Michael Robert Kessler is an Actor, producer, director, and writer with nearly 20 years of experience. He co-founded Bad Monkey Pictures, known for producing bold and unconventional films under the mantra “We create beautifully weird shit.” Originally trained as an actor under Gary Imhoff (Beverly Hills Playhouse) and in improv at Second City, Michael brings a unique performer’s perspective to his filmmaking. His style has been described as having a keen artistic sensibility and a love for the bizarre. He is also a graduate of our earliest mentorship program, where he refined the Proof of Concept short film methods that became the foundation of his company’s ethos. Michael is proof of concept himself – a graduate of our mentorship who built a career using its principles. Now a creative and professional production strategy coach in the program, he shows you how to embrace your unique voice, channel it into original work, and navigate festivals and funding. Relatable and resourceful he demonstrates how to evolve from dreamer to award-winning filmmaker.

An award-winning actor, writer and producer with deep roots in both indie film and commercial production. From a military family in San Diego and a UC Santa Barbara graduate, Sean has spent 15 years in Los Angeles working across stage, film, and television. He is, at the time of this writing, producing a tv series with Sam Elliott, his last feature film just went up on Hulu, and he’s worked on projects like Dreambox starring Clive Owen and over 100 other productions, ranging from commercials for Microsoft to films distributed on Netflix and Gravitas Ventures. His production company has produced multiple films, including Steve Pink’s The Wheel (Played at TIFF and featured Sean as an actor) and Shane D. Stanger’s Good Bad Things. He also directed the pilot Helmet and an Augmented Reality project with Metastage to aid veterans with PTSD – a cause close to his heart. Sean epitomizes the modern actor-creator, showing how to wear multiple hats while building a purposeful career. With festival premieres, streaming deals, and commercial expertise, he teaches you how to leverage your work across multiple platforms. His leadership, personal storytelling, and collaborative style make him an empathetic mentor who helps creatives align their art with both personal meaning and market success.

Amanda is your go-to support manager for all tech, access or general inquiries. She checks her email multiple times per day, ensures your requests get addressed and makes sure communications reach the relevant team members.

Daniel Brea is an award-winning media producer, director and entrepreneur. He began his career after serving as a special forces anti-terror commando, launching into professional film production in Europe. Over the years, Brea founded multiple production and consulting companies, including Brea Films, Supergiant Studios and Dream Reach Media. As a producer-director, he has created content across formats – from narrative shorts and documentaries to viral videos and brand campaigns – for major clients such as T-Mobile, Bazooka Joe, and Major League Baseball. One of his comedic sketches, “The Millennial Job Interview,” exploded online and amassed nearly 200 million views, exemplifying Brea’s ability to create impactful viral media. He is also a Producers Council level member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and serves as a board member for the Child Safety Network.

Sajjad and his team serve our private mentorship and software tool clients with hands-on guidance and tech support so they can focus more on being creative, producing great films, building profitable companies and enjoying life.

Max is the ATI master of loose ends and the glue that holds everything together. He operates quietly from his secret lair in the mountains of a secret country, somewhere in the world. Max is always on the go while somehow managing to ATI going at the same time. Nobody knows how he does it, but some of us have speculated that he's either Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne.