The first BSFF panel discussion featured a robust debate on the merits on being creative in an international marketplace.  Very informative and very entertaining.  And, our morning panels always free!  Check it out.

PANEL DISCUSSION #1, FEATURING:

Rebecca Romani:  Holds an M.A. in Television, Film and New Media from San Diego State University. She writes for various publications such as KPBS.com, IPS.org and Al Jadid and has recently started producing stories for NPR. Ms Romani is also a documentary maker and independent curator. Her documentaries have screened at festivals on three continents.  Ms Romani has lived in Belgium, England, France and Morocco. 

Lane Nishikawa:  Is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is widely known for a series of one-man shows, including Life in the Fast Lane, I'm on a Mission From Buddha, Mifune and Me and others. He directed the independent feature film, Only the Brave, a fictional account of the rescue of the “Lost Battalion” by a Japanese American fighting unit during World War II. He has written and directed two short films about World War II veterans, Forgotten Valor and When We Were Warriors.

Nishikawa served as artistic director for the Asian American Theater Company, in San Francisco. He was co-artistic director of the Eureka Theatre and resident director at the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. His current work in production is the documentary “Never Forget”

Anatoliy Kim:  Is an young award-winning filmmaker, originally from Karaganda, Kazakhstan. 

He applied to The New York Film Academy and came to the U.S. to study filmmaking in an MFA program. He started his film education in New York City, where he wrote, directed, produced and edited four short films and collaborated on more than 20 projects. 

His films “Siblings” and “Grandpa Arnold” have been selected by numerous film festivals, including Borrego Springs Film Festival, Irvine Film Festival, Middlecoast Film Festival, Cinevana Austin Festival, Las Vegas Galaxy Film Awards, Roma Cinema DOC, Short Up Film Fest and Move Me Productions Belgium Festival. Grandpa Arnold won the Award of Merit at Best Short Competition Film Festival. 

After Anatoliy’s first year in film school in New York, he transferred to NYFA’s Los Angeles campus in order to get experience in Hollywood. He is currently in pre-production on a crime drama, and is developing his first feature script. 

He can hip-hop dance.