THE TRANSFORMATIVE PROMISE OF DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING

FARHOUD MEYBODI

u003cdivu003ernu003cdiv dir=u0022ltru0022u003ernu003cdivu003eu003cspan style=u0022font-size: small;u0022u003eFarhoud Meybodi is a filmmaker and entrepreneur focused on storytelling that inspires cultural change. He is the founder of Ritual Arts and, over the past twelve years, has collaborated on a variety of award-winning projects at the forefront of social impact and brand purpose. Most recently, he directed and executive produced Earthbound, and also executive produced, and directed several episodes of My Last Days, a documentary series about extraordinary people living with terminal illness yet thriving. The show has amassed over 100 million organic  views and is in its fifth season on The CW Network. Subjects from My Last Days have inspired two feature films, Five Feet of Apart (CBS FIlms) and Clouds (Disney+). u003c/spanu003eu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003e

MATTHEW PALMER

Matthew fell in love with film when he was twelve-years-old and saw Fargo for the first time. He’s had a camera (or director’s monitor) in his hand ever since. Matthew’s work has been screened, published, exhibited globally in The de Young Museum, as well as on prime time TV, during the Winter Olympics, and at Big Sky Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, the Berlin Commercial Festival, and more. His documentary film This Land screened around the world and was praised by The New York Times, Film Threat, and more. His work in commercials and short films earned him the honor of being a part of the Saatchi u0026amp; Saatchi New Directors Showcase at Cannes Lions, a Shots Creative’s Rising Stars, an official nominee at the Berlin Commercial Festival, a Webby Award nominee, and the recipient of eight Vimeo Staff Picks.

SHERRY SIMPSON

JOSH SABEY

u003cblockquoteu003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cdiv dir=u0022ltru0022u003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cdivu003eJosh and his wife Sarah write books and make movies together. Their film American Tragedy won best documentary at the prestigious Boston Film Festival where it was one of three films screened opening night. The other two were Terrence Malick’s USA premiere of A Hidden Life and Taika Waititi’s Jo Jo Rabbit. Their film The Abortion Talks will be screening on PBS World. Their writing has been published in Wayfare, The Exponent II, Routledge, The Mighty, The Federalist, Psych Central, The Metrowest Daily News, and many other platforms.u003c/divu003ernu003cdivu003eJosh and Sarah have been invited to speak at numerous events and organizations including The Boston Globe GlobeDocs, 92NY, Heterodox Academy, YWCA, the JCC of Boulder, Cornell University, Columbia University, University of Mississippi, Bridgewater State University, Utah Valley University, University of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, Iron Light Entertainment Summit, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, GLIDE Memorial Church, American Public Square, Braver Angels National, Living Room Conversations, National Week of Conversation, Listen First Committee, WBUR Boston Public Radio, WUNC Raleigh Public Radio, BYU Radio, and the “Facing Project Podcast” on NPR. They’ve been covered by The Washington Post, Fox News National, NBC Boston, The Boston Globe, AP News, CBS News, Boston 25 News, Reason, WHDH 7 Boston News, and more.u003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003eu003c/blockquoteu003e

ABIGAIL DISNEY

u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eAbigail E. Disney advocates for real changes to the way capitalism operates in today’s world. As a philanthropist and social activist, she has worked with organizations supporting peacebuilding, gender justice, and systemic cultural change. She is a documentary filmmaker who won an Emmy for “The Armor of Light.” Her latest film, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” which she co-directed with Kathleen Hughes, made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film screened in select theaters and is available on-demand. In Season 4 of the podcast “All Ears,” Abigail used the film as a jumping-off point to ask big-thinking business leaders, union organizers, economists, and others how they would fix our broken economy.u003c/pu003ernu003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eShe is also Chair and Co-Founder of Level Forward, an ecosystem of storytellers, entrepreneurs, and social change-makers dedicated to balancing artistic vision, social impact, and stakeholder return. She also created the nonprofit Peace is Loud, which uses storytelling to advance social movements and the Daphne Foundation, which supports organizations working for a more equitable, fair and peaceful New York City.u003c/pu003e

