Robert Rodriguez

Robert Rodriguez is a film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician.

While a student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1991, Robert Rodriguez wrote the script to his first feature film, El Mariachi, which went on to win the coveted Audience Award at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, and became the lowest budget movie ever released by a major studio. Rodriguez wrote about these experiences in Rebel Without a Crew, a perennial guide for the independent filmmaker.

Rodriguez went on to write, produce, direct and edit a series of successful films including Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, The Faculty, the Spy Kids franchise, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Frank Miller’s Sin City, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D, Grindhouse, Machete and Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For, and embarked on a collaboration with iconic film director James Cameron on the film adaptation of Alita: Battle Angel which Cameron is producing alongside Rodriguez directing.

In 2000, Rodriguez founded Troublemaker Studios, an Austin, Texas based production facility of which he is co-owner and president. The studio includes a world-renowned visual effects house, music and publishing arms and has played a primary role in making Austin a vibrant filmmaking hub.

In 2017, Rodriguez, alongside his sons Racer and Rebel, formed Double R Productions, a development and production company with capabilities to produce media projects across film, television, gaming, and interactive platforms. In addition to Red 11, Double R produced a state of the art VR live-action short called the The Limit as well as as a new feature film, We Can Be Heroes, in partnership with Netflix. We Can Be Heroes has become one of Netflix’s most popular films of all time.

He recently directed the Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande video "Rain on Me," and an episode of The Mandalorian which led to him currently producing the new Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett.

Colin Jost

Colin Jost is a writer at Saturday Night Live, television's longest-running and most successful sketch and comedy show, now heading into its 49th season. Jost joined the show as a writer in 2005 and became a co-head writer in 2012. Jost has co-anchored “Weekend Update” alongside fellow cast member Michael Che since 2014.

Jost has won five Writers Guild Awards, two Peabody Awards, and has been nominated for 14 Emmy Awards for his writing on SNL. Jost and Che hosted special editions of “Weekend Update” on MSNBC during the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions as well as the primetime “Weekend Update Summer Edition” in 2017. In 2018, they co-hosted the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Jost wrote Staten Island Summer, a coming-of-age comedy released by Paramount Pictures and produced by Lorne Michaels. He had a supporting role in the Warner Bros. film, How to Be Single. Jost can be seen in the Paramount Pictures film, Coming 2 America, and also stars in the Warner Bros. live-action animation film, Tom and Jerry.

As a writer, Jost has been published multiple times in The New Yorker and has contributed to The New York Times Magazine and the Huffington Post, amongst others.

Jost debuted his New York Times bestselling memoir, A Very Punchable Face, which is a series of essays documenting pivotal moments in Jost’s life including growing up in Staten Island in a family of firefighters, commuting three hours a day to high school, attending Harvard while Facebook was created, and more.

Simu Liu

Simu Liu made history as the star of the first Asian-fronted movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which premiered to critical and commercial acclaim and garnered him the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Action Movie Star. Liu’s ascent to superstardom, during which he very vocally championed greater diversity in film and media, caused him to be named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022.

Raised in Canada as the son of Chinese immigrants, Liu graduated from business school and found himself working at one of the top accounting firms in Toronto. When he was subsequently laid off in 2012, he decided to pursue a career in the arts against all odds.

(His parents were not impressed.)

Liu’s first major role was on the critically acclaimed OMNI crime drama Blood and Water in 2015, for which he received nominations at the ACTRA Awards and Canadian Screen Awards. Aside from his performance on screen, Liu participated in the writing room for the show’s second season. He then went on to star in the CBC/Netflix comedy series Kim’s Convenience for five seasons, for which he and the ensemble cast continued to garner nominations and award wins.

Since his breakout moment as a Marvel superhero, Liu was most recently seen opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Greta Gerwig’s record-setting Barbie, in the Lionsgate family movie Arthur the King with Mark Wahlberg, and in Netflix’s sci-fi thriller Atlas opposite Jennifer Lopez. He has written a New York Times-bestselling memoir about his family origins, performed at the Oscars alongside his fellow Kens, and hosted Saturday Night Live.

