Daniel Casado
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Daniel Casado is a photographer and videographer based in chilean Patagonia.
His work has been focused on environmental causes in South and North America.
In Maine he has collaborated with long tradition environmental institutions such as Chewonki Foundation, Maine Woods Forever and Maine Farmland Trust.
In Patagonia, he has collaborated with conservation NGO´s, such as Fundación Meri, Parque Etnobotánico Omora, and national reforestation campaigns.
Daniel is producer for Seedlight Pictures and director in DC Photo.
Tammy Khajotia
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Tammy is an award winning British-Indian writer/director. After attaining a BFA degree in film and television production from NYU, Tammy built a diverse body of work in film including narrative and documentary films, as well as merging the mediums to create a highly successful 5 part educational series on Prevention of Sexual Harassment of women in the workplace. After a brief stint as a writer in Bollywood under the wing of an A-list director, Tammy found her calling in stories that moved her to lend her creativity to the voices of those who otherwise may not be heard. Tammy’s work on her fine art wildlife photography series Monochrome Kingdom, and her the research for her short film on wildlife crime Are We There Yet? inspired her to join Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Today she is a specialist who even with limits and restrictions can carve out those stories that need to be told, and presents them in a poetic and intellectually provocative manner. She champions the characters, real or fictional, that carry with them her dedication to the film’s take home message.
Nico Mastorakis
Award-Winning Filmmaker
A pioneer in the art of independent movie production and sales, a writer with two published novels and 42 screenplays (two awards for "Blind Date" and "Nightmare at Noon") television host and creator of Greece's most notorious late night show, producer, director, script writer of 22 feature films. His documentary "Mykonos, the Soul of an Island" won five awards and a 9.2 on IMDB and his new film "Alimos, Greek Riviera's Blue Diamond" has seven official entries and five awards already.
Robin Phillips
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Robin Phillips‘ career tracks three paths: Performer; Writer; Producer. PERFORMER: singer, actress, narrator. WRITER: journalist, graphic artist; playwright, screenwriter. PRODUCER: cabaret, plays, film.
Member, National Press Club; Founding Member, National Speakers Association, DC Chapter (1983); Corporate Member, Women in Film and Video; Collaborator Member, International Documentary Association; Narrator/Living-Breathing-Subtitle for Opera Camerata in Washington, DC since 2013.
Her professional career began with a decade-long journey across Europe, studying with the greats at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Webber Douglas Academy in London, being coached by the finest voice masters in Bavaria, mastering fluent French and German along the way, performing continuously both as a singer and actress in the US and in Europe.
Of course, the fact that she was raised the daughter of a prominent American Diplomat in Europe, and was educated in Embassy schools and a university in Munich, ensured she had the experience and confidence to direct her own career. A “Citizen of the World,” Robin has lived, worked and studied for almost twelve years in Washington, DC, Bonn, Wiesbaden, Munich, London, Sydney, Ville Franche-Sur-Mer, Nice, Brussels, and Monte Carlo.
Returning to the US, she performed with the resident company of the critically-acclaimed Wooly Mammoth Theatre for two seasons, and also at the Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre, etc. And worked in Public Relations in the Association market. She was a founding member of the DC Chapter of The National Speakers Association.
She became a journalist covering society and fashion for Washington Life, Quarante, The Magazine for the Woman Who Has Arrived, and Washington Entertainment, where she was also Editorial Director. She produced acting and commercial classes for the Panache modeling agency. She appeared as onscreen talent for Convention Network, Julian Bond, Anchor.
After not getting cast in one theatrical role, undaunted, Robin began producing and starring in her own Way Off Broadway shows -- “Love Makes The World Bank Go Round!” and “Selling: You’ve Gotta Have Heart!”
She was written up in the Washington Post as Producer of “An Evening in Vienna,” at the Mayflower Hotel before President Reagan’s entire Cabinet. Le Neon, the French American Theater Company, tapped Robin to play three roles: a French, a Spanish and a German cabaret singer in their `World Premiere of “Jules & Jim.”
Robin ran off with the rave reviews: “Robin Phillips is the reason to go see this play.” Sitting backstage she knew she could write a better play. This is when her shows evolved from ‘industrial theatre’ to full blown stage plays.
Danila Volkov
Award-Winning Filmmaker
At the age of fourteen Danila took up photography and video. Now in his films he combines fiction and documentary. He likes to convey the truth and naturalness of people’s destinies. His skills in camerawork and editing enable him to realize complicated tasks and broaden his mind.
Brent Collins
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Brent is a third-year film student at Humber College in the Film and Television Production program. With a focus on writing and directing, Brent tries to push limits and explore creative challenges in a wide variety of genres. This is highlighted by his documentary How Do You Hold A Hot Dog? (2020) and his short fictional films CUT (2019), Taste (2018) and jinx (2018).
2020 AWARD-WINNING documentary
FILMMAKERS in the spotlight
Norman Stone
Award-Winning Filmmaker
“The Final Fix” is the brainchild of double Emmy and double BAFTA winning Director, Norman Stone. After working as the youngest TV Producer/Director at the BBC, Norman created 1A Productions and holds an impressive list of film/drama/TV and feature credits & awards (Shadowlands, Black Velvet Gown, The Justice Game). This film culminates 40 years of research and commitment to explore and expose the story of NET to the world.
Vikram Jeet Singh Parmar
Award-Winning Filmmaker
A small-town guy who started climbing mountains after surviving hangman fracture.
Matthew Leonard
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Matt Leonard is an award winning producer, director, and editor with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with Bishop Robert Barron and his Word on Fire team for over 10 years, including directing and editing the best selling Catholicism series.
Dorothy Ibes
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Dorothy Ibes, Ph.D. is a faculty member in William & Mary's Environmental Science & Policy program, the founder and director of the Parks Research Lab (PRL), and a certified ecotherapy guide. An urban human-environment geographer, Ibes's research, teaching, and ecotherapy work focuses on fostering mutually-beneficial human-nature relationships, with a focus on mental health promotion through nature engagement, or ecotherapy. Her use-inspired, interdisciplinary research integrates theory and practice from ecopsychology, public health, human-environment geography, and urban park planning and design.
Phil Comeau
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Canadian director Phil Comeau was born in Nova Scotia and lives in Montreal. He has directed documentaries and dramas in over twenty countries. Among his documentary films, he directed and wrote four features : Zachary Richard Cajun Heart, Secretariat’s Jockey Ron Turcotte, Acadian Music Wave & The Nature of Frederic Back. His films have won over 165 film awards worldwide.
Karla Murthy
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Karla is an Emmy Award-nominated producer. She began her career working for the veteran PBS journalist Bill Moyers, was a producer and cameraperson for the PBS news magazines “NOW” and “Need to Know,” and is a special correspondent and producer for the "PBS NewsHour Weekend.” Her work was cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as “compelling, informative and compassionate.”
Karla grew up in Texas and is of Filipino and South Asian descent. She graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio with a degree in Religion and Computer Science, and is an alumni of the Third World Newsreel Workshop and the Documentary Institute at Antioch College in Ohio.
Rob Apse
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Rob Apse is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in New England. Having worked the last ten years in creative marketing both with agencies and client side, he has a always honed in on real storytelling with a docu-style film approach. You can view his work at robapse.com and his company at wandergroove.com
Mark van Wijk
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Mark Van Wijk is a world traveler, cinematographer and documentary filmmaker based in Cape Town, South Africa. Mark’s passion for Adventure and Natural History, often appear as metaphors in his films and is celebrated in his first documentary, The Search for the Knysna Elephants – Animal Planet 2009.
In 2010, Mark began a creative collaboration with Dr Pedram Shojai, (www.well.org) making documentaries that inspire healthier, happier living, with respect and care for Mother Earth. Mark is currently making an exciting new documentary called Ocean’s Without Limits.
Gary Null & Valerie Van Cleve
Award-Winning Filmmakers
For more than 35 years Gary Null has been one of the foremost voices of the health movement. He has produced over 70 documentaries. Gary, along with leading experts, has examined a wide range of topics from food production, alternative healing, politics and our economic system. Gary has aired many of his documentaries on PBS.
Gary has continued to be a strong voice for the consumer, standing up against big corporations and big government. He has exposed the massive drugging of children in our schools, investigated industries such as pesticides, herbicides, artificial sweeteners, food irradiation, water fluoridation, unsafe ingredients in vaccines, nuclear power, the FDA, GMO's and the Gulf War Syndrome.
Gary has done an original investigative reporting series on a regular basis and has published over 100 original investigative articles. He has also published over 100 books.
He founded the web based Progressive Radio Network, with an average of 180,000 listeners weekly.
He has the longest running health radio program in American history.
Jessee Bermudez
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Jessee Bermudez was born and raised in New York City, grew up with his father always playing music in the house. After years of learning and performing music theory, Jessee decided to translate his love of music with filmmaking, through storytelling and sound design.
Julian & Thomas Wittmann
Award-Winning Filmmakers
JULIAN WITTMANN
Growing up in the Bavarian province between soccer club and theater stage, Julian, born in 1993, was increasingly drawn to the big wide world. After completing the design school, he sat out on a one-year trip around the world. He then took up studies in theater studies in Munich, trained as a screenwriter and has since been writing for various television formats.
He has also realized numerous theater productions and film projects and in recent years toured Bavaria and Austria as a music cabaret artist with his stage program.
THOMAS WITTMANN
Already during his school days Thomas, born in 1996, starred in numerous television and cinema films and discovered the world of movies at an early age. In addition to his acting roles he completed an apprenticeship as a real estate agent and thus developed his commercial thinking. After successfully completing his training at business school he also took his time to travel the world.
After coming back he attended several film seminars with famous producers and took up acting again in some movies and on TV.
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Daniel Bruns
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Dan Bruns has been directing, shooting, and editing films and commercials for over 12 years. Through his job as Lab Tech for the Advanced Laboratory for Visual Anthropology and director of ALVA Studios, he has helped create several documentaries that have gone on to win multiple awards and have been broadcast on PBS stations all across the United States.
Andrew Goldberg
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Emmy Award-winning investigate producer/director Andrew Goldberg has Executive Produced and Directed 13 Prime-Time documentary specials for PBS and Public Television, in addition to numerous long and short-form segments for outlets including CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC News and National Public Radio. Goldberg has been honored with over 20 major awards including the EMMY, five CINE Golden Eagles, 10 Telly Awards, a NY Festivals Worldmedal, The Genesis Award (Guest of Honor), The St. Vartan’s Award, The Joachim and Anne Humanitarian Award. His work has been supported by the FORD Foundation, The Koret Foundation, The Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Skirball Foundation, Goldman Sachs Gives, PBS and American Public Television.
Bill Clinton, Maya Angelou, Elie Wiesel, Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Natalie Portman, Itzhak Perlman, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Douglas, Julianne Moore, Yo-Yo Ma, Laura Linney, and the legendary Walter Cronkite, among numerous other luminaries, have all been a part of Goldberg’s work through interviews and analysis.
Previous films include The Armenian Genocide which received extraordinary reviews, including Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times, who described it as a “powerful” film that “…honors the victims of the Genocide”; Jerusalem: Center of the World, which the Los Angeles Times called “an event…a yeoman’s task…timely and timeless” and New York Newsday described as “Wonderful… Grade A”; and They Came to America which won the CINE Golden Eagle for Outstanding Programming. The Wall Street Journal said, “The producers knew what they were doing… An impressive 90 minutes… and a consistently affecting one.”
Andrew holds a BA in History from Northwestern University, and an MBA from The Graduate School of Business at The University of Chicago. He lives and works in New York City with his wife and three children.
