the nettles family

creative team

raven jackson/writer & director

A native of Tennessee, Raven Jackson is an award-winning filmmaker, poet, & photographer currently attending New York University's Graduate Film Program. In her work, gray areas of life are often detailed. She is particularly interested in stories which add texture to the pivotal experience of coming-of-age and/or into one's sexuality - as well as the body's relationship to nature. Nettles, winner of an inaugural Flies Collective Film Grant, is her fifth narrative short film. Her debut feature, all dirt roads taste of salt, currently in development, lyrically explores the life of a Black woman in the American South. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, TriQuarterly, CALYX, Kweli, Phantom Limb, PANK, and elsewhere. Her chapbook of poetry, little violences, is available from Cutbank Literary Magazine. Raven is a Cave Canem fellow and a graduate of the New School's Writing Program.

maria altamirano / producer

Maria Altamirano has produced numerous short films that have screened at festivals around the world. Prior to filmmaking, Maria was Market Research Manager at Paramount Pictures where she worked extensively in brand and development studies, production test screenings, ad testing and developing key marketing insights for the studio’s slate. Maria is a UCLA graduate currently pursuing an MBA and MFA from New York University’s prestigious dual degree program and is in development for her first feature film. Maria is a California native who also grew up in Lima, Peru.

jomo fray / cinematographer

Jomo Fray is an award-winning cinematographer whose work has been featured on CNN, CBS, and in The New York Times. By utilizing a strong background in cinematography, philosophy, and photography he aims to create innovative and evocative visual stories. A recent recipient of the Kodak Vision Award, Fray seeks to build upon a long tradition of experiential storytelling--films that seek to have the viewer not only see the story, but feel it as well. He attended Brown University for his undergraduate education and is currently an MFA candidate at the Tisch School of the Arts.

ali kashfi / production designer

Ali Kashfi is a production designer and architect based in New York City. He is currently working as a design consultant at Tiffany & Co. while completing his second Master's of Fine Arts at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.