Filmmaker Accountability Circle - From the Heart Productions - Carole Dean and Carole Dorothy Joyce

Fundraising and film development are easier to sustain when you are not doing it alone. The Filmmaker Accountability Circle is a biweekly group for From the Heart filmmakers who want structure, encouragement, expert feedback, and a supportive creative community to help them keep moving forward.

Led by Carole Dean and Carole Dorothy Joyce, each session offers direct guidance rooted in decades of experience helping independent filmmakers get their films funded.

Every two weeks, you’ll meet with fellow filmmakers to share your progress, talk through challenges, set clear next steps, and receive feedback to strengthen your film funding campaign or development plan.

Carole Lee Dean is the Founder and President of From the Heart Productions and the Roy W. Dean Film Grant. Throughout her career, she has reviewed thousands of funding proposals and worked closely with filmmakers at every stage of production.

Her experience offers a rare perspective—she understands not only how filmmakers ask for funding, but how funders decide which projects to support. Through her decades of mentorship, grantmaking, and hands-on fundraising,

Carole has developed an approach centered on clarity, preparation, persistence, and authentic relationships. Her teaching helps filmmakers communicate their vision in ways that invite meaningful support while staying true to the creative process.

A talented filmmaker, photographer, and producer, Carole Dorothy Joyce is a Board Member of the 501(c)3 non-profit From the Heart Productions, and Director of the Roy W. Dean Grant, of which she has been an integral part of for over 20 years. Carole is also the CEO of Authentic Vision Consulting, a consulting firm specializing in independent film production and financing.

A graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography, Carole is an award-winning filmmaker for her documentary Survivors. Carole served as Executive Producer for the award-winning short film Stairway to the Stars starring Sean Young and as LA Line Producer for Wheels of Heaven with Mickey Rourke. Carole produced the short film Living UnDone, which won the Grand Jury Award at the Ethos Film Festival and Best Short Documentary for the Paris Film Festival. Carole is a Producer for the upcoming film Prodigal Daughter. Carole’s additional credits are available on IMDb. From the Heart Productions’ credits are also available on IMDb.

Carole also serves as an Advisor for the Authentic Global Film Festival and a Judge for the Ethos Film Festival.