Our panels are the meat and potatoes of CAFF:  An eclectic and highly edified group of accomplished filmmakers, theologians, thinkers, teachers and cinematic spiritual spelunkers.  Click on the film titles to read the essays as a starting place for the illuminating discussion which follows each screening.

We're confirming panelists daily. Keep checking back for bios and pics.

Duck Soup

	Karen Covell Karen Covell is a television producer and director of the Hollywood Prayer Network (HPN). Her producing credits include Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer and America's Throwaway Children. As the Director of the Hollywood Prayer Network, Karen speaks and teaches around the country on how people of faith can pray for the people in the entertainment industry. With her musician/composer husband Jim and their writing partner, Victorya Michaels Rogers, she has co-authored 2 books, How to Talk about Jesus without Freaking Out and The Day I Met God.
	Dan Rupple Producer-Writer Dan Rupple is a former Supervising Producer for CBS Television (The Price Is Right, Late Show with David Letterman), founding member of the pioneering Christian sketch comedy team Isaac Air Freight, President of the Christian Comedy Association, and an adjunct instructor at his alma mater Biola University. He is currently developing comedy programming through his entertainment company, Seriously Funny and is Director of Comedy Development and Production at an Internet Television Company.

Annie Hall

	Barbara Brownell Originated the roles of Barbara and Dream Sharon in Play It Again Sam on Broadway with Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, and Tony Roberts. Other theatre credits include Desiree in The Ballad of Johnny Pot (off Broadway) and Zandra Zing in Zing (Broadway try-out), Regan in King Lear at the New York Actors' Studio, Ado Annie in Oklahoma with John Raitt and Mama Morton in Chicago at LAVC. Her movie credits include Ridley Scott's Someone to Watch Over Me, Hearts of the West, and Going Home with Robert Mitchum. On the small screen Barbara has appeared on The Tonight Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Hill St. Blues, L.A. Law, and Malcolm in the Middle. In addition, she made multiple appearances on Night Court, Webster and Mash and has appeared in over 100 TV commercials. When not performing, Barbara enjoys teaching acting to her fellow actors. She is also an award winning documentary filmmaker.
	Eric David Eric David lives with his wife and two sons in Los Angeles. He earned an MA in Film Production from USC and, like many other L.A. residents, he is a struggling screenwriter. He is currently at work on an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. By day he runs a web development firm; you can read more of his work at his website www.ericdavid.info
	Fred Rubin From 1977 until 1999, Fred Rubin was a network writer/producer working on such classic television series as Diff'rent Strokes, Archie Bunker's Place, Mama's Family, Webster, Night Court, Family Matters, Step by Step, and Two of A Kind. In 1999 he retired from television in order to teach and do freelance writing. He has been an adjunct professor of writing in the UCLA Department of Cinema and Television for the last six years, same at USC for the last four years, and he is a regular instructor for the Disney and Warner Brothers writing workshops. He currently has a screenplay in development at William Morris Independent.
	Marley Sims Marley Sims appeared on Broadway from 1971 until 1976 in the hit productions of The Me Nobody Knows, and Godspell. While in Godspell, an accidental injury during a dance number forced her to stay off her feet for several months. While recuperating, she stretched her "writing" muscles and won a job on the staff of Captain Kangaroo. She worked for the Captain for three years. In the 80's and 90's Marley worked in Hollywood often as an actress, often as a writer. Finally she committed to writing and spent seven years as a writer/producer on the hit family series Home Improvement. Following that she wrote and produced Sabrina the Teenage Witch for two years. She currently has a play running through November, Sunset Park at the Zephyr Theatre in Hollywood, and she invites you all to come see it.
	Diane Venora A Julliard graduate, this gifted and accomplished stage actress managed the often difficult transition to film and television with aplomb. Her relationship to Shakespeare's Danish play is unique: she has won praise and nominations as the title character (the first woman to do that gender bending in the New York Shakespeare Festival), and Opehlia, and Gertrude (on both stage and film). She scored several meaty triumphs in film (Clint Eastwood's Bird, Heat with Al Pacino & Robert DeNiro, as well as co-starring in The Jackal, The 13th Warrior) and created starring roles in two network series (Thunder Alley and Chicago Hope). Diane has also spent several years teaching disadvantaged children.

