Jefferson Stein, Writer/Director
Jefferson Stein is a filmmaker from Texas based in Los Angeles. His short film, TUMBLE DRY LOW, screened at Seattle, Maryland, and Tallinn Black Nights and was selected for the Shoot New Directors Showcase. It premiered on Short of the Week and garnered 2.5 million views on YouTube, becoming one of the most-watched dramatic shorts on the platform. His follow-up, BURROS, executive produced by Eva Longoria and produced by Film Independent Spirit Award winner Liz Cardenas (7 Days, Never Goin’ Back, A Ghost Story), was awarded a Film Independent fiscal sponsorship, premiered at Tribeca, and won top awards at SCAD Savannah, Santa Fe IFF, Sidewalk, Arizona, and New York ICFF, qualifying for the Live Action Short Oscar® at the 95th Academy Awards®. It was selected by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the top 15 Oscar® contenders and screened at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. His debut feature, WHERE THE SUN MEETS MAGDALENA, set in the same world as BURROS was an Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting quarterfinalist.
Liz Cardenas, Producer
Liz Cardenas is a 2022 Independent Spirit Award winner for Duplass Brothers Productions’ 7 DAYS (Tribeca ‘21 | Cinedigm), written and directed by Roshan Sethi (The Resident, Call Jane) starring Karan Soni and Geraldine Viswanathan, and a 2019 Spirit Award Nominee for NEVER GOIN’ BACK (Sundance ‘18 | A24), directed by Augustine Frizzell (Euphoria, The Last Letter From Your Lover) starring Maia Mitchell, Camila Morrone, and Kyle Mooney. A former reporter for The Dallas Morning News, she was included in the 2019 LATINXT, a curated list of emerging Latinx creators from an initiative by Zoe Saldana, Robert Rodriguez, and Lin-Manuel Miranda and was one of only four producers to receive the inaugural 2022 Dear Producer Award, which includes a $50K grant. Other notable credits include ACIDIMAN (Tribeca 2022) directed by Alex Lehmann (Meet Cute, Paddleton, Blue Jay) staring Academy Award nominated actor Thomas Haden Church and Dianna Agron; A GHOST STORY (Sundance ‘17 | A24), directed by David Lowery (The Green Knight, Pete’s Dragon) starring Academy Award winning actors Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara; JULES OF LIGHT & DARK (Wolfe Releasing), the 2019 Outfest Best US Narrative Feature winner; and MATERNA (Utopia), which took home Best Cinematography and Best Actress awards at Tribeca 2020. She's based in LA and Dallas, where she grew up with her Hispanic father and Irish-American mother, and her Ten to the Six Pictures has a slate of four features and one TV show in development and production.
Russell Sheaffer, Producer
Russell Sheaffer is a visual artist and producer with a Ph.D. from the Department of Communication & Culture at Indiana University, Bloomington. His music videos have been featured in Rolling Stone, Billboard, and USA Today. His films have screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Berlinale, and the Museum of Modern Art. As a producer, his work includes Josephine Decker’s Thou Wast Mild & Lovely (which Richard Brody named the fourth “best film of the century so far” for the New Yorker), Daniel Laabs’ Jules of Light and Dark (which won the grand jury prizes at NewFest and Outfest), and Student Academy Award winner Georden West’s forthcoming feature debut Playland.
Douglas Riggs, Producer
Hailing from San Francisco, producer Douglas Riggs attended the prestigious film school at Chapman University in Orange County. Over the last decade living and working in the heart of Hollywood, Douglas has produced nearly 100 stand-alone pieces of branded content (Major Lazer, Taemin, Vogue), surpassing 1 billion views online, as well as nationally televised commercials (Brewers Association “Seek the Seal”, ServPro). He has won international awards in the interactive AR/VR space for client RedBull and delved into the fine-art world, producing globally recognized works of photographic art hand in hand with artists (David Yarrow Photography). Burros premiered at Tribeca as the 9th narrative short film from Douglas (I Was There Too dir. Joey Izzo, Short of the Week), with three more due out later this year, including the narrative film debut of directing powerhouse Cliqua.
