Our Team
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Marita is a storyteller and creator of film, theater and some bewitching salts! Marita’s current film projects include the animated work, The Code of the Heart, Taught by the Moon which celebrates kindness by teaching the Mayan greeting of “In Lak’ech Ala K’in” with characters depicting the Mayan Moon Goddess and two precocious little fish.
Recent acting roles include playing the mother, Teresa in "The Creations", and Isabella in the award-winning "LODO", a short film she also co-wrote and produced. Marita is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Highland Park Independent Film Festival. Marita is also a Producer for Teatro Arroyo, the theater arm of the Arroyo Arts Collective of Northeast Los Angeles.
Recent theater work includes acting in Josefina Lopez' Actos and the Democratic Action Network's Artful Resistance. Marita is also thrilled to be working with Laura Ochoa in the creation of Darkwave Latina, a fictional podcast. She rounds out her passion for film and food as a partner in the venture of Godmother Salt, a company offering sublime salt blends she creates in Malibu, California.
@maritacine @codeoftheheartfilm @godmothersalt @darkwavelatina
Marita De La Torre
PRODUCER
April is a director of theatre, film, and webisodes. She most recently directed Empathy Quest, a social emotional wellness play geared for young audiences for Imagination stage. She is currently working on Dr. Ellen Ochoa, A Spark In Our Sky, the story of the first Latina astronaut that will tour schools in Los Angeles County. April has won Telly Awards, Digital Health awards and Communicator Awards for her work on educational webisodes. April is proud to be born and raised in Highland Park, an alum of Franklin High school, and honored to continue to bring art and artists to her hometown.
April Ibarra
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Jada is an emerging producer from the Inland Empire. She holds a BA in Communications and Film Studies from the University of California, Davis. Her past work includes producing the Davis Feminist Film Festival. Passionate about independent cinema and its capacity for authentic storytelling, Jada is committed to supporting underrepresented voices in film.
Jada Nuno
PROGRAMMING DIRECTOR
Martin Ibarra-Ramos is a film instructor at College of the Canyons and Glendale Community College, teaching courses related to film history, cultural representation, aesthetics, and production. He holds an MA in Cinema and Media Studies from UCLA and a BA in Cinema and Television Arts from CSUN. Martin is passionate about surveying film culture in all its dynamic forms, as well as fostering an appreciation for the artistic power of film.
Martin Ibarra-Ramos
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Willard Chan is an editor and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. Most recently editing for James Beard award-winning YouTube channel Made With Lau he also has experience working on IMAX films such as Terence Malick’s Voyage of Time (as online editor) and Asteroid Hunters (as assistant editor). Since rekindling his love for screenwriting during the pandemic lockdown, he and his writing partner have completed two feature screenplays, one of which he plans to adapt into a short film.
He has recently been elected to the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, a neighborhood right next to Highland Park, and plans to channel his passion for the arts into helping his community become a more vibrant and livable place. An avid supporter of local filmmaking, he is excited to return as Technical Director to help fellow artists share their works in the best quality on the big screen.
Willard Chan
BRANDING DESIGNER
Melissa received her BA in Cinema & Television Arts from CSUN. Her interests have always been within the Arts, beginning with a passion for drawing at a young age. After starting as an Arts major with a focus in Photography, she shifted to Cinema & Television Arts where she found the work of collaborating with a team to tell unique stories to be rewarding. Taking the skills she learned from post-production, photography, and art design, she loves to contribute any way she can to help others tell their stories, whatever they may be.
Melissa Ibarra-Ramos
WEB DESIGNER
Lewis Thompson makes designs for audio, graphic, web, and installation works. He is currently an Associate Sound Designer at Looks Good.
He has an MFA in Composition and Experimental Sound Practices with a concentration in Integrated Media from CalArts.
Lewis Thompson
MENTOR / MODERATOR / RED CARPET
JEANETTE GODOY is an Interdisciplinary Artivista (Actor, Costume Designer, Style Innovator and Social Justice Educator). She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and received her BA in Liberal Studies with a Specialization in Chicana/o Studies from San Diego State University. In addition, Jeanette holds a BCLAD Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and an MFA in Theater with a double focus in Acting and Costume Design from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.
She has worked with: Warner Brothers Discovery, Latino Film Institute, Cornerstone Theater Company, Frida Kahlo Theater, AFI, Project Involve-Film Independent, Ghetto Film School, Lodo Productions, Friendly Productions, UCLA TFT, University of Redlands, University of La Verne, and most recently is a Cohort 3 fellow with Color Creative’s: Find Your People Program. You can follow her work via IG: @misskahlo
Jeannette Godoy
MENTOR / MODERATOR
Tyrrell moved often as a child, living in 4 states and England before she was a teen. Always the tallest girl in school, with frizzy hair and freckles, she cracked jokes to survive her adolescence. As a filmmaker, she explores being an outsider from a female POV.
She moved to LA to attend USC Film School. Her comedic thesis film, "Different," played at 40 festivals. She was a staff director/producer for Oscar-winning Producer Rob Fried's SVOD channel Feeln and she served in the same role for Director Jon Chu's Google channel DS2DIO. She has since crafted 100s of pieces of content for various digital companies.
Tyrrell recently directed her first feature, the comedy “Katie’s Mom,” which stars veteran actress Dina Meyer. The film won the audience award for Best Fusion Feature at Dances With Films in 2023 and Playgirl calls the film “raunchy, MILF-y fun." It’s available to watch on digital and on demand.
Tyrrell Shaffner
MENTOR / MODERATOR
Cortney Thornton
Cortney "CK" Thornton is a Southern California cinematic pictorialist with a decade of diverse film experience. A UC Santa Cruz alumna, she interned on Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" and worked on Christopher Nolan’s "The Dark Knight Rises". For four years, she assisted producers JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi, and director Paul Thomas Anderson on his films "The Master" and "Inherent Vice".
