Melanie McLean Brooks is a director, director of photography, sushi connoisseur and effervescent optimist. She has won a regional Emmy as director for “Seatbelt Stories” (2022) and is Emmy-nominated for her director of photography work on “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Portrait of a Queen” (2019) and “Out of the Closet” (2019). Melanie’s work has been seen on PBS, Discovery, MTV, VH1, The History Channel, A&E, and in the pages of The New York Times, The Atlantic, and NPR.

Taylor McFadden is a director, writer and producer whose debut feature film Lovers stars Angela Trimbur (Search Party, The Future) and Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso). Her previous short film Loose Ends won the Rising Star Award at the Canada International Film Festival. Taylor is known for directing music videos that have been featured in Rolling Stone, BUST magazine and Pitchfork. She is the Co-Founder of the production company I Play Different, and is currently in development for her second feature film.

Katy is a writer and producer that has worked on everything from Gator Boys to writing celebrity comedy sketches for Omaze.com. She has navigated her career by meeting, listening, and hustling and wants nothing more than for everyone to understand their potential. She is currently producing Welcome to Wrexham on FX.

'T' brings over 15 years of Unscripted Television experience, tackling everything from food series to global adventures with calm precision and a touch of dry humor. Inspired by her love of treasure hunts, she created this workshop to turn pre-production into a hands-on, puzzle-filled adventure. Join 'T' to uncover the hidden art of production prep and transform challenges into exciting discoveries.

Sara Salazar has worked for over 15 years in film & TV, she is an SAG/AFTRA Actress, Stuntwoman, Stunt Coordinator and practical effects expert. Her expertise spans fight choreography, wire effects, and falls, she trains diligently with the Rocky Mountain Stunt team and also specializes in mentoring the next generation of stunt talent. She loves storytelling in all forms and sharing the excitement for her craft.

Alicia Leeper is an actor, writer, former acting coach and marketing professional. She is the head of the marketing department for Denver Health Plans, where she has written and produced Emmy-award-winning commercial content. She is also the President of WIFMCO and newly elected President of WIFT-US. She is represented by Big Fish Talent.

Amanda was born into the world of music, dance, and theatre thanks to parents in the performing arts. She studied dance, theater, choreography and education while appearing onstage at the Oriental Theater, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, and internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. While in college, Amanda pursued mental healthcare, obtaining a Masters of Science degree in Counseling and becoming a Certified Yoga and Meditation Teacher specializing in Somatic and Attachment healing with attunement to the Autonomic Nervous System.

Eileen O’Brien has been a film/tv professional since the 1970’s. In 1995, a move to the south of France led her to a new field and career in the biz, as a coordinator/producer/liaison at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as many other festivals including 4 years at Sundance and finally as Artistic Director of the Savannah Film Festival from 2002-2004. After a stint in 1999 as the Producer of the Denver Film Festival, she returned to Denver in 2006 as a staff member to direct the membership and volunteer departments at the Denver Film Society, producers of annual Denver Film Festival and also a year round art house theater.

Kathryn is a produced screenwriter represented by Verve Talent Agency and Kinetic Media Talent Management. She has developed projects with Axis Studios (Love, Death and Robots; Scrooge: A Christmas Carol), director Alex Orrelle (The Incredibles, Space Jam 2, Klaus), Barajoun Entertainment in Dubai, Filmallee Studios in Munich, and Snowball Studios in Canada. She co-wrote the feature film Apartment 212, starring Penelope Miller and Kyle Gass. Kathryn has a degree in English and Psychology from Stanford and a Master’s in Family and Child Studies from Northern Illinois.

Michael Henderson, owner of Plan 9 Sound, is a sound designer for film & television for over 10 years. Since his first feature film released in 2011, he’s led, or been a member of the sound department in over 12 feature films, dozens of short films, commercials, TV series, and serves on the Board of Directors at The Bug Theatre and The Emerging Filmmakers Project, showcasing filmmakers throughout the Colorado industry.

Margaret Murphy has been studying the craft of acting for over 40 years. She worked with several coaches in Los Angeles, Denver and New Mexico including Bill Howey, Gerald Gordon and Sharon Acker in LA, Michael Nuccio in Denver and Kathy Laughlin, csa in Tampa among others. Continuing to work with her writing coach Peter DeAnello creating her series The Choice and feature film The Women.

Arielle joined COFTM in 2022, and is the Deputy Film Commissioner. She is an Emmy Nominated filmmaker with a focus on Arts Education and Arts Advocacy. She served as the Film Project Manager for Los Angeles Unified School District’s Arts Education Branch prior to moving back to Colorado and teaching at Colorado Mesa University. She has produced film and media projects for Lionsgate, PBS, Microsoft, Tubi and more.

Jessica Hobbs is a writer with a BA in Film Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a background in opera, Vaudeville, television production, and film festivals, and a passion for all things strange and unusual. Her first book, The Witch and Other Tales of the American Gothic, was released in 2023 along with an accompanying narrative podcast read by the author. She lives in the magical Laurel Canyon neighborhood in Los Angeles with her composer husband, Robinton, and their cat, Freyja.

Amy Weiner Weiss has had the privilege of running the Development department for Denver Film since 2021. In this role, she oversees all individual giving, fiscal sponsorship, and grant programs, as well as institutional development efforts such as DEIA and mission alignment. Previously, she was the Festival Director for the JCC Denver's Mizel Arts and Culture Center, where she ran and programmed the Denver Jewish Film, JAAMM (Jewish Arts, Authors, Movies and Music), and ReelAbilities: Denver Festivals.

Summer Asturi is a casting director and producer with almost a decade of experience casting and producing globally for projects ranging from film, documentary, commercial, and reality TV.