Larry ‘Bear’ Wilson,
Executive Producer
A member of Tohono O'odham Nation, Larry Wilson was raised in Sells, Arizona while spending much of his time in Mexico with family. He worked extensively with the Indian Oasis School district, known now as the Baboquivari School District and with various organizations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Georgia and throughout the country. He presently cares for home bound clients, continuing to volunteer and sit on various local committees while serving as Chairman for the Sells Community and sitting on the Sells District Council.
Camillus Lopez, Executive Producer
Camillus Lopez is currently employed at Tohono O’odham Community College as the Senior Culture Mentor and is an Adjunct Professor in the Tohono O’odham Studies program and has taught other levels in elementary and high school. He has worked as a volunteer and staff member at KOHN 91.9 Radio station and has been a part of many published works as well as video projects regarding O’odham and Native American culture. He has served as an elected official in the Tohono O’odham Nation and local district government and on the Tohono O'odham Election Board.
Corey Howard, Co-Producer
Corey Howard is a Black Los Angeles based filmmaker, hailing from North Carolina. With an early interest in animation, only to discovering his love for film in adulthood, Howard became intoxicated by the infinite and untapped possibility of story and the sheer magic of film as an art form. Attending ArtCenter College of Design for Directing by day, working as an editor by night, while remaining a relentless and critical film viewer, Howard quickly evolved as an ambitious filmmaker focusing on stories about obsession and free will. In 2014, the filmmaker went on to raise funds and shoot his first feature film, Basement, produced by Emmy Award winner Lizbeth Chappell and has begun development on his sophomore feature on the fantastic retelling of his personal experiences during the Black Lives Matter of 2020.
R. Brett Thomas, Co-Producer, Editor
R. Brett Thomas is a two-time Emmy® nominated film editor & producer, based in Los Angeles, CA. Editing scripted and documentary projects, his work has premiered at renowned festivals such as SXSW and Tribeca. He edited the 2020 feature film, The Wolf of Snow Hollow, directed by Sundance & SXSW Grand Jury Prize winner Jim Cummings. The film received a nationwide theatrical release (distributed by Orion Pictures) and is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2021 he was Lead Editor on the feature-length documentary World Debut: From Outsiders to the Olympics, executive produced by Tony Hawk. Other highlights include editing & executive producing At Last (HBO Max), co-producing & editing Burros (2021 Tribeca Film Festival), editing Phenoms (Fox primetime documentary series), Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert (YouTube Original documentary), and Washed Away (2019 SXSW Film Festival). In addition to Brett’s film & television work, he’s also created commercials, promos, and branded content for clients like Netflix, Disney, Sony Pictures, Amazon, Hulu, ESPN, Adidas, EA Sports, Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, and many more.
Cole Graham, Cinematographer
Having shot his first feature film at 20 years old, Cole’s work also includes international television commercials (Facebook, Asics, Lexus, Netflix, Corona, Amazon, Google), short films, documentaries, and music videos for artists such as Drake, Solange, Daniel Caesar, Tate McRae. Cole’s cinematography has been recognized at festivals and publications around the world, including TIFF, Tribeca, SXSW, The Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Time’s Square, Booooooom, Canadian Society of Cinematographers, Festival De Cannes, Prism Prize Awards, Sitges Film Festival.
Amanda Jones, Music Composer
Amanda Jones is an Emmy Nominated Composer who is rapidly becoming a standout voice amongst a new generation of television and film composers. Jones’ television credits include HBO's Duplass Bros. comedy Somebody Somewhere, Freeform’s Good Trouble, HBO Max's Adventure Time Distant Lands: Obsidian and Together Again, HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, produced by Robin Thede and Issa Rae, and the upcoming Nat Geo / Disney + Docu-series Super/Natural executive produced by James Cameron and HBO Max & Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming series, Young Love. In addition to her television credits, Jones has experience scoring both short and feature films. Jones is scoring the upcoming feature film Moving On, directed by Oscar-winning director Paul Weitz starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and Netflix’s Perfect Find.
Carly Van Skaik, Music Supervisor
Carly co-music-supervised Shameless seasons 6, 7, & 8, one of Showtime’s longest running and most song-driven series which was nominated for Outstanding Music Supervision by the Guild of Music Supervisors in 2015. She also worked on What We Do In The Shadows (FX), and Whiskey Cavalier (ABC), The Magicians (syfy), and Animal Kingdom (TNT). She is a member of the Television Academy.