THE CREW

SAM BANGS (she/her)

CO-CREATOR + WRITER

Sam Bangs is from a small town in Southern New Hampshire, where she began singing and dancing as soon as she could talk. Her performance career began with a focus on musical theater, starting with a short stint at Marymount Manhattan College, before transferring into the University of Miami's acting conservatory. It was at “The U” she found her love of acting for the camera (and the love of her life), so she picked up a film minor (and a husband) in addition to her stage training.

When she's not acting, you'll probably find her adventuring with her boys, trying out a new recipe, or lifting weights. She is foraying into the world of writing and producing for the opportunity to showcase stories that have largely gone untold, especially those from the LGBTQIA+ community, and the global majority. The long term goal is the creation of more industry job opportunities in Oregon for womxn and non-binary individuals, both behind and on camera. www.sambangs.com

BRITTANY VILLELA (she/her)

CO-CREATOR + WRITER

Brittany Villela is a lighter by day, writer by night since her early stage manager years. She’s started at Portland Community College where she became a typographer and graphic design for their local literacy journals. Then transferred to and graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Film. She has written and produced several projects, such as Fencesitters, Whistle, Cultivar, and recent grant recipient Undercard. She’s currently working on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio as an additional gaffer.

www.brittanyvillela.com

TARA JOHNSON-MEDINGER (she/her)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER + DIRECTOR

Tara Johnson-Medinger is a film director, producer, educator and champion of gender equality in the entertainment industry. An active member of the Producers Guild of America, her producing credits include the award-winning music documentary "The Winding Stream" and feature films "City Baby", and "Mother of Color". Her feature film directorial debut "My Summer as a Goth" released in 2020. She is currently in development on her second feature, "Us - You = Me" and post production on a documentary, "She Flies with Her Own Wings" and the pilot episode for the series, "This is Fine".

An advocate for women in film, Johnson-Medinger honors groundbreaking female and non-binary filmmakers as Executive Director of the International Power of Women in Film Festival (POW Film Fest), while developing the next generation of media makers through the youth education forum she founded, POWGirls.  

Recently, Johnson-Medinger has taken her knowledge of the entertainment industry into the classroom as a CTE Digital Media & Communications teacher at Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon and continuing her advocacy work, she currently serves on the board of the Oregon Media Production Association.

Johnson-Medinger served on the founding board of directors of the Women in Film Portland and was awarded the 2013 Service & Inspiration Award by the OMPA. She is an avid speaker and has been invited to present to many organizations including: KC Women in Film and Media, WIF-PDX, KCFilm Fest, DTLA Film Festival, Pacific University and several high school classrooms. Her work has been supported and recognized with several grants from the Regional Arts and Cultural Council and she was recently selected as a Fellow for the 2025 BendFilm Basecamp. Before moving to Portland, she was a manager of affiliate promotion at the FOX Broadcasting Company in Los Angeles. 

Through her production work as well as POW Film Fest, Tara aims to promote and create new opportunities for women filmmakers. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and is the proud mother of two young adults.

JULIE NHEM (she/her)

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Julie Nhem  is a Portland-based cinematographer and IATSE Local 600 member whose work centers emotional relatability and human connection. With an early foundation in still photography, Julie brings a sensitivity to light and composition shaped by years of observing people at intimate and transitional moments in their lives.

She earned a degree in Cultural Anthropology and Spanish from the University of Oregon, where she worked as a staff photographer for The Oregon Voice, before completing a Master’s in Education and living abroad for several years. After returning to creative work through portrait and event photography, she transitioned into motion in 2017, expanding her technical training through Portland State University’s film production program and professional mentorship with the OMPA Pathways.

Julie now works as Director of Photography on narrative, documentary, and commercial projects. Her work often centers women and gender-expansive characters navigating themes of identity, motherhood, independence, grief, and belonging. In 2025, Julie was selected as a DP mentee through IATSE Local 600’s Mentorship Program, and most recently as a participant in the AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop (CIW) Cohort 2026.

RICKY KING (they/them)

WRITER

Ricky King is a writer, editor, and plant dad born and raised in Portland, Oregon. (Yes, Black Portlanders do exist!)

They studied at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and graduated magna cum laude in 2021 with a BFA in Broadcast Journalism and Documentary. They are now working in the Pacific Northwest as a freelance editor, videographer, PA, and all around production guy. Story is at the heart of all their work across pre-production, production, and post.

