Olivia Newman is a writer/director currently pursuing her MFA at Columbia University. She has written, directed and produced several short films, and currently has two feature films in development. Olivia's first short, Blue-Eyed Mary, was awarded Best in Show by the Accolade Competition and has screened in film festivals internationally including the Palm Springs International Shortsfest. Olivia is the recipient of a Caucus Foundation Grant for First Match, and was recently selected to participate in a directing workshop at la FEMIS, the French National Film School. Prior to graduate school, Olivia spent a year in Paris doing funded research on contemporary French women filmmakers. Upon her return to NY, she spent four years working for Women Make Movies (WMM), the world's largest distributor of films made by and about women. Olivia is dedicated to making films that portray the lives of women and encourage social change.

Currently pursuing an MFA in Film at Columbia University, Ken Murphy combines extensive experience as a senior executive in corporate America with a growing creative resume that encompasses screenwriting, directing and producing. A published author of business fiction and non-fiction, Ken successfully integrated the use of the arts--theater, film, and fiction--into corporate leadership and organization development initiatives. At Columbia, Ken has written, directed and produced short films (December Thaw, Intermezzo, Disincanto, Zero Tolerance),and is currently writing a feature film, Fire on the Beach. Ken has a BS degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, and is the 2010 recipient of the HBO Films Young Producer's Development Award for First Match.