About the Project
Panel: Fringe to Film/TV Pipeline co-presented by NewFilmmakers LA (NFMLA)
Thursday, June 26, 4:45-6:00 pm
How do bold, original theatre stories make their way into film and television? Join us for an in-depth conversation about making the leap from stage to screen. Learn about opportunities in TV and film, what translates (and what doesn’t), and how to position your work for the next level.
Matt Ferrucci
Matt Ferrucci is a Filipino-American writer/director from San Francisco, a graduate of USC and an alum of the Warner Brothers Directing Program. He broke out with the film Companion, a dark comedy about a sober coach managing an NBA star in crisis. The film won Best Director at ITVFest, screened at SeriesFest and earned Matt the Caz Matthews Fund, awarded to filmmakers championing inclusive, culturally nuanced storytelling. It also led to development meetings with HBO and Showtime.
His directing projects Kensington, Marry F*ck Kill, and The Ninth have all made successful film festival runs. In 2022, Matt adapted and directed Anything For You, a provocative short film based on a one-act play that explored the blurred lines of male friendship and sexuality. It screened at four Academy Award–qualifying festivals. Matt was a writer and director on the Comedy Central sketch show Triptank, and has acted in Grey’s Anatomy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Wilde Salomé directed by Al Pacino.
Marissa Chibás
Marissa Chibás is an award winning Cuban American writer/director/actor who creates multi-platform work that traverse film and live audience experiences, reclaims the mythic, and celebrates immigrant stories. In 2022 she became a Sundance Screenwriting Fellow for her screenplay 1972 which was selected for the 2024 Gotham Week’s Project Market, the Wscripted Cannes Screenplay List, was an Athena Awards finalist, and received an inaugural One House Artist Accelerator grant. 1972 is set to shoot in early 2026 in Tampa produced by Liz Cardenas, Steven Demmler, and Rui Xu. Her proof of concept short, 72, premiered at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, won an Excellence in Drama award at the Hispanic International Film Festival, and the Best Cast award at Diversity in Cannes. Her films have screened at; NFMLA, Miami Film Festival, Anthology Film Archive, The Segal Center, Fabrica de Arte in Havana, among others. Marissa’s path ranges from; performing on Broadway, to coaching professional wrestlers in the WWE, to becoming a #1 new release on Amazon for her book Mythic Imagination and the Actor. As an actor Marissa has worked with luminaries such as; Edward Albee, Frances McDormand, Arthur Penn, Chita Rivera, and Sandra Oh to name a few. Her film, Finding Shelter, based on her play Shelter, won best documentary short at the San Diego Latino Film Festival of 2019. Her film A Cuban Documemory won best documentary at the Cuban American International Film Festival in 2021 and contained portions of her solo show, Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, which toured the U.S., Europe, and Mexico. Her theater piece and film, Clara’s Los Angeles, premiered as a live performance piece with a three-person band at REDCAT’s NOW festival in 2011, and later premiered as a film at the San Diego Latino Film Festival. For over thirteen years Marissa was Director of Duende CalArts, an initiative of the CalArts Center For New Performance. Marissa is a recipient of a TCG Fox Fellowship in distinguished achievement.
Matt Ferrucci is a Filipino-American writer/director from San Francisco, a graduate of USC and an alum of the Warner Brothers Directing Program. He broke out with the film Companion, a dark comedy about a sober coach managing an NBA star in crisis. The film won Best Director at ITVFest, screened at SeriesFest and earned Matt the Caz Matthews Fund, awarded to filmmakers championing inclusive, culturally nuanced storytelling. It also led to development meetings with HBO and Showtime.
His directing projects Kensington, Marry F*ck Kill, and The Ninth have all made successful film festival runs. In 2022, Matt adapted and directed Anything For You, a provocative short film based on a one-act play that explored the blurred lines of male friendship and sexuality. It screened at four Academy Award–qualifying festivals. Matt was a writer and director on the Comedy Central sketch show Triptank, and has acted in Grey’s Anatomy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Wilde Salomé directed by Al Pacino.
