Mentors
Kristina Arjona // Director/Producer
Proudly queer and Latina, Kristina Arjona (She/They) is passionate about representing authentic BIPOC & queer stories while creating films that can bring in a wide range of audiences.
Kristina has over 12 years of experience in the film industry as a director, actor, AD, intimacy coordinator, and mental health coordinator. They have a BFA in acting and a BA in Theatrical Design & Production from Elon University. As a certified IC & MHC, Kristina has worked with studios like Netflix, Showtime, Paramount Plus, STARZ, Amazon Prime, and ABC. As a director, Kristina’s recent short Mi Casa won the HBO Latinx Short Film Competition 2021 and can be viewed on Max. Kristina’s feature debut with Leanna Adams, Christmas with Jerks, was distributed by Good Deed Entertainment in 2023 and is available on Amazon & VUDU.
MENTOR GUIDELINES
What can you provide a mentee?
Creative strategies and communication tools in the preproduction process on how I bring the vision of a film to life on set
Collaboration strategies & tools to best uplift other departments
Shadowing during my meetings, rehearsals, casting sessions, and shoot days with follow-up question sessions
Looking for a mentee who…
Ideally, someone that is also BIPOC, Queer, neurodivergent, and/or from another historically underrepresented group in film with some goals and visions for their work as a director, but is excited to expand their horizons. Must be open to collaboration and willing to ask questions.
Capacity for Mentorship
I may have the capacity for more than one mentee, depending on our pre-production/production timeline and the mentees’ specific interests.
Method of Mentorship
Speak with the mentee regularly through pre-production over Zoom and/or in person.
Shadowing during meetings, rehearsals, casting sessions, and shoot days
I prefer virtual meetings or phone calls, but when time allows I am open to meeting in person. I have dyslexia so email and text are my least preferred methods of communication.
Leanna Adams // Writer/Producer
Leanna has written, directed, produced, edited, and starred in dozens of award-winning shorts that have screened in festivals around North America, some of which have aired on TBS and Fox's LaughsTV and been featured by Huffington Post and Funny or Die. As the screenwriter of Randy Mandy and The Curse of the Plaza Theatre, Adams developed this award-winning script and is looking for a mentee to share her vast knowledge in writing, producing, editing, and selling a micro-budget feature with!
MENTOR GUIDELINES
What can you provide a mentee?
Thoughts on my experience writing, producing, editing and selling a micro budget feature in under a year, acting as screenwriter and producer on that project.
Insight into extensive experience writing and producing award-winning sketch comedy films that have screened around North America for the last decade.
I can discuss at length the process of going from page to screen on projects and the learning therein. While the process is always different, there are valuable lessons that come with extensive hands-on experience.
Looking for a mentee who…
I'd love a mentee who is female, 35 or older, with experience writing shorts and/or feature scripts (bonus if they have a track record of awards) and has produced shorts under their belt
I would enjoy a candidate interested in comedy or dramedy.
Capacity for Mentorship
I may have the capacity for more than one mentee, depending on our pre-production/production timeline. I'm not foreseeing any availability limitations or privacy concerns.
Method of Mentorship
Speak with the mentee regularly through pre-production over zoom and/or in person.
Shadowing during some days of production, depending on the scope of the scenes. And we could continue calls during post-production.
I prefer virtual meetings or phone calls -- both can be valuable, but also would love at least one in-person meeting, possibly at the beginning of the mentorship, if possible.
CRISTIAN BERNAL - Director of Photography
Cristian Bernal is a Colombian-born, American-raised cinematographer. His work features multi-channel content, creation, and storytelling - living and breathing on mediums from broadcast TV to the Wild West web. He's got the finesse to craft high-end commercials, the grit to produce boots-on-the-ground branded content, and the love for storytelling to embark on documentary and narrative films.
MENTOR GUIDELINES
What can you provide a mentee?
My goal is to inspire creativity and teach technical concepts I've learned over the years in cinematography. I hope the mentee can walk away with the knowledge to feel confident in turning at least a short film script into a film as the cinematographer.
Looking for a mentee who…
Lastly, being an immigrant from South America would be a massive plus as I came to the States from Colombia as a kid and would love to uplift someone in that path too.
Capacity for Mentorship
I would be able to mentor 2 people at a time if I put someone with props and someone with art dept/set dec.
Flexibility is a great asset, as our bi-weekly meets-up will have to be scheduled around my ever-changing schedule.
My boundaries would be my availability. During the pre-production process, I am still working full-time on other productions and dedicating time to Randy Mandy in between (however, I am still prioritizing our timeline and set meetings). Overall, I will ask my mentee to reschedule our meeting times here and there.
Method of Mentorship
I can commit to providing bi-weekly 1-hour virtual meetings, along with our mentee joining any production meetings (virtual or IRL), scouts, and other moments I see opportunities to have them be more hands-on (more on this below)
The best way to shadow me would be by directly observing what I am doing. This can manifest through our bi-weekly meetings, where they can ask me questions about what I've done in the process (script breakdowns, equipment choices, etc.). In some cases, I can invite them to be more hands-on (drawing lighting diagrams, building out cameras, test shoots, etc.) when the opportunity and time align.
MOLLY COFFEE - Production Designer
Molly Coffee is an award-winning filmmaker who began her career in Atlanta's DIY stop-motion and puppet scene, which led to work in the art department on major studio productions. She has production-designed TV shows like Freeform’s *Single Drunk Female* and Netflix’s *First Kill*, as well as the feature film *Willy’s Wonderland* starring Nicolas Cage. Molly also focuses on her own storytelling, with an emphasis on diverse and queer narratives. She is the owner of Zombie Cat Builds, co-owner of Action Artwork Rental, and co-founder of the non-profit Film Impact Georgia, dedicated to supporting local creators.
MENTOR GUIDELINES
What can you provide a mentee?
Information about art department structure, job, and how to communicate.
What all goes into the design of a project from the art department's point of view.
What tools/skills does someone who is entry level to the art department need.
Looking for a mentee who…
Has a real interest in the art department, has a laptop, and the ability to pick up 50 pounds.
Capacity for Mentorship
I would be able to mentor 2 people at a time if I put someone with props and someone with art dept/set dec.
I don't have patience for people who don't want to be there and I am very honest with them about expectations.
Method of Mentorship
It would definitely be hands on. If somebody is an art dept/set dec mentee then I would definitely want them to be there for some of prep.
If it's a props mentee, only shooting.
I can do virtual meetings no problem. Less excited for coffee chats or phone calls.