Next up, Liu will star in Amazon’s action comedy Jackpot from director Paul Feig opposite John Cena, and in the underwater thriller Last Breath opposite Woody Harrelson, set to be released through Focus Features in 2025. He is also set to star in and executive produce an unnamed espionage thriller series for Peacock, alongside James Wan and Atomic Monster.

Liu’s New York Times Bestselling memoir, We Are Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, details his family’s journey from Harbin, China to Hollywood, California, and was released by HarperCollins. Liu immigrated to Canada at the age of five and is fluent in Mandarin.

America Ferrera

America Ferrera is an award-winning actor, director, and producer known for her many iconic roles in TV and film including Ugly Betty, Real Women Have Curves, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Superstore, and most recently Greta Gerwig’s history-making Barbie, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. For her breakthrough performance in Ugly Betty, Ferrera was awarded an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe, as well as ALMA and Imagen Awards. In addition to being nominated for an Academy Award for her powerful performance as “Gloria,” she was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for “Best Supporting Actress”, and was honored with the 8th Annual SeeHer Award by the same group.

Released in theaters on July 21, Barbie has broken countless box office records, with a domestic opening of over $214M and over $470M worldwide. The film, since its opening, has recorded a $1.5 billion dollar box office and was the highest-grossing film of 2023.

Ferrera can also be seen in Dumb Money, a 2023 Sony and Black Bear Pictures’ dramedy directed by Craig Gillespie, based on Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network, also starring Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, Anthony Ramos, Dane DeHaan, and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and had a wide release on September 29th.

Subsequently, Ferrera will make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Erika Sánchez’s New York Times bestselling novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter which is currently in development at MGM/Orion Pictures. IS THIS CURRENT/UPDATED? The film, written by Linda Yvette-Chavez tells the story of Julia Reyes, a sharp-tongued teen with dreams of becoming a famous writer somewhere far away from Chicago and her traditional Mexican immigrant parents who wish she was more like Olga, her sister, now eternally perfect since her tragic death. As Julia seeks to break free of her oppressive home, she tries to uncover her sister’s truth, and in the process gains a deep understanding of the wounds her family carries.

In January 2022, Ferrera was announced as the face of Covergirl’s “Fresh Clean Skincare” collection, the company’s first clean, vegan skincare line.

Ferrera starred in the Apple TV+ series, WeCrashed opposite Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. In the series, Ferrera plays Elishia Kennedy, a successful CEO and entrepreneur who is conned into leaving her own company and joining WeWork but is eventually pushed out.

Ferrera executive produced and directed episodes for two seasons of Netflix’s hit Dramedy, Gentefied. The series follows three Mexican American cousins and their struggle to chase the American Dream.

She also executive produced, directed, and starred in NBC’s beloved workplace comedy, Superstore, which ended its six-season run on March 25, 2021.

In July of 2020, Ferrera was announced as a Founding Investor of Angel City Football Club, a National Women's Soccer League team representing her hometown, Los Angeles, California.

A longtime activist, Ferrera launched Poderistas in 2020 alongside 9 other prominent activists, leaders, and businesswomen, including Eva Longoria Bastón and Christy Haubegger. Poderistas is a digital lifestyle community and non-profit built to inform, affirm, and inspire Latinas to leverage their power and transform their lives, their community, and their nation.

Ferrera is also a prolific speaker having spoken at major events such as TED, the DNC, and March for Our Lives. She was also the opening speaker and chair of the Artists’ Committee for the Women’s March on Washington in 2017. Her activism has extended on screen in several television documentaries including Not Done: Women Remaking America for PBS, the EPIX TV mini-series, America Divided, Showtime’s groundbreaking documentary, The Years of Living Dangerously, and Nicholas Kristof’s series for PBS Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

In 2016, Ferrera co-founded HARNESS, with her husband Ryan Piers Williams and friend Wilmer Valderrama. HARNESS is a community of artists, influencers, and grassroots leaders leveraging art and storytelling to power change and create a more equitable world.

