Ruxandra Pilsiu

Tell us something about yourself?

I was born in Romania. Having always been fascinated by television, I studied Journalism and worked as a reporter for two tv channels. In 2006, I had the opportunity to study in Aix en Provence for a year. I fell in love with France. In 2010, I moved to the South of France to study cinema and started to work as a film director. I love filming and I developed a real passion for documentary filmmaking.

What are working on at the moment?

I have just started to work on a new script. A nice story combining science and art. This time, the challenge is twice as hard because not only am I directing the project, I am also producing it by myself.

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Viscri, a Saxon village in Transylvania, almost disappeared for the first time under Ceaucescu as a result of the “systematization” program, and for the second time after the fall of the regime when most of its inhabitants fled to Germany. A handful of people saved it from ruin by developing a form of tourism that showcases their heritage while preserving rural life. Sarah, an elderly lady who has always lived in Viscri, is the village’s memory ; her daughter Caroline, is the manager of the project ; Gheorge, who goes on hand-making bricks and roof-tiles for the renovation of the houses ; Liliana and Loan, a couple of breeders also work in tourism ; Mihai, a former executive who came from Bucarest, manages the fanciest guest house ; Werner, a Belgian architect, rebuilt a traditional house in a contemporary fashion. All of them live in the village in the same way as people used to live between XIXth an XXIst century… everything would be fine if the flood of tourists would not threaten the balance they wish for. How can they maintain the number of visitors at a sustainable level ?

Share an anecdote from the shooting of the film

For the filming we had to travel from France to Romania. We took the plane which departed from Marseille, with a connection in Paris. We had a lot of equipment and part of it was lost during the connection.

The filming time was limited, and all the interviews were planned. We couldn’t wait too much as we had to travel to Viscri and start the filming. We managed to replace the boompole with a wooden stick and the missing tripod with a stump. We filmed for almost a week with our “equipment”. We had a lot of fun and in the end we were happy with the result.

Kalie Granier

Tell us something about yourself?

"Looking at the ocean is a plenitude, being emerged into the ocean is immanence. Beyond being my source of inspiration and fantasy, the ocean is the origin of life on Earth. It is our inheritance, ancestor, and goddess. Re-connecting with the ocean is the pursuit of our century.”

What are working on at the moment?

I am working on my new film project, where I re-interpret the Greek myth of Medusa and Perseus.

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This film sits at the intersection of art, science, and ecological conservation, depicting the life power of the underwater forest through women’s prayers. «2 FEET» raises collective consciousness, centering dialogue within living environments to which humans inherently belong while promoting tangible action and response at the intersection of climate change and social justice.

Tom O'Brien

Tell us something about yourself?

I retired from the Navy after 20 years of service, went to film school, and now create films.

What are working on at the moment?

I am currently working on a series of short films that will be put together for a feature.

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A WWII hero with PTSD is hunted by Nazis, haunted by new psychic powers, and hounded by the military to decipher experiments from his dead godfather, Nikola Tesla.

Share an anecdote from the shooting of the film

This film is based on a TV script I wrote that took place in 1943 but the new film is about the modern day descendants of the main characters.

Daniel Smith

Tell us something about yourself?

Producer and Screenwriter: Daniel W Smith (USA)

Daniel grew up on Long Island, New York, and in Japan. After graduating from Marquette University, he volunteered for military service. After deploying to Bosnia, Iraq, the Horn of Africa, and Germany retired from US Army Special Forces in 2008. He then worked as a civilian operations planner at U.S. Africa

Command . Daniel graduated from George Mason University with an MFA in Poetry and the New York Film Academy with MFAs in Screenwriting and Producing. He has written seven screenplays and four documentary scripts. He has produced and completed three short films.

What are working on at the moment?

I am working on a Tahriib web series, and two more documentaries. The Roads of Exile, which examines Refugee and Migrant situation in Spain, and Kingpin. 27 Minutes at Son Tay. This documentary is about the raid into North Vietnam to rescue US prisoners of War, November 1970. I am revising a screenplay titled Arbakai, a story about a girl's school in Afghanistan that is under threat of destruction by the Taliban. Here are links

Roads was titled Gibraltar.

https://www.facebook.com/Gibraltar-A-Documentary-331286150876534/?ref=pages_you_manage

Tahriib

https://www.facebook.com/tahriibthedocumentary/?ref=pages_you_manage

Kingpin

https://www.facebook.com/operationkingpin/?ref=pages_you_manage

Arbakai

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxaUgXyVXJj9MmptN1RfRGVOZ2R2NEtTTHRsRE80X1Z3WWhr/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-zrdyNFm5bXYy7DL7N2lEWA

