MODERATOR

Dave DeBorde

Filmmaker and educator Dave DeBorde was a producer on the romantic feature, Old Fashioned, which enjoyed a theatrical release for Valentine’s Day 2015’ and won multiple awards after its initial festival run. In June of 2012’, DeBorde directed the feature film romantic comedy, Marriage Material. Dave completed a full season as the showrunner for the reality TV show, Soccer Moms of Tampa Bay(2015), which has received critical praise in the industry. DeBorde wrote the script for the family film, Camp Hideout, which enjoyed a wide theatrical domestic release in the Fall of 2023 through Roadside, and a worldwide release through Sony. Dave was also hired to write and direct, Merry Christmas…Oy Vey! DeBorde, is a popular lecturer and moderator on the Film/TV industry and regularly speaks at the biggest festivals in the world: Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, and Sunscreen FF.

PANELIST

Brock Starnes

Brock Starnes began his career at Big Idea VeggieTales. He holds a Masters degree from Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand. With an eye toward building brands, he has developed and produced episodic TV, campaigns, and branded products and experiences. For a decade, he served as Partner at Brentwood Studios where he developed and managed media properties in animation, publishing, and new media. In 2021 he joined Shining Isle Productions to serve as COO and Executive Producer of The Wingfeather Saga which is the largest crowd-funded animated family series of all time. He lives Nashville TN with his wife and three kids.

PANELIST

Tameron Hedge

Tameron Hedge is a Tennessee native who has produced hundreds of creative campaigns including award-winning music videos, commercials, brand stories, television specials, theatrical releases for worldwide concert events, feature films, and documentaries. She recently wrapped production on A Little Women’s Christmas (filmed in her hometown of Franklin, TN) that is slated for release in November 2024. She is currently collaborating with local talent developing a six-picture slate featuring
nonfiction narrative work that combines her passions for music and film. Tameron earned a BA in Communication from the University of Alabama. She is an active NARAS member who has participated in past GRAMMY craft committees, serves on the Scholarship Review Committee for the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, is a Narrative Film Competition Judge for the annual BEA Festival
of Media Arts, and an expressive writing facilitator for The Porch’s Writing For Good program.

MODERATOR

Nick Barnes

Nick Barnes is an agent at leading global talent, entertainment, sports and advisory company UTA, where he leads the company’s Heartland initiative. Launched in 2020, Heartland is based on storytelling rooted in the shared values of community, faith and family, and amplifying the voices of creators from Nashville and beyond. The initiative marks the first time a major global talent agency has founded a dedicated practice to identify, develop, and showcase the unique voices of Heartland creators and
storytellers. Barnes represents many of today’s most prominent Heartland-based storytellers including The Erwin Brothers, Dallas Jenkins, Think Factory Media, Jonathan Roumie, Kathie Lee Gifford, Leanne Morgan, John Crist, among many others. He is also a member of the teams that signed Bobby Bones and Chip and Joanna Gaines.

PANELIST

Brian Loschiavo

Brian Loschiavo is a Co-Founder and Executive Producer at Riverside Entertainment, a Nashville and Los Angeles-based production company specializing in film, television and branded content. He has written, produced and directed numerous feature films and television specials, is an Executive Producer on a variety of film and TV projects including Nashville-based Making Modern with Brooke & Brice for Magnolia Network and the Jesse Eisenberg, Adrien Brody thriller Manodrome. Prior to founding Riverside, Brian lived in Los Angeles working as a freelance screenwriter and producer, having sold or optioned several scripts – many of which are still in development.

PANELIST

Anastasia Brown

Anastasia Brown is a music supervisor, talent scout, music publisher, talent booker, entertainment consultant, columnist and author. As a music supervisor, Anastasia Brown has worked on major motion pictures, TV series, major motion soundtracks and original songs which have received Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Dove wins and nominations. Some of her credits include the Footloose remake (Julianne Hough), August Rush (Robin Williams), It’s Complicated (Meryl Streep), Taken (Steven Speilberg), The Darkest Hour, Billy [Graham]; the Early Years, (Armie Hammer), ABC series, G.C.B. (Kristin Chenoweth), and the hit series The Americans on FX (Keri Russell). Wearing her publishing hat and representing artists/composers for film and TV, she has secured placements in current films such as Dream House (Daniel Craig), In Time (Justin Timberlake), Cold Light of Day (Bruce Willis), Diary of a Wimpy Kids 3 (Rachel Harris), American Girl (Jade Pettyjohn), The Lying Game, (Andy Buckley, Adrian Pasdar), The Americans (Keri Russell, Mathew Rhys), ABC series Nashville and Lucky 7, American Girl 2 (Jay Ashley), and Magic Mike (Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum), to name a few.

PANELIST

Emily Best

Emily Best is the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, a platform built to make entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected and essential. She has raised millions in investment and crowdfunding, secured large brand partnerships, and built a world-class team for Seed&Spark. She has also produced films, series and VR projects that have premiered at Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca and more. Her most recent series, “Fck Yes” Refinery 29 called, “The sex education you wish you had in high school.”

MODERATOR

Mariah Kramer

Mariah Dunn Kramer is a multi-modal filmmaker with a focus on documentary filmmaking. Kramer is a Senior Lecturer in the Cinema and Media Arts at Vanderbilt University. She has received multiple awards for her work, which has been screened in festivals such as the Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival, Cucalorus Film Festival, and the Bend Film Festival. Mariah’s short documentary, This is My Home Now, was broadcast on PBS and the World Channel. Mariah is a co-founder of the UpTilt Film Fest, North Carolina’s only female & gender nonconforming film festival, where she now serves on the board of directors.

PANELIST

Rachel Wolther

Featured as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Rachel Wolther is a writer, director, and producer, who co-directed the mid-length absurdist dance comedy SNOWY BING BONGS with Alex Fischer, produced by DANIELS. Her BlackList screenplay, NOBODY NOTHING NOWHERE, earned her a spot at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2018. Her work has screened at the Berlinale, Rotterdam and New York Film Festivals, among others.

MODERATOR

Rebecca Fons

Rebecca Fons is Director of Programming at the Gene Siskel Film Center, a public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and serves as the Development and Programming Director for the historic Iowa Theater in her hometown of Winterset, IA. Rebecca previously served as Programming Director for FilmScene in Iowa City, IA; Director of Film at the John and Nancy Hughes Theater in Lake Forest, IL; and as Education Director for The Chicago International Film Festival for nearly a decade. Rebecca received her MA from Columbia College Chicago and BA from the University of Iowa. She is co-founder of the Chicago event series Destroy Your Art, and has proudly served on screening committees and juries for festivals across the country, including True/False, SXSW, the Seattle International Film Festival, and the Hawaii International Film Festival. In 2022, Fons was named Chicagoan of the Year in Film by the Chicago Tribune.

PANELIST

Alexandra Fredricks

​​Enthusiastic about functioning as a bridge between creators, industry, and audiences — Alexandra Fredricks handles Non-Theatrical Distribution and International Sales at Oscilloscope Laboratories, a Brooklyn-based independent film distribution company founded in 2008 by Adam Yauch. Previously, she held the positions of Programming and Operations Senior Manager at Metrograph and Film Screening Operations Manager at the Doha Film Institute (DFI). She has over 15 years of international experience in film exhibition organizations and festivals in New York, Qatar, Canada, Australia and The Netherlands, and has served over the years on a number of Jury and Screening Committees, and as a talent liaison for New York Film Festival (NYFF).

PANELIST

Emily Best

Emily Best is the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, a platform built to make entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected and essential. She has raised millions in investment and crowdfunding, secured large brand partnerships, and built a world-class team for Seed&Spark. She has also produced films, series and VR projects that have premiered at Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca and more. Her most recent series, “Fck Yes” Refinery 29 called, “The sex education you wish you had in high school.”

MODERATOR

Alison Abbey Hudak

Alison Abbey Hudak has been working in print and digital media for nearly two decades, covering music, TV, film and all things pop culture. Currently, Hudak is Editor-in-Chief of Modern Luxury Nashville, set to launch its first issue in October. Previously, Hudak headed up Nashville Lifestyles, where she co-hosted a weekly interview podcast and live events with Kristin Chenoweth, Chris Young, Elle King and more. Nationally, Hudak’s work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, Woman’s Day and Parade, for which she served as associate editor for four years.

HOST

Zach Hoffman

Zach Lazar Hoffman is a full time American actor and voice actor. His experience ranges from film and TV having appeared in Fear the Walking Dead, The Resident, and National Treasure, to animation and video games including voices like Steve Murphy in Narcos: Rise of the Cartel, Nightmare Fredbear in Five Nights at Freddy’s: Ultimate Custom Night, Tigreal and many other characters in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang;  as well as commercial experience having voiced major brands that range from The Las Vegas Raiders, BMW, Pirate’s Booty, and ESPN. He has narrated over 25 books on Audible and many more outside of the platform ranging multiple American and UK dialects. Zach Is dedicated to the art of acting, devoted to the craft of storytelling, and committed to the process of becoming another to bring his art to life.