FLORENCE AYISI
Award-Winning Filmmaker
FLORENCE AYISI was born in Cameroon. She lives and works in the United Kingdom. She is professor of International Documentary Film at the Faculty of Creative Industries, University of South Wales, (USW). She teaches diverse aspects of documentary history and theory and documentary film production. Florence is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her vision for making documentary films is to decolonise the images and ideas about Africa from Pan-African and woman-centred perspectives. Her films offer rare images, discerning insights and stories where African subjects have agency and voice. She has made several documentary films in Cameroon and Tanzania including Sisters in Law, her first feature documentary (co-directed with Kim Longinotto, 2005). This film has won over 30 prestigious film awards. It was long-listed for an Academy Award nomination (Oscars) in 2006 and has been screened in over 200 film festivals and on Television world-wide.
Her other documentary films include Marie-Madeleine: A Female Chief (2018), Zanzibar Soccer Dreams (co-directed with Catalin Brylla, 2016), Zanzibar Soccer Queens (2007), My Mother: Isange (2007), Art of this Place: Women Artists in Cameroon (2011), Handing Down Time – Cameroon (2012). The Bronze Men of Cameroon (2020) is her most recent documentary film; a portrait of bronze artists presenting a unique glimpse of their craftsmanship and challenges of sustaining a valued cultural heritage that has defined their identity and maintained livelihoods.
In 2017, Zanzibar Soccer Dreams was shortlisted for the prestigious Research in Film Awards by AHRC (Arts & Humanities Research Council), for the International Development Award – Mobilising Global Voices category. Florence was presented with the ICON Award at the 2018 Africa Week in Bristol, U.K. - the award recognises the "exceptional contributions by individuals in promoting Pan-Africanism on a personal, national and global scale.” Her films have significantly contributed to women’s empowerment, transforming societal attitudes and policy change.
FLORENCE AYISI has collaborated with several Third Sector Organisations and Government bodies within the broad context of Communication for Development. She has worked with numerous organisations in Cameroon, Tanzania and Germany, including the Cameroon Ministry of Arts and Culture, The World Bank Group in Cameroon, the National Programme for Participatory Development (PNDP), Cameroon. Some of her documentary films have positively influenced government policy, and had far-reaching social and cultural impact on communities, groups and individuals.
Joshua B. Pribanic &
Melissa A. Troutman
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Joshua B. Pribanic - Director/Editor/Producer/Writer
Joshua Boaz Pribanic (born 20 March 1982) is an American film director, editor, investigative reporter and founder of the investigative news non-profit, Public Herald. He’s best known for his award-winning documentary films on fracking, Triple Divide (c. 2013) and Triple Divide [Redacted] (c. 2017), and for his role as Editor-in-Chief and investigative journalist at Public Herald (cited in over 200 publications). Pribanic’s latest documentary INVISIBLE HAND (expected for release in fall 2020) showcases “Rights of Nature” in America and will be his third film collaboration with actor Mark Ruffalo who’s signed on as an Executive Producer, and his third documentary with co-director Melissa Troutman.
Melissa A. Troutman - Director/Editor/Producer/Writer
Melissa A. Troutman (born January 22, 1980) is an investigative journalist, photographer, artist and filmmaker who co-founded Public Herald (est. 2011), a nonprofit for investigative journalism where she currently serves as Executive Director. Troutman’s work earned support from over 1,000 donating members of the public, the Investigative News Network (now Institute for Nonprofit News), the James L. Knight Foundation, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, Mountain Watershed Association, 11th Hour Project, The Heinz Endowments, and Tesla Motors. Since first tackling the subject in 2010, Troutman has gained international attention for her coverage of fracking in Pennsylvania. She’s writer, editor, director, producer of TRIPLE DIVIDE and TRIPLE DIVIDE [REDACTED], which uncovered corruption in the handling of water contamination in rural Pennsylvania. Her first feature film, TRIPLE DIVIDE appeared in film festivals nationwide, has an audience spanning over 30 countries, and continues to screen in communities across the United States. Troutman’s new documentary project INVISIBLE HAND began in 2014 with her first story about a revolutionary battleground between corporate rights and democracy.
Marc Fehse
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Marc Fehse is a graduate art director, focusing on
Film & Design.
Because of his love for moving and not moving images, he studied design at Academy of Fine Arts in Braunschweig. Before his bachelor's degree, he spent one semester in Los Angeles, to work in various companies and schools.
After 20 years working in the professional music business he founded the film and design agency Marctropolis, realizing various advertising and feature film projects. Its customers includes Volkswagen, Siemens, Red Bull, ARD, ZDF, Universal, New Yorker and more. His own fim productions include Sex, Dogz and Rock 'n' Roll, Spores, The Power of Soul, Sky Sharks.
To the Agency a publishing house is connected which successfully published audio books and radio plays.
Since 2013 several international films for the German market were published under the label Marctropolis Film Entertainment. Marc won two Lionel Design Awards and for his publishing products, he was awarded several times for the radio play of the year!
Eight years ago he founded the Genre Film Festival "Cinestrange". Star guests of the last editions were Dario Argento, Joe Dante, John Badham...
Joshua M. Thomas
Award-Winning Filmmaker
An organic farmer in his previous life, Joshua Thomas is co-founder and creative engine of Thomas Farm Films, a film production company that focuses on teaching children the craft of filmmaking. Joshua is currently a Master of Fine Arts candidate in cinema at San Francisco State University where he plans to graduate in the summer of 2020. Joshua has extensive experience in documentary, but his passion is narrative filmmaking. His work has screened at numerous film festivals across North America, Europe and Asia. He is also a prolific screenwriter that has completed a vast amount of scripts, both short and feature length.
Andy Strohl
Award-Winning Filmmaker
An accomplished Director of Photography and award winning editor, Andy Strohl, made his documentary film directorial debut with "Roadie: My Documenary" alongside famed roadie turned tour manager TJ Hoffman in 2018.
Andy's career behind the camera began over a decade ago. He has since worked on numerous features, commercials, documentaries and music videos.
Andy's brand of storytelling is artful in its imagery and compelling in its execution. The stories he creates are always brimming with thoughtful representations of the people he photographs and the narratives he depicts.
Joseph Pelegreen
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Joseph Pelegreen is a writer, director, and producer known for the award-winning documentary Mamakrom (2020). His journey into the world of film began in Arkansas and has since taken him across the globe, telling stories and helping others to tell stories. He has worked on sets in Texas, Louisiana, New York, Los Angeles, Maryland, and Utah, including work with HBO, CBS, ABC, HULU, and the Sundance Institute.
Zachariah Montgomery
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Zachariah is an active Canadian/ American photographer, filmmaker and writer. Specializing as a project director with a background in philosophy, Z. also serves a broader role in understanding brand development, organizational narrative, and content curation. He has background experience with international NGO’s, the federal prison system, former special operators, tourism boards, feature documentary, commercial & narrative film industry, and personal development programs. He currently works with the team of The Special Forces Experience developing this film into a feature documentary exploring the science and spirit of post-traumatic growth around the world, researching rites of passage and consciousness expansion. Find more info about his work at themontgomerypicture.com
Riley Del Rey
Award-Winning Filmmaker
As the founder of Outlast Entertainment, Riley Del Rey is a director and producer who is involved with several professional organizations across New Mexico. With the firm, which she founded in January 2020, Riley Del Rey is responsible for creating philosophical narratives and arresting visuals across a range of films.
Alongside this, she oversees generating media coverage for the projects that she works on, such as the television show Capitol Barbie, which follows a university student seeking a political career in Washington, D.C.
Before her film career, Ms. Del Rey pursued a bachelor of arts in philosophy at the University of New Mexico, which she received in 2017. Following this, she earned an associate degree in film production at the Central New Mexico Community College. Since graduation she has showcased New Mexico talent in a slate of projects and continues to make New Mexico has a top spot amongst movie and television producers.
She also holds experience as a paralegal, where she helped individuals with disabilities who were wrongfully denied their Social Security benefits, and initiated lawsuits that resulted in protections for LGBTQ youth and created equity in insurance benefits.
Déwun Owusu
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Ghanaian-American cinematographer Déwun Owusu is a visual storyteller with over a decade of experience producing content in broadcast, and global Ad/Pr. He now serves as the Founder and Chief Cinematographer at ICLASS Media Group - a full service strategy and video production company. During this chapter of his life as a creator, he is turning his focus to telling human stories originating on the African continent.
Randall Owens
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Randall has a unique gift for telling client stories in visual form. In 2005, he founded Skyline Post, a Greenville-based video production and post-production company, and served as the executive producer for thirteen years. In 2018, Randall and his team joined YCP, expanding our video capabilities and bringing state-of-the-art equipment, production and post-production talent, and industry expertise to our video department.
Randall’s experience includes more than twenty years in commercial and feature film production. He has worked with national brands across the country, including Ryobi, Home Depot, Scansource, and the Carolina Panthers to produce cinema-quality video that brings client messages to life on the screen.
Zach Ingrasci & Chris Temple
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Chris and Zach are filmmakers and the founders of Optimist, a non-profit production studio that creates films with impact. They are best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar and Salam Neighbor. Their films have been released by Netflix, Amazon Prime, National Geographic, and The Atlantic. In addition to Five Years North, they recently directed the short documentary, The Undocumented Lawyer, set to premiere at Tribeca in spring 2020.
Every film they make is accompanied by an impact campaign to create measurable outcomes. Their projects have raised over $91.5 million dollars for the films’ causes and have changed over 275,000 lives.
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Clément Boxebeld
Award-Winning Filmmaker
In 2017, Clément Boxebeld co-founded with Julia Mourri the media Oldyssey to change the way we look at aging in our society. Together, they wrote the book “Oldyssey, un tour du monde de la vieillesse” (Oldyssey, a world tour of old age) published in October 2019 by Seuil. They have also produced more than fifty 3-minute documentaries. They directed video portraits that give voice to older people around the world highlighting the most inspiring initiatives to bring generations closer together. These videos were broadcasted on the Facebook page and the Oldyssey website (www.oldyssey.org).
In 2019, they initiate the idea of the "Soccer Grannies" match and co-organize the trip of the South African Soccer Grannies to France, the constitution of the French team, as well as the gathering between the two teams. They directed the feature documentary “Soccer Grannies” about this adventure.
After the match, they created the association "Footeuses à tout âge" with some members of the french “Mamies Foot” team to promote the practice of women's football among women over 50 years old.
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Brian Ryu
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Brian Ryu is a Korean filmmaker who earned his Master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Previously, his animations have appeared in The New York Times and The New Yorker. Before getting his undergraduate degree in Film Production at New York University, he was a United Nations peacekeeper in South Sudan, where he served as an intelligence analyst. His biggest achievement in sports was when he won several national championships in speed skating in elementary school. Even though he eventually transitioned to casual skating and high school ice hockey, he now loves to report on talented athletes.
Matthew Rice
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Matthew Rice is a documentary filmmaker based in St. Louis, MO. He currently works as a videographer for the Washington University School of Medicine developing educational content for the doctors of tomorrow. Matthew began his filmmaking career at Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and Television creating his first short documentary film, The Yodel Within. This documentary was selected by five film festivals winning several awards including "Audience Favorite" and "Best Credits Sequence." This project inspired Matthew to dedicate himself completely to learning the craft of documentary story telling. He has collaborated with experts at the top of their field to develop video content that both engages and educates audiences.
