STAFF
WILLIAM PAUL SMITH (Instructor / Co-founder) is a Two Spirit Eastern Shoshone/Cherokee writer, actor, filmmaker, and co-founder of Cunning Folk Center (CFC). In 2008, Smith became a permanent member of the New York based avant-garde theater group Dangerous Grounds Productions, founded by Doris Mirescu. His roles include Off Broadway adaptations of Jacques Rivette’s film L’Amour Fou and Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Beware of a Holy Whore. William earned a BFA in Screenwriting and Directing from the School of the Visual Arts (SVA) in New York and attended Columbia University’s MFA Film Directing Program. In 2017, he received his MFA in Critical Studies/ Creative Writing from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where he was awarded the 2017 teaching fellowship to continue his research and pedagogy. William tackles socio-political topics concerning Native Americans and Indigenous people. His work examines culture, identity, gender, sexuality, and spirituality through a Native lens, adopting a filmic language that traverses narrative, documentary and interdisciplinary cinema. Smith was a finalist in the ABC/Disney’s writing program and was selected as a fellow for the 2019 LA Skins Fest Native American TV Writer’s Lab. Since co-founding Cunning Folk Center with Michael Marshall, he has directed two feature films, Labor Of Life and Izhar's Ghosts, a collaboration with Mass MoCA and artist Izhar Patkin. Through Cunning Folk Center, William and Michael have co- written, pilot TV show, Peach Tree, which was selected as A Quarter Finalist in Final Draft’s Big Break Competition. In 2020, William and Michael were commissioned by Anthill Productions to write, Beautifully Boring, a coming of age drama in collaboration with Apple TV. William's script Headlights On White Roses was a 2021 Semi-Finalist in the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition and the 2021 Rooster Teeth BIPOC Fellowship. The script garnered a Quarter-Finalist award in the Big Apple Film Festival, A Semi-Finalist award in the Golden Script Competition, and made the coveted top position on the Coverfly Red after becoming a finalist in the Shore Script Competition, and winning the prestigious Diverse Voices award for best short screenplay.
MICHAEL MARSHALL (Instructor / Co-founder) is a writer/producer and licensed psychologist based in New York City. After earning his doctorate in clinical psychology, he embarked on a diverse career that included providing psychological evaluations for city, state, and federal agencies, and serving as a supervising psychologist at New York University. His psychology practice now focuses on proving therapy to artists and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Through his career, he has always pursued ways of merging psychology and film, and his work as a psychologist has shaped his approach as a screenwriter and filmmaker. The existential concepts that consume his clients are explored in his creative work. Since co-founding Cunning Folk Center for Art and Wellness, Michael has served as the producer and cinematographer on multiple films with the company, including Labor of Life and Izhar's Ghosts. He has co-written several screenplays and television pilots, including Falling Leaves, Beautifully Boring, Peach Tree, and he is producing Headlights On White Roses.
AGUSTINE MIGUEL PALACIOS (Instructor / Director of Educational Outreach) is a Mexican-American producer, writer, activist, and educator. He earned a B.A. in sociology from UCLA and a Master's of Education in school counseling from USC, and he has attained his Pupil Personnel Services credential. Agustine's passion for writing led him to Antioch University's MFA program in creative writing, with a focus in fiction. He is now a member of Cunning Folk Center for Contemporary Art and Wellness. His projects include Finding Val, The Bakery, El Greñas, and Headlights On White Roses. His interests include research, neuroplasticity, trauma, restorative justice, and the fight to mitigate the systemic oppression of minority groups. He advocates for inclusion in our schools and communities, has been part of the LGBTQ+ community for over 40 years, all of which reflects in the thematics of his artistic endeavors.
