JAMIE DOBIE (DIRECTOR/PRODUCER)
Shivani is Jamie Dobie's directorial debut film. She was previously the community engagement and education manager for the PBS series POV, and has worked in various capacities on film productions around the world, most recently as lead researcher on The Great Invisible (Participant Media), directed by Margaret Brown.
Jamie is currently the Executive Director of Peace is Loud, a non-profit organization that uses media and live events to highlight the stories of women who are stepping up for peace and resisting violence in their communities. Peace is Loud has led international impact campaigns for award-winning films including The Trials of Spring, The Armor of Light, The Uncondemned, and the five-part PBS series Women, War & Peace, and its speakers bureau represents renowned women human rights leaders including Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee and Somalia's first female presidential candidate Fadumo Dayib.
Jamie frequently speaks on how to use activist and impact strategies alongside documentary films. Recent public appearances include IDA's Getting Real, The Naval War College, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, The Hague, and the Youth Assembly at The United Nations.
She serves on the Mentorship Board of the MFA Documentary Program at Northwestern University, her alma mater.
ABIGAIL E. DISNEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
Abigail E. Disney is a filmmaker, philanthropist and the CEO and president of Fork Films. Disney's longtime passion for women's issues and peacebuilding culminated in her first film Pray the Devil Back to Hell (winner, Best Documentary Feature, Tribeca Film Festival 2008) and the five-part PBS Series Women, War & Peace. Executive Producer and Producer credits include Fork Films supported projects 1971, Citizen Koch, Family Affair, Hot Girls Wanted, The Invisible War (2012 Academy Award Nominee, Best Documentary Feature), Return and Sun Come Up (2011 Academy Award Nominee, Best Documentary Short). Her most recent projects include Fork Films original productions The Trials of Spring, which she executive produced, and The Armor of Light, her directorial debut.
GINI RETICKER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
Chief Creative Officer of Fork Films, Gini Reticker is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director and producer with a distinguished career that spans more than 20 years. In 2014, she directed The Trials of Spring which premiered at the Human Rights Watch Festival and was accompanied by six shorts that launched on The New York Times. The film chronicles a young woman's journey from an Egyptian village to international human rights activist. Reticker also directed Pray the Devil Back to Hell and The Heart of the Matter, and produced the Academy Award nominated short film Asylum, and the Emmy-nominated A Decade Under the Influence. She co-created Women, War & Peace for PBS, executive produced Abigail Disney's The Armor of Light and produced The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) — nominated for both an Academy Award and an Independent Spirit Award. With Disney she served as an Executive Producer on Fork Films support projects 1971, Alias Ruby Blade, Citizen Koch, Hot Girls Wanted, and She's Beautiful When She's Angry.
VIJAY PAMARATHI (CO-PRODUCER)
Based in Bangalore, India, Vijay was the former head of campaigns & engagement for the mobile app iPunch, and the Project Lead for five years at the film production company Rick and Shaw. Pamarathi has also worked as a television producer for WorldSpace and CNBC TV18.
MICHAEL FUCHS (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)
Michael has 10 years of experience working as a director of photography and camera/steadicam operator on national and international productions. Recent DP credits include The Opportunist (Cannes Critics Week Selection 2013) and Marina Abramovic Presents MACCO Centinje. Commercial credits include projects for ESPN, Sony, Toyota, Adidas, Time Warner, Vanity Fair, Super Bowl 2015 and Saturday Night Live. Documentary work includes Bringing Tibet Home (dir. Tenzin Tsetan Choklay) and Unraveled (dir. Marc H. Simon), and the reality television series’ Project Runway and Chopped. As a camera operator, Fuchs has worked closely with celebrated cinematographers Tom Hurwitz (The Queen of Versailles) and Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). His operating work can be seen in the feature film Still Alice (with Academy-Award ® winner Julianne Moore), and TV shows Crime, The Good Wife and Red Oaks.
MELANIE VI LEVY (EDITOR)
Melanie is an editor, producer and director with a special passion for nonfiction storytelling. She has co-edited the films Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines (Co-editor Carla Gutierrez, SXSW, PBS, Independent Lens), Roseanne for President (Co-Editor Tyler H. Walk, Tribeca Film Festival, IFC Films) and has contributed editing work to features including The Last Laugh (Tribeca Film Festival, Independent Lens), Kivalina (Berlinale), & the Sundance award winning film E-Team (Sundance, Netflix) by Academy Award winner Ross Kauffman and Katy Chevigny.
JONATHAN MEIBURG (COMPOSER)
Jonathan has worked as professional musician since 1999, recording and touring internationally with his band, Shearwater, as well as artists including Okkervil River, Bill Callahan, Sharon Van Etten, Xiu Xiu, and film composer Brian Reitzell for the independent record labels Matador, Jagjaguwar, Drag City, and currently, Sub Pop Records. Shearwater's music, which often draws inspiration from our uneasy relationship with the natural world, has been featured prominently by NPR Music, The New York Times, The Onion's A/V Club, and Pitchfork. Jonathan's music has been featured in a number of films and television shows, including Boss (starring Kelsey Grammer) and Nashville (created by Academy Award winner Callie Khouri). He is currently writing a book for Knopf.
EMILY CROSS & DAN DUSZYNSKI (COMPOSERS)
Texas-based studio engineer and musician Dan Duszynski, and singer Emily Cross, have worked and performed together for several years under the name Cross Record. Their most recent album Wabi-Sabi (Badabing Records) garnered high praise from Paste, UK’s Observer, and Pitchfork, and was praised by both Robert Plant and Iggy Pop. They are currently at work with Meiburg on a new album for Sub Pop Records.