Looking towards the future and the incorporation of AI as a tool in production, methodologies for directing actors enter a new phase. Because of the anticipated proliferation of AI at all stages of production, the relationship between directors and actors needs re-examination. The panel will invite five teachers of directing, one from each region to talk about their current methodology teaching directing and how they see AI contributing to the process of directors and actors working together. Particular emphasis will be on regions where acquiring the tools of AI could be challenging. We want AI to be shared equitably among all regions and countries. The panel will encourage directors to share examples of their current teaching pedagogy, to showcase how CILECT colleagues are preparing to use AI as part of their pedagogy in the future. Screening of sample works, or student work utilizing AI is welcomed.
MODERATOR BIO
Theodore Regge Life – Emerson College, USA
Theodore Regge Life is a producer/director of film, television, and theatre. He has been awarded a Fulbright Journalist Fellowship, three CINE Golden Eagles, named a Sony Innovator and nominated for three Emmys. He is the author of Becoming an Actor’s Director. His film Reason to Hope was awarded Best Film at the 26th annual International Festival of Black Cinema in Berlin and he completed a feature film based on the Akutagawa Prize-winning novella, Cocktail Party. He has been teaching directing at Emerson College for the past 13 years and serves as the Distinguished Director in Residence.
Kenneth Kaplan – WSOA, South Africa
Kaplan’s first feature, Pure Blood, received the Lucio Fulci Award at the Roma FantafestXXI. He was co-creator, head writer, director and showrunner on the multi-season political drama 90 Plein Street. Other TV drama directing credits include Hard Copy and The Lab, both of which aired in prime-time on South Africa’s national broadcaster. He worked regularly for Discovery Kids/NBC on the Emmy-nominated American teen comedy-drama, Scout’s Safari. This work has aired on 31 African broadcasters and was recognized with a UNESCO Audience Award. Other directing work includes documentary and edutainment programming with a specific interest in youth and health issues in sub-Saharan Africa. He also produced three feature films that received international distribution. Among these, Sleeper’s Wake was nominated for the Sutherland Award at the BFI London International Film Festival.
María Fernanda Herrera Morales – UPAEP, Mexico
María Fernanda Herrera Morales graduated from the UPAEP where she studied the BFA in Film and Audiovisual Production and an MBA in Direction and Marketing. Her work as a screenwriter has been awarded in a variety of calls and festivals, national and international, among which the Ibero-American Script Residence, the Bolivia Lab, the International Film Festival of America, Shorts Mexico, the Stimulus to Innovation and Artistic Development by the IMACP. She is currently the Director of the BFA in Film and Audiovisual Production, providing students with an updated perspective in screenwriting.
Manuel Flurin Hendry – ZHDK, Switzerland
Manuel Flurin Hendry is an award-winning film director, screenwriter and artistic researcher born and based in Zurich, Switzerland. A graduate of the German Film and TV Academy Berlin, his work cuts across genres and formats, from political drama to family entertainment. As a researcher, he investigates the impact of AI systems on self-perception, visual education and artistic practice. He teaches film direction at the Zurich University of the Arts and at the International Film School Cologne and serves as the principal investigator of the cineMINDS project.
Amala Akkineni – Annapurna College of Film and Media, India
Amala Akkineni is an actress with 58 films in five Indian languages. Since 2016 she has held the position of Director, at Annapurna College for Film and Media, a private, not-for-profit college affiliated to JNAFA University, Hyderabad. Housed inside Annapurna Studios, the school was founded by the legendary actor Akkineni Nageshwara Rao. Together with her husband actor-producer Akkineni Nagarjuna, Amala founded Blue Cross of Hyderabad, working for the welfare of street animals (1992). She has served on several governing boards for both Non-Government and Government organisations including United Way of Hyderabad and was awarded the Nari Sakthi Award by the Ministry for Women and Child Development (2016) and the Jeev Daya Purashkaar by the Animal Welfare Board of India (2011).
Brigid Maher – American University, USA
Brigid Maher is a tenured full professor in the School of Communication at American University and a seasoned leader in media and education. As a Senior Fellow at the Community Voice Lab, she actively fosters community engagement through innovative media practices. Additionally, she is the Founder and Creative Director of the Anacostia Youth Media Festival, where she champions the voices of young creators, emphasizing the importance of diversity in storytelling. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, her recent documentary, Experimental Curator: The Sally Dixon Story (2022), premiered at the prestigious Ann Arbor Film Festival.