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxaUgXyVXJj9SU1Yb3JGZEdsR2N5ZTcwQ2hrSFlTQkR1Qjhr/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-MBiUWHlHRdFZCGXUtYYjww

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it

Tahriib is composed of an anthology of interviews with refugees, migrants, and peole who have worked with them. The desired overall impact of The Roads of Exile is to combat racism and intolerance as part of anti-refugee, immigrant, and Islamophobic trends in public opinion and government policy. Specifically, we want to reverse the 2016 trend in US public sentiment from humanitarian sympathy for refugees to national security anxiety over the refugee issue in both the US and EU and change the language of dehumanization surrounding refugees and migrants. Unfortunately, the terrorist attacks in 2016 and 2017 shifted public opinion about accepting refugees into the US. People became more concerned about national security, suspecting that refugees could quickly become radicalized and conduct even more terrorist attacks. Many people do not realize refugees are often direct victims of terrorist groups, criminal gangs, or oppressive regimes hence the reason they have fled their home countries. As mentioned previously, the The Roads of Exile stories aim to challenge the growing culture of fear in the US concerning refugees and migrants by creating empathy and underscoring our common ground. Then we want that newfound empathy to turn into action, asking more US voters to support refugees and migrants by improving US Federal policies and foreign aid to assist in the integration of refugees both in the US and the EU. By doing so, we can reduce the corrosive effect on our society of the instrumentalization of bigotry and xenophobia for political ends.

Share an anecdote from the shooting of the film

The best things were meeting and working with.

Rodolfo Colombarra and Valentina Corrado (filmmakers in Turin, Italy),

https://www.facebook.com/GATAprogettiaudiovisivi

https://www.facebook.com/valentina.corrado

Una Voce, a group of musicians from Italy and West Africa,

https://www.facebook.com/UNA-VOCE-1729718027321484

And my cinematographer Pavilna Popovska,https://www.facebook.com/artstudiopopovski

Pvvy is my contact in Skopje, +389 77 572 368. She is interested in working with a Macedonian Production Comany to film Kopis.

Mathilde Morières

Tell us something about yourself?

Since 20 years, I'm directing movies dealing with art - music, théâtre, contemporary art - eather documentories or movies for scenography.

I'm also a chief editor for french TV, working on large formats of historical documentaries and artists portraits (Picasso, Dali, Hergé, Rodin, Camus and Sartre, but also history of the feminism or of french colonialism)

What are working on at the moment?

I'm engaged at the moment on several projects.

As a director, I'm following since ten years a painter, member of the french avant-garde of the 70's Supports/Surfaces : André-Pierre Arnal, 80 years old aged, is now entering the prestigious collection of the Mobiler National.

As an editor, I'm working on the documentary serie directing by Tancrède Ramonet about history of anarchism, for a french tv.

And I'm also the president of a small cinéma in south-west of France, working hard with my team to share our passion for films.

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it

"Until Then" is the title of the exposition initiated by a group of young artists, who invest an old tractor garage in a small village of southern France, during the covid crisis. Inspirated by the place, questionning the role of art in this historical period and in countryside, they have fifteen days to create their artwork.

Share an anecdote from the shooting of the film

The feeling of emergency that innevate all the artist residency was very inspiring : I've never made a movie so quickly ! I'm used to film artists, and I was very inspired by their work, and this incredible place, so photogenic !

But I decided to present my film at the same time as the exibition, to share with the public of our village, were there is so little manifestations of contemporary art, the entiere process of the création that they will discover. So I present a first version of the movie at the opening of exhibition, including shoots of the last moment of instalation, very late in the night !

Then I finished the movie including this last day in the editing, very proud to support this young artists with promising talent !

Ken Yoffe & Ellen Weisberg

Tell us something about yourself?

Ken Yoffe is a pediatrician (Chelmsford, MA). He also holds a doctorate in genetics. Ellen Weisberg is a cancer researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Principal Associate in Medicine at Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA), with a doctorate in pharmacology. Ellen has published 100 peer-reviewed articles to date, 1 book chapter and 1 encyclopedia chapter. She carried out the preclinical characterization of the 2nd generation Abl inhibitor, nilotinib (Tasigna) (Novartis Pharmaceuticals), which is now FDA-approved for chronic myeloid leukemia, and identified in a screen and carried out the preclinical characterization of midostaurin (Rydapt), which is now FDA-approved for acute myeloid leukemia.

