TEAM MEMBERS
Beau Canlas (Executive Director)
Joe Carabeo (Programming Director) 
Joe Carabeo’s portfolio covers almost every exciting artistic medium. Armed with a BFA in Photo and Film from VCU, Joe has become a sought after film director, photographer, writer and comic book creator. He has produced award winning film festivals, motion pictures, commercials, music and podcasts. The films he has directed have been recognized for their excellence in all fields and have been seen in festivals, screenings and downloaded and viewed across the country with over a millions views so far and won a bunch of awards. Under his own media company umbrella, Joe adopted the moniker “Astray” as a metaphor for being fearless in going in new directions, thus the name, Astray Productions. Not only with Astray Productions does Joe create and produce his own work, he also has had the opportunity to use his Directing and Camera talent to work with amazing national companies, brands and people, such as The First Lady of the United States – Dr Jill Biden, The Beach Boys, Third Man Records – Olivia Jean, Ruthless Records – My Kid Brother, ABC, NBC, Showtime, Epix, TLC, Bravo, Apple +. Facebook, Awesome Con, De Monies Con, Twin Cities Con, Capital Championship Wrestling, Intel, The National Guard, GSA, Redcross, DC Lottery, NASA, Under Armour, Papa Johns, Jerry’s Subs, Chef Spike Mendelsohn, Chef Carla Hall, Van Metre, Northwestern Mutual and too many more. Plus as a Photographer Joe has become the secret weapon in the Washington DC area for promotional, celebrity and event photography having photographed the likes of U2’s Bono, Pro Wrestler Sonjay Dutt, to Madeline Albright. Currently, Joe Carabeo is also the Program Director of two of the biggest and most exciting film festivals in the Washington DC area, the Awesome Con Short Film Festival and DC Shorts International Film Festival, with his goal to showcase new and unseen amazing talents, and raise awareness of the amazing filmmaking resources in the DMV area.
Peter Morgan (Marketing) is an Executive Management, Marketing, Communications, and Event Planning professional with more than 20 years of working and volunteering with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations covering a range of areas as diverse as from entertainment, fashion, film, and telecommunications to environment, healthcare, and LGBTQ advocacy and support. Originally from New Jersey, Peter attended college and graduate school in New York City, lived in Los Angeles for a decade, and since 2015 has called Washington, D.C. his home. Peter was the Executive Director of DC Shorts for three years, and is thrilled to be back and advancing the DC Shorts mission to champion short films.
Anavic Ibañez Canlas (Director of Operations) is a published author, writer and an award-winning newspaper layout editor. With a background in journalism and interior design, she finds the behind-the-scenes production, costume and set design/movie locations to be the most fascinating part of filmmaking. Ultimately, she found herself in event management, where she now shares her passion for providing immersive experiences and entertainment to the DMV area. She’s proud to be a part of DC Shorts for the second time!
OUR GEARS AND BUTTONS – THANK YOU:
Aaron Canlas
Casie Graham
Dara Branford
Grace Villanueva
Hannah Castillo-Villanueva
Kemi Adegoroye
Mary Branford
Nikki Guiao
Westscott Chen