Ferrera released her first book, American Like Me, which landed on the New York Times best-seller list. It is a vibrant and varied collection of first-person accounts from prominent figures about the experience of growing up between cultures in America. Curated and edited by Ferrera, the anthology includes essays that share her own perspective of growing up as the daughter of Honduran immigrants in Los Angeles. Contributors to the book include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Roxane Gay, Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, Congressman Joaquin Castro, Kal Penn, Uzo Aduba, Jenny Zhang, Michelle Kwan, Padma Lakshmi and many others.

Some of Ferrera’s television and film credits include Real Women Have CurvesSisterhood of the Traveling Pants (parts 1 and 2); Diego Luna’s biopic, Cesar Chavez, (ALMA Award Special Achievement in Film); Ryan Piers Williams' The Dry Land, (Best International Film Edinburgh Film Festival); Ryan Piers Williams’ drama X/Y, which she co-produced and starred in; David Ayer’s crime thriller End of Watch; Ricky Gervais’ Special Correspondents; It’s a DisasterLords of Dogtown; and How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, among many others. She lends her vocal talents to the Oscar-nominated franchise film How to Train Your Dragon as Astrid.

On stage, she has appeared off-Broadway in Terrence McNally’s Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Laura Marks’ Bethany; and Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, directed by Trip Cullman. She graced the stage as Roxie Hart in the West End production of the hit musical, Chicago.

In 2006, Ferrera founded her own television and film production company, Take Fountain.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ferrera is the youngest of six children. As a graduate of the University of Southern California, Ferrera studied International Relations while pursuing her film and television career. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and two children.

Mindy Kaling

Emmy-nominated writer, producer, New York Times best-selling author, director, actor, and Tony award winner, Mindy Kaling has been named one of the brightest voices of her generation.

At the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Kaling premiered her debut screenplay titled Late Night.  With a cast including Emma Thompson, Reid Scott, Ike Barinholtz, Amy Ryan, John Lithgow, and Kaling herself, the film received critical acclaim at the opening weekend of the festival and sold to Amazon Studios for a record-setting $13 million US rights deal. Late Night opened in the US on June 7th, 2019. Emma Thompson was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as ‘Katherine Newbury’ in the film.

Kaling broke out onto the scene at the 2002 New York International Fringe Festival with her original stageplay Matt and Ben which she co-wrote with her college roommate Brenda Withers. The play was not only named one of Time magazine's "Top Ten Theatrical Events of The Year" of 2002 but also caught the eye of TV producer Greg Daniels who offered Mindy a job to come work on an NBC television pilot called The Office.

At 24, Kaling joined the eight-person writing staff of The Office as the only woman. Kaling’s contract also allowed her to participate as an actor and she took on the role of celebrity-obsessed "Kelly Kapoor."  During her 8 seasons at The Office, Kaling wrote 23 episodes of the show (more than any other writer). Some of the episodes she wrote include fan favorites such as “The Injury,” “The Dundies,” and “Diwali” for which she became the first woman of color to be nominated for an Emmy in any writing category. During her time at The Office, Kaling also directed two episodes and served as both producer and executive producer on over 117 episodes of the series. Kaling and her fellow writers and producers were nominated five consecutive times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

After signing an overall development deal with Universal Television, Kaling created The Mindy Project, which she starred in and executive produced from 2012-2017.  Kaling and her fellow writers were nominated for a Writers Guild Awards in the New Series category in 2013. Kaling wrote 25 episodes of the 117 episodes created for the six-season run of the series. In 2018, Kaling created and served as an executive producer on the NBC comedy Champions for which she wrote three of eight episodes.

In 2020, Kaling released the critically acclaimed series, Never Have I Ever for Netflix. The 10-episode series released in May is a modern comedy-of-age comedy about the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl, Devi Vishwakumar. Breakout actress, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan portrays Devi and was cast in the role after submitting to an open call for the role, which welcomed 15,000 submissions. According to Netflix, season 1 of Never Have I Ever reached 40 million homes around the globe in its first four weeks of release. It recently wrapped its fourth and final season. In addition, it was announced that Kaling will write, produce and star in an untitled comedy for Universal opposite Priyanka Chopra. Co-written with Dan Goor, the film will revolve around a big wedding in India and the ensuing culture clashes. The duo is also penning Legally Blonde 3, which will star Reese Witherspoon reprising her role as Elle Woods.

