Education is a vital part of the Tallahassee Film Festival’s mission to celebrate the arts and strengthen our community through cinema. By providing workshops, panels, and learning opportunities for filmmakers, actors, and audiences, of all ages, we help foster the next generation of storytellers while creating meaningful spaces for creative exchange and collaboration.
We are pleased to be hosting two filmmaking educational opportunities this year with the Tallahassee Filmmakers Meeting.
Acting for the Camera Workshop | Film Distribution & Festival Strategy Panel | Artist Talk: Van Orhari
Acting for the Camera Workshop
Hosted by the Tallahassee Filmmakers Meeting Group
Ready to build confidence in front of the camera? This hands-on workshop is designed to help actors make strong, authentic choices on a film set, even with limited rehearsal time. During the two-hour session, participants will explore acclaimed acting coach Judith Weston’s actor-director techniques, including playable verbs, “as ifs,” context, and imagery, and learn practical tools for creating compelling on-screen performances.
The workshop is facilitated by Michael Curtis Johnson, an award-winning filmmaker whose work has screened at major festivals including Venice International Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival. Johnson is also Chair of the Department of Cinematic Arts and Theatre at the University of North Alabama and brings years of experience directing actors and producing independent feature films.
Participants can attend the workshop alone or choose an expanded experience that includes a Saturday filming session, where actors will perform scenes in a new ensemble film project and see the completed work screened during the festival weekend.
Registration & Cost
- Workshop only (2-hour session): $20
- Workshop + Filming Experience: $50
- Festival Weekend and VIP Pass holders receive workshop admission, but advance registration is still required.
- The Saturday filming experience is not included with festival passes but may be added separately.
Friday, Oct 9 at 2:45 p.m.
2nd Floor
Challenger Learning Center
To reserve your spot, pre-register through the workshop page:
Film Distribution & Festival Strategy Panel
Join four award-winning panelists and explore the process on how to get distribution for your film and the best approach for a successful festival run.
Panelists
Krystal Alexandria
Krystal Alexandria is a Regional Emmy Award-winning director and filmmaker born in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Profoundly deaf and wearing bilateral cochlear implants, she discovered her passion for filmmaking while attending Trinity Bay State High School. In 2015, Krystal moved to Orlando, Florida, to pursue her dream of becoming the first deaf filmmaker to win an Oscar. Her dedication to impactful storytelling earned her a Regional Emmy Award for Directing and a Regional Emmy nomination for Editing in 2020 for the documentary We Kept America Great. Today, she continues to champion representation and inclusion through powerful visual storytelling.
Thomas Hindy
Thomas Hindy is an American filmmaker whose works have screened both domestically and internationally at festivals including the American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival, the Student Emmys, Dances With Films, and Panic Fest. Driven by a passion for human connection, Thomas’s films explore our deepest fears, fascinations, and feelings, crafting universal stories that challenge expectations and linger long after the credits roll. Holding a bachelor’s degree in Motion Picture Arts from Florida State University, Thomas aims to subvert the idea of the traditional blockbuster, crafting universal films that inspire wonder and imagination while encouraging audiences to think critically about the world and the stories that shape it.
Thomas R. Rondinella
Thomas R. Rondinella is an award-winning independent filmmaker, writer, director, editor, and producer with a career spanning feature films, documentaries, and more than 40 short films. His credits include A Fool and His Money starring Sandra Bullock, Blades, Good Day for It starring Hal Holbrook, and the acclaimed documentary Scrappers: How the Heartland Won WWII. His work has screened at major U.S. and international film festivals and has aired on HBO, Cinemax, PBS, Starz, and IFC. Thomas is also President of Catfish Studios and serves in leadership and consulting roles across the independent film industry.
Jodi Wille
Jodi Wille is a filmmaker, curator, publisher, and storyteller whose work explores American subcultures, spirituality, and creative communities on the margins. She directed the acclaimed documentary The Source Family (2012) and the feature-length documentary Welcome, Space Brothers (2023). A former photographer and music video director for artists including R.E.M. and Sparks, Wille is also the cofounder of Dilettante Press, Process Media, and Otherworld, where she has published numerous award-winning books focused on art, culture, and alternative histories.
Saturday, Oct 10 at 3:45 p.m.
Theater #3
To reserve your spot and attend this panel, register here:
Artist Talk – Van Orhari
Jamming the Medium, Which is the Messege: A Talk on Technical Solutions in Relation to Cultural Techniques
In the wake of Negativland’s performance, join media theorist and sound artist Van Orhari for a talk on the relationship between medium and message in the context of culture jamming. This talk aims to address questions such as: What does it mean to hijack communication in the 2020s? What strategies can be used to disrupt cultural programming in an era where pranks and satire can become absorbed into the dominant logic? And how might theoretically informed technical solutions (e.g. hardware, software) respond to phenomena otherwise outside our control?
Van Orhari is a media theorist and sound artist at Florida State University, where she is currently pursuing her MA in the Literature, Media, and Culture program. Working primarily in the field of sound studies, her research focuses on theories of mediation, intersubjective sound practices, and media archeology.
Sunday, Oct. 11 at 4:00 p.m. in Cinema Labs C&D, 2nd Floor, Challenger Learning Center