Our Award-Winning Filmmakers

With enthusiasm, gravitas and a vision backed by determination, Phyllis is committed to visual storytelling and it has paid off with work that exhibits keen intuitive insights and elicited spirited, moving performances from notable actors. Supervising Director for the Emmy-nominated web-series, “Send Me,” creator/producer of SPENT, winner of the BET Lens on Talent for Best Film and director of the award-winning short film BURNED, Phyllis’ filmmaking is preceded by having directed 30+ plays at some of the country’s most reputable theaters, including the Smithsonian’s African-American Museum, the Hartford Stage Company and Playwright’s Horizons.

A strong proponent of advancing women’s creativity, as an alumnus, she also founded the Bancroft Scholarship for Women of Color at the A.F.I. Conservatory.

Tamanna Shah is a Producer and Unit Production Manager based in Los Angeles. As a long-time entertainment industry professional, Shah has gained vast knowledge in the industry – from Line Producing and Unit Production Managing feature films, to domestic & international marketing, as well as in sales and film finance.

Past employers include Paramount Vantage, Clarius Entertainment and Jorva Entertainment Productions. Shah served as Head of Production for Jorva and oversaw several indie features and A&E/Lifetime MOWs.  Shah is currently involved in multiple productions in various stages.

Nikki Syreeta is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter, logline specialist, professional script reader and consultant harboring a frighteningly active imagination with an affinity for unique characters and subtext.

Nikki is the founder of Breaking Loglines®, a logline crafting service that helps the logline challenged. Nikki is currently an associate producer on a short film, Good Times at Mike Kelso’s, which is in development, earning her certification as an Intimacy Coordinator with Centuary Co., and her next projects are an action/ drama feature and a character-driven web series.

Kimby Caplan is an award-winning filmmaker whose work as a Cinematographer and Director, has taken her far from the mountains of her childhood.

Between lensing the social political commentary, HOW JACK BECAME BLACK, to traipsing about Eastern Europe following the in footsteps of an escapee from Communist Czechoslovakia, in the documentary Red Star, to roaming the streets of Old Havana in Cuba, followed by soldiers, for the documentary Cubamerican,  shooting avacadoes and artichokes for HBO’s Sesame Street, Caplan’s latest visual contributions have considerable variety and purpose.  

After receiving her B.S., with a double major in Video/Film and Computer Science from the University of Miami, Lynarion moved to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute Conservatory’s editing program.

Upon graduation she edited on various projects, including shorts, television shows and features. More recently, Lynarion has worked on projects such as TRANSPARENT (Amazon), THE POLKA KING (Netflix Features) CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND (The CW), LITTLE AMERICA (Apple TV+) and INSECURE (HBO).

Lynarion recently won an Emmy for “Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series” for her recent work on season 4 of Insecure.

An innovative and captivating fashion connoisseur, Janel Laws was born on the beautiful island of St. Ann, Jamaica. Steeped in a country engulfed by rich heritage and diversity, her unique sense of street culture matched with a keen eye for couture flourishes from a deep understanding of traditional and unconventional style.

Laws’ entry into the world of high fashion began as an aspiring model. Her travels and experiences translated to styling, eventually interning with the PRB Showroom. Currently, Janel consults as a stylist for Koziak Productions.

Jo Lilore is a web developer and web marketer with over twenty years of internet marketing and online production experience. 

Jo also runs a profeminist and gender equality Tumblr, and is working on a book on gender and society.  

Emerson Dudley is a Brooklyn native and a sophomore at Pomona College, majoring in Media Studies with a minor in Cognitive Science.

She is a writer and aspiring filmmaker and producer. She has helped produce and edit short segments for television and online and is excited to work on her first film.