Kaling is also the co-creator and Executive Producer of The Sex Lives of College Girls, which in 2021 had the biggest premiere of any comedy on HBOMax. The show was picked up for a third season in December 2022 after the success of its second season premiere.

Previously, Kaling released a mini-series adaptation of the popular film Four Weddings and a Funeral for Hulu. Kaling served as a writer and executive producer on the project. The series premiered on July 31, 2019.

In between all of her TV ventures, Kaling has released two New York Times best-selling comedic memoirs – Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) in 2011 and Why Not Me in 2015. Kaling released a collection of essays in partnership with Amazon in October 2020 that featured topics including her new role as a single mom, the perks of not having a husband, and her struggle with social anxiety. Most recently, Kaling launched her imprint Mindy's Book Studio for Amazon Publishing, with the mission of publishing titles from new and emerging diverse voices.

As an actor, Kaling has also appeared in many films including Judd Apatow’s The 40-Year Old Virgin, the Oscar-winning Pixar film Inside Out,  Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time alongside Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon, and as a part of the star-studded cast of Oceans Eight.

This year, Kaling received the prestigious Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America. In 2022, Kaling International was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential Companies. In 2012, Kaling was named to the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World List. She was honored with the 2014 Glamour Women of the Year Award and most recently was a 2019 ELLE Women In Hollywood honoree. In 2018, Kaling delivered an impactful commencement address at Dartmouth College and received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks is an award-winning actor, producer, and director. One of only two actors in history to win back-to-back Academy Awards for “Best Actor in a Leading Role,” he won his first Oscar in 1994 for his moving portrayal of AIDS-stricken lawyer Andrew Beckett in Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia. The following year, he took home his second Oscar for his unforgettable performance in the title role of Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump.  He also won Golden Globe Awards for both films, as well as a SAG Award for the latter.

Hanks has also been honored with Academy Award nominations for his performances in Penny Marshall’s Big, Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, Robert Zemeckis’ Cast Away, and, most recently, for his portrayal of Fred Rogers in Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. He also won Golden Globes for Big and Cast Away.

Hanks starred in the Academy Award-nominated film Captain Phillips (for which he received Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA nominations), as well as the AFI Movie of the Year Saving Mr. Banks. Four years later, he received his ninth Golden Globe nomination, as well as “Best Actor” from the National Board of Review, for his work in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-nominated film The Post, alongside Meryl Streep.

Hanks starred in An Man Called Otto, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Pinocchio for Disney+, the WWII drama Greyhound for Apple TV+ (which he also wrote), Paul Greengrass’ pre-Civil War drama News of the World, and Apple TV+’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama, Finch, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

His other acting credits include the Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski, and Lana Wachoski film Cloud Atlas; Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close; the animated adventure The Polar Express (which he also executive produced and which reunited him with director Robert Zemeckis); the Coen brothers’ The Ladykillers; Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal and Catch Me If You Can; Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition; Frank Darabont’s The Green Mile; Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle; Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own; Ron Howard’s Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Splash, Hologram for a King, Inferno, Sully; and the computer-animated blockbusters Cars, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4.

In 1996, Hanks made his successful feature film writing and directing debut with That Thing You Do, in which he also starred. He later wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Larry Crowne with Julia Roberts. Under his Playtone banner, founded in 1998 with producing partner Gary Goetzman, Hanks’ additional film producing credits include the smash-hit romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding with Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson, Where the Wild Things Are, The Polar Express, The Ant Bully, Charlie Wilson’s War, Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, The Great Buck Howard, and Starter for 10.

Hanks’ work on the big screen has translated to success on the small screen as well. Following Apollo 13, he executive produced and hosted the acclaimed HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, also directing one segment and writing several others. His work on the miniseries brought him Emmy, Golden Globe and Producers Guild Awards, as well as an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries.”

