The Ugly Truth
Krishna Ashu Bhati - Director, Writer
Krishna Ashu Bhati was born in 1980 in Berlin. Being partly Indian, partly German, his movies are inspired by two very different cultural backgrounds. He started writing and directing at the age of 24. His first feature film BITTER SÜSS has won several awards and the script has been sold to the US for a remake. DIE WAHRE SCHÖNHEIT/THE UGLY TRUTH is his second feature film and his first script in cooperation with Eva Habermann.
Raised Up West Side
Brett A. Schwartz - Director, Producer
Brett A. Schwartz is an Emmy®-nominated director/producer based in the Chicago area. Schwartz’s feature documentary, INSATIABLE: THE HOMARO CANTU STORY premiered at SXSW in 2016 and screened in dozens of film festivals, both nationally and internationally, including The Seattle Int’l Film Festival, Napa Valley Film Festival, The Chicago Int’l Film Festival, Palm Springs Int’l Film Festival, and several others. The film is distributed by Virgil Films and has streamed on Hulu, Amazon, Apple TV, and additional services. A short film titled MÁS QUE LA PLAY: PUERTO VALLARTA was nominated for a Regional Emmy Award in 2018. Schwartz’s feature-length documentary, MASHED MEDIA (2010) aired on PBS and is distributed by Films for the Humanities & Sciences. A short film entitled SHIFTING TRADITIONS (2000) aired on PBS and was distributed by The University of California Center for Media and Independent Learning. In addition to his work as an independent director/producer, Schwartz produced documentaries that aired on several networks, including Bravo, MSNBC, HGTV, Court TV, CBS, and PBS. Schwartz received a Master’s in Documentary Film and Video Production from Stanford University in 1999 and lives in Highland Park, Illinois with his wife and their two children.
WELCOME TO FOREVER, THE LITTLE DRUMMER Boy
John Gray - Director, co-Producer and Writer
John Gray is a New York based writer-director-producer. He created the long running hit CBS series GHOST WHISPERER, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, as well as writing and directing many award winning and critically acclaimed movies for television, such as MARTIN AND LEWIS, starring Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam, the Emmy nominated A PLACE FOR ANNIE with Sissy Spacek, the Emmy nominated mini-series HAVEN with Natasha Richardson and Anne Bancroft, HELTER SKELTER with Bruno Kirby, and many others. He has directed dozens of episodes of series across the broadcast and cable spectrum, and was also the producing director of the CBS series RECKLESS. He has written and directed several studio and independent feature films, including the award winning WHITE IRISH DRINKERS, starring Stephen Lang and Karen Allen, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. His acclaimed short films have played and are playing in film festivals all over the world, including the Cannes Short Film Festival. His short film FRENCH KISS has notched 6.3 million views to date on YouTube.
Left of the Dial
Andrew Lawton - Director, Producer
Award-winning filmmaker Andrew Lawton (PGA) hails from Melbourne, Australia, and has spent the past twenty years working with many of the biggest names in the industry. Most recently, he directed Neil Patrick Harris, Liam Neeson, Helen Mirren and Alec Baldwin in 'A Roundabout Road to Broadway' for NBC. This special won Andrew a Telly Award, AVA Digital Gold Award, Hermes Creative Gold Award, Creativity International Gold Award, and the Marcom Platinum Award. He followed by directing Jane Krakowski in 'From Basements to Broadway,' Vanessa Williams in 'Thriving Through Theater,' and co-producing the feature documentary 'Vigilante' with Cinema 59 Productions. Andrew is the writer/director of the films 'Couch Surfer,' 'Rain,' 'Some Guy Called Toby,' and 'Have You Seen Calvin?,' the latter winning Best Film at the 2016 Chicago Comedy FIlm Festival. He has also directed numerous commercials and a series of music videos for Universal Music Group. Andrew first moved to the U.S. on scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College and graduated with his MFA in 2003. A proud New Yorker, he currently resides with his wife, two sons, and their peagle in lower Manhattan.
Tiger is Strolling Around
Anastasiia Falileieva - Director, Writer
Director, stop-motion animator, VJ artist. She has learned stop-motion animation from the famous Ukrainian puppet master Oleh Pedan, while was attending his course at Kyiv University of Cinema and Broadcasting (2016-2020). Since 2018 she has been collaborating with the band Pianoboy as a VJ artist and animator. In 2019, she released her debut short animated film "Until It Turns Black". The film succeeded at film festivals all around the world (REX, Monstra, Odessa IFF, Linoleum, Animax Skopje, and others). It has won 4 Awards and two Special Jury Mentions. "Until It Turns Black" was nominated for the “Kinokolo: the Ukrainian Film Critics' Award" as the Best Animated Short of 2019. In 2020, the project of the Anastasiia's short animated film in collaboration with the studio KAPI "Tiger is Strolling Around" won the pitching of the Ukrainian State Film Agency hence received financial support from the institution. In 2021, the film "Tiger is Strolling Around" was selected for the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, LA Shorts International Film Festival, Montevideo World Film Festival, Odessa International Film Festival, LINOLEUM Animation Festival, Golden Short Film Festival so far.
