SARA DOSA (DIRECTOR) is an Academy Award nominated award-winning nonfiction filmmaker whose work centers on the human relationship with non-human nature. The films she has directed have won a Peabody and the Directors’ Guild of America Awards, among others, and have been nominated for an Oscar, BAFTA and Independent Spirit Award. Dosa’s work has been shown at festivals worldwide including Sundance, SXSW, New Directors/New Films, CPH:DOX and Visions du Réel, among others, and has screened in partnership with museums such as the MOMA, The Academy Museum, BAMPFA and The Louvre.
Dosa directed the Academy Award nominated "Fire of Love," which premiered on Opening Night of Sundance 2022 where it won the Editing Award and was acquired by National Geographic Films. “Fire of Love” was released theatrically in 2022 and went on to be nominated for over 40 awards worldwide, winning the DGA Outstanding Direction in a Documentary Film, the Critics' Choice Award for Best Archival Documentary, IDA’s Best Writing and Best Cinematography, Cinema Eye Honors for Best Score, Best Editing and Best Visual Design, among others. Additional directing titles include the 2015 Indie-Spirited Award nominated "The Last Season" and the 2019 Golden Gate Award-winning film "The Seer & The Unseen." Dosa's producing credits include the Peabody winning "Audrie & Daisy" (Sundance / Netflix 2016) and the Peabody and Emmy-nominated "Survivors" (IDFA / POV 2018). Dosa co-produced the Academy Award-nominated "The Edge of Democracy" (Sundance / Netflix 2019) as well as "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" (Sundance / Paramount 2017).
In 2018, Dosa was named to the inaugural class of DOCNYC's "40 under 40" and was also inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture's Documentary Branch. She graduated from Wesleyan University and has a joint masters in cultural anthropology and international development studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
JOSH PENN (PRODUCER) is an Academy Award nominated producer, whose films have won over 100 awards internationally. Most notable among them is BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, which won Sundance's Grand Jury Prize, Cannes' Camera d'Or, and was nominated for four Academy Awards. In addition, Josh received Sundance and Indian Paintbrush's Producers Award and was a nominee for Outstanding Producer at the 2013 PGA Awards. Josh also produced TCHOUPITOULAS (2012) and GLORY AT SEA (2008). Upcoming projects include feature debuts of top emerging artists including Mark Elijah Rosenberg and Ray Tintori. Josh previously worked as the Michigan New Media Director for President Obama's 2008 campaign, and Senior Program Manager for the re-election campaign
ALANA PRYOR ACKERMAN (CINEMATOGRAPHER/CO-PRODUCER) is a Wisconsin-raised, New-Orleans-based filmmaker and photographer. Since moving south, she has worked on such films as the Oscar-nominated BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, the Emmy-winning TRUE DETECTIVE, Jeff Nichols' upcoming feature MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, and Margaret Brown's SXSW winning documentary, THE GREAT INVISIBLE. She hopes to spend the rest of her days in the Crescent City seeking out odd jobs and good people.
STAR ROSENCRANS (CINEMATOGRAPHER) is a filmmaker and writer. In addition to his work on THE LAST SEASON, Rosencrans is in post-production on his documentary directorial debut, FEATHER AND PINE. He lives, works, and raises his three children in Los Angeles.
ERIN CASPER's (EDITOR) is an Emmy-nominated documentary editor whose award-winning films have been nominated for an Oscar, Emmys, Indie Spirit Awards, and have won a Peabody. Her films have screened at Sundance, New York Film Festival, Tribeca, True/False, Visions du Réel; distributed in movie theaters internationally, and broadcast on HBO, Showtime, PBS, The New York Times, Field of Vision, and Vanity Fair. Her selected editing credits include FIRE OF LOVE, for which she won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at its Sundance 2022 Premiere; RISK, directed by Laura Poitras (Neon, Showtime); AMERICAN PROMISE (Sundance Special Jury Award, Emmy nominee); ROLL RED ROLL (Netflix, POV), and THE LAST SEASON (Independent Spirit Truer than Fiction Award nominee). Outside of her work as an editor, Erin is a frequent panelist and mentor for Sundance, Tribeca, IFP, and True/False filmmaking labs, and is a 2011 Fellow and board member of the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship. She is a member of of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
STUART SLOAN (EDITOR) Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Stuart Sloan completed a BA and MA in film at Queen’s University Belfast. In 2007 he directed the short documentary COUNTERWEIGHT which showed at various festivals around Ireland. Moving to the USA in 2010, Stuart then edited and co-produced the Alzheimer's documentary YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME LIKE I LIVE HERE AND I DON'T, which screened nationwide on PBS in 2012, gaining very positive reviews from The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle. He also edited COLLAPSE a fiction feature film concerning the San Francisco Ballet with Cannes and Sundance-winning Director Rob Nilsson as well as ALL EARS, a documentary about instrumental hip-hop in Los Angeles, which premiered at SXSW in 2013. Stuart has just finished directing TOWERS OF BELFAST, a personal documentary about his hometown, set to premiere at the Belfast Film Festival in 2014.
