FILMMAKERS
SARA ROBIN - Director & Producer
Sara is a German filmmaker based in Boston. Her work explores human connection, often through the lens of future worlds, and is known for telling stories at the intersection of documentary and science-fiction.
Sara is the winner of the 2023 HollyShorts screenwriting contest with her sci-fi script Switch that takes a darkly humorous look at virtual relationships.
Sara’s undocumented coming-of-age short film Cranberry Nights, featuring Inde Navarrette (Obsession) has screened in dozens of festivals including Holly Shorts and SCAD Savannah, and received awards for best directing and best film. Her feature adaptation Here To Stay was awarded the New England Film Fellowship at the 2021 Stowe Narrative Lab.
Sara has directed and produced commercials for clients including Nike, Jordan, and Netflix. She holds an MFA in Film Production from Boston University, for which she has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship.
JACK LEMAY - Editor & Writer
Jack LeMay is a writer, director and editor based in Boston. His films are observational and philosophical, exploring the poetry of what drives the human spirit. As a musician, Jack’s work is infused with the rhythm of emotion and the unexpected spark of jazz.
Jack has created commercial pieces for brands like Google, Whole Foods and The North Face. His short film Gates was featured at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. He is creator and senior editor of the Vagrants post department where his eye for detail and creative approach has set the tone for the company’s editorial work.
In 2022, Jack embarked on a 5-month walking journey on the Pacific Crest Trail. Experiencing America’s forests on foot and unplugging from social media brought a profound perspective shift about the world that lies beyond our screens. His work aims to celebrate and amplify the inimitable experience of being human.
YAHNA HARRIS - Cinematographer
Yahna Harris is known for her intimate Cinematography capturing moments that sear themselves to memory. Yahna’s ability to immerse herself in emotionally charged subject matter with a sense of calm fosters an environment where vulnerability and authenticity can rise to the forefront.
As co-founder of Burning Hour Films, Yahna travels extensively across the U.S./world crafting compelling commercials, music videos, documentaries, and feature films. In recognition of her artistic vision, she has received multiple awards for her outstanding achievements in Cinematography and was granted the Visual Arts Fellowship at the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center where she premiered her form-altering hybrid documentary / visual mood poem exploring themes of love, tolerance, and self-actualization.
SOPHIE COLFER - Animation Director
Sophie is a Hong Kong-based animation filmmaker, curator, and member of COLA Animation. Her debut film Telsche, co-directed with Ala Nunu, premiered at Annecy Festival in 2023 and earned selections and awards at multiple festivals around the world. With COLA Animation, she writes and directs multiple projects, specialising in 2D Animation. 21
She cultivates the HK animation scene through SOOOP, an event series that showcases screenings and panel discussions for local industry professionals and emerging talent to forge connections. Alongside local picks, SOOOP consistently brings the best in international contemporary animation to town and celebrates animation beyond the screen, inviting artists who bring the medium into the interactive, physical realm to collaborate and explore their practice.
ALA NUNU - Animation Art Director
Ala Nunu is a Porto based Polish director and illustrator specialising in 2D animation, one of the co-founders of COLA Animation and long time collaborator with Sophie Colfer. She has experience directing and art directing TV series, social campaigns, music videos, and short films. Her portfolio includes Universal Studios, Frank Sinatra Estate, The Atlantic, and Adult Swim.
Her newest short In the Beginning premiered at SXSW 2026, while her previous films have been screened on festivals like Annecy, Animafest Zagreb, Atlanta Film Festival, Tokyo Anime Awards or Warsaw Film Festival, and were awarded on festivals like Cinanima or Animateka. As an animator, Nunu has recently worked on films such as the Oscar nominated Ice Merchants and Slow Light.
RAPHAËL DARGENT - Composer
Raphaël Dargent is a French composer based in Los Angeles. His credits include the Cannes selected feature The Legend (2018), the Oscar eligible short film Two (2019), the Prime Video thriller Silent as the Grave (2023), and the Apple TV film The Actor (2024). His work on Why Dinosaurs? earned him Best Original Score at the IFMCA Awards in 2025, standing out among nominees Jeff Danna, Daniel Pemberton, Pinar Toprak, and Ilan Eshkeri.
Blending orchestral writing with modular electronic experimentation, he crafts bold sonic worlds at the crossroads of classical and avant-garde. A recipient of the Harry Warren Scholarship, he trained at USC’s Screen Scoring Master’s program and was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Music Society.
DAN KENNEDY - Producer
Dan Kennedy is a producer, director and cinematographer with a rich narrative
filmmaking background and extensive commercial experience. Credits include Honeydew, Merry Good Enough, Secret Mall Apartment and The Arborist. He is currently in post-production on After and Your Attention Please. Dan's cinematography has been featured at SXSW, Tribeca, Sitges and Rome, and he has collaborated with many renowned music video and commercial directors, artists and brands in the US.
