Monday, June 9, 2025 at 7:00 pm
James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Student hosts: Bridget Garrity and Aman Johnson
Get ready for an unforgettable night at Producers Marketplace!
On Monday, June 9th, four standout graduate students from the UCLA Producers Program will take center stage to pitch their original feature film or television projects to a panel of elite industry judges—live!
In this showdown, finalists will present their best pitch in a lightning round of creativity and strategy, followed by a round of probing questions from the judges about their vision and funding plans. Two top honors are up for grabs: the Dan Angel Family Producers Award, chosen by the judges, and the Barbara Boyle Promising Producers Prize, picked by the audience.
Each year, the event also shines a spotlight on an accomplished producer from the industry, handpicked by the students, to celebrate their outstanding achievements and influence in the film world. This year, the students will receive a special message from Wes Anderson.
Don’t miss this dynamic evening of bold ideas, real-world insights, and the next generation of producing talent!
Vision Award Honoree: Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson, born in Houston, Texas, is a filmmaker celebrated for his stylized aesthetics, dry humor, and emotionally complex narratives. He arrived in the late ’90s with Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, and founded his production company, American Empirical Pictures. He broke through with The Royal Tenenbaums, which set the tone for work encompassing Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Anderson has crossed from live action into stop-motion with the same care, making him known for uniquely constructed worlds. Over his career, he has been awarded multiple accolades, including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and won the Academy Award for Henry Sugar in 2023.
The Finalists
Quinten Williams is a startup co-founder, Navy veteran, and passionate storyteller from San Francisco, CA. His upbringing in the historic Fillmore District exposed him to technology and the arts at a young age. His first theatrical experience came in 1995 when his mother took him to see the first Toy Story. Throughout his childhood, movies, video games, and Saturday morning cartoons provided the catharsis he craved, further encouraging his interest in filmmaking. Now, as a student at UCLA’s MFA Producer Program, Quinten has decided to pursue a career in representation at an agency where he can learn how the business works and build a professional foundation so that he can one day form his own production company that tells nuanced action, adventure, and thriller IP driven stories across Film, TV, and Gaming.
The Cinch (TV show, Sports Crime Drama)
Thesis Logline: A father smuggles an experimental steroid to help his son become a champion wrestler, but puts them both in a world of danger.
Sara Sternheimer is a Paris-born creative producer based in Los Angeles, currently pursuing her MFA in UCLA’s Producers Program, where she focuses on female-driven stories that blend queer desire, the supernatural, and feminist critique. A self-proclaimed witch with a penchant for crystals, she uses storytelling to reclaim power and confront misogyny with imagination and flair. Before UCLA, she graduated summa cum laude from Sorbonne Nouvelle and held a production desk for Wes Anderson, later co-founding Dorfmann & Sternheimer, a boutique company producing campaigns for brands like Louis XIII Cognac, Uniqlo, and Rare Champagne. In LA, she’s worked for Roman Coppola at The Director’s Bureau, worked in development for Paul Feig, worked in the vertical series industry for various platforms, and built a social media presence, reaching over 450,000 followers and 150 million views.
CURSES LLC (TV show)
Thesis Logline: When an ambitious stripper stumbles upon a strip-mall shop selling real curses, she teams up with its grim Slavic owner to transform the shady venture into a mainstream business, navigating magic, mayhem, and the messy realities of ambition.
Josh Genao is an MFA candidate in UCLA’s Producers Program with a focus on genre storytelling that blends horror, humor, and heart. He’s interned with Project X Entertainment/Radio Silence and contributed to national marketing campaigns for Sony and Universal. His thesis, Zero Feet Away, merges the slasher genre with queer identity, exploring what happens when hookup apps go monstrously wrong.
Zero Feet Away (feature)
Thesis Logline: When bodies start piling up in Boystown, a gay Mexican-American werewolf discovers the killer might be someone he swiped right on. Now he’ll have to embrace his inner beast—before he becomes the next victim.
