ABBY GINZBERG | CO-PRODUCER/CO-DIRECTOR

Abby Ginzberg, a Peabody Award-winning director and Emmys® Silver Circle inductee, has been producing compelling documentaries about race and social justice for over 35 years. Recently honored with induction into the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in recognition of her 25 years of commitment to the film and TV community, Abby has created an impressive portfolio of award-winning films. 

Abby’s film BARBARA LEE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary and premiered on STARZ® and was distributed by Lionsgate® Entertainment. The feature length documentary tells the complex story of Representative Barbara Lee, a steadfast voice for human rights, peace and economic and racial justice in the US Congress. This intimate film features prominent voices including Alice Walker, Van Jones, Rep. John Lewis, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Cory Booker, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Danny Glover.  

Her short film JUDGING JURIES, highlights the urgent need to address inequities in jury service that undermine the fundamental right to be judged by a diverse and representative jury, premiered at the Pan African Film Festival and has garnered recognition with awards such as Best Documentary Short at the Cal Film Festival and Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Shorts from the Accolade Global Awards.

Her current film, co-directed with Christy Carpenter, SHAKING IT UP: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LIZ CARPENTER, premiered at SXSW, receiving accolades including Best Feature Documentary at the Hill Country Film Festival and Best Biographical Film at the Toronto International Women Film Festival and will be broadcast on public television in 2025. 

Abby also produced A DOUBLE LIFE, directed by Catherine Masud, which premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival, earning an Audience Favorite award. This compelling documentary focuses on activism in the 1960s and the role of activists and lawyers in the prison reform movement of the early 1970s, introducing educational institutions and future generations to this pivotal era. 

She served as the Consulting Producer on THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM, directed by Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin. This poignant documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and was nominated for a 2012 Academy Award® in the Short Documentary category, highlighting its significant impact and relevance in exploring social justice through the experience of foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, Alabama.

Abby directed and produced SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA, which won a Peabody Award and has screened at numerous film festivals worldwide. The film, narrated by Emmy® Award-Winning actress Alfre Woodard, tells the powerful story of Albie Sachs, a prominent anti-apartheid activist and former Constitutional Court judge, exploring his journey and contributions to South Africa's post-apartheid landscape.  

Abby’s film, WAGING CHANGE, examines the challenges faced by tipped restaurant servers, forced to live off tips. The documentary highlights the struggles surrounding the federal tipped minimum wage, which remains at  $2.13 per hour, and was broadcast on public television.

The film features award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda, recognized with multiple Academy Awards®, Primetime Emmy Awards®, and Golden Globe Awards® for her contributions to film and television. It also features award-winning actor and activist Lily Tomlin, who has received multiple Academy Awards®, Primetime Emmy Awards®, and Golden Globe Awards® for her work in the industry.

AND THEN THEY CAME FOR US (2017), featuring George Takei, explores the connection between the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban, raising critical questions about civil liberties. The film was broadcast on public television.

AGENTS OF CHANGE (2016), co-directed with Frank Dawson, tells the untold story of the Black student movement of the late 1960s on college campuses. Actor and activist, Danny Glover, is featured in the film. It won both the Jury and Audience awards for Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival and was broadcast on public television as part of America ReFramed.

 Currently, Abby is in production on several new films,.including SHE DARED TO DREAM (a docu-series in development), which features Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat representing Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. This project brings together the same women-led team from the NAACP Image Award-winning film BARBARA LEE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER, with Barbara Lee serving as a consulting producer. The film will explore Pressley’s vision, challenges, and aspirations as a trailblazer in American politics, alongside Abby’s broader documentary series about women of color serving in the House of Representatives.

LABORS OF LOVE: HENRIETTA SZOLD’S LIFE AND LEGACY. This documentary delves into the remarkable life of Szold, founder of Hadassah in 1912, a key figure in establishing healthcare and social services in early twentieth-century Palestine. The film explores her efforts in rescuing Jewish children during the 1930s and her lasting legacy in public health and social work.

Her films are distributed for educational use through Women Make Movies,  Good Docs and California Newsreel and for personal use through Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Vimeo.  This distribution network not only enhances accessibility to her powerful narratives but also aligns with Abby's commitment to fostering dialogue around critical social issues. Through these partnerships, her films educate, inspire, and continue to make an impact, while provoking meaningful discussions across diverse audiences and educational institutions.

