Dr. Marcia Sirota MD hosts Reel Mental

Shane Conto (he/him) is an educator by day and a full blown cinephile who dabbles in all types of film circles the rest of the time. YouTuber, writer, and podcaster, Shane highlights his love for film amongst other hobbies (from TV, books, music, sports, and video games) through reviews, podcasts, and a variety of written projects. Running a tutoring center and teaching statistics does not stop Shane from exploring his deep passion for the arts in all the avenues that he can. thewastelandreviewer.blog  The Wasteland Reviewer (YouTube)  The Wasteland Reviewer (Instagram)

JOSH LOEB – Director, Writer, Producer   Josh Loeb’s two professional passions are film and food. After majoring in English and Film at UC Berkeley and working in his early twenties as a script reader and magazine editor, Josh came to the realization that he was not quite ready to write screenplays with the depth of character that he loved in the films he grew up on. Josh took a detour into his other passion, food, and in 2006 opened his first restaurant Rustic Canyon, which turns 20 this year and has received numerous awards and acclaim including a Michelin Star. Josh went on to meet his longtime collaborator and now ex-wife Zoe Nathan at Rustic Canyon, and together they opened eight more restaurants that form the well revered Rustic Canyon Family of Restaurants. Despite his restaurant success, Josh maintained his passion for film and storytelling and his desire to return to that career goal. He began writing scripts again and based on the script for In Spite of Ourselves was signed by WME where he is repped by Hannah Davis and Nancy Josephson. In 2024 Josh decided to take on the challenge of directing, shooting In Spite of Ourselves in Portland with good friend and talented Cinematographer Gabe Mayan. Josh completed In Spite of Ourselves in 2025. He currently lives in Ojai, California and remains close personally and as business partners with Zoe, and most importantly they joyfully raise their three children together. Josh’s plans are to continue to make films and television as well as form a production company to work collaboratively with others on the creation of unique, honest and commercially successful creative content. His favorite films are from the 80’s and 90’s and he wants to be a part of bringing those kinds of stories back onto the big screen. 

Lacey Schwartz Delgado is an Emmy-nominated producer, writer, director, and outreach strategist whose interdisciplinary work spans documentary and fiction across 40 countries. She is best known for writing, directing, and producing Little White Lie — a personal documentary about identity that premiered on PBS' Independent Lens in 2015 to the highest ratings of the season and is now available on iTunes and Amazon Prime — and for executive producing Difret, the first film to win audience awards at both Sundance and Berlin. Additional credits include How It Feels To Be Free, nominated for an Emmy for best documentary on PBS's American Masters, and The Loving Generation, a viral digital series for Topic. A Georgetown and Harvard Law graduate, Lacey is also a member of the New York State Bar.

WRITER, DIRECTOR & PRODUCER SAI KARAN TALWAR Sai Karan Talwar is an award-winning writer and director. Sai is currently a BAFTA Connect Member, a 2025 alumnus of the BBC Writers room - Writers’ Access Group, and 2023 Disability Belongs Entertainment Lab. His upcoming short film ‘I AM THE PRIZE’ stars Russell Tovey, it is based on the spec script he wrote with the BBC during the BBC Writers Room Programme and is set to play festivals in 2026. His Short Film debut ‘GHANIMAH’ is a BAFTA & BIFA Qualified Short Film that has been selected at just over 60 film festivals, including OSCAR-accredited festivals, with over a dozen wins and nominations; the film is about Islamic enrolment into the British Military. His second short film ‘WHAT MEN DO FOR LOVE’ is a 15-minute single-take film; the film is currently BIFA Qualified and has been selected by BAFTA and OSCAR accredited festivals, and more recently to be OSCAR Longlisted for 2026. https://saikarantalwar.com/films/iamtheprize

Shane Conto (he/him) is an educator by day and a full blown cinephile who dabbles in all types of film circles the rest of the time. YouTuber, writer, and podcaster, Shane highlights his love for film amongst other hobbies (from TV, books, music, sports, and video games) through reviews, podcasts, and a variety of written projects. Running a tutoring center and teaching statistics does not stop Shane from exploring his deep passion for the arts in all the avenues that he can. thewastelandreviewer.blog  The Wasteland Reviewer (YouTube)  The Wasteland Reviewer (Instagram)

