Washington Filmworks recently announced the recipients of funding assistance from the Filmworks Innovation Lab. In case you missed it, here is the press release detailing the recipients and their outstanding projects. But we omitted one crucial aspect of this year’s lab purposefully – because we believe they deserve a post for themselves.

Washington Filmworks could not have had another edition of the Innovation Lab without the help from our amazing, hardworking, patient, and passionate jury. Composed of a group of industry experts that represent all aspects of motion picture production, multi-platform storytelling, and emerging entertainment models, our jury was committed and invested each step of the way. It’s with our deepest gratitude that we acknowledge and thank these brilliant members of the film industry who remind us of the drive, intellect, and heart of Washington’s production community.

Steve Edmiston – Steve is an intellectual property, entertainment, and business attorney, and was named one of “Seattle’s Best Lawyers” by Seattle Met  Magazine.  He was the co-founder of Front Porch Classics, a Seattle game company, and StoryBox Studios, a toy and game industry consulting firm.   Steve is  the creator of numerous award-winning board game titles, including the FamilyFun Magazine’s 2003 Toy of the Year, Dread Pirate.  He created the game  Master and Commander in conjunction with the 20^th Century Fox film release. Steve is also an independent film veteran, as an artist and producer.  He wrote  and co-produced the feature Crimes of the Past (2010) (starring David Rasche, Elizabeth Rohm, and Eric Roberts, which premiered on the Lifetime Movie  Network and was distributed by MarVista Entertainment and Osiris Entertainment), wrote and co-produced the multiple award-winning feature A Relative  Thing  (2005) (Sedona Film Festival Audience Award, Official Best of Fest, Audience Award, Gig Harbor Film Festival, distributed by Spiritual Cinema Circle,  Filmgo,  and Official Best of Fest), and co-wrote the award-winning feature Farewell to Harry (distributed by Porchlight Entertainment and Questar).  He has  two current feature films as a writer, director, and producer, in post-production: The Periphery Project, Volume I, in post-production and set for release in late  2014,  and The Periphery Project, Volume II, scheduled for release in 2015. He has also written and directed numerous award short films including The Maury  Island  Incident (Washington State Innovation Lab Recipient; Opening Night Gala, 2014 Big Island Film Festival; N.Am. premiere Seattle Int’l Film Festival;  launched  as IndieFlix Original Series coming 2014), The Day My Parents Became Cool (Best Short Comedy, 2009 International Family Film Festival, 2010 Best Film, KidsFirst! Film Festival, KCTS 9 broadcast premiere), Thr33 (Best Film, 2008 New York Diesel Grand Prix Film Race), and Look Listen Live (2010 John and Jane Q. Public Communication Award). Steve teaches screenwriting for short films at the University of Washington, and is a faculty member at the Seattle Film Institute, teaching in the Master’s program (MAPF 553 – Marketing and Distribution, and MAPF 557 – The Business of Producing).  He serves as an advisor to several film festivals, including the Port Townsend Film Festival and Gig Harbor Film Festival.  He has served as a juror for both documentary and narrative short films. Steve has presented film industry related programs to the Seattle International Film Festival, Women in Film, Northwest Film Forum, Gig Harbor Film Festival, 253 Film Collective, and many others.

Michael Pickering – Michael Pickering, a partner at Comrade Studios in Spokane, has been a Producer, DP, and Director in commercial advertising for over    20 years. In his spare time, Michael shoots stills with a decidedly low-tech Polaroid camera and produces documentaries and narrative shorts.

Tracy Rector – Tracy Rector is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Longhouse Media and an  independent filmmaker. After having worked with over 2,500 youth, since January of 2005, Longhouse Media has seen the artistic and community growth of many young native filmmakers. Tracy is a Sundance  Institute Lab Fellow, is the recipient of the Horace Mann Award for her work in utilizing media for social  justice, and is currently an Arts Commissioner for the  City of Seattle.

Line Sandsmark – Line Sandsmark is Development Director at Northwest Film Forum, and brings 15 years of film industry experience with her from  Scandinavia, where she produced and/or executive produced a long list of short and documentary films in her roles as CEO of her own production company,  Kaliber, and Executive Director of the Western Norway Film Centre. She produced for the pan-Scandinavian Svensk Filmindustri (SF), then headed European  Documentary Network (EDN) prior to her return to Seattle in 2010. Other experience includes festival and film school selection committees, jurying for both  grants and festivals, including Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. Her short films have competed in festivals all over the world, including Cannes,  Mannheim-Heidelberg, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, and have been broadcast internationally. Sandsmark earned her Bachelor’s Degree in  Comparative Literature at University of Washington, completed a second Bachelor’s through post-graduate studies in Critical Theory and Film Analysis at the  University of Paris – Sorbonne, and has studied screenplay development with USC teaching staff, under the auspices of the Binger Institute in Amsterdam.