In 2001 he then went on to executive produce his second miniseries for HBO, and first television series under his Playtone banner, Band of Brothers, alongside Steven Spielberg. The WWII drama, based on the book Stephen Ambrose, won Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for “Outstanding Miniseries.” Hanks directed one episode of the series and wrote another, earning him an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries” and an Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries.” He also received another Producers Guild Award for his work on the project. In 2010, he and Spielberg re-teamed for the award-winning HBO miniseries The Pacific, for which Hanks once again served as executive producer.  The 10-part program won eight Emmy Awards, including “Outstanding Miniseries,” and brought Hanks his fourth PGA Award.

Hanks additional executive producing credits include the HBO miniseries John Adams (Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for “Outstanding Miniseries,” PGA Award); the HBO political drama Game Change (Emmy and Golden Globes Awards for “Outstanding Miniseries/Television Film,” PGA Award); the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Elizabeth Strout (Emmy Award for “Outstanding Limited Series”); and hit CNN documentary series The Sixties (Emmy Award nomination), The Seventies (Emmy Award nomination), The Eighties, The Nineties, and The Movies.

Hanks made his Broadway debut in the Nora Ephron-penned play Lucky Guy. His performance earned him Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Tony Award nominations. He is also the author of a best-selling collection of stories, Uncommon Type, and the =novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.

Hanks has received the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Chaplin Award in 2009, a Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone has been credited with writing and or directing over 20 full-length feature films, earning him a well-respected place in cinematic history for some of the most influential and iconic films of the last few decades.

Throughout his long career, which began at a young age writing short plays for his family, Oliver has served as director, writer and producer on a variety of films, documentaries and television movies. He is widely recognized for his controversial versions of recent American history, some of them at deep odds with conventional myth -- films such as 1986's Platoon, the first of his Vietnam trilogy (along with Born on the Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth), or 1991’s JFK and 1994’s Natural Born Killers and Nixon, his 1995 take on the finer points and parables of the Nixon administration, as well as on George W. Bush in W (2008). Stone says his films are "first and foremost dramas about individuals in personal struggles," and considers himself a dramatist rather than a political filmmaker.

In 1966, Oliver signed on to the U.S. Merchant Marine, where he worked as a “wiper” in the engine room below deck on several ships. His travels took him from Asia back to Oregon and then Mexico. In Guadalajara, he began writing a first novel, a 1,400-page manuscript entitled A Child's Night Dream. He later reedited the novel down to a manageable 236 pages, which was released 30 years later by St. Martin’s Press (1997). 
In 1967, Stone enlisted in the United States Army and served in the 25th Infantry Division near the Cambodian border, where he was wounded twice, and then later in the 1st Calvary Division in the northernmost part of Vietnam. He was honored with a Bronze Star for heroism and Purple Heart for his service.

Tackling subjects often deemed controversial and too grand in scale, Stone continued to build his successful film career in projects like Wall Street, a tale of greed, corruption and power in the excess era of the 80’s and The Doors, a drug-saturated biopic of the legendary and controversial singer Jim Morrison.

Oliver continues to write, direct and produce movies and documentaries that fit with his sensibilities and challenge the conventional teachings. With recent projects like Savages, an action-packed story of three SoCal friends going up against the Baja cartel to his 10-part Showtime documentary series called The Untold History of the United States, Oliver Stone shows no signs of slowing down his creativity while daring the global audience to see events in a whole new light.

Jamie Foxx

An Academy Award-winning actor, talented Grammy Award-winning musical artist and comedian, Jamie Foxx is one of Hollywood’s rare elite multi-faceted performers.

In 2012, Foxx starred as the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s award-winning Django Unchained. Foxx was recently seen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Horrible Bosses. He also lent his vocal talents to the popular comedy-adventure series, Rio and Rio 2. He will next been seen as ‘Will Stacks’ in the 2014 adaptation of the beloved musical film Annie.

