Filmmakers
Nancy is an experienced director, producer and cinematographer on both broadcast documentaries and award winning independent films. Her latest full-length documentary, Tattooed Under Fire, aired nationwide on PBS in 2009. “Hansel Mieth-Vagabond Photographer” premiered on PBS’ Independent Lens in 2003, and on the Australian Broadcast Corporation. She also directed History Man, a half hour profile on Martin Scorsese for BBC 4, London, 2004.
Nancy also comes with twenty years experience as a Director of Photography on over 30 documentaries and feature films broadcast for England’s Channel 4, BBC, ABC, National Geographic, and PBS. Nancy has filmed in Europe, the U.S, Africa, India, Pakistan, Iceland, and Latin America. She was nominated for a 2002, Television Emmy for outstanding cinematography on The Human Face, (producer John Cleese). Among her work as cinematographer is Barbara Sonenberg’s Regret to Inform,1998, nominated for an Oscar, and Pratibha Parmar’s and Alice Walker’s Warrior Marks, Channel Four, London. Her work as a narrative director includes Loaves and Fishes, which premiered in 2000 at the South by Southwest Film Festival, screened at the International Latino Film Festival in Los Angeles, and broadcast on PBS’ experimental film series “The Territory” in 2001. Nancy is a professor and teaches filmmaking and cinematography at the University of Texas at Austin.
Kristina Mann - Co-producer
Kristina began her career as a producer and partner with Austin-based TricksterFilms, where she co-produced the feature documentary, Weaving Worlds, funded in part by NAPT & ITVS, and airing on VisionMaker (PBS). Kristina Mann was also Program Director & Business Manager for the Austin-based organization, the Mobile Film School, and currently works at Spiderwood Studios, a motion picture, music and animation studio east of Austin. Kristina holds an MBA from Texas State University and a B.S. in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin.
Jason Eitelbach - 3D Post Production Supervisor
Jason Eitelbach has spent the last ten years in Austin, TX creating space for unique cinema. Beginning with a key role at the Cinematexas International Short Film Festival, he gained experience delivering quality technical results with the smallest of budgets. An award winning cinematographer and University of Texas Radio-Television-Film alumni, his work has played festivals from Austin to Lithuania. Jason has developed advanced workflows for many films including his first feature MARS. Working with engineers at the Video Services Forum, Jason is creating a library of uncompressed “pristine” video clips used to test next generation encoding technology.
Michelle Nehme - Editor
Michelle Nehme has worked in film since 2000 as a writer, editor and director. Michelle's editing work has included music, commercials, shorts and features. Her work has been Emmy-nominated and has played at SXSW and abroad. Michelle was also the editor on the PBS TV Series, Haunted Texas, and has edited music documentaries with artists such as Alpha Rev and Seth Walker. Her corporate work has included Southwest Airlines, Spin Magazine, The Rachel Ray Show, GSD&M and Noonday Collection. Prior to working on Canine Soldiers, Michelle directed and edited her first feature film, a documentary about sex trafficking in America. The film is still currently in post and has received an Austin Film Society grant and a grant from the Shamrock Foundation. Michelle has an MFA in Film from the University of Texas.
Josh Hilliard - Assistant Editor
Josh Hiliard is a current student in Documentary Production at the University of Texas at Austin. On Above All Else, by award-winning director/ producer John Fiege, Josh was chiefly responsible for the research and organization of archival materials needed for completion of the film. Josh has also worked as co-producer for The Undesired Place, about a group of gold-panners from Playa Carate, Costa Rica, directed by Alvaro Torres-Crespo.
Josh brings the keen eye of a dog handler to the film. As the protégé of world-renowned dog trainer Lee Mannix, Josh's skills and training as a dog handler bring an insider's perspective to the film. He fully understands the special relationship between humans and dogs and will use his work experience to fully bring that bond to life.
Vikrant Muthusamy - Music Composer
Vikrant began playing piano at the age of four and got serious about composing at the age of 16. While at the University of Texas at Austin, Vikrant honed his music skills under the mentorship of Gary Powell.
He has composed over 20 original pieces and scored over 20 short films as well as Canine Soldiers - The Militarization of Love. Along with music composing, he has written, directed, and edited three short films. Vikrant's entire music and film portfolio is available at: www.vikrantmuthusamy.com.
Vikrant holds a BA in Music Recording Technology, a BS in Radio-Television-Film, and a Business Foundations Certificate, all from the University of Texas at Austin.
Laura Dixon - Associate Producer and Online Media Manager
Laura is a Media Studies PhD candidate in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on online practices of documentary filmmakers, including the use of Kickstarter, Facebook, and more.
She has presented her work at major media conferences around the world, including South by Southwest 2013 in Austin, TX.
Kristopher Ohlendorf - website designer/multimedia specialist
Kristopher holds BS degrees in Radio-Television-Film and Communication Studies from The University of Texas at Austin and an MA in Media Studies from Western University. He currently lives in Toronto and teaches digital media courses at the college level while freelancing on the side. Kristopher is a preeminent researcher in understanding the relationship between the Internet and Popular Music. You can view more work from him at krko.ca.
If you need website design or any digital media work done, contact him at krisohlendorf@gmail.com.