2024 Dream Commissions

Roberto is a Meztize Chicana filmmaker and storyteller. They come from Rarámuri, Genízaro, and Spanish ancestry. Their Queer, gender fluid, Mestize/Mixed identity informs the sci-fi, films they make. Their work centers on humans who sit at the intersections of time, space and culture. From this unique vantage point, these characters can bridge divides, see all sides, find new paths forward and recall multiple histories long forgotten. The mixed people of Fatal’s stories can connect us deeply to an undercurrent of humanity that we often overlook in a world that is increasingly divided. Survival, intersectional identity, perseverance, love, empathy, community, connection and creation are at the heart of their characters and films. Fatal is a Sundance Film Institute Native Film Lab Fellow Alum and an Imagine Native Director’s Lab feature film fellow alum. Their debut feature script, ELECTRIC HOMIES, was selected by GLAAD x The Black List as one of the best unproduced screenplays of 2022. Their latest short sci-fi drama, Do Digital Curanderas Use Eggs In Their Limpias, made it’s world premiere at the British Film Institute’s Flare festival in 2023. Learn more about them here.

Born and raised in New Jersey, River is a filmmaker, actor, writer and intersex activist. River holds a BFA in Acting from NYU and an MFA in Film & TV Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Their short film PONYBOI was executive produced by Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. A feature-length adaptation of PONYBOI is currently in post-production, adn set to premiere in 2024. River wrote the screenplay and stars in the film alongside Dylan O’Brien, Murray Bartlett, Indya Moore, and Victoria Pedretti. They were also the subject of the critically-acclaimed feature documentary EVERY BODY directed by Academy-award nominated director Julie Cohen. Prior to their feature debut, River starred in multiple short films, a stage production of KING LEAR at the Annenberg Theater in Los Angeles, as well as an episode of the Hulu series LOVE, VICTOR. In the commercial space, River directed advertising spots for Facebook, and starred in a national ad campaign for Indeed. For their work in the arts and on social justice issues, River won a GLAAD Rising Star Media Award, was named one of the 10 LGBTQIA+ Film and TV Creators on the Rise in 2023 by Indiewire, and made Out Magazine’s 2023 Out100 list. Learn more about them here.

Nour moved from Northern California to New York City to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. They studied at Playwrights Horizons Theater School and the Experimental Theater Wing, earning a BFA in Drama with a minor in Cinema Studies. Nour has also studied improv and sketch writing at UCB, The PIT, and the Groundlings. They operate under the belief that all communication is a work of art, that art’s purpose is to bring us closer together by any medium necessary. Nour seeks to create diverse work with diverse voices. Learn more about them here.

Sepand (Sepi) Mashiahof is a second-generation Iranian-American and trans-femme filmmaker, screenwriter, and musician. Based in Oakland, her work is situated within the queer underground music community, supported by relationships she cultivated through her prior work as Executive Director at BAGRC, host of the cult Scream Queens Radio program, and member of industrial no wave band SBSM. In 2021, she made her film debut with her psychological horror short “Love You Forever,” and most recently she created a trilogy of music videos for the iconic doom metal band Divide and Dissolve. Her sophomore horror short “SMOOTH” is currently in festivals. Learn more about her here.

NYALA MOON is a graduate of City College with her MFA in film production. Nyala was also a 2020-2021 QueerArt Film fellow, a TV writing fellow for Hillman Grad, and a Film Fatales director fellow. Nyala’s latest film, “How Not To Date While Trans,” has won audience and best short awards at Inside Out Toronto’s LBGT Film Festival, Wicked Queer Boston’s LGBT Film Festival, Translation Seattle’s 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, and NewFest 22. Nyala is a 2022 Film Fatale trans directing fellow. In June 2022, Nyala was selected as a 2022 NewFest/Netflix New Voices Filmmaker Grant winner. Her film, “How Not To Date While Trans,” was selected for distribution through Frameline’s New Voices program. Her latest short film, Dilating For Maximum Results, won the Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding US short.,Filmmaker Magazine named Nyala one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film 2023. Learn more about her here.