Meet the four incredibly talented Milwaukee filmmakers chosen for our 2021-2023 Focus Finder cohort.
Allie Morgan is a writer and director from Madison, WI. She studied entertainment business at Los Angeles Film School and screenwriting at New York Film Academy. Last summer she wrote and directed her first short film “Sisters”, and is currently working on her second and third short films, “Cupid’s Chokehold” and “Shatter.” Her ultimate goal is to make shows and films that represent women of color and the LGBTQ+ community.
RJ Smith is an artist and filmmaker based in Milwaukee, WI. As an independent storyteller, RJ's goal is to breathe new life into stories addressing themes of healing, transformation, and social justice. RJ brings multifaceted experiences, including cinematic storytelling, television and film production, screenwriting, acting, and graphic design skills. RJ's past work includes producing the award-winning short documentary film, The Heartland (2020). Additionally, RJ recently produced original programming, Community Curated (Season 1), on behalf of NŌ Studios, in collaboration with WISN Channel 12 News and is currently serving as assistant director and producer on Black Strings, presented by Firelight Media & PBS.
Breanna Taylor is the Black Horror Consultant at Langston League, a multi-consultant curriculum firm that specializes in designing culturally-relevant instructional material at the intersection of Black history and pop culture for multigenerational students. As a Milwaukee native, Breanna brands herself as an interdisciplinary artist with an emphasis on dance, film, content creation, and writing. Breanna utilizes her modes of artistry to discuss subjects pertaining to Black horror studies, oceanic/aquatic relationships to/with Black people, and how to push the imagination beyond learned thought processes on account of colonization and imperialism. Merging her love for horror and history, she served as a co-designer of Langston League's HBO's Lovecraft Country syllabi and the Candyman 2021 Companion Guide, created with Jordan Peele's MonkeyPaw Productions and NBCUniversal. Most recently, Breanna worked alongside Langston League consultants to help create and design an explorer guide to highlight the Full Circle Everest Expedition Team, the first all-Black American mountaineering team, through Microsoft and Microsoft Flipgrid. Currently, Breanna serves as an impact producer for the upcoming short film Black Strings, directed by Marquise Mays.
DeMar Walker is the Artistic Director of Ko-Thi Dance Company. He has performed, choreographed, and directed productions with Ko-Thi Dance Company such as Words from the Sole, The Sweet Grass Project, IMANI: A Tribute to West Africa, VIBRATIONS: Rhythmic Motion, UJIMA, and JUBA-LEE, celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary, as well as The Dancing Granny with First Stage Children’s Theater and additional performances with Wildspace Dance Company and Fist & Heel Performance Group. With primary training in West African, & Afro-Caribbean techniques and additional training in hip hop, jazz, ballet, and contemporary dance, DeMar has traveled to Guinea and Senegal to train, research, and perform in international workshops with Youssouf Koumbassa, Patrick Acgony, Alesandra Seutin, and Thomas Talawa Presto at Ecole Des Sables. From 2014-2021, DeMar served as an Associate Lecturer of African Diasporic dance at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. DeMar is a contributor to the recent publication Black in the Middle: An Anthology of the Black Midwest. In Fall 2021, he directed & released his first dance short film The Beckoning which has been screened in numerous international film festivals. It has received several accolades including the 2021 Mozaik Philanthropy Future Art Award, as well as Best Film & Best Director in VOICES HEARD at the 2022 Milwaukee Short Film Festival. Currently, DeMar is pursuing a Master’s Degree in English at Marquette University with an emphasis on Black arts history & cultural studies in the Midwestern United States.
Vianca Iliana Fuster is a Puerto Rican documentary filmmaker from Milwaukee's South Side. She has directed, shot, and edited a body of original documentary work for local and national media outlets, including TODAY Show and AJ+. Vianca co-founded LionArt Media, a woman-owned and operated video production company with the goal of creating more work opportunities for women and BIPOC filmmakers in Milwaukee. Fuster directed and is editing a short boxing documentary titled The Warrior Princess, which was a recipient of the 2019 BRICO Forward Fund and was selected to be workshopped through Kartemquin Films' 2020 Diverse Voices In Documentary Fellowship in Chicago, IL.
Delaney Doersch is a Thai-American documentary filmmaker from Neenah, Wisconsin. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2021, producing and showcasing her short documentary Ipseity, a film that examines transracial adoption, identity, and family. Delaney is committed to lifting up minority communities to share their stories, seeking to highlight and contextualize the world around us.