Atlanta Film Festival 2025 (Day 6) Creative Conference - Putting the UNITY Back in Community: Bridging the Gap in Film & Television

From the venue:

Putting the UNITY Back in Community: Bridging the Gap in Film & Television

Representation starts behind the scenes. Join Latinas in Media Atlanta for an essential conversation on how producers, department heads, and decision-makers can actively seek out and support new, underrepresented talent. We'll discuss practical strategies for building stronger creative teams and ensuring that our industry reflects the richness of the communities it serves.

Moderator: Actress, Writer, and Producer Daisy Pareja

Daisy Pareja is an actor, writer and producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She's the co-founder and moderator of Actors Army, an actors and filmmakers group, with members from Atlanta to New York. She wrote the short, Guest With Benefits, which was accepted in numerous film festivals and earned her the Best Actress Award. Before acting, Daisy was a CNN En Español news producer and an EMMY award-winning reporter/producer for Univision in San Francisco.

Panelists:

Producer, Director, and Actor Kristina Arjona

Kristina Arjona is a queer Latina director, intimacy coordinator, and mental health coordinator who has worked with studios like Netflix, Showtime, Starz, Amazon, Paramount Plus, ABC, and CBS. Kristina co-directed her first feature, Christmas with Jerks, which is now available on Amazon Prime, and is currently gearing up to direct her second feature, Randy Mandy and the Curse of the Plaza Theatre.

Director, Writer, and Actor Matthew Alaniz

Matthew S. Alaniz is an award-winning screenwriter working in Austin, Texas. Before his endeavors in filmmaking, Alaniz was an architectural designer in Houston, but his passion for storytelling led him to attend film school. In 2013, he received a Bachelor of Science in Film and immediately began his writing career. As a Latino with a physical disability, he strives to tell stories that express a broader and more complex human narrative. Matthew has also served as a judge, juror, and script reader for film festivals and competitions in Texas and California, including his role as a long-time juror for the Superfest Disability Film Festival. He serves on the Advisory Committee of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability, which studies and showcases disabled people's experiences to revolutionize social views.



Producer Alahna Lark

Alahna Lark is an award-winning, Emmy nominated film producer. She is the founder of Lark Media, a full-service production company specializing in socially conscious video production. Additionally, Lark is the programming director and co-founder of SignifyTV, an online streaming platform dedicated to showcasing work by marginalized content creators.

Filmmaker & Co-Founder of The Golden Pages Jeremy Thao

Jeremy Thao is a Hmong American screenwriter and director from Atlanta. His award-winning short film, "Wokman," is currently on the film festival circuit. Jeremy is also the founder of East Atlanta Panda, a full service film production company and is also the co-founder of The Golden Pages, a community shining a light on Georgia-based AANHPI Creatives.