The team behind the festival

Wendy Keeling

Co-Founder & Creative Director

Wendy came to Amelia Island as a filmmaker participating in the Rendezvous Film Festival and fell in love with the place! She moved to the area and became part of the RFF film team before going on to serve as Creative Director across three multi-day festival properties. From there, her festival career took her further into the industry: producing and moderating events for Sundance Collab and the Sundance Film Festival, co-founding the Loudoun Arts Film Festival, and coordinating hospitality and guest services for festivals including Frameline, CAAMFest, and the Miami International Film Festival.

Along the way, Wendy built a career spanning festival programming, freelance production work, and working as a SAG-AFTRA eligible actor. She has continued her own work as an award-winning filmmaker with 7 Mile Bridge Productions and as a visual artist through Hidden Fire Studio. She remains active in the festival community as a screener and juror for festivals across the country, and as a member of Film Florida, Indie Media Arts South, Future Film Coalition, the Film Festival Alliance, and Women in Film.

Now, Wendy is bringing that experience home to Amelia Island, founding the Fernandina Beach Film Festival to give the island the same storytelling celebration that first drew her here.

Kim Murray

Co-Founder

A lifelong resident of Amelia Island, Kim Murray brings more than a decade of filmmaking experience to the festival. As owner and producer of Flickers Studio, a small independent production company, she produced commercials, shorts, features, and music videos, earning recognition as an award-winning film producer.

Kim’s festival roots run deep. She joined the Rendezvous Film Festival as a board member and volunteer in 2015, stepped in as Creative Director in 2018 and then to Director, successfully leading the festival through 2020.

As a true local, Kim believes film can showcase the beauty and resources of her hometown while helping local businesses grow. She puts that belief into practice as Director of Operations for the nonprofit $1,000 Start-Ups and as an Ambassador with the Nassau County Chamber of Commerce. Now, she lends her talents to the Fernandina Beach Film Festival.