Casey Baron
AFF Moderator
Born and raised in the small island of Dominica located in the West Indies, Casey Baron moved
to Austin after graduating from Florida State University with a degree in English – Editing,
Writing, and Media. Casey was a part of the Austin Film Festival family for seven years running;
starting off as an intern before climbing the ladder to become the festival’s Shorts Programmer
for its 25th anniversary, and Senior Film Program Director thereafter. He enjoyed his role as the
Director of Programming and Industry Relations, which included spearheading the launch of
The Writers Conference Game Writing Track and the Festival's Uplifting Storytellers Initiative.
In 2022, Casey was named the inaugural Chair of the Uplifting Storytellers Initiative. For the
last year he’s been the Producer for Hour Hand Games, as well as supporting multiple indie
video game projects, and continued to help storytellers as the New Voices Grant Coordinator for
NewFest. Currently, he’s working as a film and series Producer, as well as a Festival
Consultant. Further efforts to support writers and the filmmaking community includes stints as
an Advisory Board member of the American Documentary Artist Emergency Fund, Austin Film
Society Grant for Short Films, and Rainin Fellowship.
When he’s not racing to find interesting stories or relaxing in a movie theater, Casey spends his
spare time diving into countless video games, watching basketball and soccer, listening to
music, and playing with his dog Niobe.