Bethiael Alemayoh is an Eritrean & Ethiopian-American filmmaker based in NYC and Texas. Her work often follows young Black women in the midst of the little misfortunes that are causing big impacts on their psyche. After interning for director Richard Linklater, she created and directed the short film series, We Are, which was distributed by Issa Rae Productions and has amassed 400k views and counting. Her latest short film, Dressed, premiered at SXSW and her work has also screened at BlackStar Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, The Bullock State History Museum, and more. She is a recipient of the New York Women in Film and Television Scholarship. Currently, she’s studying film at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts graduate program and working on her first feature.

Taylor “D. Bee” Boyd is a multifaceted visual artist, wearing many creative hats from painting to photography. She enjoys to describe herself as a “Visual Communicator.” Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Taylor knew her purpose was to create from a young age and let that passion carry her until she held her own Bachelor’s degree in film. Her work is known to be rooted in whimsical storytelling and she takes pride in taking her audience away from their own realities by creating enjoyable yet thought-provoking narratives for them to immerse in.

For a long time, I’ve always enjoyed going to the movies. It wasn’t until I started to get more involved with the film industry that I realized my love for film, and that I wanted to partake in it. I want to bring my own stories to life. I got to work writing my first short horror film some years back. From that point on, I’ve been moving forward with trying to bring my stories to life.

Daniel Ferrell, a native Memphis filmmaker, has garnered acclaim for impactful short films like "Dean’s List" and "Damaged Goods." His works, "Tagged" and "Beale Street Blues," have graced screens at Indie Memphis, while "Saving Private Brian" and "Starring Veronica Tremmell" found a place on local TV on WKNO in Memphis. Currently, Daniel is focusing his energy on the full-length feature film "Damaged Goods." Daniel's goal is to craft stories that create emotional connections with audiences worldwide.

Xenia is an innovative film and visual artist whose work explores personal experiences of black womanhood, the body, and the soul —externalizing what often only exists internally. Her film A Few Things I'm Beginning to Understand defied genre and explored blackness, love, and self reflection in exciting new ways. It won the Jury and Audience award for Best Experimental Short at Indie Memphis in 2021. Her new short, sci-fi and surreal OURIKA!, premiered at the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival as part of their inaugural Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, then made its way to Sundance 2023. Her impactful work has been recognized by Filmmaker Magazine in their annual “25 New Faces of Independent Film'' list and by festivals like New Orleans, Atlanta, and NFFTY . In the future, she seeks to create immersive installation experiences and is currently working on her first feature film, entitled MAMABABY.

Ayanna Murray is a 17-year homeschool educator with a drive and enthusiasm for storytelling. With a career as a children's book author and entrepreneur, Ayanna brings a respectable background as a film producer who contributed to three award-winning student short films with the Indie Memphis' Crew Up program. With a discerning eye for meaningful representation, Ayanna emerges as a catalyst for change, hoping to make an enduring impact on literature and film.

Megan 'Megz' Trufant Tillman a writer-musician-director from the 7th Ward of New Orleans. She centers her work around Black life, Black culture, and the Black South. Her debut short film ‘little trumpet’, a 7th Ward coming-of-age story – written, directed, and scored by Tillman – won film festival jury awards for Best Narrative Short (Bushwick), Best Cinematography (Tacoma), Best Louisiana Short (New Orleans), and Best African-American Directed Short (Phoenix). Previously, her New Orleans-set pilot script ALL FRONTS was named runner-up in the 2019 NOFF Screenplay Competition. Tillman's artistic practice extends beyond filmmaking: she's one half of jazz/hip hop outfit Magna Carda, and founder and editor of WATER, a Black literary and arts magazine. Additionally, she's written for the music video “Fight For You” by H.E.R., and Amazon’s H.E.R. Prime Day episode.