Bios for 2007 panel and workshop participants

Natalie Canerday is a versatile character actress who first earned renown with her moving performance as the struggling single mother of young Frank Wheatley (Lucas Black) in Billy Bob Thornton’s Oscar-winning Southern drama, Slide Blade. Canerday gained further acclaim as the sympathetic wife of a coal miner (Chris Cooper) and loving mother of future rocket scientist Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhall) in the inspiring October Sky.  A native of Russellville, Arkansas, Canerday began her career as a production secretary on the television feature The Tuskegee Airmen, and then shifted into an on-screen career with roles in Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues and Thornton’s One False Move.  Her most recent projects include the Johnny Cash biographical drama Walk the Line and the upcoming Alabama-made feature When I Find The Ocean, which will be presented in a world-premiere screening at the 2005 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival.  Her full biography and credits are available on the Internet Movie Data Base, www.imdb.com. 

Teddy Champion is a native of Florence.  He received a degree in sociology from Vanderbilt University in 1996 and had short careers in the Army and as an investment banker before plunging into filmmaking.  He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University with a concentration in screenwriting and directing.  In 2002 he moved to Los Angeles where he established a career as a documentary producer.  Teddy recently moved back to Florence, where he lives with his wife, Maya, and their baby daughter, Lily.  He is working as a freelance producer in the Southeast and also writing a second draft of a feature screenplay.  His credits include shows for VH1, A&E, the History Channel, and the National Geographic Channel.  

Jess Daily, a UNA alumnus, is the Chief Projectionist for the UCLA Archives at the James Bridges Theatre, UCLA School of Theatre, Film, Television, and Digital Media. Jess Daily lives in Culver City, California with his wife and children. 

Les Edwards, is a member of the organizing committee of the Indie Memphis Film Festival (www.indiememphis.com), a project of the nonprofit visual arts organization Delta Axis. In addition to the festival, Delta Axis produces a free monthly microcinema series, presents exhibits by international artists, and works as an advocate for the Memphis film and art community. Les is a board member and treasurer of the Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission. His day job is a CPA, and he is an enthusiastic volunteer for various arts organizations in Memphis. 

Gena Ellis knew that she wanted to be a screenwriter when she was a teenager growing up in a small town in West Virginia, though she didn’t quite know how.  So, after going to college and becoming an Army officer and a journalist, and after much trial and error, Gena is finally a produced and optioned screenwriter.  Her screenplays have placed in competitions, such as Moondance and Austin Film Festivals, Scriptapalooza and 48 Hours Film Project.  Her script, “Angela’s Decision,” was produced in Australia in 2006 by director Matt King.  Gena lives in Madison, Alabama with her talented teenage daughter, Ursala, and her husband, John, a Lt. Col. in the Army.

Ward Emling was born in New Orleans and raised in Jackson, Mississippi.  He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Millsaps College in 1976, then studied two years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England. As an actor, he appeared in Huckleberry Finn, The Premonition, and in the TV miniseries Beulah Land before becoming the Mississippi Film Office director (for the first time) in 1980. Emling served as Mississippi’s Film Office Director in the early 1980s and from 1990 to the present.  Ward Emling served as President of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) from 1998-2002 and continues as Treasurer of the Board of Directors, the 300+ member organization of film commissions from around the world.

David “Shark” Fralick currently plays the menacing ex-con Warton on the top-rated CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless.  Shark can also be seen chasing Nicolas Cage in Gone in 60 Seconds and appearing opposite Master P as the Aryan supremacist Graffiti in Lockdown.  His credits also include the role of the mercenary Flat Top, pursuing Cuba Gooding Jr. and Skeet Ulrich, in the thriller Chill Factor.  Shark makes a guest appearance in Stu Segall’s latest series, 18 Wheels of Justice, and he co-starred with Jean Claude Van Damme in the film Desert Heat as Matt Hogan.  In 2006, Shark played a shifty Southern poacher in When I Find the Ocean.  The film – written, directed and produced by University of North Alabama graduate Tonya S. Holly – was shot in the Shoals and premiered during the 2006 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival.  Shark is passionate about his music as well as his pets (three dogs and a snake), his interest in water sports and chess, and his study of Tai Chi.  He started his own production company, Shark Eye Productions, in 2003.  Shark has co-produced six films to date, and with several upcoming projects in the works, he has proven to be a visible player in the entertainment industry for a long time to come. 