Flagged
Andrea Garbarini, Shane McGaffey - Directors, Writers
Andrea DeGeorge Garbarini is a mother, nurse and as a second career documentary film maker. She produced a film in 2010 “From The Ground Up” with Gage and Gage productions about the accomplishments of a group of 911 families post 911.The film aired on PBS, the OWN network and multiple film festivals. She recently did the 2018 film “From Beacon to the Border” that followed a group of grandparents who travelled to the Mexican border protesting the separation of migrant children from their families.Her latest film Flagged explores the division in the US and the meaning of the American flag to it’s citizens. Shane McGaffey, has over 20 years of experience in film and editing having graduated from the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. Shane has extensive expertise in directing, producing, lighting, filming, editing, writing, sound, and mixing for television and commercials. He has also consulted on a wide variety of projects including directing a Russian Language narrative feature film, "Leaving Moscow" 2000.
The Children Will Lead the Way
Beth Gage - Director, Writer
Beth Gage and George Gage, as Gage & Gage Productions, co-produce and co-direct compelling personal films that inspire viewers, initiate dialogue and prompt action on provocative issues. Concentrating on the environment, human rights and social justice, they produce films on subjects underrepresented in the current media. Beth creates the story; George is the films’ cinematographer. Their films have won dozens of awards at national and international film festivals and have been highly acclaimed by film reviewers. Their films have been distributed theatrically, on television, educationally, for DVD and consumer streaming.
Love and Love Not
Anthony Cally - Director, Writer
Anthony was born and raised in Hudson Valley, New York. Since college graduation, he has lived in Southern California. While there, he has maintained a career is visual effects while pursuing and making his own work.
A place once existed
Narjess Rafic Karim - Director, Writer
Young filmmaker, recently graduated from Lebanese University, Cinema and TV major
House of Fortune
Adel Mashoori - Director
Adel Mashoori the CEO of Tarlan Film Institute is a permanent member of Association of Iranian Film Institutes and Companies, permanent member of Iranian Film and Series Producers Union. He works as a writer, director and producer in Iranian cinema and television. He was born in 1985 in Mahshahr, Iran. He graduated from Ershad University with a B.A in Industrial management, a B.A in film directing from Culture and Art University and an M.D in Dramatic literature from Azad University.
Kennebec-on-Hudson
Alex Nuñez Caba - Director, Cinematographer
From his 22 foot motorboat studio, a painter recounts bits of history about his life and the changing New York City waterfront.
Naji
Hosein Torkjoosh - Director
Fabulous filmmaker from Iran.
Pass The Matzoh
David Levin - Director, Writer
David Levin is an Emmy award-winning Executive Producer, writer and director whose credits include documentaries, children’s programming, comedy, music, commercials and marketing campaigns. Levin has created content for Warner Bros., Fox, Bio, Comedy Central, USA Network, DC Comics and Marvel. His work has aired on CBS, MTV, TV Land, Nick at Nite, AMC, Bravo, Lifetime, and A&E. Levin was the co-creator and showrunner of the hit series, MTV UNCENSORED, setting ratings records for over five years, earned four Emmy nominations, spun off two CBS specials, DVDs, and a coffee-table book he co-wrote. Levin also created and executive produced TV LAND CONFIDENTIAL, where stars revealed untold stories of classic TV shows. The series ranks as the network's highest-rated, unscripted original. Levin also created and executive produced series for Animal Planet and Discovery. Levin has worked with major talent over the years, and won an Emmy for directing a kid’s show that starred a gifted 12 year old - Jordan Peele - in his first TV appearance.
Removable
Shu-Ying Chung - Director, Writer
Having grown up in Taipei and now living in New York City, Shu-Ying Chung has worked as a director and editor at Albert Lan Creative, creating TV and web commercials for products including the ASUS Zenfone and Zenwatch, and as an editor for the PBS television series Live from the Artists Den, including a special film that was released in theaters. Chung has also edited various short films, music videos, and editorial content for fashion websites, and wrote and directed a virtual reality film.
