Tickets available on site at the event!
Join us at 4th Tap Brewing Co-op for a casual and informative roundtable workshop! Inspired by AFF’s popular Roundtable sessions held during the annual Writers Conference, this event will offer exclusive and intimate access to local industry folks with insider knowledge and experience to share. Attendees are encouraged to ask specific questions about the art, craft, and business of film and television.
Stop by as early as 6:30pm to grab a drink and connect with other up-and-coming Austin filmmakers and storytellers in a casual environment. Whether you’re currently working on a project or are just curious about taking that first step in your career, take advantage of this invaluable opportunity to learn and network with other Austin filmmakers!
Meet the panelists!
Brian Gannon – Director, Austin Film Commission
Brian Gannon has worked for the Austin Film Commission for seven years and has been the Director of the AFC for the past two and a half years. Prior to that, he supervised content and video creation at Paul Bernhard Exhibits Design, worked in various areas of film production freelance and as a production liaison at the Texas Film Commission. He was born in Ireland and lived Boston and Milwaukee before moving to Austin a decade ago. Brian received a BA in Film Production and English BA from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Austin Film Commission works to bring film, television and commercial production to Austin as well as advocating and assisting with production locally.
Maverick Moore – writer/director (shorts)
Maverick Moore is an award-winning filmmaker from Texas. Beginning as a skateboarding videographer, Maverick is now a writer, director, and editor. His previous film, Shotgun, has won 18 awards (including several jury and audience awards for Best Picture), and has screened at over 60 film festivals worldwide (five of which were Oscar-qualifying competitions), including the Palm Springs International ShortFest and the Nashville Film Festival, where Shotgun screened together with master filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard’s recent film, Goodbye to Language. His most recent film, My Dinner with Werner, is currently on the film festival circuit and has screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals such as HollyShorts Film Festival and the Austin Film Festival and won the award for Best Comedy Short at FilmQuest Film Festival. Maverick is currently based in Waco, Texas, where he serves as a lecturer for the Department of Film & Digital Media at Baylor University and as the short film programmer for Deep in the Heart Film Festival.
Susan O’Connor – writer (video games)
Susan O’Connor tells stories for a living. Award-winning titles in her portfolio (including BioShock, Far Cry 2, and Tomb Raider) have sold over 30 million copies and generated over half a billion dollars in sales. She also teaches a course in interactive storytelling at UT Austin, where she is helping the next generation of writers learn how to tell stories in the digital age. She is repped by United Talent Agency. You can find her online at susanoconnorwriter.com
Credit Line: Story Consultant, Netflix; Lead Writer, Torn (PlayStation VR); Story Consultant, Batman (Telltale); Lead Writer, Star Wars 1313 (LucasArts); Story Consultant, Dishonored 2 (Bethesda); Writer, Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics); Lead Writer, Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft); Writer, BioShock (2K)
Shelby Hadden - Documentary Filmmaker
Shelby Hadden is a writer, producer, and documentary filmmaker. Her films have screened at festivals around the world, including Annecy International Animated Film Festival, DOC NYC, and New Orleans Film Festival. Her latest work has focused on raising awareness of pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain — from publishing essays in BUST Magazine and Refinery29 to producing her award-winning short animated film, Tightly Wound, which was acquired by Condé Nast.
Shelby is currently a lecturer at Texas State University as well as a producer at Blue Suitcase Productions. Most recently, her short film Her & Me was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick, she was an associate producer on 2019 Sundance feature SISTER AIMEE, and a co-producer on the New York Times Op Doc, To Be Queen. She is slated to give a Tedx Talk in 2020.
Jennifer Hutchins - Producer
JENNIFER HUTCHINS has produced over 200 episodes of television and film for CBS, CNN, A&E, Paramount Network, TLC, SYFY, Discovery, Fox Sports, NatGeo, YouTube Originals, Amazon, Hulu, Mar Vista and much much more.
Some of her highlights are having produced two separate series with magician Criss Angel – 100 episodes of “Criss Angel Mindfreak,” and “Criss Angel BeLIEve”; and producing two separate car-themed shows with Adam Carolla – “The Car Show” and “To Catch A Car Guy.” She has produced several TV shows in the paranormal space – Syfy’s “Haunted Collector,” and “Ghost Hunters International.” Jennifer has also produced and directed for “Dr. Phil.”
She additionally has produced 3 independent features films.
Most recently Jennifer produced a series called “Trending Fear” which just premiered 6 one-hour episodes on the Travel Channel and is in production on 10 half hour cinema verite episodes of a show about animal rescue in central Texas with directors Richard Linklater and Bill Guttentag. The series will premiere in CBS All Access.
Jennifer specializes in branding, networking, fundraising, logistics and consulting.
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
