Born in Florida but raised in the metropolis of what is affectionally referred to as the DMV area
(DC, MD, VA), Devan Renea is an alumnus of Morgan State, Howard, and Full Sail University.
Devan got her start in the industry through the prestigious Television Academy Emmy’s
Internship Program and eventually found a home at Warner Bros. early on in her career.
Her credits include OWN’s scripted series, ‘Queen Sugar’, ‘Freefrom’s, ‘Famous in Love’ CW’s
‘Stargirl’, and she was most recently a writer for OWN’s new legal drama series, ‘Delilah’.
In addition to her professional pursuits during her eight years with Warner Bros., Devan also
presided as the Board Co-Chair President of the Black Employees at WB (BE), which allowed
her to oversee employee engagement initiatives geared at strengthening diversity and inclusion
across all of Warner Media. She also devotes her time through mentorship with the WB Youth
Mentoring Program, HBCU in LA Internship Program, and a non-profit foster youth
initiative, Kids in the Spotlight, where she volunteers her skill sets as a screenwriting instructor.
Devan is also an Executive Producer who recently produced a forthcoming short independent
film entitled, ‘Unconquered’, slated to hit the film festival circuit this fall, and a television
creator who recently adapted B. Sharise Moore’s majestic young adult fantasy novel, Dr.
Marvellus Djinn’s Odd Scholars, which is currently in development for television!

​KRISTINA THOMAS

BORN IN EAST OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA…

STAFF WRITER on the upcoming Bad Robot/HBO Drama “DEMIMONDE”, Writer-Director Kristina Thomas first showed her potential in the documentary side of filmmaking by winning awards that led her to win $50,000 to direct a pilot TV show in New Orleans, Louisiana for MTV/Endemol. After paying her dues as script coordinator for such shows as Greenleaf, Lovecraft Country and The Haunting of Bly Manor (S2), her feature “WORTH IT” received some well-deserved recognition as a semi-finalist for the Women in Film/The Black list feature competition and BET’s Project Cre8 Feature competition. 

Also, winner of the Writers Assistant Network Pilot Workshop, Finalist for Hollyshorts Fest and former staff writer on the webseries The Rise of Theo and the Romeos for Issa Rae’s production company, Thomas’s comedy short film “HOUSE OF BALLS” based on her time playing women’s dodgeball is continuing to make its rounds in the festival circuit. Recently her actress Mariah Robinson won Best Actor at the AFF Alt Film Festival and the 1/2 pilot script for “House of Balls” was Semi-Finalist for the BET’s Project Cre8: TV and Hollyshorts Fest. Currently she’s in the Women in Film Mentoring Program for Directors and preparing to direct her first feature. 

Kristina is a proud alum of Howard University and University of Southern California.

Krystal N. Foster, MFA is an award-winning writer, director, and producer with
more than 20 years in the arts and entertainment industry. She has worked as a
staff writer for Bounce TV’s Saints & Sinners and specializes in stories that
encourage, enlighten and uplift her community. Krystal’s screenplay, “Traits”,
received the Alfred P. Sloan award and the short film version, in which she made
her directorial debut, was selected at seven film festivals.

Krystal received her Bachelor’s degree at Howard University and upon
graduation she worked at several entertainment companies including Paramount
Pictures and Fox Entertainment. Wanting to take her creative side to the next
level, Krystal pursued her true passion in writing by attending film school. She
received her MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where
she was the recipient of the Dramatic Writing Full Tuition Departmental
Fellowship for her writing talent.

In her spare time, Krystal enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and
playing with her two four-legged children (dogs).

Executive Producer, Director & Writer

Sandra Rattley has been Executive Producer of seminal documentary projects including the Peabody award-winning series Wade in the Water on African American sacred music produced with the Smithsonian Institution, and Making the Music, hosted by Wynton Marsalis. She was also Executive Producer of the PBS Digital Studios series, Read Awakening and currently serves as Executive Producer for TV and Video at Futuro Media, where she launched the PBS series America By The Numbers and NBCNews’s Humanizing America. She is the former VP for Cultural Programming at NPR where she launched the weekly show, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, as well as NPR’s office of civic engagement. Rattley also serves as Creative Consultant for Black Public Media’s 360 Incubator, a mentorship program for African American media makers. She has been a consultant for the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Howard University Center for Urban Progress, and Brandeis University. She was a press spokesperson and a member of the communications team for Nelson Mandela on his first U.S. tour.