Leesa Gazi
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Leesa Gazi is a British Bangladeshi writer, actor, filmmaker and Joint Artistic Director of a London based arts company, Komola Collective. She was the script-writer and performer of Six Seasons and A Golden Age at the Southbank Centre, produced by Culturepot Global. She worked as a script interpreter for Shakespeare's Globe at the 2012 Globe festival on The Tempest. Gazi collaborated as the Cultural co-ordinator and a voice artist for Akram Khan's Olivier Award-winning production Desh and its children version Chotto Desh. Her eco-conscious play Daughter of the Forest produced by Komola Collective completed its tour in the UK in 2016. Gazi’s play Aleya Twist is a Bengali Adaptation of a British Classic Oliver Twist. A group of underprivileged girls performed in the play along with professional actors in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has written, directed and produced several CVE (Counter Violence Extremism) short films for a UK based Counter-Extremism think tank in 2017 and 2019. Gazi has translated a new play into Bangla entitled Indigo Giant - Neel Chhaya by Ben Musgrave for an International theatrical tour scheduled for 2021. The backdrop of the play is the Indigo Rebellion in Bengal during the British Raj era. Her debut novel, Rourob, was published in 2010, and a decade later the English translation of the novel Hellfire translated by Shabnam Nadiya published in September 2020.
In 2010, Gazi met with 21 Birangona women in Bangladesh after which she started collecting their accounts to document their stories and from there, working with Komola Collective, a theatrical piece emerged. The play 'Birangona: Women of War' interwove film footage by the individual Birangona women. Leesa worked as the concept developer, co-writer, and performer of the theatre production, which was nominated for The Offie Award in 2014. It completed the UK & the Bangladesh tour in 2014.
Since 2010, Leesa has met and worked with more than eighty survivors of mass rape and violence across Bangladesh. She has been working intimately with many of them. They took her into their homes and villages, to share their lives and experiences as women. To safeguard their stories as a permanent record, Leesa completed her debut documentary feature 'Rising Silence' in 2018. 'Rising Silence' sheds light on the lives of rape survivors in the aftermath of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The film won multiple awards across the world. Currently, she is working on her feature film Barir Naam Shahana A House Named Shahana.
Since 2017, Leesa has started working with Global Survivors Network, Sema, established by Nobel Laureate Dr Denis Mukegwege's Foundation. Two of Bangladesh's survivors, Anoara Begum and Jabeda Khatun added their powerful voices with fellow survivors to an international call for global reparations scheme to address the consequences of rape as a weapon of war in the Netherlands in November 2018. The audience included Nobel Laureate Dr Denis Mukwege and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Their participation was made possible by the effort of Leesa Gazi. Through SEMA, she has come to know survivors from many other conflicts. She is now working with them on the Collective Memory Group at SEMA that was set up in November 2018. They are trying to establish a collective memory engagement and implementation of ideas related to an (online) museum where testimonies, art and other pieces of expression by survivors will be displayed.
Jesse Schluntz
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Jesse Schluntz is a contract filmmaker based in Southern California who specializes in story-driven content ranging from web shorts to feature-length documentaries, including Promised Land: Israel Through The Eyes of Surfers. His passion is to work with honest subjects and tell stories that matter. Some of his clients have included ESPN, Patagonia, Quicksilver, Surfer Magazine, and Titleist.
Christian Machacek
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Born in Vienna, Austria in 1971, Christian Machacek came back to his home country after studying for three years Directing and Screenwriting in Los Angeles at the „Hollywood Film Institute“. After working for several renowned production houses on commercials, TV- and theatrical movies he founded his own company in 1995. Since then he produced and directed many commercials, image videos, two documentaries about filmmaking and a series of successful book/DVD-combos for the German territory.
„Deals and Visions“ is his second documentary for an international audience. He is currently finishing a 2-season series called "Breathtaking" (about the 24 most beautiful natural places on Earth) and another production, "DreamScapes". A visual and aural adventure for the whole family which will be shown in theatres by the end of 2021.
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Bared Maronian
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Bared Maronian is a four time Regional Emmy Award winning Lebanese-born American Armenian documentary filmmaker.
Maronian has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Haigazian University and is a graduate of the Broadcast Career Institute of Palm Beach, Florida.
His production credits include a large number of award winning national, regional, and local television programming for the American PBS network spanning over twenty years.
One of Maronian’s works, Orphans of the Genocide has reached over 50.6 million households by way of national television broadcasting and satellite distribution such as Direct TV and Dish Network.
The film is translated into several languages including French, Spanish, Portu-guese, Armenian and Romanian. It has been officially selected by over twenty international film festivals worldwide.
Orphans of the Genocide was also screened in a large number of universities, colleges, school systems, museums, libraries and communities in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy Lebanon, Egypt and others.
Maronian’s latest work, Women of 1915, is a documentary film delineating the plight and survival of the Armenian women during the Genocide of 1915 and all those non-Armenian women who flocked into the killing fields of the genocide and rescued thousands of Armenian women and children.
Bared Maronian’ current project is called Bloodless, a documentary film about Armenia’s 2018 peaceful revolution.
He resides in Coconut Creek, Florida with his wife Lina and daughter Kaliana.
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Diana Chan & Christina Kelso
Award-Winning Filmmakers
In Circles was co-produced, filmed and edited by Diana Chan and Christina Kelso.
Diana Chan is a video journalist and documentary filmmaker from Hong Kong. She grew up in South Africa before moving back home as a teenager. Diana is interested in political and social stories, especially ones about the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. Diana has worked for CNN and Reuters and, most recently, was a staff video journalist for AFP in Hong Kong. In 2019 she received her masters in documentary filmmaking from the Columbia Journalism School.
Christina Kelso is a visual journalist and documentary filmmaker based in New York City. Inspired by her experiences growing up in a working class community outside Jacksonville, Florida, she pursues stories about the human impact of economic and social inequality in American systems. Christina spent five years in local news as a photojournalist and writer for The Florida Times-Union and The St. Augustine Record daily papers. In 2019 she received her masters in documentary filmmaking from Columbia Journalism School.
Dave Tourjé
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Born in 1960 and raised in NELA (Glassell Park, Highland Park, Eagle Rock), Tourjés work is a reflection of the multi-cultural DIY sensibilities of NELA. His work is known as a contemporary hybrid of low and high art, reflecting his real-life immersion in surf and skate, the LA punk and music scene, graffiti and other subcultures that thrived in the NELA of the 70’s and 80’s. In 2011, Tourje was the subject of the short documentary "L.A. Aboriginal" which won 7 Best Short Film awards internationally and in 2013 he was the Executive Producer on the feature film "Curly" which won 5 Best Feature awards internationally.
Christopher Francis
Award-Winning Filmmaker
At a young age, Chris Francis’ “career” began by critiquing his relatives’ home videos and pondering coverage and angles that would have told a better story and been more enjoyable to watch. He eventually became a documentary and commercial cinematographer, director and producer. His short film Flourish, won Best Local Film at the 2019 San Diego International Film Festival. Quarantined at home with COVID-19, Francis met his positive diagnosis with a positive attitude and created the fun and personal documentary, Making Lemonade: Our COVID-19 Story.
Tanguy GUINCHARD
Award-Winning FilmmakerSwiss based but quite often in the UK, I always been intersted in filmmaking and martial arts. I remember asking myself if these two passions could be complementary or mixed... A few years ago I decided to get back at university, learn filmmaking and train in order to get into the stunt industry in the UK.
Now, filmmaker student in Geneva, Stunt trainee in the UK, and member of a british action agency (British Action Academy Agency) I'm a big action movie passionate.
I had the chance to work on big budget production thanks to my agency and direct my own action movie in Switzerland.
I'm also part of a Xtreme martial art show team (Team STAMA) with wich I competed around the world and won several world title. My dream is to mix up my two passions and creat an action / stunt industry in Switzerland as a filmmaker.
Sarah Kanafani
Award-Winning Filmmaker
With over 20 years of Directing, Editing and working as a Director of Photography, Sarah Kanafani takes her passion for filmmaking and dives deep into films focused on the human condition and social issues. Having her start in producing and directing commercials for companies such as JetBlue, Smile Direct Club, Toyota, Verizon and HGTV, Sarah has transitioned over into feature-length documentary and feature-length films. Her debut directorial documentary film "On This Hallowed Ground: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Born From Tragedy" brought home two Telly awards for Best Documentary and Editing. The film covers the Vietnam War, the Famed Huey Helicopter and the story of how America's first Vietnam War Memorial came to be. It debuted in November of 2019 on NBC and is now available for purchase or rental on Amazon Prime. This film has launched her career as a notable documentary filmmaker. Sarah resides with her husband Scott and their four children in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She and Scott own and operate Luminance Pictures, a full-scale film production company, which opened in 2003. Within Luminance, Sarah creates award-winning documentaries, stellar EPK's for various recognized musicians, commercials and short films for nonprofit organizations. She has won several prestigious awards for directing, editing and graphic design. Her credits include Miller Coors, A&E, Jet Blue, Toyota, Verizon, Heritage Hotels, Mack Avenue Records, Artistry Music, HGTV and National Geographic to name a few. In the spring of 2018, Sarah launched her film company, Box Light Films, which assists with distribution and production support.
Lisa Molomot & Jeff Bemiss
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Lisa Molomot is a documentary filmmaker living in Tucson, Arizona. She has been working in film for over 20 years, directing, filming and editing documentaries. Her award-winning feature THE HILL tells the story of an immigrant neighborhood in New haven, CT and aired on America Reframed in 2015. Her award-winning shorts SCHOOL'S OUT and TEACHING IN ARIZONA have had hundreds of screenings and been featured on Slate.com, in The Atlantic, and on NPR. In the spring of 2019, Lisa was a Fulbright scholar at The International Migration Research Centre at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Ontario, Canada where she worked on SAFE HAVEN, a feature documentary about U.S. war resisters (deserters, draft dodgers) who seek asylum in Canada, and SOLEDAD, a short documentary mixing live action and animation about an asylum case. Lisa has taught filmmaking at Yale University and Wesleyan University; she currently teaches film at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.
Jeff Bemiss is an Oscar-shortlisted writer/director who has worked in shorts, features and documentaries. Jeff recently directed the dramatic web series pilot, DREAM HOUSE, based on a screenplay by David Lally. He wrote and directed THE BOOK AND THE ROSE, which won 27 festival awards internationally and was one of ten semi-finalists for the Academy Award for Best Short Film. The film aired on PBS and plays annually on network television. Jeff shot and directed the award-winning short documentary COACHING COLBURN about a young man with Fragile-X Syndrome, which premiered at the prestigious Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. He also produced and edited the short documentary RECOVERING LIVES and produced the feature film RITES OF WINTER. Originally trained in scripted filmmaking, he also co-wrote the feature screenplay A LONG TOMORROW, a time travel drama based on a story by literary sci-fi author Jack Finney. Jeff is a graduate of USC film school and the L.A. Sanford Meisner Academy. He has taught film at Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
Oliver Goetzl
Award-Winning Filmmaker
- Born 18th July 1968 in Hamburg/Germany.
- 1990 - 2000: Study of Biology, University of Hamburg. Degree: Diploma. Main subject: Zoology - functional anatomy and vertebrate evolution, ethology of mammals; moreover study of Geology/Palaeontology, University of Hamburg as well as Hydrobiology / Fishery science, University of Hamburg.
- since 1999: camera assistant, sound man and/or scientific advisor for wildlife film productions. (“WILDES MASUREN”, “KINDERSTUBE IN EUROPAS TUNDRA”, “IM SCHUTZGEBIET DER UNTEREN ELBTALAUE”, all NDR).
