Short

Ty Jones erupted from the womb ready to be a filmmaker. He's been writing since he was 7, but once he started making films, he knew he had discovered the purpose for his volcanic imagination. 10 years ago, Ty picked up an 8mm camera and shot his first film. Since then, he has studied with the Hollywood Film Institute in Chicago and in Los Angeles with Dov Simmons, who also helped Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino begin their careers. Over the last 10 years, Ty has directed almost 40 short films, some of which have played around the world at film festivals. He has also worked on over 200 projects, such as commercials for NASCAR and Sprint and national television programs. Ty has held most positions in the film industry, ranging from DP to Assistant Director to Best Boy. You name it (outside of Make-up)and Ty has probably done it. Because Ty has learned the technical aspects of filmmaking in all genres, he knows well how to express his creativity in a way that touches a person's emotional core, excites the viewer, and makes the audience laugh. Ty knows how to tell a story. Ty has also studied ferociously the craft of acting for the last 8 years. This pursuit has made him a better actor, but more importantly, his studies have enabled him to better communicate as a director with his actors to get their best performances. After working with Ty, Jeff Burr, a respected filmmaker with over 20 feature credits to his name, asked Ty to come to LA to work on Jeff's latest feature, "The Devil's Den." In 2005, Ty moved to LA and worked on numerous features, learning the ins and outs of Hollywood and the film industry. Ty returned to Kansas City to shoot his first feature film, "Last Breath." Ty's desire for his first feature is that the experience will resonate with viewers long after they leave the theater.

Ali Roberto is an award-winning Director/Creative Director hybrid who specializes in original short form content, commercials and music videos. After nearly a decade at MTV as an Art Director in New York City she continued to work in entertainment; crafting marketing and social campaigns, leading creative post teams, and directing short-form content. Like her recent work for Netflix’s Glow, which won multiple Promax & Clio awards (including the GOLD for ‘Best Comedy’) and her Schmidt's campaign with Megan Rapinoe which picked up a ton of organic press.

Doing right by others and doing more for deserving communities is at the forefront of everything she creates, whether major ad campaigns for Netflix, Instagram and L’Oreal, music videos, or short documentary series with young artists for VICE and Doc Martens. Ali strives for strength and empowerment in all of her work.

She also mentors young students at The Ghetto Film School and is an ambassador for Free The Work, an organization designed to amplify voices of women and other underrepresented filmmakers.