Amazon Studios and is preparing to make her directorial debut with a feature she wrote that is set up at Tea Shop Productions.

Robin creates layered crime and medical dramas that take the women you love to hate, put them in fucked-up situations, and make you root for them. She previously coached physicians from around the world on empathy and medical ethics, and she draws on this expertise to bring emotional truth to complex, morally ambiguous narratives. A new media medical series she was hired to write is scheduled for release this year. Robin was a 2022 WIF Writing Circle Mentee as well as a former NYSCA/NYFA Screenwriting Fellow, and her scripts have placed in numerous competitions including WeScreenplay, ScreenCraft, and Cinequest. She's also a commissioned and published playwright whose work has been produced internationally. A proud member of the Independent Writers' Caucus and The Dramatists Guild, she was awarded an MFA in screenwriting from Point Park University. Robin tells stories that immerse us in lives unlike our own, and when she's not writing, you can often find her out in nature hiking and conquering mountains - another way in which she expands her perspective.

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RED HOT SUMMER

Western Thriller / Horror Feature by Monet Ravenell

LOGLINE: When a mysterious heat wave descends on her childhood home, a defiant cowgirl must return to save her estranged mother from becoming the town's next blood sacrifice.

WRITER BIO: I'm a filmmaker who creates visually elevated, female-centered stories about identity, power, and transformation — using twists and symbolism to help women destroy the identities built to cage them in.

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June Script Club

Boondocks

Written by Aaron McGruder

In Script Club, we read and dissect scripts for the purpose of helping writers to better create them, actors to better portray them, and directors to better visualize them. We will post a script each month.

Participants will have roughly a month to read the script before we hold an online gathering for a semi-moderated discussion of the script.

HOSTS/MODERATORS: Kendra Christel

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PROTECTOR

Sci fi Feature by Daniel Lynch

LOGLINE: In the African Savana, a safari tour guide and his partner are caught between a Witch resurrecting prehistoric creatures and a technoratic regime promising order through machines, they become the last line standing between extinction and domination.

WRITER BIO: I'm an indie filmaker that has created my own cinematic universe of different genres except rom coms.

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SUG@R• COD3 • CHAO$

Urban Sci-Fi/Fantasy Drama Pilot by Alexandra Noelle

LOGLINE: When a hyper-observant coder who trusts patterns more than people begins detecting impossible glitches no one else can see, she must hack the system beneath her perfectly curated city—only to discover the one variable she can’t control is herself. And if she can’t adapt, reality will unravel her identity, fracture her relationships, and collapse the world she built to feel safe.

WRITER BIO: I’m a writer who’s had my head in a book or a pen to paper since she learned to read and write at just 4-years-old. On the first day of kindergarten when they asked me and my classmates what we wanted to be when we grew up, they all said, “Movie Star, Astronaut, Doctor, etc.” But not me. No, I said I wanted to be the first African American Pink Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger. Sadly, that dream never came true. That’s ok though. I only would’ve been able to live that dream for like a year. So, I write the heroes and sheroes I wanna see. That’s why I write Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, and Horror stories with women of color as the main event. Because beneath the glamour of being a Power Ranger was my need and want to see people who look like me be the impossible and save the world. And maybe clear up a few misconceptions and stereotypes along the way.

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MR. MEETS M.S.

Drama Short by Loki D. Wolf

LOGLINE: Newly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a man has one night to decide if his life is over — or just beginning. For 24 hours he sits with that question while the hospital room around him refuses to let him answer it alone.

WRITER BIO: I am a professional actor first. Professional photographer, second. And writer, well, just to get ideas out of my head. My favorite thing in all of this is that I have the privilege to be around so many other creatives.

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WRITE. CAMERA. ACTION!

A discussion about filmmaking’s collaborative journey from page to moving pictures

Hosted by Writer/Director Andi Behring

Assistant Director Mona K. Bennett

Mona K. Bennett is a film and television professional born in the Philippines and raised in Hawaii, and a graduate of Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television. She began her career as a production assistant on shows like Hawaii Five-0, Scandal, and Parenthood, and moved to Atlanta in 2016 to pursue her career as an assistant director. She worked her way up to 2nd Assistant Director before gaining experience as a 1st AD in 2019 on second unit productions, including Stargirl and Loki, and transitioned her skills set in main unit projects in 2022. She is married to Becca Bennett, who is in the camera department, and together they have two cats and a dog.