- 2001, writer and camera assistant for “HORNTRÄGER – DIE SIEGERTYPEN AFRIKAS”, ZDF.
- 2004, formation of GULO FILM PRODUCTIONS: Wildlife film company with Oliver Goetzl as director, writer and editor and Ivo Nörenberg as main cameraman.
First film: “Wolverines – Hyenas of the North”.
Followed by “Wild Russia - The Urals”, “Wild Scandinavia - Finland”, “Wild Scandinavia - Sweden”, “Jungle Book Bear”, “America's National Parks - Yosemite”, “America's National Parks - Yellowstone”
Oliver Goetzl has worked for NDR, BBC, DISNEYNATURE, SILVERBACK FILMS, WILD HORIZONS, DISCOVERY CHANNEL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ANIMAL PLANET, ARD, ORF, TERRA MATER, S4C, ARTE, SVT, WDR and ZDF and filmed in various countries: India, Russia, Canada, U.S.A., Africa (Ecuatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana), Finland, Sweden, Norway (+ Svalbard), Italy, Poland, Estonia and Germany.
Troy Hale
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Troy is a 26-time Emmy Award winner and has been nominated over 60 times for his work as a documentary filmmaker, and television journalist.
Troy worked as a filmmaker, producer, director, reporter, an investigative journalist with KMSP Fox 9 Television in Minneapolis, MN, and a Photojournalist at WSVN Fox 7 in Miami, ABC 6/FOX 28 in Columbus Ohio. ABC 24 in Memphis, and NBC 25 in Hagerstown, MD.
He began his broadcast career as a Disc. Jockey for WYLI radio. Troy has covered hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, presidential elections, the MTV Video Music Awards, Tyson/Lewis fight, the Big Ten, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and anything else with an abbreviation. Along the way he has picked up an Edward R. Murrow award, a CINE Golden Eagle, an Addy, 11 Tellys, two Associated Press awards, three National and 10 regional NPPA awards. See More
Taylor Doggett
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Taylor is a short film maker currently based in the Midlands. After graduating university he has set up his own small production company making promotional videos for small businesses.
Kamaran Karym
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Kamaran Karym is a freelance director, editor and camera operator with KamFilming Production Company. He is based in the UK and has worked in the filmmaking industry for more than 10 years.
Selket Kaufman
Award-Winning Filmmakers
A graduate of UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Selket is an acclaimed storyteller passionate about finding and sharing incredible accounts of human resilience and environmental activism. Although Selket has produced many shorts, she was highly motivated to create A VOICE for WHALES — her biggest undertaking to date — because it was a story that needed to be told as Pacific Whale Foundation celebrates 40 years of protecting the ocean through science and advocacy.
Magi Avila
Award-Winning Filmmaker
After a rewarding career in Mexican films, television, theatrical and operatic productions, Magi Avila made her way to the Mecca of Entertainment -Hollywood.
Magi Avila is currently filming the first season of “My American Family” TV Series, with Mr. Danny Trejo and ordered by Amazon. Magi can be seen in the feature Film "Dog Eat Dog" with Oscar winner, Nicolas Cage, and 4 times Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe, directed by Paul Schrader. Dog Eat Dog premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, obtaining a long-standing ovation. She also has a pivotal role in "First Kill" with Mr. Bruce Willis and Hayden Christensen. Magi Avila also appears in "A Better Life" with Oscar nominee Demian Bichir, directed by Chris Weitz (Twilight Saga "New Moon"). On U.S. Television, Magi guest-starred on Jerry Bruckheimer's "Training Day" with Bill Paxton. She also worked in the final episode of the acclaimed AFI Award winning drama television series "The Shield", from Shawn Ryan. She is currently in post-production of her directorial Debut with an inspiring true life story documentary.
Magi Avila has performed as a lead and co-starred in US Theater Productions such as "Nuevo California" with the San Diego Repertory Theater and "Little Red", with the Josefina López' Los Angeles based Casa 0101 organization, among others. Magi has also directed many theater productions herself. Magi has already made her indelible mark as the co-writer, producer and lead performer of the Musical Theater production of "Carmen Miranda - The Lady In The Tutti Frutti Hat". She brought to life the yesteryear famous Brazilian Broadway actress with her singing and Samba performances.
In the beginning of her professional career in her native Ensenada, Mexico, Magi presented as an opera singer and with a choral group known as "Voces De Primavera", under the direction of Maestro Jesus Veliz, performing for celebrities, dignitaries and the then president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo. Her teen charm and innate talent won her modeling jobs. Magi Avila soon started to appear in print ads and popular television commercials. Magi also served a short stint as a News Reporter and on-camera talent for the Mexican television network, Televisa.
Magi studied her 4 years of theater and arts at the Autonomous University of Baja California Extension, her M.A. in theater of the body at the University Guadalajara A.K.A. UDG. She then moved to the USA to study at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, for 3 more years. Miss Avila has continued sharpening her acting skills with several acting coaches in Hollywood.
She now lives in Los Angeles, CA. Magi Avila is immensely grateful for all the people she has had the pleasure of collaborating with, throughout her career in the USA and Mexico.
Timothy Wolfer
Award-Winning Filmmaker
For the last ten years Timothy Wolfer has been producing documentaries about humanitarian aid, international development and migration. His work has taken him to 40+ countries; Places like South Sudan to tell stories of the conflict, Bangladesh to cover stories of the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar, and Cuba as the country opened up to the first U.S. humanitarian assistance. Wolfer filmed and produced the feature film “Adopting Haiti”, shot days after the 2010 earthquake; distributed though hulu.com. He has also produced numerous, short docs for PBS stations, winning him a regional Emmy.
Chris Temple & Zach Ingrasci
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci are filmmakers and the founders of Optimist, a non-profit production studio that creates films with impact. They are best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar and Salam Neighbor. Their films have been released by Netflix, Amazon Prime, National Geographic, and The Atlantic. Most recently, they directed the feature documentary, Five Years North, which premiered at Full Frame Film Festival in spring 2020.
Every film they make is accompanied by an impact campaign to create measurable outcomes. Their projects have raised over $91.5 million dollars for the films’ causes and have changed over 275,000 lives.
Scott B. Montgomery
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Scott B. Montgomery is Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Denver. He teaches, researches, curates, and publishes on psychedelic posters and medieval art. His books include Saint Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins of Cologne. Relics, Reliquaries and the Visual Culture of Group Sanctity in Late Medieval Europe (2009) and Casting Our Own Shadows: Recreating the Medieval Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (2012). His published articles include studies of medieval pilgrimage and relic cults as well as psychedelic poster art and the 1960s counterculture. His current research focuses on psychedelic artist Lee Conklin.
Maurice Oniang'o
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Maurice Oniang'o is a versatile award-winning Freelance Multimedia Journalist and Documentary Filmmaker. He has produced for highly rated Television programs such as Project Green, NTV Wild, Giving Nature a Voice and Tazama. He has also produced content for Al Jazeera (AJ+), Africa.com, 100 reporters, Journalists for Transparency (J4T) among others.
Oniango has received extensive training on documentary making, photography and writing in-depth articles. The trainings and fellowship include; Investigative Journalism (RNTC- Netherlands), Documentary Filmmaking (MEDEVA), Investigating Wildlife Crime and Wildlife Photography (National Geographic), Financial Journalism (Bloomberg Media/Strathmore University), Investigate 101 (Africa Uncensored).
Some of his documentaries include; Fall of the Pride; an investigation on mismanagement and corruption in Kenya’s national airline, Saving Snakes Protecting People; a documentary that highlights the issue of snakebites and snake conservation in Kenya and Debt Cycle; an in-depth documentary about impact of Kenya’s debt to China on the common citizens.
He has a keen interest in conservation, corruption, health, education and human rights. He has won various awards including: Environmental Reporter of the year TV- AJEA 2015, Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year (FPA-London), among others.
Lisanne Pajot & James Swirsky
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Lisanne Pajot & James Swirsky produce and direct documentaries about people in the worlds of tech and video games.
Lisanne & James were the directors, producers, editors & distributors of the feature documentary, Indie Game: The Movie.
Indie Game: The Movie made its debut at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, garnering critical acclaim and winning ‘Best Editing’ in the festival’s World Documentary Competition. The film went on to become one of the best reviewed films of the year and was optioned by HBO and producer Scott Rudin.
Lisanne & James were named among Paste Magazine's Best New Filmmakers, RealScreen's Doc Hot Shots IndieWire's Top 40 Influencers in independent film & IGN's Amazing Games People.
They are frequent speakers and consultants on subjects of documentary filmmaking and direct distribution.
Prior to BlinkWorks, Lisanne worked at the CBC as a TV producer. She has a degree and diploma from the Creative Communications program at Red River College and the University of Winnipeg.
James has a background in business & marketing with MBA from the University of Manitoba.
Samuel George
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Samuel George is a documentary filmmaker and analyst for the Bertelsmann Foundation, focusing on the intersection of economics, politics, the digital revolution, and daily life.
Filming on the ground from the Turkish – Syrian border to the factories of Juárez, Mexico, his documentaries dive inside the social impact of critical crossroads around the globe. His last film, Swing State Florida (www.SwingStateFlorida.com) won a series of awards including the Award of Excellence from the Impact DOCS Awards, the Silver Award at the Spotlight Documentary Film Awards, and Best Urban Documentary at the Urban Film Festival.
He is completing a PhD at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. @SamuelGeorge76
Julia MOURRI
Award-Winning Filmmaker
After studying in business school (EDHEC Lille), Julia Mourri turned to journalism in 2013 where, based in Brazil, she took part in the Le Monde newspaper's "Le Monde Académie" programme.
Julia has subsequently collaborated with La Chronique d'Amnesty International, Notre Temps, Les Echos, L'Obs, Courrier International and Vice.
In 2017, she became interested in the challenges of the demographic transition and co-founded, with Clément Boxebeld, the video medium Oldyssey. Together, they have produced more than 50 3-minute videos that give voice to seniors and reports that highlight solutions to the challenges of aging in different countries (Japan, China, India, Brazil, the United States, Quebec, Senegal, South Africa, several European countries) as well as in the regions of France. Their book Oldyssey was published in 2019 by Seuil.
In 2018, they met the South African "Soccer Grannies" and initiated the idea of a South Africa/France grandmothers football game. They directed the feature documentary "Mamies Foot" (meaning "Soccer Grannies" in French) about this adventure.
Later, they created the association "Footeuses à tout âge" with some French grannies to promote the practice of women's football among women over 50 years old.
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Monalisa Mukherji
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Poet, filmmaker, producer, production designer, casting director, costume designer, super mom, company’s chief whip! Monalisa Mukherji, is indeed a woman of many parts.
Born and brought up in Kolkata, Monalisa grew up in a literary environment in one of Kolkata’s enlightened Marwari families. Her mother was a poet while her father was a patron of poets.
Monalisa herself is a splendid writer and her first collection of poems “Kuchh Baked Kavitayein” (Few Baked Poems) has made quite a name for itself.
In 2007, Monalisa with her husband Bauddhayan, formed Little Lamb Films which today is one of India’s leading production houses making television commercials. In 2013 Little Lamb Films ventured into feature films and over the last few years Monalisa has produced two of India’s most awarded and internationally acclaimed films – Teenkahon (2014, Bengali) & The Violin Player (2016, Hindi).
