April 2021 Online Workshop
Natalie Schwan
NATALIE SCHWAN is an award-winning commercial and narrative director and producer who is known for work that celebrates the vastness of the human condition, the journey of the overcomer, and the spirit of adventure. She has received multiple Telly Awards for directing and producing, produced Webby-nominated work, and recently won 2nd place in the She Directed Audience Awards Competition for her J.K. Rowling biopic short film Jo.
She is constantly drawn to historical narratives, and is set to direct her debut feature Rebel, an action packed film based on the true story of Deborah Sampson, the first female soldier in US history who disguised herself as a man and fought in the Revolutionary war. She is also developing a period era Ellis Island narrative series surrounding stories of immigrant children, a female-driven scripted anthology series that celebrates hidden histories of bold women who dared to defy the status quo, and a traveling docuseries focused on international cuisines.
In 2015, she launched her full service, award-winning production company Velocity Creatives, which creates commercial and narrative content that present stunning visual stories that inspire, challenge and excite. She has created work for brands including SONOS, Colgate and Goldman Sachs. In Spring 2021, she is launching a new branch of the business focused on episodic and feature films. Her heart is in travel and exploring, and you can often find her planning her next international adventure.
Justin Senkbile
Justin Senkbile is a writer and filmmaker living in Omaha, Nebraska. A former film critic for the Omaha Reader and NET Radio, his short film “The Regulars” won the best actress award at the 2016 White Light City Film Festival.
Aaron Willet
Aaron Willett graduated from Cal State Fullerton University with a B.A. in Business Administrations and holds an M.B.A from Cal State Dominguez Hills University. Aaron currently works as a contract specialist at the Los Angeles Air Force Base. “Writing has always been a great passion of mine throughout school and in my career. With the passion of reading good books and watching great movies and films, it gives me great inspiration to think and write creatively. Writing short stories and scripts has always been an interest to me and provides a strong motivating source to continue writing and using my creative talents. Writing creatively is the ultimate use of the imagination.”
Lance Krieger
Lance Krieger worked for Miramax Films and Tribeca Entertainment, where he had the opportunity to cover many feature film and television screenplays. Lance joined the William Morris Agency training program in New York, where he assisted executives and covered film and television projects.
In 2020, Lance’s second screenplay, “The Kilgore Conspiracy” won the Maverick Screenwriter award for the Los Angeles Neo Noir Novel, Film, & Script Festival and the Best Crime Television Screenplay for the Los Angeles Crime & Horror Film Festival, taking first place out of 121 screenplays. Lance had revised, edited, and workshopped The Kilgore Conspiracy for a number of years, transitioning the project from feature film to television screenplay format.
Lance has been inspired by the screenwriting teachings of Syd Field, Lagos Egri, and William Goldman. Some of Lance’s favorite authors include F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemmingway, John Grisham, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Graham Greene. Lance studied English Creative Writing at Stanford University and Filmmaking at the University of Southern California Film School. He has pursued coursework at the Neighborhood Playhouse School for Theatre and screenwriting workshops through New York University. Lance received an MBA from the HEC Paris School of Business (Ecole des Hautes etudes Commerciales de Paris).
Lance was born in New York City and has lived in various cities in the United States and in Europe. Lance speaks English, Spanish, and French.
Hannah Hines
My name is Hannah Hines and the most interesting thing about me is that I once had this plant that died. Just kidding! There were multiple such plants. I love reading and writing and am constantly being bugged with new, weird and weirder ideas. I have not seen anything published yet, but I know this is what I want to do, so much so that I tutor in English and Drama.
Mike Sorrini
Mike Sorrinni is an American writer, editor, historian and archivist. Coming from an army family he spent much of his life traversing the world before settling down in Indianapolis. Following high school he began a series of jobs ranging from bicycle builder to a Dominatrix’s assistant to ambulance driver. He then became an archivist and historian specializing in World War II’s European theater.
In 2009 Mike edited and produced a series of commercials for off broadway smash hit “Arias With A Twist” which earned him two Davey awards and a Telly award. After this he transitioned into writing finishing his first screenplay, a World War II drama titled ‘The Postcard’ and followed that up with a paranormal thriller taking place in Occupied Berlin titled 'Behind The Wall'.
Gregory Fields
In the opening scene of Forrest Gump, a feather drifts aimlessly across the screen. It’s the perfect metaphor for Greg’s life. He never knows what life will bring or where it will lead. He simply enjoys the journey.
Greg was born and raised in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio by multicultural parents. His mother emigrated from Italy and his father has roots in Croatia and Hungary. As a small boy, he loved to listen to family stories and quickly became passionate about telling stories of his own.
After high school, Greg attended the University of Akron where he studied writing. However, he ran out of money and joined the Air Force. During his time in the military, he lived in many places around the world including Italy, The Netherlands, Greece, Iceland, the Middle East, and Asia. It was during this chapter of his life when he met his wife and raised two daughters.
After the military, Greg entered the IT industry and oversaw the operations of 23 data centers in five continents. While he enjoyed the travel and challenges of the job, his passion remained writing. He wrote in the evenings and completed three novels based, in part, on his own experiences and the stories he collected along the way. One of his novels, Under Vanishing Skies, was awarded Best Sci-Fi Novel at the Indie Book Awards.
In 2015, Greg took a screenwriting course with his youngest daughter. The course opened his eyes to a new form of writing…visual storytelling. He loved it so much, that in 2017 Greg walked away from his job and now spends most of his time learning the craft of screenwriting. He’s written several full-length features, pilots, and shorts. Many of these have placed in screenwriting competitions including BlueCat Screenplay Competition, the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Competition, and the Austin Film Festival. In addition to writing, Greg’s other passions include winemaking, woodworking, and farming, which he does on a small four-acre ranch in San Luis Obispo County, California.