Above the Line Education Forum – Cohort 2
Above the Line Education Forum – Cohort 2
Meet the 25 documentary producers and directors selected to participate in this year’s Above the Line Education Forum cohort. These filmmakers were chosen through a competitive process and will take part in a 12 week business education course that includes panels and discussions led by film industry professionals.
“The bill that passed during the 2022 legislative session gave Washington Filmworks the ability to serve a wider array of emerging filmmakers in Washington State,” said Executive Director Amy Lillard. “This is the first time in the organization’s history that we are able to invest in the careers of documentary filmmakers who will undoubtedly bring culturally diverse stories and perspectives to both the big and small screen.”
“These filmmakers are building a cohort that is a safe and inclusive environment, bringing their vision, heart, and commitment to the work that we are doing together,” said Director of Workforce Development Audra Laymon. “This is another step towards the Washington Filmworks goal of building a future where film sets and stories reflect the diversity of Washington residents.”
Above the Line Education Forum – Cohort 2
Aaron Smith (he/him)
Aaron hails from Lynden, WA and has spent the majority of his career serving as a middle school and high school music teacher and principal. He has a passion for increasing student engagement through Project-Based-Learning, which emphasizes rigorous content plus the success skills needed for the 21st century. His interest in filmmaking was sparked in…
Addison Houston (he/him)
Craig Addison Houston (Addison) is an emerging documentary filmmaker and the owner of Visible Productions, a small mom and pop independent production house based in Grays Harbor, on the Washington Coast. Addison is a relative newcomer to documentary filmmaking and has a background working in the public sector in the fields of public health, emergency…
Carlos Fernandez (he/him)
Carlos Jesus Fernandez is a humanitarian and producer who calls Seattle his home. A Mexican, born in the United States and raised in sub-Saharan Africa. He is a world citizen devoted to making human-centered films that combine global causes with their local effects. His lived experience is integral not just to his storytelling or work…
Eugene Pak (he/him)
박 (Pak), is a Korean-American filmmaker/editor. He is an aspiring creative disturber who’s been working in the outdoor industry for around 5 years. Pak’s muse lies in documentary and video editing. Much of his creative work is inspired by exploring our identities in relation to the outdoors through visual stories or writing. Through filmmaking, Pak…
Fred Ali (he/him)
Fred Ali is an independent producer and filmmaker with roots in the Pacific Northwest. Born in Fiji and raised in Canada, Fred eventually settled in Seattle, working as an engineer for over 20 years. His unique background, driven approach, and attention to detail enrich his filmmaking with practicality and passion. Fred began his journey in…
Gabriel Gutierrez Morales (he/him)
Gabriel Gutierrez Morales is a multidisciplinary queer artist and filmmaker from Tijuana. He is an advocate for social change with a great interest in exploring queerness, gender and sexuality, always seeking to create art that discusses the imperfect and shameful nature of things. He was the Speaker Illustrator for TEDMED 2016, and his documentary film…
Jamil Suleman (he/him)
Jamil Suleman is a Seattle-based filmmaker, rapper, traveler, and community storyteller. Known for projects like Curry-NA-Hurry, Graffiti Village Tour, and The Bruce Lee Project, he uses Hip Hop, comedy, film and community engagement to celebrate diverse cultural narratives. His latest series, What’s Next?, explores various healing traditions, offering messages of resilience and hope in challenging…
Joon Chang (he/him)
South Korean-born director and cinematographer Joon Chang has been hooked on visual storytelling. He was struck by the power of cinema and developed an appreciation of how film is a universal language that transcends borders. This inspired him to pick up a camera and create his first award-winning short film, “Meeting Miss Fortune” in 2008.…
Raúl Peyret (he/him)
Raúl E. Peyret is a versatile and acclaimed actor, director, and producer known for his compelling work in both theater and film. On stage, he has delivered standout performances in productions like The Pericles Project (directed by Robin Lynn Smith), Anna in the Tropics (under the direction of Rose Cano), and Uncle Vanya (directed by…
Shaminder Dulai (he/him)
Shaminder Dulai is a 13-time Emmy-nominated, 3-time Best of Photojournalism award-winning photo/video journalist, editor, writer, educator, curator and creative technologist with decades of experience producing stories for newspapers, magazines, TV, digital newsrooms, nonprofits and start-ups. He crafts journalistic narratives with intimacy, immediacy and impact that live beyond the daily news cycle, empowering communities to make…
Vasant Salcedo (he/him)
Vasant Salcedo is an award-winning director, writer, cinematographer, and editor. With his partner, Sarah Salcedo, he co-directed the award-winning documentary feature, PROMISED LAND. Their feature screenplay, FIRE SIGNS, was a Selected Project for Stowe Story Labs’ 2023 Writers’ Retreat in California. Together they founded Tall Firs Cinema, as well as Understory Arts, a nonprofit that…
