2022 Iris Award Honorees
Carroll Morton
Director of Film, New Orleans
Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy
Carroll Morton has served as the City of New Orleans Manager of Entertainment Industry Development and has worked in the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy since 2009. In that capacity Carroll advises the city on public policy for the film and entertainment industry, provided support for the city’s legislative efforts, developed workforce training programming and worked with non-profits to implement those programs. She has produced events to market the film industry both locally and at the Sundance Film Festival. Beginning in 2015 Carroll expanded her role to include managing the work of the 2018 Tricentennial Commission producing events and programming to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of the City of New Orleans. She currently serves on the advisory board for The New Orleans Film Society and Women in Film and Television.
Iris Trailblazing Woman Award
Tarriona "Tank" Ball
FrontWoman
Tank and the Bangas
Hailing from New Orleans, Tarriona "Tank" Ball is the frontwoman of the Grammy-nominated group Tank and The Bangas. The four-piece group has a rare knack for combining various musical styles - fiery soul, deft hip-hop, deep-drove R&B, and subtle jazz - into one dazzling, cohesive whole that evokes the scope of New Orleans music while retaining a distinctive feel all its own. Tank is known for her amazing ability to write and recently released her first poetry book in 2021 "Vulnerable AF" Tank and The Bangas recently released their newest album Red Balloon on Verve Forecast. Tarriona "Tank" Ball has collaborated with artists like Norah Jones, Lalah Hathaway, Robert Glasper, Moonchild, Brasstracks, and many more.
Iris Influential Woman Award
Theresa Hernandez
RPM Casting
Casting Associate
Theresa Hernandez was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and was raised in Mandeville, Louisiana. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from the University of New Orleans in 2014. She has been employed by Emmy Award Winning Casting Director Meagan Lewis, CSA since early 2015. Her first credited project in casting was the Oscar Winning Feature "The Big Short '', and since then she has worked on over 55 film and television productions as a Casting Assistant and Casting Associate. She currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana with her daughter and three dogs.
Iris Visionary Woman Award
Chelsea Bruland
Stunt Coordinator
DGA, 2nd Unit Director
Chelsea Bruland is a Stunt Coordinator, Actress, and 2nd Unit Director based here in New Orleans, but her history with film and tv started while she was working as a child actress in Australia. It was there that her intrigue and love affair with stunts began. Combining her acting skills with her abilities as a dancer, gymnast and other athletic endeavors, gave her the edge to pursue a career as a stunt woman. Having success in Australia with films such as ‘Ghost Rider’ and ‘Wolverine’, she made the move to Hollywood, only to realize that her sought out “Hollywood” dream was actually here in the Big Easy.
Chelsea’s skills and work ethic gave her the opportunity to excel, and within a few years she was working as the Assistant Stunt Coordinator for stunt legends on blockbusters such as “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, “Geostorm" and “Terminator Genysis”.
Since then, she became THE Stunt coordinator, designing the action for numerous feature and Tv Series. She has and continues to work with high profile actors like ben Affleck, Ana DeAmas, Renee Zellweger, and Sean Penn to just name a few.
While she was stunt coordinating on season 2 of “The Purge”, she was invited by the show runner to direct some of the action sequences, which ignited a new passion for her! 2nd Unit Directing! She became a member of the Directors Guild of America in 2019.
Lastly, but definitely not the last thing we will see from Chelsea Bruland. She became the first female stunt coordinator in Australia, graded under the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance breaking barriers for women and to finally be recognized for her talents and achievements as a department head. Chelsea’s current project is creating and directing the action for the well known Disney movie franchise, “The Descendants”.
Iris Woman of Creative Excellence Award
Rachel Grissom
Sound Mixer
Writer, Director
A resident of New Orleans for over fifteen years, Rachel Grissom has long been an active part of the Louisiana film community. She has worked on over 65 film and television projects as a production sound mixer, such as TNT’s drama series CLAWS, Boots Riley’s upcoming series I’M A VIRGO, and Beyonce’s LEMONADE, as well as many local indie productions. She’s taught masterclasses in production sound for NOVAC and Loyola University, including ones especially for women, BIPOC, and LBGTQ+ filmmakers.
As a writer, director, and producer, Rachel has worked on over a dozen short films, and won several awards at film festivals across the country. Her work includes collaboration as “Ripe Figs,” a collective with other women adapting the short stories of Kate Chopin to film. Of the four films produced, Rachel wrote four, produced three, and directed one. She also directed eight episodes of the web series Broad Strokes, a project of 40 pieces written, produced, and directed by women. She wrote and directed the short film comedies “Getting In” and “Mistress Margeaux Explains It All For You” a feature film “The Somnambulist”, and several PSA’s for nonprofits such as JPAWS, the New Orleans Bulldog Rescue, and The Inner Pup of New Orleans. Rachel is a judge of the sound design category for the Black Film Festival of New Orleans. She and her partner (also her award-winning cinematographer) live in the Ninth Ward, where they spend their time off set riding motorcycles, volunteering with local non-profits, and attempting to train their excitable rescue dogs.
Iris Empowered Award
Carol Bidault de l'Isle
AWARD WINNING
Producer
Carol Bidault de l’Isle is an award-winning producer, specializing in motion picture and
television financing, production and distribution. She brings with her over 30 years of industry experience in the United States, Europe, and Latin America and is fluent in 4 languages(English, French, Italian, Spanish) and basic conversation in Japanese. In 2010, Ms. Bidault moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to open the new headquarters of MediaFusion
Entertainment, LLC. She recently completed Cut Off with Brad Dourif, William Baldwin and is
currently in Post-Production with: Peter Greenaway’s Walking to Paris; in Post Production and in development with The Chronicles of Young Washington (William Hurt, Gary Oldman). Ms. Bidault is a film advisor to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Warner Theatre in Washington, DC and has been on Executive Committee of Women In Film & Television International (2014 - 2018), President of Women In Film & Television Louisiana (2016 - 2018), Advisory Board of the New Orleans Film Society (2011 - 2017).
Iris Resilient Award
