Ruth Thomas SuhDirector/Co-Producer Ruth graduated from Middlebury College, later receiving a Masters in journalism from NYU and a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University. “REJECT” was inspired by the work of her late father, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Herbert E. Thomas and his book The Shame Response to Rejection. Along with the team, she was awarded a proclamation from the City of New York for contributions to the arts and to the community. Before directing REJECT, she held senior positions at Time Warner, J. Walter Thompson, and Agency.com. She lives in New York City and works with communities and institutions on issues of social inclusion and violence prevention. She served for ten years on the Board of The Korean-American Family Service Center, an organization working to end domestic violence. Director’s Statement Kurt EngfehrProducer Kurt is an award-winning director, editor and producer, and has done work for HBO, MSNBC, CBS and ABC. He was editor and co-producer on the acclaimed documentary films “Trumbo”, “Fahrenheit 9/11” and Academy Award winner “Bowling for Columbine”and won the American Cinema Editors Award for best documentary editing for his work on Bowling for Columbine. Most recently, Kurt co-directed the films, “The Yes Men Fix the World” (HBO premiere), “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” and “The Kids Menu.” He edited “A People Uncounted”, a 2012 Producers Guild of America nomination for Best Documentary. Currently is an editor at Axios documentary unit and won a 2021 Emmy award for editing. Peter BrauerEditor/Producer Peter is an independent producer and editor. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of Film in 2003, Peter Brauer traveled to Mexico to direct and edit an award- winning training film “Return to Life After Spinal Injury.” After this, Peter went on to produce “Second Skin”, a feature documentary about the online gaming community that premiered at SXSW, and went on to play at HotDocs, Sheffield Doc Fest, the Camden Film Festival, and others. “Second Skin” can currently be seen online at www.snagfilms.com. Peter has also produced and edited for a range of corporate clients, from The Blue Man Group to Samsung and founded Abby’s Acres organic farm in Michigan. Nara GarberDirector of Photography Nara is a filmmaker who divides her time between directing, shooting, and editing. She currently creates short-form documentaries for Carnegie Hall, and she is the co-director and DP of Flat Daddy, a feature documentary about military families coping with deployment. Nara’s work as a DP has appeared on HBO (Making the Crooked Straight) and PBS (NOW with Bill Moyers), and she won the Best Cinematography award in the 2008 Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Film Shootout. Other recent camera credits include About Face (premiere: Hot Docs, 2009), Striking a Chord (filmed on military bases in Southern Iraq) and Best Kept Secret (AFI Docs 2013). She is currently directing a feature-length documentary about Braddock, PA. Simone GiulianiComposer Simone is a music producer, film composer, keyboard player, string arranger and music director. He has worked with an array of international artists including Beyonce, Wu-Tang Clan and Bebel Gilberto, written original music for shows including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, True Blood and soundtracks for films and documentaries including “Facing Forward”, currently airing on PBS. He is the musical director for Moment NYC, a visiting music history program for New York City schools and currently working with the London Symphony Orchestra on a new album for mezzo soprano Carly Paoli. He is part of the team for season 5, “A Handmaid’s Tale.” |
Bryan SarkinenCinematographer/Associate Producer Bryan is a graduate of New York University with a joint degree in Film Production and Journalism. At NYU, he created the movie review show The Inside Reel that aired on college networks nationwide. Since then, he has produced a range of projects, from documenting rap star P. Diddy’s world travels to documenting children in Bangladesh, Yemen and Burkina Faso for the United Nations Population Fund documentary “Too Brief a Child: Voices of Married Adolescents.” Bryan has served as director of photography for the documentaries “Thought Crimes”, “Mommy Dead and Dearest”, “The Gospel According to Andre”,”The First Monday in May”, “I Love You Now Die: The Commonwealth V. Michelle Carter” and “At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal.” Deborah KrishnanResearcher Deborah holds a Masters degree in Psychology from New York University and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University. She has worked for the University of Michigan, Columbia University, New York University, Fordham University, and other institutions in helping to conduct research projects related to social-emotional learning, literacy and science education, and emotional and behavioral problems among youth. She also worked for three years at Operation Respect, a nonprofit organization founded by Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul, & Mary) that is dedicated to creating respectful, safe and compassionate learning environments for children that are free of bullying, ridicule and violence. Tina DiFeliciantonio, Jane C. Wagner
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