John Bryant, C0-Writer/Director/Producer (Overbrook Brothers)
John Bryant was born and raised in Austin, TX.  He started “making movies” in Junior High -- recruiting his friends to star in his “films” and using borrowed school equipment to shoot and edit his projects.  After premiering his first short film, “Alien Space Monkeys Invade Earth” to a group of 8th Grade students, he knew making movies was what he wanted to do when he “grew up.” 

John graduated in December 1997 from the University of Texas at Austin with a Radio-Television-Film degree. After a brief stint in Los Angeles, where he pursued a screenwriting career, he returned to his hometown - Austin and began to produce small films for his friends and himself. 

Two of his most recent works, the short films “Oh My God” and “Momma’s Boy,” both premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (Oh My God, 2005, Momma’s Boy 2006).   “Oh My God” went on to win the Prix de Canal+ Award at Europe’s largest short film festival (The Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival), and Film Threat named it the best short film of 2005.

After his success in the short-film world, John moved into making features.  In 2007 he produced the acclaimed feature “Baghead”, written and directed by his longtime colleagues Jay & Mark Duplass.  The film world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008 and was acquired by Sony Picture Classics, who released the film in the summer of 2008.  Later, that same year, John had the opportunity to direct his first feature -- a comedy called, “The Overbrook Brothers” -- which was one of eight films selected for the narrative competition in SXSW 2009.

Jason Foxworth, Co-Writer (Overbrook Brothers)
Jason Foxworth starred in the multi-award-winning short film "Oh My  God" - and soon after quickly went to work on his second project with  John Bryant, "Momma's Boy".  Both films world premiered at The Sundance Film Festival (2005 and 2006 respectively).  The success of  "Momma's Boy" led Jason and John to pen a feature screenplay together  - The Overbrook Brothers.

Kurt Kolaja (Band Together)
Kurt Kolaja has over thirty years experience in film and television.  While on assignment he has been tear gassed in Washington, DC, pelted with fried chicken at a NASCAR race, and attacked by hookers in Paris. He was ringside for a Lenox Lewis knockout, assured Dan Quayle that he looked perfectly fine standing in the pouring rain, and trembled while pinning a microphone on Sophia Loren's chest. Kurt's film Charlie Obert's Barn screened at the Chesapeake Film Festival last year.  He hopes to return with Band Together next season, if they will have him.

Matt Porterfield (Putty Hill)
Matt Porterfield was born in northeast Baltimore. He teaches screenwriting and production in the Film & Media Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University. His first feature film, Hamilton, was released in 2006. Called a "minor miracle" by the New Yorker, it continues to tour festivals, museums, and art house theatres around the world (the Viennale, Centre Pompidou, Anthology Film Archives) and appeared on many year-end best lists at the time of its release, including John Water's 2006 Top Ten in Artforum International. A recipient of a media grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, Matt is in development on his second feature, Metal Gods. Selected for participation in IFP's Emerging Narrative Program, the screenplay won the Panasonic Digital Filmmaking Grant Grand Prize during the 30th Annual Independent Film Week. Locally, Matt's photography has appeared at the Current Gallery, Gallery 229, and in the Fall 2008 issue of Locus Magazine. Putty Hill, scheduled for release in 2010, is an intimate look at a family in the days following the death of their eldest son.

Laura Smith (That Evening Sun)
Laura Smith began her film career working under Academy Award-nominated writer-director Andrew Niccol (Lord of War, The Truman Show, Gattaca), assisting with the production of S1m0ne and helping to research and develop a number of other projects. She next went on to work for Academy Award-nominated writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Boogie Nights) and his producing partner, JoAnne Sellar, at Anderson’s Ghoulardi Film Company. While at Ghoulardi, Laura helped see Punch-Drunk Love from pre-production through to release and co-produced Blossoms and Blood, a DVD compilation of supplemental materials to the film. 

Laura’s interest in the independent film world next led her to independent producer Holly Wiersma, with whom she collaborated for four years. During this time, Laura was an Associate Producer on numerous independent films, including Happy Endings, which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, written/directed by Don Roos and starring Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan, and Maggie Gyllenhaal; Come Early Morning, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, written/directed by Joey Lauren Adams and starring Ashley Judd; Lonely Hearts, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, starring John Travolta, Salma Hayek, James Gandolfini, Jared Leto, and Laura Dern; The Tenants, based on the Bernard Malamud novel of the same name, starring Dylan McDermott and Snoop Dogg; and the controversial Factory Girl, opening film of the 2007 Santa Barbara Film Festival, directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, and Hayden Christensen.