Ken and Ellen are part-time children's book authors. Publications include short stories and poetry published in PKA's Advocate (bimonthly literary publication), The Writing Disorder (quarterly online literary journal and print anthology book), Bewildering Stories, and Natural Solutions (holistic health magazine). Ellen's cancer memoir, "From Both Sides," which received the 2019 Mariner Award from Bewildering Stories, describes one person, two perspectives: that of the cancer researcher and that of the cancer patient. Ken and Ellen have also published several children's geography books, readers, an anti-bullying book and a multicultural picture book, and two novels (Waldorf Publishing, Galde Press, Chipmunkapublishing). Their YA book, ANGEL ROCK LEAP, received a positive Kirkus review and other editorial reviews, and was selected for the Goodreads List of Best Women's Contemporary Fiction. Their children's geography book, ALL ACROSS CANADA, and their anti-bullying children's book, FRUIT OF THE VINE, received positive Kirkus reviews, Readers' Favorite, and other editorial reviews.

Ellen's cancer memoir, "From Both Sides," has been translated into several languages (Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, and Hindi), and is being distributed in the different languages as a printed article and video through social media to raise cancer awareness globally. In addition, FACEPAINT recognizes that breast cancer is a major health concern in India. FACEPAINT is supporting ROKO Cancer Charitable Trust, an NGO in India, to raise cancer awareness and provide cancer screening to families in underserved areas via mobile screening units (a bus with doctors, mammography, cervical and prostate screening materials). FACEPAINT provided funding for the first camp in Punjab, India, with around 170 people screened for cancer. They plan to use "Justin and the Werloobee" and other films in development as fundraisers to support this.

John Vo, founder of Lonely Lane Productions, is an executive specializing in finance and operations for content and creative startups. He has over eleven years of experience running a creative agency as CEO, COO and Head of Finance, as well as commercializing content properties. He has had a hand in producing content totaling over one billion views.

What are you working on at the moment?

Ken and Ellen are collaborating with Lonely Lane Productions on a 3D animation version of their children's reader, Full Moon. Full Moon is a level 4 reader that tells a story about a little girl and her big sister celebrating Halloween. The little girl wonders about the man who she believes lives on the moon, who she also believes might need her help. Her big sister helps the little girl carry out her well-intended deed. Here is a review for the book from Readers' Favorite:

5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review! Get your free 5-star seal!Reviewed By Tiffany Ferrell for Readers' FavoriteFull Moon is a Halloween story about two sisters who go trick or treating. As they wander around the neighborhood, they notice many kids dressed in all kinds of different costumes. While walking from house to house, the girls looked up at the night sky and wondered if there was really a man in the moon. Jessica asked her sister but she really wasn't much help. She had so many questions about the person who apparently lived up there and it lasted throughout trick or treating to when they were at home, sorting out their candy. Deciding that the moon man needed her candy more, she collected it and wrote a letter to be given to the poor soul up there. Jessica hated to think of him having to eat moldy cheese all the time. After she sent it, she waited and hoped that the moon man got her care package. One day she found a letter underneath her pillow. She opened it to find out that he got the candy after all and was very grateful, which made Jessica's day!

I always love reading Halloween stories and Full Moon is one of my favorites that I have read recently. It's a story that will be very relatable to children. Halloween is a favorite day for kids because of trick or treating and then of course the myth of the man in the moon is something I think everyone has heard during their childhood. The different characters are well written and easily liked and the illustrations are beautifully done and go along perfectly with the storyline. It's a great book that I definitely recommend parents get for their child.

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it?

JUSTIN AND THE WERLOOBEE, which was funded by royalty money awarded to Ellen and Ken for development of a leukemia therapy, will be used as part of their 501c3 non-profit (called FACEPAINT, Inc.) to raise social awareness and to promote altruism and bystander intervention in bullying situations. Research has shown that a child who has a strong social support network is less likely to suffer long-term effects of bullying. JUSTIN AND THE WERLOOBEE promotes friendship & selflessness as ways to combat the adverse consequences of bullying. The film is based on their published book, FRUIT OF THE VINE (Waldorf Publishing, 2018), which has received positive reviews by Kirkus, Readers’ Favorite, and others. The film has to date received awards from 77 festivals (including "Best of Show" physical trophy and "Best Animated Short" from Pinnacle Awards) and an honorable mention from 10 festivals. It was chosen as a semi-finalist at the Academy Award-, BAFTA-, and Canadian Screen Award-qualifying Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, as well as semi-finalist status at 8 additional festivals, 13 finalist statuses, 1 quarter finalist status, and 6 nominee statuses.