Dan spearheads Vagrants Originals to focus on story-driven narrative and commentary content. Founded by a team of filmmakers in 2017, Vagrants is a boutique commercial and narrative production company based in Boston. Focusing on crafting visual, story-driven content, harboring close friendships, and grabbing life by its horns, they take a strong stance against the status quo. Vagrants commercials and films have been broadcast nationally and featured in film festivals worldwide.
GINA PAPABEIS - Impact Producer
Gina Papabeis is an impact producer, documentary producer, and strategic consultant specializing in audience engagement, partnership development, and social impact campaigns. Her work has reached hundreds of millions of people worldwide and contributed to measurable shifts in public awareness, policy, philanthropy, and individual behavior.
She was Co-Producer of The Game Changers (2019), directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos and executive produced by James Cameron, where she helped lead the film’s outreach and impact campaign in partnership with Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions. She also produced the landmark projections on the United Nations Headquarters, the Empire State Building, and St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, helping bring global attention to endangered species conservation.
Over the past fifteen years, Gina has worked across development, production, post-production, distribution, audience engagement, and campaign execution. Her consulting clients and projects include SeaLegacy, Minderoo Foundation, Only One, Sound Off Films, Theorem Media, Unearth, Checkpoint Zoo, The Plastic Detox, Gladice, and My Sister Liv.
RAE MEYERS - Impact Coordinator
Rae Meyers is an Impact Producer with experience across documentary, branded, and social impact campaigns. She combines strong production and project management skills with a storyteller’s sensibility, supporting projects from development through delivery while helping shape campaigns that resonate beyond the screen.
Her work focuses on climate, conservation, and social impact storytelling, translating films into strategic engagement opportunities that drive audience participation and measurable change. She has contributed to impact campaigns for documentary films including Embers and The Chaplain & The Doctor, as well as nonprofit and advocacy initiatives connected to organizations such as Movember.
Rae works in campaign research, partner coordination, outreach tracking, project management, and operational execution, helping ensure that opportunities and partnerships are effectively developed and maintained throughout a campaign.
WINSTON MACDONALD - Executive Producer
Winston Macdonald is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Vagrants, a modern creative studio with production in its DNA. He builds the teams, systems, and culture that unite strategic creative and production under one roof, helping brands move from big ideas to premium execution seamlessly.
An artist by background, his career has spanned sculpture, music, installation, and film, shaping his belief that creativity is a team sport. That perspective defines how he leads, championing radical transparency, flexibility, and serious fun while designing the engine that allows ambitious creative to scale.
Today, Vagrants has emerged as a next-generation independent studio partnering with leading brands, agencies, and in-house teams, while expanding into original long-form storytelling and entertainment through Vagrants Originals.
ALYSSE HOULISTON - Executive Producer & Publicist
Alysse Houliston is a publicity and experiential strategy leader with expertise in festival campaigns, regional publicity, premieres, and conversation-led rollout for film and series.
She brings a decade of experience across Lionsgate, Focus Features, Roku Originals, and STX Entertainment, with deep relationships across press, festivals, filmmakers, and cultural partners nationwide.
Previously, she led regional publicity and events for major theatrical and streaming releases, overseeing premieres, festival launches, awards screenings, and grassroots campaigns, and designing strategies that connect stories with communities through press, screenings, and live experiences.
ELIZABETH GILCREAST - Executive Producer
Elizabeth Gilcreast is an award-winning producer and film consultant with expertise in financing, distribution, festivals, premieres, and strategic rollout.
She brings 25+ years of experience in film, media, and entertainment with deep relationships across festivals, studios, distributors, publicists, investors, and brand partners.
Previously, she led Strategic Partnerships for Film at Lincoln Center and spent over a decade at the American Film Institute launching AFI Dallas and AFI DOCS and forging major partnerships with American Airlines, Audi, Netflix, Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley, and Verizon.
JONI SIANI - Executive Producer
Joni Siani s considered a pioneer in the field of digital socialization. As a college professor teaching both Psychology and Media/Communication classes, Siani began raising concerns about the shaping impact of our new digital communication technology in 2006, observing behavior changes in her students, as Facebook was only available those with a (dot) EDU email.
By 2011, Siani had developed coursework to restore lost social skills. An “accidental” documentarian, Siani and her students released the award-winning film Celling Your Soul (2012) to expose the impact of digital socialization. The film was honored at the American Psychological Association conference in 2018 for its role in educating therapists in the field.
Siani is a founding member of the Online Harms working group at the Screentime Action Network at Fairplay, a Global Consultant on Digital Socialization, and is currently focused on how our digital behavior is shaping human intimacy and contributing to mental health issues.