Empowering Mississippi Filmmakers

Vice President

Savanna Jones is an award-winning cinematographer and FAA-certified drone operator based in Biloxi, Mississippi, widely recognized as one of the region's top wedding and creative portrait photographers. Savanna has worked on series including Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (FOX), The First 48 (ITV) and has filmed cinematography for FOX Sports. 

Savanna was honored as one of Gulf Coast Woman Magazine’s "100 Successful Women to Know 2024" - one of the recipients out of 800 nominated women. She is a four-time Telly Award winner, the Vice President of the Mississippi Film Alliance, and was selected as one of 14 for the NFL Films Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship 2025 in New Jersey.​​​​​​​

She earned her BFA in English and Film from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she directed her first environmental documentary "Gulf Coast Resilience - Bonnet Carré Spillway" (2019) which was screened as part of the "Waterlines: Blue Economies & Sustainable Futures" program at University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Park Research Center in December 2019.

Savanna is the founder of two award-winning businesses: Savvy Snapshots Photography and Little Lighthouse Productions. Her photography business, Savvy Snapshots, has received notable recognition, winning *Sun Herald*'s Best of Coastal Mississippi in 2023 & 2024, also named Top 3 for Best Videography in WXXV’s Viewer's Choice Awards Wedding Edition, and earning a photography award from the Pascagoula River Audubon Center for her landscape work.

Mentorship Program Leader

Brittney Sherrod is a multifaceted creative with experience as a filmmaker, director, playwright, and actress whose storytelling blends rich cultural narratives with emotional depth and social awareness. A native of Moss Point, Mississippi, she began her artistic journey in theater and photography. She is a graduate of Tougaloo College and Belhaven University.

She entered the world of creative expression through theater as a playwright with her acclaimed debut stage play, A Simple Prayer, in 2016. Known for infusing her writing with both inspirational insight and a mature, grounded voice, she brings a distinctive perspective to character-driven stories.

Through film, Brittney has been a part of productions such as NCIS: New Orleans, Queen & Slim, Women Under the Influence, Texas Red, Fannie, and The Inspection. In 2022, she was selected as one of three finalists for the Higher Purpose Films Black Filmmakers residency, where over the course of seven months, she wrote, produced, and created her first documentary called Oh, Health Me!

In 2021, she founded Tiger Bloo Arts Company, LLC, a creative venture primarily focused on providing a space for the youth to learn film, theater, and photography as a means of personal expression to escape the challenges of everyday life. She is the founder of A.C.T. 69 Performance Ensemble at Tougaloo College, where she serves as the director and primary advisor. Through this organization, she teaches theater and several aspects of the visual arts to college students at different levels of their creative journey.

With a background as a scholar and educator, Brittney brings a thoughtful, intentional approach to filmmaking and production—whether in the classroom, on set, or behind the camera. Her goal is simple but powerful: to tell stories that awaken, challenge, and connect.

Treasurer

Apart from his obsession with cats, gardening, and aspirations to become a hobbit, Michael Williams is a writer, director, cinematographer, and producer known for "OzLand" (2015), "The Atoning" (2017). Williams began creating short films in 2004 while in high school, and later graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts in Film where Williams was awarded the Top Film Student of 2009 Award.

When Williams was offered his first job in the industry in 2007, he was hired as a PA. However, upon arriving to prep, he was informed that he would now be the 1st AC. Over a few days of prep, he learned the definition of an assistant camera and how to pull focus... for a feature... with a lot of handheld. This sparked a 9 year career as a 1st AC that rack focused into a career as a cinematographer starting in 2010. During this time, Williams wrote, directed, and produced over 20 short films of his own while waiting for an idea worthy enough to attempt the terrifying task of making a feature. That film became "OzLand", an award-winning feature that premiered and screened theatrically in Hollywood, CA before gaining distribution throughout the U.S. and U.K.

His second feature film, "The Atoning", was released in September of 2017 via Redbox, Hulu, Best Buy, and all major VOD and Cable on Demand outlets before releasing in various international markets including Brazil, Germany, South East Asia, Mexico, Russia, Vietnam, and South Korea.

Williams' desire to tell unique and meaningful stories visually fuels his career as a visual storyteller. Williams writes, directs, and works as a cinematographer so that he can bring his passion for visual storytelling to every production giving the story a unique voice. Since coming out of the closet in 2016, Michael's voice as a storyteller has evolved, and it continues to develop with each new project. His passion for storytelling has always been present in his scripts and cinematography, however, discovering and living his true self continues to bring authenticity to his own work and how he interprets his work for other collaborators. His latest scripts, "Rosemary" and "Out in the Open", reflect the personal and creative growth Williams has experienced since coming out, and these in-development projects are just the beginning of a new era of cinematic expression for Williams' passion to share stories with the world.

Grant Writer

Corey Hart is a filmmaker from Bogue Chitto, MS. In high school, his love of drawing cartoons for local newspapers combined with an interest in videography to spark an obsession with visual storytelling. He studied film production at the University of Southern Mississippi where he earned his bachelor's degree, and the University of New Orleans where he earned his Master of Fine Arts. His student films have screened at the Crossroads Film Festival, UNO Film Festival, and Clarksdale Film Festival.

He has worked as a PA on the children's television program Between the Lions (2010) and feature films Rites of Spring (2011) and 21 Jump Street(2012). From 2015 to 2020, Corey worked at Mississippi Public Broadcasting where he produced the live music program Amped & Wired, directed and/or edited documentaries such as Mississippians in Vietnam: A Shared Experience (2017) and Meet Carl Jackson (2020), and served as an associate producer for Mississippi Roads.

Corey now works for Copiah-Lincoln Community College where he produces videos for the school's academic and athletics programs. In 2024 he formed CRH Media LLC which serves videography and video-editing needs for a diverse group of clients.

Secretary

Cullin, a Mississippi native, has been captivated by the magic of movies since childhood. With a video arts degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, Cullin is dedicated to turning his lifelong passion into a career. His work reflects a deep understanding and appreciation for the art of filmmaking.

Ben Powell aims to tell stories with humility and heart. Compelled to view the world through a lens since he was old enough to hold a camera, Ben has amassed a body of award winning work that has premiered at film festivals across the country. He began his career as a cinematographer, later going on to direct his best known film, BARGE which documents America’s most industrious waterway and the people who live in it. For GOOGLE, Ben worked as a Director of Photography managing camera crews on shoots in Seattle, India, Japan, and Canada. He’s currently working as a contributing cinematographer for the New York Times and producing videos for the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi. After living in Austin for 12 years, Ben now resides in the Mississippi Delta – the place he grew up – where he works collaboratively making movies, teaching, and learning the art of filmmaking.