They have a soft spot for underdogs and “unusual” heroes, writing from the perspective of a multiracial black nonbinary person raised in the whitest major city in America. Their feature screenplay, Moving On, was a semifinalist selection in The Screen Lab’s 2021 Free Screenplay Contest.

They are currently based in Portland and excited to tell the untold stories of their eclectic hometown, and This Is Fine is the perfect avenue for that passion.

LILY HENNINGS (she/her)

WRITER + ASSISTANT PRODUCER

Raised up and down Western Washington, Lily Hennings grew a love for film due to the cinematic nature of the Pacific Coastline. As an autistic biracial and queer individual, she has a strong ambition to represent marginalized and underserved communities through the medium of film, as well as in her fantasy-inspired illustrations. Lily completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Film at Portland State University in March 2022, and has been spending her time working on local independent films in both the Art and Camera departments.

In the past few years , she has had the opportunity to work in collaboration for production companies such as A24, TEDx and TLC, as well as contribute to the pre-production of other short films, through Production Design 

When she's not watching films or working on her Master’s Degree at Arizona State University , Lily can be found working in collaboration with Washington State Filmworks on the Leadership Council to further develop resources for neurodivergent filmmakers. 

MIA ROSE (they/them)

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR + PRODUCER

Mia Rose is a Portland-based creative with a background in photography, assistant directing, and sustainable styling through their vintage garment and prop rental company, Recollection. In their years working in photo and video production, they’ve worked on several commercial campaigns for Portland businesses, narrative shorts and series, and their own personal projects collaborating with local designers and fellow artists.

They are attracted to any project that is created out of passion and a curiosity to explore the human experience, and This is Fine fits the bill perfectly — especially when the characters' journeys through gender, sexuality, and family dynamics feel so familiar.

MORGAN MILLOGO (she/her)

WRITER

Morgan Millogo is an indie writer/director/producer who most recently created an award winning web series, "Tabs & Clea".

A former Upstate Women in Film and TV board member, Morgan has dedicated her career to supporting and uplifting women and LGBTQIA+ storytellers and stories.

SARAH ELISA PEREZ (she/her)

PRODUCER

Sarah Perez is a queer, Cuban-Filipina filmmaker with over six years of experience producing documentary and narrative films that uplift underrepresented communities. She loves visual storytelling for its power to cultivate empathy and understanding between people of all backgrounds.

For the past three years, Sarah has primarily produced award-winning films for nonprofit organizations across the globe through her work at ZP Productions. Her trauma-informed approach to storytelling has helped organizations such as Francis Parker School and the Maurice Lucas Foundation exceed their fundraising goals, raising millions of dollars for their causes. While Sarah’s main focus is documentary storytelling, she has also independently produced fully crowd- and grant-funded narrative short films, commercials, and an episodic pilot.

When she’s off the clock, you’ll probably still find Sarah with a camera in her hands—often her Canonet 35mm film camera. She brings it along on her hiking, biking, paddleboarding, and camping adventures.

JOYCE FITZPATRICK (she/her)

CONSULTING PRODUCER

Joyce Fitzpatrick is a Producer/Writer/Director who has over twenty years experience in television production and film on tv series and specials for ABC, NBC, CW, UPN, E! Entertainment, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and PBS. She has also produced, written and directed over 60 on-air promos including the PBS Bill Moyers special “Moyers on Addiction”, “Close to Home in LA” and three award-winning feature documentaries: “The Color of Medicine: The Story of Homer G. Phillips Hospital,” “Sunshine, Noodles and Me” and “Discovering Mary.” Her most recent works include a narrative feature “Hidden Orchard Mysteries” and several award-winning live-action and animated shorts.

JANA CUSHMAN  (they/them)

COMPOSER

Jana Cushman is a versatile composer, music supervisor, and frontperson of the dream pop/post-punk band Darkswoon (https://darkswoon.bandcamp.com/ ). Known for blending organic instrumentation with electronic production, Cushman creates evocative, cinematic soundscapes that elevate storytelling across genres. With early roots in classical guitar and voice, Cushman honed their craft in the Pacific Northwest’s underground music scene, fusing goth, shoegaze, and electronic music. This sonic identity led to scoring their first feature film and ignited a passion for creating music to picture.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games, Cushman has composed original music for feature films, short films, video games, and television. Their award-winning score for My Summer As A Goth earned critical acclaim, and they are currently scoring several new projects