Ken Schneider has edited over 35 feature-length documentaries, focusing on war and peace, human rights, artists’ lives, untold American histories, and contemporary social issues. Ken co-edited the Oscar-nominated Regret To Inform, described by the NY Times as “unforgettable…exquisitely filmed, edited and scored.”  His films have screened on PBS’ American Masters, POV, Independent Lens, Frontline, HBO, Showtime, in television and film festivals worldwide, and have been honored by Emmys, two Peabodys, a Columbia-Dupont, IDA awards, an Indie Spirit, top awards at Sundance, other major festival awards, and have been nominated for an Oscar and additional Emmys.

Ken’s work includes: Have You Heard From Johannesburg (Emmy winning series); The Good War and Those Who Refused To Fight It; El Poeta; Orozco: Man of Fire; Ralph Ellison: An American Journey; Store Wars; School Colors; Bolinao 52; Ancestors in the Americas and 

Speaking in Tongues. Ken’s editing can be viewed on kenschneidereditor.net.

Ken lectures at NYU, Harvard, San Francisco City College, the SF Art Institute, and Chapman University. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two kids.

GEORGE TAKEI | STARRING

Although primarily known for playing Hikaru Sulu in the television series Star Trek (1966) and the first six features, George Takei has had a varied career acting in television, feature films, live theater and radio. He also is a successful writer and community activist.

George Takei was born Hosato Takei on April 20, 1937, in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California. His mother, Fumiko Emily (Nakamura), was born in Sacramento, to Japanese parents, and his father, Takekuma Norman Takei, worked in real estate and was born in Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, George and his family were relocated from Los Angeles to the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas, and later, as the war was ending they were moved to a camp at Tule Lake in Northern California. Takei's first-hand knowledge of the unjust internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans in World War II, poignantly chronicled in his autobiography, created a lifelong interest in politics and community affairs. He recently collected over 300,000 signatures opposing the Muslim travel ban and remains an outspoken activist against the travel ban and registry.

ASHLEY JAMES |  DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Ashley James holds Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degrees in Filmmaking and has national television credits.  He is the co-founder (with Kathryn Golden) of Searchlight Films. Former newspaper journalist, The Hartford Times, (Gannett News Service) Hartford, CT; instructor of graduate studies in Department of Cinema, San Francisco State University and station manager of KTOP/Channel 10, Oakland, CA. which won 32 national awards for excellence in television programming during his 12 year tenure.

Recent documentaries include: Director, Kitka and Davka in Concert-Old and New World Jewish Music (PBS); Producer/Director Gordon Parks—The Man and His Music a 90-minute television special featuring Issac Hayes, Danny Glover and the Oakland (CA) Symphony Orchestra; Director/Cinematographer, Bomba – Dancing the Drum, (PBS), a one-hour portrait of the legendary Cepeda Family of Puerto Rico; Producer/Director Home and Almost Free, a one-hour film about ex-convicts in the San Francisco Bay Area; Director of photography for Zen Brush Mind & Kazuaki Tanahashi – Painting Peace for the Buddhist Broadcasting System (Netherlands)

Other films include: Director of Photography for the 2012 Academy Award nomination for Best Short Documentary, The Barber from Birmingham; Producer/Director, We Love You Like A Rock – The Dixie Hummingbirds, the feature-length film about the legendary gospel quartet; And Still We Dance, a one hour portrait of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and the premiere program for KQED’s From San Francisco series; Producer/DP for Zenju’s Path & Moments of Illumination for the Buddhist Broadcasting Network (Netherlands); Producer/Director American Treasure, and Tchuba Means Rain, two ethnographic films about the Cape Verdean-American community of New England. Other Director of Photography credits include: Blacks & Jews by Snitow Kaufman Productions; Street Soldiers by Avon Kirkland; Crumb, a portrait of cartoonist Robert Crumb; Isadora Duncan – Movement From The Soul; I Can’t Believe You’re Forty, Charlie Brown; The Color Of Honor; Booker; Ethnic Notions; Cut Loose; and Ancestors In America, among many other programs for international broadcast, and cable television.

JOSLYN ROSE LYONS | IMPACT PRODUCER

Award Winning Director Joslyn Rose Lyons has produced and directed a diverse range of content in film and television for more than a decade, including work with Lionsgate, STARZ, Warner Bros. Pics., UNINTERRUPTED, BET Networks, and Showtime. She is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors, and she was named an Academy Gold Fellowship for Women Finalist, from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Joslyn was also invited by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be a Guest Panelist on their Academy Gold Rising Program – committed to amplifying narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences. She has worked as an Impact Producer and creative director for Social Action Media on their Award Winning documentaries including: Agents of Change, And Then They Came For Us, Waging Change, and Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power.