Line Producer & Post Producer

Okema T. Moore is an actress, singer, EMMY nominated producer and a writer who also directs. Starting as an actress as a child on Sesame Street; now a producer, Okema has done a plethora of branded work for various household names, including Nickelodeon, FOX and Dreamworks. She is the former Creative Producer and Production Manager for Netflix Is A Joke and was the main producer for BRIC TV’s scripted show The Future is Then, which premiered as a 2019 Tribeca N.O.W. selection. She is also a producer on the ABFF 2019 Best Web Series, Little Apple and functioned as the coordinator for both the Food Network’s Chopped and OWN’s “Oprah’s Master Class.” Most recently Okema was a producer/writer on the Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flayand is a principal member of the touring cast of the acclaimed musical Henry Box Brown. 

Editor

Virginie Danglades is a film and TV editor who works on strong story- and character-driven films, immersive and verité-style documentaries and intimate narrative features and shorts. One of her recent projects, “No Farewells,” (“Sans Adieu”), a documentary feature by French photographer-turned-filmmaker Christopher Agou, opened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. Along with working on independent films, Virginie edited the last hour of the four-part documentary series which aired on PBS: “Reconstruction, America after the Civil War.” Virginie has also been a regular editor on the ongoing investigative series “This is Life with Lisa Ling” for CNN and, prior to that, “Our America with Lisa Ling” for OWN. Overall, Virginie is committed to editing content and film projects that will help further the understanding of our complicated world.

Ava Duvernay’s revolutionary moves to bring Black female directors to the helm of her series on OWN has advanced careers of many talented indie directors. This session initially scheduled 3 directors together to share their journey, reel talk on being a director, experiences, and encouraging words to those inspiring to direct, however 2 were called to direct television episodes and are unable to participate. Because they have such busy schedules, we knew organizing this panel that if they were called to work, we would need to reschedule.

Ayoka Chenzira, PhD will be interviewed by Natalie Bullock Brown for this event for an hour session. Stacey Muhammad, and veteran director, Neema Barnett send their regards, and look forward to another opportunity to participate in a SABIFF event. We look forward to reading Stacey’s credit on “Blackish,” and Neema’s on “Namoi.”

​Okema T. Moore is a passionate multi-genre producer who never thought she’d be here! Starting as an actor/singer, she found the roles for Black women stereotypical and monolithic and vowed to figure out ways to change that. Leaving a cushy finance job at 36 to start all over, she worked her a** off to be in the position to position others. She writes, directs and produces work that educates, progresses marginalized voices and allows her to lift while she climbs. Okema is committed to proving that good stories come from all corners of life and deserve to be told by the most unlikely people, whether it’s for an indie project or a major network!

Ebony Adams is a writer and podcaster whose work foregrounds the lives and work of black women in the diaspora. She currently oversees public programming for WIF as part of the organization’s efforts to support  female filmmakers through film screenings, masterclasses, workshops, and panel discussions. She is the co-author of History vs Women, a middle-grade non-fiction work that aims to recover the stories of some of history’s most dynamic (and devilish) women. In her spare time, she co-hosts several pop culture-focused podcasts for Feminist Frequency.

Shannon Baker Davis, ACE is an award-winning television and film editor, who began
her career in New York, editing unscripted shows and documentaries. After 10 years
working on many iconic and Emmy-winning shows such as Top Chef and Project
Runway, Shannon began adding narrative television and feature films to her resume. Her
credits include Insecure, from Issa Rae, Grown-ish, a spin-off of the highly acclaimed
series, Black-ish, from creator, Kenya Barris and Queen Sugar, from creator Ava
DuVernay.


In features, she edited Armstrong, starring Vicky Jeudy, Sean Parsons, Jason Antoon and
Kevin Pollak, and The Weekend (Lionsgate), starring Sasheer Zamata, Tone Bell and
DeWanda Wise, from director, Stella Meghie. The Weekend had it’s World Premiere at
the Toronto Film Festival in 2018, and screened at AFI Fest, South by Southwest and
Tribeca Film Festival. Next, she cut the feature, The Obituary of Tunde Johnson,
directed by Ali LeRoi (creator, Everybody Hates Chris), which premiered at TIFF and
was released theatrically in February of 2021.
Shannon reunited with Stella Meghie on The Photograph (Universal), starring Issa Rae
and LaKeith Stanfield, and then went on to cut the Netflix series #blackaf, created by
Kenya Barris (Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish), which stars Barris and Rashida Jones.
Her latest work is Impeachment: American Crime Story for Ryan Murphy Television.
Her series and film credits run the gamut, from funny to heartbreaking, provocative to
visual-effects-heavy and action-packed.


