TSHAY

DIRECTOR

Tshay is a filmmaker and artist from Amityville, NY. She is a writer, director, producer, shooter, and editor whose work is an expansive case for optimism, play, and interiority. Working in close collaboration with loved ones, Tshay creates films across documentary, fiction and hybrid forms, namely her debut narrative short film, gales., which screened at BlackStar Film Festival, American Black Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, and a number of universities and organizations worldwide. She is the recipient of awards from Art Works, Sachs Arts, and Independence Public Media Foundation, and holds degrees from both University of Pennsylvania and University College London. Tshay is a 2024 Pew Fellow and a 2025 Creative Capital awardee. She is currently developing her debut animated film, TELL ME WHEN YOU GET HOME., through her production company Studio Tshay. 

JACKIE PAYTON

PRODUCER

New Jersey born and Pennsylvania raised, Jackie Payton is a three-time Daytime Emmy nominated children's television producer, writer, editor, and retired puppeteer based in Philadelphia and New York City. Alongside producing television and writing podcasts for kids, Jackie has worked on content geared toward adults such as the award-winning 2021 PBS docu-series Philly D.A. and, most recently, the short film The Love Machine for BlackStar Film Festival's inaugural 2022 Lab Program.

In her free time, she's gaming, learning to cook, playing softball, trying to find friends to go bowling, moviegoing, traveling, cat-loving, and laughing at TikTok, sometimes all at once.

SYDNEY RODRIGUEZ

PRODUCER

Hailing from PG County, Maryland, Sydney Alicia Rodriguez is an Afrolatinx producer and filmmaker interested in getting free by way of resourcing Black and Brown storytellers and worldbuilders. They recognize the importance of narrative change and imagination, particularly when reckoning with the past and reimagining the future.

After three years of working with BlackStar Film Festival in different capacities including serving as a producer of the first couple seasons of BlackStar Live! (supported by Open Society Foundations), Sydney currently manages artist programs at BlackStar Projects including co-producing four short films each year as part of the Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab. Sydney also produced the short narrative film gales. which premiered at the 2021 BlackStar Film Festival, and went on to play at American Black Film Festival, the 30th Anniversary Pan African Film Festival, and more.

PATRICE WORTHY

ENGAGEMENT PRODUCER

Patrice Worthy is a producer, consultant, and owner of Cathect Management, a consulting and management agency for artists and creatives. Originally trained as a biochemist, her career over the past decade has shifted to the intersection of arts, culture, and community. Patrice has worked with BlackStar Projects in various capacities since 2012, most prominently as operations director. She has also worked as a fundraising consultant for large and small businesses, including Picture Motion and The Sable Collective. Patrice excels at mobilizing resources and identifying and executing creative solutions for arts organizations and creatives.

ALEXA LIM HAAS

ANIMATION DIRECTOR

Alexa Lim Haas (they/she) is a Filipino American artist from New York City. Alexa was selected by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film." Alexa’s films, GLOVE (2016) co-directed with Bernardo Britto, and her solo films AGUA VIVA (2018) and ODE TO OCEAN (2020) each premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. GLOVE and AGUA VIVA were awarded Grand Jury Prizes at SXSW. Alexa’s work has been exhibited at film festivals worldwide and at MoMA, BAM, The Brooklyn Museum, and The New York Times. Alexa has directed animations for Planned Parenthood, Beach House, HBO’s RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS, and the Netflix documentary MUCHO MUCHO AMOR. She is the screenwriter for RACHEL IN LOVE currently in development with Department of Motion Pictures and Park Pictures. Alexa received her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Beyond artmaking, Alexa teaches Story Development and Storyboarding at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology. Alexa is a member of International Initiative for The Philippines, an NGO focused on supporting indigenous communities and land sustainability. Alexa is a certified Yoga Teacher trained at The Yoga Shanti and teaches at Practice in Red Hook, Brooklyn.