KATHLEEN DEMARCO VAN CLEVE (Keynote) is a novelist, screenwriter, film producer, and teacher at the University of Pennsylvania. She produced the films Joe the King, winner of the “Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award” at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, Pinero, a Miramax release starring Benjamin Bratt, and Undefeated, an HBO film starring John Leguizamo. Her novels include Drizzle, Cranberry Queen, and The Difference Between You and Me. She graduated with a dual degree from the Wharton School and the College of Arts & Sciences in 1988. She has been a consultant for NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts M.F.A. dramatic writing program as well as for Tisch’s undergraduate dramatic writing candidates. She lives with her husband and two young sons in Philadelphia.
R. Eric Thomas (@oureric) is a playwright, stand-up dramedian and teaching artist. He has been called “one of the most talented storytellers in Philly” by the Philadelphia Weekly. He is the author of four produced plays, including “The Spectator” (Run of the Mill Theater Company, Baltimore) and “The Affair” (LateNite Theatre, New York City). His solo show, “Will You Accept This Friend Request?” premiered in November 2011 as part of the First Person Festival. Eric has read or performed for BalletX, Jaime Fountaine’s Second Stories at the Dive, Rant-o-Wheel, Queer Ignite, Superheroes Who Are Super!, New York’s Queer Memoir, “Live at Kelly Writers House” on WXPN and First Person Arts Story Slams, at which he has twice won Best Presentation. His writing has appeared in Columbia University’s The Collection, thinkingdance.net and The Q Review.
MARK ROSENTHAL teaches advanced screenwriting and scene analysis. His feature film credits include: Mona Lisa Smile (Sony), Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes (Fox), The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Disney), Star Trek VI (Paramount), The Jewel of the Nile (Fox), Superman IV (Warners), The Beverly Hillbillies (Fox), Mercury Rising (Universal), Desperate Hours (MGM), Flicka (Fox), The Legend of Billie Jean (MGM) and Mighty Joe Young (Disney). He is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Writers Guild of America.
SOPHIA TAKAL is a writer and director who attended Vassar College and graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University with a B.A. in Film Studies. Her first feature, Green, screened at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival where she received the “Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award.” Sophia also starred in and produced Lawrence Levine’s Gabi On The Roof In July, was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Film” in 2011 and Paste Magazine’s “20 Best Filmmakers of 2011.” Upcoming acting credits include Joe Swanberg’s The Zone and 24 Exposures, Zach Weintraub’s The International Sign For Choking, Nandan Rao’s The Men Of Dodge City, Dan Schechter’s This Is My Girlfriend, Keir Politz & Damon Maulucci’s Detonator, and Jeff Lipsky’s Molly’s Theory Of Relativity.
LAWRENCE MICHAEL LEVINE is an award-winning filmmaker and actor with an M.F.A. from Columbia University’s Film Division. He recently starred in the film Green, an official selection of the 2011 SXSW Film Festival. In 2010, he directed and starred in the critically acclaimed feature film, Gabi On The Roof In July, which went on to win “Best Narrative Feature” & “Best Actress” at the Brooklyn Film Festival and has screened at festivals around the country. Recently, Lawrence served as an executive producer for Jay Dipietro’s Peter And Vandy, which premiered as a narrative feature in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Upcoming acting credits include Joe Swanbeg’s The Zone, Keir Politz & Damon Maulucci’s Detonator and Jeff Lipsky’s Molly’s Theory Of Relativity.
Filmmaker and musical composer JON FOY started planning his documentary about the mysterious Toynbee tiles with artist Justin Duerr a decade ago, and began filming in 2005. While working on the film, the Philadelphia native sustained himself by cleaning houses and participating in medical research studies. A seasoned rock musician, Foy taught himself the art of film score composition for Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, and also scored 2008′s The Chinese Room. Resurrect Dead is his directorial debut and won the “US Documentary Director Award” at Sundance 2011.
BEN HICKERNELL wrote and directed his feature film debut Cellar in 2004, which played in four North American festivals, winning five awards, including “Best Feature” twice. Ben works as a freelance producer, director of photography and assistant director for various Philadelphia media companies, while running his production company, Reconstruction Pictures. Ben’s second feature film as writer/director, Lebanon, Pa., premiered at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival and went on to win numerous awards, including “Best Fiction Film” at the Traverse City Film Festival and “Best PA Film” at the Philadelphia Film Festival. He is currently in post-production on Backwards, which was shot in Philadelphia.
TAMMY TIEHEL is a Philadelphia native with a B.A. from Washington College in Chestertown, MD and an M.F.A. from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, CA. While attending AFI, Tammy produced the short film, My Mother Dreams The Satan’s Disciples In New York. The film earned top honors at prestigious film festivals around the world. In March of 2000, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded the film the Oscar for “Best Short Film, Live Action.” In addition to film work, Tammy has production managed and produced over 100 hours of television programming for the Discovery Channel and TLC. Through her production company Ridley Park Pictures, Tammy has produced several non-profit videos and two award-winning short films. She lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband Bill and her three children.