Here are some published articles for the film, "Justin and the Werloobee":https://filmdaily.co/indie-film/justin-and-the-werloobee/

Justin and the Werloobees: Bullying in the Garden of Eden - Universal Cinema

Share an anecdote from the making of the film?

The story was based on a dream that Ellen had one night. She tried her hand at writing fantasy, just to see if she could, and the result was FRUIT OF THE VINE. Once Ellen and Ken received royalty money for drug discovery, they decided to use a portion of it to fund the making of a 3D animated version of FRUIT OF THE VINE. Ken was instrumental in finding an animator for this production, and he chose John Vo and Lonely Lane Productions. It was decided that the film would adhere closely to the published story.

Eyal Kantor

Tell us something about yourself?

My name is Eyal Kantor, a writer and director from Israel.

I work in education through film and Create films through a social lens that deal with freedom, sexual attraction and gender identity/

What are you working on at the moment?

Currently, I’m working on a feature length production which will be my second full length feature film. A social horror that deals with conversion therapy. Which is a very topical and important subject in Israel/

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it?

“A Georgian love story” is a historical drama that deals with cultural clashes. Between love, traditions, religion, and free spirit. The film is based on a true story and tells the story of Sophia , that took care of Georgie that came injured to her door and in the process developed a forbidden love

Share an anecdote from the making of the film?

During the creation of the film we worked with both a Georgian actress and a Israeli actor which couldn’t have communicated with words seeing how the actors didn’t speak English or the others language and outside the film they developed communication without any words

Erika Wagner

Tell us something about yourself?

I’m a 27 year old Millennial, half Mexican and half German, currently paying rent in Vancouver. My animation journey started when I decided to study a degree in graphic design. After four years I knew in my heart that animation was my truer calling. I do love designing, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that animation does something to my heart and soul that I can’t explain. So I moved to Vancouver, and just when I was getting used to the rain, a World Pandemic hit. After much uncertainty I packed my stuff to a storage unite, took two flights with tears in my eyes and went back home. A couple of months later I finished my one year program in Vancouver Film School in Mexico; and let me tell you, it was quite the ride.

What are you working on at the moment?

Currently I’m in an apprenticeship in a Studio here in Vancouver.

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it?

Norma waits for the phone operator to pay some attention to her but it turns out it’s not the attention she was thinking of.

Share an anecdote from the making of the film?

I had the idea of doing this short when I was myself on the phone for 3 hours. You know when inspiration hits and you need to start sketching or writing? Yeah, so I grabbed my iPad and started doodling to that horrible music and knew it was something special. Obviously the story mutated here and there but the core was the same.

Kim Hyunjong

Tell us something about yourself?

Hello, I'm Kim Hyunjong, currently active as a 3D artist.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working at a 3D motion graphic studio located in Korea and also working as a 3D artist.

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it?

My short film is posted on Vimeo and you can visit and watch it comfortably at any time. [https://vimeo.com/587380602]

Share an anecdote from the making of the film?

I've always wanted to create works with stories. So, as a one-person director, I worked on it from planning to production. It was my first time making a film, and it was a meaningful time.

Simran Arora

Tell us something about yourself?

Harshit and Simran are students at London College of Communication and University of Greenwich, respectively. Studying the art of documentary filmmaking has given them the utmost zeal of travelling to the remotest villages in India to develop TRADED, over three months. They aim to be full-time ethnographic filmmakers and holistically anchor on human rights.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment, we are pedantically immersed in developing a medium length ethnographic film on the horrifying acts of Domestic Violence in the impoverished villages of Seopur District, Madhya Pradesh in India. Coming across heart-wrenching sojourns of the women who term themselves as 'Surviovrs', has been a major revamp in our perspectives of the world we entitle ourselves to be a part of.

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it?

TRADED is a 15-minute ethnographic film about the struggles and profligate battle of a small minority of women in India against human trafficking and how they have overcome it by yearning for a better living in their community. Our role was not only limited to being the directors, but we also had the opportunity to work closely with the survivors and bring out their unheard stories to a greater audience. Voluntarily Choosing to portray the suffering of the women survivors and several findings that we discovered while the production was taking place, which is an integral part of the film—initiated with the idea of working with the survivors of human trafficking and bringing their stories to a greater audience, the subject topic as susceptible as it involved information that had only been read in case studies for research papers.

Share an anecdote from the making of the film?

