Your Seattle Film Commissioners

Kat has worked in the Seattle film market since 2007 as a 1st, 2nd, and 2nd 2nd Assistant Director for film, television, industrials, reality shows, and music videos. Kat’s position supports the vision of the Producers and Director while maintaining consideration of the health, safety and needs of the cast and crew. Kat has worked in other markets (London, New York, Austin, and Los Angeles) and from those experiences understands Seattle’s film industry and community are unique. Cat believes that the needs of the individual must be met in a way that benefits the community, for film sets are a collaborative space with many kinds of artisans and craftspeople, where all are equal and contribute needed skills to make a viable, vibrant project, from grips, electrics, art department, hair, make up, wardrobe and other technical departments to directors, actors, and producers.

Michael is a third culture kid with an obsessive curiosity for all things storytelling, culture, and community. He brings 15+ years of experience in the creative, arts, and advertising industries as well as 8+ years of owning and operating the Milli creative agency in Seattle. As a Seattle native who grew up in the local Hip Hop scene, he's traveled the world competing in international breakdancing competitions, managed musicians, and shot photos and documentaries. He translated these experiences into his work early on with Red Bull as a brand manager, and later at award-winning global agencies such as Razorfish and McGarryBowen. After a stint on Madison Avenue in New York, he went on to found his own creative shop, Milli, in 2014, focused on creative, cultural, and social change. Since then, Milli has gone on to win numerous awards working with clients like Microsoft, Netflix, The Movement For Black Lives, the City of Seattle, and Amazon, including producing their own unbranded award-winning films. Outside of Milli, Michael has spent more than a decade working in the non-profit and creative industry to support BIPOC-led efforts for social and racial justice, representation, and in support of youth.

Beth has been with SIFF since 2003, and is responsible for managing the artistic vision of SIFF, including all aspects of programming for the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema’s 5 year-round screens, and the SIFF Education team. Graduating from the University of Iowa with a Masters degree in Northern Renaissance Art History, Beth moved to Seattle in 1993, and has worked as a baker, bartender, art docent, and digital prepress technician. She secured SIFF’s status as an Academy Award® qualifying festival for short film in 2008. Beth currently serves on the Board of the Film Festival Alliance and previously on the City of Seattle Film Task Force. In addition to her daily work in programming, Beth has served on juries and panels in Palm Springs, Park City, Cleveland, Calgary, Vancouver BC and Berlin, Germany.Film festivals or film content distribution companies

Laura Jean Cronin is known for her work as Production Manager on the Emmy-award winning PBS show Biz Kid$. In 1994, Laura founded Pound Pictures, a motion pictures and film company in Seattle. Under this banner Laura produced award-winning work as writer and director. She received the Audience Award for "Block Party" (2001) from the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival along with Best Girls Short for "One Night" (2009) and Best Local Film for “Leave It!” (2002). Laura also won Best Local Film for "Free Parking" (2006) from Cinema K Children's Film Festival. Laura served on the Board of Women in Film Seattle as Vice President and then President from 2008 to 2018.  Laura was a producer and director at B47 Studios, a full-service video production studio in Seattle, managing projects from 5K to $200,000. In the education realm, Laura received her Ph.D -ABD in Comparative Literature and Film from University of Washington, where as a graduate student, she taught film studies courses. Laura went on to teach film studies at the Center on Linguistic and Cultural Democracy for seven years. More recently, Laura was able to combine the worlds of education and production when she took on the role of Lead Producer at Reel Grrls Productions (now known as Remove the Gap Productions), a non-profit offering full-service production services for local businesses, non-profits and government institutions, while giving on-the-job training to young women and non-binary youth. As Lead Producer for Remove the Gap Productions, Laura is helping to usher in a new generation of media makers who have traditionally fallen through the gap. Creating content with the youth in the program allows Laura to wear her producer hat as well as her educator hat. Laura is driven by the energy, excitement, awe, intelligence and creativity that the participants in these programs bring.

With extensive work in Northwest productions like "Grimm," "The Librarians," and "Three Busy Debras," and countless commercial, corporate, and voiceover projects, Lowell is living proof actors CAN make a living in Seattle. Now Washington State (and Seattle) are realizing the importance of a strong creative community—not only in terms of spiritual fulfillment, but also tax dollars. Lowell is excited to be part of the vanguard to help attract production to Seattle; to help research, listen to and plan with the folks who can bring back our once vibrant industry.