Dan Obarski
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Dan Obarski is a healthcare executive at a Fortune 5 company. He is also Licensed Professional Counselor who has worked in community and emergency behavioral settings and had leadership roles in Medicare and Medicaid. He has his own personal development business. Drawn to history and the arts, Dan has also been a music writer and photographer, led the publishing of the definitive history of the Denver Botanic Gardens, and written for Denver’s alt-weekly newspaper, Westword. The Tale of the Dog is his first feature film.
Matthew Everett
Award-Winning Filmmaker
The creator and director of ‘Britain’s Big Cat Mystery’, Matt Everett, is an accomplished independent film producer, with over 150 broadcast credits to his name. He works routinely for UK Sky Channel 192 ‘Property TV’. He has also received several honours for his previous works, including ‘Awards of Merit’ at both the ‘Accolade Global Film Competition’ in 2017, and the ‘Impact Docs! Awards’ in 2018.
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Shawn Wildermuth
Award-Winning Filmmaker
HELLO WORLD is Shawn's debut feature-length documentary. It's the perfect vehicle for him to tell the story of the world he's spent over thirty years in. He's been tinkering with computers and software since he got a Vic-20 back in the early '80s. He's authored eight books and innumerable articles on software development. You can reach him at his blog at wildermuth.com. He released his first short documentary about his neighborhood which you can see on YouTube.
Ross Anderson
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Ross Anderson (Mr Anderson Limited) is an award-winning creative director and producer located in Abergavenny, Wales.
Ilona Szekeres
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Ilona Szekeres is a documentary filmmaker from Hungary who just finished her Film and New Media studies at New York University Abu Dhabi. She completed NYU Tisch’s Havana Documentary Video Production program and took advanced documentary coursework at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in New York.
Her film Alas won the Best Documentary category of the 2019 Fusion Film Festival at NYU Tisch and both the Audience and Critics' Choice Awards at Gainesville Latino Film Festival’s Short Film Competition. Ilona has worked on film projects in Abu Dhabi, Havana, New York and Hungary.
She will continue the documentary path as she recently got a scholarship to attend DocNomads, an international Documentary Filmmaking graduate program across three countries: Portugal, Hungary and Belgium.
Laura Kamugisha
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Laura Kamugisha is a filmmaker of Congo-Rwandan origin based in Montreal. Her films explore the notions of cultural identity, memories and intergenerational baggage all through poetic visuals. She's almost a graduating student in Film Production from Concordia. Her student film “Mitochondrial” was screened at Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 2020. She is currently working on the writing of two short fiction films.
Jonny Caplan
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Jonny grew up London during the dotcom era and was fortunate to be surrounded by much entrepreneurial opportunity and the sharp evolution of technology. Having featured on major TV shows in the UK, and on stage from just 8 years old, Jonny been in the limelight for most of his career utilizing his vast array of creative abilities. From presenting, to acting & singing on stage, he later excelled as a determined entrepreneur, that laid claim to several awards, patents, innovative products & companies. He is also a keen artists & musician. Jonny founded his first real business at 14 and has innovated in an array of different sectors. Since then, Jonny has played a key role in a range of high-profile technology businesses, and the global start-up ecosystem in general. As CEO & Co-founder of Tech Talk Media, Jonny also serves as Director, Writer and Host (of TechTalk, the Amazon Prime Series on Technology & Innovation + Apple TV+).
Ellie Bernstein
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Closing the Open Door is in the Yip Harburg collection in the Donnell Branch of the New York Public Library, and is distributed by Third World Newsreel. The film was the centerpiece of the AAUP annual meeting in 2002. The film tells the story of the incredible strike of Black and Hispanic students to change the admission standards to the City University of New York-during the era of the civil rights movement.
Waiting for Mercy-The Case Against Mohammed Hossain and Yassin Aref
Waiting for Mercy tells the story of an FBI sting operation that took place in Albany, New York during the winter, spring and summer of 2004. Waiting For Mercy won Best Documentary at the Ballston Spa Film Festival, and was in the ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) Film Festival. It was on Link TV, Free Speech TV and has been seen many cable channels in the United States. It has a national distribution through Third World Newsreel. Mohammed Hossain and Yassin Aref were convicted of terrorism based on the testimony of a criminal informant-Mohammed Hossain was a naturalized US citizen from Bangladesh and Yassin Aref was a young Imam who had entered the US through the United Notions Refugee program.
We are Still Standing-The Stories of Women in Black
The film tells stories of the 20 years of constant struggle of the International movement of Women in Black. Brussels Film Festival, London Feminist Film festival. The film covers stories of Women in Black in Israel, Yugoslavia, Columbia, Seattle Washington and NYC, Women in Black was the largest grassroots Women’s organization with groups in 35 US states and almost all countries of the world.
Ghost Town-The Hebron Story
"Ghost Town: The Hebron Story" tells the stories of Palestinian families in Hebron, Palestine. Hebron is considered the most controversial city in the West Bank because it is the home of the Abrahami mosque-home of the tomb of Abraham and Sarah.
Narrated by renowned actor Martin Sheen. ICCD Capital Region, Riverside Church NY,
Al-Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival, Cleveland Institute of Art and Cinematography, Sanctuary for Independent Media, Jewish-PalestineFilm Festival.
Tim Neeves
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Tim Neeves is a gifted music composer who has adapted his creativity into the art of visual storytelling. Working with leading brands such as National Geographic, World Vision, ITV and NBC, Tim has 17-years’ experience producing/directing on the international stage.
In 2002 heset up the production company Prospect Arts, with offices in both the UK and USA.
Daoud Bouledroua
Award-Winning Filmmaker
From Algerian, German and French origin, Daoud Bouledroua is student in a double master degree in International affairs (with specialization in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action) with SciencesPo Paris and Frei Universität Berlin. After his studies in Social Sciences and Arabic, he had various professional experiences in Lebanon for the UNHCR and for the international peace media NGO Search for Common Ground. In Tunisia, he worked for Human Rights Watch and was a Project and Communications Consultant at the German Agency for development, GIZ. As a keen traveler and passionate about photography and film-making, Daoud made several short documentaries, for example on contemporary culture in the Magreb by interviewing representatives of the humanities and the contemporary and artistic culture in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, on traditional handicrafts in Tunisia and most recently a portrait about the the Portuguese architects Aires Mateus.
Jordan Somers
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Jordan Somers is a filmmaker, writer and photojournalist based out of Seattle, Washington. He is currently attending his second year of a Visual Media program with a specialization in documentary filmmaking and narrative storytelling. Jordan served in the United States Peace Corps in Nicaragua where his passion for storytelling through photography and videography was realized. The year 2020 kicked his passions into overdrive as he began to document the unprecedented social implications of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement, leading him to direct his award-winning documentary, Hope is Not Cancelled, which covered the mural renaissance that was taking place in Seattle. Jordan owes much of his inspiration to his older brother, Luke Somers, who was a photojournalist in Yemen during the Arab Spring.
Sara Barger
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Sara Barger is an award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Washington, DC. She has traveled the world making short films tackling sociopolitical issues. Sara has worked for the U.S. State Department and USAID, filming in developing countries including Iraq, Congo, India, China, Tibet, El Salvador and Honduras. Sara currently teaches filmmaking at American, George Washington and George Mason universities. She previously worked for Discovery Channel, as well as developed the production departments for two national public policy think tanks. Sara holds an MA in Journalism from American University and an MFA in film from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. "Little but Fierce" is her first independent documentary.
Devin A. Rice
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Devin A. Rice is a multi-faceted independent filmmaker, and has been involved in film since finding an old Bolex double 8mm movie camera in a thrift store in the 1980s. Shortly after graduating with a BA in Theatre in 1987, he turned to film and spent the next thirty+ years working in the film industry. He has worked as art dept. PA, prop master, art director, script supervisor, sound recordist, editor, animator, composer, DP, producer and director. He's worked on feature films, TV commercials, art films, infomercials, documentaries, industrial training films and web-oriented media.
In parallel with his film career, Devin has also been a professional composer and musician. He's toured in Europe, the UK and the USA, owned a recording studio and in 2010 won “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album of the Year” for an album produced by Windham Hill Records founder, Will Ackerman. Devin has composed music for film, TV, theatre, radio and modern dance, and recently achieved a Specialist Certificate from Berklee in Orchestration and Composition for Film and TV. He currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA with his wife Tammy.
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A.W. Stevenson
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Andrew grew up in Dublin, Ireland, and is a graduate of Theoretical Physics from TCD. He had no formal training in film, but years of attentive movie-going spurred him to abandon a scientific career in pursuit of a more salient, creative passion.
In 2014, with help from family and friends, he wrote and directed his debut short film 'Not with a Bang But a Whimper', which screened at a number of festivals around Ireland. His second short ‘Man to Man’ premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh, 2017, and received a number of awards at International Irish festivals. His third short, 'Cut-throat', and fourth 'Down The Road', are currently entering their festival run.
He is always open to collaborate on commercial projects, music videos, and films, and is presently developing a feature screenplay with funding from The Irish Arts Council.
LeRhonda Manigault-Bryant
Award-Winning Filmmaker
LeRhonda ("Rhon") Manigault-Bryant is a professor, filmmaker and founder of ConjureGirlBlue Productions, a small media company specializing in nonfiction storytelling.
Tanya Stadelmann
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Tanya Stadelmann is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at William & Mary as well as a documentary filmmaker based in Richmond, VA. She has lived and worked in Switzerland, Australia and the U.S. Her films have been broadcast on public television and shown at film festivals, conferences and galleries in Europe, Australia and the U.S. Tanya's work combines photography with archival footage, interviews, writing, soundscapes, experimental video and poetic documentaries. Inspired by the lived experience, topics in her work focus on the human side of environmental issues, such as the healing powers of nature and the slow violence of chemical pollution. Tanya enjoys collaborations with other artists and scientists and has received several fellowships and grants for interdisciplinary film and video projects in Europe and the U.S.
Larry Foley
Award-Winning Filmmaker
"It's always a highlight of this job to recommend anything from the gifted filmmaker and state treasure Larry Foley--anything from The Lost Squadron and The Buffalo Flows to The First Boys of Spring."
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Veteran broadcast journalist, educator and documentary filmmaker Larry Foley is professor and chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Arkansas. In 2017, he was inducted into the Mid America Emmy Silver Circle for a distinguished career invested in teaching, reporting, writing, producing and directing stories, mostly about his beloved home state of Arkansas. Foley was honored because he personifies the spirit of innovation, passion, creativity and commitment that are hallmarks of excellence in television arts and sciences.
Foley’s films have earned seven Mid America Emmys from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and 20 Emmy nominations in writing, journalistic enterprise, history, cultural history, special program and community service. His films have also received four Best of Festival of Media Arts awards from the international Broadcast Education Association.
Christina Zorich
Award-Winning Filmmaker
For the past 30 years, I’ve been a working professional actor, acting teacher, director and producer. I’ve taught and performed in some prestigious and respected theaters and training institutions on the East and West Coast; producing music videos, a web series and plays. However, my life changed in Hollywood at a Christmas party in 2012; I met Erica Greve of Unlikely Heroes.
At that time, I was almost completely unaware of the existence of human sex trafficking. I remember being dumbfounded as Erica shared with me the level of devastation she witnessed first hand of many of these young victims: young women and children. She was a registered nurse and knew that no medical treatment or facilities existed to restore these victims in need of substantive aftercare treatment. She had made a decision to commit her life to building, staffing, and operating homes for these young people. And, was presently in the process of raising awareness, raising funds and filling these homes with children she and others had managed to get out of this horrific criminal industry.
