Who's making it

Addison Cendejas

Addison Cendejas is an award-winning filmmaker based in Waco, TX, and an MFA candidate in the Film and Digital Media graduate program at Baylor University. She previously worked as a development assistant in Los Angeles for Yoruba Saxon Production Company, founded by David and Jessica Oyelowo.

Her films have screened at festivals across the country, including Oscar-qualifying festivals such as the Austin Film Festival, and have earned multiple awards and nominations, including Best Director at AFMX. She wrote and directed Counterfeit, a short about human trafficking starring Jamie Perez (Netflix's We Can Be Heroes), and The Least of These, starring Bethany Anne Lind (Ozark).

Addison is a mother and storyteller with a passion for human stories that challenge and move an audience while pushing for hope and redemption in brokenness.

Evan Weidenkeller

Evan Weidenkeller is an award-winning freelance director of photography. A graduate of the AFI Conservatory with an MFA in Cinematography, he is known for bringing directors' visions to life through inventive use of light and composition.

His cinematography has been recognized at major international festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Slamdance, Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Rachel Jobin

Rachel is an Oscar-shortlisted producer and founder of Pedantic Duck Productions, based in Frisco, TX. Working across narrative shorts, features, documentaries and commercials, she has earned recognition from festivals including HollyShorts, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival and San Jose International Film Festival.

Rachel was lead producer on Ado, starring Jenifer Lewis, which was shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards in the Live Action Short category. Her other projects include an animated short featuring Janet Varney (The Legend of Korra) and The Bends, a motion capture research film backed by the University of Southern California's Entertainment Technology Center.

She is drawn to character-driven stories that take on complex topics while staying grounded in intimate human relationships.

Mia Gortney

Mia Gortney is a film and television producer based in Fort Worth, Texas. She works full-time as an Associate Producer for The Cowboy Channel, telling stories centered on Western culture through live sports and news programming.

Since 2022 she has also produced narrative short and feature films. Her credits include Associate Producer on the Oscar-shortlisted Ado and producer on the feature It's Raining... It's Pouring, currently in post-production. Her work has been recognized at the Dallas International Film Festival, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, HollyShorts London and many others.

Mia is passionate about meaningful, character-driven stories and about creating opportunities for filmmakers to bring ambitious projects to life.

Joe Koporc

Joe Koporc is a Dallas-based producer, cinematographer and colorist with a background in marketing and advertising. A graduate of Baylor University's Film and Digital Media program, he has worked as Director of Photography on an independent feature and a number of shorts and music videos, and as 1st Assistant Camera on multiple professional feature sets.

As Creative Director and Producer for Richard Karr Motors, he has built broadcast automotive campaigns that earned two Telly Awards, including a Silver Telly in Regional TV Automotive.

On Speak Easy, Joe leads social media marketing and the crowdfunding campaign. He believes the best campaigns, like the best films, start with a human story people want to be part of.

Spencer Cendejas

Spencer Cendejas is a film producer based in Waco, TX. He has produced a number of successful shorts, including The Least of These, starring Bethany Anne Lind (Ozark).

Spencer has earned a strong reputation in the Waco film community for building an on-set culture that cares for its crew, feeds them well and draws out the best in everyone. He supports filmmakers who are passionate about the stories they want to tell and focuses on authentic, meaningful films.

Andy Racoti

A filmmaker from Waco, Texas, Andy Racoti crafts unique narratives and human stories. As an Art Director on numerous projects, he has made stories shine by putting quality first.

He is currently the Video Producer at an in-home care company, where he shares heartfelt testimonies from clients across the country.

Liesey Bogar

From Austin, TX, Liesey Bogar is a first-year graduate student working toward her MFA in Baylor University's Film and Digital Media department. She spends much of her time helping on other student films and writing and directing her own projects.

She is passionate about telling personal, relatable stories from a new angle, whether as a music video or with a fictional twist, and she consistently explores how music can carry a film.