SARA COLANGELO
Director / Writer
Sara Colangelo is an award-winning filmmaker, who in 2010 was named one of Filmmaker magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Her short documentary Halal Vivero was a National Finalist at the 2006 Student Academy Awards and her narrative short Un Attimo di Respiro screened at national and international film festivals such as Tribeca and SXSW; the short film earned Colangelo NYU’s prestigious Wasserman Prize for Best Direction. Colangelo’s subsequent short film, Little Accidents, made its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It garnered numerous awards including a Warner Bros. Production Prize as well as grand jury prizes from the Seattle International Film Festival and San Francisco Shorts Fest, among others. LITTLE ACCIDENTS (inspired by the aforementioned short film of the same title) is Colangelo's first feature, and explores tragedy and redemption in a modern-day American coal mining town. The project was supported by the Sundance Institute's Screenwriters and Directors Labs, where Colangelo was an Annenburg and Indian Paintbrush Fellow. LITTLE ACCIDENTS had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and will be theatrically released in 2015. Colangelo graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and earned her M.F.A. at New York University’s Graduate Film Division.
JASON MICHAEL BERMAN
Producer
Jason Michael Berman is the Vice President of Mandalay Pictures, where he is responsible for structuring financing for Mandalay's slate of independent films, in addition to packaging projects. Jason has produced feature films that have debuted at premiere film festivals around the globe, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca, Berlinale, and Edinburgh. Berman was named by Variety in 2011 as one of the Top Ten Producers to Watch, and by Deadline Hollywood in 2012 as one of the Top Ten Producers to Watch at Sundance.
Jason recently produced Sara Colangelo's film LITTLE ACCIDENTS starring Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, and Jacob Lofland which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and will be released theatrically in January 2015 by Amplify.
Jason recently wrapped production on Jonas Carpignano's MEDITERANNEA in Calabria, Italy. Jason is in post-production on Andrew Renzi's FRANNY starring Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning and Theo James, and Mark Elijah Rosenberg's AD INEXPLORATA starring Mark Strong. Jason is in pre-production on Clay Jeter's IO starring Diego Luna and Elle Fanning; the above four films have all gone through the Sundance Institute Labs programs. Jason is also in pre-production on Nate Parker's BIRTH OF A NATION starring Armie Hammer and Nate Parker.
Jason's past producing credits include THE DRY LAND, JESS + MOSS, SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA, BROOKLYN BROTHERS BEAT THE BEST, LUV, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, KILIMANJARO and X/Y.
Prior to producing, Jason started his career at the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, California. His understanding of the entertainment business was further honed under the Chief Operating Officer at MGM Studios, and then writer/director Gary Ross.
Jason is a 2006 graduate of the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts, where he is now an adjunct professor teaching a course on Entrepreneurship in Entertainment.
Jason is a co-founder of the Sundance Institute Catalyst Initiative (creative investor and financier lab), in which he is now a consultant. Jason is a member of the Producers Guild of America. Jason lives in Los Angeles, and is originally from Baltimore, Maryland.
SUZY ELMIGER
Editor
Suzy Elmiger recently cut Adam Rogers’ At Middleton, starring Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia, which is set for a spring release. She worked as second editor on Robert Altman’s Short Cuts and Ready to Wear. Her credits as editor include Alan Rudolph’s Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Afterglow and Breakfast of Champions; Stanley Tucci’s Big Night, Impostors and Joe Gould’s Secret; James Toback’s Harvard Man and When Will I Be Loved; Griffin Dunne’s segment of Movie 43 (Veronica) and The Accidental Husband; Dan Algrant’s People I Know; and David Duchovny’s feature directorial debut House of D. Other projects include Milarepa, the story of an 11th-century Tibetan Buddhist saint, directed by a Bhutanese Lama, Choling Rinpoche; Lola Versus, starring Greta Gerwig; and Why Stop Now?, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo and Tracy Morgan. She has also cut several shorts including Julia Stiles’ directorial debut, Raving, starring Zooey Deschanel.
MARCELO ZARVOS
Composer
Marcelo Zarvos is a Brazilian-born musician who earned Emmy nominations for You Don’t Know Jack and Taking Chance and HMMA nominations for Enough Said and Brooklyn’s Finest. Zarvos’ upcoming projects include The Face of Love, starring Robin Williams, Ed Harris and Annette Bening, and the Brazilian film Reaching for the Moon, directed by Bruno Barreto. Additional film credits include The Good Shepherd, The Words, Sin Nombre, The Bay, Won’t Back Down and Hollywoodland. His television work includes the hit Showtime series The Big C and Ray Donovan. Zarvos burst onto the indie film landscape in 2001 with his score for Kissing Jessica Stein. His score for The Door in the Floor, the 2004 film adaptation of the John Irving novel, earned further acclaim. In 2004 Filmmaker magazine named Zarvos one of the “25 New Faces of Indie Film.”
In addition to his film work, Zarvos released three critically acclaimed albums for MA Recordings: Dualism, Music Journal and Labyrinths. Other works include dance scores for Pilobolus, DanceBrazil, Cleo Parker Robinson and ODC Dance as well as chamber music for Ethel and Quintet of the Americas. Zarvos has received grants from Meet the Composer, the New York State Council for the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts. His Cirque Musica Suite premiered in 2011 and was performed by the San Diego Symphony.
