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Moderator
Holly Herrick is Head of Film and Creative Media at the Austin Film Society (AFS), where she has played a key leadership role in film exhibition and filmmaker support programs since 2012, overseeing over $1M in grants for Texas-based independent filmmakers. She launched the Artist Intensive, helping debut features from Annie Silverstein, Channing Godfrey Peoples, and Augustine Frizzell, and has led the Texas Film Awards since 2013. She has also co-programmed international retrospectives at Karlovy Vary and the Centre Pompidou. Previously, she served as Director of Programming at the Sarasota Film Festival and Deputy Programs Director at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Panelist
Trish Vasquez is a strategy, operations, marketing, publicity, and distribution executive with extensive experience in film, awards, and issue-driven projects. With over 25 years of experience creating and executing B2B and B2C campaigns, her expertise spans theatrical, digital, and specialized releases. A UCLA graduate and fluent in Spanish, Trish has worked on over 70 studio award campaigns, production and marketing on hundreds of independent films, and worldwide launches and events.
Panelist
Fernando Rocha is a Mexican-American cinematographer based in Queens, NY, whose work spans scripted and unscripted genres. A 2023 PBS Ignite X Creative Voices Fellow, 2022 Sundance X Adobe Ignite Fellow, 2022 Southern Exposure Film Fellow, and 2021 Fulbright Scholar, his project The Boys and the Bees won the Jury Award for Best Nonfiction Short Film at Sundance 2026. His visual approach merges the intimacy of documentary with the precision of narrative filmmaking. He graduated from American University as a Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholar and studied at USC School of Cinematic Arts and FAMU Conservatory in Prague. He also spent over 12 years performing Mexican Folkloric dance throughout the DMV region.
Panelist
Leigh Davis is a San Antonio native and UT Austin graduate with a BA in Studio Art. She launched her career as a freelance production professional, working primarily as a production coordinator across film and television for over 15 years, contributing to more than 40 Texas-made projects including Office Space, Friday Night Lights, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Today she brings that on-set experience to the Texas Film Commission, where she serves as Production and Marketing Program Manager, supporting and promoting media production throughout the state.
Panelist
Bethiael Alemayoh is an independent filmmaker and Director of Content & Distribution at Austin PBS, where she oversees the “Austin PBS Presents” slate and facilitates national distribution of local films and television projects. Her mission is to demystify the distribution process by educating filmmakers on the public media model and empowering them to make sustainable career choices. Since joining Austin PBS, she has distributed over 30 projects and launched the station’s inaugural filmmaker grant programs in 2025. As a narrative filmmaker, her own work has screened at SXSW, BlackStar Film Festival, and Palm Springs International Film Festival, with support from Indie Memphis and the Sundance Institute.
