Cynthia Wade
Consultant
Learn more about the folks
behind the documentary.
See their bios below.
Bonnie Blue Edwards
Director/Producer
Bonnie Blue Edwards is an Alabama-native filmmaker and theatre producer based in NYC, who got her start through the storytelling juggernaut The Moth. Since premiering in 2012, Bonnie has been a producer of HELEN & EDGAR - the New York Times rave review one-man-show by the poet and playwright Edgar Oliver. The performance has since been showcased at the renowned Public Theater, and performance centers around the globe. She has also produced sold-out avante garde plays in Chelsea and at the historic Century Club, and even went on the road with The Unchained Tour as videographer. Most recently, Bonnie was the background casting coordinator for STEREOTYPICALLY YOU, featuring an all-star comedy lineup. She worked alongside Oscar-nominated actors and producers on the set of STEALING CARS — an independent feature film Executive Produced by Mark Wahlberg. She also produced a Dorothy Parker period-piece short film, A TELEPHONE CALL, directed by Avram Ludwig. She is also an Associate Producer on the magical mystery feature film ASSISTED LIVING, with Executive Producer Kevin Spacey, slated for release in 2016.
Jeanette Sears
Director of Photography
Cynthia Wade won the Academy Award and sixteen additional film awards for her Cinemax/LOGO short documentary FREEHELD, about a dying policewoman fighting to leave her pension to her female life partner. This film is now in production as a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page and Zach Galifianakis. In 2013, Cynthia received her second Oscar nomination for her HBO documentary MONDAYS AT RACINE, about a hair salon that caters to women undergoing chemotherapy. Cynthia’s 2014 short film SELFIE went viral and captured 5 million viewers within the first 10 days of internet launch. Cynthia’s 2010 short documentary BORN SWEET, about a Cambodian village poisoned with arsenic well water, won 17 festival awards worldwide. Her HBO feature-length film SHELTER DOGS, about the ethics of euthanasia at a rural animal shelter, won 5 festival awards and was broadcast in 7 countries. She is the director of the feature-length documentaries LIVING THE LEGACY (Sundance & IFC Channels), GROWING HOPE AGAINST HUNGER (Sesame Street Prime Time Special, Emmy Winner), and GRIST FOR THE MILL (Cinemax). Her camerawork has been seen on HBO/Cinemax, PBS, A&E, AMC, The History Channel, LOGO, Oxygen, MTV and Discovery. Cynthia holds an MA in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University and BA cum laude from Smith College.
Toby Shimin
Consulting Editor
Jeanette Sears is a New York-based filmmaker, transplanted from a small town in Ohio, and moved to New York to pursue her passion for filmmaking. While attending the City College of New York, she began a documentary project, GENERATIONS OF SILENCE, which is currently in production. The film examines the experiences of four LGBT veterans and their struggles in serving in the US Military from before, during, and after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. She is also an instructor for the I WAS THERE film workshops, teaching veterans to make films, as well as in pre-production for a documentary film, THE UNKNOWN PLAY PROJECT. Jeanette has always had an interest in anything involving a camera–this stands true today.
Christa
Artherholt
Editor
Christa Artherholt is an editor specializing in all things post production. She spearheaded post for the Academy Award-winning short documentary STRANGERS NO MORE, and the Emmy-nominated HBO series MASTERCLASS. Artherholt recently won an editing award for her work on the indie short, FOSTER DOG, and just finished the edit of ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE 90S?, a comedic horror short featured on Indiewire. She has also worked on projects for MTV, NBC, HGTV, Travel Channel, CNN, Showtime, and Wolf Films.
Bren Coombs
Associate Producer
Bren Coombs is based in Los Angeles and is always up to something, or twenty, in the marketing and entertainment worlds. She has worked with many of the best in the business and has had the opportunity to help make many projects become reality. She likes to keep her interests varied, taking on projects in film, television, radio, stage, and the web, wearing many hats from art department to publicity and everything in between. She also keeps busy photographing and interviewing on red carpets, writing for various publications, producing events, and managing social media account for businesses and celebrity personalities. She is currently creating a web series and is attached to several upcoming films.
Toby Shimin began her film career as a sound editor, and switched to picture editing in 1988 with THE CHILDREN'S STOREFRONT, which was nominated for an Academy Award. She has cut numerous films that have premiered at Sundance, including MARTHA AND ETHEL, A LEAP OF FAITH, MISS AMERICA, OUT OF THE PAST, which won the Audience Award, EVERYTHING'S COOL, BUCK, which also won the Audience Award and was shortlisted for an Oscar and HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO which premiered on HBO. She was supervising editor for INDIAN POINT, which premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. She has edited several films for PBS, including SEABISCUIT, for which she received an Emmy nomination, REPORTING AMERICA AT WAR, MOTHERS OF BEDFORD and LITTLE WHITE LIE. THREE OF HEARTS premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and A SEA CHANGE won several festival awards, including the NOAA Environmental Hero award. Toby studied film at Hampshire College, where she earned a Bachelors
of Arts, and is currently on the faculty at SVA in NYC. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley where she is co-curator of the film series,
Depot Docs.
Short Version Post Support
Cathleen Conte
Re-Record Mixer
Leo Candian
Colorist
Alex Pilkington
Titles
Kaylee Rob
Original Music
Featuring "Get Away"
by Belle Adair
