DIRECTORS

Tayo Amos is a Nigerian-American filmmaker from the Bay Area, now currently living in Los Angeles. She graduated from Stanford University with a double major BA in Science, Technology, & Society and Spanish Literature in 2014 and is a recent grad at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in the MFA Film Production program with a focus on Directing. There, she received the James Bridges Directing Scholarship and received USC’s First Look Faculty Award for Excellence in Directing. 
 
Her thesis film ON THE CLOCK has screened at the Diversity in Cannes Showcase (where the film won BEST ACTOR) and Creative Mind Group showcases at Cannes Film Festival as well as the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival, the San Jose International Film Festival, and can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
 
Her most recent short film MAGNOLIA BLOOM was selected as part of Target and NBCUniversal’s Scene in Color Program and is now available on Peacock after its world premiere at Tribeca in June 2021. Tayo also directed A BLOSSOM IN THE NIGHT, a sci-fi action short film, starring Academy-Award Winner Lupita Nyong’o’s brother Junior Nyong’o, which had its world premiere at Urbanworld Film Festival 2020.

Tayo has shadowed award-winning television directors Meera Menon (on the set of THE MAGICIANS (Syfy/Netflix); most recently the pilot director of MS. MARVEL (Disney+) and Tom Verica (on the set of FOR THE PEOPLE (ABC); most recently the director of the spin off series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story).

Born in Venezuela and raised in South Florida, Melanie (she/they) is a queer director and filmmaker that merges social impact with poetry and magical realism. They have worked on documentaries, commercials, music videos, and short series– not limited by the medium to create stories that bridge cultures and showcase the power possible in all of us. 

Melanie is a Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Mentee, and a two-time Directors Guild of America Award recipient for her films “South Arcadia St.” and “STAND.” Her work has been featured on attn:, BET, Billboard and Refinery29.  

She recently edited “Appalachian Futures” for directors Sally Rubin and Ashley York, which was in exhibition at the Smithsonian as well as “Raising Our Collective Strength” (ROCS), a docuseries about the Black Church’s role in the liberation movement. ROCS will have its premiere at The March On Washington Film Festival this fall.

Melanie live-produced the digital film showcase, “Beyond Status,” which highlights migrant storytellers who aim to construct new narratives about who they are as migrants in today’s political and personal contexts. She has collaborated with The Center for Cultural Power on other digital live events such as the Climate Woke Summit (2021), The Disruptors Showcase (2020,2021, 2022) and the No Going Back: A Covid-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide. 

In 2020 she was an organizer for Street Dance Activism and their Global Dance Meditation for Black Liberation and served as the chair of the Human Rights committee for Young Entertainment Activists, where she also produced the Hollywood Climate Summit.

Melanie has worked as an assistant editor for Mark Harris’ “Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine,” Jack White’s PBS/BBC docuseries “American Epic,” Paola DiFlorio’s “Awake: The Life of Yogananda,” Janice Engel’s “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins,” and Sara Terry’s “A Decent Home.”

Melanie completed her MFA at the University of Southern California in Film and Television Production. 

Saray Guidetti is a writer, director and producer who has created and directed a handful of award-winning webseries, from "Inspira,” which was produced alongside the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, "Planet Progress," fiscally sponsored by the International Documentary Association and awarded with a Webby Honoree recognition and "Entanglement," which premiered at the San Francisco Latino Film Festival in 2018. Saray also produced and directed feature documentary, "American DREAMers," which premiered at the 2015 LA Film Festival and was released by Gravitas Ventures and Tugg Inc. And most recently produced feature film, “Amor en 266 Millas,” which premiered at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater in 2022.

Saray has also produced a handful of award-winning short films, from NALIP's "Swimming in the Desert," AFI DWW's "The Haircut," “Ballon” and "El Campo." In 2019, Saray wrote and directed short film, "Lady Justice," which won various nominations and awards for best action film and best picture. “Lady Justice” was acquired during its festival run and is currently being developed into a feature film.

In addition, Saray works in television, having worked on various scripted comedies and dramas. Most recent shows include CW’s “Supergirl” and HBO MAX’s Pilot, “Dead Boy Detectives.” Saray just completed work on a feature film, "Home Delivery," she post-produced, a series of branded content she directed and produced and a documentary for HBO Max. Saray is currently attached to direct horror-thriller feature film, Mount Mendocino.

