BECHDEL FILM FESTIVAL - PANEL DISCUSSION



HOME about Bechdel ABOUT FILM FESTIVAL FILM PROJECTS FILM SCREENINGS DONATE links	+ Add to Outlook Saturday Feb 17 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM join us for our PANEL DISCUSSION on PRODUCING YOUR INDEPENDENT FILM panelists: Alicia J. Rose, Cressandra Thibodeaux, Jenni Waldo, Sophia Loffreda, Diana Woody, Emily Ma and Grace Zhang ABOUT PANELIST: Alicia J. Rose is also the Creator/Co-writer/Director of the scripted comedic web series The Benefits of Gusbandry, which over its 9 episodes has received wide acclaim from press outlets like The New York Times, A/V Club, PASTE, OUT and others. - even landing on the "Must List" of Entertainment Weekly. The Benefits of Gusbandry has toured the festival circuit in the US since its 2015 debut - screening twice at the Portland Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, NW Filmmakers Festival, Miami Web Fest, Nashville Film Festival, Seattle’s Local Sightings Film Festival and even earning a nomination as finalist in the Austin Film Festival web series competition. Rose recently co-wrote and is attached to direct the feature film “Single Marriage” which is currently in development. Diana Lee Woody is an award winning screenwriter. She is also a playwright, film maker, and physicist. She wrote and directed her first film, A Menacing Proposal, which debuted in August 2016. Her stage plays and radio plays have been produced throughout the United States and Canada. She writes mostly dark comedies, ghost stories, sci-fi, horror, mysteries, and spoofs. Cressandra Thibodeaux founded Bechdel Films in 2015. She is passionate about filmmaking. She received her MFA from Columbia University’s Film program and her undergrad degree in English at U.T. at Austin. In 2012, she received a Professional Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Rice University’s Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership. She also has produced, written, directed, shot and edited numerous documentaries, short films and commercials. She has written a one-act play "Bitter Valentine," which was showcased in 2003, by Naked Angels at WestCoast Playhouse. Recently, her full-length play "Dialogues on Grace" received great reviews by the Houston Chronicle and BroadwayWorld and was called one of the 6-most important Houston theatrical productions of 2016. In addition, her writing and directing has won numerous awards, including several Addy Awards, fourth place at Slamdance, and Thibodeaux has also received a residency at the distinguished MacDowell Colony. Jenny Waldo is a native of Washington, DC, and graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a MFA in Film Production where she won a coveted directing scholarship and focused on writing, directing, and producing scripted and documentary films. Jenny’s most recent short film ACID TEST, about a teenage girl who drops acid and goes home to her parents, is currently in festivals including BendFilm in Oregon and Austin Film Festival after its premiere at Houston’s Literally Short Film Festival. Past credits include producing on the feature THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER (2013) (Lifetime Movie Network) and the feature documentary THE CUTTING EDGE: THE MAGIC OF MOVIE EDITING (2004) (Starz). Jenny teaches scripted and documentary production at Houston Community College’s Filmmaking Program and blogs about books, movies and TV, writing, and photography on jennywaldo.com. Sophia Loffreda is an Italian-Canadian director & screenwriter from Montréal, Canada. She's never seen a polar bear in the Canadian wilderness, but she is a tad too polite (it's a thing she's working on). She holds a Journalism and Creative Writing degree from Concordia University and has studied cultural barriers and gender at the Université de Paris. She interned at the UCB Del Close Marathon; Cannes Film Festival; and worked as a Producer’s Assistant at Picture This Productions, where she helped develop TV content for APTN. A TV addict & comedy nerd, Sophia moved to New York city to study improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and screenwriting at NYFA before moving to Austin. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Film & Television production at the University of Texas at Austin. Her comedies explore the intricacies of female relationships, sports, and culture. Emily Ma and Grace Zhang are two high school filmmakers from the Hockaday School in Dallas Texas. They enjoy eating Cane’s and watching Kubrick films—bonus points if done simultaneously.