KRISTI KENDALL

u003cbu003eKristi Kendall, president at Kristi Kendall and Co, u003c/bu003eis an expert in content production and storytelling with 25+ yrs experience.  Kristi started her career as a journalist, producing for ABC News u003ciu003e20/20, u003c/iu003eand in 2009 became John Stossel’s executive producer at Fox Business, where she launched his highly-rated weekly show and oversaw more than a dozen documentary hours for Stossel and others.  In 2014 she became the EVP at New Balloon and worked on film projects such asu003ciu003e The Creative Brain with David Eagleman, u003c/iu003eKasi Lemmon’s, u003ciu003eHarriet, u003c/iu003eand Cary Fukunaga’s, u003ciu003eBeasts of No Nation.u003c/iu003e  In 2019 she started her own company with the mission of “u003ciu003eConnecting Hearts and Minds to Ideas that Matteru003c/iu003e” and there has produced and directed dozens of projects.  Her most recent project, u003ciu003eUNDIVIDE USu003c/iu003e, is a feature documentary tackling toxic polarization and demonstrating how each of us, through our communities and individual actions, can stop it. Kristi serves on the boards of the Moving Picture Institute (MPI) and the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) and lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, two teenagers, dog, and cat—all in the same apartment.

LANCE KRAMER

u003cp class=u0022p1u0022u003eLance is a DC-based filmmaker and co-founder of u003ca href=u0022https://www.meridianhillpictures.com/u0022u003eu003cspan class=u0022s1u0022u003eMeridian Hill Picturesu003c/spanu003eu003c/au003e. Lance produced u003ca href=u0022https://thefirststep.com/u0022u003eu003cspan class=u0022s1u0022u003eTHE FIRST STEPu003c/spanu003eu003c/au003e (Tribeca, AFI DOCS); u003ca href=u0022https://www.cityoftreesfilm.com/u0022u003eu003cspan class=u0022s1u0022u003eCITY OF TREESu003c/spanu003eu003c/au003e (Full Frame, PBS, Netflix); and the Webby Award-winning documentary series u003ca href=u0022https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/12/opinions/van-jones-messy-truth/index.htmlu0022u003eu003cspan class=u0022s1u0022u003eTHE MESSY TRUTHu003c/spanu003eu003c/au003e. Lance was selected to the 2018 Sundance Creative Producers Summit, the 2017 Impact Partners Documentary Producers Fellowship and was named to the DOC NYC “40 Under 40” list in 2021. Lance was awarded four Individual Arts Fellowships by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities between 2014-2022. In 2014, Lance received the DC Mayor’s Arts Award, the highest honor given to working artists in the city. Lance has served two terms as Board Member of Docs in Progress, and has been an active member of the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA) since 2016. Lance holds a bachelor’s degree in history and film from Dartmouth College.u003c/pu003e

BEN REKHI

u003cblockquoteu003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cdivu003ernu003cblockquoteu003ernu003cdivu003ernrnu003cspan style=u0022color: #000000;u0022u003eBen Rekhi is an award-winning filmmaker of mixed Punjabi and American descent. After working with the Coen Brothers in the camera department ofu003ciu003e O Brother, Where Art Thou?u003c/iu003e Rekhi was hired by George Clooney to shoot the behind-the-scenes for the actor’s directorial debut u003ciu003eConfessions of a Dangerous Mindu003c/iu003e. Rekhi went on to direct the independent feature u003ciu003eWaterborneu003c/iu003e which won an Audience Award at SXSWu003ciu003e;u003c/iu003e u003ciu003eThe Ashram,u003c/iu003e a spiritual thriller set in India starringu003cbu003e u003c/bu003eAcademy Award Winner Melissa; and u003ciu003eWatch Listu003c/iu003e, a crime-drama set against the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. As a non-fiction filmmaker, Rekhi co-directed the ITVS series u003ciu003eThe Hidden Vote,u003c/iu003e which profiled minority voters who support Trump and u003ciu003eThe Reunited States, u003c/iu003ea documentary feature that followed everyday citizens on the difficult journey of bridging our political divides. The latter was executive produced by Van Jones and Meghan McCain.  Rekhi lives in Los Angeles and is represented by ROAR Management.u003c/spanu003ernrnu003c/divu003eu003c/blockquoteu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003ernu003c/divu003eu003c/blockquoteu003e

MELISSA REGAN

Melissa is a Sundance award-winning documentary filmmaker. She has produced award-winning social change films for nonprofit and corporate clients, co-founded an early Internet software company, taught math, science and engineering, and published research on innovative uses of technology for learning. Her short documentary No Dumb Questions received an award at Sundance, appeared on HBO, PBS, MTV/LOGO and Oprah. The film and related educational campaigns are changing hearts, minds, and policies in schools, colleges, and communities around the world.  Client projects include an award-winning short documentary series for The Coca-Cola Company about water and sanitation in Kenya and Uganda, and an e-learning Executive Education product line for the Stanford and Harvard Business Schools. She is currently in post-production on her first feature documentary about Sister Simone Campbell and the Nuns On The Bus u002du002d rebel nuns fighting to save our democracy. She has a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.