KEY CREATIVES
Director TONY VAINUKU comes from a culture of third world traditions and a family of athletes. He grew up playing sports, but football was the focal point for his community and for Tony throughout much of his youth. For many who share his Polynesian heritage, the sport had become a way of life. After high school, he spent some time in the corporate world before enrolling at Westminster College in Utah to study business marketing for the purpose of learning how to build businesses around his passions of creative directing, writing and filmmaking. After graduating with a B.S. in Business Marketing, Tony founded a multimedia company called Soulprofile Productions, which specialized in creative directing, video web ads, music production and other promos.
In addition, Tony founded and launched the Soulpro brand in 2011: a lifestyle apparel brand built on the philosophy of Passion is Purpose®. In its three years of business, Soulpro has grown across the western United States and been actively involved in collaborating with and promoting hundreds of musicians, artists, athletes and entrepreneurs. Everyday, Tony lives his life by the simple philosophy of “get busy living, or get busy dying.”
Co-Director / Producer ERIKA COHN is a two-time Emmy, Peabody and DGA Award-winning filmmaker who Variety recognized as one of 2017’s top documentary filmmakers to watch and was featured in DOC NYC’s 2019 “40 Under 40.” Most recently, Erika directed/produced the New York Times Critics Pick, Emmy Award-winning and Peabody nominated BELLY OF THE BEAST, featuring the 2021 Oscar shortlisted original song, “See What You’ve Done” by Mary J. Blige. This powerful exposé of human rights abuses in women’s prisons opened in theatres and was broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens series last fall. Her current releases also include The New York Times Op-Docs short film, WHAT YOU’LL REMEMBER, a beautiful portrait of a family who reframes their experience of homelessness, now playing in theatres and major film festivals. Previously, Erika directed/produced THE JUDGE, a Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated film about the first woman judge appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a courts, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ 2018 Independent Lens series. She co-directed/produced IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST, an Emmy award-winning, feature documentary about young Pacific Islander men pursuing their dreams of playing professional football, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ 2016 Independent Lens series. Her work has been supported by IFP, the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Institute, Chicken & Egg, Hot Docs, ITVS, Women in Film, Fork Films, SFFILM, IDFA and BAVC among others.
Erika grew up attending the Sundance Film Festival as a native Utahn, where she first began her career. She studied at Chapman University (California) and Hebrew University (Jerusalem) and has degrees in Film Production, Middle East Studies, and Acting Performance. In 2013, Erika founded Idle Wild Films, Inc., which has released three feature documentaries, two short films, and produced numerous branded content and commercial spots, including Gatorade’s “Win from Within” series, for which she received a 2016 Webby award nomination. In her spare time, Erika is an avid documentary photographer, music editor and performing artist. Erika is currently in development with her fiction feature debut and is represented by APA.
Executive Producer GERALYN DREYFOUS has a wide, distinguished background in the arts and participates on numerous boards and initiatives. She is the founder of the Utah Film Center and co-founder of Impact Partners Film Fund with Dan Cogan. In 2013, Geralyn co-founded Gamechanger Films, a film fund dedicated to women directors. Her independent producing credits include the Academy Award winning “Born Into Brothels;” Emmy nominated “The Day My God Died;” Academy Award nominated “The Square,” Academy Award nominated “The Invisible War” and multiple film festival winners. Geralyn was honored with the IDA’s 2013 Amicus Award for her significant contribution to documentary filmmaking. Variety recognized Geralyn in their 2014 Women’s Impact Report highlighting her work in the entertainment industry.
Executive Producer / Post Production Supervisor Mark Lipson came to Los Angeles after attending NYU Film School to pursue photography and produce film and television. He developed and was associate producer of the original “Children of the Corn” feature. Then returning to NYC he produced “Almost You,” an indie comedy starring Griffin Dunne and Brooke Adams for Fox Classics. In the mid-90’s he supervised 3 innovative doc series for ITVS, including “The United States of Poetry.”
While in Texas shooting stills for David Byrne’s film “True Stories” he met Errol Morris. Mark produced three of Errol’s films most notably the award winning “The Thin Blue Line,” then “Fast Cheap and Out of Control” and most recently “Tabloid.” Current Mr. Lipson has been consulting as executive producer and post production supervisor on numerous Indie Features such as, “Standard Operating Procedure,” “Countdown to Zero,” “This Space Available,” “The Source Family” and this years Cannes, Telluride and Toronto International Film Festival darling, “Red Army.”
Executive Producer / Sound Supervisor, GAVIN DOUGAN is an Emmy Nominated Filmmaker who works in both the Documentary and Narrative Feature worlds of film. Gavin is an Executive Producer and the Sound Supervisor for the recent Oscar Nominated and Emmy winning Documentary – “The Square” – which examines the events of the Egyptian Revolution. Gavin received an Emmy Nomination in the Best Documentary category for this film.
