CEMI

Peter C. Kunze is assistant professor of communication at Tulane University. In 2023, Rutgers University Press published his first book, Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood, and the Disney Renaissance. His current research projects examine the digitalization of US animation, DEI policies in contemporary Hollywood, and creative laborers' responses to generative AI.

Born and raised along the Texas border, Andrea moved to Austin to purse an M.A. in Media Studies. She received a B.A. in Communication with a minor in English at Texas A&M International University. At commencement, Andrea served as the Distinguished Student Scholar for the College of Arts and Sciences -- the university's largest academic unit. 

During her undergraduate years, Andrea took an interest in the concerns surrounding child influencers on social media. She composed a qualitative research proposal on this topic, examining monetary utilization, privacy, and exploitation. She plans to expand her research to provide comprehensive understand of the novel child influencers and to enable the development of policies protecting children's rights. 

Beyond academia, Andrea is an avid lover of film and art. If she is not at the theater, she is at a café practicing her calligraphy on a napkin. 

Morgan is a first-year MA student in RTF at UT Austin. She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Media Studies at Pacific University and Whitman College. Her undergraduate studies focused on various phenomena taking place on YouTube, including the influx of long-form nostalgic video essays and YouTuber-centered fanbases. She is especially interested in the various ways in which the same information can be conveyed to different results, and how communities develop through the use of the internet.

Evan Chronis is a screenwriter and novelist with a knack for combining words into sometimes funny and occasionally profound sentences. He is equally interested in deeply felt stories that strive to reveal something about the world and the people in it and hyper-entertaining, dialogue-driven genre flicks. Highfalutin or otherwise, he strives to incorporate humor into everything he writes. He digs reading, running, and noodling about on the guitar. He likes tacos.

Channing Smith (she/her) is a documentary filmmaker with 7 years of experience, who uses the craft to illuminate diverse realities and truths. Her work aims to capture authentic stories offering insight into different aspects of the human experience; ranging from incarceration to the impacts of COVID-19. She is venturing into narrative storytelling as she enters the MFA Production program. Currently, Channing is in post-production on her first feature documentary, Lost Time.

Yuqi is a filmmaker from China currently pursuing an MFA in film production. After gaining recognition with several award-winning short films, she has discovered her passion for blending comedy and drama. Her goal is to capture the vibrant, emotional, and sometimes chaotic moments that define our dynamic world.

I am a Visiting Assistant Professor at the department of Radio-Television-Film, Moody College of Communication - The University of Texas at Austin. I am teaching History of Video Games, Video Game Industry, and Video Game Culture + Criticism. I have a PhD in Science and Technology Policy at Unicamp and my dissertation's title is: "It is €0,10 a word! The role of localization in the videogame industry". I also have a Master's in Cultural History, a B.A. in History and a teaching degree in History (all from Unicamp). I was a visiting scholar in several universities: Stanford (fall 2013), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2018-2019), Robert Morris University (Spring 2022), and Freie Universität’s Osteuropa Institut (November 2022). My goal at CEMI is to foster game industry studies and develop new partnerships with scholars and labs around the world.

Richard Lewis has worked as a writer, producer, director, and/or editor for companies including National Geographic Television, Channel 4 (UK), A&E, PBS, Endgame Entertainment, Broken Road Productions, Sierra Club Productions, and Devillier-Donegan Enterprises. Richard’s screenplay, Bleeding Hearts, won the award for Best Pilot Script at the 2022 Conference of the University Film and Video Association. His feature script, Valley of Bones, was commissioned and produced by North Dakota-based Zephyr Productions on a $2.2 million budget. The film opened on 300+ screens in September 2017. A feature script, Acceleration, is presently under a third option to Endgame Entertainment, and another, Shrank, was recently under option to LA-based Shrink Wrap Productions. Richard also wrote the treatment for and worked as a creative consultant on The Living Weapon, an episode of American Experience for PBS which won an Emmy for research. Chimp Rescue, one of his documentaries for National Geographic Television, won a Genesis Award as the year’s Best US Cable Documentary. Richard’s editing credits include Nick Broomfield's Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, which premiered at Sundance. Additional experience includes two years as a story analyst in Los Angeles and three years as a management consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Atlanta and London. He is originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina.