DIRECTOR-WRITER
Born and raised in Southern California, Rhianon Gutierrez is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and activist. She received her BFA in Film Production from Chapman University, where she worked as a Production Designer, Producer, Director, and Writer on award-winning narrative and documentary films. Her acclaimed documentary short, “When I’m Not Alone”, has won over ten national awards, including one from the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences, and has played in numerous festivals. She served as a co-director, co-cinematographer, and still photographer on the short documentary “Ritmo do Morumbi”, about a renowned percussion school in Sao Paulo, Brazil. As an activist, she has been recognized for her work within the independent living movement and with young adults with hearing loss. Rhianon has done documentary, outreach, and social networking for various non-profits, including Special Olympics, Best Buddies International, People First of California, and Alliance of Abilities. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Hearing Loss Association of California and does outreach work for It’s Our Story, a national disability media history project with the Victor Pineda Foundation. She has also been involved with campaigns with Oxfam America and Special Olympics’ Spread the Word to End the Word. Fiercely committed to fostering an inclusive society, Rhianon uses her film training to produce and direct intimate, inclusive, and character-driven narrative and documentary films to educate mainstream audiences about social issues. Watch her interview with Deaf Women in Film here.
Michael Cox is an independent filmmaker living and working in Los Angeles. Michael grew up in Northern California. While in high school, he planned and organized three student film festivals, which raised over ten thousand dollars for local charities. After graduating, he attended Chapman University’s Dodge College of Media Arts where he produced and edited narrative shorts, experimental art films, documentaries, and music videos. His sophomore and junior years of college were spent crafting a documentary about community and art in his hometown. After completion, he took the film on the road during the summer of 2008, screening it at parks, libraries, and college campuses across America. Currently, he is producing independent narrative and documentary films, while working as part of a corporate sales and marketing team. Michael sees film as an open discourse, a way to shape and communicate with the people and world around him.
CO-PRODUCER
PRODUCER
Canadian-born Catherine MacKinnon’s award-winning film “I’m Not From Hear” (2003) was shown at 20 different film festivals. She has worked in 25 productions including short films, television, documentaries, and feature films as a Producer, Co-Producer, Production Coordinator, Consultant and Director. She is a Co-Producer of an indie feature film, “HAMILL”. As a performer, Catherine participated in The Vagina Monologues, with Vanessa Vaughan, Rachel McAdams, and Shirley Douglas in the 2006 V-Day Toronto production, as well as provided atmospheric vocals in the feature film “Silent Hill” starring Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, and Jodelle Ferland. Her recent acting gig was in a comedy-improv show “Kenny vs Spenny”. She also performed with the ensemble, “Voices of Chornobyl”, a co-production of Deaf West Theatre and Anataeus Theater. Catherine is a co-founder and a Festival Director of Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival. She is currently finishing up her documentary short “Unheard Voices” and produced short films, “At What Price” (2009) and “Robbed” (2010). She is currently attached to produce “Rise From the Ashes”, a feature-length documentary. Catherine graduated from Ryerson University School of Image Arts with a BFA in Film Studies.
UNIT PRODUCTION MANAGER
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Kimby Caplan is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has aired on PBS, ABC, and NBC affiliates. Her documentaries and short films have been shown in festivals across the country and internationally. Her films, as a Director and as a Director of Photography, have won awards in all genres. Caplan has just completed principal photography on a feature documentary about Cuban Exiles in America, “CUBAMERICAN”. Her first E! pilot on female wrestlers will air this fall and she is currently in production on set in Wyoming on a docu-drama about a vaudeville sharpshooter from the 1920’s.
EDITOR
Alex Lotz holds a BFA in Film Production from Chapman University with a minor in Germanic Studies, and has been making films on social, political, and philosophical subjects since being recognized as a semi-finalist in the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Free Speech And Democracy Film Contest as a senior in high school. He recently edited “Liberation”, a narrative film integrating news footage in portraying the exile of the Shah of Iran. 7th Art Releasing distributed this short film theatrically with the feature documentary “The Queen And I”. His short film “Recompense” screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival and the S’Not Narrative Experimental Film Festival at Pomona College. He also produced and edited television commercials for small businesses and the MyNetworkTV affiliate in St. Louis, as well as video on urban issues for newgeography.com.
Eli has worked extensively in the entertainment business, ranging from Production Assistant to Producer. In the last five years he developed, wrote, directed, and produced “What’s Bugging Seth,” an award- winning independent feature film. He recently completed “Katrina,” an MTV Network commissioned television pilot, that tells the story of two Hurricane Katrina survivors. Outside of the entertainment world, he is active in the hearing loss community and currently sits on the board of two non-profits that assist children with hearing loss.
MUSIC
Collin Martin has studied music for a majority of his life. He started piano lessons at the age of 6 and still actively plays today. Collin found his love for percussion in high school and continued his percussive studies in the undergraduate college level. It was during his undergraduate studies that he also found a love for composition and he is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Music Composition from California State University, Northridge. In addition to composing art music, Collin has a passion for musical theatre and hopes to center his career on the creation and production of new musical theatre in his community.
CO-PRODUCER
Eric Soth is a filmmaker and artist working in Culver City, California. Eric grew up in the unique town of Fairfield, Iowa, where he developed his creative skills in the local community of artists and activists. After receiving his B.F.A. in Film Production from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Eric worked on a variety of films, music videos, and documentaries. He recently completed producing the film "Vagaries of Lost Dreamers" and directed the latest music video for Canadian musician and filmmaker Peter Foldy. As a filmmaker, Eric aims to create engaging films that promote meaningful thought and dialogue about art and life.
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