2024 Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference

Producer/executive/writer Paul Alvarado-Dykstra co-created Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the US, and is a former assistant to Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, with whom he worked in creative development on several projects, including Hellboy. Currently... Read More →

Emily Mollenkopf is Head of Creative Development at Pixar Animation Studios where she has helped guide films through the development process for over a decade. Emily works closely with Pixar's directors from concept through final draft. She helps them articulate their vision, prepares... Read More →

Alvaro Rodriguez has been writing since childhood and, in fact, did his best work when he was 11. Still holding out for improvement, he is a writer for film and television (and animation!) based in Los Angeles. During the pandemic, he contributed a monologue from an imaginary Chet... Read More →

JAMES FINO is a founding partner of Starburns Industries, Inc. He served as executive producer on the Emmy award-winning stop-motion special, ABED’S UNCONTROLLABLE CHRISTMAS, for NBC’s comedy COMMUNITY as well as Adult Swim’s stop-motion series, MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENHOLE... Read More →

Steph Swope boasts a remarkable 25-year career in the independent film industry, earning recognition as an award-winning producer of animated series and feature films. Steph’s no-bullshit authenticity and a supernatural analytical ability has laid the foundation for Minnow Mountain’s... Read More →