Michal Aviad

Michal Aviad has been working as a director and producer of documentary films in San Francisco and Tel Aviv since 1986.

Among her films are the 1987 award-winning American documentary ACTING OUR AGE (60 min, 16mm), which she produced and directed. The film explores women and aging and was part of many international film festivals including the U.S. Sundance Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival. The film was aired in many countries and was selected in 1988 to be the first program on PBS's P.O.V documentary series.

In 1992 Aviad produced and directed with The corporation for Public Broadcasting in the U.S. the film THE WOMEN NEXT DOOR (80-min, 16mm). Filmed during the Intifada, the film examines the roles of Palestinian and Israeli women in the conflict. The film was part of the Forum in the Berlin International Film Festival where it received Honorable Mention. It took part in many festivals including Jerusalem, Pesaro, Munich, Chicago, San Paolo, Portugal, India, and INPUT '93. The film was aired in many countries including a national broadcast on PBS's P.O.V. series.

In 1995 Aviad directed EVER SHOT ANYONE? (produced by Amit Goren, 60-min Beta) This documentary explores Israeli male culture from a woman's point of view. The video was part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Feminale, the Liepzig Film Festival, INPUT '96, London Jewish Film Festival, Washington Jewish Film Festival, Flaherty film Seminar and many others. It was aired in Canada, Israel, Holland, Denmark, Russia and other countries.

In 1997 Aviad completed producing and directing JENNY & JENNY (60 min Beta), a film on two teenage working-class Israeli girls. JENNY & JENNY was awarded Best Israeli Documentary for 1997 from the Israel Film Institute. It was part of the Jerusalem International Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, Boston Film Festival, Feminale, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Films des Femmes in France and INPUT '98. To date it was aired in Germany, Sweden and Israel.

In July 2001 Aviad completed directing and co-producing RAMLEH with the help of the Soros Documentary Fund. RAMLEH ( 60-min Beta,) is a social-political film about the lives of four women in the town of Ramleh. Ramleh, a Jewish- Arab town, is a powerful example to the disintegration of a country of displaced people torn by religious, national and cultural differences. The was part of the Jerusalem International Film Festival, FIPA 2002, Munich, Prague, Istanbul, Milano, Mumbai, Kalamata, Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York and others.

In August 2002 Aviad has completed to produce and direct FOR MY CHILDREN (66-min Beta), a personal film about the history and events in the life of one family of immigrants and refugees as seen through the prism of the first days of the new Intifada. The film is co-produced with Israel and ZDF-ARTE. So far the film took part in the Leipzig film Festival, MoMa Documentary Series, Boston & Washington Jewish Film Festivals, San Francisco International Film Festival, Munich Documentary, Nyon, INPUT 03, Istanbul Documentary, Berlin Cinematheque, Palestinian- Israeli Film Festival in Paris and Brussels and others.

Aviad has just finished a short experimental documentary "LEMON DELICACY". The film opened at the Petah Tikva Museum of Contemporary Art, in the context of a group exhibition, and will premier at DocAviv in April 2008.

Aviad has recently received production funds from The New Foundation for Cinema and Television and from the Second Broadcasting Authority. The funds are for "PIONEERS & SERVANTS", an historical documentary on pioneer Jewish women's struggle for women's liberation within the Zionist settlement movement in the first part of the 20th Century.

"PLASTIC SHEETS AND CARDBOARD BOXES", a full length dramatic film, Co-Written and Directed by Aviad, and produced by David Silber from Metro Communications, has received production funds from the Tel Aviv Film Fund. It was part of the Co-Productions market in Berlin in February 2008. It will be shot within the next months.

Since 2004 Aviad is the Artistic Advisor for the Israel International Women Film Festival. Aviad is a faculty member and teaches Cinema at the Film Department at Tel Aviv University. She is the coordinator of the Tel Aviv International Students Film Festival.

Kevin White

Kevin White is an award-winning producer, director and writer who has worked in media since 1982. He started Full Frame Productions in 1984, and the nonprofit Filmmakers Collaborative, SF with fellow filmmaker, Michal Aviad, in 1988.

Selected Credits

Not All Parents Are Straight, Producer/Director/Writer, 1987
An hour-long documentary profiling families where children are being raised by gay and lesbian parents. Honored with the Gold Apple Award, Golden Gate Award, Chrissy Award, CINE Golden Eagle award, Family Relations Award, and participated in the Berlin Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, The American Film Festival, The National Educational Film & Video Festival, The Film Arts Foundation Festival, and many other festivals. National common carriage feed on PBS. Distributed by Cinema Guild for domestic rights and CS Associates for international rights.

