2023 Festival
Industry Panels
Episodes
Women in Sci-Fi
This year’s Women in Sci-fi panel celebrates women working in the male dominated fields of Special FX/ Monster Make-up FX. Sharing their experiences and knowledge on the industry to inspire other women and girls looking to enter the field.

Margaret Caragan
SFX Make-up Artist

Margaret Caragan
SFX Make-up Artist
Margaret Caragan is the owner of Pandora FX, located in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. She has worked as a special makeup effects artist since 2006, when makeup first rocked her world. She’s got her a BFA in Sculpture from the Academy of Art University, some AA’s from Napa Valley College and scholarships and certificates from good ol’ Cinema Makeup School in LA. But the REAL learning came on the job with over 500 projects.
Margaret believes in makeup with character and LOVES everything about the makeup process from script to concept to screen and enjoys department heading on special makeup effects-driven projects for narrative and Indie film as well as guiding the direction for spot on fx for commercial and medical work. She specializes in detailed designs and enjoys working one-on-one with directors, producers, writers, and creatives to manifest the makeups that tell the story they’re looking for. Margaret is known for casualty and character makeups, creating custom prosthetics for creatures, likeness, old age, injuries, and extreme transformations. But she’s also looking for adventures in storytelling and making her mark on the universe with passion and art.
Lyft Zombie Delivery Services (large city-wide social interaction event/campaign)
Sundance-premiered horror film The Violent Kind by the Butcher Bros (2010)
Fancy faces like Pete Docter, CCO of Pixar and Martin Landau (Oscar Winner yay)
She transformed NBA player Steph Curry and Ayesha Curry and actors for his Christmas with the Curry's event in Oakland
Lakeith Stanfield, Sorry to Bother You, prosthetic designer and application
Makeup Asst on Fruitvale Station
Dept Head and co-producer of ZTV
Season 6 Contestant on Face Off.

Niki (Veronika) De Jong
SFX Make-up Artist

Niki (Veronika) De Jong
SFX Make-up Artist
After attending Art School and Art University, Niki de Jong trained as a Makeup Artist in Vienna, Austria. She gained hands-on experience working for a high end cosmetics company as well as collaborating on various music videos and with fashion photographers. In 2009 she moved to London, England where she attended University to re-train in prosthetics and makeup for Film and TV graduating at 30 years old.
Driven by her passion to create realistic effects and high quality work she managed to work for some of Britain’s best Prosthetic designers and Make-up Effects workshops such as MillenniumFX, BGFX, Tristan Versluis and David White as well as DDT in Barcelona as an Art Finisher and Prosthetic Make-up Artist.
She has worked on projects such as DOCTOR WHO, GAME OF THRONES, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, OVERLORD, MORGAN, MALEFICENT 2, THE WITCHER S2, 1917, FOUNDATION and PERIPHERAL, amongst many others!

Dr. Ida Yoshinaga
Film Professor Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Media and Communication