Eva Golson is director of the Mobile Film Office.  Eva has been instrumental in getting the Port City featured in more than 40 films including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Under Seige, Executive Decision, and The Insider.  She has been employed with the City of Mobile for over twenty five years and has served as a State Film Commissioner since 1980.  Eva has had the honor of receiving several awards, the most notable being the Alabama Public Relations Practitioner of the Year, President of the eleven state Southeast Tourism Society, Alabama Tourism Professional of the Year, and was recently inducted into the Alabama Tourism Hall of Fame.

Christopher Halvorson graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1994 and went on to graduate from the MFA film writing program at Columbia University.  Halvorson’s novel The Santa Suit has recently been published by Black Rhino Press, and the movie rights have been sold to BS Productions.  Christopher Halvorson lives in Culver City, California. 

Tonya Holly is an alumnus of the University of North Alabama and former regional talent agent.  Tonya worked as a professional casting director and production assistant on several major films and television projects before returning to the Shoals to establish her own production company.  Her feature film credits include Freejack, Toy Soldiers, Body Snatchers, Tom and Huck, and the Oscar-winning Blue Sky.  She founded Cypress Moon Productions in 2003 and wrote and directed the award winning short film The Mirror.  In 2006, the feature film When I Find the Ocean, produced and directed by Tonya Holly and based on her original script, premiered at the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival.  Tonya is the president of the Alabama Filmmakers Association and a member of the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival steering committee. 

Giles McDaniel is the new Executive Director of the Shoals Entrepreneurial Center.  A native of Mississippi, McDaniel holds a BBA in Marketing from Mississippi State University and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Mississippi College.  McDaniel has 13 year of experience in the new business incubation industry.  Before coming to the Shoals Entrepreneurial Center, he was the founding director of the Northeast Mississippi Business Incubation System and executive director of the East Alabama Entrepreneurial System.   

Terry Pace received his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of North Alabama and worked as an award-winning arts-and-entertainment journalist in print and radio for more than 25 years.  Terry now teaches writing and literature classes in the UNA Department of English and is serving on an interim basis in the UNA Office of University Relations.  He also teaches continuing-studies classes on film history/appreciation and the heritage of the world-renowned “Muscle Shoals sound."  As an actor and director, Terry has been involved in more than 100 stage plays across the region.  In 2003, he and science-fiction author Ray Bradbury founded a regional theatre-and-film company, Pillar of Fire Productions.  Terry's film credits include acting roles in The Brooch, Sadomannequin, Goody Goody Gum Drops, When I Find the Ocean, and Big Cowboy.  He is also a member of the steering committee for the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival.  Terry and his wife, Anita, live in Sheffield with their two children, Forrest and Alexandra. 

Steve Richerson founded Concrete Dream Pictures after touring the world for 25 years as a professional magician.  His credits include appearances on CBS THIS MORNING, ESPN'S OUTDOORS, and CNBC'S AMERICA'S TALKING.  He's been covered in the NEW YORK TIMES, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE WEEKLY READER, MARKET REPORT, and even BOXING NEWS!  He founded his small movie production company in Alabama to try and give life to many of the ideas he had as he traveled around the world.  The name Concrete Dream Pictures is derived from a quote from director John Boorman - "I think what we're accomplishing is nothing short of trying to make a dream concrete."  Steve's shorts have won several awards and have screened at festivals around the country.  The Burglar - his first short - won the Sweet Home Alabama Honorable Mention Award, was the top comedy pick for the month of February on IFC/Film Lab, and was selected to appear at 30 thousand feet on Frontier Airlines.  He's currently shooting MY! STIC SWIRL - a short about a family recovering from the loss of a child.  www.concretedream.com 

