Join us for a conversation exploring how personal identity, cultural background, and lived experience shape the choices characters make on screen, and how genre filmmaking can balance compelling entertainment with deeply grounded, human perspective. The discussion will consider how filmmakers translate lived experience into narrative form while working across thriller, drama, and character-driven storytelling. There will be time for Q&A, and the opening and closing of the event will include time to network.

David Jones is an award-winning writer and director whose work explores identity, perspective, and the human experiences that shape our choices. A South Carolina native, he studied Film and Television Production at the University of South Carolina and has built a career creating character-driven stories that challenge audiences to see the world through new perspectives.

His films have screened at festivals including BronzeLens, Hip Hop Film Festival, San Francisco Black Film Festival, and Black Film Festival of New Orleans. In 2021, he received the Slamdance Screenwriting Mentorship Award for his screenplay Firebird, and in 2022 he was awarded the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant for his short film Blackphobia, which later won the Audience Award at the Media Film Festival.

Drawing from his Southern roots and personal experiences, David is passionate about using storytelling to spark meaningful conversations, challenge perceptions, and foster deeper human connection.

Richard Valentine is an independent filmmaker, writer, and director behind Aerolith Films and GetofftheAuxx. His work combines cinematic visuals with character-focused storytelling across thriller, drama, action, and comedy. Notable works include Tatakai, a revenge thriller about a man seeking justice after the murder of his wife, and Cooked, a dark romantic comedy centered on two unlikely people who find love after a disastrous takeout order and The Game which follows two kids who play a magical game that sends them to the future. Through both narrative films and digital content, he aims to create memorable stories that resonate with audiences long after the credits roll.