Crafting Your Short Film (Apr. 2020)

Andrew Okpeaha MacLean is an Iñupiaq filmmaker originally from Alaska, living now in Brooklyn, NY. Previous credits include the short films NATCHILIAGNIAQTUGUK AAPAGALU: SEAL HUNTING WITH DAD, which played at the Sundance film Festival, SIKUMI, which won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at Sundance, and the feature film ON THE ICE, which won a Crystal Bear and the Best First Feature Prize at the Berlinale. In his hometown of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow, Alaska), Andrew co-founded the Iñupiat Theater, which was dedicated to performing shown entirely in the Iñupiaq language. He currently teaches directing in New York University’s Graduate Film Program, of which he is also an alumnus. Andrew is currently developing his second feature film, QIMMIT.

Asher Jelinsky is a Los Angeles based director and writer originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. Their perspective as a nonbinary filmmaker fuels a passion for character-driven stories about outsiders and the resilient quest for connection. Asher's short film MILLER & SON was shortlisted for the 92nd Academy Awards and won the gold medal Student Academy Award, the BAFTA Student Film Award, and the Cannes Lions Young Director Award. Overall, Asher’s shorts have garnered awards and nominations at over 70 film festivals around the world including Clermont-Ferrand, BFI London, Ashland, and Seattle. 

Currently, Asher is developing their debut feature, JULIAN, which received support from the SFFILM Rainin Grant, the California Arts Council Fellowship, and the Cine Qua Non Lab. They earned an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute, and received the Franklin J. Schaffner Fellow Award for Directing, presented by AFI Fest. They also hold a BA with honors in Media Studies and Public Health from Pitzer College. In addition to their professional practice, Asher often mentors filmmakers at Sundance Collab and Temple University.