MMABATHO MONTSHO
Director

Mmabatho is a multi-award winning writer and director based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She launched her writer-director career with her first short film, The Groom’s Price. This premi-ered to a viewership of over 4million on the South African Broadcast Corporation television.

Her subsequent short films, The Award Ceremony and Joko Ya Hao, have been selected in var-ious international film festivals, with Joko Ya Hao nominated for Best Short Film at the South Africa Film & Television Awards, and The Award Ceremony, winning Best Short Film at the Worldwide Women’s Film Festival. She boasts extensive experience as a television director, across various genres and formats.

Close to her heart, is her work as a Script Development Mentor, with over 10 of the scripts she mentored being selected for production and television broadcast.

As a consummate creative and champion of the black, female experience – Mmabatho’s work hones in on the essence of everyday existence, the beauty, agony and politics of what it means to be a black woman in South Africa today.

Winner 2020 – Worldwide Women’s Film Festival
Best Short Film (The Award Ceremony)

Nominee 2020 – South Africa Film & Television Awards
Best Short Film (Joko Ya Hao)

Winner 2019 – South Africa Film & Television Awards
Best Achievement in Scriptwriting

Nominee 2018 – South Africa Film & Television Awards
Best Achievement in Directing

LINDIWE SUTTLE MÜLLER-WESTERNHAGEN
Screenwriter

Lindiwe Suttle Müller-Westernhagen, a black, woman songwriter, is an MBA graduate turned singer-songwriter turned screenwriter. Inspired by her own sexual abuse story, her first short film, Desmond’s Not Here Anymore, won the 2019 HollyShorts Screenplay contest. It starred Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG winner, S. Epatha Merkerson and Gotham winner Yolonda Ross. The film won Best Short Film for Change at the Paris International Film Festival and is still being selected in numerous festivals this year including BAFTA-qualifying festivals Aesthetica and Norwich. 

An MBA class gave Lindiwe an opportunity to enter the Atlanta film industry. On her first film job, she was promoted from the Costume Department’s P.A. to Beyoncé’s personal costumer on The Fighting Temptations. She worked on an HBO period film, Warm Springs, with Cynthia Nixon, Kenneth Branagh and Kathy Bates and two Tyler Perry films where was Dr. Maya Angelou’s costumer.

As the daughter of a famous South African talk show host coined the ‘South Africa’s Oprah’ and an author father, this was the backdrop where Lindiwe learned the power of sharing stories that impact our world. “All my life, I felt I had an identity struggle. Growing up in a predominately white southern American neighborhood and being the daughter of someone famous built a wealth of insecurity. I never felt like enough so I never found my own place or voice in my world. Many years later, I found my voice in writing. My characters are mostly black women and girls. I love to explore family dynamics across different cultures, sisterhood, women outcasts standing up against social norms, women rebels showing their human spirits rise up time and time again,” says Lindiwe.

Lindiwe was voted one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch by the International Screenwriters’ Association. She is a Stowe Story Labs alumni, UCLA Writers’ Studio Program 2021 graduate, and has completed courses at Harvard and Oxford University graduate short writing programs.

Winner 2019 – HollyShorts Screenplay Contest
(Desmond’s not here anymore)

RAY ANGRY
Music Composer

Ray Angry is a pianist, producer, composer who is one of the most in-demand artists today. Classically trained with roots in gospel, one foot firmly planted in jazz and the other stirring the pot of pan-global pop, Ray Angry is the musician that the sharpest and shrewdest up-and-coming musicians aspire to be. As a tireless and ceaselessly inspired pianist, keyboardist, composer, producer, arranger and all-around coveted sideman—in the studio and on the road—Ray is the busiest, most eclectic musical talent crisscrossing the globe and genres for collaborations with today’s most exciting new and veteran artists. Ray’s resume since the ‘90s bursts with names such as Jeff Beck, Wynton Marsalis, Mark Ronson, Q-Tip, Yolanda Adams, Daniel Winans, Joss Stone, Sting, Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cindy Blackman, a duo of Mick Jagger & Dave Stewart, Estelle, Richard Smallwood, Dionne Warwick, Dianne Reeves, Queen Latifah, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Kelis, Christina Aguilera and ongoing associates The Roots.

