Director Biography – Leah McKendrick (PAMELA & IVY)

Leah McKendrick is an award-winning filmmaker and actress originally from San Francisco. She is widely known for the critically acclaimed digital musical series which she created and starred in, Destroy the Alpha Gammas, which made her a Webby Award Honoree and a Streamy Award Nominee for Best Independent Series. Her feature film debut as a writer/producer/actress- the revenge thriller, M.F.A.- was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at SXSW 2017 and dubbed “the first horror movie to speak to the #MeToo era” by The New York Times. Leah’s romcom script Voicemails for Isabelle was preempted by Columbia Pictures and made it onto the 2019 Black List and Hit List. Her first TV show, What the Fuck, Glenn? is in the works at HBO Max with supervising producer, Bruce Miller. Leah is currently working on her dream job – writing the Grease prequel, Summer Lovin’ for Paramount.

Director Statement

My older brother and I were lucky enough to grow up around the corner from a comic book store. I’d tag along with him after school to spend afternoons scouring the shelves for a comic that seemed like it was written for me. Where was the pink in this bloody world of hulky men? It seemed that girls were not meant to be in comic book stores, because girls were scarce in comic books.

Then I discovered Poison Ivy: She was smart, powerful and had awesome hair. Yeah, yeah she was a “villain” – but we all have bad days! And unlike Harley Quinn and Catwoman – she didn’t seem completely, well, insane. I had found something that was mine in this boys clubhouse. Ivy, too, was a girl in a man’s world. Little did I know that this reckless, confident image of a woman behaving badly would inform my work through my teen years to today.
Pamela & Ivy is a nod to the little girls who grew up searching for themselves in comic book stores. While this interpretation of Ivy may not be frilly and PINK – it’s female to the core.

Plus, her hair is still awesome.

FAN FICTION Festival BEST Scene Reading: The Kitchen Sink Sequel, by Justin S. Fischer

The story follows a young Alliance pilot traveling through deep space to transport an Alliance diplomat. Unknown to the pilot, the passenger is hiding secrets of her own and is in possession of a weapon that could destroy the Alliance once and for all. The Pilot learns the line between the Alliance and Browncoat is not always clean, and loyalty and compassion cast long shadows.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Allison Kampf
Jenny: Kyana Teresa
Beegan: Steve Rizzo
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FAN FICTION Festival 1st Scene Reading: Dare To Be Stupid: A “Weird Al” Fan Film, by Michael Mantsourani

After a case gone wrong, Detective Al Yankovic hangs up his badge for good and becomes a novelty musician. Four years later, he is dragged back into the world he left behind when his half-hamster former partner, Harvey, attempts to solve a murder that has a…purple…connection to the case that drove Al away.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Allison Kampf
AL: Shawn Devlin
Santa: Geoff Mays
Harvey: Sean Ballantyne
Gold Leader: Andy Camp
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FAN FICTION Festival Best Scene Reading: STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE REDEMPTION OF SKYWALKER, by Brian O’Flaherty

Some stories are too important, some stories must be retold. The story of Anakin Skywalker will be molded between the pressure of separate forces vying for his soul, which will determine the fate of the galaxy.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Val Cole
Anakin: Steve Rizzo
Obi Wan/Owen: Geoff Mays
Bretus/Palpatine: Allan Michael Brunet
Mara/Shali: Kyana Teresa
Gangster/Henly: Sean Ballantyne

FAN FICTION Best Scene Reading: The Mandalorian Chapter 17 : “Legacy” , by Valeran Lothaniel

Four years after returning the child Grogu to the Jedi, the lone Mandalorian warrior Din Djarin faces his greatest challenge yet: protecting four foundlings from conflicting Galactic forces, and raising them in the way of the Mand’alor.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Kyana Teresa
Cobb Vanth: Allan Michael Brunet
Mandalorian: Allison Kampf
Voice on the Comlink: Andy Camp

FAN FICTION Festival Best Scene Reading: BLACK WIDOW: LEGACY, by Brooke Elowe

Set three months after the events of BLACK WIDOW: FUGITIVE, Natasha Romanoff is presumed dead. Gravely injured and caught behind enemy lines, Natasha awakens not only to a world that believes she died in disgrace but to a dangerous new weapon threat she herself had a hand in creating. In a desperate race against time, Natasha fights to clear her name and find the weapon before it destroys the world.

CAST LIST:
Narrator: Steve Rizzo
Natasha: Julie Sheppard
Ava: Val Cole