Writer, director, and cinematographer
Charlie Barker Theobald is a writer, director, and cinematographer from Fort Collins, CO. He holds a BA from Colorado College (2017) where he graduated with a distinction in Film and Media Studies and later completed his MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film program (2024).
His graduate thesis, Heirs (2025), was the recipient of a Reise Production Grant and won top prize at New York University’s King Awards. It was also recognized at NYU’s First Run Festival for producing, production design, and ensemble cast. It held its world premiere at the Festival of Future Storytellers in Munich.
While based in Brooklyn, NY, Charlie continues to write about the American west with a focus on queer histories and the climate crisis. He is currently developing a feature script, Some Kind Land, based on his grandmother’s stories of motherhood and murder in 1971 Cripple Creek, CO.
Charlie has additionally served as director of photography on numerous short films and works as an assistant camera and film loader on long and short form narrative projects and commercials. Prior to graduate school, he was an Associate Producer for shows on A+E and Nat Geo WILD.
Cultural strategist, impact producer, and community organizer
Founder, Arts Equity Group (AEG)
Danielle Amodeo (she/hers) is a cultural strategist, impact producer, and community organizer working at the intersection of arts, civic life, and social change. She is the founder of Arts Equity Group (AEG), a consulting practice that helps nonprofits, foundations, and municipalities harness the power of arts and culture to advance equity, deepen community participation, and communicate the broader impact of their work.
At AEG, Danielle leads projects ranging from public art impact assessments and cultural planning processes to film impact campaigns and coalition-building initiatives that position artists as essential contributors to civic life. She has collaborated with institutions including the New England Foundation for the Arts, MassDevelopment Creative Cities Program, Preserve Rhode Island, TRANSFER Gallery, and more.
Danielle organizes around housing, healthcare, first amendment rights, pro-democracy efforts, and survivor's rights within the arts and culture community and beyond. She is also an impact producer for films that help us imagine a better world. Danielle has been recognized locally and nationally for her contributions to arts and culture with Art Table’s New Leadership Award, two Stevie Awards, a citation from Governor Maura Healey, and more.
She holds a BA from Amherst College and an MA in Art History from Williams College, and splits her time between Brooklyn, NY and Western Massachusetts with her French bulldog, Poulet.
Filmmaker, writer and director
"Liz Rao is a Gotham-award nominated feature filmmaker, recently named Vimeo Breakout Creator of the Year 2025 as Writer and Director of Oscar-longlisted Live Action Short Film, THE TRUCK. Rao is based in Brooklyn, with roots in Missouri, Tennessee, and Illinois, and is a Hear Us Grantee, and a 2026 Ouray Film Sabbatical Fellow for her debut feature screenplay. Rao is currently at NYU Grad Film for her MFA in Screenwriting and Directing.
THE TRUCK, has screened at over 50 Festivals and won 20 Awards, Worldwide. The Truck World Premiered at Telluride Film Festival, screening at The Museum of Modern Art, winning Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short at Oscar-qualifying Florida Film Festival, Best Screenplay at Rhode Island International Film Festival, the University Film Award at Hamptons International Film Festival, winning double awards at Bend Film Festival, winning double awards at São Paulo Film Festival, with additional screenings at Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Chicago Critics Film Festival, Salute Your Shorts, Sun Valley Film Festival, theatrically screening for over two weeks at IFC Center, New York City, and more. The Truck is supported by top awards from The Future of Film is Female, Fusion Film award, NYU Kings Award, Clive Davis award. More here.
Rao comes from a background in direct cinema mentored by Albert Maysles. Rao’s acclaimed feature filmography as producer and editor includes Producing and Co-Editing MADELINE’S MADELINE, editing MAINELAND, editing MATERNA, editing BEEN HERE STAY HERE, and more. Rao has given Artist talks at IFP Narrative Lab, The Edit Center, UnionDocs, and Yale University and has taught workshops at True/False Film Festival. Rao is a proud member of the Brown Girls Doc Mafia." - from elizabethrao.com
Writer, director and National Geographic Explorer
Noam Argov is a Writer/Director and National Geographic Explorer. Her work often explores identity crises and the spaces between worlds. Noam's 2023 award-winning short “SULAM (Ladder)” premiered in competition at Aspen Shortsfest and won the Best US Student Film at Palm Springs ShortFest. Her feature screenplay “PRINCESS” won NYU Tisch's Graduate Table-Read Initiative, where it was read in its entirety for producers and executives. And most recently, her short film “VERSE” received the Sloan Production Grant for its exploration of VR and neuroscience. The film will have its official world premiere in summer 2026. Outside of writing and directing, Noam is a producer on “FORBIDDEN FRUITS” (SXSW 2026), which stars Lili Reinhart and Lola Tung and was released theatrically by IFC. She also produced “PUNTER,” a proof of concept film Executive Produced by Spike Lee and a finalist for the Student BAFTA. In a previous life, Noam got her start by hanging off rock faces and making documentaries all over the world with brands like The North Face, Merrell, Yeti and Nat Geo. Her films were distributed by outlets from RedBullTV to the United Nations. Noam is currently represented by CAA & 3 Arts Entertainment and holds an MFA from NYU's Graduate Film Program (Film Futures Scholar).
