THE SQUAD CLASS of 2024

Jess Brunetto

Jess Brunetto is a queer comedy director/editor whose expertise is blending humor and heart into visually and emotionally compelling stories.

After receiving a BFA from the SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory, Jess began her career as an editor for Michael Moore. Her feature work has screened at festivals around the world including Cannes, Venice, Sundance, and Toronto. Her television credits include BROAD CITY, AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM QUEENS, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, and HACKS, for which she was nominated for three Primetime Emmys. She is also a proud member of the American Cinema Editors honorary society.
SISTERS, her directorial debut short, premiered at SXSW in 2021 and won “Best Drama” at the Female Voices Rock Film Festival. Jess is represented by Caviar Los Angeles for commercial directing, and most recently, she directed an episode of the award-winning MAX series HACKS.

Mentor: Leslye Headland

Patricia Cardoso

Patricia Cardoso is a film and television director. Her film REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES is a landmark of US cinema and was a box office and critical success. She received a Student Academy Award for her UCLA thesis film, THE WATER CARRIER. Episodic credits include QUEEN SUGAR, THE SOCIETY, and WILL TRENT. She is on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and is an alternate on the DGA National Board. She is a former archaeologist, a Fulbright scholar, and was the head of Sundance’s Latin American program. She is a professor at UC Riverside and is from Bogotá, Colombia.

Mentor: Jessica Yu

Carla Dauden

Carla Dauden is an LA-based director from Brazil. Her commercial portfolio includes ads for Google, Dove, Microsoft, Delta, as well as an Emmy-nominated campaign for Disney's Team of Heroes. But her passion lies in film and TV. Her first short, "Mr. Polman Wants to Fit In" screened at major festivals, premiering at the SBIFF. In 2018, she was selected for NALIP's Latino Lens Incubator with her short script "The Jump", which was produced and distributed by PBS (starring Ruby Cruz and Adam Levy). After making a viral video about the socio-political impacts of the World Cup in Brazil, Carla co-directed the short "The Discarded," later distributed by Participant. In 2021, she completed her feature documentary "The Hosts," which premiered at the São Paulo International Film Festival and at the SBIFF; That same year, Carla was selected by Disney's Directing Program and has directed two episodes of Hulu's "Good Trouble."

Mentor: Helen Shaver

Tiffany Frances

Tiffany Frances is a Taiwanese American writer and director of narrative film and television, commercials, and music videos. She loves to create character-driven, dramatic storytelling with lyrical visuals, and explores stories about women and marginalized voices. She draws from her background as a multi-disciplinary artist in music, photography, theater, and dance. Tiffany most recently directed an episode of KUNG FU on CW for Season 3. She was a participant in the AFI Directing Workshop for Women program and the Warner Bros. Television Directors’ Workshop. Her commercial clients include McDonald’s, Levi’s, Vogue, Always, Xbox, Glossier, Lancome, Beautycounter, and Dia & Co. She also co-hosts a podcast called Film Filosophy with The Mission Entertainment to challenge and provoke thoughtful conversations about the constructs of the filmmaking industry. Tiffany attended UCSD for a BA in Media with a minor in Theatre, and Art Center College of Design for her MFA in Directing.

Mentor: Jennifer Phang

Lee Friedlander

Lee Friedlander is an award-winning LGBT filmmaker and Connecticut native who began her career as a theater actor and director. She quickly made her mark as a producer, bringing numerous independent films to life. Lee directed the short film *The Ten Rules: A Lesbian Survival Guide*, which led to the television series *Exes & Ohs* on Logo/MTV/Viacom, where she co-created, executive produced, and directed the pilot. Lee has directed and co-written over a dozen movies of the week (MOWs) and was selected for NBCUniversal's Female Forward initiative, directing *Good Girls*, *The Good Doctor*, and *Chicago Med*. She also directed Avril Lavigne’s music video *Give You What You Like* and collaborated on the *Warrior* video honoring frontline workers. Currently, Lee has several films in development based on true stories and novels. She lives in Marina Del Rey and enjoys hosting dinners and boating with her wife in her spare time.

Mentor: Silver Tree

Stacey Holman

Stacey L. Holman is a Harlem-based filmmaker who has directed and produced several award-winning PBS documentaries. She was the series producer/director for three PBS limited series hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: GOSPEL, The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song, and Making Black America: Through the Grapevine. She also produced the critically acclaimed PBS documentary Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities, directed by Stanley Nelson. For The History Channel, Stacey produced Buffalo Soldiers, the third episode of the network’s heralded Black Patriots program. The NYU Tisch School of the Arts grad has directed and produced numerous scripted/non-fiction shorts including Red Healed for BET’s Scene Stealers as well as the documentary Dressed Like Kings, which was filmed in South Africa, garnered the Tribeca Film Festival All Access Award, and aired on the WORLD Channel as part of

AfroPoP Digital Shorts.

