Meet the founders
DANIEL MAGGIO - Co-Founder
Born in Hemet, Daniel made his first movie when he was 13. Jimbo Marshall, an Acacia Middle School teacher, directed his script The Unknown Superhero about a comic book nerd who gets super powers from the school cafeteria meat. He went to film school in San Jose and after graduating worked for the San Francisco Giants during their 2012 Worlds Series Run and world renowned drag queen, Peaches Christ. He formed Fish Tank Productions in 2014 with Wesley and Stephen and still makes a lot of his movies in Hemet today. He is a proud member of the local band, Hippie Cream. Watch his work at DanielMaggio.com
STEPHEN SIEMENS - Co-Founder
Stephen is blessed to have worked in the movie industry as a Visual Effects supervisor & artist since 2017, a career he shifted into after acquiring his MFA in film from an extra-unique university experience in Fairfield, Iowa at the David Lynch School of Cinematic Arts. Stephen however is a Californian, and in High school he met his good friend Daniel (see above) who shared an opportunity for Stephen to apply his creative energies to film production. It was on a subsequent project over a Summer break from his undergraduate education at UCR when Stephen recognized that contributing to cinematic artwork, alongside good people, would be his lifelong pursuit. Stephen makes animations too! Scope Mushboom.com
GABRIEL DIAZ - Co-Founder
Born and raised in Hemet, Gabe Diaz has combined his long standing interests in the performing arts and technology to a pursue a career in public education in nearby San Diego County where he works to uplift underserved communities. Gabe wears many hats: podcast producer, STEM teacher, board gamer, dog-dad, husband, friend, and is excited to add film festival co-founder to the list!
MYLES GILBERT - Co-Founder
Myles Gilbert started making backyard films as soon as he could hold the family camcorder. That passion for storytelling continued to develop as he attended San Jose State's department of Radio, Television, Theater and Film with an emphasis in Cinematography. It was there that he formed an impeccable creative partnership with Daniel Maggio, collaborating on numerous short films and projects for over the last decade. Since moving to Los Angeles, Myles has worked in a variety of crewmember roles, from Grip and Electric, to Assistant Camera, Editing, Cinematography, and most recently has started a career as a Colorist. Regardless of the role, Myles believes in the utmost magic of filmmaking and its ability to connect and enlighten and is satisfied in serving these projects to the best of his ability.
WESLEY HOUDYSHELL - Co-Founder
A Hemet native, Wesley found his passion for filmmaking when he worked on the feature length film Marty’s Magnificent Day-Glo Dream-A-Thon. The Sci-Musical (all shot in Hemet) featured original music from Hippie Cream, his older brother’s band. After that first experience of working on an independent production, Wesley’s love for film was solidified. Wesley now lives in Ireland and pets sheep when the weather permits. He believes that the Inland Empire is a treasure trove of creative people and is excited that the Hemet Film Festival will give another platform to showcase their work.