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The Panel Speakers:
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Brian Herskowitz – Writer/Producer/Director
Brian has taught screenwriting at Writer's Bootcamp, UCLA extensions, Lifton Institute, and Stage 32. For 18 years, he has led the Boston University Writer in Hollywood Program. Brian's first book was a textbook on screenwriting, PROCESS TO PRODUCT. His second book, CONCEPTUS, is a novel that grew out of one of his screenplays.
Brian has worked as a TV writer on THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS OF HERCULES, BLOSSOM, DREAM ON, and TOUR OF DUTY. He directed ODESSA OR BUST with Red Buttons, Jason Alexander, George Wendt, and Jason Schwartzman, MURRAY GHOST (short content series), and Produced Candace Bushnell's The Broadroom (web series).
Features include MUSICAL CHAIRS (producer), TIO PAPI (writer/producer) , THE PHOTOGRAPHER (writer), BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT (writer/producer), ZBurbs (Exec Producer), STAR LEAF (Co-Exec Producer). He will be directing his feature script BEFORE MOONRISE in early 2023 |
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Carlos de los Rios, Screenwriter, Author.
Carlos de los Rios graduated from USC film school then went on to earn a JD from Monterey College of Law. He is the acclaimed author of an array of Mexican-American books of poetry and prose. He has written films for Academy Award-winning, Emmy Award-winning, Golden Globe Award-winning and Tony Award-winning actors over 20 years in Hollywood. de los Rios has the distinction of having written and produced silver screen legend Lauren Bacall's final film, The Forger. He is also an award-winning documentarian and has taught screenwriting at the University of California San Diego
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Michael Dukakis Writer, Actor
Michael Dukakis is an actor and writer with extensive training and work experience in Los Angeles, London, and Greece. He has worked as an actor and writer since 2006, and in 2019 he relocated to Los Angeles. He holds a BA in Acting, a UCLA screenwriting certificate, and a BFA in Fine Arts, with a major in production design. Three of his screenplays, To The Moon, Punish Me, and Ithaca, are currently on the film festival circuit, receiving awards and recognition worldwide. He has also been hired to write 8 episodes for a limited TV series. Some of the festivals where his scripts are officially selected or award-nominated include Austin Film Festival, ECU European Independent F.F., The Massachusetts Independent F.F., Cyprus International F.F., London International Screenwriting Competition, Universe Multicultural F.F., Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, Monaco International Film Festival, Fresh Voices, Hollywood International Diversity F.F., LASA International F.F., and the American Screenwriting Conference. |
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Don Stroud, Writer, Producer
As a kid, Don told stories through his own homemade comic books and toys. After a lengthy career in the software industry, he decided to dust off his artistic dreams and get back to creating. Don spent a decade editing horror movies and award-winning documentaries before making the leap to becoming a full-time screenwriter. Over the last two years he's won several international screenplay competitions in both the science fiction and horror genres. Five of his scripts are ranked in the coveted Coverfly Top 10%. Earlier this year, Don adapted a true-crime book as a dramatic screenplay for an award-winning producer in Los Angeles who plans to begin shooting next summer. Currently two of his screenplays have been requested by several production companies for a possible option deal. Don also writes a column about his favorite music for pop culture website Trouble.City. |
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Ben de los Rios, Teen Writer
Ben is a 16-year-old student at the School of Entrepreneurship and Technology. His passion is writing and making films. He has won two awards for his short fiction from KidsWrite! San Diego. He has made 3 films. The first two are through the TeenProducers Project run by Digital Gym/Media Arts Center. His scripts were selected to be filmed, and he also acted in these films.
His most recent film is a documentary in which he interviewed Dr. Davey Smith, MD, MAS, an infectious disease specialist and one of the country's leading researchers on Covid and HIV. His next documentary will be on Edith Eger, a New York Times best-selling author of The Choice, which details how she survived Auschwitz when she was only a teenager by dancing for the Nazis. |
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