International Crews

CHINA
Ya-Hsuan Huang, Director/Producer/Camera
Ya-Hsuan Huang is a documentary filmmaker and graphic designer based in Brooklyn, New York. Design clients include Goldman Sachs and Columbia University. Through the Negev, her recent documentary short on Sudanese refugees in Israel, has been screened in venues around the world. Ms. Huang is a graduate of Yale University and is currently a graduate student in Media Studies at the New School in New York City.


Yi Han, Producer/ Co-director
Yi Han is an independent filmmaker who just came back to her hometown Sichuan, China after she graduated from Carleton University, Canada with a Master’s in Journalism. She has worked as a reporter, editor and news anchor in Sichuan TV station for four years before she went to Canada. She is now working on a feature-length documentary Last Train Home directed by Lixin Fan and supported by Sundance Fund and Jan Vrijman Fund.


Nobuhiro Awata, Camera
Nobuhiro Awata is an experienced video producer and director, photographer and audio technician. Born and raised in Japan, Nobuhiro lived in New York City for five years and now is living in Taipei where he is studying for a degree in Computer Science.


Bastien Robilliard, Camera
Bastien Robilliard is a French engineer, with a degree in Computer Science, who has worked in Paris at the National Institute of Audiovisual and Canal+, developing applications for audiovisual contents description. He arrived in Shanghai in 2004 and started working on video production, camera operating and editing. Bastien works on corporate and training videos for international groups and video reports for press agencies and institutions and has shot all over China.


Dave Zhong and Ning Li, Camera
Dave Zhong and Ning Li are both cameramen at CCTV’s regional headquarters in Chengdu. In addition to broadcast filming, they are experienced with working on independent documentary productions.


Fang Liang, Still Photographer
Fang Liang went back to journalism school as a 2nd career, and interned at various newspapers in the States, such as the Weekend Pinnacles at Hollister and at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He started a freelancing career soon after, with some local papers in the Bay Area, and some overseas papers. He is currently based in Hong Kong and Beijing.


David Evan Harris, Still Photographer
David Evan Harris is the Executive Director of the Global Lives Project and a Research Affiliate at the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California. David lived in Brazil from 2004-2007 and has experience in print and video journalism work. He holds a BA from UC Berkeley and an MA in Sociology from the University of São Paulo.


Chieko Kato, Still Photographer
Chieko Kato is from a small, traditional city called Takayama in the mountains of Japan. From a young age she was eager to see the world, and has made it her mission to travel at every chance she gets. In between extended bouts of travel, she has studied commercial photography and worked for 5 or so years in New York as a freelance photographer, photographer's assistant, and photo retoucher. In 2007, she returned to Japan and has been keeping himself busy as a freelance photographer, producer and interpreter for small video shoots, and as a studio assistant. She participated in the Tokyo Global Lives shoot in 2007, as a still photographer and production assistant.


Major Tian, Production Assistant / Translation
Major Tian is a junior studying Legal English (English language in the context of law) in Southwest University of Political Science and Law. He worked as a part-time translator for Ted Koppel Group of Discovery Channel last year to make a documentary on the city of Chongqing and China: The People's Republic of Capitalism. He also did a volunteer job for 2008 Global Sourcing Fair in Chongqing, working as a translator and receptionist and has once served as a tour guide for a group of social workers from the US visiting Chongqing.


Pengfei Wang, Translation Coordinator
Pengfei Wang is the Vice-Dean of Communications at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu. Pengfei teaches 4th level English translation to seniors in the department.


Christina Liu, Production Assistant / Translating Assistant
Christina Liu is a graduate of Southwest China University, majoring in English and currently a translator in a foreign-funded company investing in steel and oil. After living in Chongqing for 4 years, she is happy to be back in Sichuan, where she was born.



INDIA
Rahul V Chittella, Director / Executive Producer
Rahul V Chittella is a filmmaker who has been active in the process of empowering the youth with media in Mumbai. Academically speaking he is an engineer, an Urdu poet at heart; Rahul has been part of the filmmaking process since the age of 19. He has also been active in the theatre sector of Mumbai. His documentaries, Drishti and Advitya have won many awards in the film festivals across India. He also owns and runs the website www.bombayclicks.com, a website which encourages photo journalism amongst the young photographers of Mumbai. He has worked on projects in Netherlands, France and Germany. He has also directed a film on Alliance Francaise de Bombay, the cultural wing of the French Embassy in India. He was the co-director for I, a short film which was screened at various international film festivals. Currently, Rahul is working as a Creative Director for Mam Movies, an international organization which seeks to use media for social issues. With Mam Movies he has been the producer of I am That, a short documentary on the eunuch community of India, which was made as a part of the sole Indian representative documentary for the Elevate Film Festival and was screened at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. This film was written, shot and edited in 48 hours. He is also the producer for the Seva Journals Project under which filmmakers make videos for non-profits at an economical amount of money. Under the Seva Journals Project, he has directed videos on NGOs - I Volunteers, Rang De, Centre for Development Finance (CDF) and USHA.