Gia-Rayne B. Harris is an LA based writer/director, Mississippi native and an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania. She has been writing and directing professionally since 2018, when she created a global campaign with The Advocate Magazine called #LEADWITHLOVE. During her time in New York, she was part of THE NEW YORK NEO FUTURISTS - where she wrote, directed, performed in and premiered over 70 of her own short plays. 

In 2019, Gia-Rayne was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Tuition Scholarship to attend American Film Institute Conservatory. She has directed 12 short films to date, several of which are on the festival circuit, and have screened at such festivals as the PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL, HOLLYSHORTS, OUTFEST, and AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL. During ABFF, she was named a top 5 finalist for the HBO Short Film AWARD. Her film PENS AND PENCILS was acquired by HBO and will premiere on the platform in Spring 2023. 

She gravitates towards complex, character-driven narratives and tends to tell personal stories that come from her own backyard and inspire radical empathy. She seeks to place women and BIPOC individuals at the center of her work and sees her career as a love letter to them - more specifically the women that raised her - her mother and grandmother. She loves to learn and sees each new project as an opportunity to grow, not only as a filmmaker, but also as a person. 

Gia-Rayne completed her MFA at American Film Institute in Directing in 2021. Her thesis films BEFORE YOU and CAIRN will both be premiering this year.

Elisabeth Rohm just wrapped her third feature for Lifetime, GIRL IN ROOM 13, starring Anne Heche. It premiered in September and was presented at TCA. Her second original feature that she directed for Lifetime entitled SWITCHED BEFORE BIRTH, starring Justina Machado premiered last fall to critical acclaim. The first film she directed was GIRL IN THE BASEMENT, starring Judd Nelson, which was also for Lifetime and debuted in 2021 to much critical attention.

As an actress, Elisabeth has a long list of film credits including BOMBSHELL for Lionsgate and director Jay Roach, Ted Melfi's THE STARLING opposite Melissa McCarthy, and David O. Russell's JOY and AMERICAN HUSTLE. She has been nominated for Emmy’s for LAW & ORDER and won SAG Best Ensemble for AMERICAN HUSTLE. Elisabeth is most known for her television work starring on shows, such as LAW & ORDER, HEROES, JANE THE VIRGIN and many more. Elisabeth is a published author of a book called Baby Steps. She’s an active philanthropist and one of the founders of her thought forum called The Respect Project.

Featured in Free the Work’s Creator Spotlight/Directors to Watch, Baltimore native Nicole Taylor-Roberts is a writer-director and an Emmy-nominated producer. A Black woman with a multi-cultural heritage, Taylor-Roberts is passionate about elevating and amplifying authentic portrayals of female characters for the large and small screen. She has an affinity for drama, action, sci-fi and suspense. She’s a director with a strong lyrical sensibility, that she credits to her background growing up in a musical family.

Her latest film, “Go to Bed, Raymond!,” for 20th Digital Studio's Season 3 of Bite-Sized Halloween, is coming to Hulu. Taylor-Roberts got her start in the commercials and music videos pace in the early 2000s. Since then, she has written and directed many award-winning short films that have screened in numerous festivals worldwide. A film of note, “410 Stamped,” starring Eden Duncan-Smith (See You Yesterday), still enjoys a successful festival run.

Her buzzy feature script, “A Girl from Haiti,” won several awards and was one of four projects selected by the Almanack Screenwriters (formerly known as Nantucket Screenwriters Colony). She was one of four female writer-directors in the Inaugural cohort chosen to direct for BET Her’s anthology series ‘The Waiting Room.’ Her episode, “The Battle of Lexi Smith,” featured Keshia Knight-Pulliam and Jean Elie.

Taylor-Roberts participated in Ryan Murphy’s Half initiative, AFI DWW, the Sony Television Diverse Directors Program, and the Commercial Diverse Directors Mentorship 50/50 Program. For several years, she wrote and produced political ads. She graduated from Northwestern University RTVF Program and Columbia University School of the Arts MFA Film Program.