Persons
Lendl Tellington
Lendl is a versatile storyteller working across film, photography, journalism, and experiential art. His practice centers the subversion of aesthetic traditions to more accurately depict the nuance within our experiences. He hones in on the seemingly humdrum existence behind popular history and present moment as means to contextualize the contributions of marginalized communities. ...that’s why He made my momma In America, owning a home is the universal symbol of legacy. But what happens when you lose that home? When their matriarch becomes ill, a filmmaker and his sister turn the camera on four generations of their family. As the [...]
Hadley Austin
Hadley Austin’s work is rooted in historical research, social justice, and the natural world. Demon Mineral is her feature debut, for which she is a Redford Center Fellow and Bay Area Video Coalition grantee. A published poet, she is also a Pushcart Nominee. Demon Mineral DEMON MINERAL documents life in the radioactive desert on the Navajo Reservation. Spanning a landscape perforated by uranium mines in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, the film follows a group of indigenous scientists, elders, and activists as they work to protect a vital living space on contaminated land.
Denise Zmekhol
DENISE ZMEKHOL is a Brazilian-American journalist, an award-winning producer and director of documentary films and media projects that span the globe. Her documentary films, commercials, and innovative transmedia projects have been recognized for their elegant visual style and deft storytelling. Her feature documentary CHILDREN OF THE AMAZON was supported by the Independent Television Service and broadcast on PBS, as well as on European and Latin American television. Denise co-produced and co-directed DIGITAL JOURNEY, an Emmy Award winning PBS series exploring emerging technologies in their social, environmental and cultural contexts. Denise co-directed BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE a short for PBS/TED Talks [...]
Contessa Gayles
Contessa is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist, and an Emmy-nominated producer. She tells stories about identity, socio-political movement and change, healing, liberation and radical imagination, with a focus on race and gender. She spent several years as a producer at CNN, where she created, produced, directed, shot and edited award-winning original series and documentaries, including the feature documentary, The Feminist on Cellblock Y; shorts, Women Who March and Women Who March: The Movement; and series including, This Is Birth with Lisa Ling, This Is Sex with Lisa Ling, and the 2016 News & Documentary Emmy-nominated Feeding America's Most Vulnerable [...]
Carolina González Valencia
Carolina's practice lies at the intersection of personal, social, and political narratives. She weaves multiple media to create documents that challenge social and historical representations of migration, otherness, diaspora, and labor. She has worked on film and art projects in Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Lebanon, and the United States. She is the recipient of LEF Foundation Production Grant, the Lyn Blumenthal Scholarship, the Gelman Travel Fellowship, and the Programa Nacional de Estímulos (Colombian Ministry of Culture). She received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Department of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation). Carolina is [...]
Gabriel Lage
Gabriel Lage is a filmmaker, videographer and still photographer, from São Paulo, Brazil, based in San Francisco, California. He graduated from California College of the Arts in the spring of 2020 with a major in film. His work is centered on applying classic film and photo theory and techniques, with the objective to address contemporary queer themes and realities. His search for inspiration roots itself into the exploration of Latin American queer subjects, intersectionality and social justice. Gabriel believes in film, media and arts as a medium that can be used to amplify underrepresented voices that have so much to [...]
Karolina Esqueda
As the Youth Engagement Specialist, Karolina Esqueda aims to provide support and assistance to BAVC Media's Youth Programs' team and students. Being a BAVC Media Bridges Fellowship alumni herself, she works towards finding ways to ensure student engagement and looking for ways to build community even in the virtual space. She's currently the main point of reference for Youth Programs's social media presence, so make sure to follow @BAVC Mediayouth! Born in Tijuana, Mexico, filmmaker and visual artist, Karolina Esqueda grew up in between Tijuana and San Diego, sisters cities on the border between Mexico and the United States. Her [...]
Nanami Yokota
Nanami Yokota is an international student studying film. She was born in Japan, moved to the Philippines when she was eight, and is in her 3rd year at San Francisco's California College of the Arts. During her time at CCA, she's become interested in production management. Ideally, she would love to be a project manager for animated films, which she feels have served as a way for her to keep in touch with her Japanese heritage and culture and plans to dive deeper into the influence of Asian American culture through animation. Artist Statement: "Since the pandemic began, I noticed [...]
Kia Simon
Kia Simon, an award-winning filmmaker and Emmy Winning editor, started Sneaky Little Sister Films in 2004 in Oakland, California, with a focus on motion graphics and narrative storytelling. Kia says “The design we create should always be telling the story, not distracting from it. It’s always about the ideas that are being communicated.” In addition to mastering new design tools and methods, Kia enjoys learning about new topics and fields through her work. Kia recruits and cultivates artists with diverse design styles and sensibilities, helping them to improve and grow their skills. Kia’s narrative films, music videos and documentaries have [...]
Penny Krueger
Penny Krueger is a film and video editor who has been working in the bay area as a freelance and staff editor since 2005. She was a founding board member of Reel Stories and sat on their board for 9 years and was Board President for the last 5 years. Penny has worked as an editor on several short films and in advertising and with tech companies. Penny strongly believes in supporting and helping young filmmakers find their voices.
