WRITER & DIRECTOR

Nana (she/her) is a filmmaker of Ghanaian descent based in New York City. She recently completed her MFA with honors in Film at Columbia University’s School of Arts. In 2023, she made Columbia MFA history as the first-ever student to direct an international short film in Ghana. Her short, Confirmation, premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in the New York African Film Festival, and went on to screen at numerous other festivals across the U.S. and abroad, including the Academy Award qualifying Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, Nana is passionate about telling stories that blend heart and humor to explore themes that are at once personal and political.

PRODUCER

Raman (he/him) is a producer, writer, and director of Indian descent based in New York City. As a producer, Raman combines analytical skills from his background in mathematical finance with his passion for storytelling. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Producing at Columbia University, where he has successfully produced four short films, including two international productions in India, in addition to writing and directing. Ultimately, Raman endeavors to tell intersectional stories that center memorable characters in unique, specific worlds, and have the power to push audiences’ perspectives past the boundaries of their own experiences.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Nava Mau is an Emmy-nominated and Independent Spirit Award-winner actress, filmmaker, and cultural worker from Mexico City and San Antonio, Texas. Nava was a Production Fellow for the Netflix documentary DISCLOSURE (Sundance 2020), and worked as a producer on the short film WORK (Sundance, Tribeca 2022). She has also appeared as a series regular in the HBO Max series GENERATION (2021) and the Netflix limited series BABY REINDEER (2024). 

For eight years, Nava worked in the fields of healing justice and culture change with community-based service providers, student organizations, and survivors of violence. Nava's work has been recognized by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation, and the Critics Choice Association.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Launched by Cheryl Dunye in 2018, Jingletown Films is an Oakland-based production company focusing on providing a platform for storytellers and filmmakers that identify as people of color and/or queer. Dunye is a director, producer and writer, whose work frequently touches on themes of race, sexuality, gender, and intersectional identity. Dunye emerged as part of the “Queer New Wave” of young filmmakers in the early 1990s. Her feature film, THE WATERMELON WOMAN (1996), won the Teddy Award for Best Feature at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival.

In recent years, Dunye has applied her filmmaking talent in television, first by joining Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey for two episodes on Season 2 of OWN’s QUEEN SUGAR. She has further worked on CLAWS for TNT, THE FOSTERS for Freeform, THE CHI for Showtime, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE for Netflix, DAVID MAKES MAN, LOVE IS and DELILAH for OWN, ALL RISE for CBS, UMBRELLA ACADEMY and BRIDGERTON for Netflix, Y: THE LAST MAN for FX, and LOVECRAFT COUNTRY for HBO; for which her “Strange Case” episode earned her a 52nd NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series, and has been named one of the best episodes in 2020 by The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Tonight.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Shane King Zackery is a queer, black, non-binary writer, producer, and poet based in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are also the owner of Yarner Studios, a creative lab dedicated to bringing QTPOC stories to life. Shane loves being on set in any capacity, and has served on numerous projects as a director and photographer. They are most proudly credited as a production assistant for Nava Mau’s Waking Hour and Eli Horowitz’ Gone in the Night, and as an executive producer for Nava Mau's All The Words But The One.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Dr. Sarah A. Schoellkopf’s academic research focuses on human rights and gender. She has published multiple articles and has presented all over the world. She is the President of the Eileen and Fred Schoellkopf Family Foundation, a legacy left by her parents. The Foundation’s mission is to empower individuals and communities without a voice to take charge of their own narratives. The Foundation supports organizations that focus on conservation, education and the restoration of human dignity with a particular interest in using films and oral history to build empathy. She is a co-executive producer on Ferguson Rises and an executive producer on the documentary Norita, about one of the founding Madres, Nora Cortiñas.

CO-PRODUCER

Born and raised in Oakland, California, Nurie (she/they) is a dynamic filmmaker whose work reflects the city's vibrant culture. Inspired by the community around her, Nurie is dedicated to illuminating untold stories and amplifying voices through the transformative power of cinema. With experience directing impactful short films and contributing to projects as a producer, director, editor and cinematographer, Nurie brings a blend of storytelling and visual expertise to every endeavor. Outside of film, she has also made contributions in the tech and journalism sectors, leveraging her creative skills in innovative ways working at WIRED and Datastax. As the founder of her own boutique production company, NKALIMO, she has worked with companies such as Meta, Kronos Quartet, Confluent, Black Girls Code and Startree.

CO-PRODUCER

Jackson Gravagno (any/all) is an assistant director and producer working in the San Francisco Bay Area. A San Francisco State University alum, he works to combine his two majors and passions, Political Science and Cinema, in the film projects he works on. The work that they're most passionate about is insightful and thoughtfully constructed while maintaining a distinct sense of personality and place. When he isn't working to facilitate conscientious media, he spends his time reading with their cat, playing soccer, and snowboarding.

EDITOR

Sowjanya (they/them) has worked as a filmmaker for 20+ years, specializing in producing and editing across a variety of media. Their work has screened nationally and internationally at festivals, conferences, and major media outlets. In their current role as an assistant professor of Cinema & Television Arts at Elon University, Sowjanya focuses their scholarship on production studies, media literacy, and the political economy of communications. Their award-winning essay, "Neoliberalism & Disclosure’s New Trans Activism: The Politics of Discrimination and How to Fight It," was recently published by the Journal of Film and Video (University of Illinois Press, Winter 2023). Their most recent narrative short film (in)convenience (Alexandra Greenspan, 2023) is on the festival circuit—has currently screened at 20 festivals and won 4 awards.

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Evan (he/him) is an esteemed award-winning cinematographer. Evan's passion for capturing stunning visuals is evident through his extensive training, having studied Cinematography at San Francisco State University and obtaining his MFA in Cinematography from the distinguished American Film Institute Conservatory. His impressive body of work has been recognized and exhibited at some of the most prestigious film festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Palm Springs International, and TIFF. Evan's exceptional creative collaboration and ability to use light sensitively have made him a renowned figure in the industry, skillfully bringing a director's vision to life in a variety of commercial, documentary, and narrative works.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Olivia is a Bay Area based production designer that has been working in the industry for 10 plus years. She designs across many mediums including narrative, commercial, art house and editorial. With a penchant for imaginative and unique visions, she thrives in the narrative world. A recent project being the Sophia Coppola produced film Fairyland, which premiered at Sundance film festival. Her eye for detail and love of color brings any creative endeavor to life. She is in the Art Director’s Guild as well as Local 16.