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SERENA & SKYE

Drama , LGBTQ, Coming -of- Age Pilot by Isaiah Lucero

LOGLINE: After escaping an abusive home, Serena finds refuge with her girlfriend Skye and support from a tight but complicated circle of friends. But as old fears linger and new challenges surface, she learns that healing takes more than love—it takes trust, belonging, and the courage to believe she’s enough.

WRITER BIO: Isaiah Lucero is a young, up-and-coming writer and filmmaker based in Colorado with a passion for bold, character-driven storytelling. He attended the film program at the University of Colorado Denver and is carving out a future in film and television through stories that reflect identity, resilience, and emotional truth. A versatile storyteller, Isaiah also writes across genres — including horror — bringing emotional depth to every world he creates.

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THE VERA CHRONICLES

Comedy/Thriller Period Piece Pilot by Breeze Vincinz

LOGLINE: In 1940, Memphis, a cantankerous former Madame, now a legitimate business owner, goes back home to Harlem to investigate the mysterious death of one of her former working girls and discovers seedy connections with the slaughter of other women across the city.

WRITER BIO: Breeze Vincinz is a bold, transgressive fiction screenwriter, spoken word artist, and self-published author of two books. After relocating from Los Angeles to Waldorf, Maryland, he champions Black Lives Matter, LGBT rights, comedy, spirituality, pancakes, and an undying love for all things Tori Amos. His work blends humor, edge, and soulful cultural storytelling.

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SAMSON

Drama/Fantasy/Procedural Pilot by Mikell Edwards

LOGLINE: In a world where werewolves, shapeshifters, and magic are interwoven in daily lives, Detective Samson gets assigned a new partner while investigating a supernatural murder.

WRITER BIO: Mikell is a writer of supernatural and science fiction stories. She grew up watching anime and has since been forever changed. Stories of the fantastical and boundary pushing genres fascinate her and can be discovered in her writing. Mikell hopes to see her stories on the big screen being enjoyed by millions of people. Thank you.

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May Script Club

Terminator 2

Written by James Cameron and William Wisher

In Script Club, we read and dissect scripts for the purpose of helping writers to better create them, actors to better portray them, and directors to better visualize them. We will post a script each month.

Participants will have roughly a month to read the script before we hold an online gathering for a semi-moderated discussion of the script.

HOSTS/MODERATORS: Kendra Christel

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The Storyteller Sitdown

A Conversation Storytellers About Our Industry

Our MAY Guest

Writer/Performer/Producer Brandi Nicole

Brandi Nicole is a writer/performer whose work centers on multidimensional, underestimated women. While she started as an actor, she fell in love with the storytelling process after writing & producing MUTED, a short starring Chandra Wilson about media discrepancy when a child of color goes missing, that was acquired by HBO and garnered over 175k views on YouTube via Issa Rae’s #ShortFilmSundays. She has since written and/or produced a handful of shorts as an indie filmmaker under her Rainy Day Bliss production banner. On the TV side, Brandi got her start as an HBO Writers Fellow and has written for legal/crime dramas including YOUR HONOR (Showtime/Netflix), HAPPY FACE (Paramount +), and is currently staffed on the Bosch spin-off BALLARD (Amazon). While on hiatus you can find Brandi indulging/performing in her first love, musical theatre.

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ABSENT

Drama Feature by Isaiah Lucero

LOGLINE: Right before graduation, a young filmmaker is contacted by the father who abandoned him, threatening to unravel the stability he built with the partner and friends who became his family.

WRITER BIO: Isaiah Lucero is a writer from Colorado with a passion for storytelling and a dream of becoming the next great storyteller. His love for film began at the age of eight, inspiring him to write and act in movies. He studied film at the University of Colorado-Denver and has been involved in the industry ever since. Isaiah strives to create stories that resonate deeply with audiences, tackling subjects like mental health or other real-life struggles while also providing an escape—just as films and writing have done for him since childhood. Whether crafting his own worlds or bringing characters to life on screen, he is dedicated to telling meaningful stories that leave a lasting impact.

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MR. MEETS M.S.

Drama Short by Loki D. Wolf

LOGLINE: Newly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a man has one night to decide if his life is over - or just the beginning. For 24 hours he sits with that question while the hospital room around him refuses to let him answer it alone.

WRITER BIO: Actor, Professional Photographer of eclectic art, Part-time writer

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SPEAK UP

A Conversation About Voice in Filmmaking

with Guest

Writer/Producer CRAIG WILLIAMS

A native New Yorker, Craig T. Williams is a writer and producer at Red Wall Productions. Craig’s journey landed him his first TV writing job on the staff on the hit TV show "TERROR LAKE DRIVE" on ALLBLK, an AMC Streamer. He has several projects in development including a feature film about mental illness called, “Hanging By A Thread” which has Academy Award Winner Viola Davis and Julius Tennon attached as Executive Producers. A mentor to many, Craig has made it his mission to uplift and support emerging voices in the industry.

