DIRECTOR / PRODUCER
YASMIN MISTRY | DIRECTOR & PRODUCER & IMPACT PRODUCER
Yasmin Mistry is an Emmy-nominated animator and award-winning filmmaker, who blends these creative mediums to tell character-driven stories with an intimate lens. Her work has been displayed worldwide, including showings at the United Nations and White House as well as at SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, DOC NYC, and PBS. She is the recipient of funding from the Jerome Foundation, Center of Asian American Media (CAAM), Annie E. Casey Foundation, Asian Women Giving Circle, Brooklyn Arts Council, and was a finalist for ITVS Open Call. With over 15 years of experience volunteering with youth in the U.S. child welfare system, Yasmin works at the intersection of film and child welfare, using the power of storytelling to create impact and tangible change. Yasmin’s work includes the short films Absence/Presence (PBS), Feeling Wanted, Family Rewritten, My Identity, and For A Better Life. She is currently impact producing the feature documentaryThe Davion Effect.She has partnered with local, national and international organizations to organize film tours, screenings, panels, and educational events. She received the CASA Hero Award, as well as a City Proclamation, for her advocacy work giving youth in the child welfare system an opportunity to be heard. When not making films, Yasmin has worked as a programmer for the Anchorage International Film Festival, a screener for the Blackbird Film Festival, and is a co-leader for the filmmaking collaborative Docshop.
PRODUCERS
HEATHER (THU-HUONG) HOANG | CO-PRODUCER
Heather is a Vietnamese American producer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work as a producer reflects her deep interest in history and issue-driven stories. At Vice, she created and produced I Was There in 2019, a short series that highlights personal experiences during historical moments. She has also produced and edited for Bloomberg, Refinery29, MTV, and Teamshares.
ASHLEY DA-LÊ DUONG | STORY PRODUCER
Ashley is a Vietnamese-Canadian writer, producer, and director. Her credits include A Time to Swimand Space Explorers: Moonrise on the ISS. Additionally she has directed over 15 short documentaries for CBC Arts. She recently participated in the CALQ x Villa Saigon Artist Residency to develop her latest feature documentary, Ba’s Book.
JIN YOO-KIM | CONSULTING PRODUCER
Jin is a Bolivian-born Korean American filmmaker. Her producing credits include Take Out With Lisa Ling, Manzanar, Diverted (POV/PBS), A Woman’s Work (Independent Lens, PBS) and K-Town ‘92(PBS). She was the impact producer for Try Harder! (Independent Lens, PBS), Waking Dream(ITVS), and Blowin’ Up, and was an impact mentor for the A-Doc x Haverford Impact Lab for Liquor Store Dreams (POV/PBS). She was a Sundance Women to Watch Adobe Fellow, US-South Korea NextGen Creative Fellow, Sundance Creative Producers Fellow, Film Independent X CNN Original Series Docuseries Fellow, Redford Center fellow, Film Independent Doc Lab fellow, and a Firelight Media Impact Producing Fellow. She is currently pursuing her MA in Clinical Psychology to serve the mental health needs of the documentary field and help build a healing-informed pipeline.
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
TIM GERARD BARKER | CINEMATOGRAPHER (VIETNAM)
Tim is an award-winning cinematographer and photographer based in Vietnam. His documentary credits include Dog Meat Mafia, Return to Vietnam: The Boys of ‘67, and Return to Vietnam: Breaking the Silence. Commercial and editorial clients include Nike, Forbes, Novartis, Everlane, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Traveler, Getty Images, The Guardian, BBC and CNN.
HANNAH ENGELSON | CINEMATOGRAPHER (US)
Hannah is a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker. With a background in photojournalism, she specializes in capturing compelling moments using a cinéma vérité approach. Her work has appeared on platforms including Short of the Week, NBC Universal, VICE News Tonight, Business Insider, The World Channel, American Masters and for clients including Capitol Records, UberEats, The Empire State Building, Committee to Protect Journalists and United Airlines. She most recently filmed behind the scenes documentary footage of Noah Baumbach’s Netflix Original Film, White Noise.
