Laura Somers (Writer & Director)  

Laura Somers is a writer, director, editor, producer. Tired of waiting for permission to do what she always dreamed of--direct her own feature film--she raised funds on Seed & Spark and went back to her hometown of Houston, TX to make her feature directorial debut, Rich Kids. After Rich Kids won 16 festival awards, she struck a deal with Premiere Entertainment for worldwide sales. Her domestic distributor, ITN, licensed the film to Netflix where it premiered in February 2020—almost unheard of these days for a no-budget drama with unknown actors. Laura is originally from Texas and has lived in many pockets and communities around the country and has a deep love of characters who are outcasts fighting for dignity.

A creative visionary with a finger on the pulse of American consciousness and its youth, Laura is interested in telling stories that encourage viewers to create empathy for one another and advance humanity through creative storytelling by drawing characters who are strong, capable, independent, and thoughtful people who are fighting to have dignity in their lives and struggling with issues in today’s society. Much of her work is about subverting expectations and drawing stereotypes out of their boxes.

As a director, she has been selected for fellowships and mentorships with Women In Film, Film Independent, and SHOOT, and her work has received financial support from Banana Republic, Vanity Fair, IBM, UCLA, and the City of Austin. Her productions have been highlighted in American Theater Magazine, New York Magazine, Remezcla, Vanity Fair, The W Hotels and more.

In addition to directing, Laura writes screenplays and television pilots based on existing IP for Voyage Media which connects storytellers with Hollywood producers and writers. Prior to this, she worked as a reality television editor for clients including Syfy, Lifetime, TruTV, CMT, MSN, and Endemol.

Laura has mentored screenwriters through the WGA East Emerson Program, the Collyer Fellowship, and the Veteran’s Writing Project/Wounded Warrior, taught acting students at Austin Community College and was a programmer for the Anchorage International Film Festival between 2019-2021. She is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors and Film Fatales. She holds a BFA in Theater Directing from NYU’s TISCH School of the Arts and is a graduate of UCLA’s Professional Screenwriting Program. She grew up in Houston, TX, and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and son.

V.C. Rhone (Producer/1st AD)

v.c. rhone is an Award-GIVING Creative Executive and Founder of Dominion InnerTainment – an independent production company delivering entertainment for the soul. v.c. produces, writes, and directs stories that embrace socially complex scenes in a way that’s provocative and undeniably empowering.

She completed her undergraduate studies in Film and Television Production at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied under Academy Award Winner, Carol Dysinger (Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone If You’re a Girl). She was previously mentored by Emmy-nominated Karissa Valencia (Creator and Showrunner of Netflix’s Spirit Rangers).

She produced and co-wrote, Not Afraid which received the Indigenous Film & Cultural Award at the 2024 Windrider Summit & Sundance Film Festival Experience. Additionally, the film premiered as an official selection of the 17th Annual LA Skins Fest at the historical TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Her award-winning documentary Pie a la Mode has screened at 19 festivals globally and her docuseries, Pause for Hope, features a heartfelt interview with a cast member from the Golden Globe nominated film, She Said.

v.c. is an NBC TV Writers Program Finalist and a ScreenCraft Finalist. Her feature screenplay, Becky Brenneman’s Bangin’ Bat Mitzvah, is in the top 7% of all screenplays on Coverfly. She has worked with Primetime Emmy Nominee, Jim O’Doherty (3rd Rock from the Sun, Kickin’ It, The Tracy Morgan Show) and Academy member, Leah Daniels Butler (The Wonder Years, Coming 2 America, The United States vs. Billie Holiday).

v.c. is the founder, director, and programmer for the Huntington Beach Cultural Film Festival. She is a published author and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and the OC Register for the work she does in communities using the arts as a bridge to promote human dignity.

She is the founder and creative director of Page Gladiators - an initiative to help writers unlock stories and discover their characters. Through Page Gladiators v.c. also runs two writing groups. Rhythm & Views offers Black Indigenous People of Color a safe space to share, read, and critique peer scripts featuring diverse stories and characters. CUT TO: Women welcomes women writers and offers them an opportunity to develop stories highlighting strong female characters and voices.

v.c. is often sought out as a script analyst by producers and casting directors and is a top analyst for Austin Film Festival and Roadmap Writers. v.c. is managed by GLM and repped by The Buchwald Agency with several projects in development.

Eddie Rodriguez (Line Producer)

A Mexican-American, Texas native, Eddie Rodriguez is an independent producer committed to the highlighting the voices of filmmakers of the Lone Star State.

Eddie has produced three feature films including the 16 time award-winning Houston film RICH KIDS which premiered on Netflix in February 2020 and most recently, ACID TEST, starring actor Brian Thornton (Friday Night Lights, Fear the Walking Dead).

He has devoted his life to the arts and has professionally freelanced in the Television and Film industry in Houston for over ten years. He got his start in television as stage manager for Court TV for four seasons before transferring his Assistant Director skills to Texas-filmed reality tv, commercials, and sports programs for clients including NFL Network, DirecTV, A&E and NBC.

Eddie never lost his passion for independent film and has been an Assistant Director to over 20 productions. A highlight of his career was working as a Locations PA for Terrence Malick’s masterpiece, Tree of Life.

Eddie graduated with a BFA from Southwest Texas State University in 1999. His father’s career brought his family to Columbia (1 year) and Indonesia (2 years), which had a major influence on Eddie’s independent spirit. In addition to film, he is also a painter, his first brush with Hollywood was receiving a high school Visual Art Congressional Award that was presented by Tom Cruise.

Charley Flyte (Cultural Consultant)

Charley Flyte (Oglala Lakota/Mohawk) is an actor (Rutherford Falls, American Crime Story), writer, and award-winning voiceover artist.  She was born in Provo, Utah and grew up dancing fancy shawl at powwows as a child. In her spare time Charley does traditional beadwork and is reclaiming her languages, one day at a time. She is also an artist, like her parents, working in pencil, pen and ink, printmaking, oil and acrylic painting, and sound installation. 

Her short supernatural horror film script, "Charla" made the finals of the Sundance Native Filmmaker Fellowship Lab. Bird Runningwater of the Sundance Institute, calls the script "an important film - genre-bending, yet socially conscious." Readers of her prose poem "Afterschool Special" call it "a striking work... profoundly affecting... incredibly unique" and report that they were "gutted by [it's] narrative promise." 

Christina Luffman (Locations Manager)

Christina is a seasoned professional with a rich background across various industries and roles. Currently serving as the Director of Business Transformation & Strategy at Neudesic, Chris excels in identifying innovative opportunities to enhance service portfolios and foster client relationships. Their expertise lies in guiding clients through complex business challenges and developing strategic roadmaps to achieve her objectives.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Chris is also the founder of the BOTA Sealy Battle of the Arts in Sealy, TX, demonstrating a commitment to fostering creativity and community engagement.