Soozie Eastman, President
Soozie Eastman is the Founder and President of 502 Film and the Film Commissioner for Louisville, KY. Since earning her Masters in Producing for TV and Film at Chapman University, she has produced and directed documentaries and short films, taught university-level courses in pre-production and was Director of Programs for the HUMANITAS Prize where she ran their annual judging season and award show honoring writers in television and film. While there, she also created the multi-studio television pilot program for emerging and underrepresented writers, New Voices of Humanitas.
After working in Los Angeles for a decade+, she "temporarily" returned to her hometown of Louisville to shoot her first feature film and take advantage of Kentucky's film tax incentives. Through her locally-crewed production and previous tenure as Executive Director of the Louisville Film Society which included producing the Flyover Film Festival, Soozie created deep relationships within the creative community and has no plans to leave. In 2019k, she released her most recent feature documentary, Overload: America’s Toxic Love Story. She continues to work alongside the 502 Film team, the local creative community, Metro Louisville and Louisville Tourism to further the efforts of building Kentucky's film industry and infrastructure.
Felipe Dieppa
Felipe Dieppa is a writer, producer and director who began his career in the industry at the age of six. As a child actor, Felipe starred in various commercials, soap operas, cartoons and films, originating the voice of Diego on "Dora the Explorer" and starring alongside Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche in Disney's DAN IN REAL LIFE. As a young adult, he began working behind the camera making his debut film as a producer with APARTMENT TROUBLES (Jess Weixler, Will Forte, Megan Mullally), which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. He then became the Director of Productions at the film fund, Starstream Media (then Starstream Entertainment), and Executive Produced SHUT UP AND DRIVE (Sarah Sutherland, Morgan Krantz), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Felipe has gone on to Executive Produce another six films, including THE WOLF HOUR (Naomi Watts, Kelvin Harrison Jr.), which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival; OPERATOR (Martin Starr and Mae Whitman), which premiered at SXSW; and ONE PERCENT MORE HUMID (Juno Temple, Alessandro Nivola, Julia Garner), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Felipe co-founded Mythologie Pictures, a mission-driven visual arts and production company founded to create commercial arthouse films and ad campaigns that promote diversity, eco-resilience, and more artfulness in advertising. Felipe has been the recipient of an Alfred P Sloan Foundation grant, and is a Film Independent Producing fellow.
Erin Roark
Erin is a producer/co-owner and in-house counsel for the Louisville-based production company 180 Degrees, and the producer of the feature films, “Under the Eiffel Tower” and “Pleased to Meet Me.“ She is a practicing attorney with over 20 years of experience including business structure, equity structure, development and production financial offerings, production legal services, artist development, and distribution delivery compliance.
Nathaniel R.A. Spencer, Secretary
Nathaniel R.A. Spencer, born in Louisville Kentucky, is a filmmaker (producer, director), actor and writer. Nathaniel currently sits on the board of advisors for the Louisville Film Commission, Louisville KY. He is the co-founder and director of the Black Media Collaborative in association with the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, Lou KY, and is owner/ CEO of WeCU Productions LLC, an independent film & television production company.
Nathaniel has always had a love for mentoring youth and he offers internship through WeCU Productions LLC, as well as works in collaboration with other local media production companies offering education and career opportunities for youth and young adults.
Geoffrey Storts
Geoffrey is an ICG Local 600 1st Assistant Camera and Focus Puller (look it up!). He has been a part of the Kentucky Film community since graduating from the University of Kentucky in 2010. His credits include Commercials, Music Videos, Reality TV, and many Feature Films. While climbing the ladder from Production Assistant to 1st AC, the importance of community and support amongst the film laborers of Kentucky became a priority. In 2019, Geoffrey started Below the Line, a short film night where Louisville filmmakers and film lovers can get together to watch and appreciate each others’ work.
When not keeping actors in focus, Geoffrey enjoys gardening, punk, and petting every cat that will allow it.