Our Team
Courtney Hope Therond
Director/Producer
Courtney Hope Thérond (she/they) is an award-winning screenwriter and director who has screened films at festivals such as BFI London, New Orleans, Outfest, Nashville, and St Louis. Her latest short Rehearsal, which tackles the grey areas of consent, premiered online on Short of the Week, received a Vimeo Staff Pick, and was featured in RogerEbert.com, Fast Company, and No Budge.
Courtney was a fellow in the inaugural Constellation Incubator and her fictional podcast Persistence of Memory was chosen for the Gotham Week Project Market.
Courtney is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and was a Cinereach Film Fellow. She wrapped her first feature film A Time Apart in January 2022 and is developing her second feature with StudioFest. Courtney writes and directs narrative and branded content in Los Angeles and New York. www.courtneytherond.com
Olivia Cade
Writer/ “Max”
Olivia Cade (she/her) is an LA-based actor, writer and filmmaker whose work centers around destigmatizing trauma and mental illness through the use of comedy and performance. Recently, she’s found success on Tiktok, making comedic content that illuminates the realities of therapy and living with a “broken brain.” Olivia has also recently appeared in multiple independent feature films including We’re All Gonna Die (Rocket Jump Productions, starring Jordan Rodriguez and Ashly Burch).
As an artist, she is interested in work that straddles the line between tragedy and absolute hilarity: the place where life mostly exists.
Olivia attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts on a full-ride talent scholarship and graduated with honors. She continues to strive for excellence whether in front of or behind the camera.
Mallory Corinne
“Lucy”
Mallory Corinne (she/they) is a queer actor and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, whose artistic ambition is to give voice to untold stories.
Mal received her BFA in Acting at Brigham Young University and upon graduation moved to New York and began to slowly uncover their true identities.
There she starred in her first queer role in the short film, Nós (Dir. Joana Sotomayor), and landed a lead role in the feature film, Secondhand Hearts (Dir. Austin Everett).
After making the move to LA, Mal has continued to find success in independent film. Recently they worked as an Associate Producer on the transmasc comedy, Golden Boys (Dir. Jett Garrison) and performed roles in the upcoming films STALLED (Dir. Mckenzie Foster) and Tip Your Fucking Bartender (Dir. Ashton Avila).
Mal believes in filmmaking as a way of building community and opening conversations that challenge our collective assumptions. She also just thinks it's super fun.
Amanda Treyz
Cinematographer
Amanda Treyz (she/her) is an award-winning cinematographer whose films have screened at major international festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Locarno, BFI London and Los Angeles. Her work has won an ASC Heritage Award, a Student Emmy, audience awards at Aspen and Palm Springs, and twice been a finalist for the Student Academy Awards.
Her films have been featured on Short of the Week, Vimeo Staff Picks and viewed over half a million times. She has shot over 15 feature films, as well as numerous shorts & music videos. Amanda is an alumnus of AFI’s MFA Cinematography Program and Brown University. She is currently based in Los Angeles.
Sawyer VanVactor-Lee
Intimacy Coordinator
Sawyer VanVactor-Lee (they/them) is an actor, educator, intimacy coordinator, consent advocate and sparkling water enthusiast currently based in Portland Oregon.
Sawyer came into the world of Intimacy Coordination in 2019 with a workshop led by Tonia Sina (one of the founders of the industry) and immediately recognized the importance of this field and became passionate about learning as much about it as they could. Since that first workshop he has taken several workshops with Intimacy Coordinators and Directors (IDC), and in September he will complete his Consent Forward Artist Certificate from IDC. Emmett has led workshops around intimacy choreography and consent in classrooms all over the country, most notably at the Guthrie Theater, and Winona State University.
As a proud member of the queer community, Sawyer is thrilled to bring their skills and expertise to such a beautiful film celebrating queer intimacy and the power of centering one's own pleasure and joy.
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Kristin Yawata
Editor
Kristin Yawata is an editor and co-founder of Little Farm, a post-production boutique in Los Angeles. She has spent most of her career working on national commercials, digital billboards, and social media campaigns for brands like Nike, Lincoln, Google News, and the Ad Council. She specializes in montage and docu-style stories that capture the chaotic beauty of connection in everyday life.
She has also cut music videos, video game story campaigns, shorts for Netflix Film Club, Film Independent and Quibi.
When Kristin isn’t crafting stories for clients, she dabbles in mixed media, writing, making prints, zines and music. Her personal work deals with the imprecision of words, reclaiming community and the unseen burdens of the American Dream.
Check out more of Kristin’s work here: thelittlefarm.com