John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Matewan (1987), Eight Men Out (1988), Passion Fish (1992), The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), Lone Star (1996), and Men with Guns (1997).
Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was knighted in the 2020 New Years Honours List. In 2000, Mendes was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg, Germany. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 15 in their list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture".
James Jonah Cummings is an American voice actor and podcaster. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has performed over 400 on screen and voice roles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., and serves as the official voice of Winnie the Pooh since 1988, Tigger since 1989, the Tasmanian Devil since 1991, and Peg Leg Pete since 1992. Other notable roles include Fat Cat and Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (1989–1990), the title character of Darkwing Duck (1991–1992), Kaa in Jungle Cubs (1996–1998) and The Jungle Book 2 (2003), Cat in CatDog (1998–2005), and Police Chief Gluteus in Ozzy & Drix (2002–2004) and Ray in The Princess and the Frog (2009).
Catherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for Being John Malkovich (1999) and for her portrayal of author Harper Lee in Capote (2005). Her performance as Gertrude Baniszewski in An American Crime (2007) earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Her other accolades include nominations for a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Jeffrey Clark Wadlow is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He's best known for writing, producing and directing feature films, including Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Truth or Dare (2018), Fantasy Island (2020), and Imaginary (2024). In 2022, Wadlow was nominated for a DGA award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Commercials and Documentary.
Erika "Riki" Lindhome is an American actress, comedian and musician. She is best known as a singer and songwriter for the comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates with Kate Micucci.
Sean Baker is an American filmmaker. He has worked as director, writer, editor and producer of independent feature films about the lives of marginalized people, especially immigrants and sex workers. His films include Take Out (2004), Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017), Red Rocket (2021), and Anora (2024). For Anora, he won the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globes and five BAFTA Awards. He is also known for co-creating the Fox/IFC puppet sitcom Greg the Bunny (2002–2006) and its spin-offs.
Tamara Jenkins is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature films Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), Private Life (2018), and The Savages (2007). She received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay nomination for the latter.
Orion Classics started in 1982 as the distribution label for the then independent film production company Orion Pictures, now owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It was relaunched in May 2018.
Dylan Rhodes O'Brien is an American actor. His first major role was as Stiles Stilinski in the MTV supernatural series Teen Wolf (2011–2017). He achieved further prominence for his lead role in the science fiction Maze Runner trilogy (2014–2018), which led to more film appearances.
Lowell Dean is a Canadian filmmaker.
Eliza Hittman is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer from New York City. She has won multiple awards for her film Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which include the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award—both for best screenplay.
Thunder Road is a short comedy-drama film written, directed by, and starring Jim Cummings. Shot in one take, the film depicts a police officer giving a eulogy for his mother. It premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews, winning the Short Film Grand Jury Prize. A feature-length adaptation of the same name was released in 2018, also written, directed by, and starring Cummings.
Chloe East is an American actress. She started her career as a child actress, appearing in two 2013 episodes of True Blood. She starred in the first season of Ice (2016–2017) and in the drama series Generation (2021). She has also featured in Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans (2022), and in the horror film Heretic (2024).
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known collectively as the Daniels, are an American filmmaking duo. They began their career as directors of music videos, including ones for "Houdini" (2012) by Foster the People and "Turn Down for What" (2013) by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, both of which earned them nominations at the Grammy Awards.
Thunder Road is a 2018 American comedy-drama film directed, written by, and starring Jim Cummings, based on his 2016 short film of the same name. Cummings also served as co-editor, composer and visual effects artist. It also stars Kendal Farr, Nican Robinson, Macon Blair, Jocelyn DeBoer, Chelsea Edmunson, Ammie Leonards, and Bill Wise. It won the Grand Jury Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival.
Mat Whitecross is an English film director, editor and screenwriter. He began his career working for filmmaker Michael Winterbottom and producer Andrew Eaton at Revolution Films, being also known for directing The Road to Guantánamo, Ian Dury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, as well as music documentaries Oasis: Supersonic and Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams. Whitecross has also directed music videos for Coldplay, Take That and the Rolling Stones, being a long-time collaborator of the former band.
Stefon Bristol is an American film director and screenwriter. He has directed the science fiction films See You Yesterday (2019) and Breathe (2024).
The Wolf of Snow Hollow is a 2020 American horror mystery film written and directed by Jim Cummings. It is about a small Utah town that is seemingly terrorized by a werewolf. Cummings also stars along with Riki Lindhome, Chloe East, Jimmy Tatro, and Robert Forster. The film is dedicated to Forster, as it was the last of his career, completed shortly before his death.
Benjamin Safdie is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and film editor best known for working with his older brother Josh as a filmmaker. His directorial works include Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019). Transitioning towards acting, Safdie was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his role in Good Time and has since taken on roles in films such as Licorice Pizza (2021), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Oppenheimer. He co-created, co-wrote and starred in the television show The Curse (2023).
