DISTINGUISHED INDUSTRY MENTORS
Distinguished Industry Mentors
A stellar ensemble of professional screenwriters, directors, producers and executives, our board of Distinguished Industry Mentors represent some of the most celebrated storytellers and filmmakers working today. Each of our mentors has pledged to support our MFA Film students by providing master classes, hosted conversations, special screenings of their work and networking opportunities.
Amy Aniobi
Amy Aniobi is a writer/executive producer on Issa Rae’s Emmy Award-nominated “Insecure.” Additional TV writing credits include story editor for "Silicon Valley,” writer/executive producer of "Two Dope Queens," and the web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.”
Thomas Carter
Thomas Carter is a three-time Emmy Award winner, including one for “Don King: Only in America,” which is also won a Peabody Award. Carter is recipient of a DGA Award for “Hill Street Blues.” His directing credits include the feature films “Coach Carter” and “Save the Last Dance,” and episodic TV credits include the pilot for “Miami Vice,” “Animal Kingdom,” “New Amsterdam,” and “American Gods.”
Steven Canals
Steven Canals served as our inaugural artist-in-residence, is a Peabody Award winner and a TV writer/director/producer whose credits include "Pose," "Love, Victor," and "Dead of Summer."
David Koepp
David Koepp is a screenwriter whose credits include “Jurassic Park,” “Spider-Man,” “Panic Room,” “Carlito’s Way,” “Mission: Impossible,” and “War of the Worlds.” Writer/director credits include “Stir of Echoes” and "Ghost Town.”
Noga Landau
Noga Landau is writer/co-creator/executive producer/showrunner of “Nancy Drew,” and co-creator of its new spinoff, "Tom Swift." Additional TV writing/producing credits: “Wayward Pines,” “The Magicians,” and “See.” Feature film credits: “Tau” and the forthcoming “Sweet Tooth” for New Line.
Felischa Marye
Felischa Marye is writer/creator/executive producer/showrunner of “Bigger.” “Bigger Season 2” is currently in development for BET+. Felischa also wrote for two seasons of “13 Reasons Why.”
Jeff Melvoin
Jeff Melvoin is a writer/executive producer/showrunner whose credits include “Killing Eve” (Emmy Award nominee for outstanding drama series); “Designated Survivor,” “Army Wives,” “Alias,” and “Northern Exposure,” for which he won an Emmy Award. Melvoin is founder and chair of the Writers Guild of America’s Showrunner Training Program and the Writers Education Committee.
Chris Mundy
Chris Mundy is writer/executive producer/showrunner of the Emmy Award-nominated “Ozark” (which shoots in Georgia). He created and executive produced “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior” and AMC’s “Low Winter Sun.” Additional TV credits include “Criminal Minds,” “Hell on Wheels” and “Bloodline.” Before television, Mundy was senior writer and contributing editor at "Rolling Stone."
James Ponsoldt
James Ponsoldt's first feature, "Off the Black," premiered at Sundance in 2006 and his second, "Smashed," won a Special Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Festival. Other films include "Refresh, Refresh," "The Spectacular Now" and "The End of The Tour."
Davita Scarlett
Davita Scarlett is writer/co-executive producer of "The Good Fight" and "Evil." Additional TV writer/producer credits include "Queen Sugar" and "Animal Kingdom.”
David Semel
David Semel has directed 23 TV pilots, of which 18 have gone to series. His directing credits include an Emmy Award nomination for the pilot for “Heroes”; he also directed the pilots for “Star Trek: Discovery,” “The Man in the High Castle,” "Goliath," "Code Black," "Madame Secretary", "Person of Interest"; he served as co-executive producer and episodic director during season 2 of “House, MD” (Emmy Award nominee). Additional directing credits include "Homeland" and "Watchmen.”
Veena Sud
Veena Sud is an Emmy Award-nominated writer/executive producer/showrunner, who adapted/created “The Killing” and “Seven Seconds.” Sud was featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2011 Power Showrunners List.
Sarah Watson
Sarah Watson is a writer/executive producer/showrunner who created "The Bold Type." Her TV writing/ producing credits include "Parenthood" and "About a Boy." She is a writer/creator/showrunner of the forthcoming TV project "Untitled Reenactment Project: The Goonies," for executive producers Gail Berman, Steven Spielberg and Richard & Lauren Shuler Donner, shooting in Atlanta.
