Grant Swanson is a director and writer based in Los Angeles. His scripts have placed in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Contest, and various horror contests. He has a background as a television editor, having cut shows on NBC, CBS, Hulu, and Peacock. He has also edited work for clients like Lil Nas X, Paris Hilton, TikTok, and others. His work on the NBC show CONSUMER 101 earned an Emmy®️ nomination for editing (but lost to SESAME STREET).
Iron Lake is a short adaptation of his feature script of the same name, which placed in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship.
Grant Swanson | Director & writer
Annine Zhang is a producer from the southern part of China. She is currently studying at AFI as a Producing Fellow. In the past six years, she's been all over the film industry, working in development, production, and distribution, both in China and the U.S. As a producer, she has produced numerous award-winning short films and feature projects, showcasing her unique perspective. Her feature film STARLIGHT MOMENT (2020) received an Honorable Mention at the SIFF 2021.
For Annine, filmmaking is a means of establishing connections with audiences and telling universal stories that transcend cultural boundaries worldwide.
Annine Zhang | Producer
Born in Romania and raised in Toronto, Ioana is a working cinematographer now based in Los Angeles. She is currently pursuing her masters at AFI.
With a wide range of projects under her belt, from feature films to music videos, commercials, and pilots, she has a broad range of capabilities. From coordinating multi- and single-camera shows, to collaborating with emerging and established artists, she's worked as DP on a diverse list of films. From the visionary (Thom Pain, starring Rainn Wilson) to the visually inventive (Drafthouse’s ABCs of Death 2), her films have screened at TIFF, Fantastic Fest, Fantasia, World Wide Shorts, and FilmQuest. Among the dozens of music videos Ioana has shot, she has captured performances by Feist, New Found Glory, New Years Day, and The Stills.
Ioana Vasile | Cinematographer
Originally from Austin, Texas, Emily Henninger has an undergraduate degree in Interior Design and a passion for film, leading her to embark on a journey to LA, where she is pursuing an MFA in Production Design at The American Film Institute Conservatory.
Emily's career has flourished while pursuing film, as she was the Production Designer on an indie feature film The Lemurian Candidate (to be released summer 2024). Her keen eye for detail and ability to capture the essence of the great outdoors paved the way for her to collaborate with alumni. Beyond her artistic prowess, Emily is known for her leadership and commitment to storytelling through visual design.
Emily Henninger | Production Designer
Yuchen "Bobby" Fang is an award-winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He is currently working on his Master of Fine Arts in Film Editing at the American Film Institute Conservatory.
He is a graduate of the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles (summa cum laude), where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Filmmaking.
His films have appeared in the FirstGlance Los Angeles Film Festival, the Yale in Hollywood Film Festival, and Asian American Movies.
