Mentor Spotlight
Kristian R. Hill
MENTORSHIP FOCUS:
Directing, Editing/Post-Production, Producing
Kristian R. Hill is an award-winning documentary filmmaker with over 25 years of experience in film, television, and entertainment media. Born in Detroit, his work is deeply influenced by the city’s cultural and musical legacy. He is best known as the director of God Said Give ’Em Drum Machines, the critically acclaimed feature documentary on Detroit techno’s pioneers.
Kristian R. Hill
MENTORSHIP FOCUS:
Directing, Producing, Acting, Writing
Okema T. Moore is an Emmy and NAACP Image Award-nominated, ABFF-winning director, producer, and writer committed to bold, emotionally resonant storytelling across platforms. A Brooklyn native and proud multi-hyphenate, she began her career as a performer before moving behind the camera, emerging as a dynamic creative leader in branded, scripted, and unscripted work. Her films have screened at Tribeca, Outfest, and Reel Sisters.
In 2024 and 2025, Okema wrote and produced the EBONY Power 100 Awards and served as lead producer on the Oscar-qualified, NAACP Image Award–nominated short Chocolate with Sprinkles. She recently directed Ally Bank’s Money Roots campaign and earned her first directing award at the American Black Film Festival for her short Laundry, which she also produced. She closed out 2025 directing and producing three additional short films.
Her unscripted credits include Netflix, OWN, BET, Marvel/Disney, and STARZ, where she developed and produced the GLAAD and Humanitas-nominated Down in the Valley. A member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Okema serves on the board of NYWIFT and is a member of AWD, and the New York Television Academy, advocating for equity and access across the industry.
Jeremy Brockman
MENTORSHIP FOCUS:
Director of Photography
Jeremy Brockman is an Emmy Award-Winning cinematographer from Detroit, working in primarily in narrative and documentary.
In 2018, Brockman was awarded a NATAS Michigan Regional EMMY Award for the documentary short, LYRICIST SOCIETY and garnered a second nomination for the documentary short, MATRIX BOXING.
He was selected as a Cinematography Fellow for the 2024 cohort of Film Independent’s Project Involve Artist Development Program and was also awarded the Kresge Arts in Detroit Gilda Award for Film Directing.
Brockman's narrative directorial debut, THE CUT, has been screened nationally at several film festivals including Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival and Baltimore Black International Film Festival, where it won Best Narrative Short.
Select narrative credits include: A MIRROR OF DECEPTION (2025 Detroit Filmmaker Awards Best Cinematography nomination), MOSH, LITTLE CHURCH (2019 Detroit Filmmaker Awards Best Cinematography nomination), OPEN CITY (2013 Mitten Movie Project Best Cinematography Award).
Additional documentary credits include THE GREAT MIGRATION, MAKING BLACK AMERICA, GOSPEL, WHITE HOT: THE RISE & FALL OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: THE VOICE OF FREEDOM
With his work, Brockman seeks to create images that truthfully represent and inspire his community.
Zachary A. Johnson
MENTORSHIP FOCUS:
Composing/Music
Zachary A. Johnson is a film composer and educator based in New Jersey, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana. With a background in classical composition and a master’s degree in screen scoring from New York University, he specializes in creating emotionally driven music for film, media, and visual storytelling.
Zachary’s work focuses on the relationship between music and narrative, helping bring stories to life through thoughtful, cinematic composition. In addition to his creative work, he teaches private lessons, guiding students in composition, film scoring, and the fundamentals of musical storytelling.
His approach blends technical precision with creative intuition, aiming to develop both the artistic voice and storytelling ability of each student he works with.