Behind the Lens: Storytelling, Creativity, and Innovation
Sunday, September 22 | 2:30-4:30 PM
Get ready for an engaging and thought-provoking filmmakers panel, led by the brilliant Donna Kain as Chief Moderator! Joining her are an extraordinary lineup of creative talents, including Rick Kain, renowned actor, producer, director, and Panelists Liaison; visionary filmmaker and multi-festival founder Anthony Greene (A.M. Greene); award-winning actor and filmmaker Emmi Shockley; cinematic innovator Samuel Tressler IV; acclaimed director and screenwriter Adam Rodgers; Emmy-nominated producer Harold Jackson IV; and master of horror cinema Jordan Miller.
This dynamic group will share their experiences, insights, and behind-the-scenes stories, offering a rare glimpse into the minds of some of the industry’s most exciting filmmakers. Whether you’re a film enthusiast or a budding creator, this panel is not to be missed!
Three Ways to Experience this Session
Come in person to view a hybrid session at the Greenville Museum of Art at 802 Evans St, Greenville, NC 27834
Click here at the appointed time to interact with us via Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/DEFFPanel
View live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downeastflickfests
Donna Kain
Chief Moderator, DEFF Filmmakers Café 2024
Donna Kain’s contributions to the Down East Flick Fest (DEFF) have been instrumental in elevating the event to new heights. As the Master Moderator of the DEFF Filmmakers Café, Donna skillfully guides discussions, setting the tone and direction for meaningful exchanges among filmmakers. Her ability to ask the right questions and foster engaging dialogue has made the Filmmakers Café a pivotal forum for creative minds.
Donna is not only a distinguished academic with a prolific career but also a driving force behind the success of the Filmmakers Café. Her tenure at East Carolina University (ECU), where she earned the title of Faculty Emerita Associate Professor, underscores her deep expertise in rhetoric, technical communication, and risk communication. Her scholarly work, especially in areas like climate change and sea level rise, has had a significant impact, further enhancing her reputation as a thought leader.
DEFF is fortunate to have Donna at the helm of the Filmmakers Café, where her leadership ensures that the event remains a cornerstone of the festival. This year, she will once again bring her unique blend of insight and expertise to the Café as she moderates a hybrid event on FB Live and in person at the Greenville Museum of Art on Sunday, September 22. Donna’s strategic vision and moderating prowess continue to make the Café an essential and enriching experience for all participants.
Rick Kain
Actor, Producer, Director, Writer
Panelists Liaison
Rick Kain is a Maryland native with a prolific career in the film industry as an actor, stuntman, and stunt coordinator. He has amassed over 150 film and television credits. Some of his notable recent works include White House Plumbers (2023), Rustin (2023), and Waiting (2023). His extensive experience in the industry also includes work on popular projects like Jack Ryan, Mindhunter, DC Noir, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Bone Collector. Kain’s career extends beyond acting and stunts; he is also involved in production through his company, RSK Productions LLC, based in the Baltimore/Washington area. The company specializes in narrative and documentary filmmaking, video interviews, and multi-camera coverage of live stage shows and events. Recently, Rick Kain completed production on two short films, Unheard Melodies and The Elephant Spiel, which are set to be featured in various film festivals. He is also in post-production on his first feature documentary film, signaling his continued growth and diversification in the film industry.
Jordan Miller
Jordan Miller is an award-winning writer, director, cinematographer, editor, and music composer for film. He is also the co-founder of the production company Future Phantoscope. As a writer and director, his work is mostly in the horror genre, including the feature horror/thriller The Only Ones (2024), the atmospheric horror short Three (2018), segments of the upcoming horror anthology The Black Hills Night Hike, as well as many music videos, commercials, and webisodes.
Jordan has also co-hosted and produced over 200 episodes of his podcast, Camp Nightmare, and worked as an editor/sound designer for the audio drama podcast Black Velvet Fairies with the creators of The Blair Witch Project and PRX.
FUTURE PHANTOSCOPE
INDEPENDENT CINEMA & MEDIA PRODUCTION
Harold Jackson III
Harold Jackson III is an EMMY-nominated producer. He says, “Storytelling through visualization is what drives me.” He honorably served in the United States Marine Corps and has a B.A. in Television production from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in Film from American University in Washington, DC.
Harold has produced, written, and directed multiple films, series, and documentaries and is a critically acclaimed writer, director, and filmmaker. Some of his award-winning productions include “Last Night” (ABFF BEST SCREENPLAY/AUDIENCE CHOICE Winner) and HBO Best Film winning “Unarmed Man.” Harold received an EMMY Nomination for directing/producing work on the series “Anacostia.” Harold’s recent projects include “The Forgettable Life of Liam White,” with a cast of Jasmine Guy, TC Carson, and singer Brave Williams, “Million To One,” “GASLIGHT,” “Once Upon A Time In The District,” and his latest creation, “The Novelist.”
Harold is also the author of the Amazon.com #1 New Release MELANIN IN MOVIES: Hollywood’s Propaganda.
Adam Rodgers
Adam is a Baltimore native and graduate of Duke University, where he studied politics, theater and philosophy, and of New York University’s Graduate Film Program. Adam’s short films have played at festivals worldwide, earning numerous awards. Since moving to Los Angeles, Adam has co-written (with Glenn German) and sold spec feature scripts and pitches to Sony, Universal and Fox, among others. In 2014, Adam co-wrote and directed the indie romance At Middleton, starring Academy Award nominees Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia. The film won multiple festival awards, was released theatrically in the U.S. and internationally, was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick, and debuted in the top 10 (Art House) On Demand releases.
Adam teaches screenwriting and chairs the Program in Film and Media Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. A member of the Writers Guild of America, Adam continues to write, direct, and produce for film and television through his production company, 8th Day Pictures. His latest project, the award-winning digital comedy series Turf Valley, is currently streaming on YouTube
Emmi Shockley
Emmi Shockley is a filmmaker and actor originally from Ocean City, Maryland. She entered the independent film world during her teenage years when she was cast in Michael Tully’s 2014 Sundance feature, Ping Pong Summer. She graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Film and Television Production in 2019. She has written, directed, and produced two award-winning short films, J-1 and Don’t Be a Baby. By the age of twenty-four, Emmi was a producer on her first feature film project: a queer romantic comedy called Throuple (post-production). She is based in New York City.
Anthony Greene
(A.M. Greene)
Anthony Greene is a native Washingtonian DMV based writer, filmmaker and multi-festival founder whose work can be found worldwide and through his latest venture Film Village. He’s a self-proclaimed “old man” and “art lover.” Anthony Greene is a writer, director, and producer with projects including Frights and Fears Vol. 1, American Comic television series, and The Henchman’s War.
Samuel Tressler IV
Samuel Tressler IV is a filmmaker based in New York. While working professionally behind the camera and as an editor/vfx compositor, his artistic interests lie in creating narrative, concept-driven motion picture pieces both short and long. In 2023 he released his first feature film, the wordless, 3D Leda, distributed by MVD Entertainment under the GFY label co-founded by Tressler in 2020. Tressler is currently in production of his second feature film and served as cinematographer on a documentary of the French Master Clown Teacher Philippe Gaulier, now in post-production.
Tressler serves on the Advisory Board for Stevenson University’s Film and Moving Image Department, the board of producers of 72 Film Fest in Frederick, Maryland and formerly wrote a film column for his hometown newspaper, The Frederick Post.