Special Guests
Wesley Wofford
Wesley Wofford is a celebrated Figurative Sculptor who has called Cashiers home since 2004. Before transitioning into the world of sculpture, Wesley spent years as a Prosthetic Makeup Artist in Hollywood, where he made significant contributions to the Motion Picture and Television Industry. Known for his pioneering silicone prosthetic techniques, he earned widespread recognition for his work. In 2004, Wesley was honored with an Emmy Award from The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and in 2005, he received a Technical Achievement Academy Award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his groundbreaking contributions, which have since become industry standards. Over the course of his career, Wesley worked on more than 75 film and television projects, earning numerous accolades and awards. Today, he remains an active voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and continues to participate in the annual Oscars.
Darby Faccinto
Darby Faccinto is a User Interface designer specializing in motion graphics and holographic visuals for film and television. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he works remotely to craft immersive screen designs that enhance storytelling in major franchises. A graduate of Trevecca Nazarene University’s film and television program, Faccinto discovered his passion for UI design in high school while creating Iron Man-inspired graphics for a class president campaign. This hobby evolved into a career under the mentorship of industry professional Jayse Hansen.
Since 2021, Faccinto has worked full-time in the industry, contributing to blockbuster projects like Marvel Studios’ Loki (Seasons 1-2), Hawkeye, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Secret Invasion, and The Marvels. His work also includes DC’s Black Adam and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom. Additionally, he contributed to Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Deadpool & Wolverine, among other entires and entertainment mediums. Known for blending minimalist and bold aesthetics, Faccinto’s designs bring futuristic tech to life, from retro TVA monitors in Loki to cryogenic hyper-tech interfaces in Black Adam.
Christian Haberkern
Christian has worked with world renowned clients such as Marvel, Beyonce, and Porsche, designing and art directing user interface elements for advertising and film. His feature film credits include Black Panther, The Marvels, Spider-Man 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Tron: Ares, Ant-Man, Captain America, Thor, Transformers, and RoboCop.
His eye for composition and design has greatly influenced his cinematography work, which has appeared in Marvel films, National Geographic, at Sundance, and earned a Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection.Before moving to New York City to build his career, Christian earned a BA in Broadcast Design and Motion Graphics from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He now works remotely from a moss-covered mountain in Highlands, North Carolina with breathtaking views in every direction. When out of office, he can be found doing carpentry.
Eric Bendick
Eric Bendick is an EMMY-Award-winning director, writer, and producer whose films explore connectivity, conflict, and ingenuity at the intersection of human and wild spaces. He’s led numerous storytelling expeditions into the Arctic, the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, the Caribbean, and the Great Bear Wilderness alongside countless adventures throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Over the last two decades, his productions have taken him into the heart of many of the last untamed landscapes on Earth as well as to the front lines of habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse. Working at the nexus of these two worlds, his groundbreaking films for National Geographic, Disney+, PBS, Smithsonian, and Discovery have garnered awards and accolades from major film festivals, academies, and cinematic arts institutions around the world. Most recently, Eric's feature documentary, 'Path of the Panther,' won the 2024 National EMMY Award for 'Outstanding Nature Documentary' from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He is a fellow of the Redford Center, an envoy for the Department of State's American Film Showcase, as well as an alumnus of Brown University and Montana State University.
Liz Hallard
Liz Hillard, PhD, is Senior Wildlife Biologist for the Appalachian Region at Wildlands Network, where she leads research and conservation efforts focused on wildlife connectivity across the Appalachian landscape. Her work combines movement ecology, road ecology, spatial modeling, and conservation planning to understand how wildlife use landscapes, where and how movement and connectivity are constrained, and what conservation actions can improve the habitat conditions species need to persist and thrive. Her current research includes studying elk movement and road crossings in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park, evaluating the effectiveness of small wildlife crossing structures for herpetofauna and other species in western North Carolina, and identifying potential habitat and dispersal corridors that could support the natural return of cougars to their historic range in the Appalachian region. Her work focuses on turning connectivity science into practical conservation solutions, from wildlife crossings to regional habitat connectivity and restoration.
Matt Cook
Matt Cook is a prolific screenwriter, director, and producer of both independent and studio films and television series. His work includes The Duel, Triple Nine, Patriot‘s Day, Angel Has Fallen, and The Informer, and Plane. Both The Duel (previously known as By Way of Helena) and Triple Nine made the top 10 of Hollywood’s acclaimed website, The Black List.
Cook broke into the industry in 2009 and has since written for Warner Bros, Fox, New Regency, DreamWorks, Sony, HBO, Universal, Lionsgate, NBC, and CBS Films (among others). He is currently developing/writing several projects, including The Perfect Horse (Taylor Sheridan directing), Two Wolves (Alex Gibney directing), writing/executive producing Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War as a mini-series at HBO, among others.
Cook was raised in the tiny three-stoplight town of Castroville, Texas. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin, and upon graduating, enlisted in the US Army, where he served two combat tours in Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry (Rakkasans), 101st Airborne Division. He has written several articles for Texas Monthly about his military experiences, and also served as a war correspondent in Afghanistan in 2012. He currently lives in Brevard, North Carolina with his wife and three children.