Grace Vincent is a Producers MFA candidate at UCLA (Class of 2025) with a background in ballet, theater, and performance. She creates immersive, genre-blurring stories that fuse psychology and the surreal—often centering mad, queer, and marginalized characters. Throughout her time at UCLA, she has interned at The Exchange, Artists First, and Anarchists United, supporting bold, artist-driven work across development and live events. She is now building a career in film and television with a focus on emotionally charged, visually striking stories that challenge form and center the outsider.
ARENA (horror/sci-fi feature film)
Thesis Logline: An Indigenous woman’s self-discovery journey is set against a terrifying slasher spectacle, where the true villain is the space itself—a shapeshifting stage designed to consume, learn, and replicate.
CLASS OF 2025
Nazanin Nematollahi is an Iranian educator and filmmaker. She holds an MA in Social Justice and Equity in Education from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Producing Film and TV from UCLA. Over the past decade, she has produced acclaimed documentaries like The Color of Memories (2018), Dancing in Tomorrowland (2024), an official selection of the Seattle and Palm Springs Film Festivals, and fiction such as Soft Animal (2024), an official selection of the Brooklyn Film Festival. Currently, Nazanin is working on three feature documentaries—The Exile of the Swans, Fade In, Fade Out: The Cinematic Life of Barbara Boyle, and Tehran Moca—while developing a TV series examining LA’s houselessness crisis. In addition to her film career, Nazanin is a former flight attendant, professional college athlete, and sports trainer, experiences that have enriched her multifaceted career.
Venice (1-hour Dramedy TV Show)
Thesis Logline: Inspired by a true event, Venice follows a young couple who, after a job loss and skyrocketing housing costs, find themselves living among L.A.’s unhoused — and must navigate the new rules of survival in a community hiding in plain sight.
Tiffany Lu embarked on her academic journey at UCLA in September 2019, pursuing a dual degree in Film, Television, and Digital Media alongside Economics. Currently progressing towards an MFA in Film, Television, and Digital Media, specializing in the Producers Program, Tiffany exemplifies a commitment to excellence. Throughout her ongoing education, Tiffany’s academic dedication earned her a place on the Dean’s List, a University Fellowship, two UCLA School of TFT Student Scholarship Awards, two Teacher’s Assistant positions in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and a Teacher’s Assistant position in the UCLA Division of Social Sciences, highlighting her impact within the academic arena. Beyond the classroom, Tiffany actively engages in extracurricular activities. Volunteer work at a local community center and industry internships (Fox Sports, Hulu, etc.) showcases the practical application of her academic knowledge. Additionally, her participation in university film and theater productions supplements a creative dimension to her college experience. Tiffany’s journey is marked by personal achievements, including notable recognitions such as the 2021 Campus Movie Festival Grand Jury Award and the 2020 Shorttakes Film Festival Audience Choice Award. In addition to her academic pursuits, Tiffany explores personal interests in screenwriting, directing, animation, social media, and the performing arts, serving as conduits for creative expression, career development, and personal growth. Looking ahead, Tiffany aspires to continue her growth within the cinematic landscape. She strives to use social media analytics and artificial intelligence technologies to augment the media and entertainment production process, support business decisions, and measure performance, dedicated to enhancing socioeconomic opportunities.
Touche (Animation TV Show)
Thesis Logline: Touche is a provocateur’s conspiracy that jeopardizes a teenage fencer’s dreams. Battling depression and resource deprivation, the fencer fights for victory, determined not to lose her only hope and pursue her ultimate aspiration.
Originally from Pasadena, California, Bridget Garrity attended the University of Notre Dame and double majored in Film and Television and Spanish. She found her true passion for storytelling while interning at Marvel Studios after her sophomore year and getting her feet wet in development and production. After graduation, she began her career as an assistant producer at the Luis Buñuel Film Institute, where she adapted and translated screenplays and supported the production of diverse projects, including podcasts, docuseries, film retrospectives, and off Broadway plays. She then spent over a year working as a production and VFX coordinator at Stargate Studios, contributing to several Blumhouse productions, including Insidious 5: The Red Door, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Night Swim, and Afraid. Fluent in Spanish, Bridget is dedicated to producing Spanish-language content with a focus on empowering female-driven narratives. During her time at UCLA, she has cultivated a deep interest in the business side of the entertainment industry and completed internships at Gaumont Television and Project X Entertainment. Bridget served as a teaching assistant for three courses: two at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management—Sports Management taught by Peter Guber and Dan Beckerman and Entertainment Globalization taught by Mali Kinberg and Abhijay Prakash—and one at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television—International Finance and Distribution, taught by Mali Kinberg.