Jamie Foxx continues to expand his role as a producer. He recently executive produced the sketch comedy series In the Flow with Affion Crockett. Foxx also produced Thunder Soul, a documentary following the alumni from Houston’s Kashmere High School Stage Band who return home after 35 years to play a tribute concert for the 92-year-old “Prof,” their beloved band leader who broke the color barrier and transformed the school’s jazz band.

In addition to his work in film, Foxx has also achieved a successful career in music. In December 2010, he released his fourth album, Best Night of My Life, featuring Drake, Justin Timberlake, Rick Ross and T.I. In January 2010, Foxx and T-Pain’s #1 song “Blame It,” won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammys.

In January 2006, Foxx announced his partnership with SIRIUS Satellite Radio to start his own 24/7 radio station called Foxxhole.

In December 2006, Foxx was seen in the critically acclaimed screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, Dreamgirls. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

In 2005, Jamie’s portrayal of the legendary Ray Charles in biopic Ray garnered him an Academy Award for Best Actor and proved to be one of his career’s defining performances. In addition, Foxx shared in a SAG Award nomination received by the film’s ensemble cast, and single-handedly swept the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, BAFTA, and NAACP Image Awards.

Also in 2005, Foxx earned Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG Award, BAFTA Award, and Image Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the dramatic thriller Collateral. But Foxx’s unwavering momentum did not stop there, as Foxx also received Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations and won an Image Award for Best Actor in a Television Movie for his portrayal of condemned gang member-turned-Nobel Peace Prize nominee Stan “Tookie” Williams in the TV movie Redemption.

Additional film credits include Due Date, Valentine’s Day, Law Abiding Citizen, The Soloist, The Kingdom Ali, Miami Vice, Jarhead, Bait, and The Great White Hype.

Jamie Foxx first rose to fame as a comedian. After spending time in the comedy circuit, he joined Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans and in the Fox sketch comedy series, In Living Color. In 1996, he launched his own series, The Jamie Foxx Show, which was one of the top-rated shows on the WB Network during its five-year run. Foxx was the star, co-creator and executive producer of the series and directed several episodes himself.

Alejandro Iñarritu

Academy Award-winning director, writer and producer Alejandro G. Iñárritu is one of the most acclaimed and well-regarded filmmakers working today.

Iñárritu won his second consecutive Academy Award for Best Director for The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. He co-wrote the film with Mark L. Smith. The epic adventure film, which received 12 Academy Award nominations, follows trapper Hugh Glass, who, driven by his love for his son, sets out on a quest for revenge against the harrowing backdrop of the 19th century American frontier.

Last year Iñárritu won three Academy Awards for directing, co-writing and co-producing Best Picture winner Birdman: or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). The acclaimed dark comedy also won Best Cinematography and was nominated for an additional five Academy Awards. Iñárritu won a DGA Award and a PGA Award for the Fox Searchlight film, which starred Oscar nominees Michael Keaton, Emma Stone and Edward Norton.

Iñárritu made his feature directorial debut with Amores Perros, a drama that explored Mexican society told through the perspective of three intertwining stories connected by a car accident in Mexico City. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2001 Academy Awards.

His next film, 21 Grams, was nominated for two Academy Awards for Lead Actress Naomi Watts and Supporting Actor Benicio del Toro and released by Focus Features. His third film, Babel, released by Paramount Pictures, premiered at Cannes where Iñárritu won Best Director. That same year, Babel subsequently went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture Drama, and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including two for Iñárritu for Best Picture and Best Director. With his two nominations, Iñárritu became the first Mexican filmmaker to ever be nominated for either director or producer in the history of the Academy Awards. Iñárritu’s fourth film, Biutiful, was his first Spanish-language film since Amores Perros. He directed and produced the acclaimed drama, which he also co-wrote with Armando Bo and Nicolás Giacobone. The Focus Features film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Javier Bardem was nominated for Best Actor for his moving lead performance.