Director Rowan Haber is an aesthetically-driven writer and director of narrative, documentary and commercial content. An MFA graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Rowan's work has earned recognition as a Sundance Momentum Fellow, as well as a Sundance New Frontier Lab and Art of Practice Fellow. They've also been selected for the Universal Pictures Directing Lab, AFI's Directing Workshop, Film Independent's Episodic Lab, and Outfest's Screenwriting Lab, with a shadowing stint on FX's Pose. Rowan was named to The Alice Initiative's 2018 list of directors poised to helm studio films and is featured in Indiewire's list of 8 Best Trans Directors Working Today. They have been a fellow at McDowell, Yaddo, UCross, Millay, and Marblehouse artist residencies. Their award-winning series New Deep South garnered a GLAAD nomination, while Braddock, PA (Topic) received critical praise from The New York Times and The New Yorker. Rowan's diverse body of work includes directing Stonewall Forever for Stink Studios, Celestial for Tribeca Studios x Bulgari. Rowan's documentary We Are Pat, about trans comedy and the cult SNL figure It's Pat, is (executive produced by Alan Cumming and Lilly Wachowski) premiered at Tribeca in June 2025, earning them Best New Documentary Director Special Jury Mention. The film was written up in Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, is being distributed by Tribeca Films and will be streaming this summer. They directed the finale for the Gotham and GLAAD-nominated series Pride for FX and Killer Films. Rowan is also directing the modern feminist horror Shell.ai and is attached to adapt Brontez Purnell's Whiting Award winning book Since I Laid My Burden Down into a feature film. They are part of the artist collective Talk to Me About Water, and are currently working on a 16 mm installation based project called Two Bodies with artist and friend Amelia Winger-Bearskin. They co-created and co-run the literary reading series Word Spa LA.

Brian Eggert is a Tomatometer-Approved critic who celebrates the movies you love and the hidden gems you have yet to discover. Brian writes about classic, independent, and mainstream cinema. If you're looking for new release recommendations or an appreciation of a longtime favorite, check out his in-depth essays, histories, and critical analyses on his website, Deep Focus Review. https://letterboxd.com/deepfocusreview/  https://bsky.app/profile/deepfocusreview.bsky.social Support independent critic Brian Eggert (Deep Focus Review) on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/deepfocusreview

Brian Eggert is a Tomatometer-Approved critic who celebrates the movies you love and the hidden gems you have yet to discover. Brian writes about classic, independent, and mainstream cinema. If you're looking for new release recommendations or an appreciation of a longtime favorite, check out his in-depth essays, histories, and critical analyses on his website, Deep Focus Review. https://letterboxd.com/deepfocusreview/  https://bsky.app/profile/deepfocusreview.bsky.social Support independent critic Brian Eggert (Deep Focus Review) on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/deepfocusreview

Alex Burunova grew up painting before finding her voice in filmmaking. A Los Angeles-based USC Film School alum with a background in directing theater, she's also directed award-winning shorts, episodics, and a Netflix special. Her debut feature, "Satisfaction" -shot across Greece and London-was nearly a decade in the making and premiered at SXSW. Alex's work blends bold visuals with emotionally intimate storytelling, often exploring themes of gender, identity, and female empowerment. Links:  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3493734/  https://alexburunova.com/ 

WRITER/DIRECTOR – DANIEL PERSITZ  Daniel has sold numerous scripts to studios and production companies including Lionsgate, eOne, Hasbro Studios, Dark Horse and Dimension. Three of his screenplays have been voted onto the prestigious Hollywood Black List, including the feature version of Key of Genius, co-written with David Seidler, the Oscar-winning writer of The King’s Speech.  Daniel is also an experienced producer and film executive, with credits at Robert Zemeckis’ production company and Hasbro Studios. He produced Universal’s thriller hit Ouija and worked on the Transformers and Dungeons & Dragons franchises for Paramount. Outside of film, Daniel is a violinist, regularly performing with the Santa Monica Symphony and Westside Chamber Orchestra. Key of Genius combines his two passions of film and music.