Our Filmmakers
Ashley George
Director
Ashley is a director and producer based in New York. She began making films in 2009 when she joined San Francisco film collective Scary Cow and has worked in casting, directing and producing films, commercials and music videos in SF, LA and NYC. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and The New School (NYC) with a Master of Arts in Media Studies.
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Recent films directed by Ashley include female revenge horror short DIABLA, which premiered at Morbido Film Fest November 2019, in addition to 2017's queer coming-of-age 90s darling SOMETIMES FOREVER. She is currently writing her first feature screenplay about a young woman's attempt to reconnect with a distant father living with Altzheimer's. As producer, she's recently wrapped production on several short films and web series including ALL HAIL BETH premiering this Fall on BRIC TV, short film MOUTHPIECE starring Jason Sudeikis, Alle Hsu's Asian-American drama OUR WAY HOME, Emily Cheeger's magical surrealism short TZADEIKIS set in Hasidic Brooklyn, and Emmy-nominated director Molly Gandour's short film GAZEBO. She's currently producing many projects with friends in New York. Her work has screened at festivals such as Morbido Film Fest in Mexico City, Outfest in LA, HBO's NewFest, Oaxaca Film Festival, Soho Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, East Village Queer Film Festival, Chain Film Festival, Picture Farm Film Festival, GLITCH Film Festival, Bideodromo Experimental Film Festival, MIX NYC Experimental Queer Festival and National Queer Arts Festival.
Sydne Horton
Director
Sydne Horton is an experienced and driven member of the entertainment industry with a strong passion for creating and directing impactful content that challenges and questions the world we know. She views each project as a unique opportunity and she's eager to delve into the various demands they require. At a very young age through her adoption and personal battles with self identity, she found not only a form of escapism through directing, but a way to express her introverted self. With a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Television Directing & Production from Columbia College Chicago, she doesn't want her technical skills to be the only thing that defines her. She also has an avid passion and maybe even a serious addiction to Escape Rooms, Haunted Houses, Improv Comedy, and Solo Travels. She hopes these interests will one day play hand in hand with her future directing and writing projects.
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Director Statement
"META" was one of those rare film’s that lifted me off my feet and carried me through an emotional journey from day one - it challenged me, opened my eyes and created a stronger ground of self being and self acceptance. This whole experience all started when my writer called me regarding their personal relationship with getting ready to transition genders themself and how empowering it would be for them to not only write a character they connect to, but to physically see a part of them on screen. With the emotion in their voice and a compelling sense of necessity to get a project out there for not only those in the transgender community to relate to, but to shed a stronger light on trans dysphoria and the trans experience for the general public, we quickly dove in to the creation of “META.”
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As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community along with my writer, we felt that it was important that this film not only centered around our Transgender lead (who was also embodied by a transgender actor), but that it also included a majority of queer crew members. To our team, “META” transcended past our lead Artie discovering he’s not a monster and into an exploration with our own insecurities within the Queer Community and Mental Health Stigmas.
Nicole Katzew
Director
Nicole Katzew is a Mexican actress, director and writer. With over a decade of experience in film, theatre and T.V.
In 2013 she graduated from New York Film Academy in NYC, place where she lived for 7 years working in the entertainment industry.
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Some of her NYC theatre credits include the play “A Pure Nonsence Play” (2011), “Brave Smiles, Another Lesbian tragedy” (2014), “Night With Guests”(2016).
She has collaborated with many directors in movies such as "The Zanctuary" (2013), "Trashcan on the Left" (2015), "Persistence of Time" (2017), "Rotten Seeds" (2018).
In 2017 she moved back to Mexico City and was part of the t.v. show "El secreto de Selena".
During 2018 she directed her first short film "¿Qué Harías?".
Besides acting and directing, Nicole has written several screen plays which are being currently financed.
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Director Statement
“¿Qué Harías?” is a short film which criticizes the current situation in Mexico, where we live in constant alert. The insecurity is a round the corner causing fear and terror to the citizens. And the law is very complicated.
