Our Team
DIRECTOR & WRITER
Andrea Camacho McCracken is a first generation, Mexican-American writer and director, based in LA and Arizona.
Her work uses genre to reimagine underrepresented stories, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the complexities of the American Dream. With a strong passion for breaking stereotypes and promoting inclusivity, Andrea is dedicated to bringing vibrant stories and diverse perspectives to the forefront of cinema. She strives to create thought-provoking narratives that authentically represent her community both behind and in front of the camera.
She earned an MFA in Directing from the AFI Conservatory and was selected as an AFI Awards Audi Scholar. Additionally, she received scholarships such as the Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation Scholarship, the Irwin & Sheila Allen Endows Scholarship, and the Dr. David M. Milch Scholarship.
ANDREA C. MCCRACKEN
PRODUCER
Born in China, Shuqi Li is a current producing fellow at American Film Institute Conservatory. She received her Bachelor's degree from Syracuse University, majoring in Art History and Applied Mathematics. She started her journey in filmmaking as a writer and producer. One of the documentaries she produced, Anshan Story, was selected by San Francisco International Film Festival, and Student Academy Award. It was also premiered at New Era Film Festival and screened at the Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. One of the narrative shorts she produced, No Fish in the Water, was invited to premiere at the Syracuse International Film Festival. She is interested in underrepresented female stories that explore a subtle sense of existential malaise within characters.
SHUQI LI
WRITER
Nora Alameddin is a Lebanese-American writer who graduated as a journalism major and theatre minor at UTA, and while Nora fell in love with playwriting initially, she found her true calling with screenwriting when she wrote three feature scripts in one year at NYU and UCLA writing programs. Post-grad, she has worked as a Story Editor at Snapchat and on various political campaigns. At AFI Conservatory, she has written three features and three pilots thus far.
NORA ALAMEDDIN
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Ellin Aldana is a Guatemalan-American cinematographer with a background in archival film preservation. She is interested in narrative work that depicts diverse stories of the human condition. Particularly, Ellin loves being a part of telling stories from within members of her Latinx community. She received her BA from Arizona State University and is currently an MFA cinematography fellow at The American Film Institute. She was the cinematographer for That Winning Feeling, which won 1st place in the PCC film festival and was an official selection of the Pasadena International Film Festival.
ELLIN ALDANA
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Hailing from Cancun, Mexico, Cyrum A. Ramirez began her career in Canada where she studied visual arts and design. She then furthered her education by earning a BFA in Filmmaking from the New York Film Academy, where she wrote and directed ten short films. Since then, she has lived in Los Angeles, where she has been the production designer on short films, feature films, commercials, and music videos.
CYRUM A. RAMIREZ
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Mehdi Bennani is a French Moroccan production designer who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture at the University of Southern California. The passion he has always had for film and the skills he learned from Architecture School helped him work on different projects in the art department and apply to the AFI Conservatory where he is currently earning a Master's degree in Production Design. Mehdi has always been a true believer in social justice and human rights, and after Trump's immigration laws, filmmaking took a new meaning in showing the injustices that take place in the United States and around the world. Therefore, he sees it as his duty to tell stories of those who cannot speak up, those who are not allowed to have a voice.
MEHDI BENNANI
EDITOR
Guanqing Lin is a film editor/assistant editor from China. She is an honors graduate of UC Davis with BAs in Cinema & Digital Media, Communication, and Theatre & Dance, triple major. She began her filmmaking journey as an assistant editor for narrative shorts and documentary features. So far, she’s edited two features, 25+ narrative shorts, and some commercials. In her free time, she is also a game designer/game programmer. She is currently studying for an MFA in Film Editing at the AFI Conservatory. She is passionate about telling stories and evoking audiences' emotional engagement through editing.
VICKY (GUANQING) LIN