While filming with our first survivors Ammajaan and Munthaj, we were appalled at how confident and happy they were to speak to the crew. We first met them at a meeting the government organises for all the survivors on a monthly basis. We had lunch with them, and when we took out our cameras to film, they said, "Shall we go someplace else where there is just us, we could talk freely there?" We were shocked to see how open they were to us. We had just met and they knew nothing about our backgrounds. After lunch, they suggested moving to someplace else so that they could talk freely. The lighting was not too great where they took us, and the frame was not very beautiful, but we had to disregard these things and make our subject the priority. It was essential for the film that the survivors are at ease while they talk about their experiences.

Jane Hammond

Tell us something about yourself

I am an independent documentary filmmaker based in Fremantle Western Australia. I work in the areas of environmental justice and human rights. I come from a background in journalism and retrained as a filmmaker by going back to university in 2013 and completing a Masters in Professional Communication in Film and Video in 2016.

I have made three longer form films and more than 100 short films. My focus is social impact. I am a lifelong environmental activist and would describe myself as an activist filmmaker. I want my films to spark social change through debate, education and awareness.

What are you working on at the moment

I am currently working on a series of films on climate change solutions. But right now, I am about to travel up to the northwest of WA to do eight weeks filming on the remote and spectacular Ningaloo Reef as part of a volunteer position monitoring rare and endangered turtles as they come into nest and the hatchling make their way to the sea.

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it

Cry of the Forests is a 54-minute social impact documentary film on the plight of WA's unique forests and their real value in drawing down and storing carbon. The forests are part of one of the world's top biodiversity hotpots and yet they are being cut down for firewood, woodchips and charcoal.

The film was released in November 2020 and has been playing widely in Western Australia and at film festivals around the world. It was made to assist in the campaign to save the forest in partnership with the WA Forest Alliance. The film sparked community outrage and action.

In September this year the WA Government announced it would end all native forest logging by 2024. There is still a long way to go to protect all of the forest and to end the destructive practice of strip mining for bauxite in the only jarrah forest on earth, but the end to native forest logging was a major win.

Share an anecdote from the making of the film

During the making of the film, I had the privilege to meet a whole range of people working to protect the forests and to work with activists who went into the logging coupes armed with Go Pros and dressed in camouflage gear to secretly record the activities of the logging companies.

Included in the protest groups was the Nannas for Native Forests. At one action I filmed, these plucky grandmothers, some with walking sticks and aged in their 90s entering the forest at 2.30am in an attempt to stop the logging. Their protest made news across the nation.

The film was financed with the fiscal support of Documentary Australia Foundation via crowdfunding. It took 10 months to film and edit. I wrote, filmed, directed, produced and edited the film but had assistance from volunteers, a polish editor and a very talented drone cinematographer. I worked with the WA Forest Alliance who helped set up interviews, provide research and background and provided maps and contacts.

During the editing phase I needed to borrow a computer as mine did not have the grunt for such a large project. The film was made on a borrowed computer, a donated camera and with the help of a team of volunteers. It was very much a community grassroots effort.

The film is now available for use in schools via the ATOM Education site as well as via Cinema on Demand through Fan Force. It will soon be available for streaming via Fan Force TV.

Katie Boland

Tell us something about yourself

What are you working on at the moment

I am a Canadian actress/writer and director. I grew up in Toronto in a very creative family. Though I am predominantly known as an actress, I’ve spent the last six years focussing on my work as a creator, writer and director. We’re All In This Together is my first feature film. I wrote it, directed it and played twins in it.

What are you working on at the moment

Currently, I have several television series I created in development at networks, I am recurring as an actress on the Apple + Show Five Days at Memorial alongside Cherry Jones and Vera Farmiga. I am most excited to share that I am directing a movie of the week for Lifetime this month. I am so excited about the film I am currently directing and can’t wait to share it with the world when it airs in June!

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it

We’re All In This Together focuses on the Parker family, who have had their fair share of complications. When matriarch Kate Parker miraculously survives plummeting over a waterfall in a barrel (a feat captured on a video that goes viral), suddenly, the dysfunctional Parkers have to do something they never thought possible: act like a real family. No one has ever directed themselves as twins in a feature film before, so if you watch my film you’re absolutely seeing something unique.

Share an anecdote from the making of the film

Pitch your film to those who haven’t watched it

We were the first production back to work after the pandemic, so there was definitely a lot of time spent making sure everyone was safe and wading into the new world of filmmaking post Covid. Also, I was often directing with one of the twin’s wigs and fake teeth half in - we shot in 16 days and things had to go really quickly! This film was a labour of love - my mother Gail Harvey executive produced the film, along with my dear friends Paula Brancati, Mark Pancer, Jim Sternberg and film industry powerhouse Jay