I gave her all my contacts of every filmmaker I knew; I wanted to help, hoping that they would shoot footage for her NGO to help fundraise. After Erica met with my contacts, she and I spoke and she said, "Christina, all the money I raise has to go to the girls.” Everyone had asked to get paid to shoot the footage. It was at this moment I realized acts of service, small and large, were required to fight this fight. This is when I first got the idea for The New Abolitionists.
A year or so later, I sold property back in New York City. I made the decision to do with my money what my heart knew must be done. I began researching and investigating human sex trafficking. I began apprenticing under a documentarian. Then I started shooting; traveling twice to Thailand and Cambodia with a ministry committed to eradicating human sex trafficking. They introduced me to other such like-minded NGO anti-trafficking groups. They, like Erica, were on the frontlines of this fight. They had dedicated their lives, despite a constant and ever present danger to their own personal welfare, to attacking human sex trafficking on every front. And, I got to see the results—the living fruits of their efforts. They were making a difference: one life at a time.
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Edgar Grech-Cumbo
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Successful Sales Executive working for some of the largest tech companies in the world. I decided I wanted to take a step back from work and see the world. I took a year off and did two trips around the world. From getting tattoo'd by a monk in Thailand to getting chased by a Mountain Gorilla that is going extinct in Africa. It was an adventurous year and I recorded all of it.
Abdulaziz Alsuwailem
Award-Winning Filmmaker
● AbdulAziz Alsuwailem is a Saudi Director/DP, who attended the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) for his cinematographic studies. After that, he attended many workshops with Peter Stein, Richard H. Topham and Abelcine.
● After that, AbdulAziz worked for several projects in the States, before his return to Saudi Arabia.
● Since that, he worked on numerous commercials, music videos, and documentaries.
Florence Ayisi
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Florence AYISI is an award-winning professor of International Documentary Film at the University of South Wales, UK. She has taught film and media studies at various universities in the UK for over 20 years.
The main focus and vision of Florence's film-making is constructing and presenting counter cinematic narratives from a woman-centred and Pan-African perspective - telling African stories in which the subjects have 'agency' and a 'voice'. Her work refocuses the cinematic lens to not only decolonize the African gaze and image, but to also redefine how African people and their cultures are perceived and imagined.
Florence has made several films in Cameroon and Tanzania. Her first feature-length documentary film, Sisters in Law (Co-directed with Kim Longinotto, 2005) has won over 30 prestigious film awards including Cannes Film Festival - Prix Art et Essai, Audience Award at International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), The Peabody Award (USA) for Outstanding Achievement in Electronic Media. In 2006, Sisters in Law was long-listed for Academy Award nomination - Oscars.
Some of her other documentary films include Zanzibar Soccer Queens (2007), Art of this Place: Women Artists in Cameroon (2011), Handing Down Time - Cameroon (2012), Cameroonian Women in Motion (2012), Transforming Lives: Rural Development in Cameroon (2014), and Zanzibar Soccer Dreams (co-directed with Catalin Brylla, 2016).
Florence was recently presented with the ICON Award at the 2018 Africa Week; University of West of England in Bristol, U.K. The award recognises the "exceptional contributions by individuals in promoting Pan-Africanism on a personal, national and global scale".
In 2017, Zanzibar Soccer Dreams (2016) was shortlisted for the prestigious AHRC - Arts and Humanities Research Council - Research in Film Awards. Florence was awarded the UK Film Council 'Breakthrough Brits Award for Film Talent' in 2008.
Rose Arce
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Rose Arce makes her directorial debut with Outbreak: The First Response, which had an exclusive digital premier on Yahoo Life. Rose is Executive Producer of Soledad O'Brien productions and a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist whose work includes 15 documentaries, including Her Name Was Steven, Gary and Tony Have a Baby, Rescued and The War Comes Home. As a print reporter at New York Newsday, she shared the Pulitzer Prize for spot news reporting.
Prior to Soledad O'Brien Productions, Rose was a Senior Producer at CNN for 15 years where she worked on documentaries and breaking news. She was also a producer at CBS News and WCBS.
She is a graduate of Barnard College and a longtime NY City resident.
Brett Forrest
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Brett Forrest is a multimedia journalist in Northern Nevada with a heavy emphasis on documentary filmmaking. "Victoria's Foil" is his directorial debut. He earned his Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia Journalism School. Prior to graduate school, Brett was an on-air producer for a nationally syndicated entertainment news show called Daily Blast LIVE, where he earned a national Telly award for his work. Before that, he was a promotions and commercial producer for FOX31 Denver. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with bachelor degrees in Film and Anthropology. Brett is an avid mountaineer, snowboarder, and world traveler. He's climbed all 58 of Colorado's 14,000' mountains and is an undefeated amateur boxer (1-0).
Dounia Benjelloun Mezian
Award-Winning Filmmaker
The childhood of Dounia Benjelloun Mezian, who was born in Morocco, was markedly influenced by her grandfather Hadj Abbas Benjelloun, a film distributor for Columbia Pictures and United International Pictures as well as the owner of a chain of cinemas. Dounia was therefore immersed in the world of film from a very young age. It was her love of film that inspired her to study in the United States to earn a degree in Communication at the American University in Washington DC in 1983.
After graduation, she worked as an assistant to the location manager for the film “Ishtar” produced by Columbia Pictures as well as in the advertising department on the Moroccan set of the film “The Living Daylights” in the James Bond series.
Theses experiences encouraged her to found Dounia Productions in Casablanca in 1986. Like her grandfather before her, Dounia managed seven cinemas in Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier between 1991 and 2000. She distributed Columbia Pictures and United International Picture films to all the cinemas in Morocco.
Dounia now has a personal preference for producing documentaries and commercials. She has extensive knowledge in a variety of international film industry sectors from producing films to advertising to public relations.
In addition to being a producer, Dounia Benjelloun Mezian is also a film director and her latest film “The Restoration of the Saadian Tombs” was awarded a Silver Dolphin at the 2017 Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards and in 2018 a Gold Camera at the US International Film & Video Festival and received the Award of the Best Cinematography at the Madrid International Film & Video Festival.
In 2019, her film is also rewarded by the Impact Docs Festival of la Jolla in California, receiving the Award of Merit.
To extend her expertise, Dounia Benjelloun Mezian will shortly focus on the production of full-length films.
Nial Fulton & Sarah Ferguson
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Nial Fulton is a multi-award winning producer and director of internationally recognised films. His work on investigative documentary is ground-breaking, putting cameras where access has never before been granted, as seen in the critically acclaimed US series Borderland and the explosive series on domestic violence, Hitting Home. Nial has received many awards, including AACTA, Walkley and Amnesty Awards for this films.
Sarah Ferguson is one of Australia's most respected and successful investigative journalists and film-makers. Her exemplary and courageous work has secured her reputation, along with her increasing global profile, built on hard hitting interviews with international figures. Sarah has received multiple journalistic and film-making awards, including the Gold Walkey, six Logies, six Walkleys and AACTA awards for documentary.
Revelation is Nial and Sarah's second collaboration.
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Philip Lewis
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Dr. Philip Lewis is a Professor in the School of Film, Media and Theatre at Georgia State University, as well as a film director and writer. He is the Director of the Georgia Media Arts Consortium which produces films, television and media in all forms -- television shows, feature films, music videos and documentaries -- using talented students as crew. He has produced and directed dozens of films and television programs on four continents and is an award winning documentary film director (winning an ACE in 1990, and the Local Legacy Award by the Library of Congress in 1999). Over his 37-year career in the industry, he has worked for CBS, NBC, MTV, Sony Pictures, TNT Productions and other major media companies throughout Europe, America and Australia.See More
Sergii Trofymchuk
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Sergii Trofymchuk was born in 1988 in the town of Shepetivka, Ukraine. He obtained his higher education on architecture at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. He shows big interest in making photos and videos of wildlife. In 2015, he launched the serial "Rivers of Ukraine". In 2018 the TV channel "Fauna" hosted premiere show of the first movies "Rivers of Ukraine. Teteriv " and "Rivers of Ukraine. Stokhid. Part I", at the moment the work with the serial is being continued.
Josh Tickell & Rebecca Tickell
Award-Winning Filmmakers
JOSH TICKELL is an author, film director and expert on sustainability.
In 1997 Tickell captured global attention by driving a French Fry oil-powered “Veggie Van” across the United States and jumpstarting the biodiesel revolution.
His journey culminated in 2008 with the release of his first feature film, FUEL. FUEL won the Sundance Audience Award for Best Documentary, was shortlisted for an Oscar, was screened in the White House and was released theatrically globally. Tickell and his wife and directing partner, Rebecca Tickell have released a number of award-winning environmental films including, The Big Fix and PUMP, Good Fortune and The Earthing Movie.
In 2017, Tickell published his book, Kiss the Ground, How the Food You Eat Can Reverse Climate Change, Heal Your Body and Ultimately Save the World. An Amazon Bestseller in four categories, Kiss the Ground details how the effects of climate change can be reversed through regenerating the worlds soils. After 7 years of work, 2020 is the perfect year to launch Kiss the Ground (the documentary) narrated by environmental activist and actor, Woody Harrelson.
Josh’s most recent book, The Revolution Generation – How Millennials can Save the World Before It’s Too Late, gives young people the tools they need to reshape political power, change the climate conversation and, to save Planet Earth’s ecosystems. The documentary of the same title is hosted and narrated by Michelle Rodriguez.
REBECCA HARRELL TICKELL was on the basement floor of a monastery, covered in buckets of goo while giving birth to a giant squid-like baby that was trying to eat her. At that moment, the actress knew she was ready for a career change.
As a young girl, Rebecca had a lead role in the Christmas classic, Prancer, a film that had touched many people’s lives. Today, Rebecca Tickell is a director, producer, and environmental author and activist. She produced the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Audience award-winning, environmentally themed movie, FUEL, and co-directed/produced The Big Fix, an Official Selection of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Rebecca’s 2014 directorial debut (with husband Josh) was the critically acclaimed documentary, Pump, narrated by Jason Bateman. In 2016, Rebecca directed the John Paul DeJoria story, Good Fortune, as well as forthcoming documentaries Kiss the Ground, The Earthing Movie and The Revolution Generation with her husband Josh.
After spending several years investigating and documenting the impact and root cause of the 2010 BP oil spill, Rebecca became ill and was left with permanent damage from exposure to the oil and dispersant in the atmosphere.
Today, Rebecca and Josh live with their two children on a working ranch near Santa Barbara. They are committed to lives of optimal health for themselves, their children, and the planet.
Alita Graziano
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Born in America and raised in Australia from age 8, Alita Graziano grew up amidst poverty, prejudice, mental illness and domestic violence. Watching movies and making home videos with her siblings filled her formative years. Once older, she branched into the visual arts, music and writing. The need to create always over powered any absence of money or resources. She is still based in Australia and continues her journey as a female artist.
Frederick Taylor
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Fr3dR1cK Taylor, founder of Tomorrow Pictures, is a creative entrepreneur, filmmaker and culture consultant with a passion for documenting amazing stories and sharing them through digital media. His work and travels have taken him around the world, telling stories about people, the challenges they face and the inspiring solutions they offer.
The idea of galvanizing audiences through true stories of people doing extraordinary things serves as a source of endless inspiration to Fr3deR1cK. He makes media and creates experiences that ask thought provoking questions, teach us something and entertain us in the process. His sensibility lends itself to real people projects, documentaries, and social justice themed media.
Fr3deR1cK believes, "As our world gets smaller through global connections and technological advances, the opportunities to share information and affect change keep getting bigger."