ANNE CAREY
Producer
Anne Carey is president of production for the New York-based finance and production company Archer Gray Productions, which specializes in independent film, television and theater. In 2012 Carey executive produced the documentary feature Love, Marilyn by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012 and aired on HBO in 2013. In 2010 Carey produced Anton Corbijn’s The American, Rowan Joffe’s adaptation of the Martin Booth novel, starring George Clooney. Additional producer credits include Greg Mottola’s Adventureland, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Ryan Reynolds; Tamara Jenkins’ Oscar-nominated drama The Savages, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney; and Tod Williams’ National Board of Review Award-winner (Special Recognition) The Door in the Floor, based on John Irving’s novel A Widow for One Year, starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger.
Carey’s notable executive producer credits include a host of films that screened at the Sundance Film Festival: Moisés Kaufman’s The Laramie Project (2002), Nicole Holofcener’s Friends with Money (2006); Mike Mills ’Thumbsucker (2005) and Alan Ball’s Towelhead (2008). Carey was a partner at This is That, Inc. with producers Ted Hope and Anthony Bregman. Previously, she was an in-house producer and head of development at Good Machine Inc., the seminal New York-based independent production company. Carey began her career at the William Morris Agency, sourcing literary material for the agency’s top film and television clients.
SUMMER SHELTON
Producer
Producer Summer Shelton was the recipient of the inaugural Bingham Ray Creative Producing Fellowship awarded by the Sundance Institute (2012), Rotterdam Producing Fellowship (2013) and Film Independent Producing Fellowship (2014). She is Executive Producer of Jim Strouse’s People, Places, Thingspremiering in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. She Co-Produced Angus MacLachlan’s Goodbye to All That which premiered in competition at 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and Co-Produced Scott Coffey’s Adult World, which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival both acquired by IFC Films. She has worked alongside critically acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani, as Associate Producer of Goodbye Solo (2008), an official selection of the Venice Film Festival and winner of the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize for Best Film; Co-Producer of his short “Plastic Bag” (2009), which premiered as the opening night film of the Corto Cortissimo in the Venice Film Festival and screened at Telluride and New York Film Festivals; Associate Producer of At Any Price (2013), released by Sony Picture Classics, which premiered in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival where it was nominated for the Golden Lion, and also screened as official selections of the Telluride (2012) and Toronto Film Festivals (2012) and Producer of “Ég Anda” (2012), a short film created as part of Sigur Rós's Valteri mystery film experiment.
RACHEL MORRISON
Cinematographer
Rachel Morrison works at the forefront of Iindependent Cinema, channeling each story’s core emotion into arresting imagery. She uses her own life experiences to inform her cinematography, citing an early loss as the inspiration to preserve time through frozen imagery. She received an Emmy nomination for Showtime’s Riker’s High, a documentary about a high school within the Riker’s Island prison system. Morrison recently lensed Fruitvale Station, winner of both an Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film also took home the Prix de l’avenir (Prize of the Future) in the Un Certain Regard competition at Cannes and grossed more than $16 million at the box office. In June 2013 Morrison was honored for her outstanding achievements in cinematography as recipient of Kodak’s Vision Award, presented at the annual Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards. Her upcoming work includes thriller The Harvest, starring Michael Shannon. Morrison also filmed the drama Some Girl(s), directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer, which premiered at SXSW 2013. Starring Emily Watson, Zoe Kazan, Kristin Bell and Adam Brody, the film was used to launch the new Vimeo On Demand platform a few weeks prior to theatrical release. Additional film credits include Sound of My Voice, starring Brit Marling; Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, starring John C. Reilly; and Any Day Now (Audience Award winner at Tribeca), starring Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt. After completing her master’s degree in cinematography at the American Film Institute, Morrison honed her craft lensing for television. Her work has been featured on major TV networks including HBO, ABC, MTV, IFC, Biography, Comedy Central, E!, CBS and OWN.
CHRIS TRUJILLO
Production Designer
Chris Trujillo received a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Florida before moving to New York City to pursue a career in film. Once there, he cut his art department teeth in the world of TV commercials and music videos. His transition into feature film came as Art Director and Set Decorator on a number of critically acclaimed projects including Ti West’s “House of the Devil”, Kevin Asch’s “Holy Rollers”, and Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture.” As a production designer Chris has worked on a variety of projects, among them Allison Bagnall’s “The Dish and the Spoon,” Xan Cassavetes’ “Kiss of the Damned” and Liz Garcia’s “The Lifeguard,” which was nominated for a Sundance Grand Jury prize. 2013 proved to be a very busy year for Chris. In addition to “Little Accidents” he worked on four projects: Lou Howe’s “Gabriel,” Stephen Belber’s “Match,” Leigh Janiak’s “Honeymoon,” and most recently Simon Rumley’s “The Last Word.” In 2014 Chris completed work on a number of films including “Viral” directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Shulman, and “You Were Never Here” by Camille Thoman.