She is a member of ACE, where she is a mentor in their Diversity Mentorship Program.
She serves on the Motion Picture Editors Guild Board of Directors, where she is also the
Co-chair of the African-American Steering Committee, and she is a founding member of
Ujima Entertainment Coalition and Black In Post. Shannon grew up in Augusta, GA,
earned degrees from Howard University and The American Film Institute, and resides in
Los Angeles, CA, with her husband and 2 children.

In Michelle Booker, you’ll find a designer at heart with a well trained eye that is committed to quality and detail.
Known to many as Chelle B., has received her fashion education at American Intercontinental University (AIU) with studies in Fashion Merchandising in Atlanta, GA., where she currently resides and works as a Boutique Owner, Personal Wardrobe Stylist and Costume Buyer. Michelle has built a remarkable career as a stylist with projects that include Nike, Ford, Atlanta Season2, Warner Bros. Entertainment, DC Comics, BET Boomerang2 and Int’l film Violence of Action.

She has been featured in VoyageATL as a trailblazer and Influencer, 2x in Shoutout Atlanta, and Resilient Magazine top ten edition. From judging teen pageants to personal wardrobe styling at wardrobebychelleb.com, Chelle B is one to add to your radar for style inspo.

Your can find her on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest @wardrobebychelleb

Personal Wardrobe Stylist Wardrobe by Chelle B
​

W. www.wardrobebychelleb.com

​An Ohio native and Atlanta implant, Soraya is a costumer in the film/television industry. She began her career in film working as a background actor and stand-in with the intention of networking her way into the costume department. Soraya had previous experience working as a fashion merchandiser for almost 10 years as well as an assistant to a local Atlanta stylist. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication & Media Studies from Kennesaw State University.

Soraya has since worked on such projects as Coming 2 America, Disney’s Loki, Boomerang (Tv series), Spiderman: No Way Home and the upcoming sequel to Black Panther.  

Follow Soraya on IG @Meet_Soraya

Soraya Monet

Shop Costumer |Summer Break

​About Therez

With a background steeped in high fashion and World Couture glamour, Therez Fleetwood designs exceptionally made and sharply edited apparel for women.  Her focus on feminine silhouettes, intricate construction, and that perfect detail are evidenced in her signature hand-beaded dresses and body-sculpting silhouettes.

Originally from Boston, where she got her start in fashion, Therez started designing clothes at the age of 12 and sold her first dress on the famed Newbury Street in Boston at the age of 15. This was quite an accomplishment at that age as Newbury Street was home to Giorgio Armani, Marc Jacobs, and Diane Von Furstenberg, just to name a few. Therez moved to New York to attend The Fashion Institute of Technology and where she worked as a production coordinator on 7th Avenue in the garment district. It was as a production coordinator, overseeing garment production, technical garment specifications, and quality control, that she honed her skills in garment construction, fit, and couture construction.

Therez launched her career designing Afrocentric attire under the PheZula Collection label where she sold to specialty boutiques throughout New York City, made custom designs for private clientele and designed for celebrities: EnVogue, Vanessa Williams, Angela Bassett, Queen Latifah, Yolanda Adams, Kim Fields, Sheri Headly, and Shanice. As a custom designer, she worked with clients around the world from Germany, Egypt, Italy, Tanzania, and Australia.

With her love of fashion and her desire to remain innovative as a designer, Therez partnered with visual artist Kottavei to design a unique bespoke fashion/art garment for sci-fi writer, Nnedi Okoraor, for the 2018 Emmy Awards. Therez has worked with Tyler Perry stage productions to create the signature wedding dress for the play Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned.

Her designs have been on display in the “New York Gets Married” and “Black Style Now” exhibits at the Museum of the City and at the Fashion Institute of Technology in honor of the Black Fashion Museum. She was also a featured designer highlighted in Macy’s “Catch the Designers” which provided a ‘behind the runway’ look at the diverse designers impacting fashion today.

Her fashions appear in Fairchild Publication’s textbook entitled Survey of Historic Costume and she has been a guest on several television shows including the Today Show, Good Day New York, and a nationally syndicated television commercial for American Express entitled “Portraits”. 

It was her desire to travel that brought her to several countries throughout the world.  And It t was her love of Africa, its culture and arts that prompted her to write the national bestseller The AfroCentric Bride – A Style Guide, Amber Books – ISBN# 0-9727519-1-2. She is also a featured designer in The Threads of Time, Fabric of History, which celebrates the struggles and achievements of African-American dressmakers and designers and their contributions to the world of fashion.

Therez is a recipient of the Allstate Insurance Company’s “From Whence We Came, African-American Women of Triumph” Award and she designed the only Afrocentric costumes to be worn by Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, which have now become part of their themed costume collection.