Nathan Bechtold is a Lafayette, Indiana based filmmaker/creative, and the current state president of Indiana Filmmakers Network Inc. He has been an active board member of the IFN for over fifteen years, helping to establish multiple IFN chapters, hubs, partnerships and affiliations across Indiana and beyond.

Professionally, he writes studio reviews for upcoming films, he is a script doctor, character developer, and creative consultant. He also enjoys acting in all its forms, is an Improv Olympic alum, ex-AFTRA, and has performed in multiple stage, screen, studio, and new-media productions.

Tamika Katon-Donegal is a New York native who holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Southern California. Favorite theater productions include: POTUS, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, In My Bones, Glove Story (both world premieres), Hair, Rent, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and the one-woman show No Word in Guyanese for Me. Favorite film and TV credits: Something Like a Business, Killer Therapy, Fresh Off the Boat, Speechless, Adam Ruins Everything, Agent Carter, Get Shorty, How to Get Away with Murder, and recurring as Mayor Gildersleeve on Nickelodeon’s SideHustle. In 2020 she began working as an audiobook narrator.

Since then, she has employed her love of dialects in over 65 audiobooks, and has been honored with various awards and accolades. Recently she performed in and executive produced the short film Hold You So Tight, starring Charisma Carpenter and Kristina Wong. Regardless of the medium, Tamika continues to look for new and interesting ways to stretch her artistic muscles, spark the imagination, and bring new worlds to life. She is currently repped by Stone Talent (theatrical, legit theater, voice over, and hosting) and Love Talent (commercial and print) and her manager is Versa Manos of Gorgeous Media Group.

Liann Kaye is an AAPI writer and director. Her award-winning mini-series “The Blessing” won “Best Comedy” at the New York Short Film Festival and was also a recipient of the NYC Women’s Fund. All 6 episodes are out now on YouTube, promoted by a successful Tiktok campaign.Her first feature, Electable, was selected for both the Athena Lab and The Blacklist x WIF Feature Film Residency, where she was mentored by Sofia Alvarez (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before) and Kiwi Smith (10 Things I Hate About You, Legally Blonde).

This year, she wrote and directed Seoul Switch, a proof-of-concept short ready to be expanded into a feature-length movie. The film, starring Korean American K-pop idol Kevin Woo, won Best Narrative Short at the DisOrient Film Festival this March. It has also screened at Short Shorts Asia, Bentonville, and the New York Asian Film Festival at Lincoln Center.

Mike McNamara is an actor and producer in TV and film. He is a producer on 2024 River Bend selections FOOD ROOTS, ROOM TONE and HOLD YOU SO TIGHT. Past producer credits include the Cannes Film Festival selection THEY and Indy Shorts winner GET AWAY.

Acting highlights include the NBC series CHICAGO FIRE and the award-winning sci-fi thriller THE REPLACEMENT. You can find Mike on Instagram at @mikemcnamarafilm

Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian is an award-winning Iranian-American filmmaker exploring societal themes at the intersection of time, isolation, health, science, and introspection. His debut feature documentary, GREENER PASTURES, screened at over 50 film festivals between 2023-2024 and won over fifteen awards including the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2023 Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The film is executive produced by Emmy Award-winners, David J. Cornfield and Linda A. Cornfield (The Social Dilemma, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Chasing Coral). Greener Pastures was acquired by PBS’ Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning series, Independent Lens and made its national broadcast premiere on March 25th, 2024.

His latest documentary short, SAFE PLACE, screened at over 30 film festivals between 2023-2024, won ten awards, and is Oscar-qualified for 2025 after winning the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short at the 2023 Austin Film Festival. SAFE PLACE was acquired by The New York Times and was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick along with being chosen as Vimeo’s Best of Staff Picks. Samuel-Ali was named a PBS Wyncote Fellow in 2023 and is a recipient of the Kodak Motion Picture Film Bronze Award for Excellence in Filmmaking. His work has been supported by Far Star Action Fund, Doc Society, Catapult Film Fund, Exposure Labs, ITVS, The Redford Center, and The Points North Institute.

Eric Rudnick started his career as an actor and playwright in New York City. His inspiration came from his mother, who would take him to half-priced Broadway matinees on Wednesday afternoons, and his father, who screened classic films from the 40s and 50s in the basement on the weekends. After moving to Los Angeles, Eric learned what goes into making film and TV while working on dozens of sets as a producer on indie films and shows like The Biggest Loser and Hell’s Kitchen. As a screenwriter, he has sold an hour long drama to TNT and optioned a half-hour comedy to FOX. His webseries, THE EDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, premiered on the front page of Funny Or Die. HOLD YOU SO TIGHT is his first film as writer-director.

Eric created the filmmaking collective SPOILERS, which makes trailers for writers to showcase their film and TV projects. He also created and co-hosts The Playwrights Union Podcast.