We Bring a Quilt, Director/Cinematographer, 1990
A documentary on the Names Quilt visit to Washington DC, narrated by Robert Wagner. Was honored with the Silver Apple Award as well as a national ACE nomination. Aired nationally on Bravo and PBS.

Issues in Environmental Health, Producer/Director/Writer, 1990
An interview series on environmental health produced with the California Department of Public Health. Aired on several national cable outlets.

Partnerships for Change, Producer/Director/Writer, 1992
A four-part series on adult education sponsored by California Public Television. Aired on PBS, won multiple awards for individual segments.

Delivering the American West, Producer/Director/Writer, 1992
Sponsored by the Wells Fargo Museum, this documentary profiled the experience of riding the stagecoach out west using original letters and historical documents. Aired on the History Channel and seven museums nationwide.

The Women Next Door, US-Producer, 1993
A documentary produced and directed by Michal Aviad about peaceful collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian women. Aired in the PBS series POV. Participated in the Berlin Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, and many others.

Karakorum: Wild and Free, Segment Producer, 1993
A story for Expedition Earth (Discovery & ESPN) on Todd Skinner's historic free climb of Annapurna.

For Kids' Sake, Producer/Director/Writer, 1994
A documentary on children and divorce. Aired on PBS and distributed by Kids' Turn, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and parents through divorce. Won the Family Relations, Telly, and Joey awards.

Speaking Up, Producer/Director, 1996
A documentary profiling what communities can do to address domestic violence in their neighborhoods, hosted by Carla Marie Sorrey. Produced with a full companion public information initiative. Aired nationally on PBS via APS.

From the Ground Up, Producer/Director/Writer/Cinematographer, 1999
A documentary on the challenges of managing the Salmon River watershed in Northern California. National feed on PBS. Telly Award, CINE Golden Eagle Award.

Living History: The Ancient Bristlecone Pine, Producer/Director/Writer, 2003
A documentary on the Ancient Bristlecone Pines in the Eastern Sierras, the oldest living organisms on earth.

Restoring Balance, Producer/Director/Writer, 2004
A documentary that chronicles the eradication of the black rat from Anacapa Island, narrated by John Cleese. Aired on select PBS stations. Featured in the Hazel Wolf Film Festival, Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Finalist, International Wildlife Film Festival, CINE Montana Environmental Film Festival, Ocean Film Festival, American Conservation Film Festival and many others.

Returning Home, Producer/Director/Writer, 2006
A documentary about the restoration of the Common Murre to Devil's Slide Rock, a small sea stack off the coast of San Francisco. Aired on the Emmy-award winning PBS series, Natural Heroes. Received a Telly Award and CINE Golden Eagle Award. Featured in the Hazel Wolf Film Festival, Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Special Merit Award, International Wildlife Film Festival, EarthVision Film Festival, CINE Montana Environmental Film Festival, SF Ocean Film Festival and many others.

Fair Fight in the Marketplace, Producer/Director/Writer (with David Donnenfield), 2007
Hosted by NPR's Mara Liasson, this film highlights the role of antitrust law in protecting consumers. Broadcast nationally on PBS via NETA/KQED. CINE Golden Eagle Award, and Silver Telly Award.

A Land Between Rivers, Producer/Director/Co-Writer, 2007
Narrated by Rita Moreno, this film tells the story of Central California between the San Joaquin and Kings Rivers. Aired on select PBS stations. Received at CINE Golden Eagle Award, Silver Telly Award, and invitations at the Sacramento International Film Festival, Eugene International Film Festival, Big Bear Film Festival, and many others.

Kevin serves on the board of Synergy School in San Francisco, and has been a guest lecturer at San Francisco State University, City College, New College, the Academy of Art, and several other film festival workshops and seminars. He has also produced and directed many commercials and corporate projects for Fortune 500 companies and advertising agencies.

