Italian, Mexican, screenwriter, director, musician, fencer, and other cool things.

Alessandro was raised in the glamor of the backstage of opera houses around the world. Growing up, he lived in seven countries.

The only constant since he was five years old until he graduated college was fencing. He was on the Olympic Team and fenced professionally for 20 years.

Alessandro directed commercials in France, Italy, and Mexico. He then moved to Los Angeles and graduated with an MFA in Screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory. The thesis short he co-wrote premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was the first ever VR thesis film at AFI. 

His screenplays have been finalists in several screenwriting competitions. He was one of the inaugural fellows to the Minority Report Fellowship, he won the Writers’ Room Ready Award which recognizes outstanding work by AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Fellows and he’s currently a BAFTA Newcomers program fellow.

He’s developing a TV pilot and the adaptation of one of his feature screenplays into a video game. Alessandro is represented by Ari Lubet at 3 Arts Entertainment.

Vero Kompalic is a Venezuelan filmmaker, programmer and painter. She focuses her scholarship work on postcolonial feminist discourse, with publications on the sexual transgression of Breillat’s work and the radical cinema of Mariana Rondon. She served as an AP and writer on SUMMERTIME, which premiered at SUNDANCE and was theatrically released in 2021. In 2020 she founded DISCORDIA, an independent production company, with her longtime collaborators. 

Marilyn Mijares (they/them, she/hers) is an Administrative Associate at the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) who oversees sponsor and partner relationships, year-round programs and events, and internal team structure. A graduate from UCLA with a degree in Gender and Film, they have an enthusiasm for inclusive media that thoughtfully explores the intersection of race, gender, and other overlapping identities. Marilyn believes in the power of visual media as a vehicle for social change and is thrilled to strive for a more equitable and inclusive entertainment industry at an organization like NALIP. She looks forward to the future of the industry and the rising opportunities for diverse creatives that will flourish more than ever in the years to come.