Ava Lowrey is a recent graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied Film & Television, Documentary, and Sociology. Currently, she lives with a cat named Chicken and is pursuing her MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University. Since 2005, at age 15, Ava has been using multimedia to connect with a larger audience and as a means of social activism. As creator of PeaceTakesCourage.com, millions have viewed Ava’s work and she has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, CNN, and more. At NYU, Ava continued to pursue documentary production, and recently completed several short documentaries. In addition, she continues to pursue editing both documentary and narrative films. Most recently, she won best pitch at Fusion Film Festival. As a native of Alexander City, Alabama, Ava’s films often focus on her southern roots, sharing untold stories centered in the south. You can find out more about her including past work at AvaLowrey.com.

Tori Gene McCarthy is a recent graduate of NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study where she studied Ethnographic Film Production. Tori's love of and fascination with documentary film began from her toddler days, often opting for Discovery channel specials over Saturday morning cartoons. While many children played sports and video games, Tori often passed the days playing with her mother's old Pentax film camera. Now as a young adult, Tori has transformed her childhood daydreams into a reality, having directed and produced a number of her own short documentaries and experimental films as well as producing and assistant directing a handful of short narratives. Most recently, Tori has begun doing concert photography in addition to her filmmaking endeavors and has photographed the likes of Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, The Black Keys, and Janelle Monae. You can view her photography at torigene.carbonmade.com.

Justin Levine was born in Los Angeles, California and has grown up with a love for movies and images. For the past several years Justin has been following his passion, shooting several films and taking pictures across the country. He recently graduated from New York University where he studied film production at Tisch School of The Arts. Professionally Justin has years of experience and has worked at Panavision, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Universal Studios, and at City Stage, one of New York’s largest soundstages. Most recently he has been working with Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment. He has shot many films and has earned recognition in film festivals throughout the country. He brings a real passion to every project he works on and no matter what size or scope. You can view his work at justin-levine.com.

Bridget Greaney is a current student in the undergraduate Film and Television program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ever since she can remember, she has found her passion within the collaborative nature of the arts. From theater to improvisation to film and television, Bridget loves discovering different ways to impact audience members with meaningful and relatable stories. Bridget frequently finds herself editing, directing, and producing various projects in an attempt to create unique and truly human worlds on the stage and on the screen.

Hamp Haynes is an Alabama native and current student in NYU's Global Liberal Studies program. Since he was young, Hamp has been fascinated by all means of human expression and foreign cultures, leading him to develop a great passion for travel. As a child, he spent time exploring the hills around his home, and as an adult, Hamp hopes to explore the world to gain an understanding of what it means to be a human during a time of such large-scale globalization. He has strong interests in media and communication and plans to study the ways these arts affect and unite the world’s citizens. Like director Ava Lowrey, Fred: the Town Dog means a great deal to Hamp because he has grown up in an environment very close to Rockford, not only in proximity but in essence. This is the first film Hamp has ever been a part of, and he could not be more excited!