Disengaged (TV show)
Thesis Logline: A British groom on his bachelor party and Spanish bride on her bachelorette party fall for each other in the Mediterranean party town of Magaluf and must decide whether their newfound connection is worth risking it all to cancel their weddings back home.
Or Keisar is a creative producer born and raised in Israel, with a unique path to entertainment. After earning degrees in Chemistry, Business, and Renewable Energy, he served nearly six years as a military researcher, honing his project management skills. Drawn to storytelling, he shifted to film and TV, gaining industry experience through internships at Valhalla Entertainment, Zero Gravity, Artists First, and Animation Israel, and producing student films while completing the Producers Program at UCLA. Now graduating, Or aims to combine his global background and production experience to launch his career in the industry.
Boy Bi (TV show)
Thesis Logline: When a straight woman and her gay best friend fall in love with the same man, they are tempted to risk their almost perfect relationship and explore an awkwardly sexy and complicated throuple.
Andrew McGowan is a Los Angeles-based producer with a passion for sharing original, compelling cinematic stories. Born and raised in New Jersey, he grew up visiting his local video store and movie theater every weekend. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in English and Education with a minor in Cinema Studies. Outside of the classroom, he wrote about film for on-campus publications, attended workshops and screenings with the Bowdoin Film Society, and hosted a weekly radio show where he reviewed recent movies on-air. Before coming to the UCLA Producers Program, he interned at Walden Media and PBS, taught film studies and language arts at the high school level, and programmed for international film festivals in Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, and Austin. He also wrote about film for Collider, ScreenRant, and The Response Journal of Popular Culture amongst other outlets. Throughout his MFA, he has interned at Zero Gravity Management, Disney’s Whitaker Entertainment, and Paramount’s di Bonaventura Pictures, and has produced several short films— both live action and animated. After graduating, McGowan will be temporarily writing for Variety, covering breaking news and industry trends. Afterwards, he hopes to continue sharing his passion for film through creative as well as critical practices.
Security (Half-hour television comedy)
Thesis Logline: After a New Jersey State Police officer gets kicked off the force, he takes the only job available to him: Mall Cop. He must pivot from investigating top criminals to dealing with mallrat hijinks, petty shoplifters, and bizarre co-workers, all while wearing a badge that carries no power.
Chris Dunleavy is an aspiring Creative Development Executive and punk-rocker at heart. He attended the University of California, Davis where he graduated with a major in Cinema and Digital Media Studies and a minor in Communications. While there he served two years as the President for the D2 Men’s Ice Hockey Club. During his junior year at Davis, Chris attended the UCLA Summer Institute for Creative Producing, an experience which inspired him to pursue the UCLA’s MFA Producers’ Program. At UCLA, he had the opportunity to participate in development internships at companies including Valhalla Entertainment, Project X Entertainment and Radio Silence. Additionally he helped in co-producing two short films.
A fan of films that are unabashedly fun like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Hell Fest, and Point Break, Chris hopes to continue his journey to becoming a Creative Executive by working at an entertainment agency where he can gain valuable desk and assistant experience.
Bilk (TV series)
Thesis Logline: In 2008, an emo high school student from the Midwest uses her charisma to scam those around her in hopes of escaping her small town and striking it big in the L.A. alt music scene.
