Bernadette Wegenstein
Director​
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Bernadette Wegenstein is an Austrian-born documentary filmmaker and academic living in the United States. Her work brings together her feminist thought and her interest in human-centric storytelling. She studied semiotics with Umberto Eco, received her phD in Linguistics, and went to Stanford University as a post-doc. She is currently a professor of media studies at The Johns Hopkins University, where she directs the Center of Advanced Media Study.
Her documentaries include See You Soon Again, The Good Breast, and See Me a Global Concert. Her books include Getting Under the Skin: Body and Media Theory, The Cosmetic Gaze: Body Modification and the Construction of Beauty. She is currently in post-production with the hybrid documentary Devoti tutti, and editing an anthology about a global feminist filmmaking practice together with Lauren Mushro, called Radical Equalities.
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Producer
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After twenty years advising companies on strategy and communications, Annette Porter followed her passion for photography into the world of documentary films. The result is a finely tuned instinct for persuasion through pictures.
Managing Director of Nylon Films, Annette produces, directs and shoots both stills and moving images - as comfortable with her camera in a corporate boardroom at American Express as on a high altitude trail in Chile.
She has directed and produced work on topics ranging from contemporary arts and modern dance to animal preservation and her work has featured in the likes of The Washington Post, BBC and NBC as well as for corporate clients like Rambert Dance Company and Avon.
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Annette Porter
Production Managers
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Henrique Landulfo is a filmmaker who graduated from FAAP (São Paulo, Brazil). He has been working in the film and TV industry since 2003, collaborating as a researcher, producer, production coordinator, and assistant to the director.
Pedro Balle is a producer and creative copywriter in Brazil. He graduated in Linguistics and Literature from the University of São Paulo and The Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona. Besides creating several commercial films, he was recently the Production Director for the short film Mothers Don't Cry (2019).
Henrique Landulfo &
Pedro Balle
Production Manager, Vienna
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Ariane was born in Lower Austria, where she studied Media Management at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences. After that she studied Romance languages at the University of Vienna. Since 2007 she is working as a project coordinator of TV and radio commercials for the Austrian advertising agency Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann. From 2015-2018 she was a Junior Producer at 1000 Rosen film productions, and since 2018 she is working as production manager at Neulandfilm & Medien GmbH in Vienna. The documentaries she worked on for television are Dok1, kreuz & quer, Der Kurier des Kaisers.
Ariane Schober-Heitzmann
Editor
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Born in Graz, Austria, Stefan went to high school for Music and studied Information Design at the University for Applied Sciences FH-Joanneum Graz.
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Since 2009 he has been an editor and post-production producer for film and TV productions. He teaches at the Filmcollege Vienna, and at the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna in the areas "Film, TV, and Media-production."
Besides working on film projects Stefan loves to play the violin and is passionate about Taiji. He is also a member of the Vienna Academic Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna Bach Soloists. He lives and works in Vienna, Austria.
Stefan Fauland
Shana Hagan, ASC
Cinematographer
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For over 25 years, Shana Hagan has shot Oscar and Emmy-winning documentaries with such distinguished filmmakers as Michael Apted, Jessica Yu, Morgan Neville, Lauren Greenfield and Rory Kennedy. She is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild, The International Documentary Association and The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
In May 2019 through the US State Department’s American Film Showcase, Shana travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to teach two 4 day Master Class Workshops to young Ethiopian filmmakers. In the fall of 2019, Shana was a mentor at Newport Film’s inaugural Documentary Cinematography Lab in Newport, RI. Shana also enjoys mentoring Academy Gold and USC film students and has been on panels and guest lectured at USC, LMU, CalArts, Emerson, Chapman, NYU and Canon. In addition, Shana teaches Documentary Cinematography at Wild Mind Film Camp.