Srikumar Venkatraman, Producer / Still photography
Srikumar Venkatraman is a professional photographer and a software engineer with Siemens. He has won many accolades for his photography skills. He was also the co-producer for I am That, and the producer for a short documentary on Rang De, a social organization which works on Micro-credit amongst low income households. He was also one of the executive producers for the projects – SHE Creates and I am the CHANGE film project. SHE Creates was a unique event where 25 girls from various backgrounds were given workshops in film-making, and at end of which they made 5 films on women’s issues, written shot and edited completely by themselves.


Meghna Agrawal, Director of Photography
Meghna Agrawal is a highly qualified cinematographer, editor and graphic designer. After finishing her Bachelors in fine arts from Raheja School of Arts, Mumbai, she did her bachelor’s in Cinematography and Editing from the Academy of Arts University for Motion Pictures and Television in San Francisco. She went on to be the D.O.P and editor for Khwaab, a feature film shot on 35mm film camera in San Francisco. She has also worked as an editor in the reality show, Indian Idol (The Indian Version of American Idol). Since her return to India, she has co-founded Mam Movies. She has also worked on a number of short films and documentaries related with social issues with different organizations like Friends Without Borders, Centre for Development Finance and Institute for Financial Management and Research. She was also the Cinematographer for I am That. She has just finished a shoot for Richfield productions, a production house based in Washington D.C., USA.


Vishal Gupta, Executive Producer / Co-director / Assistant Editor
Vishal Gupta is a very popular face in the young media enthusiasts of India. He is a trained sound engineer, but has been effective as a director of a few short documentaries on NGOs like IVolunteers, Jan Jagruti, IFMR B-School, FINO, CDF and USHA. He has also been responsible to mobilize filmmakers and NGOs for the I am the CHANGE film project, a unique filmmaking project where 101 filmmakers made films on 101 NGOs within the time span of 101 hours. He also conducts filmmaking workshops for women in Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, so that they can use films to make their voice heard.


Ruhie Kumar, Co-producer / Still Photography
Ruhie Kumar has recently completed her Bachelors in Mass Media with her specialization in Journalism. She is a freelance writer and her articles have been published in various newspapers and magazines. She has also directed a couple of documentaries including one on The Samaritans, a Mumbai based NGO working for the betterment of the mentally challenged. She has also volunteered with Mam Movies on several projects like SHE Creates and I am the CHANGE film project. Ruhie is a freelance producer for short films and documentary films and is currently working on a documentary film based on the theme of national oneness.


Deepa Bhat, Co-Producer / Accountant
Deepa Bhat is working with the financial firm, Deloitte. She is a qualified MBA and is also pursuing her CA currently. She is also an active volunteer in the social sector of Mumbai having worked with several NGOs. She was actively involved in the Reach Out Project which deals with the inclusion of special children in the mainstream society and ‘normal schools’. She has been in the editing department of many publications.


Akash Mohimen, Editor / Camera
Akash Mohimen is a documentary filmmaker who has been working in this sector for the past 4 years. He is a published writer of fiction stories. He has also completed a feature film screenplay. He is a professional editor who has worked on a children’s TV show. He has also edited the award winning documentary, Drishti. He is also the post production supervisor for Mam Movies. He has edited films on I Volunteers, Natueco Farming Science, FINO, IFMR B-School, Alliance Francaise de Bombay, CDF and IFMR Trust. As a D.O.P he has shot films on Natueco Farming Science, Alliance Francaise De Bombay, FINO and I. He has also directed and edited a number of promotional videos and ads for the projects of Mam Movies.


Brijesh Matalia, Production Manager / Technical Adviser / Still Photographer
Brijesh Matalia is a regional manager of marketing in Godrej, one of the leading business houses of India. He has always been an active volunteer with NGOs which has given him great expertise in handling different kinds of people. He is also an excellent photographer. Whenever free, he makes sure he travels across rural India to interact with the children of each region and to teach them the basics of certain languages.


Himir Shah, Volunteer
Himir Shah is an MBA student from KJ Somaiya College in Mumbai. He is an active participant in all developmental activities. Having traveled across rural India, he is very familiar with the geographies and locals of South India.


