SANDRA DE CASTRO BUFFINGTON
Sandra de Castro Buffington is Brazilian-American, Co-Producer of BRAINWASHED: Sex~Camera~Power premiering at Sundance and the Berlinale, and global strategist in social impact entertainment. As Hollywood's leading "story whisperer," Sandra ignites new narratives of transformation and innovation worldwide. Founder and President of StoryAction; Founder of UCLA's Global Media Center for Social Impact; and former Director of USC's Hollywood, Health & Society, Sandra inspires creators of television and film to develop storylines that elevate consciousness, and improve health, justice and well-being worldwide. On behalf of the United Nations, she created the "Conscious Media Award" for Egypt's Cairo International Film Festival. Sandra has worked in 50 countries over 20+ years on behalf of women, girls and families.
DR. (HON) ANUSHA SRINIVASAN IYER
Dr. (Hon) Anusha Srinivasan Iyer is a Firebrand Journalist, Revered Filmmaker, Veteran PR Expert, Image Strategist, Brand Custodian, and multi-faceted social entrepreneur whose work spans the realms of media, animal welfare, and environmental conservation. She has served as a jury member for numerous film festivals, including the 17th Ayodhya Film Festival, 8th Chambal International Film Festival, Lakecity International Film Festival, and more. She has spearheaded Celebrity Management and PR for the Festival of Globe, San Francisco, and IFEFA, Australia, among others. Her films "Saare Sapne Apne Hain" and "The Wait" have won her over 150 awards across 120 global film festivals, and she has written award-winning Indian television shows and films.
DAN MIRVISH
Dan Mirvish is a director, screenwriter, producer and author. His newest feature, 18½, an award-winning, "Top Ten Oscar Contender," "Certified Fresh" 70s Watergate thriller/dark comedy played at over 25 festivals on four continents, and then had a 7-month theatrical release in over 60 cities in the US, and is currently airing on Starz as a companion piece to "Gaslit." The film stars Willa Fitzgerald, John Magaro, Vondie Curtis Hall, Catherine Curtin, Richard Kind, Sullivan Jones and the voices of Ted Raimi, Jon Cryer and Bruce Campbell as Nixon. Prior to that, Dan directed the award-winning, critically-acclaimed feature Bernard and Huey, scripted by Oscar/Pulitzer-winner Jules Feiffer, and starring Oscar-winner Jim Rash and David Koechner which screened in over 30 film festivals on 5 continents, had a nationwide US theatrical release, and sold to over 49 countries. A former speechwriter for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, Dan has a master's degree from USC film school, is a member of the Directors Guild of America, has guest lectured at more than 70 film schools and universities, teaches regularly at Chapman University, and was named as one of Variety's Top 50 Creatives to Watch.
CATHARINE DADA, PH. D
Catharine studied at Cambridge & trained as a classical actress at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company as an actor. She was the Artistic Director of the Sacred Performance Project, working in Oxford, UK, Pari, Italy and Canterbury, UK. Catharine holds an MA(Hons) in The Study of Mysticism & Religious Experience and a PhD in Religious Studies both from the University of Kent, UK. As a producer her films have won numerous international accolades and awards. As a professor Catharine is proud to teach at Loyola Marymount University and Santa Monica College. She is particularly interested in exploring spiritual experience in both theatre and in film.
SWETA RAI
Sweta Rai is a Hollywood Film Producer, Director whose films have been shortlisted for the OSCAR race. She has produced multiple Hollywood feature films with Academy award- winning actor Jon Voight (Anaconda) and has co-produced films with legends like Late James Caan (Godfather), Bo Derek (Tarzan), etc. She has received prestigious awards such as the ‘Most Innovative Film Production CEO (Los Angeles),’ ‘Woman of Impact’ by Forbes jury, ‘Tech-Entertainment Businesswoman of the Year.’ Sweta is also the Founder and CEO of Indo Holly Films, a film production company based in LA which aims to bridge the gap between Bollywood, Asian cinema & Hollywood. Some of her films as a co-producer which are streaming in the USA are Orphan Horse (Amazon Prime), Surviving the Wild (Hulu, Showtime), and JL Family Ranch: The Wedding Gift (Hallmark Channel), to name a few. She is currently working as an Executive for back-to-back 7 feature films for Paramount Pictures. Recipient of three master’s degrees including an MBA, MFA from AFI, Sweta was also designated as Discovery Channel’s Global Diversity Ambassador for Asia-Pacific.
SUNIL SADARANGANI
Sunil Sadarangani is a Mumbai-born, Los Angeles-based award-winning producer and writer. He is the co-founder and former director of programming of the Ojai Short Film Festival. Programming included Academy Award-nominated and winning films, and episodic series from studios such as Sundance TV/AMC Networks. Sunil is a member of the Programmers of Colour Collective, is on the programming committees at Outfest and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, and is a recurring jury member at Los Angeles Greek Film Festival.
MANASVI MAMGAI
Manasvi is an actor and producer of Indian origin. A former Miss India, Manasvi has grown up on stage driven by a thirst for excellence in all her fields of interest. By the age of 15 she had won almost 50 state and national awards in dancing, singing, skating, art, and science competitions. A decade long successful career in modeling, pageants, theatre and film acting has made her a public figure in India. She is a Filmfare award nominee and was bestowed with the State Excellence Award by the Governor of her home State in India. She is currently producing a movie starring Al Pacino and Katie Holmes.
ALEX MORENO
Alex Moreno, MPH has served in the HIV/AIDScommunity for the past twenty years. He was one of the executive producers for “Two Similar Strangers.”Having “graduated” from producing theater in NYC with She Knows Productions, and a brief stint as a director of rock videos (Natural Causes & Diane Ward) Alex is the Founder and Head of production of “The Flow Project” with Academy Award winning director David Frankel.
JACQUES THELEMAQUE
Jacques Thelemaque is an American screenwriter and director best known as the president of the Los Angeles film collective Filmmakers Alliance. Thelemaque attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts and in 1993 when he co-founded Filmmakers Alliance with his then-wife, Diane Gaidry. In 2004, he and producing partner Liam Finn formed FA Productions, of which they are Co-Presidents. Thelemaque himself - and through FA Productions - has written produced and/or directed several feature films including Shock Television, The Dogwalker (which he also wrote and directed), Within, Midnight Movie, and The Revenant.
YIFAN DU
Yifan Du, editor, director, and producer, graduated from the Academy of Art University in 2018, majoring in Motion Picture and Television; after graduation in 2018, she has been worked at TriCoast Worldwide Film Distribution Company as CEO Assistant, after that she worked as an editor for a series of short videos of the famous Hollywood actress Maggie Q. She has directed and edited more than twenty films that have won international awards.
PRIYAMVADA NARAYANAN
Priyamvada received her Masters degree in Screenwriting from the London Film School. She worked as an Assistant Director on Academy® award nominated feature film, LAGAAN (2001) and 2nd Unit Director on TALAASH (2012). Her short film THE BREADFRUIT TREE (2014) won awards at numerous film festivals around the world. Inspired by Robert Whitaker’s book “Anatomy of an Epidemic” which exposes the corruption in the psychopharmaceutical industry, she is currently working on a feature film that tells the true story of a lawyer and his mentally ill client who take on a big pharmaceutical company.