ANN KANEKO is known for her personal films that weave her intimate aesthetic with the complex intricacies of political reality. An Emmy winner, she is currently in development on a food docuseries for MTV Films/Smithsonian Channel and 45/45 a personal film about the beginning and end of life. Her other credits include A Flicker in Eternity; Against the Grain: An Artist’s Survival Guide to Perú; Overstay and 100% Human Hair. She was a Fulbright, Japan Foundation Artist, Film Independent Doc Lab and Jackson Wild Multicultural Alliance fellow. She currently teaches Media Studies at Pitzer College.

JIN YOO-KIM is a Korean Bolivian American filmmaker who directed for Take Out with Lisa Ling on HBO MAX and is in development for a food docuseries for MTV Films/Smithsonian Channel. She co-produced A Woman’s Work: the NFL’s Cheerleader Problem, and was an impact strategist for try harder! and Waking Dreams, a series by Independent Lens and PBS Digital Studios. She was a Sundance Creative Producers Fellow, a Firelight Media Impact Producing Fellow, and has an MFA in film production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

SUSAN METZGER is an Atlanta native and her credits include City Rising—The Informal Economy and Mother x Artist for PBS SoCal, which won 2019 LA Press Club Journalism awards and were nominated for Emmys. Other credits include Magdalena + Michael and Right Footed. She worked on Jimmy Carter: Man from the Plains and Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives. Susan has an MFA in film production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

LORI GOLDSTON is an American cellist and composer. Accomplished in a wide variety of styles, including classical, world music, rock and free improvisation, she came to prominence as the touring cellist for Nirvana from 1993–1994 and appears on their live album MTV Unplugged in New York. She was a member of Earth, the Black Cat Orchestra, and Spectratone International, and also performs solo. Lori is known in large part for her improvisational work and draws on musical styles from around the world.

ALEXANDER MIRANDA is a contemporary Payómkawichum artist from Southern California. Miranda pushes the boundaries of Native American art through a multitude of art forms and media with a focus on songwriting, music composition, photography, painting and poetry. His portfolio honours and celebrates the power, resilience and beauty of Indigenous people, incontestably aligning his work with world-wide Indigenous resurgence. He is a current member of the band Underpass and has been commissioned by Julian Klincewicz, Virgil Abloh and others for various projects.

DAWN VALADEZ produced/ co-directed THE PUSHOUTS (2018) and Producer/Directed GOING ON 13 (2008). Her work is supported by the Ford Foundation, Sundance Doc Fund, CalHumanities, CPB, and LPB. She is a recipient of the See It, Be It Filmmaker Fellowship from the Geena Davis Bentonville Film Foundation. Dawn is the Director of Youth and Emerging Media Maker Programs at the Bay Area Video Coalition. She is in production on a number of projects.