Maximizing the Parity Pipeline

A recent graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Berenice Molina is an active advocate for authentic representation of POC stories within the film industry. Today, she spends the majority of her time volunteering in film festivals, artistic non-profits, attending industry panels, writing, and looking after her cat: Peter Parker.

Daiane Quicine is a Brazilian filmmaker, video editor, and Film & Media Studies student at Columbia University. With experience in documentary storytelling and film festival engagement, she is passionate about film distribution, programming, and creating pathways for underrepresented voices in cinema.

Kaci Walfall is an actress, director, and writer from Brooklyn, New York. She began her career at a young age, joining the cast of The Lion King on Broadway as Young Nala, and soon after appeared in Matilda the Musical. Walfall is best known for her starring role in the DC Comics television show NAOMI, created by Ava Duvernay. She has appeared in series such as Dope Thief, Modern Love, The Equalizer, Brilliant Minds, and Power. Walfall is a rising senior at Columbia University, where she studies Film and Media. Her production company “No Small Feat” recently completed her first short film “Pressed” starring Oona Laurence & Jordan Tyson.

Laurie Weltz is an award winning feature director and screenwriter, whose debut film Wrestling with Alligators was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker Magazine wrote, “The lovely debut boasts excellent performances and a strong story…Weltz’s background in various aspects of film production shows in the film’s sense of grace, control and confidence…it deserves an audience beyond the festival circuit.” Laurie’s second feature film About Scout, based on her award winning script (PAGE and Champion Screenwritings Award), had its international premiere at The Rome Film Festival and was released theatrically as well as on VOD. She is currently in development on her third feature The Night Swimmer with Evenfield Entertainment as well as a TV series entitled The Narrative. Laurie has a masters from NYU Film School, and her award winning thesis film At Five and Twenty-Five, was picked up by USA television. She was chosen as one of “25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2022” by the International Screenwriters Association. Laurie has worked as a freelance director and editor for television, music video, and branded content. Her work has twice been nominated for ACE awards, for HBO’s Shock Video and A&E’s Heroes.

Loni Rodgers is a NYC born producer focused on amplifying stories with commercial appeal and cultural impact. She began her career at Nickelodeon before joining Scott Rudin Productions, contributing to acclaimed films including A24’s Uncut Gems, Causeway, Past Lives, and The Tragedy of Macbeth. Rodgers later joined Amazon Studios during its Canadian expansion, helping shape an international slate with projects such as The Lake, Kids in the Hall reboot, and Three Pines, while also collaborating with local talent across Asia, South America, and Europe. She then served as DoD at Bassett Vance Productions, where her work helped secure the company’s first-look deal with 20th TV. She is now dedicated to producing evergreen stories and has been featured as a panelist at Sundance and AFM.

Lorena Villanueva is a Colombian director and producer based in Los Angeles with over a decade of experience in the film and tv industry. She completed her Master’s in Film Direction at Bande à Part Film School in Spain and she directed her first short, FUOCO FATUO in Italy. Back in Colombia she directed two more short films INÉS (ColFilmNY ‘21) and BED SMASH (Festival SantaFe de Antioquia Best Short Film ‘24, FICNOR ‘24). Lorena produced the feature film COROZO, which premiered at the ChiLatino Film Festival ´24 and won the Audience Award at the ColFilmNY Festival ‘24. Currently, she is starting the festival circuit of THE TIDE INSIDE, short film exploring the psychological weight of deportations in Los Angeles, and developing her feature debut GAIRA, a love story about searching for forgiveness in the aftermath of Colombia’s internal conflict. She is the producer of the feature film TEOREMA, selected for the NALIP Accelerator ‘25, and is a member of the Colombian Academy of Motion Pictures.

As the child of Kenyan immigrants born in Texas and raised in Maryland, Melanie Ojwang was doomed to struggle with two things: enunciating and confidently answering “where are you from?” Searching for balance among competing cultural expectations, she, and her lopsided identity, found relief in stories. Eventually, creating her own tales became the key to making sense of the world. Melanie’s writing aims to make audiences feel compelled but a little uneasy, like being in a Walmart at 2am or hearing her pronounce “oil.” Utilizing a dark comedic tone, her character-driven stories focus on outcasts, black sheep and those who are the middle child at heart.

Ola Mania is a NYC-based creative producer and recent Columbia MFA graduate from Poland. She has produced multiple short films and co-produced two feature films, working across US–European projects focused on women, identity, and social issues, with experience in development, festivals, and international co-production.