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STARSEED

Campy Horror Short by Jessie Hymowitz

LOGLINE: How badly do you want to be special? What if a group of people could tell you for a fact that you are? That's the group Jaime, a tired young woman, finds herself in. Now, she and her new friend Fela, must find a way to survive.

WRITER BIO: Jessie S. Hymowitz is a passionate writer. She has won one Wildsound Festival award and was a finalist for the Mystic Film Festival. Her goal is make stories that keeps the world of imagination going.

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THE KICKBACK

Drama, Psychological Short by Keshia Thomas

LOGLINE: On the night of a joyful family kickback, a mother reveals a life-altering decision—forcing her two adult children to confront love, loyalty, and each other before time runs out.

WRITER BIO: Keshia Thomas is a writer and filmmaker whose work explores the emotional and psychological landscapes people carry beneath the surface. Blending grounded realism with elements of drama, horror, fantasy, science fiction, and psychological tension, she crafts stories that center on family, identity, and the unspoken truths that shape human behavior. Her storytelling is rooted in atmosphere and character, often weaving immersive worlds that internal conflict manifests in unsettling and unexpected ways. Keshia’s work is driven by a desire to create moments that linger—experiences audiences absorb, reflect on, and carry with them beyond the screen.

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HUE DONE IT

Dramedy Murder Mystery Pilot by Alex Troxler and Brahms Guignard

LOGLINE: An ambitious nightclub assistant inserts herself as a manager during a high-stakes grand reopening—only to have her big break implode when a dead body is discovered on the premises.

WRITER BIO: Alex Troxler - Writer, editor, and producer with a soft spot for found family—on screen and at home.

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The Storyteller Session Community Update

An Update on Community Status and Next Steps

w/ Founder Profound Clarke

Big changes coming to The Storyteller Session as we move forward that will allow the community to connect with more storytellers and move toward greater sustainability in the future. Come talk hear from Profound on ask questions! See you in the session!

With a pension for seeing the BIG in small stories, Profound focuses his storytelling on perspective. As a first generation Jamaican-American and the youngest of four, he's always looked to see the world through the eyes of others. This addiction to perspective has guided Profound's creative ambitions from an early age where he wrote endlessly. This continues today in his screenwriting, where his work focuses on the varied viewpoints in the complex lives of simple people no matter the genre.

Writing is a passion Profound had to come back to after adventures in the music industry. He’s worked as a consultant for feature film writers and independent film studios since 2014. His first feature placed in many competitions which led to a deeper relationship with the filmmaking industry. He wrote the award winning short “CLEAN SLATE” in 2019.

While on his writing journey, Profound was given the opportunity to work as a casting assistant for OAS Casting, working on projects like DYNASTY, COBRA KAI, and LEGACIES.

In 2020, Profound birthed THE STORYTELLER SESSION, a community birthed from his need to connect during the pandemic and lead to doing reads for around 100 stories a year along with bringing in industry guests, organizing workshops, and pushing towards the goal of alleviating industry isolation for creatives, especially creatives from historically underheard communities.

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DANTOR

Thriller Feature by Jules Chibututu

LOGLINE: A single mother finds herself at great odds with what's true after a tragedy, dating back to a past she bears no recollection of, sets in motion, a series of perverse and unnatural horrors.

WRITER BIO: As a queer triple citizen, "cusp" millennial and eldest daughter of Nigerian immigrants, Jules has always been fascinated by the micro-pockets of storytelling and enjoys both creating and duly consuming content that draws upon/parallels the lived history of the global diaspora. A top 2021 graduate of the Academy of Art University's Screenwriting program and nominee of two Best Screenplay awards, she has assisted on four short films, co-written three pilots, a feature and a stage play and is excited to continue not only expanding her breadth of work but connecting with fellow like-minds.

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GOING UP!

A Conversation About Verticals with Casting Director/Producer Jordan Blair Brown

Verticals have taken our industry by storm and we have gotten a wealth of questions about what they are and where are they going!

In our pursuit to help illuminate every corner of the film industry, we are bringing back Casting Director/Producer/Actor JORDAN BLAIR BROWN who has worked on multiple Vertical projects to help provide this insight! See you in the session!

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