Directors' Roundtable

Directors'/filmmakers' Roundtable

Sunday, June 1, 2008
Luckman Rehearsal Room
3:30-5:30 PM
FREE

Moderated by Franc.Reyes

Franc.Reyes began his career as a dancer and choreographer. In 1984, he made his screen debut in the hip-hop classic Beat Street, produced by Harry Belafonte and David V. Picker. While continuing his dance career and becoming a top New York choreographer, staging shows for leading dance music artists of the time, Reyes wrote his first script, The Headliners. In 1990, Reyes turned to song writing and by 1992 had written two top ten singles. He established King Reyes Music and signed a partnership deal with E.M.I Publishing. In 1993, Reyes returned to film when he was asked to stage the club sequences for Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way. The experience inspired him to pursue screenwriting. He then wrote a succession of screenplays including In the Deep South, which was produced as a 35mm short. Reyes directed this story of political corruption in the South Bronx, which starred Jon Seda (Selena, Price of Glory) and Lauren Velez (I Like It Like That, New York Undercover). In 1998 Franc wrote the script for what would become his first feature film, Empire, attracting the talents of John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabella Rosselini, Denise Richards, and Brazilian superstar Sonia Braga. Shot independently in New York in 2000, Empire went on to become the highest grossing film out of the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. In summer 2007, he completed filming Illegal Tender, which he also wrote and directed on location in Puerto Rico and New York and produced by Oscar nominated John Singleton. Scheduled for release in summer 2008, Franc.Reyes wrote, directed and produced his new film, The Ministers, a slick, classy action thriller about revenge, family and the complexities of the quest for justice, starring John Leguizamo and Harvey Keitel.

James Avelar

James Avelar attended California State University, Los Angeles where he received a BA in Film and Television. He has written, produced and directed two short films The Wrong Affair and Look at Me and has completed three feature scripts, Melinda, Borderline (with co-writer Rudy Carbajal) and Spring Love.

Cristina Kotz Cornejo

Cristina Kotz Cornejo received her M.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a BA from the University of Southern California. 3 Américas is the recipient of 2004 & 2007 Moving Image Fund Grants from the LEF Foundation and was selected for the prestigious Sundance Institute’s 2004 Independent Producer’s Conference as well as the NALIP Latino Writer’s Lab.

Abel Gonzalez

Abel Gonzalez earned a degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Murcia while simultaneously working as a director for an international traveling theatre troupe. Currently, he is busy finishing up development of a feature-length black comedy that is slated for production in the coming year.

Tyrone HuFF

Tyrone HuFF graduated from the Chapman University’s Dodge College Conservatory of Film and Media Arts with an MFA in film production. His films have gone on to win, and been nominated for, numerous recognitions in multiple festivals.

Rick Escamilla

Rick Escamilla is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach where he majored in Chicano Studies and Film Production. He is currently working on an adaptation of Dagoberto Gilb’s short story Maria De Covina from the book Woodcuts of Women.

Johnny Kirk

Johnny Kirk is a graduate of the Social Science and Television, Film & Media Studies Programs at California State University, Los Angeles, and has recently entered the Film Scriptwriting/ Photography Graduate Program. Currently, he is working on a boxing short and writing his first feature script.

Leonard Melchor

Leonard Melchor graduated from U.C.L.A. earning a B.A. in History and an M.A. in Latin American Studies. He is now an Adjunct Instructor at East Los Angeles College's History and Chicano Studies departments and a Lecturer in Chicano Studies at C.S.U.L.A.

Roberto Sierra Oregel

Roberto Sierra Oregel earned his B.A. from UC Berkeley, his M.A. in Latin American Studies and his MFA in Film Directing & Production both from UCLA. He has collaborated with renowned intellectuals and activists, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn as well as the visual artist Gronk and Poet writer Marisela Norte.

Diana Romero

Diana Romero received her second B.A. at Columbia College in Chicago in film and video production in 2003. In 2005 she began attending the prestigious American Film Institute to pursue a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Producing.

Emilio Rosa

Emilio Rosa formed his own production company called Taino Rosa Productions, in honor of his Puerto Rican heritage. He developed “The Familia,” a Latino mob/love story soon to be filmed, was written in collaboration with award winning writers Juan Shamsul Alam and P.J. Galati.

Adam Schlachter

Adam Schlachter graduated from the American Film Institute with an M.F.A. in Film Directing, from UCLA with a B.F.A. in Film Production, and from Florida State University. He has written and directed a dozen shorts, written seven feature screenplays, and is a member of the Writers Guild of America.

Christina Soto

Christina Soto’s award winning photography has been in numerous juried and group shows on both the East Coast and the Southwest. As a film maker, she has worked on more than 20 independent Latino films since 1993 In 2007, she co-wrote and produced Muñeca.

Conchita Nora Villa

Conchita Nora Villa makes her directorial debut with the film Alondra Smiles. Conchita graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in History and attended the Producer’s Program at the UCLA Extension Film School. She has been involved in all areas of film, television and marketing, with expertise in Latino Entertainment.