Doc Series Day (Nov. 15)

Rudy Valdez is an Emmy Award-winning Michigan-raised, New York City-based filmmaker committed to creating social, cultural, and political stories through a cinematic and meaningful lens. He got his start in film as a Camera Operator on the Peabody Award-winning, Sundance series Brick City and went onto direct a true passion project, The Sentence (HBO). Shot and directed by Valdez over the course of a decade, this feature documentary tells the very personal story of his sister’s plight in the criminal justice system while tackling subjects like mandatory minimums and sentencing reform. For this work, the filmmaker won the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, US Documentary Audience Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was a 2018 Critics Choice Documentary Awards Best New Director nominee. Valdez’s most recent project, Breakaway, a feature film following WNBA superstar, Maya Moore and her fight for criminal justice reform, premiered on ESPN in July 2021 (produced by Rockin’ Robin Productions). His four-part docu-series, We Are: The Brooklyn Saints (produced by Imagine Documentaries), is currently streaming on Netflix. He also co- directed the premiere episode of Through Our Eyes (HBO) alongside Academy Award-winning director, Geeta Gandbhir, a four-part docu-series from Sesame Workshop that explores the lives of American families from the perspective of children. He is also in production on the definitive feature documentary of Carlos Santana (produced by Imagine Documentaries) and Disney +’s CHOIR, a docu-series following the Detroit Youth Choir after their star turn on America’s Got Talent. Valdez’s repertoire now extends into the scripted arena as he recently sold a genre TV series he created to Amazon that is loosely based on his family and life experiences.

Ben Selkow is an Emmy-nominated documentary film & television director, showrunner, and executive producer with over twenty years of experience making prestige docu-series, such as HBO’s Emmy-nominated “Q: Into the Storm” and “The Invisible Pilot”, Netflix’s “Rapture”, international hosted travel series like Nat Geo’s Emmy-nominated “Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller” and CNN’s Emmy Award-winning “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” and “Believer with Reza Aslan”. Currently, Ben is producing the definitive feature documentary on Mary Tyler Moore “GIFTED & BLACK” both with Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad and through his production company Good Trouble Studios, which he co-founded with creative partner James Adolphus.

Louise Rosen serves as an editorial and business consultant, international distributor, producer, and sales agent. Her projects have included Oscar, Emmy, Sundance, and other award-winning films that have been released across all platforms worldwide. Louise tutors annually at Germany’s Documentary Campus Masterschool and has been a speaker and moderator at many conferences and film festivals such as Sheffield DocFest, Sunnyside, & Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum. She began her career in film and television at WGBH, later launching her own distribution company and sales agency. She has raised finance for and distributed landmark projects such as Eyes on the Prize and Anne Frank Remembered and is a credited producer on numerous films including The Endurance, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, and Killing for Love. She is currently producing Kimberly Reed’s Gender Project, Mark Kitchell’s The Emerald Triangle: 60 Years at the Cannabis Crossroads, and Marcus Vetter’s Berlin – Tunnel to Freedom.

Adam Neuhaus is the Senior Director of Development for ESPN Films and ESPN+ leading creative development for original content on the award winning 30for30 documentary series across feature films, shorts and the 30for30 Podcasts. Adam has served on the Board of Directors and currently serves on the Advisory Board for The Ghetto Film School. Additionally, Adam is on the Board of Directors of the Bushwick Film Institute and is on the NY board of HRTS.

Julia Bodner is an agent in WME’s Non-Fiction TV Group based out of New York. She represents talent, production companies and filmmakers, primarily packaging and selling premium documentary series, feature documentaries and reality television shows. Julia specializes in working with strong female voices both in front and behind the camera, and is passionate about telling stories that can implement change and amplify messages from different perspectives. She is also a leading member of WME’s Lifestyle Crossover Group focused on building out strategic 360° businesses for clients across the Endeavor platform. Some of her talent clients include: SHAKIRA, NICOLE BYER, TIKA SUMPTER, MELISSA VILLASEÑOR, MONICA PADMAN, CRISTELA ALONZO, MARGARET CHO, ROBIN ARZON, AMANDA KLOOTS. She also works with filmmakers like EVA ORNER, NADIA HALLGREN, KAREEM TABSCH, CELIA ANISKOVICH, and ANDREA NEVINS. Julia’s production company clients include: CAMPFIRE, PROPAGATE CONTENT, ZERO POINT ZERO, SPOKE STUDIOS, NACELLE, IPC, BLACKFIN, NORTH MAPLE, and HOPETOWN ENTERTAINMENT, and works alongside major media companies to build out their entertainment portfolios such as FORBES, BLOOMBERG, WONDER MEDIA NETWORK, VOX MEDIA, BUSTLE MEDIA, and INSIDER.

Neha Shastry is an award winning documentary filmmaker. She has produced and directed films across 5 continents for clients like CNN, Amazon Studios, National Geographic, Netflix and Vice News. Because of her background in journalism, she is known for taking nuanced and balanced approaches in her storytelling, letting the truth reveal itself in her films. She produced All In: The Fight For Democracy, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award and nominated for a Peabody. Her next project, The Murdochs: Empire of Influence, is currently airing on CNN and HBO Max. She is one of 9 directors who have been selected to participate in Netflix’s inaugural Nonfiction Producer and Director Fellowship in collaboration with Ghetto Film School.

Jonathan Schaerf is the Head of Documentaries & Strategic Partnerships at Propagate Content, a a multimedia entertainment studio with over 25 active series on the air across all genres. Propagate’s recent documentaries include the Emmy-nominated series, HILLARY (Hulu), LFG (HBO Max), UNTOLD (NETFLIX), BURNING (Amazon Prime Video), with a large slate of feature documentaries and documentary series currently in production.

Maro Chermayeff is an Emmy and Peabody-winning filmmaker whose vast portfolio of work has toured the world in festivals, played theatrically, and been broadcast around the globe. She has produced and directed multiple award-winning Series including, “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered, The Lost Children” (HBO), the Grammy nominee, “Soundbreaking” (PBS)” Soundtracks” (CNN) “Carrier”, “Circus”, “Half The Sky” & “A Path Appears” (PBS), and the feature docs Marina Abramovic, The Artist is Present, The Kindness of Strangers & Mann v Ford (HBO) “Sky & Ground”, “Tightrope”, “Kehinde Wiley An Economy of Grace” (PBS) —garnering scores of honors and awards as well as significant critical acclaim and viewership. Maro is currently a Founding Partner and principal of the global production media company, Show of Force, and Founder and Chair of the MFA program in Social Documentary at the School of Visual Arts, NYC. She is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and The Directors Guild of America.

Ross Kauffman is the Academy Award®-winning director of the feature documentary BORN INTO BROTHELS. In 2014, Ross directed E-TEAM (co-directing with Katy Chevigny), a documentary about four intrepid human rights investigators. The film debuted at The Sundance Film Festival and garnered Kauffman the Best Cinematography Award for a Documentary Feature. His feature TIGERLAND debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released by the Discovery Channel in over 180 countries. He also served as Executive Producer on the documentary feature IN A DREAM, (directed by Jeremiah Zagar) which was short-listed for the Academy Awards. Ross specializes in short form documentary film and socially conscious branded content for clients as diverse as Apple, GE, and Toyota. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at The School of Visual Arts Social Documentary Masters Program, and has guest lectured at high schools and universities.

ARI HANDEL holds a doctorate in Neuroscience and has published four papers on the role of the Substantia Nigra pars reticulata in the generation of saccadic eye movements. He left academia to become President of Protozoa Pictures where he has been a writer on the films The Fountain and Noah; a producer on mother! and Jackie; an executive-producer on Some Kind of Heaven, White Boy Rick, Noah, Black Swan, and Catch The Fair One; as well as an executive producer on National Geographics One Strange Rock and the VR series SPHERES: Songs of Spacetime. Handel serves as a co-chair of the board of The Moth, the Peabody and Macarthur Award winning not-for-profit dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling.

As Vice President, Production, for National Geographic Channel, Renner serves as a lead creative within the senior production team. Renner executive produced the BAFTA and Academy Award winning Documentary Feature FREE SOLO, Emmy Award winning and Academy Award nominated Documentary Feature THE CAVE, and recently THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JEFF GOLDBLUM, for National Geographic on Disney+.

In 2008, Jane Root founded Nutopia. Known for award-winning documentary series on a global scale, Nutopia created a new genre of television, the “mega-doc,” which combines epic cinematography and action-driven drama with A-list talent. Nutopia has become synonymous with high-quality content for a diverse group of broadcast and streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, CNN, National Geographic, BBC, PBS, HBO Max and A+E Networks. Prior to founding Nutopia, Root was president of Discovery Networks and controller of BBC2, where she commissioned shows such as “The Office” and “Shark Tank”. Root was a co-founder of Wall-to-Wall Television, where she guided the company through its first 10 years. Upcoming projects include LIMITLESS with Chris Hemsworth and WELCOME TO EARTH with Will Smith for Disney+. Nutopia has also produced National Geographic series ONE STRANGE ROCK, A WORLD OF CALM for HBOMax, THE LAST CZARS for Netflix, and Emmy® Award-winning series HOW WE GOT TO NOW and AMERICA: THE STORY OF US for PBS.

Graham Booth’s varied career as a filmmaker is unique – spanning everything from commercials to pop promos to drama. But he has specialized in ambitious, ground-breaking factual shows that blend and transcend form. His films cover almost every genre: science, sport, anthropology, adventure, arts, culture, cosmology, archaeology, history and natural history – but all refuse to be constrained by easy labels. He has Directed over 80 hours of broadcast television; Series Produced or Exec Produced a further 200 hours; and worked on location in more than 50 countries worldwide. Since winning his first BAFTA in 1991 his films have received more than 40 international awards and a further 60 nominations. Most recently Graham was Series Director on ‘One Strange Rock’ (Nat Geo); Director of the Buzz Aldrin feature documentary ‘Being Buzz’ (BBC Studios); and Showrunner and Host Director of ‘Welcome To Earth’ starring Will Smith (Disney+).