Talent

Alvaro Ron is an award-winning filmmaker and environmentalist. He is an alum of UCLA, NALIP's Latino Lens Program, the Sony TV Diverse Directors Program and the Berlinale Talents. His work is known for having a unique whimsical vision of the world and thought-provoking stories focused on youth and the environment that have reached millions of people internationally. Some of his films include SWIMMING IN THE DESERT, winner of 28 awards, starring Tony Plana and THE RED THUNDER, with more than 300 film festival selections. Alvaro Ron has directed critically acclaimed international TV series like

HERNÁN (Amazon), PALOMARES and VELVET COLLECTION (Netflix) for which he received a Platino Award nomination. After completing the Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop,

Alvaro is set to direct an episode of Superman & Lois (CW).

Recovering Houston debutante Alyson Weaver Nicholas grew up believing flawless evening wear and duck hunting skills were the key to upward mobility. Then she left Texas. Now, she's a mom of two living in California who writes stories about young people and women rediscovering the world they thought they knew. Alyson was hired by Wattpad Studios to write a pilot based on their popular book Unholy Matrimony and previously worked as Head Writer/EP for Season 2 & 3 of the Snapchat series Two Sides. She won an Alfred P. Sloan Award for a feature script about her formative time attending Space Camp and received an MFA in Writing for Screen & Television from USC.

Ashlei Hardenburg-Cartagena is a queer German-Puerto Rican karaoke league champion. A child of divorce, she was destined for Jersey Girl realness when she discovered her family's generational evolution from working in organized crime to working in law enforcement and the armed forces. Naturally, this made it difficult to come out of the closet but fostered her love for suspenseful thrillers and buddy cop blockbusters. It wasn't until she attended Vassar College that she finally put her complex mixed-ethnicity, queer-kid identity struggles into her writing.

After graduating with a BFA in Film, Ashlei hustled as an Office PA on shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones, then took a quick detour as a Production Manager on true crime docuseries like Mark of a Serial Killer and Homicide for the Holidays. After her writing drew recognition from Final Draft's Big Break Competition and Roadmap Writers, Ashlei took the hint and moved to Los Angeles, quickly being accepted into the Warner Bros. Writers' Workshop. Following the Workshop, Ashlei was staffed on THE GIRLS ON THE BUS (HBOMax).

Benedict Chiu was raised by Taiwanese parents in Saratoga, CA. He desperately wanted to stand out among his tech-driven community, so instead of working toward a sweet six-figure Silicon Valley salary, he opted to embarrass himself on the Internet. Benedict attended USC for Business and Cinematic Arts but also made YouTube videos. Some of his early work included a cringe-worthy Taylor Swift lip sync that will never see the light of the day, and a Jackie Chan-style action comedy with college students doing parkour on a public playground. Benedict eventually cobbled together some comedy sketches about the Asian-American experience to become the basis for his first pilot, the coming-of-age-comedy S.Q.A.G. (SHORT QUIET ASIAN GIRL). His writing often focuses on underdog characters in immersive worlds, with elements of heart, humor, and action - inspired by the anime/manga that stoked his imagination as a kid. Following the Workshop, Benedict was staffed on CALL ME KAT (FOX).

Calvin "Jai" Jamison Jr., a writer/director from Richmond, VA, is an alum of the Almanack Screenwriters (FKA Nantucket Screenwriters Colony), and has won numerous screenwriting awards, including WeScreenplay Diverse Voices. He is a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellow, and a graduate of Hampton University and American University's MFA Film program. His feature film, TRI, led to his selection for the Shoot Magazine New Director's Showcase. SLAVE CRY, his most recent short, won The Commonwealth Award at the Virginia Film Festival and screened in the 2021 Pan African Film Festival. Jai is currently a Story Editor on Superman & Lois, and after completing the Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop, is set to direct an episode of Superman & Lois (CW).