Joslyn's short film Looking Glass premiered at Sundance London, and picked up Best Short at The American Film Awards, and TopShorts Best Female Director. Lyons picked up a Best Director award at the 7th edition of LA Independent Women Film Awards for her short film Butterfly Boxing, starring Hill Harper and J. Alphonse Nicholson.  Joslyn’s feature-length directorial debut, STAND, is an examination of the extraordinary journey of pioneer activist and basketball prodigy Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.  The documentary premiered on Showtime and features Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O’Neal, Jalen Rose, Mahershala Ali, Ice Cube and more. Joslyn is the Producer of Tale of the Tape which takes an unabashed look at the role The Mixtape played during the growth of Hip Hop music from the 1970's to now with Kendrick Lamar Wiz Khalifa, and Big Sean. She produced a documentary short for Imagine Justice that debuted on Mic.com featuring Grammy, Emmy and Academy Award Winning artist Common and his Imagine Justice Organization dedicated to empowering communities and fighting injustice. 

VINCENTE FRANCO | DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Vicente Franco is one of the most respected documentary cinematographers working in the US. He has shot numerous award-winning films including Academy Award nominated films, Daughter from Danang, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers. Other recent films include Finding the Gold Within, Havana Curveball; Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey; Standing on Sacred Ground: Fire and Ice and Frontline's Rape in the Fields. He recently shot a segment of Hard Earned produced by Kartemquin Films.  He shot the US segments of Soft Vengeance and was Director of Photography on Abby’s films, Soul of Justice and Cruz Reynoso.

TATSU AOKI | COMPOSER 

Tatsu Aoki is a leading advocate for the Asian American community, as well as a prolific composer and performer of traditional and experimental music forms, a filmmaker, and an educator. He has produced more than 30 experimental films and is one of the most in-demand performers of bass, shamisen, and taiko, having contributed more than 90 recording projects and touring internationally during the last 25 years. Aoki is Founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival, which observes its twentieth year in 2015. Named President of San Francisco–based Asian Improv Records (AIR) in 1999, he has managed or produced more than forty AIR albums, notably the Max Roach and Jon Jang collaboration The Beijing Trio, and several projects in the hip-hop and Asian Pacific American arts arenas, from film screenings to concert series. In 2010, he received the Japan America Society of Chicago’s Cultural Achievement Award as well as a 3Arts Artist Award. He received the  “Living in our Culture” award by the Japanese American Service Committee in 2014 and Jazz Heroes’ Award by National Jazz Journalist Association in 2015.  In the summer of 2016, his Miyumi Project ensemble was chosen as the official musical presenters for the unveiling of Yoko Ono's first permanent installation in North America, "SKYLANDING", in Chicago's own Jackson Park. The Miyumi Project is Tatsu Aoki’s laboratory of sound, where he explores the nexus of cultures: Asian and American; Japanese and African; past and present.  The compositions provide a conceptual framework for each band member to interpret.  Each successive grouping of Miyumi musicians over the past two decades has contributed to the ongoing evolution of the work. 

RICHARD CAHAN | CONSULTING PRODUCER

Richard Cahan is the author or co-author of more twenty books. His most recent is Un-American: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II. He is also the co-author of two books about the photographer Vivian Maier as well as books about law, architecture, photojournalism, baseball, interior design and baseball. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He worked for the Chicago Sun-Times for sixteen years, primarily as the paper’s picture editor.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS | CONSULTING PRODUCER

Michael Williams is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including Un-American: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II. He writes, designs and publishes books under his publishing company CityFiles Press. He has co-authored two books on architectural photographer Richard Nickel, two books on photographer Vivian Maier, and two books on the history of Chicago through the photographs of the Chicago Sun-Times. He also produced a book about Chicago mass transportation called Chicago: City on the Move, a book about the long-term effects of reversing the Chicago River called The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed

JONATHAN LOGAN |  EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Jonathan Logan is president and CEO of the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. He brings more than 30 years of experience to the world of philanthropy. From his founding of Our Family Coalition and chairmanship of the Center for AIDS Services, to helping create the Logan Nonfiction Program at the Carey Institute for Global Good, Mr. Logan provides guidance and support to a significant number of nonprofits. His main areas of interest include investigative reporting, documentary film, social justice, photography, visual arts, music, and the performing arts. He is former chair and long-time board member of the Center for Investigative Reporting and serves on the board of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Investigative Reporting Program of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.