Mentor: Nicole Kassell

Alex Kalymnios

Alex Kalymnios, born and raised in London, is the daughter of a Greek Physicist professor and a Greek Cypriot teacher. Alex spent her childhood obsessed with stories and after writing and directing award-winning short films, got her first break on HOLLYOAKS. Since then Alex has become an established director working both in the UK and the USA. She has directed episodes of THE RECRUIT, TITANS, IMPULSE, S.W.A.T., TIMELESS, THE WHITE PRINCESS, THE 100, QUANTICO, SALEM and ONCE UPON A TIME. Selected UK credits include SCOTT & BAILEY and Bafta nominated BECOMING HUMAN. Alex also directed the critically acclaimed THREE FAMILIES for the BBC, based on Northern Ireland’s strict anti-abortion laws. Alex has directed TV films LOVE YOU TO DEATH starring Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden and CLEVELAND ABDUCTION starring Taryn Manning and Pam Grier. Alex is currently attached to direct feature STRAIGHT LIES starring Mckenna Grace.

Mentor: Anna Boden

Christine Khalafian

Originally from Iran of Armenian descent, Christine Khalafian’s shorts have screened at the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, and Rotterdam International Film Festival, among others. She made her network TV directing debut with an episode of Ryan Murphy’s 9-1-1: Lone Star (FOX), starring Rob Lowe, and has since directed five episodes of TV, including 9-1-1 (ABC) with Angela Bassett and the Season 5 premiere of 9-1-1: Lone Star. She produced and directed the feature documentary The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights, which premiered on PBS/Independent Lens and was invited by Michelle Obama to screen at The White House during the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. She’s an Emmy-nominated editor with experience in both scripted and documentary. She’s a mentee of the American Cinema Editors (ACE) Diversity program, Film Independent’s Project Involve, Women in Film, and a mentee in Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative.

Mentor: Michelle Maclaren

Annetta Marion

ANNETTA MARION is a Primetime Emmy Award-winning, Oscar short-listed, and Peabody Award and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker, showrunner and director. She’s known for her work on Oprah’s Master Class, NBC’s Making It with Amy Poehler and Nick OHerman, and most recently, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie that she produced and second unit directed. Annetta has worked with some of the biggest stars on major shows for Netflix, ESPN, OWN, MTV, VH1, Apple+ and Investigation Discovery.

Mentor: Tessa Blake

Stephanie Martin

Stephanie is a graduate of the AFI Directing Workshop for Women program, where she co- wrote and directed her short film, WILD HORSES, which premiered and won Best Live Action Short at Palm Springs ShortFest. The film stars Mireille Enos (THE KILLING, HANNA) and Brooke Shields, and tells the story of the plight of America’s wild horses. Following this, Stephanie was selected to be one of the Directors on the anthology feature film BERLIN, I LOVE YOU. Parallel to her career in TV and Film, Stephanie also Directs Television and Directs and DPs Commercials. This year, Stephanie directed a two episode block of Walker and in 2022 she directed two episodes of Fox’s The Resident and one episode of Walker for the CW. In addition, she directed the concept trailer for Freeform’s PARTY OF FIVE. Stephanie is a fellow of both the Disney and the Sony Directing Programs.

Mentor: Tara Miele

Fawzia Mirza

Fawzia (she/they) is a queer, South Asian, Muslim writer and director. She wrote/directed the feature film THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS (TIFF, BFI, SXSW), wrote/produced the rom- com SIGNATURE MOVE (SXSW, Outfest Grand Jury Prize), directed on Hulu’s upcoming series DELI BOYS and wrote on CBS’ THE RED LINE. Award-winning short films include NOOR & LAYLA (CBC), THE SYED FAMILY XMAS EVE GAME NIGHT (TIFF), BROWN ELEPHANT (20th Digital Studio) and AUNTIE (The New Yorker).

Mentor: Anu Valia

Stephanie Turner

Stephanie Turner is a writer, director, and actor whose debut feature film “Justine” was acquired by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY and premiered on Netflix in 2020. Her episodic directing credits include OWN’s, “QUEEN SUGAR” and the DC Comics/CW show, “NAOMI”. Stephanie started working in the entertainment industry as an actress in her late teens. In her first major motion picture role she was attacked by Jane Fonda, in the comedy “Monster in Law”. Stephanie was born in Long Beach, CA but grew up all over the United States, moving from team to team with her football coach father and family. She is an alum of the Women In Film Mentorship Program, and a SAG-AFTRA and DGA member. Stephanie resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Mentor: Kat Coiro