Canada born, US raised, Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah grew up in a tiny town in New Jersey. During her childhood, she immersed herself in storytelling and an array of music genres. Eager to be a “borderless storyteller”, her interests span from comedy to horror, and she plans to create work in various genres and mediums.

Ewurakua graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her work has been recognized in numerous film competitions, including Fusion Film Festival, Raindance Festival, Cinequest, Toronto Black Film Festival, NFFTY, and the Tony Hawkins Award for Excellence in Sound Design. In August of 2020, her short film “To the Girl That Looks Like Me” was named a finalist in the Alternative/Experimental category of the 2020 Student Academy Awards. Ewurakua’s To the Girl That Looks Like Me is part of the Scene in Color Film Series, presented by Target, with the film available to watch on Rotten Tomatoes, MovieClips Indie Channel, Peacock, and the NBC App.

In 2020 she launched The Melacast Network, a platform focused on connecting BIPOC actors, directors, and crew.

Bryan Wendorf co-founded the Chicago Underground Film Festival while working in a video rental store in 1994 and has remained its Programmer and Artistic Director.

With 30 years of experience, Wendorf is known for his commitment to promoting unconventional, thought-provoking, and experimental works in the underground film community. He has curated film programs at various venues throughout the world and served on juries at numerous film festivals, including Slamdance and the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival. Wendorf has a background in fine art and communications, having studied at Columbia College Chicago, and has written articles on film, music, comics, and popular culture for publications such as Indiewire and New City Chicago.

Celeste Wong has worked in the arts for 10 years and is a lifelong film and performing arts enthusiast based in Oakland, California. She has worked in programming for various film festivals nationwide, including the Tribeca Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, and currently serves as Festival Manager for the CineYouth Film Festival.

Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (b.1996, Philippines) is a filmmaker and musician born of Ifugao and Visayan descent. Eblahan’s works explore themes of trauma, spirituality, and nature told through the cosmic lens of post-colonial spaces and Indigenous identities. His works have been selected in festivals such as the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival where he won the International Student Jury Prize as well as the Special Mention of the International Jury for his 2020 short film Hilum. In 2022, his film The Headhunter’s Daughter was awarded the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Gold Hugo at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival.

Lebanese writer-director based in New York, Cyril Aris’s feature documentary The Swing (2018) premiered in Karlovy Vary and won awards in El-Gouna, Rome, London, Budapest and Tunisia. His short film The President’s Visit (2017) premiered at TIFF and played in over 80 festivals. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®. Cyril is currently in development for his feature “It’s a Sad and Beautiful World”, and in post-production for documentary “Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano”, recipient of a grant from the Sundance Institute.

Trent Farrington(He/Him) is a rising star in the world of film criticism, with roots in the stunning United States Virgin Islands and a home base in glamorous Atlanta, Georgia. As the founder of Film| Festival| Farrington is a sought after programming and operations specialist, with a passion for advocating for inclusion, social justice, and underrepresented communities in media and the creative arts. With a tricoastal reach, Farrington's programming has been featured at renowned festivals such as Frameline, Oxford, Atlanta Film Festival and more. He is a proud member of The Programmers of Colour and Queer Programmers United circle.

His talents have not gone unnoticed, as he has helped manage the Out on Film Festival to receive its Oscar Qualifications in shorts, as well as earning recognition as a Top 100 Film Festival and one of the 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. With his keen eye for quality and commitment to progress, Farrington is a name to watch in the world of cinema. Beyond his passion for film, Farrington enjoys the finer things in life, including indulging in a good book, whipping up delectable culinary creations he has found on Instagram, and snuggling with his beloved kitty Ruffles.

His latest production credit is with the new Prime Video Series: Swarm Directed Donald Glover & Janine Nabers.