AGNESH PAKOZDI
DOP

The former economist studied film- and videoart in Budapest and in Berlin, at the University of Arts – UdK Berlin. She specified in cinematography at the German Film- and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). In 2015 she won a grant for an Expanded Cinematography Masterclass at the Global Cinematography Institute in LA, led by Vilmos Zsigmond and Yuri Neyman. In the past decade she worked on several feature length films, more than twenty shorts, numerous documentaries and art projects as a director of photography in many different countries. Her second feature won the Best Cinematography Award at the 62. Seminci Filmfestival in 2017. In 2019 she got among the three nominees for the Michael Ballhaus Cinematography Award. She is based in Berlin but follows the good stories anywhere - driven by the political and social relevance.

Top Three 2019 – Michael Ballhaus
Cinematography Award

Winner 2017 – 62. Seminci Film festival
Best Cinematography

Claudia Wolsht
Editor (Germany)

Claudia studied social pedagogy and in 1986 helped found the Metropolis art house cinema in Cologne. From 1988 to 1992, she gained experience in the assistant editor and made Avid - Media Composer courses. Since 1993 she has worked as an editor for film and television. The series, which she edited, In the Face of the Crime, won the German Television Prize in 2010 (best multi-part series) and the Grimme Prize in 2011 (fiction). So far she has been responsible for editing more than 35 productions.

Nominee 2021 – Film Award in Gold
Best Editing 

Winner 2017 – German Television Prize
Best Editing 

Winner 2017 – German Academy for Television
Best Editing 

Winner 2015 –German Film Critics Award
Best Editing 

THEO DUMONT
Co-Founder, HollyShorts Film Festival

Dumont has a tremendous amount of entertainment publicity experience.

He is the co-founder and co-director of the Oscar-Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Hollywood Comedy Festival and co-founder of the Mammoth Film Festival. At Alta Global Media, Dumont spearheads media relations, publicity and strategic marketing communications campaigns for entertainment industry clients.

Dumont’s clients include Spike Lee, The Netflix Original Series She’s Gotta Have It, BlacKkKlansman for Focus Features, Actor/Director Roger Guenveur Smith (Rodney King), Stefon Bristol and his Spirit Award-Nominated film See You Yesterday, Writer Kerry Williamson, (Netflix’s What Happened to Monday), Buffalo 8 Productions (Rodney King), Bondit Media Capital, Bronwen Hughes (Netflix’s The Journey Is the Destination) Show runner Adi Hasak and his Adi TV Studios production company (NBC’s Shades of Blue and USA’s Eyewitness), Netflix’s Delhi Crime, Stan Lee’s Kids Universe, Producer Tanner Beard (Terrence Malik’s Voyage of Time, Knight of Cups, Song To Song), Oscar nominated animator Bill Plympton, 1821 Entertainment, Klasky Csupo, Strong Eagle Media (The Hornet’s Nest, Citizen Soldier, Apache Warrior) among others.

DANIEL SOL
Co-Director, Co-Founder HollyShorts Film Festival

With a passion for film and filmmaking since childhood, Daniel decided to move to California in 2000 with an interest in the film business. After working on commercial productions as a production assistant for Tony Kaye Films and then acting in various films, he gained an understanding of the filmmaking process.

After graduating at Cal State Northridge in 2006, he realized that young filmmakers had very little access to industry professionals, and few options for screening their films. And thus, the HollyShorts Film Festival was born. Now in its 17th year and Academy Award Qualifying in 3 categories, HollyShorts has quickly become the most influential short film festival in the World, with Daniel guiding it as Festival Director and lead programmer and the HollyShorts Monthly Screening Series, which takes place each month at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres.

Aside from HollyShorts, Sol also battled daily with domestic exhibitors as a theatrical sales executive at Lionsgate from 2008-2014. Mr. Sol is also the co founder of the premium Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV content channel BITPIX (www.bitpixtv.com) along with co-founder of the production company 88th Street. He proudly serves on the Film Augusta Advisory Board. Sol is also an Executive Producer of the short film THIRST, currently airing on Hulu.