Iñárritu first began his career as a radio host and radio director at Mexican rock radio station WFM, which became the number one radio station in Mexico during his time. After working in radio, Iñárritu spent three years studying theater in Mexico City with Ludwik Margules, and then began writing, producing and directing short films and commercials under his Z Films company in Mexico.

Eman Askar

A multipotentialite with the mission to inspire. Eman’s song on Instagram ”Story of Palestine" was watched over 11M times.

For 11 years, Eman has been professionally helping entities tell their stories, spread their messages, and communicate complicated information in creative, simple and entertaining ways.

It all started with her 5 year long job as a science communicator with Nutty Scientists where she would create and perform shows for children that help them understand scientific concepts while having fun! Then, for the following 5 years, Eman gained experience in the media industry when she worked in the creative team of Axeer studio and Giraffics. There, she was able to utilize her creative storytelling talents in a more corporate/ commercial context; writing creative concepts for commercial ads and scripts for professional infographic videos. She also learned how to create impact with stories while creating content in several awareness campaigns for UNICEF, UN Women, CARE, and more.

In the second half of 2020, Eman was ready to unleash more of her creative energy and so, she decided to continue her professional content creation work on freelance basis to have enough time to produce content for her own channel. There, she was able to explore more content creation methods in which she can add value, such as singing/songwriting, acting, and making short energetic videos.

Eman’s mission is to inspire individuals to become the best versions of themselves and eventually help in building a healthier community that is able to work together for a better future. First, her plan was to simply tell inspiring stories, spread motivational messages and explain game changing topics, all through her songs and videos. Then, one of her songs, “The story of Palestine”, went viral on an international level which gave her the opportunity of a bigger and more diverse audience. This motivated her into adding “bridging cultural gaps and building international friendships” to her list of “to do’s”. Eman’s long term plan for achieving this is, through hosting workshops and retreats (online and offline) that can help build closer friendships for her audience with her and one another.

On a personal level, despite looking young, Eman is actually a mom of two and she shares this part of her life in her content as well.

Ziauddin Yousafzai

Ziauddin Yousafzai is a co-founder and board member of Malala Fund. He is the father of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Malala Yousafzai. For many years, Ziauddin served as a teacher and school administrator in his home country of Pakistan.

Growing up, Ziauddin’s parents encouraged him to attend school, while his sisters remained at home. He recognized the disparity and knew one day he would treat his children equally. When Malala was born in 1997, he named her after Malalai, a Pashtun heroine. Ziauddin proudly recorded Malala’s birth on the family tree — she was the first girl to be included.

When the Taliban invaded their home in Swat Valley, Ziauddin peacefully resisted their efforts to limit personal freedoms. Speaking out put Ziauddin at risk, but he feared remaining silent would be far worse. Inspired by her father’s example, Malala began publicly campaigning for girls to go to school.

In October 2009, The New York Times filmed a short documentary about Ziauddin and Malala’s fight to protect girls’ education in Swat. Due to her increased prominence, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban two years later. Malala survived the attack and was transported to the United Kingdom for treatment. Ziauddin, his wife, Toor Pekai and their two sons joined Malala in Birmingham.

Determined to continue their campaign, Ziauddin and Malala founded Malala Fund. Together they champion every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.

Ziauddin currently resides in Birmingham, UK.

Peter Zinn

Peter Zinn is a cyber agent, cyber security trend watcher and an International Speaker.
His goal is to make the world a more resilient place by sharing tomorrow’s threats today. He has been in ICT for 22 years, starting as a humble C programmer after graduating in Computer Science.
He has been strategic high tech crime advisor for the Dutch police for 8 years, acting as a liaison between law enforcement and the private sector.
As trend watcher and owner of the Dutch company CyberAgents he translates technology and threats to strategies and solutions.
Mr. Zinn is an accomplished, energetic, and award winning speaker. He was European speech champion in 2009, and has been voted best speaker at various prestigious conferences.
He had spoken at Microsoft, RSA, Kaspersky, Interpol and many many more from 20 to 2000 audience. He had coached beginning speakers at Toastmasters, trained professional presenters at PSA Holland, counciled TEDx-speakers, and provided in-company trainings.