PANEL: WOMXN MAKING WAVES

SYRA MCCARTHY
Syra (sigh-ruh) is a 5’2 half Filipino, half New Zealander first generation American. Say it five times fast.
What she lacks in physical size she makes up for in imagination. A director as well as an actor she uses both identities like Batman and Bruce Wayne working to keep the city of Gotham safe. Moving with grace between different styles of film —from cinematic surrealism to smart quirky comedy—McCarthy approaches filmmaking with a stylistic flair that subverts expectations. Directing for brands like Angi, Olly, Scotch-Brite, Ford’s Gin, Square and Google, her work was recently featured in the New York Times . (Insert another appealing accolade here). Syra is also the creator or Soft Hold Collective, a Bay Area film directory highlighting female & non-binary talent behind the camera. When she is not on set, you can probably find her camping in the forest with her cat Ringo.

ALYSSA TOLEDO
Alyssa is an award-winning latin and queer writer/director born on the central coast of CA. During her time in film school she directed and produced several short films and music videos and would later write and direct ‘Lift Off’ starring Rudy Pankow from Netflix’s ‘Outer Banks.’ After PA-ing on several Netflix series, she would again collaborate with Pankow and Drew Starkey on ‘Virgo,’ a proof of concept short as well as ‘Friends Call Us Unlucky’ which she shot during the pandemic. Since then she has written several pilot and feature scripts with a strong focus on young adult stories especially from the perspective of blended cultures. Currently, she is set to direct her next short film ‘Toledo’ produced by Chase Stokes and Jonathan Daviss which will shoot April 2023.

CHELSEA CHRISTER
Originally from a horse ranch in Colorado, Chelsea Christer moved to San Francisco for film school in 2007. After graduating with a BFA Directing from the Academy of Art, she worked as a producer/director and editor for a variety of corporate and commercial production agencies in the Bay Area. Chelsea has traveled the world, producing and directing brand documentaries and commercials for companies like Google, Adobe, and Dolby. These productions have taken her all across the US and abroad to places like Japan, Europe, Australia, and rural India.