Chris has been directing, shooting, and editing documentaries for over forty years. She received the prestigious Directors Guild Award for Startup.com. Along with D.A. Pennebaker, she directed the 1992 Clinton campaign film The War Room (Oscar nomination). Her other films include Elaine Stritch at Liberty (Emmy Award), The Energy War series, Town Bloody Hall, Delorean, Moon Over Broadway, Depeche Mode 101, Down From the Mountain, Only the Strong Survive, Al Franken: God Spoke, Kings of Pastry and HBO’s Unlocking the Cage (Emmy nomination). Hegedus’ career awards include the International Documentary Association, Critics Choice, and the Golden Eagle CINE. She is Governor of the Documentary Branch of the Academy and the co-chair of the branch’s Academy Museum Board.

Garrett Zuercher (he/him) is a profoundly Deaf theater and film artist and award-winning
playwright who holds an MFA from Hunter College, class of 2022. Based in New York
City, he serves as the founding artistic director of Deaf Broadway, for which he is
currently producing an all-Deaf, all-ASL staging of Stephen Sondheim’s COMPANY at
Lincoln Center this summer. He also recently received a residency commission from The
Shed to create an original narrative piece about the lives and work of Deaf artists, which
will be produced on the mainstage in the summer of 2024. Dedicated to bringing
authentic Deaf voices to the mainstream, he continues to advocate for awareness and
representation within the theatre and film industries. Read More

Meret Hassanen is an Egyptian Australian filmmaker with cerebral palsy. She has a Bachelor of Media in Screen Practice and Production from Macquarie University. Meret has Associate Producer credits for feature films RHAPSODY OF LOVE and GET A LIFE, ALRIGHT! In 2020, she was an Associate Producer for Back to Back Pictures’ film adaptation SHADOW. Meret thoroughly enjoyed working on SHADOW and was inspired by its everyday yet futuristic portrayal of disability activism. Since SHADOW, Meret has been a researcher and producer for the ABC, and developing her own portfolio.

Kevin Newbury is an opera, theatre, film and television director. Kevin has directed over 100 projects across all mediums. Career highlights: three PBS Great Performances Broadcasts: Bernstein’s MASS (Ravinia Festival) and the world premiere’s of Doubt (Minnesota Opera) & Bel Canto (Lyric Opera of Chicago), the world premieres of Castor & Patience (Cincinnati Opera), Unholy Wars (Spoleto Festival USA, upcoming: Opera Philadelphia), The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, upcoming: San Francisco Opera, GRAMMY Winner: Best Opera Recording), Fellow Travelers (Cincinnati Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Prototype Festival, etc., New York Times: “Best Opera, 2016”), Kansas City Choir Boy, starring Courtney Love (Prototype Festival & National Tour), Oscar (Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia), the Pulitzer-Prize winning Life is a Dream (Santa Fe Opera), Paul’s Case (Urban Arias, Prototype Festival) & The Good Swimmer (BAM Next Wave Festival). Kevin’s long association with the work of Bernstein includes directing MASS six times (Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Philadelphia Orchestra, etc.) and Candide (starring Bradley Cooper & Carey Mulligan, Philadelphia Orchestra). Theatre credits include: Candy & Dorothy (GLAAD Media Award Winner) & Eighty-Sixed. TV & Film: Apple TV’s Dickinson, dozens of short films, music videos, film festivals & awards, including the short film UpUntilNow (OutFEST Fushion/LA and New Fest/NYC), and the Times Square “Midnight Moment.” Upcoming: the world premiere of The Righteous (Santa Fe Opera). Co-Founder: Up Until Now Collective.

Brandon Kazen-Maddox (they/them) is a Grandchild of Deaf Adults (GODA) and third-generation native signer of American Sign Language (ASL) who identifies as a Nonbinary, Black Indigenous Person of Color and a member of the LGBTQAI+ community. Brandon is an artist, choreographer, director, actor, acrobat, activist and ASL artist and performer. Brandon has also spent the last 10 years as a professional ASL interpreter. Brandon creates work with and for the Deaf and Disability communities, and highlights and empowers BIPOC and LGBTQAI+ artists, building bridges of collaboration and community among people of all backgrounds and abilities. In May 2019, Brandon graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with an MFA in Dance and New Technology. In the summer of 2020, Brandon co-founded Up Until Now Collective, an arts and media company that focuses on developing and producing radically inclusive inter-disciplinary work.
Up Until Now projects include SOUL(SIGNS): An ASL Playlist (a series of 10 ASL music videos for Broadstream Media, featuring iconic songs by Black women; featured in The New York Times, on ABC World News, and as the “Midnight Moment” in Times Square, appearing on 80+ screens every night at midnight in July, 2021); SOUL(SIGNS): OPERA, a series of Opera ASL videos commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera, and Pride video campaigns for Amazon Music and Global Citizen. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Brandon served as the lead consultant for providing ASL Services at The Shed, Little Island, Lincoln Center and the Park Avenue Armory, where they are bringing Deaf Directors of ASL into the inner workings of arts organizations and integrating both the Deaf perspective and Deaf performers onstage, on camera and behind the scenes.
Brandon’s work as an interpreter and activist has been profiled on CNN and they have appeared as a co-star on “The Good Fight” (Paramount +) and “High Maintenance” (HBO). Brandon was also a featured story-teller on the 100th episode of “Stories From The Stage” (PBS) and they were chosen as one of Gucci and Time For Change’s “22 for ‘22: Visions For a Feminist Future.” Brandon is the recipient of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) National Dance Production Grant and an awardee of the 2022 cycle of the Creative Capital Award for the ASL Dance Theatre Reimagining of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party.

