Mike Plante is a senior programmer for short films at the Sundance Film Festival, where he has worked since 2001. Each year he and a team of 9 shorts programmers go through over 10,000 entries to select 70 shorts to play at the Festival, discovering new film talent in the process. He has worked at film festivals since 1993, and he also makes feature documentaries. His recent film AND WITH HIM CAME THE WEST (2019) played at MoMA Doc Fortnight and his short THE POLAROID JOB (2017) is available at The New York Times Op-Docs.

Mariama Diallo is a writer and filmmaker who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her film HAIR WOLF won the 2018 Sundance Film Festival Jury Award for U.S. Fiction short film. Mariama’s previous work includes the short film SKETCH, which earned her the Fox Inclusion Emerging Artist Award at the 2017 BlackStar Film Festival. Along with director Frances Bodomo, Mariama co-wrote EVERYBODY DIES!, which formed part of the Collective: Unconscious omnibus feature that premiered at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival and which the New Yorker's Richard Brody described as "a sharply satirical parody." Mariama is also a writer and director on the upcoming HBO series, RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS, created by Terence Nance. more...

Francisca Alegría was born and raised in Chile. She holds an MFA in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University. Alegría’s short film AND THE WHOLE SKY FIT IN THE DEAD COW’S EYE premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Short Film Jury Award. Alegría was a fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters and Directors Labs with her debut feature THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE, which premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. more...

Anna Kerrigan is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker with a background in independent film, digital storytelling and theater. COWBOYS, which she wrote and directed, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2020 where it won Best Screenplay, and Best Actor for Steve Zahn. Her short film HOT SEAT premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, played at many others and was a Vimeo Staff Pick Premiere. more...

Bernardo Britto was born in Rio de Janeiro, grew up in South Florida, and graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. His animated short films, including YEARBOOK and GLOVE, have played numerous film festivals and won awards at Sundance, SXSW, AFI Fest, and others. In 2016, he premiered his debut feature film JACQUELINE (Argentine) at Sundance in the NEXT section. more...