The adventure into content creation started with a film education at Temple University's highly regarded documentary filmmaking program, followed by a graduate degree in Communications from Georgia State.
While teaching at the Atlanta College of Art and Clark Atlanta University, Fr3der1cK took the leap into hiphop music videos and TV content for legends like Russell Simmons, Outkast and directed a one-hit wonder called Da’Dip that had 15 minutes of fame on MTV and was nominated for awards for its visuals and creative style.
His belief that good business hinges on inclusion of the diversity of culture led him to open Tomorrow Pictures to manage and create content for television, corporate clients, commercials and web, as well as to continue to take on passion projects… documentaries, social justice videos, non-profit projects and the cause related work that gives his passion for telling visual stories purpose and meaning.
Fr3deR1cK says, "A cornerstone of my philosophy and the mantra for my company is to develop media concepts with diverse and universal appeal with the highest of production standards." Fr3deR1cK actively encourages and demands diversity in staffing and hiring in order to accomplish this goal. His commitment to training and mentoring young people of color, women and LGBTQ youth is unwavering.
His civil rights documentary Counter Histories: Rock Hill currently is screening at the Cannes Film Market, has aired nationally on PBS and was featured on Magic Johnson's television network Aspire! as part of the American Black Film Festival series. It continues to win best documentary and audience awards in film festivals around the world. Other doc work includes After the Fall: HIV Grows Up directed and shot on location in Romania and featuring young people who survived the pediatric AIDS Epidemic. Other films include Boxing Chicks: Women Boxers, and in post-production now, the story of a transgender tween coming of age in Los Angeles.
As an artist Fr3deR1cK builds experiences and installations with his photography, video, sound design. Fr3deR1cK serves on the Board for the Buckhead Club, is a guest lecturer at University of Southern California and is regularly invited to speak on panels, at festivals, at conferences and universities.
Clay Vaughan
Award-Winning Filmmaker
In 2008, Clay Vaughan had the desire to grow in his understanding of the world by utilizing the art of film. He produced a documentary for an orphanage situated on the African Savannah of northern Uganda. It was through that experience that he realized his passion and the trajectory of his life. But it didn't end there for Clay. Five years later he found himself heading back to the United States with a wealth of experience after living in the jungles of Haiti. He spent this time developing his love and respect for the art of film. He had experienced, for years, the difficulties of those impoverished and violent cultures. It was through the humbling and difficult circumstances that his passion was reignited with a deeper focus. Life is a romance. Every minute is used to shape us into who we will ultimately come to be. There is tragedy, irony, and comedy all intertwined in the story of life. Special moments only come once or twice in our life stories, so he chose to use his passion to capture the heart of humanity by telling its. Whether it be a romantic engagement, that special wedding day, or simply a story of love, Reverent will be there to capture a glimpse of that special moment to be cherished for years to come. In addition to the desire to capture the romance of life, Reverent's goal is to use these passions to tell stories for business growth through informational videos for employee and operational safety, business proposal presentations, corporate identity, and advertising. Over the years Reverent has assisted many companies in their advertising goals as well as internal organization and is there to help you!See More
Dmitriy Shpilenok
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Graduated from Moscow State Art and Cultural University, majoring in film and TV directing. Documentary filmmaker. Lead operator of the film «Kamchatka Bears. Life Begins» (24 awards, 2018 Golden Eagle award in the category Best Documentary, Russian Geographical Society award in the category Best Media Project). Shot video for Russian and international TV channels (including BBC World). Author of projects “Priroda Show” and “I — a bear!”.
Juan C. Dávila
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Juan C. Dávila is a documentary filmmaker and multi-media journalist. His work focuses on environmentalism, social movements and globalization. Dávila has directed two feature documentary films: Compañeros de lucha (2012) and Vieques: una batalla inconclusa (2016). His documentary filmography also includes the short-documentary film, La generación del estanbai (2016), which won “Best National Short Film” at Festival Internacional de Cine Fine Arts in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Dávila currently works as a correspondent for Democracy Now!, his journalist work has also been featured in: TeleSur, the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, and The Indypendent in New York. He holds a Bachelor in Arts of Communication from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico (2011) and a Master of Arts in Social Documentation from the University of California, Santa Cruz (2015). Right now, he is the artist in residence of Agitarte, a cultural organization of working-class artists based in Puerto Rico, whose work focuses on supporting grassroots social movements, and agitating for liberation.
Matt Blackburn
Award-Winning Filmmaker
American Director, Matt Blackburn, residing in Atlanta, Georgia, began his career in advertising as an Art Director in 1996 and graduated to directing his first commercial in London, England in 2012. In 2015 Matt Co-directed Publicolor, a short documentary highlighting a program for at risk youth in Brooklyn, New York. Publicolor was awarded Winner of the 2015 Independent Documentary Awards, Hollywood California and was an official selection for Marché Du Film at the Cannes Film Festival. Matt partnered with award winning Cinematographer Ehsan Abbasi in 2017 to start ORDER, a film production company. With offices in Los Angeles and Atlanta they have created award winning short films and are currently working on their first feature length.
Luca Ammendola
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Luca started as a music video and advertising director in Paris. He worked in Cinecittà, Rome, on various projects as an AD. Then began making documentaries. He has made a short documentary AKAMASOA in Madagascar following the plight of young children in the slums. DEAR CHILD is is first feature film.
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Mann Robinson
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Mann Robinson, is an American Writer, Film Director, Producer, Actor, Businessman & Entrepreneur.
In 2014 this Michigan native retired his self-built, lucrative franchise computer store, ‘Geeked Up’. He moved to Atlanta to open a film production house. Then, he established the talent school, Atlanta Actors Workshop, which casted over 700 actors. All of these endeavors in pursuit of following his deepest passion - film.
A few years later, Mann debuted his first completed work at the 2017 Orlando Urban Film & Music Festival. Not only was he nominated, he won first place in two categories on the same short-film... ‘Slangin Birds’ written by the lead actor comedian Nick Lewis. Also starring comedians Shawty Shawty, Bo P Barnes and Tyrone Burston, just to name a few.
As an Award-Winning Movie Director and having produced a best comedy project, ‘Metro Wealth Films’ continues to be a dominant force within the film industry. His highly anticipated first full-feature drama, ‘Turnt’, starring Jamal Woolard, Torrei Hart, Benzino, any many more actors, catapulted into the birth of the documentary... ‘Welcome to the Industry’. Both are scheduled to be released early 2020.
The recent wrap of the Documentary ‘Homelessness is Not a Crime, written by Mann Robinson and produced by Monique Scott, is set to be presented to major networks in 2020. Embarking on another genre, Mann’s horror sequel, ‘Sebastian’, is also in post-production with scheduled a festival run 2020.
On the executive producer’s side, Mann recently worked with fellow film director, Coke Daniels on his project “His Hers and The Truth” starring Dorien Wilson, Brad James, Terri J. Vaughn, Cocoa Brown, Duane Finley and more. After being presented at the 2019 American Black Film Festival, this hilarious comedy was acquired by the streaming giant UMC and landed a second licensing deal with BET, set to release 2020.
Up next is a true love story titled “A Love To Die For’, written and directed by Mann Robinson, starring Emmy award winning actor, Sean Blakemoore. This film is a SAG project, which is set to enter the pre-production stages in January 2020.
Mann’s achievements & tenured business skill set, serve to collaborate well with other entities within the entertainment realm. The recent solidification of the partnership between the renown Regal Theater and Mann Robinson Productions is sure to further this film maker’s notoriety.
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Jon Cortegoso Otaduy
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Jon Cortegoso, the director of The Last Day on Duty, has also recorded, written and edited the documentary, and has been 3 years of intense work and hard recording conditions, to reach the soul of the protagonists in very complicated work.
"SOTANO" Shortfilm, 2009
"CRUCE" Shortfilm, 2010
"EL LIBRO DE LOS CORAZONES" Shortfilm
"LA ULTIMA UGARDIA" Feature Documentary Film
Julia Guggisberg Hannud & Catharina Scarpellini
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Julia Hannud graduated from FAAP (Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado) in Sao Paulo and started her career working between short and full lenght movies and publicity agencies. After work for VICE Brazil and for the website UOL she was the producer at some big film companies like Bandeira Filmes and Novi Filmes (located on Serbia). Currently she is a freelancer producer and Director at UMA FILMES.
Filmography:
Call Boy (short, 2016) - Director
Gabriel ( short, DOC, 2017) - Director ( Bogoshorts, 2017)
A mothers Love (short, DOC, 2018) - Director and Producer
11 Festivals around the world and Selected for Bafta 2019 Short List
Enclosure ( full-length, DOC, 2019) - Director and Producer
Best Documentary - Ierapetra Festival
Francis Luta
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Francis Luta is a Canadian filmmaker, born in the Philippines, with works ranging from fiction and non-fiction. He started out as a graphic designer in Toronto Canada, then moved to Berlin Germany to work as an installation artist intern for art duo ‘GodsDogs’ while working two part-time jobs as an art director for galeries ‘Michael Janssen’ and ‘Loop Raum’. One year later he moved back to Toronto to exhibit his first-ever solo art show “Trichophilia” in 2011. He then became an Art Director and curator for Eastern European art gallery ‘Bezpala Brown’. In 2012 he shifted his focus on videography. He directed the short film “Seeing” in 2014, produced by Oscar-winning cinema lens company Cooke Optics.
In 2015 he directed a short documentary “The Hammer Band: Music Child” that won Best Music Video at the Toronto Short Film Festival. In 2016 he directed a short biography film on Adam Shoalts “Explorer” which premiered at the Victoria Film Festival. The same year his social commentary documentary “Project Gelb” premiered at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. In 2017 he wrote and directed a short horror film “Vivid” produced by Canon Canada. His most recent projects include his first feature-length documentary “Alone Across The Arctic” and biopic “Brent Everett x”.
Alexyn Scheller
Award-Winning Filmmaker
A film maker obsessed with capturing the magic of the unexplored and hard to get to places. A part time film-maker, he has previously won an award in 2017 in the Festival For Family for the category Family Film and Writing.
Dimitri Yuri
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Dimitri Yuri is a Brazilian screenwriter/director based in Doha, Qatar. After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University (majoring in Art History), Dimitri began to write and direct commercials for a variety of reputable companies such as Ooredoo, Qatar Petroleum, and Qatar Airways. Dimitri created and directed the pilot for the Al Jazeera Arabic variety show "About Cinema" which was later picked up for a season. Dimitri’s latest script, Blood at the Root , won the Gold Prize at
the 2018 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards. His short narrative film Falling Leaves received nominations and awards from a variety of international festivals, as well as being featured in Short of the Week. Dimitri currently works as a Writer/Director for The Film House, a Qatar-based production company.
Lisa Punz & Michael Hecht
Award-Winning Filmmakers
The filmmakers, Lisa Punz and Michael Hecht, from Austria and Germany, musicologists with a background in ethnomusicology, run a media production company in Vienna. Not only there, but also in the many places around the world they have gone to document unique music-cultural traditions, they have repeatedly been confronted by the phenomenon of cultural identity loss. That is why in 2015 they began to work on a documentary with a similar focus in their own city.
Alejandra Medellín
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Alejandra was born in Mexico City. She began working in documentary filmmaking as assistant director in the short film 400 Meters, selected in 10 festivals. Her passion for biology took her closer to researching the biggest ecosystems in Mexico, amongst which is Xochimilco, where she fell in love with the Axolotls. Alejandra believes that all ecological problems are larger than believed, and by documenting axolotls with that perspective, she gave them a whole personality, allowing herself to discover their worlds. She finished her filmmaking studies in the Iberoamerican University, where she has been a part of several film projects, documentaries and fiction.
