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Dessane Lopez Cassell is a New York-based editor, writer, and producer. Her work spans the intersections of film and visual art, with a particular interest in artist’s moving image, documentary, and experimental film. Cassell’s writing and criticism has been published in various outlets, journals, and books, including the Los Angeles Times, Film Comment, MUBI Notebook, The Criterion Collection’s Current, Metrograph Journal, and Hyperallergic, as well as catalogues issued by The Museum of Modern Art, El Museo del Barrio, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Cassell was a programmer for BlackStar Film Festival from 2018 to 2023, and previously served as Editor-in-Chief of BlackStar’s journal, Seen, where she platformed film, art, and visual culture writing by and about people of color. She is currently Executive Producer at Mostly Works, an artist-run production company, and serves as Vice President of the board at The Flaherty.

Migizi Pensoneau is a writer, producer, and founding member of the sketch comedy troupe, The 1491s. Pensoneau is most well-known for his work on FX’s award-winning “Reservation Dogs,” for which he served as a Co-Executive Producer and writer, which garnered a Peabody Award and an Emmy nomination. Pensoneau has also written and produced on the shows “Barkskins,” “Government Cheese,” and “Time Bandits.” Most recently he served as writer and co-Executive Producer on the award-winning “Alien: Earth,” for FX, which has been renewed for a second season.

Miguel Silveira is an award-winning independent filmmaker, arts educator, and Assistant Professor in the film department at Loyola University Chicago. He holds a BA in film production from Columbia College Chicago and an MFA in film directing from Columbia University in New York City. Silveira’s documentary feature, I Am a Visitor in Your World (2013), was an Official Selection of the Woodstock Film Festival, the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, and the Athens Film + Video Festival. American Thief (2020), Silveira’s first feature narrative/documentary hybrid, was a Jerome Foundation Grantee, a participant in the IFP Completion Lab, and is distributed in North America via Film Movement. The Last Election and Other Love Stories (2021), a documentary shot entirely on Election Day 2020, screened at the Warsaw International Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, Urbanworld, and Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Miguel’s work celebrates topics related to human dignity and development. His projects have received support from the Sloan Foundation, the Directors Guild of America, Cine Qua Non Storylines Lab, the Jerome Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, and IFP/The Gotham. He is the writer-producer for Madrina, a short film directed and co-written by Missy Hernandez, and the producer of Hernandez’s debut feature film, I Don’t Dream In Spanish Anymore.

Valérie Déus is a poet and the Shorts Programmer for the Provincetown International Film Festival.

2023/2024 American Film Diplomacy Program (US State Department & USC School of Cinematic Arts) Envoy and finalist of the Project Greenlight Digital Studios and Seed&Spark Untold Story Crowdfunding Rally, Mikkelson has Produced/Directed seven award-winning independent feature documentaries, MINNESOTA MEAN (2023), FINDING HER BEAT (2022), RISKING LIGHT (2018), THE RED TAIL (2009), GREEN GREEN WATER (2007), THIS OBEDIENCE (2003), and TREADING WATER: A DOCUMENTARY (1999), character-driven films highlighting power and joy in the margins, as well as branded content for Nonprofit, NGO, and Governmental partners including the European Union, the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, and the Center for Victims of Torture. Festival screenings of her feature documentaries include: the Galway Film Fleadh, Cinequest, Mill Valley Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, DOC NYC, Frameline Film Festival, and American Indian Film Festival. Broadcast and streaming include: APT (American Public Television), PBS, CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation), Yes-Docu (Israel), Deutsche Welle (Germany), iTunes, and Amazon Prime.

Born on the Leech Lake Reservation and raised in the Twin Cities, Day merges the intimate storytelling traditions of her Native American heritage with modern cinematic expression. Day’s cinematic voice is rooted in her Ojibwe upbringing and urban experience. She centers Native voices, not just by highlighting traditional narratives, but by applying those values through a modern lens. The result is storytelling with emotional depth, cultural integrity, and quiet power.

Day is an emerging light in documentary cinema. With her latest documentary (Producer, Co-Director), Without Arrows, Day offers more than a story—she delivers a testament to heritage, connection, and resilience. As she redefines representation in filmmaking, Day continues to inspire a powerful shift in how Native American lives and communities are portrayed.