Texas Wines
Robert Burks - Director, Writer
A short Documentary taking you through the Texas Wine industry of the early years of how it began, to where it is now and how the wine industry has boomed along with international recognition. Since the 1970's Wineries went from about 4 operating, to over 620 in 2020. in this Documentary, I interview over 15 individuals, from Massina Hof, Becker Vineyards, Hilmy, to McPhersons, William Chris, Reddy Vineyards, to Farmhouse Vineyards and how science from Texas Tech and Texas A&M play a huge part to the amazing wines Texas now produces. There is even a western scene! A pilot Film for a 10 part docuseries.
The Oh Gees
Shira-Lee Shalit - Director
Shira-Lee Shalit is an award-winning writer, director and filmmaker. Her most recent film, The Oh Gees, starring Didi Conn and Kathryn Kates- won Best Comedy at the Paris Short Film Festival (March '22) and is an Official Selection for the LA Comedy Film Festival (July '22). Her past films have won many awards at both USA and International festivals and her very first film she wrote and directed was a Finalist in the Student Academy Awards. Shira-Lee was chosen out of 12,00 filmmakers by Steven Spielberg for the FOX/ DreamWorks TV directing show, On The Lot and made it down to the last 10 finalists. She has directed many theatrical productions, including the world premiere of Devil Of Choice at the Cherry Lane Theater for the LAByrinth Theatre Company, and plays at The Actors Studio, LaMama, EST, Rattlestick, TheCollective, Dixon Place, Nylon Fusion, Intar and the Writers Guild Association East. A member of New York Women in Film &TV and The Actors Studio Playwright/Director Unit, Shira-Lee is on faculty at Columbia University's Graduate Film Division and NYU Tisch School Of The Arts.
The Game Is Up:Disillusioned Trump Voters Tell Their Stories
Melissa Jo Peltier - Director, Writer
A two-time Emmy Award-winning director, writer and producer, Ms. Peltier won her first Emmy for educational programming at the age of 23. Since then, she has accumulated over 50 national and international awards and accolades for her work as a producer, writer and editor. She was director and co-writer (with her mentor, Oscar and 16x Emmy Award winner Arnold Shapiro) of the primetime documentary special, "Scared Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse", hosted by Oprah Winfrey. This multi-network simulcast was hailed at the time as television’s most watched documentary ever, and earned Ms. Peltier the coveted Humanitas Prize among many other awards. Following was the Peabody Award-winning "Break the Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse”. In 1994, she was producer-director-writer of A&E’s four-hour mini-series "Titanic: Death of a Dream" and "Titanic: The Legend Lives On", then the network’s highest-rated programs ever, winning her two National Emmy Awards…and still referenced by historians as the quintessential account of that disaster. Four Writer’s Guild of America nominations for documentary writing followed, as well as five more primetime Emmy Nominations as an Executive Producer of National Geographic Channel’s "Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan”, a 2010 People's Choice Award winner. From 1996-2010, Peltier was a partner and co-founder of MPH Entertainment, which created and produced over 350 hours of award-winning, original documentary and reality television programming, of which she produced, wrote or directed hundreds of hours, including the award-winning, original series “Sea Tales” and the mini-series “Founding Fathers”,“Founding Brothers” ,“History of Sex”, “Palm Beach: Money Power & Privelege” for A&E and the History Channel. Peltier’s dramatic TV and film credits include writing the Lifetime movie "Nightwaves"; and "The Collector", for the hit CBS series, "Ghost Whisperer". With her MPH partners, she served as an executive producer of the comedy film "Men Seeking Women" (starring Will Ferrell) and as co-executive producer of the most beloved and profitable independent film of all time, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” She produced and was second-unit director of the multi-festival-winning indie feature, "White Irish Drinkers", for Ovington Avenue Productions, of which she is also a principal with her husband, multi-award-winning feature and TV writer/director, John Gray. In 2018 & 2019, she produced four award-winning dramatic shorts with Gray which are now on the international festival. circuit: “The Desecrated” and “Extra Innings”, “Household Demons” and “Exit Package.” Recently, Peltier has been a sought-after behind-the-scenes as well as credited consultant for numerous documentary projects. She was producer for the 2014 award-winning Ukrainian documentary, “Notes From a Revolution”; co-producer for the festival darling, “Look At Us Now, Mother”, and post production consultant on the critically acclaimed Jen Senko documentary “The Brainwashing of My Dad.” She authored the darkly comic Hollywood novel, "Reality Boulevard" (a Kirkus Review “Best Indie 2013” choice) and is the co-author of eight non-fiction works: including five Random House books with 'Dog Whisperer' Cesar Millan, all of which were New York Times Best Sellers. The first, “Cesar’s Way”, stayed number one for 11 weeks and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Despite her long history in television and film, "The Game Is Up" is Peltier's first solo feature-length documentary.