DEE REES (Writer/Director) is an alumna of New York University’s graduate film program and a 2008 Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab Fellow. She has written and directed several short films, including PARIAH, which has screened at over 40 festivals worldwide including the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and won 25 “Best Short” awards. Dee’s most recent short film, COLONIAL GODS, was shot on location in the UK and aired on the BBC Wales in the fall of 2009 . Her documentary feature, EVENTUAL SALVATION, received a 2007 Sundance Documentary Fund Grant and premiered on Sundance Channel in October 2009.

Dee’s debut narrative feature film, PARIAH, was a finalist for the 2009 Sundance/NHK International Award and will have it’s world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Dee received a 2008 Renew Media Arts Fellowship and also as listed as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 2008 “25 New Faces of Independent Film” for her work. Currently, Dee is developing a dramatic television series called THE ‘VILLE and also recently finished two feature length screenplays: a dark comedy titled LARGE PRINT, and an environmental science thriller called PANDORA.

Dee worked as a script supervision intern on Spike Lee’s films “When The Levees Broke” and “Inside Man” and earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Florida A&M University.

NEKISA COOPER (Producer) is a 2008 Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow, and has produced several projects, including the critically acclaimed narrative short PARIAH. In January, she was selected to represent IFP at the 2009 Cinemart/Rotterdam Producing Lab.

Nekisa produced EVENTUAL SALVATION and COLONIAL GODS and the feature version of PARIAH. Nekisa is currently in post-production on the feature documentary, LA MUÑECA FEA, a Creative Promise Award winner from the 2009 Tribeca All Access Program and 2010 Elizabeth Pena Fellowship Award Winner through Film Independent. Prior to film, Nekisa’s former lives included a successful career working in brand management for such companies as Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oreal, and General Electric and working as an assistant coach for women’s basketball on the Division I, Division III and high school levels. Nekisa earned a BA in Government with a minor in Japanese studies from The College of William & Mary and an MBA in Marketing from Clark Atlanta University.

BRADFORD YOUNG (CINEMATOGRAPHER) graduated from Howard University under the tutelage of filmmaker Haile Gerima. Bradford’s first project, the short film PARIAH, was an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. His next projects MISSISSIPPI DAMNED and ENTRE NOS put him back on the festival circuit and ultimately landed him a spot as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces” for 2009. Having recently wrapped the Sundance Lab’s RESTLESS CITY for Andrew Dosunmu and PARIAH, the feature for Dee Rees, he is currently prepping Sebastian Silva’s (THE MAID) next film SECOND CHILD. Young’s work is that of an inspired artist guided by the moment, inspired by a trajectory of human emotions.

EYDE BELASCO (CASTING DIRECTOR) As a casting director, EYDE BELASCO worked on the independent feature film DIRTY GIRL which premiered at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival and 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, LYMELIFE and DON’T LET ME DROWN which all screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Other recent projects include the feature films PARIAH, HERE, LIKE CRAZY, YELLING TO THE SKY, LOVELY STILL, FINAL DESTINATION 5, BECAUSE I SAID SO, SLITHER, RESCUE DAWN, BEHIND ENEMY LINES and HALF NELSON (Artios Award Winner for Independent Feature Film Casting). She is currently in her fifteenth year as the West Coast casting director for the Sundance Institute.

INBAL WEINBERG (PRODUCTION DESIGNER) is an Israeli-born who burst onto the scene with the Academy Award Nominated film FROZEN RIVER, directed by Courtney Hunt and starring Academy Award Nominated actress Melissa Leo. The film, winner of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, showcases her talent for creating authentic and realistic spaces that in turn reveal the inner worlds of its characters. Weinberg’s delicate treatment of everyday environments is evident in director Derek Cianfrance’s film BLUE VALENTINE, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The film was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and screened at the Cannes Film Festival to rave reviews. Having recently finished Max Winkler’s feature CEREMONY, starring Uma Thurman, she is currently working on Jesse Peretz’s new comedy MY IDIOT BROTHER, starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Zooey Deschanel. As evident in all her work Inbal’s style hangs in the balance between stark realism and the natural desire for beauty.

Mako Kamitsuna (EDITOR) Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Hiroshima, Japan, Mako Kamitsuna came to the US with the dream of becoming a filmmaker. After graduating from Columbia University (BA Philosophy) and New York University’s Graduate Film program, she started her career as an editor on award-winning independent features and documentaries. In 2009, Mako became a fellow at Film Independent’s PROJECT INVOLVE and is currently mentored by Jeffrey Ford, A.C.E.