John Benam
Cinematographer
Two-time Emmy Award-winning DP John Benam brings extraordinary and important stories to the screen. In January 2020, his latest doc project, "Assassins" had its World Premiere at the Sundance film festival. His passion for diversity and social justice is evident in his critically acclaimed films. “Charm City,” which was shortlisted for the Oscars, earned worldwide theatrical release in 2018, revealing the complex world of community-police relations. That same year at the Sundance Film Festival, “This is Home” chronicled the plight of a Syrian refugee family as they navigate a new life in the United States.
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As Director of Photography on Netflix’s 2017 Emmy-nominated series “The Keepers,” John created an authentic connection with the courageous survivors of abuse, who trusted him to help bring their truth to the screen. John works with National Geographic, HBO, PBS, and Oprah Winfrey's "OWN' and has a rich network of spirited collaborators and colleagues.
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A lifelong resident of Maryland, John resides in Baltimore with his wife, Angela, and their two sons.
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Judith Benedikt
Cinematographer​
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Judith Benedikt studied cinematography under Christian Berger and editing at the University of Performing Arts in Vienna. During her time there she worked together with Christian Berger and the revolutionary Cine Light Reflect System. Since 2003 she has been working principally on documentaries such as Backstage Vienna State Opera (2019), Inland (2019), The Third Option (2017), FtWtF- Female To What the Fuck (2015), which have all been released theatrically and to large acclaim in Austria and Germany. In 2019 her photos of indigenous cows were published in the book “Die Kuh - Eine Hommage.” She is currently working on four different documentary films and releasing her own new documentary, together with Weina Zhao, Weiyena: the Long March Home (2020).
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Will Moore
Additional Cinematography
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Will is a film and documentary filmmaker with an eye for finding significance, heart, and humor in everyday situations. He has worked on a diverse range of inspirational projects for major broadcasters from around the world. While making documentaries, he has had the pleasure to meet and step into the lives of some incredible people who have opened up to him to tell their amazing stories.
Keri Oberly
Camera Assistant
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Keri Oberly is a photographer/cinematographer based in Ventura, California. Originally from Lake Tahoe, she is a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography. She specializes in documentary photography and film, focusing on environmental and food-related issues.
Experienced in all aspects of production from pre-production to post, she has worked on award-winning documentary series, short, and feature-length films from The Kingmaker, The Biggest Little Farm, Foster, Gay Chorus Deep South, to Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.
She loves being in the outdoors, volunteering, traveling, and getting lost.
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Camera Assistant
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Born 1986 in Korneuburg, Austria, Simon is currently living and working in Vienna. He studied Audiovisual Design at the University for Art and Industrial Design Linz, graduating with a diploma with distinction in 2011.
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Simon Graf
Andreas Hamza
Sound Operator​
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Andreas Hamza was born in Vienna in 1974. After his studies at Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts and graduating as sound engineer, he worked as a live sound reinforcement producer for pop and classical music concerts, while also producing professional classical music CD recordings. In 2005 he started working predominantly for documentary film as a sound recording engineer and sound designer. More recently he also started composing his own original music for films, as well as producing a stand-up comedy show in Austria.
Among the films he has worked on are Our Daily Bread and Abendland (Nikolaus Geyrhalter), The Great Museum (Johannes Holzhausen), Future Baby (Maria Arlamovsky), and Weiyena: the Long March Home (Judith Benedikt and Weina Zhao).
Leone Fei
Assistant to Bernadette
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Giulio Leone Fei is constantly searching for new projects to bring luck to: 360 documentary assistant, boardgame creator, talisman artisan, synchronicity facilitator, professional fumelier & cosmic pirate. Lives life as it was a movie, will never stop believing there is more than what we can see.
Jim Rosenthal
Post-Production Coordinator and Online Editor
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Jim Rosenthal is an editor based in Los Angeles, California, who specialized in long-form documentary work. He has worked on numerous projects that have been to the Sundance Festival, as well as films that have streamed on Showtime, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. He also works in post-production supervision and coordination as well as creative editing.
"The energy exhibited by her students and mentees is not artificial. It's intense and sustained, even when the cameras and lights were off."
-John Benam
We'd like to extend a special thank you to everyone at the Institute for their support and dedication to our team during the production of this film.