NICOLE CASTRO
Managing Director, HollyShorts Film Festival

Originally from Queens, NY, Nicole received her degree in Production from Emerson College in Boston. After working for VH1 in the On Air Promo Department, Nicole made the move to LA to work at HBO in the Post Production Films Department. While there, Nicole had the opportunity to hone her skills, allowing her the chance to produce a Webisode series (Dwelling) and a few award winning short films(Cherry Waves, Terms of Service, Metamorphosis). Nicole has been a part of the HollyShorts team for the past 12 years as Managing Director and continues to bring her enthusiasm for film, meeting new people and extraordinary multi tasking skills to each year’s festival.

BEN ANDREWS
Founder, Seattle Film Summit

As founder of the Seattle Film Summit, Ben is realizing a dream — to mobilize the extraordinary talent and resources in the Northwest to create a robust local film industry. As a Seattle based Actor, Director, Producer, and local film advocate, his projects have been in over 200 festivals around the world and have won over two dozen awards. In 2013, he founded the Seattle Film Summit with a singular goal of expanding film opportunities in the Seattle area. Now, the summit has evolved into the Northwest’s premiere film market. As a member of the Washington State Film Leadership council and the Pacific Northwest eSports Council, he is a tireless advocate for showcasing creative talent in Washington State.

MARISSA FUJIMOTO
Co-Owner, Slager Fuj Creative Media

Marissa Fujimoto is fully engaged in the film, video and production process. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Sanford-Brown College, specializing in digital media. Her post-production work is most notable on shows such as “Hoarders” and “Project Afterlife”. Additionally, she has produced local “48 hours” films, earning her the Real Grrls Outstanding Producer Award in 2015. In 2018, Marissa produced another Holly Short’s original short film, “Jameson”, directed by John Humber. This was her third short film to make it to Hollywood and her first year under her production company Slager Fuj Creative Media, which offers film, video, and design services. She is also the Visual Image Director of the Seattle Film Summit.

Her work experience, Japanese heritage and immediate family members who were incarcerated, has guided her to a documentary opportunity. It quickly turned into a passion project where she made fast friends with a Japanese Hollywood production coordinator. Together they have traveled to three of the ten Japanese internment camps where only a select few offer yearly Pilgrimages. The goal of each Pilgrimage and her passion project, is to educate younger generations and preserve the stories of aging survivors who were incarcerated in WWII. She has received the 2018 Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant from the Nation Park Service and will continue to share the stories of those who were incarcerated.

HEATHER REESE
Production designer

Heather Reese is a Jamaican-Filipino Art Director and Videographer based out of Seattle, WA. She started her career at the rebellious age of 15, when she decided to leave home and see where life would take her. Traveling to South America, Reese discovered her love for painting and mixed media art, and it was in Brazil that she would pick up her first camcorder and begin the process of documenting the vibrant and intoxicating world around her. For the past 15 years Reese has explored a multitude of mediums ranging from acrylic painting, to photography, to styling, and currently, exploring set design and art direction. With a focus on design, Reese finds inspiration in bringing to life opulent interiors that she finds are the building blocks of every film, photo set and creative project. For her, the process always begins with designing a culturally stimulating world the viewer wants to escape into. Much like mixed media painting, Reese aims to bring to life a unique depiction of beauty in a non-traditional sense.

DAWN COLEMAN
Hair & Makeup

Since 2011, Dawn Coleman has enjoyed a successful career in the makeup industry. As a reliable LA-based makeup artist, Dawn brings a wide range of experience in editorial, film, television, and commercial work providing beauty, men’s grooming, special effects makeup, and much more. Makeup artistry is Dawn’s gift and passion and there has been no greater joy than the satisfaction she feels in creating beauty while helping make women and men feel great about themselves.

Aïda Gebreselassie
Costume designer

Originally from France, Aida is a wardrobe stylist based out of Seattle. With over a decade of experience as a fashion stylist, working with private clients, fashion brands and on runway shows, her experience has allowed her to pivot from her background in sales to working in styling and most recently costume design. Aida loves the possibilities of curating a wardrobe that captures style as a representation of individuality and storytelling. She loves the creativity and imagination involved in working with her clients, designers, as well as studying film treatments to bring visions to life.