Abby Hagan (she/her)
Abby Hagan is an editor by trade, as well as a director, DP, and all-around storyteller. Her comedy documentary “Punderneath It All” (2023) is her feature film directorial debut; the film had its World Premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival and went on to screen at several festivals across the US. She has directed,…
Gabrielle Johnson (she/her)
Gabrielle is a dynamic filmmaker based in Seattle, originally from South Carolina, whose love for storytelling blossomed through her work as an educator and in radio/te. After honing her craft at the prestigious Howard University, where she earned her MFA in Film, Gabrielle launched her filmmaking career, infusing each project with her distinct and compelling…
Jaina Galves (she/her)
Jaina Galves is a Native Hawaiian director/cinematographer. Growing up in Hawai’i She learned from a young age the importance of advocating for the environment and amplifying indigenous voices. She found her love for filmmaking through watching documentaries and is intent on using her filmmaking skills as a tool to create change. She aspires to help…
Leslie Daniels (she/her)
Leslie Daniels is an emerging writer, director, editor, and producer in the Seattle film industry. She began her storytelling journey as a theater and film actor, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from SUNY Purchase College. Leslie later transitioned to film production, recently serving as an Assistant Production Coordinator on director Megan Griffith’s film…
Lynnette Cabrera (she/her)
Migrating steadily north from her birthplace in Los Angeles, Lynnette traveled the I-5 corridor until she made a home in the San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington state. There she raised a family, took only the college classes she was interested in and invested in a 6 acre piece of property that now…
Samantha-Lynn Martinez (she/her)
Samantha-Lynn Martinez (she/her) is a Filipina-American marine ecologist, graphic designer, illustrator, camerawoman, and science communicator based in Seattle, Washington. In tandem with her background as a scientist, Samantha aims to utilize her passions for art and communication to make engaging with science more accessible for folks from all walks of life, through her designs, filmmaking,…
Sophia Chang (she/her)
Sophia J. Chang is a second-generation Taiwanese American food stylist and photographer, whose vibrant career in food and media reflects her deep-rooted passion for storytelling and culture. Born and raised in Los Angeles, now based near Seattle, Washington, Sophia has worked with prominent clients like Bibigo USA, King’s Hawaiian, Knorr, and Starbucks. Her experience includes…
Stacy Barnes (she/her)
Stacy Barnes is a Seattle-based filmmaker, nonprofit leader, and advocate who seeks to empower youth through the art of storytelling. As the Founder and Executive Director of the Camera Kids Foundation, Stacy channels her expertise to help young people build their media skills and find their voices. With a diverse background in roles across independent…
Thanh Tan (she/her)
Thanh Tan is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and multimedia storyteller based in Seattle. Her documentary work explores themes of refugee experiences, cultural preservation and social impact. In 2023, she directed REFUGE AFTER WAR, a 5-part series for KCTS/Crosscut that screened at major festivals including the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Viet Film Fest, and…
Filiz Efe McKinney (she/they)
Filiz Efe McKinney is a documentary filmmaker driven by a vision for a just and compassionate world. Grounded in her Turkish roots, where old and new, East and West converge, her films aim to bridge divides and bring people together. She is committed to amplifying underrepresented voices by decentralizing power in storytelling, a practice that…
Kim Schwarzkopf (she/they)
Kim Schwarzkopf (she/they) is a Filmmaker, Producer, and Co-Leader of River City SkatePark, based in the lands of the Duwamish (also known as Seattle). She is dedicated to building healthy communities through a focus on placemaking, environmental and economic justice, and the arts. Kim is passionate about projects that foster connection and understanding. As the…
Georgia Krause (they/them)
Georgia Krause is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker telling empathetic stories set within elevated realities.They attended NYU Tisch for Film Production and have worked on productions for National Geographic, PBS, and ABC. Their work has premiered at DOC NYC, Defy Film Fest, Jackson Wild, and was awarded the Founder’s Choice at San Diego Environmental Film…
Jada Godwin (they/them)
Jada Godwin (they/them) is a writer and filmmaker who recently graduated from the University of Washington’s Cinema and Media Studies program. During their time at UW, they were the Head of Operations for the university’s film production club, helped run the UW School of Drama’s social media accounts, and stage-managed UW Undergraduate Theater Society’s sold-out…
Zac Bentz (they/them)
Zac Bentz (they/them) is an interdisciplinary filmmaker, graphic designer, musician, and artist currently living in Seattle. They have been writing, directing, editing, scoring, and self-releasing independent short films since age 12, and hold a degree in Film and Media studies from Whitman College and a certification in directing and production from FAMU in Prague, Czech…