FILM TEAM
Vicki Abeles (Director and Producer) is a filmmaker, attorney and change agent. She directed the award-winning documentaries Race to Nowhere and Beyond Measure and reached millions of viewers by focusing on social impact. She is the author of the NYT best-selling book Beyond Measure. Additional film credits include Associate Producer on the Sundance favorite Miss Representation (2011) and Associate Producer on Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish (2014). Continuing to bring communities together around the power of stories, Vicki’s work as an Impact Producer for Chasing Childhood and High School 9-1-1, along with producing the national live-stream event, “State of the Kids: Uniting for Youth Mental Health,” has built alliances across the world to empower kids to thrive.
Amy Ferraris (Editor and Producer) is a documentary film editor and producer whose latest feature, Try Harder!, premiered at Sundance in 2021 and aired on PBS’s Independent Lens. Other notable editing credits include Seeking Asian Female and The Grace Lee Project, both of which premiered at SXSW. Ms. Ferraris's broadcast work has appeared on PBS, the Sundance Channel, the Discovery Networks, and A&E, among many others. She is also the producer / director of The Perfect Cappuccino, a documentary about coffee, consumerism, and being American.
Lisa Fruchtman (Consulting Producer) is an Academy Award–winning editor who has worked in both feature film and television. Among her many film projects are Apocalypse Now, The Right Stuff, Children of a Lesser God, The Godfather Part III, The Doctor, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Dance with Me, and The Woodsman. For television, she has edited such HBO films as Truman, Witness Protection, Point of Origin, and Normal. Her awards include an OSCAR for The Right Stuff, Academy Award and BAFTA Nominations for Best Editing for both Godfather Part III and Apocalypse Now, and an Emmy Nomination and a Cable ACE Award for Truman. Children of a Lesser God was nominated for Best Picture. In addition, she produced and directed Sweet Dreams, a critically acclaimed documentary about Rwanda and has several projects in development as producer/co-producer.
Nancy Blachman (Executive Producer) created Google Guide in 2003, and in 2007 founded the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, which inspires students to explore the richness and beauty of mathematics in a cooperative environment. She is now chair of Gathering 4 Gardner and the UCB IEOR Advisory Board.
Michael Chandler (Story and Consulting Editor and Producer) is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker working in nonfiction and fiction film. He edited the feature films Never Cry Wolf, Mishima, and Amadeus, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. He wrote and edited the documentaries Freedom on My Mind (Academy Award Nomination), Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey (Academy Award Nomination), The Squires of San Quentin(Academy Award Nomination), and Yosemite: The Fate of Heaven (Emmy Award), and was Consulting Editor on The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Academy Award Nomination).
Caitlin Boyle (Consulting Producer) is a documentary film producer and impact expert with over 15 years of experience. Specializing in using film for social good and inspiring civic engagement, she navigates distribution for documentary filmmakers and has collaborated with organizations like Together Films, DOC NYC, Cinereach, and Sundance Institute. With a portfolio spanning 500+ independent film teams, she's worked with clients like NEON, Magnolia Films, and Patagonia. Caitlin mentors, speaks, and judges for numerous arts organizations and institutions, including Berkeley Film Foundation, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Columbia University, Film Independent, and more. Past roles include Director of Filmmaker Development at DOC NYC and Executive Director and Founder of Film Sprout, a pioneering firm in documentary audience expansion.
Saul Simon Macwilliams (Composer) is a composer for film and television known for Beasts of the Southern Wild(2012), Chasing Coral (2017), and Gleason (2016).
Clare Major (Director of Photography) is a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker who specializes in handheld observational camerawork. Recent cinematography credits include Belly of the Beast (HRW 2020), Ahead of the Curve (Frameline 2020), and We Are the Radical Monarchs (SXSW 2019). Based in Oakland, California, Clare is currently working on documentaries set in California, Mississippi, Italy, and Haiti.
Mark Smith (Director of Photography) is an award-winning cinematographer and film collaborator with roots in entertainment, documentary, indie cinema, and time lapse photography. Several of his works have received prestigious honors, including Returning Mickey Stern, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2002 Rome Film Festival. He has also shot for major television networks and high-profile sporting events, including the Olympics.