The idea behind the story emerged by reflecting a concern of a reality we as Mexicans live.
In a coffee afternoon, Nicole (creator of the project) and Monica (her best friend), asked each other: What would you do if someone gets into your house, threatens your life and you kill the person in self defense?
Both had a strong point of view, still they talked about how they would help each other as unconditional friends, even in a terrible situation like the one presented throughout the film.
Monica Suriyage
Director
Monica Suriyage is a biracial, blasian, Afro Latina director and on – camera host. Her first horror film “Black In Red Out” screened at over twenty film festivals and led to her being featured in the documentary “Horror Noire” about the history of black horror, alongside icons like Jordan Peele, Tony Todd and Rachel True. Her digital short form shows on Snapchat and Facebook, music videos and branded beauty campaigns have millions of views online. Monica has also recently joined Fatale Collective, a team of all women horror directors. She is currently directing a horror short film in collaboration with Netflix and the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. She likes pretty things, scary things, and pretty scary things.
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Director Statement
La Ciguapa Siempre is a celebration of my Dominican heritage mixed with my love of horror. It's about trying to figure where one fits in and how how culture shapes our future, whether we embrace it or not.
Aaliyah-Janay Williams
Director
Aaliyah-Janay, though coming from six years of directing and acting within stage performance, has been actively cultivating and writing stories for much longer. The Richmond native focuses on the importance of the marginalized and underrepresented narrative. As a horror, science-fiction, and fantasy fan, she also loves focusing on combining the black experiences to genres that historically lack that diversity. She has had the privilege of writing, directing, and collaborating on 10+ award-winning films. Through quarantine, Aaliyah-Janay has started a daily web series that discusses ambiguities and sexism within the porn industry. Recently completing her directorial debut, MEMENT, she plans to continue to develop both her career and her experience on professional film sets. In the meantime, she will be working on her ongoing web series and beginning to work on not just one feature script for MEMENT, but the entire first season of a television series, American Carnage, that she has been working on for 9 years consecutively.
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Director Statement
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch this film. This is my directorial debut, and it holds a special place in my heart as a testament and validation to my artistry and what I can achieve. This is a film made for the "weird", by the "weird".
Amelia Yokel
Director
Jacob and Amelia Egbert hail from Salt Lake City, Utah and enjoy scaring their friends and family, hanging out with their kids, and hiking with their dog. Amelia specializes in writing and producing independent film. A Worrisome Thing is their first feature film collaboration, Amelia's directorial debut, and Jacob's introduction into filmmaking.
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Director Statement
Hello there! This is Amelia Yokel Egbert, co-writer and director of A Worrisome Thing. This project has a special place in my heart because every single person behind the camera and in front of it is a dear family friend or relation. We started this project in with a script, a location, and a dream. Now we're across the finish line and what a roller coaster it's been! There's nothing like a global pandemic to motivate a creative, am I right? So thank you for being here and taking a look at what we've worked so hard to create. Enjoy!
Lindsay Young
Director
Lindsay Young is an Austin writer particularly fond of dark comedy and horror. her first short screenplay, “Barney” was a semi-finalist in the SoCal Screenplay Short Competition in 2016. She has worked as a production assistant on short films “Roadside Assistance” and “The Encouragement Clown.” Lindsay has volunteered for Fantastic Fest, Austin Film Festival, and Other Worlds Austin. Currently, she attends a weekly screenwriting group and was thrilled to be a first-time director on “Cutter.”
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Director Statement
Having been a cutter as a teenager, I immediately connected to Dan's concept and had to be a part of it. Over the course of writing a dozen+ drafts, we asked ourselves not only "what makes people jump?" but also "what makes people hurt?" I hope our film will reach a horror-loving audience who will not only experience the fun of suspense and shock of gore, but also leave thinking about the tough subject matter. From the time i saw "The Birds" in first grade, I've been addicted to the way horror movies challenge my comfort by offering a window into my fears. It only seems right that I address an issue that has always been important to me through a horror film.