Dr. Ida Yoshinaga
Film Professor Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Media and Communication
Specializes in science fiction film -- in particular, the hybridization of commercial science-fiction, fantasy, horror and fairy-tale genre modes with regional and Indigenous narrative traditions, in the story-development stage of pre-production for both the media industries and for alternative audiovisual venues such as indie and global cinema. An ethnic-screenwriting scholar and media producer of the movie-making work of Native Asian and Pacific Islander directors, she focuses on the connection between production relations and the cinematic form.
A recipient of the East-West Center pre-doctoral fellowship, the Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship, Science Fiction Studies journal's R.D. Mullen Research Fellowship (Ph.D. Award), the Support a New Scholar Award of the Science Fiction Research Association and the International Association for Fantastic in the Arts' Walter James Miller Memorial Award for Student Scholarship in the International Fantastic, Yoshinaga has published articles on cinematic story development, screenwriting and transmedia in, among other venues, Science Fiction Film and Television; The New Ray Bradbury Review; Narrative Culture; and The Routledge Companion to Media and Fairy-Tale Cultures. Her edited anthology of provocative think pieces on how sf can save humankind from neoliberalism and empire, co-edited with Gerry Canavan and Sean Guynes, Uneven Futures: Lessons for Community Survival from Speculative Fiction, will be published in 2022 by MIT Press. She is working on a book on Disney, gender and creative labor for the new Mass Markets: Studies in Franchise Culture series for the University of Minnesota Press.
A former Division Head of the International Fantastic Division of the IAFA and past co-organizer of the Science Fiction Research Association national conference, she was an inaugural judge for the SFRA Book Award, serves on the editorial board of the World Science Fiction Series (for Peter Lang Oxford), and, as an affiliate researcher of LMU Munich's global Indigeneities in the 21st Century project, supports Indigenous mediamakers in making short films and museum exhibits about the niu (coconut).
A Conversation with Panavision
Panavision representatives will explore the current state of production and the role played by both legacy and emerging technologies in modern filmmaking. Topics will also include Panavision’s flagship Millennium DXL2 large-format camera system—which has been used to capture features such as In the Heights and Coming 2 America, and series including Mythic Quest and Shadow and Bone—as well as the company’s ongoing support for the independent film community through the Panavision New Filmmaker Program.

Aaron Saffa
Manager, New Filmmaker Program, Panavision

Aaron Saffa
Manager, New Filmmaker Program, Panavision
Aaron Saffa has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years, serving as a producer, head of production, and production company founder, among other roles. He also worked as an Account Executive in the Eastman Kodak Entertainment Imaging Division, where he served as a primary point of contact for studio features, television productions, and agency commercials. During his time with Kodak, it was the opportunity to partner with up-and-coming student and independent filmmakers that Aaron found most rewarding. Today, he is honored to continue helping emerging storytellers in his role as Manager of Panavision New Filmmaker Program. (email NFP[at]panavision.com) panavision.com

Guy McVicker
Director, Technical Marketing, Panavision

Guy McVicker
Director, Technical Marketing, Panavision
Born and raised in Southern California, Guy McVicker joined Panavision in 1996 as an electronics tech in the company’s Hollywood office. Within a few weeks, he was pulled into the optics team as a lens technician. Having steadily risen through optics and service roles at Panavision Hollywood, Guy now leads the Technical Marketing team at Panavision’s headquarters in Woodland Hills, where he helps to guide internal awareness of the product landscape and collaborates with filmmakers to help them select or customize the gear they need to realize the intended look for their productions. panavision.com

Mike Carter
Marketing Executive, Panavision

Mike Carter
Marketing Executive, Panavision
Mike Carter has over 25 years of experience in the motion-picture industry, more than 15 of which have been with Panavision. As a primary contact for filmmakers working on studio features, independent films, episodic series, commercials, and shorts, he works closely with cinematographers and directors to help them find the right tools to bring their creative vision to life onscreen. Mike is honored to have supported projects that have garnered awards from AMPAS, the Television Academy, the ASC, the DGA, festivals around the world, and more. panavision.com

Christine Carr
Director of Business Development, Light Iron

Christine Carr
Director of Business Development, Light Iron
Christine joined Light Iron in 2015 as a DI producer after having served in that capacity on a number of groundbreaking projects, including Avatar and Game of Thrones, and working closely with such visionary directors as James Cameron and Michael Mann. With Light Iron, her credits include Unicorn Store, What They Had, Seeing Allred, Destroyer, and A Million Little Pieces. She continues to partner with filmmakers in her current role with Light Iron’s Business Development team. LightIron.com
Afrofuturism for Screenwriters
In an effort to support and encourage African American filmmakers to create more Afrofuturist films, this panel provides a broader understanding of Afrofuturism, it’s history and some specific elements required in films made under this subgenre.

