JULIA BACHA, EDITOR

Originally from Brazil, Julia Bacha came to New York in 1998 to study Middle Eastern history and politics at Columbia University. Alongside her academic studies, she pursued her interest in documentary photography by portraying life in the Brazilian Amazon, the Indian Hymalaias and the mountains of Cuba and Jamaica. In 2003 she graduated Magna Cum Lade and was awarded the Phi Betta Kappa prize.

LILAH BANKIER, EDITOR

Lilah Bankier is a film editor whose credits include “The Blues,” executive produced by Martin Scorcese, “Far From Home,” winner of the CNN/HBO Life Through Your Lens Competition, and the film “Dogs in the Basement,” winner of the First Film Special Distinction Award at the Montreal Film Festival. She was an additional editor on “Eat This New York” and “Tadpole” (Best Directing Award, 2003 Sundance Film Festival), and the assistant editor on Gus Van Sant’s “Gerry.” Her television credits include programs for Oxygen Media, A & E, and PBS. She is currently editing the film “Swimmers,” directed by Doug Sadler, which was developed at the Sundance Institute’s Writing Lab.

CHARLIE MARQUARDT, EDITOR

After studying film production at Boston University and British literature at Oxford in the late 1980's, Charles began his career working as a production manager on music videos in London and Los Angeles for clients including Polygram, Epic, and Island Records. In 1991 he returned to his native Chicago to work as a producer for Rosalini Film Productions, a multiple Emmy-award winning production company. During a nine year tenure with RFP, he produced and edited television commercials, corporate image, and documentary films. Clients included MFC Bank, The Lincoln Park Zoo, Liberty Science Center, Audubon Institute, The Museum of Science and Industry, and SC Johnson Wax. Charles established Picture Island's new home in New York City in the spring of 2000. Recent projects have included national advertising campaigns for Stayfree via McCann-Erickson, natural history programs for Sterling Digital/Cablevision, and half-hour special editions of Vogue's Talley for Full Frontal Fashion and MetroTV.

JEHANE NOUJAIM, DIRECTOR

Jehane Noujaim began as a photographer and filmmaker in Cairo, Egypt, where she grew up. She moved to Boston in 1990, where she attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude in Visual Arts and Philosophy in 1996. Earlier that year, Noujaim was awarded the Gardiner fellowship under which she directed Mokattam, an Arabic film about an Egyptian garbage collecting village. She then joined the MTV News and Documentary division as a producer for the documentary series, Unfiltered. Noujaim left her producing job at MTV to produce and direct Startup.com in association with Pennebaker Hedgedus Films. The feature length, highly acclaimed documentary has won numerous distinguished awards including the DGA and IDA Awards for best documentary. She has since worked in both the Middle East and the US as a director and cinematographer on various documentaries including Born Rich (Jamie Johnson), Only the Strong Survive (Miramax Films), and Down from the Mountain (Cohen Brothers).

ALAN OXMAN, SUPERVISING EDITOR/CO-PRODUCER

Alan Oxman is a film editor whose credits include “Welcome to the Dollhouse” (Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival), “Happiness” (International Critic's Award Cannes Film Festival), “Two Girls and a Guy”, and “Storytelling.” He co-edited “Unzipped,” which won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and the A.C.E. Award for Best Documentary Editing. He also won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Documentary Editing on the PBS series “City Life.” His most recent television credits include “The Restaurant” (NBC), “The Blues” (PBS), and “The Three Way Threat” (MTV). As a producer, Alan’s credits include the documentary film “Children Underground” (Special Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival and Best Documentary at the IFP Gotham Awards), as well as the film “Assisted Living” (Best Dramatic Feature at the Slamdance, Woodstock and GenArt Film Festivals).

BENT-JORGEN PERLMUTT, CO-PRODUCER

Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt’s interest in film began during his undergraduate years at Brown University where he wrote two feature-length screenplays and received honors in screenwriting. In 2002, he spent several months in the Democratic Republic of Congo shooting medical training videos and directing his first short film, VALUE ADDED. He has also worked as a boom operator for an independent feature-length film entitled TEDDY and as a production assistant for various films, television programs and commercials including RAISING HELEN (Disney), THEY MADE AMERICA (WGBH), and Mitsubishi. As a graduate student pursuing his Masters of Fine Arts in Film at Columbia University, Perlmutt has written, shot, produced, and edited numerous short films.

HANI SALAMA, PRODUCER (Middle East)

Hani Salama is completing his Master's Degree in Journalism at the American University in Cairo and was awarded the prestigious Kamal Adham Fellowship for Television Journalism in 2001. He has worked as a freelance producer for NBC, CNBC, MBC, and as a cameraman for BBC, CBC and MTV. He has also composed several scores for film and telivision and worked on CONTROL ROOM as one of the composers. Salama currently works as a director, content producer, and presenter for the Middle East Broadcasting Center.

ABDULLAH SCHLEIFER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Professor Schleifer is the publisher and senior editor of the e-journal Transnational Broadcasting Studies, the director of the Adham Center for Television Journalism and distinguished lecturer in mass communication at the American University in Cairo. Prior to joining the AUC faculty, Abdullah served as NBC News Cairo Bureau Chief and Middle East producer/reporter based in Beirut, and has covered the Middle East for American and Arab media for over 30 years. Abdallah is the honorary chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Cairo, having served as its chairman during his years with NBC News.

ROSADEL VARELA, PRODUCER (USA)

Rosadel Varela has over ten years of experience in both film and television. Early in her career she worked at MTV Networks in the News/Documentary and Production divisions as a freelance producer. Some of her credits include, Unfiltered, The Video Music Awards, The State, House of Style, and many programs for the True Life documentary series. In 1998, she became a member of the highly selective Directors Guild of America Assistant Director Training Program. There, she worked alongside directors such as Woody Allen, Penny Marshall, John Singleton, and Nicole Holofcener. On the television side, she worked on some of the most successful television series in history including Law & Order and Sex & the City. Varela graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and holds a Producers Certificate from the Business of Entertainment Program at NYU.