ADAM COLT started Z-Fest Film Festival in 2009 while working at Z Systems as a systems integrator/ technician. A proud father of three, married for 31 years, he currently he owns a recording studio called “Sasquatch Studios” where he writes and records original songs. As an avid board-gamer and Co-Owner of Deadwood Games LLC he designs and produces new board games.  When he’s not running Z- Fest, creating new games, or writing 80’s songs, he spends his time in the woods trying to capture video evidence of the elusive Bigfoot. He’s always up for an adventure, bring his technological skills to the party.His love for storytelling extends to video editing, and he is currently working on a documentary about the 30 days he spent alone in the Chippewa National Forest last summer.

CYNTHIA SCHREINER SMITH is an actor/writer/filmmaker who has appeared in many short films, including winning best female actor at the Crown Wood Film Festival for her performance in “You Are Here.” She has also written and produced several short films of her own including “Angel of Death” which won audience favorite at Z-Fest 2022. In 2020, Cynthia started writing her own film scripts, winning several script competitions. In 2011, she and husband Bick Smith co-produced the short documentary-style movie “Gangsterland” which aired on TPT. She is the owner of her own walking tour company, CynCity Tours for which she write and performs historic tours. She co-authored the book “Alvin Karpis and the Barker Gang in Minnesota” which was released in 2020.

GEORGE REESE is both an entrepreneur and film maker. George's career started in television in the 1990's while working on TV shows such as "The People's Court" and ESPN "Up Close". After leaving California, he got into technology during the Internet boom and wrote a number of books on Internet technologies and ultimately started several technology companies. He sold one of those technology companies in 2013 to Dell. His passion for film and TV never faded, and George became more involved with the Twin Cities film and TV community in the 2010's. He has produced a number of web series and written and directed a handful of short films and series as well. His most recent writing and directing credit is for the international web series Utopia Planitia, which was produced in Minnesota and Spain. George is the founder of Minnesota WebFest and currently serves as VP of Programming for Seeka TV and CTO for SparqTV.

KELLY LAMPHEAR-DASH is an award-winning screenwriter and producer. Her documentaries and short films have been featured in over 100 film festivals worldwide. Her short films and indie features have been featured on The Fantasy Network, YouTube, Prime, Tubi, and other streamers. ​Her short documentary "Rediscovering John Berryman" has been broadcast on PBS stations nationwide, available on the PBS app, and educational platform.

​In addition, she's a story and production consultant and the Minnesota Community Coordinator for Catalyst.