Board

Monika Skerbelis Co-President & Film Programming Director

is in her 14th year as the programming director for the Big Bear Lake Film Festival and the director for the American Pavilion’s Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival. She is a co-author of the books, “The Complete Filmmaker’s Guide to Film Festivals” and “I Liked It, Didn’t Love It: Screenplay Development from the Inside Out.”  Ms. Skerbelis is a former Vice President of Creative and Executive Story Editor for Universal Pictures’ story department where she spent ten years. Prior to Universal, she was Story Editor for 20th Century Fox.  She began her career as an assistant in the Story Department for Paramount Pictures. With Rona Edwards, she teaches, “Introduction to Feature Film Development,” at UCLA Extension and “Story Development Process” online for Riverside City College. She taught “Basic Screenwriting Fundamentals” at Chapman University Dodge College of Film & Media Arts.  She is the co-founder of ESE Film Workshops Online an online Film School offering 4 to 6 week classes. She was associate producer on two movies “Killer Hair” and “Hostile Makeover” based on the “Crimes of Fashion” novels for Lifetime. She co-produced the mocumentary, Quest for the Yeti and directed the short film, “Reel Footage: The Secret Lives of Shoes” that screened at the 2008 Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sandy Steers Co-President & Screenwriting Competition Director

Sandy is a published author and screenwriter, and has directed the Screenwriting Competition at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival since 2001. Two of her screenplays have been optioned and her work has earned her finalist, and semi-finalist, positions in numerous competitions including, The Nicholl Fellowship from Academy Foundation, The Austin Film Festival, The Maui Writer’s Conference, America’s Best from The Writer’s Foundation, and The Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project. Sandy has published children’s  stories and recently took fourth place in a national competition with one of her children’s books. She has published over 100 magazine articles in regional and national publications and was a member of the writing staff for On the Mountain,Coffee House Digest, and Big Bear Magazine.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  Laura Janes Chief Financial Officer

 In addition to being an artist, Laura has successfully operated her own business providing artists and art services to the design community. Her interest in being involved with creative people and her lifelong curiosity of films and how they are made led her to volunteer with the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival. This year she will be serving as Treasurer as well as helping to coordinate volunteers with some of the many responsibilities involved in producing the Film Festival.