Alisyn Amant

Madison, WI

Alisyn is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Journalism and English with a minor in Digital Studies. After taking an introductory film studies class her junior year, Alisyn fell in love with the idea of using her writing abilities to cover film and literature. She hopes to one day write for the arts or entertainment section of a publication or become a professor. Some of her favorite movies include A Man Escaped, Spirited Away, First Reformed, and Grave of the Fireflies.  

Aerin Atinsky

Manhattan, NY

Aerin Atinsky is a high school student at The Hewitt School in Manhattan, New York. Her passions include journalism, film, service work, and advocacy. She believes the world is heavily influenced by the film industry and hopes to utilize this notion in her future in order to make progress. 

Fizzah Arshad

San Diego, CA

Fizzah is a sophomore and prospective English major at Princeton University, where she is involved in a variety of student publications. She loves quiet slice-of-life films and exploring classics of foreign cinema, with a soft spot for Christmas movies. As a lover of books and visual art, character arcs and costuming are her favorite aspects of films. 

Majorca Bateman-Coe

New York, NY

My name is Majorca Bateman-Coe and I am currently a Film and Media Studies major at Columbia University, and I hope to graduate in 2022 with… a degree. I recently transferred from Stanford University’s undergraduate Film and Media Studies department, and between this transition I am considering pursuing a concentration in screenwriting. 

I love making art and have lately gotten into animation and exploring animated films more, which is something I would like to pursue in the future. I have an interest in studying world religions in my free time, as well as practicing my own to the best of my ability. I also love reading, binging media criticism videos as a relatable form of procrastination, and trying to start my own YouTube film/media/academia/religion/whatever channel. Oh, and I’m obsessed with 8-bit video games such as Earthbound™ and Pokémon on GameBoy™. I also collect Tamagotchis™.

Amanda Cataldo

Melbourne, AU

Having recently graduated from UNSW with First Class Honours in Film Studies, Amanda loves being emerged in an active and inquisitive film community. She enjoys all things weird and wonderful, with her interests currently lying in transgressive queer representation. Some of her favourite films include Paddington 2, Frances Ha, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Jennifer’s Body.

Lily Citron

Interlochen, MI

Lily Citron is a first year junior at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is majoring in Film and New Media. She loves movies and thinking critically about them. 

Simone Chaney

Interlochen, MI

Simone Chaney is currently a senior in high school at Interlochen Arts Academy, enrolled in the school’s creative writing program. She is from Marshfield, Wisconsin where she lives with her parents, younger sister and hairless cat. Simone became interested in film and film critique at a young age, when she saw The Avengers for the first time. Some of her favorite films are The Trial of the Chicago 7, Black Panther, and Wall-E.

Owain Collins

Menomonie, WI

Owain Collins is currently a sophomore attending Interlochen Arts Academy for Film & New Media. Originally from Wisconsin, he spends most of his time watching and reviewing films as well as taking bike rides and drinking coffee. He is very invested in screenwriting and directing, hoping to have accomplished work in the future.

Heather Denson

Atlanta, GA

Heather is an undergraduate student at Georgia State University, majoring in Film and Media and minoring in Journalism. She is a Scorpio sun, Aquarius moon, and Aquarius rising. Her aspiration is to make an impact on society through multi-media platforms, focusing on female- driven content and on-screen fashion. A selection of her favorite cinematic influences includes Twin Peak, Clueless, Suspiria, and The Love Witch.

Tatiana Diomi

Silver Spring, MD

I can sit down and write for hours. Time always seems to pass doing what I most enjoy.

Katherine Giroux

Baltimore, MD

Katherine Giroux is a Film and New Media student at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. When they are not making films, Katherine enjoys activities such as creative writing, fine arts, baking, journalism, and soccer. They cannot sing or dance so please do not ask them to. Katherine’s favorite movies are The Act of Killing, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Interstellar.