Linn Sitler has served as Memphis & Shelby County Film Commissioner since 1987.  Linn holds an M.A. in Communication Arts from The University of Memphis, a B.A. (cum laude) from The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and is an honors graduate of Memphis' Central High School.  Before joining The Commission, Linn wrote and produced television documentaries, travel features, and long-format news stories. Currently Linn reviews films and reports on Commission news on Fox 13's "Good Morning, Memphis."  Her professional honors while film commissioner include her selection as "Sales and Marketing Exectutive of the Year" by the Sales and Marketing Association of Memphis, and "Communicator of the Year" by The Public Relations Society of America-Memphis Chapter.   Memphis Magazine has annually chosen Sitler as one of the city's "100 Movers and Shakers." Recently, The Commercial Appeal selected her as one of "Twelve Who Made A Difference in 2004." 

Mark L. Stricklin is in his second year as Executive Director of the Birmingham-Jefferson Film Office.  He brings over 20 years of film commission/management experience to the Central Alabama region.  His accumulative efforts have resulted in over $970 million in revenue for Birmingham (AL); Buffalo (NY), the State of Oregon, Wilmington (NC), and the State of Alabama from 1987-2006 through the recruitment of over 300 productions. 

Will Stutts has engaged in a professional-theatre, film and television career for almost forty years.  As an actor, director, producer and playwright, his work has been seen throughout the country.  The University of North Alabama has just completed a four-year stint as Producing Artistic Director at the Mt. Gretna Playhouse in Pennsylvania, and previously served in that capacity at the South Jersey Regional Theatre at the Gateway Playhouse, Actors' Theatre of Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. His most recent producer credits include the regional premieres of Stand By Your Man, the new Tammy Wynette bio-musical, and the off-Broadway hit, Moonlight and Magnolias.  Originating a series of one-person plays at the inception of his career, his roster of characterizations (including Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman) have become staples on college and university campuses and in regional theatres throughout the country.  His Frank Lloyd Wright was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Best New Play of the year, and Eye of the Storm (his theatrical look at the life and influence of Alabama Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr.) and Noel Coward at the Café de Paris set box-office records at Florida's ASOLO Theatre. Will’s traditional multi-character plays include Edwin Forrest, Kemble vs. Butler, Summons to Sheffield, Oscar Wilde’s Lover and The Gift, a play about Truman Capote and Harper Lee. Will’s screen credits range from the films The Front Page, Trading Places and My Little Town to the television series Adam-12 and the mini-series George Washington. 

Linda Swann has served as Assistant Director of the Alabama Development Office (ADO) and Director of the Alabama Film Office since 2003.  During her tenure with ADO, Alabama has been named “State of the Year” by Southern Business and Development for a record-setting four years in a row.  The agency also received top honors with Site Selection Magazine’s National Competitiveness Award in 2005 for state-level economic development organizations and Alabama won Area Development magazine’s first ever “Golden Shovel” award for job creation. 

Don Tingle is the founder and director of “MovieMakers: A Film Making Workshop for Kids” sponsored by the Alabama Filmmakers Co-op each July in Huntsville.  He is a member of the Film Co-op’s Board of Directors.  Don believes that kids learn by doing and that all kids benefit from learning filmmaking skills.  Don’s background includes making art instruction videos for area artists, creating event and documentary videos for local groups, and volunteering at local schools to videotape theatrical events.  Don is a sponsor and attends Roger Ebert’s annual “Overlooked Film Festival.”  He is currently developing a documentary project and works as an engineer and department manager for an aerospace firm in Huntsville.  For further information, please contact Don at DonJTingle@aol.com or 256-837-4359. 

Danny Vinson is an alumnus of the University of North Alabama.  Danny was born an identical twin on May 6, 1954, in Russellville, Alabama, and grew up in Huntsville.  At the age of 21, Danny began his acting career at UNA in the theatre production of My Three Angels with Sal Mineo, Broderick Crawford, and Peter Breck.  His work in front of the camera includes credits ranging from national commercials to feature films, short subjects, music videos, and documentaries.  Danny’s work in feature film includes the Oscar winning Two Soldiers, A Time to Kill, U.S. Marshalls, Walk the Line, and the locally produced When I Find the Ocean.  Danny is a full-time actor and resides in Madison, Alabama.