For over 10 years, Champ has had a wide perspective on the film industry, ranging from directing short films in his native Thailand to seeing the process of online curation and community management at the Manhattan offices of Vimeo. Champ’s active participation in Seattle organizations like the Northwest Film Forum and the Seattle Asian American Film Festival has allowed him to develop a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing media artists from diverse backgrounds. In his most recent role as part of the post-production team at World Famous in Seattle, Champ has worked on creating content for major brands like T-Mobile, Microsoft, and Amazon. Through a transition from a traditional post-production house to a creative agency, Champ has gained a keen insight into the economic opportunities that the film industry can bring to Seattle as well as glimpses in the crossovers that occur between advertising and narrative-driven filmmaking.

Tom Florino is a director on the public policy team at Amazon, where he leads worldwide economic development teams that support Amazon Studios and the Global Media & Entertainment (GME) division, global expansion strategy for all Amazon businesses, and location intelligence. 
 
Tom has over fifteen years of experience in economic development. His background includes location strategy, crafting economic development agreements, building community partnerships, and program evaluation and development. 
 
Prior to joining Amazon in Seattle, Tom was a managing director in the location advisory practice at Newmark in New York City. He has Big Four consulting experience in the economic development practices at both EY and Deloitte. Tom also served in the administration of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 
 
Tom also served in the administration of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Tom is a member of the economic development board at the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), and a member of the board of directors at Greater Seattle Partners (GSP). He holds a Master of Public Administration from the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the College of the Holy Cross.

Mark’s 34-year motion picture industry career began at entry level. Working his way through several departments and full-time employment at a motion picture studio, Mark began work in the locations department in 2001. As film location manager, Mark has led locations for major feature film, television, and commercial work including "Transformers 4," "KIMI," "Rampart," "50 Shades of Gray," "Late Autumn," and many national commercial campaigns.

With over 15 years of experience in IT consulting and as a co-founder and board member of a nonprofit organization, Budi Mulyo’s experience in programming and computational manufacturing, as well as proficiency in immersive VR/AR/360/XR technologies, will be beneficial in advancing Seattle's film industry.

As a lead R&D for future mental healthcare technology innovation using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality, Budi understands how emerging technologies can provide growth opportunities for local film industry businesses and workers. Budi has mentored VR/360 at Refugee Women’s Alliance and Franklin High School, and trained UW minority students and the public in VR development at the Seattle Public Library.

Moreover, Budi is committed to advancing racial equity within the industry and making Seattle an attractive location for film production. Budi is bilingual and has experience working with diverse populations, which he believes will enable him to bring a unique perspective to the Film Commission. He is eager to work collaboratively with other members to create policies that enhance economic development and provide quality jobs for talent and crew in the industry.

Melissa Purcell is the Northern Business Agent of the I.A.T.S.E. Local 488, Studio Mechanics of the Pacific Northwest. These are the technicians and artists that work as freelance crew on film, television, commercial and corporate content. In the mid-90's she served on the Executive Board of Women In Film Seattle. In 2006, she was asked to help bring Labor on board in the forming of a new state tax incentives program. Working in partnership with the stakeholders involved, the program was passed through state legislation and was signed by then Governor Christine Gregoire, which became Washington Filmworks. She is on the King County Executive's Film Advisory Board and is a former WA Filmworks Film Leadership Council and Seattle Film Task Force member. She is a prop master by trade in the commercial advertising, television and feature film industry and occasionally works as a production designer on corporate and commercial content. Her credits as a Prop Master include such films as “Rushmore,” “Forces of Nature,” “The Details,” “Nightjohn,” and “Smoke Signals,” to name just a few. She has worked with well-known directors such as Martha Coolidge, Wes Anderson, Charles Burnett, Bronwen Hughs, Chris Eyre, and Curtis Hanson. She is a strong proponent of social justice and worker's rights and passionate about advocating for Local 488 members and the film industry as an economic driver and job creator.

Anthony Tackett is a Filmmaker of 25 years working on commercials, narratives along with community support/outreach and as an instructor teaching people from 8 to 70 years old. Anthony is currently the Operations Manager for the Seattle Film Institute. He is the Founder of the African Diaspora Facebook group bringing together black and POC filmmakers to create a safe space for underrepresented filmmakers. Anthony was the Co-chair of the Seattle Film Task Force, the primary goal is creating opportunities for racial, financial equity and education for the underserved and underprivileged. Anthony directed and filmed his first feature documentary “Black June,” a film following Black Lives Matter protests that started on June 1, 2020 after the public lynching of George Floyd.