Jeremy Oletsky is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Growing up, Jeremy’s entire life was dedicated to sports, most specifically lacrosse. After his dreams of becoming a professional lacrosse player fizzled out, he decided he’d rather do something where he was guaranteed to make a good living, so he shifted gears and dedicated himself to another one of his passions, filmmaking. Jeremy has been making short films with his brother, Jake, since high school and has continued to do so to this day. Jeremy credits his studies at the University of Michigan with giving him a fundamental understanding of storytelling, production and collaboration. This led Jeremy to UCLA where he decided he wanted to further his studies in the UCLA Producers Program. Since he moved out to Los Angeles in September 2023 and started in the program, Jeremy has learned what it means to be a producer. Attending UCLA and being in Los Angeles has provided him with the resources to be able to start his career and gain a real understanding of the business of the industry to supplement his academic background. From interning at production companies Whitaker Entertainment and Speck Gordon inc. to his new full-time job as an assistant to manager/ producer at Canopy Media Partners.
JERICHO (TV series)
Thesis Logline: A widowed sheriff and his estranged son uncover a cult in their Long Island town that believes the son is the prophesied messiah destined to lead them to salvation, triggering a series of events that blur the lines between good and evil.
Caterina Monaco is an Italian-born producer with a global mindset and a passion for storytelling that transcends borders. With a background in theater, a degree in Communication Psychology, and a Master’s in Film and TV Production, she began her career in Italy before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her MFA at UCLA’s Producers Program and expand her international network. Her diverse path – from producing in Europe to working in international scripted TV at Universal Studios – has shaped her unique perspective on content that resonates across cultures. Caterina will bring her cross-cultural insight and creative vision to lead co-productions and champion globally-minded formats.
Saturday Afternoon (sci-fi dramedy feature)
Thesis Logline: A nostalgic father, his disillusioned son, and a frustrated former director come together to make one last attempt to save the art of movie-making, inventing a device that projects people’s emotions onto the big screen.
Bilingual producer Edyta Yutong Deng bridges American and Chinese entertainment industries with versatile producing skills. The UCLA MFA program alum founded Gadfly Media, creating content that achieved 2M+ views and 120% ROI on release day. Her award-winning short films received recognition at multiple international festivals, including the Beijing International Film Festival. As Executive Producer at Drama Let, she pioneered genres including horror, thriller, and LGBTQ+ content reaching 10M+ views. A Beijing Film Academy alum, her credits span Alibaba, Apple, and innovative virtual production across both markets.
Better Luck Next Time (feature)
Thesis Logline: Two best friends run a clandestine revenge service, delivering karmic justice to deserving ex-boyfriends who’ve crossed the line.
Felicity Girty, a second-year MFA Producers Program student, holds an undergraduate degree in English with a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Born and raised in Northridge, CA, she recognizes the beauty and power that comes with the many forms of storytelling. Part of this stems from an early love of literature that was instilled into her by her mother, who used to read to Felicity daily as a child. A ‘happy go-lucky’ person, she wishes to work in comedy, ideally within the world of television, while also finding ways to mesh it with other genres where both hold equal and distinct weight. During her second year, Felicity interned at NBCUniversal with the scripted television networks department. She also interned at American High and The Wolper Organization while in graduate school, all while also working a part-time job at UCLA Powell Library. Outside of the program, she loves watching college basketball games (especially the UCLA men’s and women’s teams), discovering new music, and trying new baking recipes. After graduation, Felicity hopes to pursue a career in TV comedy development or current programming.
Love Bug (TV show)
Thesis Logline: (feature) A commitment-phobic mid-20s woman experiences a love-at-first-sight encounter after being infected by a rare parasite. As she experiences love for the first time, her life takes a turn when she discovers he’s her friend’s new roommate.
Yongjie Zeng is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who grew up in China, Japan, and the United States. He gravitates towards themes of identity, power politics, and performance across transnational contexts. With experience in development at production companies like Color Force and in a writers’ room for a Max/Warner Bros. show, Yongjie finds great fulfillment in propelling projects from their inception to its distribution to wide audiences.
Supernova (TV show)
Thesis Logline: The night before their highly anticipated debut, the leader of a male K-pop group commits suicide, but some of his bandmates believe it was murder.