About the Filmmakers
Mara Gasbarro Tasker
Director, Writer
Mara Tasker is a filmmaker based in rural Colorado. In 2015, she was one of the lead West Coast producers for VICE’s female news vertical Broadly, which premiered as the company’s most successful channel launch in its history. She went on to work with leading digital brands including Conde Nast (Vanity Fair, WIRED, Vogue, Teen Vogue), Crypt TV and more creating a variety of documentary and commercial content. Mara served as Co-Executive Director for One Vote at a Time, a team of female filmmakers that creates high quality, digital ads for down ballot candidates running for office. To date, they have served over 350 candidates around the United States, creating more than 500 original ads and employed more than 65 women in the process. Mara received her BFA in Film Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Michael Steiner is a Colorado-based producer of film and documentary, with a passion for provocative and unorthodox stories. His short film DAY ONE was nominated for a 2026 Academy Award, after winning the BAFTA US Student Award, two Student Emmys, and a Student Academy Award. His documentary credits include several Netflix Originals such as the J.LO film HALFTIME NEYMAR: THE PERFECT CHAOS, BIGGIE: I GOT A STORY TO TELL, IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?1?, As well as the SXSW nominated CHICKEN PEOPLE, and MEET THE PATELS. Michael is an alumnus of the American Film Institute Conservatory’s MFA program in Producing.
Michael Steiner
Producer
Paula DuPré Pesmen
ProducerPaula DuPré Pesmen is an Oscar® Nominated, Emmy® Award, and Grammy® Award winning producer. Pesmen produced the Sundance Grand Jury Prize US Documentary winner and Oscar-nominated film Porcelain War and the Oscar-winning feature documentary The Cove. In 2010, she was named Producer of the Year by the PGA. Pesmen launched her film career as an Associate Producer on the producing teams of such narrative features as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Rent, Mrs. Doubtfire, Home Alone 2 and Stepmom. She produced the renowned documentary features Chasing Ice (Emmy winner, Sundance Cinematography Award, SXSW Audience Award), Keep on Keepin’ On (Audience Award winner at Tribeca and Palm Springs film festivals) and Quincy (Grammy winner). For her philanthropic work, Pesmen was named a “Local Hero” by Oprah Winfrey’s O magazine.
Camilla Mazzaferro
Producer
Camilla is the Managing Director and co-founder of the independent Australian production company Songbird Studios and a producer of the Academy Award–nominated Porcelain War, which also won the 2024 Sundance U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize. She began her career at PwC and RadicalMedia, producing a wide range of award-winning commercial campaigns, music videos, and short films, including HOMEBODIES which premiered at SXSW 2016. Her other producing credits include feature documentaries My Sister Liv (Karlovy Vary, Doc NYC 2023), A Fire Inside (Sydney Film Festival 2021), MACHINE (MIFF 2019), and NETFLIX Original Chef’s Table. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America and winner of the 2025 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcast journalism.
Melissa Grumhaus
Executive Producer
Melissa Grumhaus was an Executive Producer of a documentary film, BRING THEM HOME, and a narrative film, BUFFALO STONE, both of which are centered on the Blackfoot Confederacy and their relationship with bison. Her passion for nature lef her to work for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois, Colorado and globally. Most recently as the Global Director of Development supporting the team in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, Melissa discovered her passion for supporting Indigenous-led conservation. As the Global Director of Development for the Lands and Cities Teams, Melissa led fundraising strategies for programs focused on Natural Climate Solutions, Sustainable Agriculture, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, Energy, and Cities. She became a trusted partner to fundraisers, executives and donors across the organization. She is also a philanthropy professional with more than 20 years of experience in major and principal gifts fundraising, fundraiser coaching, staff and board management, donor strategy, and staff and board training.
Aniela Sidorska
Writer
Academy Award® nominated producer and writer of the 2024 Sundance Grand Jury Prize U.S. Documentary winner PORCELAIN WAR, Aniela Sidorska began her career in San Francisco as a visual effects compositing supervisor on the 2012 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Oscar nominee for Best Picture BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. She went on to VFX produce feature films, including CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER, THE EXPENDABLES 3, as well as BOARDWALK EMPIRE (HBO), THE BLACKLIST (NBC), THE AMERICANS (FX), and ELEMENTARY (CBS). Most recently, she was involved in creature development for the Netflix Original CHUPA. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and winner of the 2025 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcast journalism.
Monique Zavistovski
Editor, Writer
Monique Zavistovski, ACE, is an award-winning film editor from the New York area with over 40 globally acclaimed documentaries and short films edited. Her most notable work is the documentary Will & Harper (2025), which earned her an ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Documentary Film. The film premiered at Sundance, won a Peabody and Critics Choice Award, was nominated for a BAFTA and five Emmys, and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. The same year, she edited the Academy Award and Critics Choice Award-winning The Only Girl In The Orchestra. Monique’s extensive filmography includes the critically praised RAISE HELL: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins (Sundance, Audience Award SXSW, 2019), The Wraith of Cobble Hill (Sundance Jury Prize, Academy Awards Shortlist, 2006), and the Emmy Winner The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club. Other notable projects include The Light In Her Eyes, Limited Partnership (IDA Humanitas Award), the Emmy-Nominated CITY 40, and They Call Me Magic. She holds an MFA from USC and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Monique is also the co-author of Children and Fish Don’t Talk and a proud member of American Cinema Editors.
A SONGBIRD STUDIOS Production
In Association with
THE WALTON FAMILY FOUNDATION, FOUR POINTS FAMILY FOUNDATION & BOB’S YOUR UNCLE
CREDITS
DIRECTED BY
Mara GasbarroTasker
PRODUCED BY
Michael Steiner
PRODUCED BY
Camilla Mazzaferro, Paula DuPré Pesmen
Melissa Grumhaus, Luke Mazzaferro, Al Hicks, Ted Kowalski, Tasha Allyn, Palladium Foundation
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Conscience Bay Research
Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor, Anchor Point Foundation
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
CO-PRODUCERS
Jim Moscou, Amy Herdy
Margo King, John Steiner, Elizabeth King
Rick Steiner Productions & Steiner Family Foundation
CONTRIBUTING PRODUCERS
Aniela Sidorska, Mara Gasbarro Tasker, Monique Zavistovski
WRITTEN BY
NARRATED & CO-WRITTEN BY
Chyenne Klemme
CINEMATOGRAPHY BY
Brandon Somerhalder, Kent Harvey, Brook Aitken
ADDITIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY BY
Joey Schusler
EDITED BY
Monique Zavistovski
CO-EDITED BY
Parker Smeltzer
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY
Mark Crawford