Marissa Chibás
Marissa Chibás is an award winning Cuban American writer/director/actor who creates multi-platform work that traverse film and live audience experiences, reclaims the mythic, and celebrates immigrant stories. In 2022 she became a Sundance Screenwriting Fellow for her screenplay 1972 which was selected for the 2024 Gotham Week’s Project Market, the Wscripted Cannes Screenplay List, was an Athena Awards finalist, and received an inaugural One House Artist Accelerator grant. 1972 is set to shoot in early 2026 in Tampa produced by Liz Cardenas, Steven Demmler, and Rui Xu. Her proof of concept short, 72, premiered at the 2024 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, won an Excellence in Drama award at the Hispanic International Film Festival, and the Best Cast award at Diversity in Cannes. Her films have screened at; NFMLA, Miami Film Festival, Anthology Film Archive, The Segal Center, Fabrica de Arte in Havana, among others. Marissa’s path ranges from; performing on Broadway, to coaching professional wrestlers in the WWE, to becoming a #1 new release on Amazon for her book Mythic Imagination and the Actor. As an actor Marissa has worked with luminaries such as; Edward Albee, Frances McDormand, Arthur Penn, Chita Rivera, and Sandra Oh to name a few. Her film, Finding Shelter, based on her play Shelter, won best documentary short at the San Diego Latino Film Festival of 2019. Her film A Cuban Documemory won best documentary at the Cuban American International Film Festival in 2021 and contained portions of her solo show, Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary, which toured the U.S., Europe, and Mexico. Her theater piece and film, Clara’s Los Angeles, premiered as a live performance piece with a three-person band at REDCAT’s NOW festival in 2011, and later premiered as a film at the San Diego Latino Film Festival. For over thirteen years Marissa was Director of Duende CalArts, an initiative of the CalArts Center For New Performance. Marissa is a recipient of a TCG Fox Fellowship in distinguished achievement.
Scott Felix
Scotty Felix is a Mexican-American writer, director, and published poet from Colton, California. Deeply shaped by his upbringing in theater, Felix began his directing career at an experimental theater company in Slauson shortly after graduating with his Bachelor of Arts from USC. A co-founder of Sunflower Pictures, Felix’s work often explores dreams, memories, and reality through an existential lens that feels both grounded and mythical. His debut short film Panorama was long-listed for Best Live Action Short at the 95th Academy Awards. He has directed over a dozen viral music videos for Capitol Records, Republic Records, UMG, and more— crafting unique, narrative-driven stories for new and old generations of artists. Across all formats, Felix’s visual language is boldly colorful and symmetrically poetic, aiming not just to entertain, but to challenge and provoke our relationship to time. Born and raised in Southern California, Felix takes pride in exploring stories that speak to LA— its beauty, its horrors, and the people who shape it. Set to direct his debut feature in 2025, Felix is represented by Range Media Partners.
Scotty Felix is a Mexican-American writer, director, and published poet from Colton, California. Deeply shaped by his upbringing in theater, Felix began his directing career at an experimental theater company in Slauson shortly after graduating with his Bachelor of Arts from USC. A co-founder of Sunflower Pictures, Felix’s work often explores dreams, memories, and reality through an existential lens that feels both grounded and mythical. His debut short film Panorama was long-listed for Best Live Action Short at the 95th Academy Awards. He has directed over a dozen viral music videos for Capitol Records, Republic Records, UMG, and more— crafting unique, narrative-driven stories for new and old generations of artists. Across all formats, Felix’s visual language is boldly colorful and symmetrically poetic, aiming not just to entertain, but to challenge and provoke our relationship to time. Born and raised in Southern California, Felix takes pride in exploring stories that speak to LA— its beauty, its horrors, and the people who shape it. Set to direct his debut feature in 2025, Felix is represented by Range Media Partners.
Melina Torres
Melina Torres is the Vice President of Film and TV at Soto Productions, a film, TV, and theater production company launched in 2023, which she joined in its early stages. The Tony Award-winning company has produced plays like All Nighter and co-produced multiple Broadway productions including Romeo + Juliet, Gypsy, Stereophonic, and Suffs.
Previously, Melina was Director of Development for Film and TV at Seaview Productions, a film, TV, and theater company, which she joined during the company’s expansion into film and television. While there, she worked on Reality, Tina Satter’s feature debut starring Sydney Sweeney, which premiered at the 2023 Berlinale in the Panorama section and was released by HBO Films, and Stress Positions, which premiered at Sundance 2024 and was released by NEON. During her time there, Seaview also produced several Tony Award-winning and nominated stage productions, including Parade and Slave Play.
Before Seaview, Melina held roles in development and production at Sight Unseen Pictures and Universal Pictures, and in acquisitions and distribution at Sony Pictures Classics.
Production Team
