Join Us for a Chat With Filmmakers from the Maker Faire Two-Minute Film Festival!

Join Dale Dougherty for a Fireside Chat with Maker Faire Two-Minute Film Festival moviemakers, and special guest and practical-effects professional Jesse Velez!

Derek Kessler (The Device), Ana Roure (Switch), and David Thulin (Scavenger) were three of the participants of the inaugural Maker Faire Two-Minute Film Festival, and whose short films were chosen for screening at Maker Faire Bay Area 2025. These filmmakers will show their 120-second films and share how they focused their maker skills through the lens of cinematic storytelling using costume design, animatronics, and prop making to bring their creative visions to life. David Thulin’s Scavenger earned the Judges’ Choice and People’s Choice awards, and will be exclusively screened during this Fireside Chat.

Special guest Jesse Velez, owner and lead designer of Raptor House FX, will provide his insight on the use of practical effects in film and offer tips for budding filmmakers.

The Maker Faire Two-Minute Film Festival debuted in 2025 to encourage makers to showcase their skills in the universal storytelling vehicle of film. Judges for the 120-second entries included models and miniatures expert Kayte Sabicer (The Dark Knight Rises, The Mandalorian), Pixar Senior Assistant to the Director Hannah Chu (Elio, the upcoming Gatto), and Raptor House FX Lead Designer Jesse Velez, who has created animatronic and puppetry projects for Netflix, 20th Century Fox, and Sony Pictures.

Join this FREE online event on Thursday, December 4, at 4 p.m. PST / 7 p.m. EST to learn how these makers became filmmakers, and how you can join in next year’s Film Fest fun!

Watch the entries chosen for screening at Maker Faire Bay Area 2025 on YouTube.