Austin Film Society Announces New Board Members, 2021 – 2024
(New Board Members: Katy Bettner, Bart Knaggs, and Kiki Lambden-Stout)
AFS MEDIA CONTACT:
Brady Dyer | brady@austinfilm.org
Austin Film Society Announces New Board Members
Three Leaders in the Film, Game Development, and Hospitality Industries Join the AFS Board of Directors
October 2021 – August 2024
November 18, 2021 (Austin, TX)—The Austin Film Society (AFS) is proud to announce the election of three members to its Board of Directors: Katy Bettner, Bart Knaggs, and Kiki Lambden-Stout. Each brings deep and broad experience in the film, game development, and hospitality industries and will help lead AFS through its long-term institutional plan for supporting film in Texas beginning with its new Strategic Plan. All began their tenures in September 2021.
“Our new board members’ vision and leadership in their individual fields brings invaluable knowledge, experience, and a great passion for film and Austin’s creative community,” says AFS CEO Rebecca Campbell. “As we continue to grow and expand our support for Texas independent filmmakers and the entire Texas film ecosystem, their expertise will guide us in the years to come.”
The Board of Directors is an integral part of the Austin Film Society, serving in a governance role and supporting AFS’s mission to create life-changing opportunities for filmmakers, catalyze Austin and Texas as a creative hub, and bring the community together around great film. Their leadership includes forging connections in the community and providing valuable resources and knowledge to further advance the organization. Board member terms last three years.
Bios for the new AFS Board members are below. Photos can be found here.
Katy Bettner
Katy Bettner is a prolific producer and manager of projects in the game and music industry, non-profits/start-ups, and film—both narrative and documentary. She is co-founder of Playful Studios, a premier game development studio based in McKinney, Texas, and a small family foundation. She served as Producer/Executive Producer on several films including ALWAYS IN SEASON, RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS, BULL, THE INFILTRATORS, PRAY AWAY, STORM LAKE, ATHLETE A, THE FIGHT, and SWALLOW. Bettner is a member of the Women at Sundance Leadership Council, has served as an advisor for the Sundance Creative Producing Lab and Summit, and has advised for the Women in Film/Sundance financing strategy summit as well as the Documentary Producers Alliance. Dedicated to serving the community, she is a Board Member of the McKinney Chamber of Commerce, Harmony Foundation, Encircle, and The 19th* News.
Bart Knaggs
Bart Knaggs is the CEO and Partner of the New Waterloo Hospitality Group, an independent hospitality development, design, and management company. Born and raised in Austin, he earned two degrees in Business from the University of Texas at Austin and has since gone on to become a well-known and successful entrepreneur in the entertainment and hospitality industries. Knaggs is the founder of the Austin City Limits Music Festival and Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, as well as Capital Sports Entertainment, a tee-shirt design company, and an Artificial Intelligence company, and is the former business manager of Lance Armstrong. Passionate about film and music, he was most recently the co-producer and co-screenwriter of 2020’s WITHOUT GETTING KILLED OR CAUGHT about the life and times of legendary Texas musician Guy Clark, directed by Tamara Saviano and Paul Whitfield.
Kiki Lambden-Stout
Kiki Lambden-Stout is a director/producer and the founder and CEO of Mudcat Films. She is currently developing shorts/proofs of concept and casting Native American youth through connections to the Chickasaw nation in Oklahoma. Lambden-Stout made her directorial debut with her 2016 short film FATHER’S DAY, which world premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and garnered her a mention in The Huffington Post’s “11 Things We Learned from Women in Film This Year.” Her writing credits include: THE PLURAL OF BLOOD (short, 2017; Black Harvest Film Festival) and THE THREE RESURRECTIONS OF ANIKA BLUE (feature, 2022). Her producing credits include: FOR SPACIOUS SKY (short, 2012; Tribeca Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Dances with Films) and UP HERE (short, 2015; AFI Directing Workshop for Women). A graduate of Columbia University, The New School University, and UT Austin, she is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio and former jury member and current Advisory Board member of the Chelsea Film Festival.
ABOUT AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, AFS creates life-changing opportunities for filmmakers, catalyzes Austin and Texas as a creative hub, and brings the community together around great film. AFS is committed to racial equity and inclusion, with an objective to deliver programs that actively dismantle the structural racism, sexism and other bias in the screen industries. AFS supports filmmakers from all backgrounds towards career leaps, encouraging exceptional artistic projects with grants and support services. AFS operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, to attract and grow the creative media ecosystem. Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse mediamakers to train and collaborate, provides many points of access to filmmaking and film careers. The AFS Cinema is an ambitiously programmed repertory and first run arthouse with broad community engagement. By hosting premieres, local and international industry events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. AFS is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
# # #
