DIRECTOR

HOLLY ELSON

Selected as one of 25 breakout filmmakers for the Emerging Visions program (Film Society of Lincoln Center, IFP, New York Film Festival), Holly Elson is a UK based documentary director and producer working in television, film and transmedia with her company Hark Pictures. As a filmmaker she combines archive and contemporary observational documentary to tell unique personal stories, particularly exploring themes of identity and legacy. She has directed and produced documentaries for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and PBS. Credits include THE TIE THAT BINDS (BBC Scotland, Scottish Documentary Institute); PAULINE, SHEILA AND JOAN, nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for best documentary; RECYCLED HISTORY OF RECYCLING, supported by Britdoc. Elson won the Pixel Lab prize for The Viking of 6th Avenue’s accompanying digital project and in 2018 she was one of the recipients of the prestigious John Brabourne talent award.

PRODUCER

LORI CHEATLE

Lori Cheatle is a producer and the founder of Hard Working Movies, an award-winning production company with an appetite for bold, high-profile narratives, with films as unique and diverse as the filmmakers behind them.

Titles include DREAMING WALLS about the iconic Chelsea Hotel, which premiered at the 2022 Berlinale; US KIDS, which screened at Sundance 2020; MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A., about the pop star and activist M.I.A., directed by Steve Loveridge, which won a Special Jury award at Sundance 2018, the IDA Award for  Best Music Documentary and a Grierson Award; I AM ANOTHER YOU by Nanfu Wang, which won two jury awards at SXSW and is released by FilmRise and Independent Lens; KIKI (IFC Films) by Sara Jordeno, about the underground Kiki ballroom community in NYC , which premiered at Sundance 2016 and won the Berlin Teddy Award, the Full Frame Human Rights Award and was nominated for Independent Spirit Award and GLAAD awards.

Other films include CAPTIVATED: THE TRIALS OF PAMELA SMART, directed by Jeremiah Zagar for HBO/Sky Atlantic (Sundance, London BFI Festival); Amy Hardie’s critically acclaimed THE EDGE OF DREAMING and her BAFTA nominated SEVEN SONGS FOR A LONG LIFE; THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, selected for the Whitney Biennial and HAIL, SATAN? released by Magnolia Pictures. Working with director Doug Block, Lori produced three films for HBO, including the audience favorite 112 WEDDINGS, THE KIDS GROW UP and 51 BIRCH STREET, which premiered at Toronto and was named one of New York Times 10 Best Films of the Year. She received the Sundance Amazon Producers Award.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

JOHN BATTSEK

John Battsek is one of the most successful producers in feature documentary filmmaking. Starting with Academy Award-winning ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER, which Battsek conceived and produced, he has since been responsible for some of the most acclaimed documentaries in recent years.  Battsek co-founded Passion Pictures, a two-time Oscar-winning and four-time Oscar nominated independent production company.  In 2020, Battsek departed Passion Pictures to launch creative studio Ventureland with producers Kerstin Emhoff and Ali Brown.

Battsek’s most notable credits include Academy & BAFTA Award-winning SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, Academy Award nominated RESTREPO & WINTER ON FIRE, Primetime Emmy-winning MANHUNT: THE STORY OF THE HUNT FOR BIN LADEN, BAFTA winners THE IMPOSTER and HILLSBOROUGH, Grammy-nominee ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS and BAFTA nominated & Peabody winning LISTEN TO ME MARLON. 

Battsek also produced the Emmy Award-winning THE TILLMAN STORY, Alex Gibney’s CITIZEN K which premiered to critical acclaim at the Venice International Film Festival followed by the Toronto Film Festival and the Netflix Original three-part docu-series FIVE CAME BACK, with Scott Rudin, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Lawrence Kasdan, Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Greengrass.

Recent titles include The Rescue, Belushi and The Real Charlie Chaplin.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

NAITI GÁMEZ

Naiti Gámez has worked as a cinematographer on a number of award-winning films and television series, which have screened at dozens of festivals worldwide, such as the Festival de Cannes, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and SXSW. Her film credits include KIKI (dir. Sara Jordenö) CAPTIVATED: The Trials of Pamela Smart (dir. Jeremiah Zagar), KIKI (dir. Sara Jordeno), LUCKY (dir. Laura Checkoway), HEART STOP BEATING, NEWTOWN (dir. Kim Snyder) and others. TV credits include HBO, Showtime, PBS, ESPN, MTV/MTV2, Discovery Channel & Nova. 

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