Cheech Manohar was born in Australia and raised in Pittsburgh by Indian immigrant parents, who instilled in him a strong work ethic and a deep appreciation for footnotes. Though he did not have a social life in high school, it did prepare him well to originate the role of Kevin Gnapoor, the rapping mathlete, in Mean Girls on Broadway.* While working as an actor, Cheech and his friends would compete to see who could audition for the most characters named Raj. After realizing how many hilarious BIPOC/LGBTQ comedians couldn't get seen for roles because of silly reasons that had nothing to do with their talent, Cheech started writing his own fast and furious comedies. His work always includes two things: a lot of jokes-per-second, and a lot of heart.

Cheech can currently be seen in the feature film Jerry and Marge Go Large on Paramount+ and the HBO show Mrs. Fletcher. Following the Workshop, Cheech was staffed on DEAD BOY DETECTIVES (HBOMax).

Claire Fowler is a Welsh writer and director. After studying at Oxford University, she made a number of documentaries focused on human rights before attending Columbia University's M.F.A. program in film on a Fulbright scholarship. She has since participated in the AFl's Directing Workshop for Women, the Ryan Murphy HALF program and the Sony Directing program. Her short films have screened at over two hundred international film festivals, including Tribeca, Human Rights Watch, London, Palm Springs and Outfest, and in 2020 she won a BAFTA Cymru award for her short film Salam. After completing the Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop, Claire is set to direct an episode of Manifest (Netflix).

Geeta Malik is an award-winning writer and director whose accolades include the inaugural Academy Gold Fellowship for Women, the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, and the Austin Film Festival Comedy Screenplay Award for her feature script, DINNER WITH FRIENDS (retitled to INDIA SWEETS AND SPICES).

In 2019, Geeta directed INDIA SWEETS AND SPICES, starring Bollywood superstar Manisha Koirala, Adil Hussain, Sophia Ali, and Rish Shah. The film was produced by SK Global and Madison Wells Media and premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. It was released theatrically by Bleecker Street and is currently streaming on Hulu. After completing the Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop, Geeta is set to direct an episode of Abbott Elementary (ABC).

Kayla Compton is a Mexican American actress, director and writer. She plays superhero Allegra Garcia on the long-running CW series The Flash. After shadowing two directors, including Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop alum and co-star Danielle Panabaker, Kayla wrote, directed and starred in her first short film IN TRAINING, which was accepted into multiple Oscar-qualifying film festivals. After completing the Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop, Kayla is set to direct an episode of The Flash (CW).

Leon Lozano is the founder of Son of Oakland Productions. His directing credits include an episode of TALES (RENÉE) for BET Network, and the award-winning short film MY FATHER BELIZE. Lozano recently completed his documentary short PROM NIGHT FLEX and is currently in post-production on his feature A LITTLE HOPE FOR CHICAGO. After completing the Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop, Leon is set to direct an episode of All American: Homecoming (CW).

Nate Burke is a Black Jew from Boston, which is an incredibly confusing statement for many people. Upon achieving sentience, Nate began unpacking the relationship between these two distinct identities, and in turn became an intrepid investigator of the world at an early age. This deeply embedded curiosity, coupled with the cultural backing of two separate yet equally vibrant communities, led Nate directly to writing.

Sam Rubinek was born in Toronto, Canada, but is allergic to the cold - literally. He ping-ponged between Toronto and Los Angeles before settling in New York City. The rootlessness of his childhood allowed him to find a sense of identity rooted in family history. Sam grew up with stories about his grandparents - Holocaust survivors - and his father, born in a refugee camp. This shaped his desire to tell morally murky stories about people in desperate circumstances.

Nate and Sam met at Brown while location scouting for a short film, during which they bonded over their shared love of genre films and dystopian fiction. They moved out to LA and discovered that the similarities and differences in their perspectives and upbringings meshed to create art that neither could make on their own. Following the Workshop, Nate & Sam were staffed on RIVERDALE (CW).