In 2007, Laura co-produced two films: The Year of Getting to Know Us, based on the Ethan Canin short story of the same name, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and stars Jimmy Fallon, Sharon Stone, and Lucy Liu; and The Six Wives of Henry Lefay, starring Tim Allen, Andie MacDowell, and Elisha Cuthbert, to be released in early 2010. She also produced the short film Magnus, Inc., which has screened at film festivals nationwide.

Patrick Gorman - Entertainment Attorney
Patrick Gorman is an entertainment attorney based in Beverly Hills, California.  A Baltimore native, Patrick earned his law degree from the University of Baltimore, is an alumnus of Gilman School, and is licensed to practice law in Maryland.  For ten years prior to opening his law practice in California, Patrick plied the waters of the Patapsco River and Baltimore Harbor as a USCG licensed Merchant Marine captain of passenger ferries on Ed Kane’s famous Water Taxis.  His multi-faceted experience offers a unique perspective to round out the panel of professionals contributing to the Chesapeake Film Festival.

Patrick’s current law practice involves counseling clients in all aspects of the motion picture industry, including motion picture finance, production, and distribution.  This practice encompasses advising his producer clients on, drafting, and negotiating all manner of entertainment contracts; liaising with all of the Hollywood guilds, such as the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild, and the Directors Guild; navigating the complex federal and state labor and employment laws that govern film productions; handling rights transactions, such as those for life rights, books, and screenplays; obtaining financing and distribution for motion pictures; and putting together international motion picture co-productions. 

Clients include substantial domestic and international entertainment companies, film financiers, film producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, entertainment entrepreneurs, and other creative artists.  Having been in Hollywood for 15 years, Mr. Gorman has been involved in possibly hundreds of motion pictures.

An instructor in the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension program, Patrick has for the past ten years annually taught a course entitled “Organizing, Financing & Operating An Entertainment Production Company” that covers entertainment law and the legal aspects of the film and television production.  He is a regular guest lecturer at Loyola Law School on the topic of Entertainment Law.  He has spoken extensively at numerous film-related events and symposia throughout the world.  In addition to lecturing, Patrick has been invited to author numerous articles on legal subjects and the film industry.

Admitted to practice law in both Maryland and California, Patrick received his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore and a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University of Louisiana.

David Garrett  
David’s first film was an adaptation of his play Your Children: the Testimony of Charles Manson. His next short, Clown Car, won several festival awards, and found distribution through Warner Brothers’ DVD “Short” collection. He’s been a semi-finalist in the Nicholl Fellowship competition, and won the Litwak Award for Distinction in Screenwriting from Columbia University, where he received an MFA in film in 2008. His short film Warlord – shot entirely in Easton – debuted at the Rotterdam Film Festival and won best short at the South by Southwest festival in 2008.

Liza Moore
As a former Story Executive for Steven Spielberg, Liza knows how to recognize
and nurture new talent; review and analyze stories and guide re-writes.

Liza finely honed her consulting skills by making strong contributions to projects
including “Good Will Hunting”, “The Bridges of Madison County”, “Schindler’s List” and “Jurassic Park”. She was the Development Executive for Universal’s “How to Make an American Quilt” and “Twister” and Associate Producer for “Kissing a Fool”.

She’s worked closely with many celebrities including Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, David Schwimmer, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

In 1996 Liza’s career skyrocketed when she joined Sony Studios to run film director PJ Hogan’s company. As Senior Vice President, she managed the development and productions of all of their projects, including “My Best Friend’s Wedding”.

In 2001, Liza moved east and started her independent story consultant business. She provided screenplay review and analysis for Steven Spielberg/Jeffrey Katzenberg, Betty Thomas, Michael Ovitz, Roland Emmerick, Jon Klane, Walter Parkes/Laurie MacDonald as well as Chris Moore, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Today, as a story consultant, writer, manager and producer, Liza continues to work with her Hollywood contacts as well as develop new voices.