Atlanta Film Festival 2025 (Day 6) - Build a World Around Your Film Set

From the venue:

Build a World Around Your Film Set

What if your film could spark more than just a story on a screen? This panel explores how filmmakers can transform their projects into lasting, multifaceted experiences that inspire, educate, and connect communities. By looking at real-world examples, we’ll discuss how films can evolve into art installations, community collaborations, and platforms for social impact. Attendees will gain insights into using film as a springboard for community building—both with the people you meet on set and with potential audiences. Panelists will share practical strategies for thinking creatively across mediums to ensure your message resonates and grows into something bigger than the screen.

Moderator:

Actor and RIFF Board Member Joseph Saul Portillo

Joseph Saul is an Award Winning Fine Art Photographer and Digital Artist based out of Rome, GA. He serves on the Board of Directors for The Rome International Film Festival, and on the Advisory Board for Georgia Highland College's Digital Media and Communications program.

Panelists:

Filmmaker, Artist, and Researcher Amy Scatliff

Amy is a GA-based filmmaker, artist, and researcher whose project Adult Life Lab began as a short film about a group of adults creating whimsical inventions to tackle their struggles with adulting. It has since grown into a multidisciplinary collaboration with art shows, community events, and over 100 participants from Finland and the U.S. Through live-action footage, invention building, and inventive storytelling, Amy’s work explores how creativity and collaboration can build connections and inspire new ways of approaching life’s challenges.

Casting Director & Producer Berenice Molina Valle

Berenice Molina Valle is of Mexican Salvadorian descent. At the age of 15, she became a teen mom and later almost lost her son to street life, she made the choice to put all of her time and energy into owning her ability as a casting director and filmmaker to provide opportunities to others who can relate to her. She tells stories that speak truth to the rough realities of her communities and hopes her stories give inspiration to the young men and women who can relate. That's how URA ENT (Under Represented Artist Entertainment) a.k.a "From the Streets to the Set" was Born.

Producer Alexander G Seyum

Alexander G. Seyum is an Afro-Latino award winning filmmaker and photojournalist from Los Angeles. Born in LA and raised in the Inland Empire, his background is of mixed nationalities, El Salvadorian and Eritrean/Ethiopian descent. Alex graduated from The Los Angeles Film School with a passion for telling stories from underrepresented communities. Alex wrote, produced, and directed his award winning film ‘The Son Rises’, is streaming on Apple TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime, and Google TV.