Writer/Director Sofya Gollan springboarded from a career in theatre and acting, switching
to make several short films and a short feature that saw her
become an award winning writer and director of documentary and
drama. She was nominated for three AFI (ACCTA) Awards, including
Best Director and Best Screenplay for her short feature film
PRESERVATION. She has also been nominated for Best Director
at the Australian Film Critics Circle Awards, and Best Screenplay
at the Australian Writers Guild. She is an ATOM award winner of Best
Short Documentary. Her short films as writer/director have appeared
in more than 50 film festivals worldwide including the prestigious
Clermont Frerrand. She is a graduate actor of the National Institute of
Dramatic Art (NIDA) and of the Australian Film & Television and Radio
School (AFTRS) holding a Masters in Directing.

Jodee is an interdisciplinary artist working across theatre, public events, installations, live art, festival direction and film.
Her work has been awarded a Green Room Award for Innovation in Experiential Theatre (IMAGINED TOUCH), nominated for four Green Room Awards for Best Writing, Best Production, Best Visual Production and Best Direction, a Helpmann Award for Best Visual/Theatre Production and a Whickers Award for Personal, her solo show. A graduate theatre maker from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), she is doing her Masters in Cultural Leadership at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA). Jodee is a CODA, growing up in a Deaf family and is native signer of Australian Sign Language. She lives with a terminal illness and identifies as a disabled artist. In 2020 she was awarded the national prestigious Order of Australia Medal for Service to the Performing Arts. Imagined Touch is her first documentary.

Gabriele Di Bello [Tivoli (Rome), 8/10/1994] studied in public school following the
programs provided for all students, graduating at age 19 with a high grade in hotel
school. Shortly thereafter, he appeared in the RAI docu-fiction “6-Star Hotel,” after
which he began working at Burger King as a floor and kitchen attendant, where he
still works.
In 2018 he starred in the RAI 1 TV drama “Everyone is Perfect,” winning several
awards; in 2019 he co-starred in the short film “Beyond Prejudice,” about people with
disabilities; in 2021 he starred in “The Hiring Chain,” a video clip with original score
by Sting; in 2021 he starred in “Upside Down,” a film about a boy with Down’s
Syndrome who wants to make his debut as an amateur boxer, winning the Giuliano
Gemma award; also in 2021 he starred in the Italian National Lottery commercial.
He is an outstanding Special Olympics athlete, bronze in the dolphin at the 2019
World Games in Abu Dhabi and fourth in the relay race.

Hi my name is Iyana LeShea. I am a beauty content creator, illustrator, model & actress from Atlanta Georgia. I create fun, fierce and educational beauty content and illustrations. I strive to inspire & encourage young women & men who look like me to love who they are naturally!

Meg Zucker is the Founder and President of Don’t Hide It Flaunt It (“DHIFI”).  Meg has a genetic condition called “Ectrodactyly” that she passed on to two of her three children.  A Wall Street lawyer with more than twenty years of experience in the field of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism, Meg found her DHIFI-calling in 2009 when her oldest son of three children was bullied on the playground in elementary school because of his difference. Deciding to make “lemonade from lemons,” Meg was delighted for the opportunity to speak to students, teachers and other faculty at schools about the importance of unconditional acceptance and empathy.  Fast forward, DHIFI is now a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that, among other things, partners with Scholastic Inc. to create “Flaunt It” related programming in schools and also offers Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programs to Fortune 500 companies, The Girl Scouts, camps and underserved communities. Also, sharing DHIFI’s mission of empowerment and empathy, Meg has been both published and featured in national magazines (e.g., Parents) and newspapers (e.g., USA Today) and featured on television including Today (NBC) and The Learning Channel.  In November 2021, Meg is featured in “The Female Lead: We Rise By Lifting Others” and in February 2023, Meg’s first book, “Born Different: How To Help Your Children Claim Their Power” will be published by Penguin Random House (Tarcher Perigee imprint). According to Meg: “What makes me, me is that besides the fact I happen to have one finger on each hand, one toe on each foot and shortened forearms, and two of my three children share my condition, I am also allergic to Kiwi.”