Partnering Filmmakers

Bruce Schmiechen
Bruce Schmiechen is a producer-director, writer and editor with over three decades of production experience. His documentary work includes co-producer, writer and editor of Controlling Interest, one of the earliest examinations of globalization on film and a prize-winner in the Bilbao, American and Nyon film festivals; co-producer and editor of the U.S. version of South Africa Belongs to Us; co-producer/director of The Business of America, a Corporation for Public Broadcasting-funded production broadcast nationally on PBS; and producer-director of The Johnny Otis Rhythm & Blues Reunion at the Monterey Jazz Festival, also broadcast on PBS. He has written, produced and edited numerous sponsored documentaries, corporate and educational films. Clients include Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the City of San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank, and eBay. Bruce was a founding director of California Newsreel, a non-profit educational production and distribution company for ten years. He is currently finishing as director-writer-editor a feature-length documentary production, Every Beat of My Heart: Rhythm & Blues and Race in America.

David Donnenfield
David Donnenfield has worked in visual media since 1975. After receiving his bachelor's degree in Film from UCLA, David worked as a staff producer for the California State Department of Education making, what else? - films on education. David worked on numerous programs for the syndicated TV magazine programs, PM Magazine and Evening Magazine. He also served as assistant producer for the Academy Award-nominated documentary Eight Minutes to Midnight. In 1991, he was awarded a master's degree in Educational Technology from San Francisco State University and established his own independent media production company. In the ensuing years, he has produced numerous educational and environmental programs for government agencies including Guardian of the Golden Gate, A Clean Exit and On Track to Reuse. His Secrets in Stone for the U.S. Geological Survey recounts the critical scientific discovery that led to the geologic model of plate tectonics. It aired on local PBS stations and won numerous awards. His documentary on an austere meditation practice introduced into a U.S. jail, Changing from Inside, won the National Council on Crime and Delinquency's Pass Award. It has aired on domestic cable stations as well as Dutch and Spanish TV, and enjoys worldwide distribution. David has produced programs for environmental organizations such as the Audubon Society, the California Native Grass Association, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and others. He was commissioned by the New York Museum of Modern Art to produce a film on the Golden Gate National Recreational Area's restored Crissy Field for its 2005 landscape architecture installation, "Groundswell". He recently completed a two-DVD set that trains parents and caregivers of autistic children in novel techniques to enhance the childrens' social and educational development. David recently teamed with Kevin White to produce Fair Fight in the Marketplace, an award-winning educational program on antitrust policy that aired nationally on PBS in 2007. In addition, he and Kevin are the producers of the How On Earth project.

Michele Dennis
Michele Dennis has been in the film and video business for over 25 years. She started out in post-production, working at One Pass Video, and from there became one of the founding team members of Phoenix Editorial in San Francisco, serving as their Senior Producer for over six years. Now a freelancer of over 11 years, Michele enjoys being a hands-on producer and production manager for a wide variety of projects including TV commercials, high end-corporate videos, animation, and documentary films. Michele works with a variety of production companies on a wide scope of media, recently teaming up with Kevin White and Full Frame Productions to produce A Land Between Rivers, a 60-minute award winning documentary on California's Central Valley. Additionally, Michele was the associate producer on Cathy Ryan and Gary Weimburg's, Three Women and a Chateau, a highly acclaimed, award-winning documentary on the historic Carolands Mansion. With her artistic background and strong editorial experience, Michele strives to bring an extra sense of style and expertise to every project. She is currently conducting research for a documentary she hopes to produce on avian migration.

Gina Leibrecht
Gina Leibrecht has been working in film since she received her B.A. in Telecommunications and Film from the University of Oregon in 1989. She currently works and resides in San Francisco, working on documentary, commercial, and corporate projects for domestic and international markets.

In 1998 she began collaborating with the acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Les Blank, on several projects, including All In This Tea, which she co-produced, co-directed, and edited, and which had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.

Among other highlights are Little Brothers, a short documentary which she directed and edited and which aired on San Francisco's KRON TV; Gina also edited Frank Green's Counting Sheep, about the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, which aired on KQED's Truly California series and won a Northern California Emmy Award for Best Documentary in 2006; Karina Epperlein's Phoenix Dance, about a dancer who returns to the stage after losing a leg to cancer, which won San Francisco International Film Festival's Golden Gate Award for Best Documentary Short in 2006, and made the short list of Academy Award Nominations for Best Short Subject Documentary in 2006; and Kevin White's A Land Between Rivers, a one-hour documentary about the history of California's Central Valley for PBS, which won a CINE Golden Eagle Award for Excellence in Film and Television in 2007.