Sophie E. Goska

Sobieski, WI

Sophie Goska is a first-year senior at Interlochen Arts Academy where she majors in Film and New Media. Sophie is originally from Sobieski, Wisconsin. After high school, Sophie plans to attend college to become a cinematographer.

Samuel Hornsby

Leicester, UK

Samuel is a recently graduated with a first-class degree in Journalism and Media at De Montfort University in Leicester, Great Britain.

In his spare time he also writes music, takes nature photography and livestreams. He also runs a couple of online film clubs and has a particular passion for cult cinema. Samuel’s drive for film criticism comes from a mix of both his love of the subject and a desire to introduce people to pieces of art which may otherwise be unduly overlooked.

His favourite films include Withnail & I, The Big Lebowski, The Apartment, Lawrence of Arabia and Dog Day Afternoon.

Anastasia Ibrahim

New Haven, CT

Anastasia is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She’s an Egyptian American MENA (Middle East North African) peoples advocate, and the president of the MENA student’s association at Yale. She’s a writer for the Yale Herald and Yale Daily News, and the co-producer and host of ‘One Seat Over’—a narrative storytelling podcast. She’s an aspiring screenwriter and can usually be found writing sketch comedy and film coverage, doing standup, or religiously fawning over John Mulaney.

Nadia Eugene Jo

Stanford, CA

Nadia Eugene Jo is an undergraduate student at Stanford University majoring in Political Science and minoring in Creative Writing. She is a co-host of the film podcast “Criterion and Chill.” A passionate writer, Nadia loves producing creative nonfiction and poetry that incorporates reflections on powerful works of art. She is also a cellist who has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw. In the future, Nadia hopes to combine her passions for journalism, law, the Internet, and art. Her favorite films include Poetry, Persona, The Master, and A Woman Under The Influence.

Angela Kwak

Dhahran, SA

Angela is a Korean-American filmmaker raised in Saudi Arabia, and a senior film and new media major at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She strives to use her multicultural experiences to amplify underrepresented narratives with vulnerable, visual storytelling as her medium. Outside of film, she pursues her passions in jazz drumming, cooking, and adding to her growing collection of sky pictures.

Mark Lu

Washington, D.C.

Mang, who goes by Mark, is an undergraduate student in the American University Class of 2021 and studies economics and political science. He is from the Bay Area in California and is an admin for an online film community on Facebook. He is an amateur screenwriter and co-produced his first feature-length production last year, which wrapped principal photography at the end of 2018 and is set for a May 2019 release. His favorite movie is The Lion King.

Liam McDermott

Clarksburg, MD

Liam McDermott is an English teacher from Clarksburg, Maryland whose literary work has appeared in the online Loose Tooth anthology. He is also a musician with published projects on all major music platforms. He loves using language to realize novel stories and ideas and is invested in exploration of writing that transcends genre and medium.

Sofia Vargas

Interlochen, MI

Hi, I’m Sofia Vargas. I’m a first year junior studying film at Interlochen Arts Academy. My interest in filmmaking started during quarantine. I aspire to be a filmmaker as a career and analyze films for inspiration. I absolutely love telling a story through the screen. While most of my time is spent creating films, I also enjoy acting, spending time with my friends, and writing.

Veronica Wang

San Francisco, CA

Veronica is a graduate from San Francisco State University, where she majored in Cinema and minored in Animation. Her interests lie primarily in animation and representation, and as such volunteers with Asian American media organizations. One of her favorite films growing up was Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s Nezha Conquers the Dragon King.

Hamza Zahurullah

Rockford, IL

My name is Hamza Zahurullah. I graduated from Stanford University in June of 2020 with Honors and a B.A in Film and Media Studies.  In my senior year, I was the co-president of the Stanford Film Society and served as the Film and Media Studies peer advisor for the Department of Art and Art History.  I am currently taking my first of two gap years before applying to medical school.  Some of my favorite films include Whisper of the Heart, Jackie Brown and Do the Right Thing.