Join us exclusively on Facebook Live on February 9th from 6 - 7 pm CST to learn from fellow filmmakers during a panel conversation. Topics covered include:

• The dos and don'ts of getting into a film festival, social media marketing, and representing yourself at the screening
• How to get the most out of the festival experience with virtual screenings and online events
• How to successfully build an engaging and enticing Film Freeway profile

All event attendees who register via Eventbrite will automatically be entered to win a Two-Year Shared Workspace at Independent Film Alliance Chicago. The winner will be drawn at random at the end of the event and announced live!

IFA Chicago provides the community and resources needed to build a diverse and sustainable industry of independent content creators. Located at Cinespace Film Studios they offer everything from workspace & a stage to movies clubs, classes, and more!

Panelist includes:

Layne Marie Williams:

After arriving in Hollywood, it took filmmaker Layne Marie Williams not even two weeks to land her first LA directing gigs. Not surprising, given the talents of this acclaimed Chicago filmmaker. Prior to arriving in LA, Layne Marie has logged over a dozen credits, everything from writing and directing award-winning shorts to developing web series to producing internationally acclaimed features. All that, and yet this young auteur is just getting started.

​Barely 30, Layne Marie Williams has already founded the non-profit film organization Women of The Now and cofounding of The Women's Film Festival. She recently started her own production company as well, entitled Legacy Marie Pictures. No matter what her endeavor, whether it’s making films on her own, or supporting other filmmakers, Layne Marie cultivates the world of film with brave storytelling choices and enthralling characters and images you’ll never forget.

Zanah Thirus:

Named one of Diversity in Cannes' Top 10 Filmmakers of the Decade, Zanah is an actress, producer, writer, and director from Chicago, IL. After being homeschooled until she was 14 years old, she began her college career. Her love for filmmaking sparked after years of acting in her church's drama team and various independent films. She earned her master’s degree in cinema production from DePaul University at the age of 22, and began her career in independent filmmaking and content production in 2015. In 2016, she directed her first film, Hourglass, which landed her Best Female Director at the Cineplay Film Awards.

Since launching her brand, Zanah Thirus Productions, Zanah has shifted her focus to merging arts and activism through documentary and narrative storytelling. Her films surround subjects such as gender, race, politics, and mental health. In 2019, her documentary, Black Feminist, was an official selection at the Bronze Lens Festival of Atlanta. That same year her short film, Demons, was nominated for Best Short Film at the Content Creators of Atlanta Awards, and her short film, MeMaw, landed her a Best Director nomination at the Georgia Shorts Film Festival.

In 2020, her documentary, Unlearning Sex, won Best Human Rights Film at the Toronto International Women's Film Festival and The Silver Award at the Spotlight Documentary Film Awards. The documentary was also an official selection at ten festivals including Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, and the inaugural Social Justice Now Film Festival.

Zanah continues to write, produce, and direct projects that align with her overall mission of using film as a medium to drive social change.

Charles Andrew Gardner:

Born and raised on Chicago's south side, SAG-AFTRA Chicago local president Charles Andrew Gardner is an actor, producer, and arts educator with a passion for illuminating the stories of the underrepresented. On-camera credits include television shows The Chi, Chicago PD; feature films Olympia, Noise and Color, Every 21 Seconds, and Holding On; as well as multiple national commercials for brands including Hyundai, Liberty Mutual, Ford, and AT&T. Voice-over credits include Pepsi Co. McDonald’s, Comcast, Walmart, and Dunkin' Donuts.

Charles is a company member with TimeLine Theatre Company where he appeared in Paradise Blue (BTAA nomination for Best Featured Actor) and My Kind of Town (BTAA nomination for Best Actor) for which Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune named him one of 2012s “Hot New Faces to Watch”. Other Chicago theatre credits include Objects in the Mirror, Stop.Reset.(us), and Buzzer(us) at Goodman Theatre; How Long Will I Cry at Steppenwolf Theatre; Macbeth and Othello at The Suitcase Shakespeare Company; The Great Fire(us) at Lookingglass Theatre Company and Spectacle Lunatique at Redmoon Theater.

He received his BFA in Acting from Northern Illinois University, and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity Association.

In addition to his work on stage and in front of the camera, Charles is a faculty member at The Acting Studio Chicago as well as a teaching artist with TimeLine Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre and Goodman Theatre. Charles sits on the Associate Producer board at Gene Siskel Theatre and is Vice President of Creative Cypher.