SHASHWATI TALUKDAR (Director/Editor)
Shashwati Talukdar was born and raised in India. She started her professional life in New York where she worked as an editor on projects for HBO, BBC, Lifetime, and the Sundance Channel. Her first feature doc PLEASE DON’T BEAT ME, SIR! premiered at the Busan International Film Festival. Her short work has screened at the Whitney Biennial, Kiasma Museum of Art in Helsinki and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. She is currently working as an independent producer between Taiwan and India
CHERYL HESS (Director/Cinematographer)
Cheryl Hess is a Philadelphia-based filmmaker and cinematographer who specializes in observational storytelling. Her most recent short SHE GOT BALLS! was a finalist in the 2018 Tribeca If/Then Shorts and recently premiered at the Philadelphia Film Festival. Her film PAST/PRESENCE: SAVING THE SPRING GARDEN SCHOOL was the grand-prize winner in the AIA Film Challenge in 2018. Cheryl is a graduate of Temple University MFA film program, a Pew Fellow in Media Arts and a Fulbright Scholar.
DIANA CHIAWEN LEE (Producer)
Diana Chiawen Lee is an award-winning creative film producer who focuses on human rights and social justice issues in Asia. Her recent production THE CATCH won the Grand Prize, Best Doc, Best Cinematography at the 2021 Taipei Film Awards. Her previous credits include BROKEN HARMONY (VOA, RTHK), THE BOSS (NHK, KBS, PTS), THE MACHINE (Knowledge Network, Discovery Asia); SMALL TALK (Teddy Award for Best Doc – 2017 Berlinale), THE PRIESTESS WALKS ALONE (Jury Award for Best Doc – 2017 Queer Screen).
JACOB BRICCA (Editor)
Jacob Bricca, ACE has edited over a dozen feature documentaries including LOST IN LA MANCHA, JEREMY SCOTT: IF YOU ONLY KNEW, Sundance winner THE BAD KIDS and the 2021 Critics Choice Doc Nominee MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY. He is a member of the American Cinema Editors and the author of “Documentary Editing: Principles and Practice” the definitive textbook on documentary editing.