The General

Ron Austin is a veteran writer and producer with over one hundred primetime television credits, including the original productions of Mission Impossible, Charlie's Angels, Matlock, and The Father Dowling Mysteries, but began his career in Hollywood as a young actor under the direction of Charles Chaplin. He has also produced feature-length documentaries, most recently The Hidden Gift: War and Faith in Sudan. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild, and has served on the Writers Guild of America's board of directors. Ron has authored numerous articles on film and culture, was a founding member of Catholics in Media and Open Call, has been active in the City of Angels Film Festival and Act One: Writing for Hollywood, and serves on the editorial board of Image Quarterly: A Journal of Art and Religion. The Writers Guild has honored him twice with their highest awards for service to writers and the Hollywood community.

The Lady Eve

Monica Ganas Monica Ganas, Ph.D., is an associate professor in Theatre, Film & Television at Azusa Pacific University and a 20-year-veteran of the entertainment industry, performing as actor, writer, and occasional producer/director, principally in satirical comedy.

Darryll L. Tippens has been the Provost of Pepperdine University since 2001, where he also serves as Professor of English. Prior to his service at Pepperdine he taught at Abilene Christian University for nearly fourteen years. During his tenure at ACU he was named the James Culp Professor of English and was the recipient of several teaching awards. He taught at Oklahoma Christian University from 1973 to 1987, where he also served as Chair of the Division of Language and Literature. Dr. Tippens is on the editorial boards of two periodicals, New Wineskins and Explorations in Renaissance Culture. He is a frequent contributor to a variety of publications. He particularly enjoys writing about and teaching the literature of the English Renaissance, the Bible as literature, and film. He has published articles and essays on William Shakespeare, John Milton, Walt McDonald, literary theory, and the Bible as literature. He enjoys writing film reviews. He is the editor of Shadow and Light: Literature and the Life of Faith, a popular anthology of literature. He and his wife, Anne, have two grown sons and one granddaughter, all of whom live in Austin, Texas.

Delicatessen

	Roz Dauber Ms. Dauber has been an award winning documentary film maker for 20 years, professional researcher, and educator. Her seminar "The Path with Heart Guide to Documentary Film Making" has been offered at CU Boulder and Naropa University. Currently Ms. Dauber is in post-production of the PBS documentary Wyoming Working Moms about young mothers in Cheyenne, Wyoming who participate in a five month program to help stabilize their lives and get decent jobs.
	Peter Malone is a Sacred Heart Father from Australia living in England. In 1998 he was elected preseident of the International Catholic Organization for Cinema (OCIC) and is a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He has served as a juror at major film festivals throughout the world, including Cannes, Venice and Montreal. Peter is also an expert on the Myers-Briggs Personality Types and Spirituality. He is the author of Movie Christs and Anti-Christs and co-author of Cinema Religion and Values and is a regular columnist for The Universe, a Catholic newspaper in the UK. His newest book, written with Rose Pacatte, FSP, is Lights, Camera... Faith: A Movie Lectionary (Pauline Books & Media).
	Kent Redeker Kent grew up in Aurora Center, South Dakota--population: 26. He traveled to attend the Los Angeles Film Studies Center, and later received a master's degree in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Currently, Kent works in animation, and is one of the creator/writer/executive producers for the Disney Channel show Higglytown Heroes.

The Big Lebowski

Thom Parham Dr. Parham is an Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies at Azusa Pacific University. He holds a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy, an M.A. from Regent University and a Ph.D., Regent University. He has written for the CBS hit drama JAG and the Family Channel sitcom Big Brother Jake and has also worked on Touched By An Angel. Tom has a thorough knowledge of screenwriting, film and television production, and broadcast journalism.

