AFF Staff - Austin Film Festival

Meet Our Staff!

Bringing writers, filmmakers, and the community together.

Want to work with us? Volunteer, Intern, or check out our job opportunities!

Click on the staff image to view their bio!

Barbara Morgan - Executive Director

Barbara Morgan co-founded Austin Film Festival in 1993 and has served as the sole Executive Director since 1999. As a filmmaker, Morgan developed and produced the film Natural Selection, which has aired on Showtime, the Sci-fi channel, and was released internationally. Morgan also co-produced the feature documentary Antone’s: Home of the Blues, which as also released internationally.

Most recently, Morgan produced the documentary feature, Portrait of Wally(2012), and the narrative feature Spring Eddy(2012).

She developed and produces the TV/Radio/Podcast series On Story, currently airing on PBS and PRI stations across the country.

In 2010, Morgan produced a reading of Bud Shrake’s play “A Friend of Carlos Monson” with director Jeff Nichols. In 2013 Morgan co-edited “On Story: Screenwriters and Their Craft”, which was published by UT Press.

Morgan serves on the Board of Directors for a number of organizations, including International Film Festival Summit and The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.

Barb@austinfilmfestival.com

Barbara Morgan

Executive Director

email Barb

Colin Hyer - Conference Director

Colin Hyer serves as the Creative Director of Austin Film Festival where he oversees all Festival programming. In addition to orchestrating the annual Writers Conference and year-round events, he works in tandem with the organization’s Film Department and Script Competitions Department to plan, promote, and maintain a connected program that celebrates and champions storytellers. He originally served as AFF’s Young Filmmakers Program Coordinator before stepping into the role of Conference Director in 2017. Originally from Wisconsin, Colin moved to Austin after graduating from Columbia College Chicago. Before joining Austin Film Festival full-time, he taught video production to youth for five years through non-profit organizations like Austin School of Film, Creative Action, and Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Program. Outside of the office, Colin enjoys reading Stephen King novels and playing with his dog Mayo.

Colin@austinfilmfestival.com

Colin Hyer

Creative Director

email Colin

Brittany Falk - Executive Administrator

Brittany Falk

Executive Administrator

email Brittany

Kaetie Turner - On Story, Executive Producer

Kaetie Turner originally joined the Austin Film Festival family in 2012 as an Executive Director Intern. After graduating with a Radio-Television-Film degree from the University of Texas, Kaetie moved to Los Angeles where she worked on several productions including Arrested Development, Drunk History and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She is excited to return to AFF as the Executive Producer of the On Story Project where she will oversee all aspects of the project and various AFF media projects.

Kaetie Turner

On Story, Executive Producer

email Kaetie

Casey Baron - Senior Film Program Director

Born and raised in the small island of Dominica located in the West Indies, Casey Baron moved to Austin after graduating from Florida State University with a degree in English – Editing, Writing, and Media. While attending FSU, Casey worked for The Torchlight Program. During his time there, he was the Team Leader and Personal Assistant to film industry veteran Paul Cohen, the program’s Executive Director. Beyond that creative venture, Casey has also been an editor on a handful of literary magazines, including FSU’s The Kudzu Review and Miami Dade College’s AXIS Creative Arts Magazine.

Casey has been a part of the Austin Film Festival family for three years running; starting off as an intern before climbing the ladder to become the festival’s Shorts Programmer for its 25th anniversary. He’s excited to jump into his new role as the Senior Film Program Director, and continuing the organizational and personal mission of championing storytellers. When he’s not racing to find interesting stories, Casey spends his spare time watching basketball and soccer, listening to music, and playing with his dog Niobe.

Casey Baron

Senior Film Program Director

email Casey

Alexandra Mitchell - Shorts Programmer

Alexandra “Alex” Mitchell was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating from Washington University with a B.A. in Film & Media Studies, she made the trek down ‘south’ with the dream of working at Austin Film Festival. She made it! After serving as a Conference intern, Registration Director, and recently the Project Manager, Alex is honored to serve as the Shorts Programmer in the Film Department.

When Alex is not watching films and reading up on the industry, she is eating brunch and playing board games.

Alexandra Mitchell

Interim Film Competition Director

email Alex

Sage Kosiorek - Director of Script Competitions

After a deep love for film developed in college, Sage felt he needed to learn about how the industry worked. He moved to Austin, Texas in 2016 and began working in various capacities with Austin Film Festival. Eventually, he worked as the Events Coordinator in 2018, and joined full-time as the Project Manager in 2019 and is excited to take on the role of Director Script Competitions. His passion for the arts, particularly writing and film, and getting the opportunity to connect with people in these fields is what keeps him going.

Sage@austinfilmfestival.com

Sage Kosiorek

Script Competitions Director

email Sage

Karla Lugo - Script Competitions Manager

Originally from El Paso, TX, Karla moved to Austin Texas in 2019 in the hopes of becoming part of the AFF Team. She now serves as the Script Competitions Manager at the organization and hopes her deep love for film and writing will help foster and champion the writers who participate at the AFF Festival. In her free time you can find her binge-watching TV shows or hanging out with her pug Olivia.

Karla Lugo

Script Competitions Manager

email Karla

Kelly Lafargue - Marketing Director

Kelly serves as the Marketing Director at Austin Film Festival. In addition to handling advertisements and strategic goals, part of Kelly’s role involves communication across the organization.

Kelly graduated from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Since moving here in 2016, she has continued to develop her passion for film along with a love of live comedy – specifically, improv, which she has started performing.

In her spare time, Kelly enjoys cooking, going to the movies, and watching reality television with her cat.

Kelly is looking forward to furthering the mission of AFF through marketing efforts.

Marketing@austinfilmfestival.com

Kelly Lafargue

Marketing Director

email Kelly

Anna Zschiesche - Marketing Coordinator

Anna joined Austin Film Festival in September 2018 as an intern while she completed her M.B.A. at St. Edward’s University. An Austin native (unicorn!), Anna started her career in the events industry and went back to school to make a career shift towards marketing. When she’s not at AFF, she’s hanging out with her pug Betty and binge watching Netflix.

Marketingcoord@austinfilmfestival.com

Anna Zschiesche

Marketing Coordinator

email Anna

Sally Seitz - Young Filmmakers Program Director

Sally Seitz is a Theatre Artist and passionate Arts Educator originally from Nashville, Tennessee. She has a BA in Theatre, American Literature and Creative Writing from Middlebury College. Previously she has worked with the Austin Film Festival as the Script Reading Coordinator as well as the Script Department Administrative Assistant. Ms. Seitz is thrilled for the opportunity to engage and encourage emerging young storytellers.

Sally Seitz

Young Filmmakers Program Director

email Sally

Ke'ara Hunt - Conference Coordinator

Ke’ara Hunt serves as the Conference Coordinator of Austin Film Festival where she assists with the execution of the annual Writers Conference. Originally from Houston, TX, Ke’ara received her bachelor’s in Radio-TV-Film and English from The University of Texas at Austin in 2014 and recently her master’s in Television Producing and Management from Boston University. Passionate about story-telling, experimenting with vegan recipes, and a lowkey couch potato, Ke’ara is excited to work with the mighty Austin Film Festival team!

Ke’ara Hunt

Conference Coordinator

email Ke’ara

Roy Morgan - Canine Relations

If you visit, you’re likely to run into Roy Morgan.

He’s a big fan of head pats, belly scratches, and great filmic storytelling. Follow us on social media — especially instagram — to get more updates from this cool canine.

Roy Morgan

Director of Canine Relations

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Join us! There are numerous Volunteer and Internship Opportunities

The folks [at AFF] share our passion…Which is, of course, why they are so damn adept at crafting a conference that manages to satisfy the needs and desires of all of us attending.”
-Scott Rosenberg, screenwriter

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