Zainab Burmawalla, Volunteer
Zainab Burmawalla is currently pursuing her MFA in Film Production from the Chapman Film School, LA. She has been producing short films and documentaries since she was 21. She loves to do exciting freelance projects as it “keeps her creativity intact”.



MALAWI
Executive Producer/Director/Camera/Still Photography
Jason Price is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 1999-2002. His first film (www.jasonjprice.com) was a cine-portrait of David D. Kpormakpor, the former President of Liberia who lives alone in housing project in New York City. He holds an MA in Cultural Anthropology and an Advanced Certificate in Culture and Media from New York University, and a BA in Sociology/Anthropology from Middlebury College in Vermont.


Assistant Producer/Still Photography
Villant Virginia Ndasowa is a filmmaker and prize-winning poet and screenwriter based in Blantyre, Malawi. A producer for Television Malawi, she is currently in production on a feature-length fiction film with a working title ‘Unbreakable Bond’ and a documentary film titled ‘The Mystery Mountain’ regarding the mysteries of Mount Mulanje for which she was awarded the “best film proposal” prize at the Sithengi Film Festival in South Africa in November 2005. She holds a BA in Media Production from Luton University and Higher National Diploma in Media studies from Middlesex University in the UK.


Editor/Camera/Still Photography
Harrison Topp is completing a double major in film and anthropology at New York University. His has made over a dozen short films, documentaries, and television shows produced independently and for NYU. He is currently working with TOSTAN, a Senegal based NGO, to create a video advocacy campaign to inform the international human rights community about the condition of the Talibes in Senegal.


Editor/Camera/Still Photography
Jessie Levandov is completing a major in film with a concentration in anthropology and social justice at New York University. Her resume includes a dozen short films and documentaries produced at NYU. Ms. Levandov aspires to use documentary film as a tool for resistance and a means for social change.


Camera
Peter Mazunda is a filmmaker and graphic designer based in Blantyre, Malawi. Currently the Technical Director of Kings Multimedia Productions, Mr. Mazunda has previously worked in nearly every aspect of production for Television Malawi. He has experience as a director, editor, director of photography, editor, set designer, as well as a sound and lighting technician. Mr. Mazunda holds a Diploma and a Certificate in Computer Sciences. He is also a member of the Association of Computer Professionals (UK).


Camera/Still Photography/Still Photo Administrator
Ya-Hsuan Huang is a documentary producer, video editor, and graphic designer based in Brooklyn, New York. She was an associate producer for the documentary feature Out of Status and is currently in post-production on the Through the Negev: Stories of Survival documentary project. The project chronicles the plight of Sudanese women asylum seekers in Israel through video, sound, and photography. Her design clients include Goldman Sachs and Blue Ridge Foundation New York, where she served as Director of Special Projects. Ms. Huang is a graduate of Yale University and is currently a graduate student in Media Studies at the New School in New York City.


Production Assistant
Single Matawale received his Malawi Secondary Examination Certificate in 2003 and currently works as a waiter at a restaurant in downtown Zomba. Mr. Matawale is the subject’s cousin and is also originally from TA Mulemia.


Production Assistant
Erasto Chanza received his Malawi Secondary Examination Certificate in 2006 and recently sat for entrance exams at the University of Malawi. He hopes to pursue a degree in Business Administration. Mr. Chanza has worked as translator and production assistant for Mr. Price on two documentary projects: the forthcoming documentary short Zomba Central Market and a feature production about Zomba Mental Hospital.


Post-Production Assistant
Alinane Chikaonda is a graduate of Kamuzu Academy in Kasungu, Malawi and is currently a second year undergraduate at New York University.



JAPAN
Director/Camera/Production Manager/Editor
Irene Carolina Herrera is a photographer, documentary filmmaker and journalist based in Japan with more than 10 years of experience working on media related projects in Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, France, Miami, India and Japan. Irene is a member of Temple University where she teaches courses on Filmmaking, Media Studies and the History of Documentary. She currently serves different Tokyo-based NGOs such as Friends of MSSRF, as Media Advisor, and OXFAM. Among her most recent projects is a documentary on female self-help groups in Southern India. After finishing her B.A. in Audiovisual Journalism, she came to Japan as a Monbukagakusho scholar to pursue a Masters degree in filmmaking. Currently she is writing her Ph.D. dissertation on photographic anthropology, “A Culture seen through the lens: Brazilian Nikkejin”, at Nihon University. Irene is finishing a Diploma in NGO Management and has just completed an international course at the United Nations University in Peacebuilding. Last year she exhibited images of the Japanese Brazilian descendants series at the prestigious Nikon Salon and in 2005 received the Gran Prix at the Expo Aichi Friendship Film Festival for a documentary on Venezuela and Japan titled “Kodo wo Awaseba”. Her articles and photographs have been featured in Variety, El Nacional, Metropolis, Dune and The Japan Times. Irene is passionate about world religions and the millenary teachings of the Vedic tradition. http://www.irechan.net; http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20061216a1.html


