After last year’s great success, we are fired up to announce that we will be hosting the 2nd annual Visionary Panel! Made up of seven industry professionals, the panel serves as an opportunity to answer questions about being a young filmmaker in the real world. Visions will open the floor for discussion on topics including: directing your own independent films, visual effects, location scouting, producing, set etiquette, teaching, graduate school and much more.
Alongside our Keynote Speaker, Felix Thompson, this year’s Visionary panel will feature Jessica Ledoux, Gabby Follett, Hillary Pierce, Andy Myers, Anna Roberts, & Nathalie Fortunel.
Visions 7 Keynote Speaker
Felix Thompson
Winner of the 2016 Kiehl’s “Someone To Watch” Spirit Award, Felix Thompson is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. His previous short films have been in competition at festivals such as SXSW, Tribeca and the BFI’s London Film Festival. His first feature film “King Jack” was released in 2016. It was selected for the Sundance Creative Producing Labs and won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2015. Felix received his MA in Screenwriting from the Royal Holloway University of London and currently lives in Los Angeles.
V7 visionary panel
Jessica Ledoux: Freelance Video Editor
Jessica Ledoux is a freelance video editor based in New York City. After earning her BFA in Film Studies from UNC Wilmington in 2009, Ledoux worked as a staff editor at The Mill NY for five years, and later became staff at Imaginary Forces. She specializes in commercials (Coach, Nike, Cadillac, Adidas, etc.), music videos (the re-edit of David Bowie's Life on Mars), live shows and installations (David Bowie Creator's Project Installation with Vice, Blondie Tour Graphics), and main titles for television and film. Her favorite type of work is with main titles. Her title work includes the Emmy-nominated Vikings, Emmy-nominated HBO's Vinyl, 2016 SXSW Gaming Awards, and the film Book of Henry.
Gabby Follet: Affiliated Faculty & Videographer
Gabby Follett is a media artist invested in creating works that are deeply personal and identity-driven. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Arizona, Florida, and (mostly) North Carolina. She graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2011 with a B.A. in Film Studies and from Emerson College with an MFA in Media Art in 2016. She currently splits her time as a Videographer for Harvard University and as an Affiliated Faculty Member at Emerson College, where she teaches 16mm production and Media History.
Hillary Pierce: Documentary Filmmaker
Hillary Pierce is an Austin, Texas based storyteller, documentary producer, and consultant. She is one of the producers behind Keith Maitland’s dual 2016 feature documentaries TOWER and A SONG FOR YOU: THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS STORY. TOWER was released in theaters nationally in the fall of 2016 and aired on PBS’ Independent Lens this February and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. After getting her bachelor's degree at UNCW, Hillary earned an MFA in Documentary Film at Wake Forest University where she co-produced and co-directed THE ONE WHO BUILDS. The film won Best Short Documentary awards at both Kansas City Film Fest and Boston International Film Festival, is currently on a university screening tour.
Andy Myers: Non-profit Campaign Coordinator
Andy Myers is the Campaign Coordinator for Working Films, a national nonprofit that connects documentary film with activism. He holds a B.A in film studies and a B.A in environmental studies from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. A longtime proponent of linking films and activists, he has coordinated several state and national film campaigns, facilitated cross-organizational coalitions, and led multiple trainings for NGO’s and grassroots leaders aimed at using documentary film to advance their work.
Anna Roberts: Digital Media Sales Manager
Anna manages the Digital Media Sales department at Gravitas Ventures, an independent motion picture distributor based in Los Angeles. The company releases over 400 new films annually and is a strategic partner to new media outlets interested in licensing interesting content from the Gravitas wheelhouse. Anna, a North Carolina native, graduated from UNC and UNCW with degrees in Business Administration and Film Studies, respectively. She got her start in the entertainment industry through an internship with Vertigo Entertainment, continuing onto Deluxe On Demand, before joining the Gravitas family in 2015. Her current slate of films to pitch include, Berlinale’s American Anarchist; Crossfit’s Fittest on Earth: A Decade of Fitness; Tribeca Film Festival's Folk Hero & Funny Guy; and CNN’s Sundance premiere Legion of Brothers.
Nathalie Fortunel: VFX Coordinator
Nathalie Fortunel is a VFX Coordinator on Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time (April 2018) directed by Ava DuVernay. After graduating from UNCW in 2014 she moved to Los Angeles, a place she has called home for the past 3 years. Nathalie has worked in all facets of Visual Effects, from the start of production till the end of post. Prior to this project, she worked on: Fury (Sony Pictures), Alice Through the Looking Glass (Disney), Pete's Dragon (Disney), and Beauty & the Beast (Disney). When she’s not working she enjoys hiking, exploring the LA arts scene, and visiting the beaches when the weather's good, which is most of the time. She has wonderful memories of her time spent as the Awards Coordinator for UNCW's Visions4. She's thrilled to have been invited back to share her journey with fellow Film Studies students.
