Yahoo News Film Independent Sets Six For Episodic Directing Intensive
EXCLUSIVE: Film Independent has named Law Chen, Raven Jackson, Erin Li, Miguel Nuñez, Victoria Rivera and Claudia Sparrow as the filmmakers set for its second annual Episodic Directing Intensive.
Each of the six is an alum of Film Independent Artist Development programs including the Directing Lab, Documentary Lab, Screenwriting Lab, Fast Track finance market and Project Involve, which collectively celebrate their 30th anniversary this year. Over the course of the three-day program, the accomplished up-and-comers will learn from veterans of the episodic landscape, taking in the wisdom and experience of a group of directors, showrunners, actors and cinematographers.
More from Deadline
Among those set as industry participants are Hikari, Johnson Cheng, Aurora Guerrero, Rachel Goldberg, Michelle Lawler, Glen Mazzara, Leonardo Nam, Jeremy Podeswa, James Ponsoldt, Angel Kristi Williams, Daniel Willis and more.
Said Film Independent’s Associate Director of Fiction Programs, Dea Vazquez, “As we celebrate the 30th year of our Artist Development programs, we are excited to continue to support filmmakers in all their creative pursuits. As more independent artists work between feature and episodic stories, we are excited to provide the tools this exciting group of filmmakers will need to successfully direct their first episode and build a lasting career in episodic directing.”
More information on the 2023 Episodic Directing Intensive fellows can be found below.
Law Chen
Law Chen is an award-winning director based in Brooklyn. His narrative, documentary and commercial films have earned 19 Cannes Lions, as well as multiple Webby Awards and Vimeo Staff Picks. His first feature, Starring Jerry as Himself, won the Grand Jury, Audience, and Best Actor Awards at Slamdance, and tells a deeply personal story about an immigrant’s pursuit of the American Dream.
Raven Jackson
Raven Jackson is an award-winning filmmaker, poet and photographer from Tennessee. Her work often explores landscapes of indefinable experiences and emotions, as well as the body’s relationship to nature. Raven’s debut narrative feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, made in partnership with Maria Altamirano, PASTEL and A24, world-premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Her short films Nettles and A Guide to Breathing Underwater are currently streaming on the Criterion Channel. She is a Cave Canem fellow and holds MFAs from New York University’s Graduate Film Program and the New School’s Writing Program.
Erin Li
Erin Li is a second-generation Asian American director from New Jersey, who chased what she thought was the American dream in finance before pursuing her passion for filmmaking. This journey informs her work, which often explores the dark side of ambition through drama, fantasy and sci-fi. Li’s films have screened at SXSW, TIFF, Comic-Con, Slamdance and LACMA. She recently directed spots in a campaign that launched Adidas’ Community platform. Her Citi #StopAsianHate commercial garnered 6.8MM+ views. She was a shadowing director on The CW’s Arrow, and has held directing fellowships with Film Independent, Fox and AFI Directing Workshop for Women.
Miguel Nuñez
Miguel Nuñez is an alumnus of Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School and of the University of California State, Northridge, with a B.A. in Film Production. His first feature film Levantamuertos earned him a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Mexican Academy Awards. After a successful theatrical distribution in Mexico, the film was distributed in the U.S. through Starz Network. His second feature film as writer/director, Hombrecito, is in post-production.
Victoria Rivera
Victoria Rivera is a Colombian-American writer/director based in NYC. A Columbia University MFA graduate, she was recognized as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Her award-winning short films, Lucia (2020) and Night Swim (2019), have screened at prestigious festivals including Palm Springs, Tribeca and Telluride. Recently, Victoria directed The Longest Breath (2021) for Hulu’s “Bite Size Halloween” series. Currently, she is developing her feature film Malpelo, a Nicholl Fellowship Semi-Finalist script, with generous support from the Sloan Foundation, Sundance Institute, Gotham, CineQuaNon Lab, and Film Independent, through their Screenwriting Lab, Directing Lab, and Fast Track finance market.
Claudia Sparrow
Claudia Sparrow has been recognized as one of the ten most prominent filmmakers in Peru. She attended the prestigious American Film Institute (AFI) Directing program and was the recipient of the Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow Award for directing her thesis film El Americano, which also won an Emmy in the drama category. In 2015, she wrote and directed the narrative feature I Remember You. Claudia most recently directed the 2019 Hot Docs Audience Award-winning documentary Maxima, which continues to gather audience and critical praise (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) on the festival circuit, and had its theatrical and VOD release in 2022.
Best of Deadline
2023 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming
2023-24 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Emmys, Major Film Festivals, Guilds & More
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
