Ever since Emma can remember, she has wanted to be an artist. She spent her formative years in Northwest Indiana experimenting with different art forms, but she always returned to storytelling, her preferred medium. As a Lebanese-American woman filmmaker and writer, she always had a penchant for adventure, which pushed her to study abroad in France for several years before, during, and after her under-graduated education. Now living and studying in Chicago, she spends most of her time collaborating with other filmmakers as a director, assistant director, cinematographer, and art director.

Emma is passionate about telling authentic and provocative stories through film. She believes that centering women on screen and behind the camera are essential parts of her artistic process. Her triptych of short films, FIGHT. FLIGHT. FREEZE.  follows three different stories of sexual harassment with an emphasis on the individual's response. Additionally, her short film BARF follows a woman struggling to communicate her feelings to a partner while uncontrollably vomiting and explores the feelings women experience in lopsided relationships. Her future work will continue to include women, both on the crew and in front of the camera. Emma received her Bachelor's degree in English Writing from DePauw University in 2019. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Directing at Columbia College Chicago. After finishing, she plans to continue making films and pushing boundaries.

Max Warchol is an up-and-coming screenwriter and producer who tells queer-centered stories that pull at the heartstrings. From comedy, to sci-fi, to drama, their work explores the complications of social and familial relationships from a humanist perspective--which is nothing short of a miracle given their penchant for aimless griping. Max is a born-and-raised Illinoisan, and after a brief stint on the west coast they have returned to be close to home and hone their creative producing skills through their M.F.A. program at Columbia College Chicago. When not developing one story or another, they can be found watching reality TV in secret, stubbornly self-teaching themself the guitar, or saving money to get a dog so they can mention it here for instant relatability points (working name for the future mutt: “Mr. President”).

When Jenny was six, she watched The Bride of Frankenstein. Jenny was riveted and amazed by the empathy generated for the monster horror films, both old and new, which inspired Jenny to study acting at Ball State University. While studying theatre and acting, Jenny wrote a one-woman show entitled, Monster Girl. After she performed Monster Girl, Jenny became interested in screenwriting and film directing. 

As Jenny transitioned from theatre to film, she was involved in several shorts and enrolled in a video production course at Lansing Community College. Her favorite films she was in were two horror films: Doppelbanger and The Frightened President.  

In the fall of 2019, Jenny received her first full-time job at Interlochen Center for the Arts as the Artist Liaison. Her original job was to handle artist contracts and hospitality, but this part of her job disappeared due to the pandemic. Instead of being furloughed, Jenny was brought on the production team as a robotic camera operator and editor. Now, she is pursuing an MFA in Film and TV Directing at Columbia College Chicago. She has met so many collaborators who inspire her to not only be a better filmmaker but a better person. Jenny is excited to collaborate on this wild film and cannot wait to see where it goes! 

Tiffany Zhao is a firm believer that in order to live life to the fullest, one has to leave their comfort zone. From growing up in both Shanghai and Toronto with two distinct cultures and languages to going winter camping in negative 22F weather, she has challenged herself in every aspect of life. The desire to tell stories was born out of these diverse life experiences. Her journey started at Western University in Canada where she majored in Media, Information, and Technoculture. During her undergraduate  years, she produced a short documentary that was selected for the Undergraduate Project Showcase. That experience led to her newfound passion for production and creative problem-solving, which solidified her goal to become a producer. In order to make her goal come true, she is now an MFA Producing candidate at Columbia College Chicago. As she collect more experiences in producing, she hopes to change the world in her own way, one story at a time.

Ahsha Davis received her Bachelor of Applied Arts in Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts with a double minor in Spanish and Communications. At Central she was heavily engaged in Campus Wide Event Planning working with many organizations. She began her producing career at Central Michigan University in 2015 where she worked at WMHW- FM radio station on the News Production team as Production editor. This led to her becoming the Program Director the radio station. Her love for radio, film and television led her to winning the Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts Award in 2019.

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One of her many accomplishments within radio was that she was the producer of a talk show called “Call a psychiatrist” which focused on mental health issues which won 1st place in the Michigan Broadcast Awards in 2021. She later became a line producer for News Central 34 producing weekly newscasts for which she received the WMHW-FM Outstanding Service Award for her dedication to producing. Ahsha quickly transitioned into the Film and Television industry and is currently a producer helping with the development of stories. Ahsha received her Master of Arts in Electronic Media Studies from Central Michigan where she focused on researching the Emotional Effects of Film. Ahsha truly enjoys being a TV and Film producer and hopes to own her own production company to help young filmmakers achieve their dreams. Through this she decided to move to Chicago, and is currently, finishing her MFA Film and Television Producing candidate at Columbia College Chicago.

Growing up in the chaotic but beautiful city of Mumbai, Eesha realized at a very young age that she was going to disappoint family and society by rejecting conventional academic, career and life paths expected within the South Asian community. She chose to study the Arts and Humanities, become a writer and now a filmmaker, and has steadfastly held her ground against the pressures of “settling down and starting a family” (a battle she might slowly lose against the toughest opponent ever: her mother).

Inspired by female artists (Amrita Sher-Gil, Nasreen Mohamedi, Zarina Hashmi), writers (Mahasweta Devi, Kamala Das, Arundhati Roy, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Fatimah Asghar) photographers (Homai Vyarawalla, Nan Goldin, Carrie Mae Weems), and filmmakers (Mira Nair, Zoya Akhtar, Greta Gerwig, Eliza Hittman, Eesha is driven to tell stories about women/female experiences, particularly about impossible situations or difficult circumstances. Drawing from her roots, culture, and society — and often as a subversive commentary on it — Eesha finds herself compelled to make films on female subjectivity through nuanced and authentic characters, often within the context of South Asian culture and the politics of class, caste, and religious intersectionality.

Born and raised in Bogota D.C, Colombia. Moved to the United States to do her undergraduate in Film studies, English, and Women & Gender studies. Currently, Natalie Lopez Herrera is getting her MFA in Film and TV directing at Columbia College Chicago aspiring to be a writer and director. In her films, she intends to write and explore the complexity of women's experiences, the immigrant experience, and the desire and bravery of taking action & breaking patterns. Since her beginning at Columbia College Chicago has participated in different positions mainly as a 1st and 2nd Assistant Director, script supervisor, and production designer. 

Marco Bacchetta is a filmmaker, Production Designer, music producer, and Director. He studied his undergrad at UAL, specializing in set design, and is now doing a (Ma) in Directing at Columbia College Chicago. Currently, he is working on mostly Student Film productions, including his Thesis, and producing music.

Matt O'Connell is a filmmaker/musician pursuing his MFA in Directing from Columbia College Chicago. Having first embarked on an industry path at Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, Matt’s independent practice now cultivates his wholehearted passion for subversive, boundary-pushing storytelling. His most recent project AN APOCALYPSE was awarded Best Student Film at the 2023 Wolf Tree Film Festival. He's passionate about supporting his friends and peers, and believes body hair is beautiful in all its forms!

Stella Eddinger is a Chicago-based Avid Media Composer editor. She has been editing pictures and videos together since the age of 12. Since then, she has worked on testimonial videos, motion graphic animations, and short films. She is proficient in Avid Symphony, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Illustrator.