Co-director/ Production Manager/ Still Photography/Still Photo Coordinator/Assistant Editor
Andreina Lairet is a Venezuelan photographer and journalist with experience in coordinating and developing web projects. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Andreina moved to Tokyo in 2003 as a Monbusho (Japanese Dept. of Education) scholarship recipient to study Japanese and obtain an MA Degree in Visual Arts at Nihon University College of Arts.Previously, Andreina had completed a BA in Media and Communications at the Andres Bello Catholic University in Caracas. Andreina has studied and worked in Yugoslavia, Austria, Venezuela, Argentina and Japan. Her professional experience includes: film/video production, still photography, web project coordination (for more than 5 years), as well as collaborating with various newspapers and magazines in Venezuela and England. Currently, Andreina is working at United Nations University Media Studio, combining IT and communications to develop free, open source educational media that address environmental and social topics. http://www.andreinalairet.com/


Producer/Camera/Editing and Technical Advisor
Ron Carr, MFA, University of California at Los Angeles, is an Associate Professor at Temple University, Japan Campus, and Director of the communications program. His areas of instruction include videography, broadcast production and narrative studies. Mr.Carr’s professional background includes broadcasting experience as a writer and producer, and playwright. His programming credits include the American Broadcasting Company and NHK.


Production Coordinator/ Camera / Technical Advisor
Nobuhiro Awata studied and worked as a Sound Engineer in New York, U.S.A. Nobu worked not only on films but also in theatre. He has developed an interdisciplinary approach to filmmaking and enjoys working on documentaries and non-profit based projects. Now he has begun to incorporate his knowledge of computer programming into craft of filmmaking. He is also a photographer and stage supervisor. He has lived in Taiwan and currently works also as a translator English/Japanese/Mandarin. Nobu has visited many countries in Asia and South America. http://fotologue.jp/knob63


Special Advisor / Camera
Helio Ishii obtained a B.A. in Social Sciences. After graduating he started working as a free-lance camera operator for Brazilian television channels. In 1994, he started a production company which served a dozen of theatre, music, experimental art and alternative culture groups in the city of Sao Paulo. He directed video, clips, documentaries, experimental videos, his first feature film on video and a 35mm short film. From the year 2000 up until now he has continued experimenting with digital technology. He is still seeking to direct documentaries and fiction as a member of a production company in Sao Paulo and as a member of Virgulino, a creative artists group. Among his films are Cartas, a documentary film about four Nikkei women who speak about their experience of coming to Japan to work and Permanencia, a story about young Brazilians who grow up in Japan.


Photographer/Casting Coordinator/ Assistant Producer/
Samson Yee is a photographer and still photo fixer born in Hong Kong, educated in England and currently based in Tokyo. Samson holds a B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis on family. Upon graduating, Samson worked for UNESCO as a photographer in India. After returning to Japan he began working as an assistant to a variety of commercial photographers. In 2003, he joined an NGO, called Africa Rikai and ended up working as a photographer and designer in Ethiopia for three years. http://atashi.jp; http://www.lightstalkers.org/samson_yee


Photographer/ Production Assistant
Chieko Kato; http://fotologue.jp/choco


Photographer/ Translator/ Production Assistant
Mariko Nagaba


Technical Support / Production Assistant/ Camera assistant
Kiyomi Nakai graduated from San Francisco State University with BA degree in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts in 2003. Currently she works in the news department of TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc.) as an audio/visual video engineer.


Photographer
Wakako Iguchi; http://www.lightstalkers.org/wakako_iguchi


New Media Unit/ GPS/ GLP- TUJ Intern
Mike Olsen is from San Diego, California. Currently a student at Temple University Japan campus. Majoring in Communications, studying film and photography. Michael’s interests are in documentary style film making and post production editing. When photographing Michael likes to shoot using all kinds of techniques; however he prefers film photography when photographing in black & white and infrared.http://www.hakujinmike.net/


Behind the Scenes Unit/ GPS/ GLP- TUJ Intern
Jon Jameson is a Temple University Japan student majoring in Communications.


Behind the Scenes Unit/ GPS/ GLP- TUJ Intern
Erika Aragon is a Temple University Japan student majoring in Communications. Born in the United States of Mexican parents she has now been living in Japan for the past 10 years.


Yumi Garcia dos Santos
Yumi is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Sao Paulo University. She is a film producer and a specialist in gender studies. Yumi is fluent in Portuguese, Japanese, English and French.