Benjamin Jordan
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Benjamin Jordan grew up in Toronto, Ontario and broke into the world of visual arts through pursuits of fashion and advertising photography. In 2006, Jordan and three friends rode their skateboards across Canada, during which he discovered his passion of producing Adventure Travel Documentaries.
He remained out West and has since focused all of his energy into partnering with sponsors, to produce documentaries and publicity, through his unique brand of inspirational and philanthropic adventures.
Prior to completing his record-breaking paraglider voyage from Vancouver to Calgary last summer, he was spending time in Malawi, creating the infrastructure needed for the country's first Paragliding School: The School of Dreams, which opens to the public this year.
şahin yiğit
Award-Winning Filmmaker
He was born in 1980 in Istanbul.He started his career as a camera assistant and has been working as a film director for the last 10 years. Sahin Yiğit has been involved in hundreds of projects in his career.took part in many international projects.He started his feature film in 2016.is married and has one son.
Dr. Elizabeth A. Castle & Christina D. King
Award-Winning Filmmakers
Dr. Elizabeth A. Castle brings almost 20 years of experience as a scholar, activist, and media maker working in collaboration with Native Nations and underrepresented communities. Warrior Women is based on the research done for her book "Women were the Backbone, Men were the Jawbone: Native Women’s Activism in the Red Power Movement."
While completing her Ph.D. at Cambridge University, she worked as a policy associate for President Clinton’s Initiative on Race and in 2001 she served as a delegate for the Indigenous World Association at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. While working as an academic specialist for UC Berkeley’s Oral History Office, she received the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Santa Cruz under the supervision of Professors Angela Davis and Bettina Aptheker.
Dr. Castle was a professor in the Native Studies Department at the University of South Dakota and is the founder and Executive Director of The Warrior Women Oral History Project. Castle has numerous publications including “The Original Gangster: The Life and Times of Red Power Activist Madonna Thunder Hawk.” Castle is a committed anti-racist ally and descended from the Pekowi band of the Shawnee in Ohio - both shape how she engages with community-based scholarship and organizing. Warrior Women is Castle’s directorial debut.
Christina D. King - A member of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma, Christina’s work spans commercials, documentary, film, and television with a focus on human rights issues, civic engagement through storytelling, and democratizing filmmaker opportunities for minority voices.
King started her career in broadcast news, before going on to produce commercials, television, feature films and documentaries.
King most recently debuted the narrative feature film We The Animals at Sundance 2018 to critical success. The film was awarded the NEXT Innovator Award. King’s other producing credits include This May Be The Last Time (Sundance 2014), which explores the origins of Native Mvskogee worship songs in Oklahoma, as well as the POV documentary Up Heartbreak Hill.
Other production credits include Ric Burns and Chris Eyre’s, American Experience: Tecumseh’s Vision, as well as Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story, Pushing The Elephant (Independent Lens), Election Day (POV), Six by Sondheim (HBO), Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, Che, and Seven Deadly Sins (Showtime).
King is an alumna of the Time Warner Native Producing Fellowship and The Sundance Institute Story & Edit Labs. Warrior Women is her directorial debut.Director Statement
Jonny Caplan
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Jonny grew up London during the dotcom era and was fortunate to be surrounded by much entrepreneurial opportunity and the sharp evolution of technology. Having featured on major TV shows in the UK, and on stage from just 8 years old, Jonny been in the limelight for most of his career utilizing his vast array of creative abilities. From presenting, to acting & singing on stage, he later excelled as a determined entrepreneur, that laid claim to several awards, patents, innovative products & companies. He is also a keen artists & musician. Jonny founded his first real business at 14 and has innovated in an array of different sectors. Since then, Jonny has played a key role in a range of high-profile technology businesses, and the global start-up ecosystem in general. As CEO & Co-founder of Tech Talk Media, Jonny also serves as Director, Writer and Host (of TechTalk, the Amazon Prime Series on Technology & Innovation + Apple TV+).
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Eva Daoud
Award-Winning Filmmaker
International Award-winning Bahraini Film Director and Producer
Over 130 International Film Festival Screenings to date
First Short Film was a Winner of the Black Pearl Jury Prize for Best Student Film at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2010)
Graduate Film Maker from the New York Film Academy (2011)
Graduate Degree holder in Economics and Management (2002)
Early career spanned Marketing, Education, Management, Journalism and Broadcasting
Avid Purveyor of World Ancient history and mythology
Invited to be on the Jury of Film Selection Committees in several International Film Festivals
Serves often as a mentor and instructor to aspiring Film Makers. Conducted three film making workshops with the Organization for Youth and Sport in Bahrain.
Frequent Lecturer on the art of Film Making
Filmography
Salman bin Hamad – A Vision of Promise (Bahrain 2020)
The Light Thief (Bahrain and Spain, 2015)
A Spring Has Passed By (Bahrain, 2014)
Yearnings (Bahrain, 2013)
Water Genie (Bahrain, 2012)
Memories of Love (Syria, 2011)
The New Cinderella (UAE, 2010)
Eric Westrom
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Eric Westrom is the director of “FOLLOWING THE LIEUTENANT.” For over a decade commercials produced by Eric helped Boise businesses and KTVB news programs attract new clients and viewers. The Boise Advertising Federation and the Idaho State Broadcasters Association have recognized his work as among the best in Idaho. Eric recently began working for Idaho Public Television as a director of videography for Idaho Experience. Idaho Experience is an award winning documentary series that brings to life the stories of the extraordinary people and defining events that have shaped Idaho’s past and present.
Eric grew up in Missoula, Montana. He became an avid cyclist in his 20s and spent several years racing mountain bikes in Idaho. He can sometimes be found roaming Idaho’s trails and remote roads. His passion for cycling, adventure, and history drew him to the story of The 25th Infantry’s Bicycle Corps. This is his first documentary.
Giridhar Nayak K
Award-Winning Filmmaker
At the beginning of my career, my passion for visual storytelling led me to work as an apprentice to Sandesh Kadur, a BAFTA award-winning film-maker and National Geographic Fellow. During this time, I worked on wildlife documentaries, such as 'Hostile Planet' & 'Wild Cats of India' for National Geographic and 'Our Planet' for Netflix, as a field assistant. My Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering helped me gain design & fabrication experience, with which I built innovative camera supports for camera traps and film cameras, which have been used all over India for National Geographic shoots.
After gaining valuable experience in India, I moved to the United States to pursue a Master's of Fine Arts in Film Production at Full Sail University and graduated as Valedictorian in December 2019. During my master's degree, I worked in various roles for several short films and documentaries, roles including Producer, Director of Photography, Camera Operator, Grip & Gaffer, Production Designer, etc.
I am currently exploring stories related to human experiences, culture, and environmental issues. ‘dhīvaraḥ | ... way of life’ is my first passion project in this direction.See More
Steven O' Riordan
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Steven O' Riordan is an award-winning feature-length documentary producer and director. His works “The Forgotten Maggies”, “No Limbs No Limits” and “My Life” have been broadcast in 16 countries worldwide and seen by nearly 15 mi
His No. 1 bestselling book “Whispering Hope” published by the Orion publishing company in the UK chronicles the remarkable success he and survivors of institutional abuse had when they sought and secured a historic state apology in Ireland.
Having completed his studies at Bath Spa University, Steven set about developing and creating work that explored the issue of women's rights, social inclusion and diversity within Irish society. Steven has worked with an array of people including politicians, NGO's, schools, universities and leading businesses throughout Ireland, the UK and America.
Steven's work has been broadcast on the BBC in the United Kingdom, RTE and TG4 in Ireland. He travels extensively giving talks about his work, the importance of social inclusion, equal rights and providing advice and support on how to create and develop better communications to enhance business potential, public sector outputs and NGO campaigning.
Pedro Pires
Award-Winning Filmmaker
After collaborating with François Girard and Robert Lepage, 1998 Emmy Award winner Pedro Pires directed the short films "Danse Macabre" in 2008 which won 43 awards internationally, and "HOPE" in 2010, which won a Telefilm Canada prize for Outstanding Canadian Short. In 2012, he partnered with Lepage to co-direct the feature "Triptych". The film received a Honorable mention of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlinale International Film Festival. In 2019, he released his first documentary feature "Alexandre le fou" for which he acted as Producer, Writer and Director. The film won Best Editing in a Feature Length Documentary at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards and was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film.
Paul Roberts
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Though a student of film making, Diagnosing Healthcare is Paul's first film. Paul is also the owner of Roberts Consulting, PLLC, a medical case management firm in Tampa, FL. Paul's experience as an RN case manager with over 20 years of experience, prompted him to develop an alternative health care plan (which he dubbed "Coordinated Care for All"). His plan saves 40% over the costs associated with the current U.S. health care system (a savings of $1.4 Trillion/year) and also improves the quality of care delivered. The plan, which is showcased in the film, was endorsed by the Case Management Society of America.
Igal Hecht
Award-Winning Filmmaker
In 1999, Igal Hecht created Chutzpa Productions Inc. His award winning films have been described as controversial and thought provoking. His films have dealt with human rights issues to pop culture. Throughout his twenty-year career, Igal Hecht has been involved in the production of over fifty documentary films and over twenty television series. Igals films and television series have been screened nationally and internationally on Netflix, BBC, Documentary Channel, CBC, YES-TV (Canada), HBO Europe and many others.
Matthew Seger
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Matt Seger is a 27 year old filmmaker, living in Brooklyn, New York. His documentary work focuses on music, art and sub-culture. He’s the co-founder of Underhill Productions, a production company and collective of young filmmakers based in New York City.
Matt’s films are typically character driven stories, capturing real moments with a focused cinematic perspective. His passion for music and art inspire his work from both the narratives told, to the filmmaking techniques and approach.
His work can be viewed on platforms like The Atlantic, PBS, Vice, Condé Nast, Spotify, The Fader, I-D Mag, CNN and more.
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Carl Eneroth
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Film Director Carl Eneroth (born 1967) runs Stockholm Social Innovation Lab since 2016, producing content for online executive education and making documentaries, always with storytelling at the core. Documentaries cover topics such as climate change, human rights, mental health and civil courage, as well as exploring states of flow and co-creation in sub-cultures like choirs, street dance, theatres and endurance sports. His documentaries have been screened in Sweden, Japan and USA and has earned some 20 official selections at international film festivals of which 7 award winning. "All the Way - The Making of Swimrun Champions" is his first feature Documentary.
In an increasingly polarized world there is a need for stories that speak to our common humanity and interconnectedness with nature. Stories that unite us.
SPOTLIGHT
DOCUMENTARY
FILM AWARDS
Jane Castle
Award-Winning Filmmaker
Jane Castle is a multi-award-winning filmmaker whose direction credits include the 52-minute documentary, Sixty Thousand Barrels and the award-winning short drama Roadside Café. She is one of Australia’s top cinematographers, having worked extensively in the US and Australia shooting feature films, documentaries, commercials and short films, as well as a vast range of music videos for performers such as Prince, U2, Mary J Blige, Usher and INXS. In 1993 Jane became the second ever woman to be accredited by the prestigious Australian Cinematographer’s Society (ACS). She has won the Stockholm, Kodak, Elles Tournent and ACS Awards for Best Cinematography. Over the years Jane has combined her filmmaking with her environmental activism, making cutting edge viral campaign videos for groups such as Greenpeace and the Total Environment Centre. When the Camera Stopped Rolling is her first feature documentary as writer-director.
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