ANA ALBA
Program Assistant

Ana is originally from Colombia, and was launched into the Hispanic media industry in Miami at a young age. Working for Blueatheart Productions, she did production work for TV commercials as well as music videos for several Hispanic artists. She is currently working on her B.A. in Motion Pictures at the University of Miami. Her past projects include two short films and production work for UMTV. She is also a contributing photographer for South of Fifth and the Islands and Brickell magazines.

ELIZABETH BECKER
Site Coordinator (LHCC)

Born and raised in Northern Minnesota, Elizabeth graduated from Bemidji State University with a degree in Biochemistry. With a goal of becoming a Medical Doctor, Elizabeth applied for Medical School when she decided to pursue her true passion and become a writer. Elizabeth is currently working on a series of Children's and Young Adult novels.

IRIS B. CEGARRA
Director & Producer

Iris began her career under the name Moloko Pussycat Factory sneaking her camcorder into underground electronic music parties in Florida to capture the scene and the lifestyle for a twenty-minute “picture-book” film entitled Bass Frequency (2001). Her second documentary Electro Dziska (2003), has received international acclaim and has been globally showcased in Europe, the US, and Latin America. Her third documentary, Darkbeat: An Electro World Voyage (2006), has won a number of awards and has screened in over 12 film festivals around the world. She has a Masters in Film Production and is an honoree of the Wall Of Fame of the Art Institute’s MIU (Miami International University of Art & Design). In addition, her experimental video collages and work have been featured at local Miami Art Galleries like Hardcore Art Contemporary and Antikulture and also during Winter Music Conference events and Ultra Music Festival. At present she is teaching Final Cut Pro’s Digital Editing and Documentary Filmmaking at MIU and has been a freelance editor for Rakontur, a hip-hop TV show called “Keeping It Real With Della”.

PHILIP COLODETTI
Music Production & Engineering

He has degrees in both Music and Music Business from Miami Dade College. His 18-year track record, however, is not limited to music production. Phil has worked on several films in the field recording and post production department handling Dialog editing, ADR, Sound editing, and Mixing Surround Sound. For the past two years, he has been teaching at Miami Dade College. He loves to teach and is a great asset to the sound team.

MEAGAN LEWIS
Site Coordinator

Meagan has been involved in the entertainment business for over twelve years. Prior to moving to South Florida, Meagan was in Los Angeles where she garnered casting and pre/post production experience while working on numerous TV shows and short films. Once she arrived in Miami, Meagan got very involved with the local film community. She has co-produced short film and music video contests and has coordinated many entertainment networking events, including film based seminars and screen writing workshops. Meagan's most recent job was at a local talent agency where she loved being a film/tv agent for actors. Meagan is very excited to be a part of FFI and is looking forward to working with new filmmakers!

STEPHANIE MARTINO
CINEMA Director

Stephanie Martino is a veteran of the non-profit sector since 1989; she brings to the organization a depth of experience in the development and coordination of the CINEMA programs, and workshops. Ms. Martinos vast experience in Pre and Post production are vital to the student films that are produced in the programs. The Institute instructors are comprised of local and national film industry professionals, who work in the field to teach the classes in the high schools and the weekend workshops. This combination has proven to be the best way to reach these students and adults.

“CINEMA is designed to empower aspiring young filmmakers. Besides the aesthetic and technical basis of the discipline we will discuss the business environment of the production, in order to realistically prepare our students for a career in the film industry, specifically in Florida.”

ARTURO SANDE
Writer / Producer

After serving time in the military, Arturo Sande earned a B.A. in Mass Communications and quickly immersed himself in the broadcasting world. A producer and writer, Arturo has worked with landmark-industry networks such as Mundos, Univision, VH-1 and Telemundo. His credits include "VH-1 Behind the Music", "Despierta América", and "Decisiones" among others. He has worked in TV Commercials for McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Sears and General Motors. In 2007 Arturo was selected to participate in the "Creative Summit with Nickelodeon", a workshop designed to train new talents in the art of creative writing and transforming ideas and concepts into production. A graduate of the New York Film Academy, he is currently developing several film and TV scripts.

SANTIAGO SIERRA
Actor

Santi began his studies in drama at Grupo Prometeo with Teresa Maria Rojas and Larry Villanueva in 2000. In the theater, he has appeared in The Voyager without Baggage, Ms. Tessa Triff's Been Drinking, and on the international tour of El Cuento de Rene, in Casa de Teatro, Santo Domingo, D.R. In television, he has appeared on Venevision's Pecadora, Sacrificio de Mujer, and Telemundo's Mas Sabe el Diablo, Perro Amor, and Aurora.

DEANA WILLIAMS
Director

Deana studied film at Ai Miami International University of Art & Design. Upon graduation, Deana worked on several commercials and music video shoots while she worked as a Theatre Manager of the South Beach Regal Entertainment Group. There she mastered the projection booth, and worked alongside a number of notable film festivals including the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the Miami International Film Festival. Following that, Deana obtained another Management position with Miami Dade College’s School of Entertainment & Design Technologies where she helps students develop their skills as filmmakers while still working on her own film projects in the Miami area.

MORRIS ABRAHAM

Director Morris Abraham has nearly three decades of experience working in Hollywood with some of the biggest names in the business. He has achieved widespread recognition during his career. He has directed a wide range of network series and specials programming.

Morris has directed, produced, and consulted on major television series and specials, talk shows, award shows, game shows, and music series.

Morris is currently working on producing his own projects and has several shows in development and in the pilot phase of production.

TAVARES BEVERLY
Producer, Director & Actor

Tavares began an acting career at the ripe age of 15, on the Emmy award winning TV show “The Awakening”. Attended Florida Memorial University, while in college he participated in plays like, “Gods Trombones”, “A Tribute to Harlem”, “and “Danm Yankees”. He moved to L.A. and appeared in such TV shows as “Girlfriends”, “Seventh Heaven”, “Boston Public”, and “E.R.”. Tavares launched his Miami and LA based production company “Beverly Boy Productions”. Over the years Tavares has produced over 20 TV commercials, , 10 theatrical plays and 6 TV shows. Tavares has appeared in numerous publications in recognition of his work, and was recently named “young Producer of the year” by YGB Publications. In 2002 Tavares was appointed to sit on the Miami Dade Film and Entertainment Advisory Board.

CARL KESSER
Documentary Filmmaker

Carl Kesser is an award winning filmmaker who has worked in the film industry in Miami for the past 44 years. His documentary Miami, The Magic City has been running on TV for the past 28 years winning him 3 Emmy's for that project. He recently came back from Africa working for WWF in environmental projects.

ROBERT ROSENBERG
Writer / Director

Mr. Rosenberg has been working as an independent filmmaker, artist and curator for two decades. Mr. Rosenberg¹s work has focused on such topics as gender and sexuality, AIDS, the workplace, and Latino/a issues. His Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community received an Emmy Award for Best Historical program in 1986, after a theatrical run in the United States and widespread international distribution. His current projects include the development of his first fiction feature film, Biscayne Boulevard. Mr. Rosenberg has also worked as a curator and programmer for a number of film festivals and museums. He is the founder and former director (1998-2002) of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, an internationally recognized event which was cited in 2000 and again in 2002 as the Best Film Festival in Miami by the New Times weekly. His work has been supported by grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Ford Foundation, the Dade Human Rights Foundation, Individual Artists¹ Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts and a State of Florida Individual Artists¹ Fellowship.