Best in Fest

Director/screenwriter Jace Anderson most recently directed her first feature film, The Long Game, which premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February 2024. Based on a short story by New York Times-bestselling author Janet Fitch, the film stars Kathleen Turner, Jackie Earle Haley and newcomer Sekai Abeni. It is a “femme fatale origin story,” a contemporary neo-noir that tel...

Nicolas Dozol first studied dance at the Conservatoire de Lyon and at the Rudra Béjart school-atelier in Lausanne (Maurice Béjart's school). He still dancing as an extra dancer in the Opéra de Paris ballet. He then continued his studies in cinema at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français (CLCF) in Paris. Nicolas directed one feature film and numerous short fiction films, as well as docume...

Steve Stockman is president of LA-based Custom Productions, Inc. and a producer, writer and director of over 250 commercials, web series, short films, music videos, and TV shows. Steve is also the creator of How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck: The Video Course. The course is based on his book How to Shoot Video that Doesn’t Suck, the world’s best-selling book about directing and cinematography....

With 20 years of legal experience in the entertainment industry, Nina Ameri has established herself as a well-known, and respected attorney, with deep connections and relationships within the entertainment industry. Over the years, Nina has utilized her skills to support clients in several entertainment industry-specific practice areas including, entertainment transactions, trademark and copyright...

Veteran filmmaker Julia Verdin is a multi-hyphenate - she is known as an accomplished producer, award-winning Director and has written a number of screenplays. Having been in the film business for 30 years, Julia has established herself as one of Hollywood's leading independent producers, with over 36 critically acclaimed feature films produced to date. She founded and has been running Rough...

Take a look back at some of the best moments of behind the scenes Hollywood talk with the Best of Best in Fest Part 2

Take a look back at some of the best moments of behind the scenes Hollywood talk with the Best of Best in Fest.

In this episode Leslie and Peyton talk about her career as an actress and a writer.  Peyton gives great tips on how to prepare your script for sale in Hollywood.  Peyton McDavitt was born on 12 January 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is an actress and writer ,

In this episode, Leslie speaks with Director of Photography at "In Reel Time" Jay Lopez Jr.  Jay is a rising star in the industry and they discuss everything from the basic lighting of a shot to drone operating and AI.  This episode has something for everyone. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6800740/

Lirit Rosenzweig Topaz has more than 20 years experience as a producer of animation, live action TV shows, films, music videos and live events. She has a strong passion for the industry and loves collaborating with clients. As the executive producer, Lirit has worked on a variety of projects including Sonic the Hedgehog, Marvel Avengers, Harry Potter, Barbie, Facebook, Spielberg Foundation, The Tu...

Karen K. Miller is the current President & CEO of CGS USA LLC at Cyber group studios. Prior to this, they were the Senior Vice President of Content at NBCUniversal Media, LLC from July 2018 to March of 2022. In this role, they were responsible for creating and executing a content strategy, leading a development team, overseeing co-productions, short form team, and current production of origina...

 Alec Bantivoglio is a comedy writer from Philadelphia with a passion to make people laugh. In the Spring of 2023 I graduated from Chapman University with a Master’s in Television Writing and Production. While there, he created and was the show runner for Xander, a fantasy-comedy web-series, crewed by many of my fellow Chapman students. Over the last 2 months Xander has won several awards and we a...

Donna Smith began her career as Production Coordinator on RAGING BULL and quickly rose through the ranks, serving as Production Manager, Line Producer and Producer on notable projects that included THE TERMINATOR.Smith was tapped by Universal Pictures to serve as President of Physical Production and Post Production; becoming the first woman to serve in that role for a major Hollywood studio. Durin...

From line producing to lighting design Leslie and Maritza dive deep into what it really takes to perfect your craft in Hollywood.

Gail Gilbert was an award-winning film editor before going back for an MFA in Writing for the Screen + Stage at Northwestern University. Now she is fully launched in a new career as writer/director, thriving on creating stories that push the envelope in critiquing modern life. Her work challenges stereotypes of ageism and shows that life is equally wild and crazy all the way to the end.

Irina The world of Irina Maleeva jettisoned into the cinematic spotlight when she was discovered by the legendary Federico Fellini at age 15 and would go on to perform in three of his highly-acclaimed movies: Satyricon; Spirits of the Dead; and Roma. Later Maleeva was chosen for the lead part of Jessica in the film, “The Merchant of Venice” playing opposite Orson Welles’s Schylock. The film was al...

Chloe Burns graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Film & amp; Media Studies. After graduating, Chloe wrote, produced, and acted in The Adventures of Botfly, an award-winning web series, and the short film, The Thing About Miller House, which showed at film festivals throughout Kansas City. In 2021, Burns founded Bull Skull Productions, under which she produced the short docu...

Currently a student at the University of Southern California, Linjie “Susu” Huang had a long and winding road before following her dream of making films. Born into a traditional Chinese family, Linjie endured twenty years pursuing their values like being practical and doing something more success driven. But instead she decided to unleash her inner voice and pursue her passion for filmmaking. She’...

Marlene Sharp is a creative and business-savvy entertainment multi-hyphenate who originally hails from New Orleans but is now a (San Fernando) Valley girl. Firmly ensconced in LA life, Marlene is top dawg at Pink Poodle Productions. Clients include Rainshine Entertainment, BoredPanda.com, WeFixYourScript.com, ToonBo, and The Center for Learning Unlimited. Prior to Pink Poodle, Marlene served as Di...

After dazzling Dallas, Texas with street performing and experimenting with professional wrestling (which was brutal) and stand-up comedy (which was even more brutal), Bob was 'drawn' into the Los Angeles animation industry. Bob worked for Cartoon Network, Disney TV, and Nickelodeon. He co-executive produced two seasons of the Misfortunes of Being Ned for the Annoying Orange YouTube chann...

Welcome to the Best OF Best in Fest! 

Katie Stone is Executive Director and Producer of The Children’s Hour radio show and podcast and has been described as the “Mr. Rogers of public radio.” She began producing The Children’s Hour 22 years ago as a volunteer at her local NPR affiliate, KUNM-fm. In 2018 Katie started a nonprofit, The Children’s Hour Inc. and has taken the radio show to international syndication. Katie and her husband l...

Nikki Hevesy is an award-winning director and producer who has worked on documentaries, shorts, multi-camera presentations, promotional and music videos. She began her career in theatre, and as the founding artistic director of the City of Performing Arts company in San Francisco, has directed more than 50 stage productions,  including writing and directing two critically-acclaimed musicals that p...

Genna Rosenberg  is CEO of GennComm, a global PR & Marketing agency representing many of the most powerful classic and new brands of our time, Chief Ideator at ImaGENNation, a Think Tank focused on licensing and connections in the consumer product space, and Executive Producer at Upbeat Entertainment Group, bringing music and content focused on empowerment, diversity and inclusion to life thro...

John Shableski  is a nationally recognized expert in the development of the graphic novel/manga/comics category for the publishing industry including trade, library and educational markets. Along with editorial development, design and strategic planning, his scope of expertise includes the study of industry trends and market development for the educational, public library and retail categories for...