Scott Young - Festival 2000 Chair Rev. Scott Young is the 2000 Chair and Co-Founder of the City of the Angels Film Festival.  He is the director of Graduate Student/Faculty Ministry for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the Southern California region.  Rev. Young is a campus minister at UCLA and an instructor at a number of educational institutions including Fuller Theological Seminary and the Art Center: College of Design in Pasadena.  He served on the ecumenical jury at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival and was co-director of Reel Spirituality, 1999.

Cecilia Gonzalez  - Festival Co-Chair, Executive Producer Cecilia is a writer/producer and theologian most recently working on two children's television series, the new book Presente!  US Latino Catholics from Colonial Times to the Present, and researching and translating recently discovered works by the great playwright Federico Garcia Lorca.  Cecilia was 1999 Chair of CAFF and has served on the festival's executive committee for six years.

Charles Robert Carner - Festival Co-chair, Documentaries and Shorts Program  Charles Robert Carner wrote the feature films Let's Get Harry and Blind Fury.  He wrote and directed television episodes of Midnight Caller, Reasonable Doubts and The Untouchables.  He has also directed the television films A Killer Among Friends, The Fixer, and One Woman's Courage.

Craig Detweiler - Panels Producer
Craig completed his MFA from USC's School of Cinema and Television in 1996. His feature documentary, Williams Syndrome: A Highly Musical Species won the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival and the CINE Golden Eagle.  Craig's original comic screenplay, The Duke, was recently released by Buena Vista Home Video.  He co-wrote the high-energy feature film, ExtremeDays. He teaches "Faith, Film and Culture" at the Los Angeles Film Studies Center and co-directs Reel Spirituality, a think-tank for filmmakers and clergy.
 

Robert K. Johnston, Ph.D. Robert is Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. Dr. Johnston teaches courses both in Theology and Film and in Constructive Evangelical Theology.  His books include Evangelicals at an Impasse: The use of the Bible in Theology-Evangelical Options, and the newly released Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue.  He and his wife Catherine Barsotti are regular movie reviewers for The Covenant Companion.

David Tlapek
David Tlapek was a practicing attorney in Dallas, Texas before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. He received his Masters Degree in Film Production from USC in 1995.  As his thesis project, he directed and wrote "The Search for Martin Frye," which has garnered numerous festival honors, including an award from the City of the Angels Film Festival.  Mr. Tlapek recently completed a documentary on the Nuba people of Sudan entitled "THE HIDDEN GIFT: War and Faith in Sudan."  David is also the Chairman of Open Call, which is one of CAFF's sponsoring organizations.

Anthony Scannell, OFM, Cap
A Capuchin priest who has served the Catholic communications community internationally for over 40 years, Fr. Tony is the Pastoral Telecommunications Specialist for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  His stellar career includes President of Franciscan Communications, and of Unda-World, provincial minister of the Capuchin province in Detroit and co-founder of Catholics In Media Associates.

PLANNING COMMITTEE

Barbara R. Nicolosi -  Publications Coordinator Barbara R. Nicolosi is the Director of Act One: Writing for Hollywood, an educational program sponsored by Inter-Mission to train screenwriters from the Christian community for mainstream entertainment industry careers.  Miss Nicolosi is a screenwriter, monthly media columnist, and frequent speaker at writer's conferences.

Rebecca VerStraten-McSparran - Panels Sub-Committee Rev. Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary with an M.Div, and is Associate Minister of Membership, Outreach and Christian Education at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.  She designs and leads courses on film and art and is ar tof the Lloyd C. Douglas Film Awards and Seminar.  Rebecca is on the Board of Directors of Reel Spirituality, and on the advisory board of Neighbors Who Care, a seminary program on ministering to victims of violence and trauma.

Todd Coleman - Marketing Director
A screenwriter and journalist, Todd has written for the Hollywood Reporter, the L.A. Times and Premiere magazine.  Having produced and directed a number of films and shorts, Todd has a feature film in development The Barefoot Girl.

Silvia Gambardella  - Documentaries and Short Films Program
Silvia is an award-winning broadcast journalist and documentarian who has worked for CNN, PBS, NBC, CBS, A&E, Disney, MSNBC and the Learning Channel. She has also appeared as a reporter on evening newscasts for several television stations around the country including KCAL and KCET's Life and Times.

Jerry L. Jackson - WebMaster, Panels Sub-Committee
An award-winning feature writer/producer/director, as well as web designer, new media journalist, film festival director, conference speaker, teacher and dad.  Currently developing a feature screenplay, mini-series, dramatic series and a reality based series, Jerry is a member of the Writer's Guild of America where he has served as chair of the New Members Committee, a member of the New Media Committee and the Board Nominating Committee.  As V.P. of the International Interactive Communications Society, he co-produced and hosted the first Interactive Summit Awards and served as a judge in the first National Information Infrastructure Awards.