Blazing Saddles

Dean Batali Dean is an Executive Producer of FOX's That 70's Show where he has been a writer for seven years. He wrote for the initial two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB), and served as co-producer on ABC's recent remake of Fantasy Island. He was also a staff writer on NBC's Hope and Gloria, and has written for Duckman, Bruno the Kid, Mickey's Campfire Tales, and Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

Kris Young Kris Young teaches screenwriting at UCLA and the L.A. Film Studies Center. He wrote six movies for the Disney Channel including Teen Angel and Teen Angel Returns, and his micro-mini movie, Mosquito Cupid was produced last year for ABC-Touchstone TV. In a former incarnation he was an R&B lyricist with songs recorded by the Spinners, Peaches & Herb, Johnny Gill and Mighty Clouds of Joy.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

	Charlie Carner Charles Robert Carner has also written over 50 screenplays and teleplays, 18 of which have been produced. He co-wrote and directed A Killer Among Friends, the highest-rated CBS movie of the 1990’s; he wrote and directed Who Killed Atlanta's Children?, Showtime’s highest-rated movie of 2000; he wrote Crossfire Trail, the highest-rated cable movie in the history of television. He also wrote, produced and directed The Fixer for Showtime; wrote and directed Christmas Rush and Red Water for TBS; and directed Judas for CBS. His feature credits include Let's Get Harry and Blind Fury. He has served on the executive committees of the United States Catholic Conference, and Catholics in Media. He is a Life Member of the Sierra Club and the National Rifle Association. His biography appears in the Who’s Who editions of Entertainment, America and the World. Finally, and most importantly, he is married to actress/writer Debra Sharkey; they have two children, Michael and Grace Noelle.
	Rob Johnston 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 his most recent, Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue. He and his wife Catherine Barsotti are regular movie reviewers for The Covenant Companion.
	Barbara Nicolosi 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.

Rushmore

	Ryan Fritzsche Ryan grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and his interest in production began early with an interest in live audio. Upon graduating from the LA Film Studies Center & Oral Roberts University with a B.S. in Television, and with several years of experience as a roadie, editor, director, and production manager in Oklahoma, he relocated to Hollywood. After a brief stint in development at Cary Brokaw's Avenue Pictures (Wit, Angels In America, The Player, Closer), Ryan switched lanes into editing & motion graphics. Since then, he's had a creative hand in everything from reality TV to short films to infomercials. His clients have included Travel the Road, MGM, TV Land, Oxygen, Discovery, W.E., & FX. Still not satisfied, Ryan joined forces with Justin Monroe & Daniel Sullivan IN 2002 to form Tandem Arts. In addition to continuing to edit and design everything Tandem, Ryan also produces, does the books, buys lunch, throws tantrums about the budget, and makes sure the clients are happy. His inordinate fascination with coffee has led him down many paths, but has most recently introduced him to his lovely Canadian girlfriend. Ryan also enjoys traveling, reading, and playing guitar & tetris.
	Scott Young Rev. Scott Young is the 2005 Chair and Co-Founder of the City of Angels Film Festival.  He served on the ecumenical jury at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival and was co-director of Reel Spirituality, 1999.  He is the director of Faculty Relations for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the Southern California region.  Scott is the director of “The Soul of Los Angeles” photographic exhibit.  He is adjunct faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary, Art Center: College of Design, and Biola University.

La Vita e Bella (Life Is Beautiful)

Sr. Rose Pacatte Sr. Rose is the founding Director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. She teaches media/film studies to adolescents, parents, teachers and clergy. Sr. Rose has an M.A. in Education in Media Studies from the University of London, UK. She is a founding member of Cine & Media (USA affiliate of O.C.I.C.), a member of the executive committee of Unda-USA, the national Catholic association for communicators, a member of the Religious Communications Council and the Catholic Press Association. Rose recently co-authored Lights, Camera... Faith: A Movie Lectionary (Pauline Books & Media) with Fr. Peter Malone.

Craig Wyckoff Rabbi Craig Wyckoff spent the last thirty years as an agent in the entertainment industry, representing actors and writers. He had offices in Beverly Hills and in New York. Seven years ago a life changing incident caused him to return to his childhood dream of becoming a rabbi. Taking courses through Hebrew College and studying privately with Orthodox Rabbis, Conservative Rabbis, and Reform Rabbis, Rabbi Wyckoff became the officiating rabbi of Congregation Shalom Bayit one year ago. He now divides his time between his agency, which he has downsized and moved to the Valley, and his Rabinical duties -his congregation, weddings, funerals, and baby namings.