Most recently, Jennifer Grausman co-produced Eric Mendelsohn's narrative feature, Three Backyards (2009). Before beginning production on Pressure Cooker, Jennifer Grausman produced six short films. Dear Lemon Lima, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival (2007), and Solidarity screened at the New York Film Festival (2005). In 2006, she was the production supervisor on The Killing Floor, an independent feature film. A graduate of the MFA film program at Columbia University, Grausman was honored with the 2005 Best Producer Award at the Columbia University Film Festival and the Arthur Krim Memorial Award in 2004. Prior to graduate school, she was the Manager of Exhibition and Film Funding at The Museum of Modern Art. She earned her BFA in Art History at Duke University.
Mark Becker produces, directs, shoots and edits documentaries in New York. As a filmmaker, Becker made the acclaimed Romantico, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, and received two Independent Spirit Award nominations (Best Documentary and Truer Than Fiction Award). Romantico was released theatrically in 2006 by Kino International. Becker was co-editor of Lost Boys of Sudan, winner of an Independent Spirit Award. He earned a Masters Degree from the Documentary Film Program at Stanford University. www.meteorfilms.org
A director, cinematographer and sound recordist, Justin Schein has shot over 45 films internationally for broadcasters including A&E, PBS, National Geographic, BBC, The Discovery Channel, HBO, The Learning Channel, and MTV. For PBS he recently completed Return to Ground Zero, a one-hour look at rebuilding the World Trade Center and a companion piece to his America Rebuilds: A Year at Ground Zero, which chronicled the rescue and recovery efforts in the aftermath of 9/11/01. Most recently he completed work as director and cameraman on the feature documentary No Impact Man: The Documentary (2009).
After working on educational documentary videos for The George Lucas Educational Foundation, Leigh Iacobucci was inspired to enter her own classroom, teaching a course in documentary video production at a non-profit film school in Ghana. In the fall of 2004, Leigh enrolled in Stanford University's Documentary Film Program and completed her Master's Degree in June 2006. During her time at Stanford, she produced, directed, shot and edited four short films. Currently, she works as a freelance shooter and assistant editor in New York City and Philadelphia.
Myna Joseph is a recent graduate of the MFA film program at Columbia University. Her thesis short Man screened at Sundance, SXSW, New Directors/New Films, and Cannes. The film won the New Line Cinema Award for Best Director in the 2007 Columbia University Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short at the Florida Film Festival. Short films she's produced have received awards from USA Film Festival, New Line Cinema, HBO, and Eastman Kodak. Most recently, she co-produced The Second Line, which won a Special Jury Prize at SXSW and showed at Sundance this year. Currently she is developing two feature-length projects.
Jeff Skoll founded Participant Productions (now Participant Media) in January, 2004 and serves as Chairman. Skoll's vision for Participant is to create a long term, independent, global media company to produce and finance entertainment focused on long term benefit to society. He cites classic films such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Gandhi and Erin Brockovich as examples. Skoll most recently served as executive producer on Participant's films Good Night, and Good Luck, North Country, Syriana, American Gun, An Inconvenient Truth, The World According to Sesame Street, Fast Food Nation, Angels in the Dust, Jimmy Carter Man from Plains, Darfur Now, The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Chicago 10, The Visitor and Standard Operating Procedure.
As Participant Media's Executive Vice President, Documentary Films, Diane Weyermann is responsible for Participant Media's documentary slate. This includes the 2008 releases, Brett Morgen's Chicago 10 and Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure, which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, as well as the 2007 releases Angels in the Dust, Jimmy Carter Man from Plains and Darfur Now and 2006's Oscar® winning An Inconvenient Truth. Prior to joining Participant in October 2005, Weyermann was the Director of the Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Program. Before that, she was the Director of the Open Society Institute New York's Arts and Culture Program for seven years. In addition to her work with contemporary art centers and culture programs in the Soros Foundation network, which spans over thirty countries, she launched the Soros Documentary Fund (which later became the Sundance Documentary Fund) in 1996. Since the inception of the Fund, she has been involved with the production of over three hundred documentary films from around the world.
Beginning his career as a DJ for Stetsasonic, rapper and producer Prince Paul has lent his skills to albums by Boogie Down Productions, Gravediggaz, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane, and 3rd Bass, among others. Paul's big break came when he produced De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising album. In 1994, Paul returned to rapping, joining RZA and Stetsasonic member Frukwan in Gravediggaz, a side project that debuted with 6 Feet Deep. He also began working with the new elite in underground rap, recruiting the Automator, New Kingdom's Scott Harding, and Spectre for his debut solo album, 1997's Psychoanalysis: What Is It? A Prince Among Thieves followed in 1999, and later that year Paul formed Handsome Boy Modeling School with the Automator to release the album So...How's Your Girl?. His own Politics of the Business, another concept album surfaced in 2003 (a year after a second Handsome Boy Modeling School album), and was followed by 2004’s 2nd Handsome Boy Release, White People and 2005's Itstrumental as well as The Dix' The Art of Picking Up Women. In 2008 Paul co-produced Baby Elephant with long-time collaborator Don Newkirk and the world renowned Bernie Worrell (of Parliament Funkadelic fame). Most recently Paul created Baby Loves Hip Hop presents The Dino 5 with guest appearances from Chali 2na, Ladybug Mecca and Wordsworth. Among Prince Paul's previous film credits are the scores for Pootie Tang, and The Best Thief in the World.
A former Def Jam recording artist, Donald Newkirk came onto the scene with his release Funk City. Also known for his feature on the classic Prince Paul CD A Prince Among Thieves where he covered the classic "Mood For Love". However, many only know Newkirk’s voice, which resides in the collective subconscious of the hip-hop community of the world due to his infamous voice-overs on legendary hip hop albums such as De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising and 3rd Bass's The Gas Face. Currently he produces tracks for artists such as The Black Flames, Alyson Williams and Keon Bryce. Newkirk’s affiliation with best friend and legendary hip hop producer Prince Paul has been responsible for the projects Bigger and Blacker and I Aint Never Scared (Chris Rock), music for the movie Pootie Tang, several commercials and the score for the Showtime independent film, The Best Thief in the World.
Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President.
Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs which provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure and The Visitor. For information, visit www.participantmedia.com
Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) works with public schools across the country to prepare underserved high school students for college and career opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality industry. A national nonprofit, C-CAP manages the largest independent high school culinary scholarship program in the United States. Since 1990, C-CAP has awarded students $25 million in scholarships and donated $2.2 million in supplies and equipment to classrooms.
In addition to awarding scholarships and providing high schools with needed products and supplies, C-CAP offers training and curriculum enrichment programs including: cooking competitions, teacher training, job shadows, job training, internships, college advising, and career guidance.
C-CAP operates in seven locations including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Hampton Roads,VA, Washington, D.C. and state-wide in Arizona.For information, visit www.ccapinc.org