Honorary Guests
Bryce McNabb- Workshop Leader, Speaker, and Judge
Bryce McNabb is a 3-time regional Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and brand storyteller. He specializes in crafting authentic, emotionally engaging films. Over the past 10 years, he has produced short documentaries for brands like New Balance, NC State, and UNC Chapel Hill. Bryce is a self-proclaimed “strategic storyteller and emotional translator” who uses his passion for storytelling to inspire the next generation of filmmakers.
Michael Lucker- Speaker
Michael is a writer, director and producer with twenty years experience creating film, television, animation and digital media. He began his career writing and directing television commercials while earning his undergraduate degree in broadcasting and film at Boston University’s College of Communication. Soon after he landed in Los Angeles working in production on series and specials for ABC, NBC, CBS and HBO before taking a job as production assistant to Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment on feature films Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, Arachnophobia, Joe Vs. The Volcano, Always, Back To The Future II & III and Jurassic Park. He went onto serve in creative affairs at Hollywood Pictures where he worked on such movies as Crimson Tide, Terminal Velocity, Taking Care of Business and Straight Talk.
Michael then embarked on a career as a screenwriter, helping pen more than twenty feature screenplays for Paramount, Disney, DreamWorks, Fox and Universal, including Vampire In Brooklyn, Home On The Range, Good Intentions and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002 as best animated feature. He also served as screenwriter on the animated sequels to Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, Emperor’s New Groove and 101 Dalmatians. An opportunity to serve as creative consultant to Turner Entertainment took him home to Atlanta in 2007. He went onto work as a writer, director and executive producer with non-fiction production houses Encyclomedia, Shed Media, Crazy Legs Productions and Trailblazer Studios before launching his own production company, Lucky Dog Filmworks, which now serves as his home for creating film, television and commercial content. In television, Michael has worked with Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, History, Discovery, NBC, TBS, TNT, TLC, OWN, DIY, MSNBC and A&E.
A renowned lecturer in screenwriting, Michael presently serves as advisor to the Atlanta Film Festival, founder of Screenwriter School, professor of screenwriting at Emory University and University of North Georgia and lecturer in Reinhardt University’s MFA Creative Writing program.
Trenton Lumpkin- Judge and Panelist
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Trenton received his Bachelor of Arts from Alabama A&M University and his M.F.A. from Savannah College of Art and Design with a concentration in Film & Television. He also studied at The Acting Studio company to see things from the actor’s perspective. His directorial works have placed in the Pan- African Film Festival and the Atlanta Film Festival, with his first feature film, Through Her Eyes, to be released Spring 2021. Behind the scenes, Lumpkin has worked in the Producers department on numerous productions including: American Ninja Warriors, Survivor’s Remorse, and numerous other productions. Lumpkin continues his journey through education and creative exploration. While finishing his M.B.A., he is redefining the reach of Tri-Auric — a media & arts company with aspirations to Educate, Inspire, and Active the community through socially impactful and esoteric media arts.
Angelica Perez- Panelist
Cinematographer Angélica Pérez-Castro, born and raised in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, has spent years honing an artistic sensibility. At an early age, she discovered her passion for cinematography through taking black and white photographs, producing her own pictures in a dark room, and even building a camera obscura from scratch. Once she decided to translate this passion into a career, she went on to obtain two degrees; in 2013, she earned a BFA in Graphic Design from the Escuela de Artes Plasticas in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 2014, she moved to Atlanta where she completed a Masters degree in Film and Television at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She’s currently a union operator from the local 600 Cinematographers Guild, and a member of The Society of Camera Operators (SOC) as well as the Steadicam Operators Association (SOA). You can view all her credits online on IMDb.