Lizzy Weiss
Lizzy Weiss is a writer/creator/executive producer/showrunner whose credits include the Peabody Award-winning “Switched at Birth,” which she also created, and “Sorry for Your Loss." As a screenwriter, she wrote the feature film "Blue Crush.” In addition to the Peabody, Weiss has won the Gracie Award, which honors programming created by women for women.
Bonnie Arnold
Two-time Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe winner, Bonnie Arnold is a veteran filmmaker and imaginative storytelelr. As an accomplished producer in almost every genre, she most recently produced the "How to Train Your Dragon" animated series. Her producing credits also include “Toy Story,” “Tarzan” and “Dances with Wolves.”
Ramin Bahrani
Writer/director Ramin Bahrani’s films have screened at the Venice, Cannes, Sundance, Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals. Bahrani has won numerous awards including the FIPRESCI critic’s prize for best film in Venice ("Goodbye Solo") and a Guggenheim Fellowship among many others. His latest films are "99 Homes" and "The White Tiger," which he wrote and directed.
Stuart Beattie
Stuart Beattie is a screenwriter, director, and producer whose credits include "Collateral,” "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Derailed,” "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," "Australia," and "I, Frankenstein" (which he also directed).
Kiley Donovan
Kiley Donovan began her career as a staff writer on "Grey's Anatomy.” She is currently writer/co-executive producer of both “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Station 19” for Shondaland.
Justin Hillian
Justin Hillian is writer/executive producer/showrunner for "The Chi.” Additional TV writing/producing credits include writer/consulting producer: “Snowfall”; "I'm Dying Up Here" and "Superstore.”
Bo Yeon Kim
Bo Yeon Kim is a writer/producer. Along with her writing partner Erika Lippoldt, she is he co-creator/co-executive producer on the upcoming “Star Trek” spinoff series starring Michelle Yeoh. Kim has also written for "Reign," and most recently an animated feature film for Mythos Studios.
Allison Liddi-Brown
Allison Liddi-Brown is a DGA-Award-winning director whose credits include "Friday Night Lights," “Scandal," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Good Doctor," "Shameless," "The L Word: Generation Q," "Transparent" (as director/co-executive producer).
Nancy Oliver
Nancy Oliver is a writer/producer whose original screenplay, "Lars and the Real Girl," was nominated for an Academy Award. Her TV credits include "Six Feet Under" and "True Blood," for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Michael Narducci
Michael Narducci is a writer/producer/ showrunner whose credits include “Superman & Lois,” “The Originals,” "The Vampire Diaries" and "Medium."
Billy Ray
Billy Ray wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay "Captain Phillips," for which he won the WGA award. He also wrote, directed and executive-produced Showtime's "The Comey Rule," which had the biggest debut of any limited series in that network's history. Ray's films as writer, co-writer, or writer-director include "The Hunger Games," "Richard Jewell," "Shattered Glass" and "Breach."
Francesca Sloane
Francesca Sloane is a writer/supervising producer on Donald Glover’s acclaimed series “Atlanta.” Additional TV credits: writer/supervising producer on the fourth season of “Fargo,” executive story editor for “The First,” and staff writer on “Seven Seconds.” She will be making her directorial feature debut on "Headbangers" which was recently recognized by the Sundance Screenwriters Intensive (2020), as well as "Black List" and "NALIP," on their inaugural list of best unproduced Latinx screenplays.
Kit Steinkellner
Kit Steinkellner is a writer/executive producer/showrunner who created the critically acclaimed series "Sorry for Your Loss," starring Elizabeth Olsen, for FacebookWatch. She was also a staff writer on "Z: The Beginning of Everything."
Pam Veasey
Pam Veasey is a writer/executive producer/showrunner whose credits include “CSI-NY” and “In Living Color” for which she received numerous Emmy Award nominations. She was the co-showrunner for “LA’s Finest,” and is currently working on “Long Slow Exhale” for Spectrum.
Anna Winger
Co-creator/writer/executive producer/showrunner of the Emmy Award- winning Unorthodox; Deutschland 83/86 (winner of a Peabody Award and International Emmy).
