REVOLUTION ME FILMS
For filmmakers that seek independence
Support RM
Giving Tuesday
Changing the face of film one story, one voice at a time
Thank you everyone for making this year special! See you next time!
Thank you to New York City Artists Corps & sponsors for making this year possible.
Kristi Gatto
Kristi Gatto is an independent filmmaker from New York who specializes in documentary and music video production. She is a Director, Producer, and Editor. Kristi founded Risk It Productions, LLC in 2013 as a way to create and present meaningful content to the world. She likes to call herself a storyteller and oftentimes, can be seen directing and editing her own projects. Currently, she is working on her PhD in media and communication at Texas Tech University.
Amy (Dewi) Marquis
Amy (Dewi) Marquis is an independent film director, cinematographer, and editor based in Boulder, Colorado. She was born in Indonesia in 1978 to a young Indonesian birthmother, adopted as an infant by her American parents, and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, with multiple journeys back to Southeast Asia for her father's work as a geographer and academic. For as long as she can remember, she’s seen the world through cinematic eyes, made sense of her life through music, and found the most powerful stories in the shadow of the mainstream. Her films have appeared in national parks, film festivals, on PBS and nationalgeographic.com. She is a proud member of A-Doc, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and Film Fatales, and serves on the board of the Colorado Film & Video Association, where she works daily to decolonize the local industry and support BIPOC filmmakers. She loves collaborating with her 9-year-old daughter, Ara (like “Sara”), and her life partner, photographer/DP Jason Houston, with a focus on narrative correction and racial justice film projects that push creative boundaries.
Photo credit ©RYAN WANEKA
Donna Speckhard
MEET THE FESTIVAL TEAM
Maria Palacio
Festival Director
Maria Palacio is a Brooklyn based filmmaker & photographer who was inspired through her own experience as an up-and-coming filmmaker, was driven to create a forum to nurture other emerging artists in the field by establishing Revolution Me Film Festival in 2016.
Diana Foronda
Festival Judge
Diana Foronda has worked as a freelancer for various projects as part of the film crew. She worked as a Set PA for numerous short films, web series, and TV networks such as CBS, HGTV, and CNBC. She received awards for films and scripts she created including Best Dark Comedy, Honorable Mention: Indie Film, Best Message, Best First Time Screenwriter (Short Script), and in 2019, she was selected as a Quarter Finalist in the Oscar Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival's Screenwriting Competition.
She worked at USDAN Summer Camp for the Arts as an Assistant Teacher in Photography and worked at Left/Right Productions as a transcript coordinator. During the pandemic, she worked as an editor for a thrilling episodic web series, Pay It Forward in Death and created her quarantine film, Challah For Caroline. She is also honored to be judging films for the Revolution Me Film Festival, and Oxford Film Festival.
She is a proud New Yorker and member of NYC Women Filmmakers, The Gotham Film & Media Institute (Formerly IFP), and NYWIFT. She is currently training at NYU Tisch x Yellowbrick Film & TV Industry Essentials. She has trained with Manhattan Edit Workshop, USDAN Summer Camp for the Arts, and holds a BA in Film Studies with Departmental Honors at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.
Margarita Zhitnikova
Festival Judge
Margarita (they/them) is an award-winning actor, writer & producer. As a child, Margarita & their family immigrated to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, as Jewish refugees from Russia. Dedicated to smashing the patriarchy, Margarita Co-Founded Besties Make Movies.
Margarita has received several Best Actress nominations for their work in the award-winning short film JONES. Their film 2 WEEKS about asexuality premiered at the Oxford Film Festival and won Best LGBT Short at Indie Short Fest. Their short film APPETITE is premiering at the Oxford Film Festival this year. The feature film Triple Threat in which they play one of the lead roles is having its World Premiere at the Oscar-qualifying Cinequest Film Festival in 2021! Most recently they have been cast as Christina in the new TikTok drama @DarkSprings.
Their short film script ZASHA (available on Kindle) which they co-wrote, has been doing festivals and recently won Best Horror Short at the Oregon Short Film Festival.
They are honored to be a judge for Revolution Me Film Festival and are so excited about all of the wonderful films they get to watch from up-and-coming artists.
Follow them on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Clubhouse (@marzapproved) to stay in the loop, or check out more on-camera work at their official website.
Christine Richards
Festival Programmer
Christine Richards is a Media Producer and Project Manager based out of Tampa, Florida. She studied Directing at New York Film Academy and Film at UCLA. She manages video and audio production at live events and creates a wide range of digital content for clients ranging from marketing graphics to sizzle reels. She has been part of our team since 2016.
Tyler Mendelson
Festival Judge
Tyler Mendelson is an American film director, born and raised in New York.
At the age of 18 in 2010, Tyler followed one of his lifelong goals and joined the United States Marine Corps. In 2012, he deployed to the Helmand Province in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and later attained the rank of sergeant.
He completed his military service in 2017, having served both on active duty, and in the Reserves. After his time on active duty, Tyler pursued his other dream, film directing, attending Emerson College and obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Film Production in 2018.
Tyler’s most recent work is In Between the White Space, a short film passion project that he wrote, directed, produced, and edited. The film aims to raise awareness for the veteran suicide epidemic in America. Telling veteran and military stories is something that Tyler is immensely passionate about.
Yiqing Zhao
Festival Judge
Hailing from Shanghai by way of Baltimore, Yiqing dived head first into performing arts after getting her degrees in medicine and public health--because she believes the arts have stronger healing powers. She is an award-winning actress and writer, and a certified life coach. Her favorite pandemic activities are yoga and baking.
Ins: @yiqingzhao1222
Website: www.yiqingzhao.com