Sebastian Twardosz
Sebastian Twardosz has been very fortunate to work with leading companies and artists in both film and television for the past thirty years. He is the founding partner of Savant Artists which advises and represents emerging filmmakers and content creators. Clients have produced films which premiered at all of the major film festivals including Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Tribeca, Cannes, Annecy, Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and AFI among others and which were released by leading distributors theatrically and in all media worldwide.
Sebastian was previously the head of development for a Paramount-based production company called Craftsman Films, founded by Kerry McCluggage, which developed numerous studio projects, including the feature film reinvention of the Star Trek franchise.
For three years, he worked in comedy and drama development at Touchstone Television, the tv production division of the Walt Disney Company and ABC, where he staffed on six produced pilots. He also worked on numerous pilots and on-air tv series for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment.
Sebastian’s first production job was from 1995-1999 for Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner’s Paramount-based company where he started as an assistant and was promoted to executive, actively participating in the making of Mission Impossible I-II and Without Limits.
Sebastian started in the business as an agent's assistant in the motion picture department at ICM where his clients included George R.R. Martin. He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1993. His short film, Silent Rain, received a Student Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the Student Emmy.
Over the past fifteen years, Sebastian has produced more than two dozen independent feature films including Celebrity Crush starring and directed by his longtime friend Oliver Robins (of Poltergeist fame), a Mandarin language film called A Different Sun starring Chin Han, a Polish-language film called The Road to Nowhere, as well as Small Town Saturday Night starring John Hawkes, Chris Pine and Octavia Spencer.
In addition to his producing work, Sebastian has lectured extensively at prominent institutions including National University, UCLA and his alma mater the USC School of Cinematic Arts teaching about the art and business of film. He was a popular adjunct professor with multiple classes at USC for ten years and at UCLA for four.
Born in Poland, Sebastian grew up in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
Additional speaking engagements have included: American Film Market (AFM), Chapman University, Notre Dame High School (NDHS), Pepperdine University, National Public Radio (NPR), University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNSCA), Writers Guild of America (WGA), and numerous film festivals and screenplay conferences such as AFI Fest and Screenplay Expo just to name a few.
Garrett Thierry
Garrett Thierry holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis in Marketing Management from Wayne State University. His undergraduate degree also in Business Administration has a dual concentration in Information Systems and Global Supply Chain Management. In addition to his background in business, Garrett is well-versed in cinema having taken numerous courses at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
As Garrett continued to express interest in the entertainment business he began regularly visiting Southern California, touring the studio production lots and networking with entertainment professionals, learning how to market and distribute independent films, and traveling across North America attending film festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, Toronto, and AFI. He splits his time between dual residences in Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan.
Garrett has also appeared in numerous films as an actor which is a growing passion for him. Furthermore, he has used his background in business and marketing to launch acting and filmmaker showcases for his colleagues and fellow emerging filmmakers.
ETHAN Twardosz
Ethan Twardosz is a double major in Computer Science and Business Administration at California State University Northridge (CSUN), currently studying abroad at Technische Hochschule Ulm in Germany. His academic focus is paired with his role as a veteran programmer for both the LA and NYC versions of Dances with Films, a nationally recognized and prestigious film festival where he first began volunteering as a high school freshman. This early experience has taught him how to recognize rising talent and gives him valuable insight into the film industry. His goal is to become a film and television producer.
Ethan also interned as a high school freshman at the USC Shoah Foundation, founded by Steven Spielberg, where he studied and helped to document all forms of genocide worldwide. This work broadened his perspective on how storytelling can preserve history and raise awareness of critical global issues.
His journey in film began in childhood, attending classes at USC, events at the major studios like Warner Brothers, and film festivals such as Sundance with his father, Sebastian. Inspired by these experiences, he has worked on student films and created his own projects.
Achieving the rank of Eagle Scout is what sparked Ethan's passion for travel, leading him to explore a diverse array of countries including Argentina, Austria, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Easter Island, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lichtenstein, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and The Vatican. His international adventures have influenced his work, fueling his desire to explore diverse cultures and bring fresh perspectives to his storytelling.