Isis Asare “Sistah Sci-fi”

Isis Asare “Sistah Sci-fi”
The First Black Owned Bookstore Focused On Afrofuturism and Science Fiction. Founded by Isis Asare, Sistah Sci-fi is a cauldron of all things afro-futurism; Black mysticism, science fiction noir, and traditional voodoo; casting spells to uplift literature written by Black women. www.sistahscifi.com

Dr. Susana Morris

Dr. Susana Morris
Associate Professor of Literature, Media, and Communication at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is passionate about Afrofuturism, Black feminism, and climate change. Currently she’s at work on a cultural biography of Octavia E. Butler entitled Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler (Amistad 2024). susanamorris.com

John Jennings

John Jennings
Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside where he examines the visual culture of race in various media forms including film, illustrated fiction, comics and graphic novels. Mr. Jennings is also an author, graphic novelist, curator, Harvard Fellow, New York Times Bestseller, two time Eisner Winner! www.johnjenningsstudio.com

Ayana Jamieson

Ayana Jamieson
Founder of Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network. Her work centers around the intersections of critical depth psychology, race, culture, and mythology. As a comparative mythologist and Afro-Future Feminist scholar, Ayana’s forthcoming dissertation “Certainty of the Flesh”: A Biomythograchical Reading of Octavia E. Butler’s Fictions, explores Butler’s biographical origins and the mythic aspects of her literary work. octaviabutlerlegacy.com
Dune: A Scholarly Panel
In preparation for Dennis Villeneuve’s Dune, the following distinguished panelists dissect Frank Herbert’s classic, cover it’s timeless themes, Arabic and Muslim influences, gender dynamics. They will also offer strategies for reading, what some find is an intimidating multi-layered book and share their expectations for the new movie.

Dr. Kara Kennedy

Dr. Kara Kennedy
Dr. Kara Kennedy also runs, Dune Scholar - a website that publishes accessible research-based analysis of Frank Herbert’s Dune series and other science fiction topics. Dr. Kennedy is a writer, researcher, and educator whose areas of interest include science fiction, digital humanities, digital literacy, and women’s studies. She has taught literature, writing, and academic skills, and writes academic/non-fiction pieces published in traditional presses as well as on blogs. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the representation of the women of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood across the six-book series. Dr. Kennedy has lectured and published on various Dune topics and has two books forthcoming by an academic publisher. DuneScholar.com

Dr. Ian Campbell

Dr. Ian Campbell
Ian Campbell directs the Arabic program at Georgia State University in Atlanta. His research focuses on Arabic-language science fiction, addressing the question of how SF manifests in the Arabic-speaking world, especially with respect to how Arabic SF positions the long history of Muslim scientific and technological achievement in Arabic during the classical and medieval periods. His work on Arabic-language science fiction has appeared in Science Fiction Studies, Extrapolation and the New York Review of Science Fiction. His 2018 monograph Arabic Science Fiction was published by Palgrave Macmillan; it is currently being translated into Arabic and will be published in Cairo in late 2021 or early 2022. His edited volume Science Fiction in Translation will be published by Palgrave in November 2021.
Cinematography & Unit Photography
This panel answers questions on two of the most rewarding but often misunderstood, and under-appreciated fields in the film industry, Set Photography aka Unit or Still Photography, and Cinematography.

Mike Dallatorre

Mike Dallatorre
Michael Dallatorre, known as “Mike D,” a Nicaraguan born cinematographer, arrived in the United States at the age of three and grew up in South Central Los Angeles. Mike D. was featured in the Oscar nominated documentary, “Colors Straight Up” which followed his participation in the inner city performing arts group, Colors United. That experience inspired him to become a filmmaker. Mike D, was recognized for his talents and promising future with the Beating the Odds Award (presented by Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund.)
After graduating from Jordan High School in Watts, CA, Mike entered programs, Inner-City Filmmakers and went on to study film at Los Angeles Community College. While attending LACC he landed a job at the premiere camera house, Panavision and has spent 18 years learning from their engineers on top of the line equipment. Mike was accepted to Film Independent “Project Involve” Fellowship for 2018.
Chosen as one of ASC's "Rising Stars of Cinematography" 2020. Mike D. lives in Los Angeles and is represented by United Talent Agency.