Cary Brokaw
Cary Brokaw is an award-winning producer whose credits include "Closer," "Angels in America," "Short Cuts," "The Player," "Wit," "Normal" and "Drugstore Cowboy." He won an Emmy Award for "Wit" and an Emmy Award and PGA Award for "Angels in America."
David Gordon Green
David Gordon Green was the director and screenwriter for "George Washington," which won the New York Film Critics' Circle Award for best first feature before going on to win festival awards internationally. Additional films include "All The Real Girls," "Pineapple Express," "Joe," "Stronger" and the reboot of the "Halloween" franchise.
Hadjii Hand
Hadjii Hand's first feature, "Somebodies," premiered at the 2006
Sundance Film Festival and went on to receive a Golden Thumb Award from legendary film
critic, Roger Ebert. He is currently working as a co-executive producer on "Step Up: High Water" for Starz and is also developing the animated series, "Gigi Stew," for FOX.
Amanda Green
Amanda Green served as writer/producer for 12 seasons on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Additional TV credits as writer/co-executive producer include “Manifest,” “Lethal Weapon,” and “The Mysteries of Laura.”
Gloria Calderón Kellett
Gloria Calderón Kellett is writer/executive producer/co-creator/co-showrunner of the reboot of Norman Lear’s "One Day at a Time”; she is co-writing the feature film "We Were There, Too" for HBOMax. TV writing/ producing and/or directing credits include: "How I Met Your Mother," "Devious Maids," "Rules of Engagement," "United We Fall" and "Mr. Iglesias."
Ellen Kreamer
Ellen Kreamer is a writer/executive producer/showrunner whose credits include 6 seasons of "Friends," for which she won an Emmy Award. Additional TV writing/producing credits: "I Hate My Teenage Daughter,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” and "American Housewife."
Damon Lindelof
Screenwriter: "World War Z," "Prometheus," "Star Trek: Into the Darkness." Co-creator/writer/ executive producer/showrunner: "Lost" (Emmy and PGA Award winner); "The Leftovers" (Emmy Award nominee); "Watchmen": winner of 11 Emmy Awards, including outstanding limited drama series and outstanding writing for a limited drama series, “This Extraordinary Being” (co-written with Cord Jefferson).
Dawn Prestwich
Dawn Prestwich writer/executive producer/co-creator/co-showrunner of the forthcoming Netflix series “Hit & Run.” She served as co-creator/ executive producer/co-showrunner of “Z: The Beginning of Everything,” as writer/co-executive producer on “The Killing” and “Brotherhood,” for which she won a Peabody Award. Additional TV writer/producer credits include "Carnivale," "Judging Amy,” and “The Riches.”
Tanya Saracho
Tanya Saracho is creator/executive producer/showrunner/director of “Vida.” Additional TV writing credits include co-producer on "How to Get Away with Murder" and "Looking." She has a development deal with Universal Cable Productions to create original content, as well as an incubator/lab for emerging Latinx writers.
Gordon Smith
Gordon Smith is writer/executive producer of "Better Call Saul," for which he earned a WGA Award and several Emmy Award nominations. He began his career as a production assistant on "Breaking Bad."
Howard Suber
Howard Suber taught generations of screenwriters, directors, producers during his more than 50 years on the faculty of UCLA’s celebrated film school. He authored two books: "The Power of Film" and "Letters to Young Film Makers." Suber was awarded UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award and two life achievement awards by film festivals.
Andrew Kevin Walker
Andrew Kevin Walker wrote "Se7en," the 1995 film directed by David Fincher and featuring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. He also wrote "Brainscan," "Sleepy Hollow" directed by Tim Burton, and "Nerdland." Many of his scripts are available at andrewkevinwalker.com.
Nicole Yorkin
Nicole Yorkin is writer/executive producer/co-creator/co-showrunner of the forthcoming Netflix series “Hit & Run.” She served as co-creator/ executive producer/showrunner of “Z: The Beginning of Everything,” as writer/co-executive producer on “The Killing” and “Brotherhood,” for which she won a Peabody Award. Yorkin collaborates with Dawn Prestwich, a fellow UGA MFA Film Distinguished Industry Mentor.
Program Partners
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Contact
For more information about the MFA Film Program, please contact Sarah Grizzle.
Harika Bommana
MFA Film Program Coordinator
MFA program Film, Television & Digital Media
Grady College
Email: Harika.Bommana@uga.edu
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