Nic Chatree Sridej was raised in rural Dacula, Georgia by his Thai father and Buffalonian mother. As a biracial Asian kid who adored magic, mystery, and the supernatural, he was a bit of an outlier in this predominantly white, evangelical neck of the woods. Undeterred, he spent his time watching horror movies after Sunday School, asking his detective dad way too many questions about his caseload, and spooking his friends with (good) sleight-of-hand magic and (bad) David Blaine impressions.

Due to a lack of magic colleges in the southeast, Nic studied journalism and theater at Piedmont University. His love for storytelling ultimately inspired him to pursue an MFA in Screenwriting at Florida State University, where he cultivated his passion for genre stories with heart - stories often about misfits straddling worlds and defying expectations. After grad school, he held a variety of Hollywood assistant jobs, including stints on AMERICAN GODS, AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, and ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? In 2020, he was selected for the CAPE New Writers Fellowship, and he has also worked as a story consultant for indie video game studio Beans Team. Following the Workshop, Nic was staffed on THE WINCHESTERS (CW).

Nikita DeMare was born in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to bohemian parents, an Italian-Native father and French-Irish mother, which means she was prone to nosebleeds and alternative sensibilities. But after her father chose the life of a vagabond over that of a family man, her mother, sister, and she hit the road - ultimately settling in the greenwoods of the Pacific Northwest. As a kid, Nikita discovered storytelling by wandering local cemeteries, where she imagined rich backstories for the deceased. As she got older, she put pen to paper, attending writing workshops at Sarah Lawrence and Atlantic Center for the Arts - set on becoming a novelist. But while taking a screenwriting class at Elon University, she felt her trajectory shift, wanting her stories to transcend paper and emerge on-screen. This realization brought her to Los Angeles, where she has since worked various assistant jobs, determined to break into television writing. When she's not hunched over Final Draft, Nikita enjoys existential conversations and puzzling over all things mysterious - from dark matter to wherever that second sock disappears to. Following the Workshop, Nikita was staffed on FOUND (NBC).

If Oriana Schwindt doesn't seem like she's from Central Florida, it's because she fled it and her strict immigrant Hispanic mother as soon as she could, first to Northwestern for journalism school and then to New York to start a stable, lucrative career writing for print magazines (lol).

In 2017, after a half-decade writing about television for publications like TV Guide and Variety, Oriana tried to figure out what had happened to America on a self-funded, seven-month reporting trip to the geographic center of every state. When book editors said her material "wasn't Eat, Pray, Love enough," she began turning those stories about finding community into TV episodes.

In 2021, she landed a spot in the Warner Bros. Writers' Workshop, where at various points she trotted out her love of fantasy and sci-fi, her obsession with urban planning, and her working knowledge of Spanish, Russian, Finnish, and Elvish.

Tiffany Frances is a Taiwanese American writer and director who is an alumna of the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, a Blackmagic Collective fellow, a SeriesFest + Shondaland Women Director Mentorship Finalist, and was selected in SHOOT Magazine's 2018 New Directors Showcase. She wrote and directed an original film for ELLE and Lexus to screen at the ELLE Women in Hollywood event in 2021. Her film DOT was selected for the Caz Matthews Fund in 2022, and her film HELLO FROM TAIWAN won the Grand Jury Prize at the Taiwanese American Film Festival, Best Short at LA Diversity Film Festival, Best Narrative Short at Reel Sisters Diversity Film Festival, Best Drama and Best Director at SeriesFest, and screened at MoMA in partnership with Chanel.

She has worked with Levi's, Vogue, Citibank, Acura, Glossier, Lancome, National Geographic, and more. She is currently developing two TV series as well as two feature films. Tiffany received her BA from UCSD, and her MFA in Directing from Art Center College of Design. After completing the Warner Bros. Directors' Workshop, Tiffany is set to direct an episode of Kung Fu (CW).