More than a
screening.
A launchpad.

Joanne Hock

Director · Screenwriter

Joanne has directed Academy Award, Golden Globe, Tony and Emmy award winning actors in feature films including The Ultimate Legacy, Discarded Things and Trinity Goodheart. Her latest feature, the 1966 period drama When We Last Spoke, stars Cloris Leachman, Melissa Gilbert, Darby Camp and Corbin Bernsen — it won the Austin Film Festival Audience Favorite award, premiered in theaters and broadcast on the Hallmark Channel.

A Nicholl Fellowship screenwriting finalist and Americans for the Arts workshop recipient, she has directed more than 30 episodes of true-crime television — Southern Gothic, FBI Criminal Pursuit, Ice Cold Killers and Happily Never After — for Discovery ID, A&E Biography and Lifetime.

Her documentaries include Charles Cannon: A Mind for Business, The James B. Duke Story, Laugh at Us and In the Footsteps of Elie Wiesel, streaming on Amazon and PBS. Recent work includes the award-winning Purple Dreams, which premiered to a sold-out crowd at Full Frame and at Lincoln Center, and Martin Hill: Camera Man, introduced by Leonard Maltin and shot in part on Charlie Chaplin's personal 35mm Bolex — operated for the first time in over 60 years by Hock herself.

Known for breaking glass ceilings, Joanne continues to push boundaries in an ever-evolving industry, with several screenplays and features in development.

Jonathan Grubbs

Producer · Line Producer · UPM

Born and raised in Charlotte and a graduate of UNC-Wilmington, Jonathan is a veteran Producer and Unit Production Manager on the DGA qualification list, celebrating more than 25 years in film, television, and commercial production.

He has overseen projects for 20th Century Fox, Sony, Lionsgate, Universal, Hallmark, and ESPN — including Oprah Winfrey and Warner Bros.' Delilah and the comedy Operation Taco Gary's, both shot in his hometown. His 2024 film Unsung Hero debuted at #2 at the U.S. box office.

A sought-after authority in high-complexity logistics, he has led productions in over 15 countries, from the deserts of Jordan for FOX's Special Forces to humanitarian work in Haiti.

Rodney Stringfellow

Director of Film Studies, UNC Charlotte

Rodney oversees the undergraduate film program at UNC Charlotte and teaches screenwriting, film history, and video production.

As a screenwriter he has written episodes for PBS Kids, Nick Jr., Disney Channel, BBC, Nickelodeon, and Sesame Workshop. He received the 2026 Silver Telly Award for his writing on PBS North Carolina's “Mini Fab Science Lab,” a 2022 nomination for “Alma's Way,” and two Daytime Emmy nominations for “The Backyardigans.”

He serves on the Board of the Charlotte Film Society / Independent Picture House. His short films “Everybody Don't Electric Slide” and “Manhood” have screened across fifteen festivals and showcases.

Alicia Fusting

Actress · Casting Director

Alicia Fusting is an actress and casting director, known for When We Last Spoke (2019), An Angelic Christmas (2022) and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000).

She brings both sides of the audition room to the panel — what casting directors are actually looking for, and how performers build a career on regional work.

Walter Keisling

Producer · Filmmaker · Scholarship Founder

Walter Keisling is a producer, filmmaker, and media industry professional who has spent his career telling stories that matter. He created this scholarship because he believes student filmmakers deserve a real shot — and that the cost of a submission fee should never be the reason a great story goes unseen.

Three recipients will be selected to receive a full Film Freeway submission scholarship to the On The Rise Student Film Festival. That means their submission fee is covered entirely — all they have to do is apply and make the work.