Boris Martin

Boris Martin
Specializes in portrait and unit stills photography for motion picture industry and network television productions. Born and raised in Budapest, Hungary, holds dual citizenship (Hungarian-American). He is currently residing in Atlanta, GA and has a base in Budapest, Hungary as well. He can legally work on projects both in the States and in Europe. His credits include: Senior Year, Jungle Cruise, The Last Kingdom, Watchmen, BrightBurn, Inferno.
Music in Sci-Fi Done Right
Understanding the important role music plays in filmmaking, and going beyond synths and the theremin, this panel addresses some challenges indie filmmakers have when creating and finding the right music for their sci-fi films.

Jesse Goodwin
THE HIT HOUSE, VP

Jesse Goodwin
THE HIT HOUSE, VP
In hushed tones, executives whisper about a being only known as “The Fixer”, “The Man with the Golden Ear” or simply: “Mr. Hears Good.” They say most of tinsel town’s biggest blockbusters would be utter flops without his musical touch to their marketing campaigns. How does he always find the perfect song? How did he negotiate that license? Is it really possible that every custom track he produces elicits deep emotional reactions and brand loyalty? Did he actually discover the Baja Men?
The truth may never be unveiled.
This is what we know: After nearly a decade of Music Supervision and Creative Direction at some of L.A.’s top agencies, working for all the major studios, countless campaigns and 2 Best Music GTA awards; He has decided the life of a solo hero is not enough. By joining forces with The Hit House and their super squad, our Auditory Crusader can now destroy every sonically mundane spot, all over-sync’d placements and each blandly scored commercial that still plague our world.

Scott Miller
THE HIT HOUSE Creative Director/Owner

Scott Miller
THE HIT HOUSE Creative Director/Owner
Supreme Overlord
DOES IT MAKE A SOUND? IF SO, CHANCES ARE SCOTT CAN PLAY IT AND YOU’VE HEARD IT ON OUR ALBUMS.
Within the lesser known religious sects of Johannesburg, there is lore passed from generation to generation. It speaks of a Demigod in human form who holds dominion over sound with equal parts music, mischief and vodkacokes. A Treble and Bass forged South African Loki if you will. He may compose you a symphony, he may tie your shoelaces together, or he may be sleeping off a wicked hangover.
Born in the rain gutter of some dark alley in London. Barely contained and educated in the meanest South African boarding schools for wayward misfits. Rumored to have escaped the Conservatoire of Music in Pretoria out of sheer boredom. Said to have swum to the Music Institute in Los Angeles on a dare.
You can fear him. You can Respect Him. You can…call him Scott.
He is The Hit House’s musical Messiah, our overtone Overlord, our sonic Superior. He commands an army of talented minions and there is not a chord, note, lyric or snapchat that leaves our borders without his approval. Google, Marvel, Star Wars, Playstation, Bethesda and DC Comics have all been granted the honor of his custom score mastery. His original songwriting prowess is featured en masse via spots for Netflix, HBO, Sony, and countless other impressive sounding corporations. The Grateful masses heap idols of praise upon his Shrine including 3 Clios for Video Game trailer music, Golden Trailers for best original score and literally 1 or 2 more.
You will never contain him. You will never understand him (mostly because of the accent). But if you are lucky, one day, he may answer your campaign’s prayer in song. You will say thank you. You will pay him. You will not be insulted when he spends that money on cool stuff for his bike.

Francesca Mormanni
Musician, Author, Editor

Francesca Mormanni
Musician, Author, Editor
F. F. Mormanni was inspired to become a writer at age five after watching The Fellowship of the Ring. At age 13, she completed her first novel and has since been working on novels and screenplays in the following genres: fantasy, sci-fi, fiction, thriller, philosophy, and comedy. Her favorite writers are J. R. R. Tolkien, Frank Herbert, Michael Crichton, and Ayn Rand. F. F. Mormanni is a Juilliard-trained flutist and harpist. She now composes instrumental melodies for rap, pop, and R&B songs in collaboration with multi-platinum producer, D. A. Got That Dope. She is the author of Double Crossed, a medical techno-thriller. Learn more at www.ffmormanni.com.