Join us for a Conversation with some of the 2026 Artios Award nominated Casting Directors. This panel will feature Avy Kaufman (Task), Betsy Fippinger (Familiar Touch), Julie Schubert (The Diplomat), Kate Sprance (Eleanor the Great), Kate Geller (Bob Trevino Likes It) and Ellen Lewis (Father, Mother, Sister, Brother)

Our panelists will share stories from their nominated projects, provide insight on the current state of the industry for casting directors and performers, and provide expert advice for auditioning and self-taping.

Betsy Fippinger has trained under some of the best casting directors in New York, including Meredith Tucker, Ellen Lewis, Ellen Chenoweth, and Shayna Markowitz. As a Casting Associate and Assistant, she worked on projects directed by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Bo Burnham, Greg Mottola, and Lynn Shelton. She won an Artios Award for her work as the Casting Associate on the pilot episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. As a Casting Director, Betsy cast Sarah Friedland’s “Familiar Touch,” which won three awards at Venice ’24 (including Best Debut Film) and earned two 2026 Indpendent Spirit nominations. Betsy cast the lead youth roles for “Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret,” for which she won her second Artios Award co-cast Nicholas Colia’s “Griffin in Summer” (winner of three awards at Tribeca ‘24, including Best Narrative Feature), which has earned an Artios Award nomination in 2026. Before entering casting, Betsy worked at HBO and the William Morris Agency and graduated with a BFA in Film from Wesleyan University in 2003.

Kate Geller is a 4-time Artios nominated NY-based Casting Director. Recent film credits include: OH, HI! (with Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman, SUNDANCE 2025), CHILI FINGER (with Judy Greer, John Goodman, Sean Astin and Bryan Cranston), INTO THE SKY (w/Sam Richardson, Sofia Black-D’Elia, and David Cross), IDIOTKA (SXSW 2025), FUCKTOYS (SXSW 2025), OMNI LOOP (SXSW 2024, Artios Nomination), BOB TREVINO LIKES IT (SXSW 2024 Narrative and Audience Award winner), COLD WALLET (SXSW 2024), ON THE END (with Tim Blake Nelson), BARRON'S COVE (with Garrett Hedlund), CORA BORA (with Meg Stalter, SXSW 2023), MOLLI AND MAX IN THE FUTURE (SXSW 2023), THE GOOD HALF (with Nick Jonas, Tribeca 2023), THE SECRET ART OF HUMAN FLIGHT (Tribeca 2023), SOMEWHERE QUIET (Tribeca 2023), THE FRONT ROOM (A24), DRUGSTORE JUNE (with Esther Povitsky), MATERNA (Tribeca 2020), NINE DAYS (Sundance 2020), and SHIVA BABY (SXSW 2020, John Cassavetes Winner, Artios Winner)

Ellen Lewis started her career in casting in 1982 working for the legendary casting director Juliet Taylor for 8 1/2 years. In 1989, producer Robert Greenhut introduced Ellen to Martin Scorsese who hired her to cast his portion of New York Stories (Life Lessons) -- thus began a deeply fulfilling 35-year creative collaboration that continues to this day. In 1990, Ellen cast the director’s acclaimed Goodfellas, and has worked with him on all his subsequent feature films including his recent masterpiece Killers of the Flower Moon, and the upcoming What Happens at Night. Ellen also has a long-standing relationship with Jim Jarmusch, starting with Dead Man in 1995 through his current film, Father, Mother, Sister, Brother. Some of Ellen’s other credits include: Scent of A Woman, A League Of Their Own, Postcards From The Edge (co-cast), Forrest Gump, The Birdcage (co-cast), The Fan, Big Night, Changing Lanes, Angels In America (HBO film), 13 Going On 30 (co-cast), The Devil Wears Prada, Infamous, Charlie Wilson’s War, Mamma Mia!, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, Revolutionary Road, Her, The Leftovers (pilot), Bridge of Spies, Ready Player One, The Post, Godless (Netflix limited series), Bad Education (HBO film), The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix limited series) (co-cast), as well as Landscape With Invisible Hand (co-cast), Dream Scenario, Fly Me To The Moon, Eleanor the Great, Christy, Outcome, the upcoming APPLE TV series Cape Fear (co- cast), Devil Wears Prada 2 (co-cast), and upcoming Cut Off. In 2006, Ellen received the NY Women in Film & Television Muse Award, and in 2015 she received the Hoyt Bowers Award from the Casting Society of America. Ellen has been nominated for 6 Emmy Awards and won for Angels in America (co-cast), Boardwalk Empire, and The Queen’s Gambit (co-cast). In 2023, she was nominated for a BAFTA award for Killers of the Flower Moon. Ellen has been nominated for 23 Artios awards and has won 7 for A League of Their Own, Boardwalk Empire, The Wolf of Wall Street, Godless,

Julie Schubert is an Emmy Award–winning and Artios-nominated casting director known for her keen eye for talent and her ability to assemble authentic, compelling ensembles across film and television. Her credits include The Diplomat, Under the Bridge, House of Cards, which earned her an Emmy for Outstanding Casting, as well as Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Mindhunter, as well as features such as the award-winning Night Comes On, Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Freed and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Julie continues to contribute to projects that prioritize powerful human stories and her work reflects a deep commitment to discovering emerging talent while also pairing established artists with roles that challenge expectations. Julie was born in Philadelphia, attended New York University and currently resides in New York City.

Kate Sprance is an associate casting director in NY. She has been fortunate enough to work for many wonderful casting directors. While working for Ellen Chenoweth, Kate was the casting assistant on Men in Black III, The Ides of March and The Bourne Legacy. In the many years and counting working with Ellen Lewis, Kate was the assistant on The Wolf of Wall Street, the associate on The Drop, the HBO Pilot The Leftovers, the HBO Pilot Vinyl, Bridge of Spies, Silence, The Post, the Netflix limited series Godless, Ready Player One, The Dead Don’t Die, The Irishman, Dream Scenario, Killers of The Flower Moon, Fly Me To The Moon, Father Mother Sister Brother, and the upcoming Apple TV series Cape Fear. She co-cast with Ellen Lewis, HBO’s Bad Education, the Netflix limited series The Queen’s Gambit, Landscape with Invisible Hand, Eleanor the Great, and Christy. In 2020 Kate received the Associate Spotlight Award from the Casting Society of America. She has been nominated for one Emmy Award and won for ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (co-cast). She’s been nominated for 10 Artios Awards, and won as the associate for Godless, Killers of the Flower Moon, A Complete Unknown, and as co-casting director for Bad Education and The Queen’s Gambit. Kate is a proud Jersey girl and went to Muhlenberg College.

SAG-AFTRA members and guests invited to events will behave in a professional and courteous manner. Any violation of the rules or transgression of decorum will be subject to review by the programming team, which has authority to remove the member from present and future SAG-AFTRA Foundation programs.