Join us at Vesper Austin this Wednesday, July 28, at 7 PM CDT, for a casual and informative roundtable workshop with BIPOC artists and creatives!

Like AFF’s popular Roundtable sessions during our annual Conference, this event will offer registrants exclusive access to local BIPOC industry leaders with the goal of fostering diverse and inclusive opportunities within creative spaces for new storytellers. Take this chance to engage with storytellers across many mediums including film, gaming, theater and more for a discussion on the art of breaking in, finding the best platform for your story, and highlighting your voice. Additionally, we hope this event will allow you to explore the similarities and differences of each of our panelists’ respective mediums and inspire you to branch out of your creative comfort zone. Because of our limited number of registrants per table and rotating panelists, you will have the opportunity to chat with multiple guests in an intimate setting.

Attendees are encouraged to come prepared with specific questions for our panelists about their experiences as creatives and how they broke in and continued to stay in the industry.

We also request that all those attending please wear a face mask during this event to ensure the safety of both our panelists and fellow attendees.

ANDRES ORTIZ SUAREZ

Hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, Andrés has been pursuing his lifelong passion for interactive storytelling for as long as he can remember. He obtained a game design degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2009, and has since worked on games such as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Darksiders Genesis. He’s currently a lead programmer at Airship Syndicate in Austin, Texas, where he seeks to push the envelope of stories told through the medium of video games.

MONIQUE WALTON

Monique Walton is an independent producer of fiction features and documentaries.  She produced Bull, directed by Annie Silverstein, which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival – Un Certain Regard, and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. Bull is currently being released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. She has produced numerous short films, including Silverstein’s Skunk, which won the jury award at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival – Cinéfondation.  Walton is currently producing Kira Akerman’s feature documentary Hollow Tree, which has been supported by The Harnisch Foundation and the Sundance Documentary Film Program.  Walton’s films have been supported by Cinereach, The Sundance Institute, San Francisco Film Society, Austin Film Society, and Film Independent.  She was a 2016 Sundance Creative Producing Fellow/Mark Silverman Honoree, a 2020 Rotterdam Producing Fellow, and attended the 2021 The Gotham-Cannes Producers Network Fellowship.

WINSTON G. WILLIAMS

Winston G. Williams is an entrepreneur. In 1997, he founded PS Focus, LLC, a management and consulting company, dedicated to providing Proactive Solutions which allow entrepreneurs to Focus on their core services. In 2005, he founded Silver Box Publishing (SBP), a publishing company dedicated to assisting individuals tell their stories.  SBP’s first project was Mr. Williams’ own memoir, Would You? In 2013, he founded the Capital City Black Film Festival (CCBFF) dedicated to providing emerging and established independent filmmakers from around the world an opportunity to showcase their work in Austin, Texas.  In 2020, along with two business partners, Mr. Williams founded CWP Entertainment Management, LLC (CWP) dedicated to assisting filmmakers advance their careers.  Within six months of forming CWP, the team has signed worldwide distribution deals for feature films.  With all four of his companies, Mr. Williams is well positioned to impact the lives of individuals in their artistic endeavors and the audience they serve.

TONIA RANSOM

Tonia Ransom is the creator and executive producer of Nightlight, a horror podcast featuring creepy tales written by Black writers. Tonia has been scaring people since the second grade, when she wrote her first story based on Michael Myers. She’s pretty sure her teacher was concerned, but she thinks she turned out fine(ish). Tonia tells horror stories regularly on Twitter @missdefying, and her debut novella Risen was released early December 2020. She lives in Austin, Texas, and is currently working on her second audio drama.