EDITORS
DHEVI NATARAJAN | EDITOR
Dhevi Natarajan is a filmmaker and media creator. Her international production experience in Israel, Palestine, Thailand, Haiti, Peru and Ghana, documenting critical social issues, inspired her to pursue a career in impact storytelling. Her editing credits include Emmy- nominated Meet The Patels (ITVS/PBS), Femi (ITVS), and Sanctuary’s Daughter.
CHRISTINA SUN KIM | EDITOR
Christina is a film editor based in Los Angeles, with work showcased at SXSW, Tribeca, BFI London, and Busan International. Her credits include Liquor Store Dreams (POV/PBS), Forever We Are Young (SXSW, 2025), Art For Everybody (SXSW, 2023), and New Wave (Tribeca, 2024). In 2020, Christina’s talents were recognized when she was named a Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellow.
DAN SADOWSKY | CONSULTING EDITOR
Dan is an editor with over two decades of experience. His recent credits include I Am Ready, Warden (2025 Oscar Nominee), Hunger Ward (2021 Oscar Nominee), Lifeboat (2019 Oscar Nominee) and 50 Feet From Syria (2016 Oscar Short-list).
ARTISTS
NOURE ZEIN | ILLUSTRATOR & ANIMATOR
Noure is an illustrator and animator. Her work on the animated documentary For A Better Life garnered seven nominations for Best Animation.
MAI-HAN NGUYEN | ILLUSTRATOR
Mai-Han Nguyen is a Visual Development artist, with experience in Background Painting. After graduating from Boston University, she briefly interned as a Printmaking Gallery Assistant and Graphic Designer before finding her interest in Animation. Mai-Han worked on a short 2D (Tra-digital) film with CTN (Creative Talent Network), directed by James Lopez, working on both Visual Development and Background Design/Paint. The short film premiered at CTNExpo. Mai-Han also freelances as a Visual Development artist.
CONOR DONAHUE | ANIMATOR
Conor Donahue is an LA based animator, illustrator and writer. When he isn’t endeavoring to make drawings and shapes move properly, you might find him running long distances, climbing great heights, or reading novels quite slowly.
ADVISORS
JEFF CONSIGLIO | ADVISOR
Jeff is an Los Angeles-based film director, producer and editor with a focus on character- driven nonfiction film. His credits include INOCENTE (Academy Award), WARDANCE (Oscar Nominee), LFG (Critics Choice Nominee), TWINSTERS (SXSW Jury Award). and LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM (Sundance/HBO).
SAMANTHA FUTERMAN | ADVISOR
Samantha is a Korean American director, producer and actor. Her directorial debut, TWINSTERS (SXSW Jury Award) documents her personal journey with transracial adoption and sibling reunification. Samantha is an advocate, raising awareness for the greater adoption community.
AMANDA DE JESUS, Ph.D., LCSW-R | SOCIAL WORKER
Dr. Amanda de Jesús received her master’s in social work from Hunter College and her PhD in social work from Fordham University. Since 2012, she has served as an advisor for the Foster Care Film and Community Engagement Project. Prior to her current role at Brooklyn College, she worked as a therapist in community health centers. She currently maintains a private practice. She is an adjunct professor at the Fordham Graduate School of Social Service and is on the faculty at the Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.
ROBERT SALYER | IMPACT ADVISOR
Robert Salyer is the Manager of Outreach and Impact at AmericanDocumentary, Inc. | POV, executing national outreach and partnership development for film-specific campaigns, educational resources and other organizational efforts, including leading the “Our America: Documentaries in Dialogue” project. Robert has supported national impact campaigns for nearly 60 POV films. Previously, he was a long-time instructor for the Appalachian Media Institute, a youth media training program, and was the lead facilitator for an international media exchange project involving emerging Indonesian media makers funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Cultural Affairs. Robert has worked as a community organizer with the Virginia Organizing Project, taught documentary filmmaking at Kentucky State University, and was a mentor for the NYU Tisch School Immersion Program.