He was also an Executive Producer for the award winning Documentary “Pandora’s Promise” – which questions the narrative about Nuclear Energy, and Co-Executive Producer of the award winning Documentary “Meet the Patels” – which humorously explores the world of arranged marriages within the Indian American community. Gavin was the Writer, Director, and Producer of the award winning narrative feature “Brass Tacks” – which tells the story about a group of young and talented Musicians confronting the realities of the Music Industry. He has also taught Film for Young Filmmakers Education.
Editor, ERICKA CONCHA is an up-and-coming American film and video editor from Northern California, who grew up dreaming of a career in the film and television industry. After receiving her undergraduate degree with Honors and two academic awards, Ericka was offered a scholarship to attend the Graduate Conservatory Program for film at Chapman University where she further refined her skills. She has enjoyed success with many of her short narrative works, which have screened at Academy Accredited festivals, including the Hollywood Film Festival, Dances With Films and First Glance, accomplishments which helped earn her a coveted spot in the ACE Internship Program.
More recently, Ericka has turned her attention toward longform documentary film, where she is staking out her place as a critical new voice. By bringing a fresh, energetic lens to her subject matter, Ericka Concha is quickly becoming known as an editor who is defining modern documentary storytelling.
Editor, WILLIAM HAUGSE, A.C.E. has been nominated in editing categories for both an Oscar (“Hoop Dreams”) and a national Emmy, received the American Cinema Editors top award among other honors. He has edited scores of doc features, and television films, including “Stevie” (Lionsgate) and “Sunset Story” (ITVS/PBS). His credits also include sixty or so shorter films as director and/or editor. He worked with Orson Welles and John Cassavetes editing shorter films, including making trailers for their films.
Recent work includes”Gore Vidal: United States of Amnesia (2013 Tribeca” “superb” Hollywood Reporter. Films about to be released, in addition to “In Football We Trust,” include the feature “Critic: Jonathan Gold and his City.” He has worked in New York, Geneva, Cairo, Bali, and Rajasthan and more, now resides in Los Angeles. For five years in the ‘90s he taught editing and filmmaking at the USC Cinema School.
Editor, KEN SCHNEIDER has edited over 35 featurelength documentaries, focusing on war and peace, human rights, artists’ lives, untold American histories, and contemporary social issues. Ken co-edited the Oscarnominated “Regret To Inform,” described by the NY Times as “unforgettable…exquisitely filmed, edited and scored.” His films have screened on PBS’ American Masters, POV, Independent Lens, Frontline, on HBO, and in television and film festivals worldwide.
Other projects include: “Have You Heard From Johannesburg” (Emmy winning series); “The Good War and Those Who Refused To Fight It”; “El Poeta”; “Orozco: Man of Fire”; “Ralph Ellison: An American Journey”; “Store Wars”; “School Colors”; “Bolinao 52”; “Ancestors in the Americas” and “Speaking in Tongues.” Ken’s editing can be viewed on kenschneidereditor.net. Ken lectures at NYU, Harvard, San Francisco City College, the SF Art Institute, and Chapman University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two teenage sons.
Composer, Justin Melland has over 50 feature and documentary film credits to his name, including Oscar® nominee “The Death of Kevin Carter,” “When the Storm Came” (Winner, Short Film, Sundance Film Festival 2004) “Under Our Skin” (Tribeca Film Festival 2008), “Life 2.0” (Sundance Film Festival 2010), “The Redemption of General Butt Naked” (Winner, Cinematography Sundance Film Festival 2011), and “The Hill Team” (Winner, Best Documentary Tribeca Film Festival 2013, Oscilloscope Labs). He has also written scores for television series such as the epic 7-hour television event, “Belief” (Oprah Winfrey and Part2 Pictures), National Geographic Explorer, A&E’s City Confidential, Frontline/WORLD, and the History Channel’s Human Weapon. Melland received his Master’s Degree in music composition at UCLA and UC Berkeley, and resides in Venice, California.
Additional Music by Derek VanScoten, who amidst a land of hypnotic beats, catchy hooks, and majestic melodies exists, goes by D.V.S*. His latest album “Comfort Zone,” arrives on Dec 9, 2014 via Emancipator’s label Loci Records. D.V.S* (aka Derek VanScoten) began producing in 2009, and has since remixed artists like Bassnectar, Sharam, and Break Science. His 2013 release “Hit the Clouds Running” was the apex of his career to date, marrying forward thinking electronic bass, drums and sound design, with classy guitar tones and catchy vocals. Past label releases include Amorphous, Soulection, Loci, 1320 records, Pretty Lights Music, Gravitas Recordings, Cantora Records, Yoshi Toshi, Daly City, Electronic Music Magazine, and Dub Lab. www.dvsmusic.com