Since 2013, Thornton has produced acclaimed projects including award-winning shorts, the web series "Talents Web Series" and "Simi Valley", the documentary "In Search of Voodoo", and the feature "The Dreams of Rene Sendam".
In 2018, she transitioned to Art and Set Decoration, learning from industry veterans like John Paino ("Dallas Buyers Club") and Dan Bishop ("Mad Men"). She contributed to shows such as HBO's "Big Little Lies" Season 2 and Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show".
Thornton's directorial debut, "The Drop Off", was a Toronto Women’s International Film Festival selection in 2021. Her second film, "Mother Martyr Salt & Saint", earned multiple accolades including the Audience Award at Highland Park Independent Film Festival (HPIFF) in 2022. Her third short, "Chicken Salad", won Audience and Juror's Awards at HPIFF in 2024 and continues its festival run. Currently, CK has multiple projects in development, including two shorts, a music video, and two feature films.
PUBLICIST
Anita Lee Publicity is a boutique publicity agency in Los Angeles specializing in press representation, marketing and media campaigns for theatrical productions, authors, music artists, festivals and independent filmmakers. Anita has worked for two decades as both publicist and producer with award winning equity and non-equity theatrical productions, independent films and musicians.
Anita Lee
PRODUCTION DESIGN
David is the Director of the non-profit Production Organization, Chicano Creative Society. Our focus is to open doors for the Chicano people of all ages so they may express the creative talents they were unaware they were capable of, allowing them to pursue their dreams in an encouraging and supportive environment. This together with our training program, provides them the knowledge needed to pursue creative success. If you have an interest in making magic with film, Imagine it and it will be!
David Feria
BOARD PRESIDENT
Lance Simon is the Founder of Phoenix-FTA Multimedia and co-produced the award-winning short film LODO. A graduate of the University of Southern California during the strife of the early 1990's, he is focused on stories of timeless wisdom and those people whose voices have traditionally not been heard.
Mr. Simon is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the homelessness non-profit Shelter Partnership, Design Principal of EGAN | SIMON architecture and Founder of Out Of The Ashes Images ("OotA")
Lance Simon
BOARD SECRETARY
Gwen Freeman lives and works in Los Angeles, the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, and Ghirla, Italy. She paints in acrylics (the Dining Room Series) and in oils (landscapes, abstracts, figurative abstracts, and portraits.) She also produces works on paper, and embroidered pieces under the pseudonym BetZ Ross.
Ms. Freeman has shown in galleries all over Los Angeles, and in San Francisco, Denver, New York City and New Jersey. Her “Johnny Angel” was placed in Pershing Square as part of the City of Angels project. She was represented for many years by the Tang Gallery in Bisbee, Arizona. Her work has appeared on numerous top television shows and movies.
A graduate of the University of Virginia College of Arts and Sciences, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Gwen practiced law as a partner in a Glendale law firm before retiring and dedicating herself full time to her art career.
Gwen Freeman
Our Judges
JUDGE
Peter Ahern is an award winning artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He currently works as a 2D animator, director and designer on a wide variety of commercial, music video and television projects. Additionally, his short films and illustrations have reached audiences across the world via prestigious festivals, exhibitions and publications.
Peter Ahern
JUDGE
Zachary Macias is a classically trained actor who can often be found on stages around Los Angeles or professionally running games of Dungeons & Dragons to audiences of all ages. For 7 years, he toured to schools all over Southern California, spreading awareness about various mental health topics, and now continues working in the community through various artistic capacities. Having performed in and created many independent projects, Zachary is incredibly excited and grateful to be a part of this amazing festival.
Zachary Macias
JUDGE
Ashleigh Akilah Rucker is an award-winning Director, Producer, and Playwright based in Los Angeles. For over fifteen years, she has used theater arts to educate under-resourced communities for Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre. She is an arts equity consultant/trainer and filmmaker. She has won Telly and Digital Health awards for her short films, web series, and documentaries. She is a recipient of the ReImagine Playwright Grant for her play Kaleidoscope Crown, which premiered in St. Louis at the Center of Creative Arts in 2025. Her feature film, A Southern Haunting, can be viewed on all streaming platforms.
Ashleigh Rucker
JUDGE
Tomas J. Benitez has been an arts advocate and cultural worker for over forty years. He is the Development Director of Plaza de la Raza, as well as a planning and development consultant to several other organizations and
municipalities. He is the former Executive Director of Self Help Graphics & Art, and has worked with Carmen Zapata of the Bilingual Foundation for the Arts, as well as with C. Bernard Jackson at the Inner City Cultural
Center.
He was a member of El Teatro de la Esperanza with Jose Luis Valenzuela and Evalina Fernandez, and he founded his own teatro company, Teatro Café, in the 1980’s. Tomas graduated with a BA in Theatre Arts and Chicano Studies from California State University at Long Beach. He is a former chairman and board member of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and is currently the Chairman of the Board of Latino Arts Network of California. He is also a board member of The Californians for the Arts and California Arts Advocates.
Tomas Benitez
JUDGE
Albie Malafronte is based in Los Angeles with a lifelong passion for film and storytelling. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Screenwriting from California State University, Northridge, where he honed his craft and deepened his appreciation for the art of filmmaking. Albert brings a thoughtful and creative perspective to his role as a judge, drawing on both academic training and personal enthusiasm for cinema to celebrate compelling narratives and innovative storytelling.
Albie Malafronte
JUDGE
Reed Williams is honored to be a judge for The Highland Park Film Festival. He’s always inspired by the passion and dedication the filmmakers put into their work. Reed holds an MA in Cinema and Media Studies from UCLA and loves participating in local community theatre.