Debra Tolchinsky is a documentary director, producer, multimedia artist, and an associate professor of documentary at Northwestern University, whose work has been seen internationally. With an academic background from USC's School of Cinematic Arts and an MFA in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Tolchinsky's films, including Saint Catherine's Wedding Ring, Lucky, and Dolly, have been seen at events like the Sundance Film Festival and venues like the Kennedy Center. More recently, her film Contaminated Memories was a New York Times Op-Docs release. Recognized as a Film 50: Chicago's Screen Gems honoree, she was the founding director of Northwestern's MFA in documentary media and continues to contribute to that program as well as the local and national documentary landscape.

Ron Ward, editor/producer

Ron is a filmmaker and video editor working out of San Jose, California. His background in jazz piano and composition helped lay the foundation for his love of improvisation and editing. Many of his early films are music-based, including The Babies and Pool Dweller (the latter featuring the talented Doug Jones, who played one of his first “creature” roles). Ron’s award-winning documentary Fred, about his close friendship with standup comic Fred Burns, has been shown in disability-themed film festivals worldwide. Ron also edited HBO’s Bubbeh Lee and Me, an Emmy-nominated documentary about a man’s relationship with his outspoken grandmother. He received his MFA from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and has undergraduate degrees in Aesthetic Studies and Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

David E. Tolchinsky, producer

David E. Tolchinsky studied composition at Yale University and film production at USC School of Cinematic Arts. His work has been screened at the Sundance Film Festival, the Oberhausen Film Festival, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He is currently the Dean of The Media School at Indiana University Bloomington.

Mark Koval, composer

Emmy-nominated composer Mark Koval has a long history composing music for television. His music can be heard in such shows as Batman: the Animated Series, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, and the popular children’s show Bobby’s World. His film credits include the cult favorite Love Bites. Mark also teaches music composition, orchestration, and the technical aspects of film scoring in Los Angeles. His scores for television have been honored with two Emmy Award nominations. His concert music has been recognized by grants and awards from the American Composers Forum, the Fromm Foundation of Harvard University, the Minnesota Orchestra, the William Walton Trust Foundation, the American Music Center, Broadcast Music Incorporated, and Meet the Composer.