McNitt is a writer and director. A pioneer of fusing storytelling and emerging technology, she is an Emmy Awards Finalist and recipient of the VR Grand Prize at The Venice Film Festival. From astronauts to astrophysics, McNitt explores the cosmic collision of science and art. She is the creator of SPHERES, a VR journey through the hidden songs of the Universe, Executive Produced by Darren Aronofsky, starring Millie Bobby Brown, Jessica Chastain, and Patti Smith. SPHERES made history as the first VR acquisition out of Sundance. Her latest short film, ANCESTRA, is a groundbreaking collaboration with Darren Aronofsky’s newest venture Primordial Soup and Google DeepMind — combining live-action and generative AI to tell a story of an expectant mother who draws on the strength of all that came before — past matriarchs to dying stars — to transform her love into a cosmic force to save her daughter’s life. McNitt’s work has appeared at Sundance, SXSW, AFI Fest, Cannes, CPH:DOX, Tribeca, Telluride, and Venice. more...

Ben Wiley is a creative director at the Google Creative Lab focused on shaping emerging technology. With a background in storytelling and filmmaking, he’s worked on everything from music videos and album launches to TED Talks and documentaries to big brand commercials, weird experiments, and everything in between. Lately, he’s been dedicated to making a dent in the universe of AI — creatively hacking models, building filmmaking tools for the AI era and finding ways to this new technology can help expand human imagination. more...

Patty West is a producer and educator based in California. She led the Directing Workshop for Women and the Thesis Program at the American Film Institute prior to joining the Sundance Institute. She came to Sundance Collab in December of 2019 and now serves as its Director. West is a Chicago native and holds a B.S. from Northwestern University, an M.F.A. from the AFI Conservatory and an Executive M.B.A. from Quantic School of Business & Technology. She is a member of the Producer's Council of the Producers Guild of America. more...