DAN ROMER (COMPOSER) is a New York born and raised music producer, writer, mixer and film composer based out of his studio in Brooklyn. Dan has produced albums for an array of exciting artists such as Ingrid Michaelson, Jenny Owen Youngs, Ian Axel, He Is We, April Smith, Lelia Broussard, Cara Salimando and Jukebox The Ghost. In addition to his prolific production work Dan is an accomplished film composer having scored two award-winning short films: DEATH TO THE TINMAN, and GLORY AT SEA, as well as his debut feature, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD - winner of the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and the Caméra d'Or award at Cannes 2012.
OSEI ESSED (COMPOSER) is a songwriter and composer based in Brooklyn. He performs regularly with The Woes, a song-based, group improvisational project. Music by Essed has been used in live performance by Rocha Dance Theater; Ballet Memphis; as well as Benh Zeitlin's award winning short GLORY AT SEA. Essed posts new songs at oseiessed.bandcamp.com. THE LAST SEASON is Essed's first film score.
JOHN MONTAGUE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) is the founder of newly formed Scope Dog. In addition to his work with THE LAST SEASON, John was an Executive Producer for The Ross Brothers' TCHOUPITOULAS. He is also an Associate Producer on the upcoming film by Jamie Meltzer, FREEDOM FIGHTERS.
ADAM SPIELBERG (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) is the founder ofFilament Productions whose first feature, ARCADIA, starring John Hawkes, won the Crystal Bear at the ‘12 Berlinale. Filament’s first doc, Jamie Meltzer’s INFORMANT, was released in theaters in 2013, and was the #1 doc on iTunes. Filament is developing a slate of genre based narrative projects and manages an investment fund focusing on finishing costs. Before founding Filament, Adam was an executive for six years with Gigantic Pictures, where he produced Ramin Bahrani’s PLASTIC BAG starring Werner Herzog (Opening night short Venice ‘10), Co-Produced NIGHT CATCHES US starring Anthony Mackie (Sundance ’10), and was associate producer on Adam Salky’s DARE (Sundance ‘09). He also worked on Comedy Central’s iconic Chapelle’s Show.
SARAH GOLD (CONSULTING PRODUCER) is a journalist whose work has included writing and editing projects for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, New York Magazine, and Travel+Leisure. Currently she is an editor at Afar magazine. She joined Filament in 2011 as an acquisitions consultant focusing on Documentary.
MAI ARAKIDA IZSAK (ASSOCIATE PRODUCER) After getting her start working for the producers of BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, Maï co-produced the independent feature THE HEART MACHINE, which premiered in narrative competition at SXSW 2014. She’s worked on a variety of projects including the upcoming feature AD INEXPLORATA, James Franco’s BLACK DOG RED DOG, and produced a multimedia exhibit entitled, "Beyond Beasts: The Art of Court 13" with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Benh Zeitlin. Maï studied film production and fine arts at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and enjoys playing the violin in her spare time.
DANIEL HYMANSON (ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, ASSISTANT EDITOR) is a filmmaker from Chicago. Currently splitting his time between Chicago and New Orleans, he works under Oscar-nominated filmmakers in the Court 13 Collective (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD). Over the past two years, he has worked as production designer on Nick Singer’s OTHER MONTHS, which is premiering at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival. He is presently in post on his first feature QUEEN OF THE BATTLING BUTTERFLY BRIGADE. Hymanson is a 2011 graduate of the Wesleyan University film program.
