shalini Kantayya I DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER
Shalini Kantayya directs fiction and nonfiction films that artfully marry the future of science with the future of story. Her recent film, TikTok, Boom, was nominated for the grand jury prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and received a 2023 Emmy nomination for PBS. Her critically-acclaimed 2020 Sundance film, Coded Bias, was nominated for a 2022 Emmy Award, a Critics’ Choice, and an NAACP Image Award, and currently streams on Netflix. Shalini won GlobeDocs Visionary Filmmaker Award and Best Director at the Social Impact Media Awards. Shalini’s debut feature, Catching the Sun, released globally on Netflix on Earth Day 2016 with Executive Producer Leonardo DiCaprio and was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick. She has directed for National Geographic television series Breakthrough, Executive Produced by Ron Howard, and episodes for NOVA and YouTube Originals. Shalini is a TED Fellow, a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, a Firelight Media Fellow, and a Concordia Artist Fellow.
Elizabeth Woodward is a producer of documentary and narrative films, and founder of WILLA. She was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30, DOC NYC 40 Under 40, Berlinale Talents, and is an Impact Partners Producers Fellow and a Sundance Catalyst Fellow. Her recent films include ANOTHER BODY (SXSW Special Jury Award, Sundance Catalyst), YOU RESEMBLE ME (Venice Film Festival, executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Alma Har’el, Riz Ahmed) and ON THE DIVIDE (Tribeca Film Festival, POV on PBS).
ELIZABETH WOODWARD I PRODUCER
steve acevedo I DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Mexican American Director of Photography Steve Acevedo is an action-driven, emotion- focused filmmaker. His visual perspective is informed by extensive experience as a cinematographer, including the indie feature credits SATELLITE OF LOVE and JACK’S APOCALYPSE. In the doc world, he recently shot CODED BIAS and TIKTOK BOOM, which both screened in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the Leonardo DiCaprio produced feature, CATCHING THE SUN. He also collaborated with Ken Jeong on the ESPN 30 for 30 film, STUDENT/ATHLETE.
Randy Redroad is a Los Angeles based editor. Randy was editor on the feature documentary THE INFILTRATORS (2019 Sundance Film Festival – winner Audience Award and Innovator Award), about a group of undocumented youth infiltrating a for-profit detention center. Other work as editor includes the Showtime documentary FIRST CIRCLE, about the foster care system and the recently completed LIES CLOSED THIS SCHOOL, about a legendary education activist in Detroit. Randy's debut feature, THE DOE BOY, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, winning the prestigious Sundance/NHK Award. The film went on to win 14 other festival awards and earned an IFP/Gotham nomination for outstanding directorial debut. Randy was the first Indigenous participant to be invited to the Sundance Filmmaker’s Lab.
randy redroad I EDITOR
Zachary ludescher I EDITOR / VIsual FX SUPERVISOR
Zachary is the winner of the 2021 Cinema Eye Honors Award for Motion Graphics for Coded Bias. An image guru and a passionate filmmaker, he has shot for major TV and film projects as well as edited at many of the top editorial houses in NYC. Quite an indulgent dog father, he’s also a master Dojo fighter.
Gil Talmi is an Emmy nominated film composer, sonic activist and recording artist with a passion for socially conscious films. Some of Gil's recent work includes original music for HARRY & MEGHAN (Netflix/Story Syndicate), WILD WILD SPACE (HBO), UNKNOWN: COSMIC TIME MACHINE (Netflix/Story Syndicate), LEAD ME HOME (Netflix/Actual Films), JACINTA (Hulu/Endeavor Pictures), WHITE NOISE (The Atlantic), ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY (Amazon Studios/Story Syndicate), THE GREAT HACK (Netflix/A Noujaim Films-Othrs Production) and CHAVELA (Aubin Pictures). Gil's score for Chavela was nominated for Best Original Film Score by the Music & Sound Awards and his music for TALES OF THE WARIA (PBS Global Voices) won Best Documentary Score.
gil taLmi I COMPOSER
Andrew Gross has scored more than 30 features and 100 episodes of primetime TV including THE KING OF QUEENS (CBS), 8 HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG (Orion) and TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (New Line). He has won numerous BMI Film and TV Awards for his work on KING OF QUEENS and RIAA Gold and Platinum Awards for his string arrangements on TENACIOUS D’s debut album. Andrew also served as both composer and music supervisor on the Emmy nominated series, WHY WE FIGHT(ESPN+), THE DRESS UP GANG (TBS) and Season 3 of I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE (Netflix). Recent music supervision credits include, IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE (Netflix), SUGARCANE (NatGeo), I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE Seasons 1-3 (Netflix), THE VOW: PART II (HBO) and the Academy Award-nominated doc feature, ASCENSION (Paramount+).
andrew gross I COMPOSER
WILLA presents a 7TH EMPIRE MEDIA Production In Association with MINDEROO PICTURES and THE CONCORDIA FELLOWSHIP with support from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Perspective Fund a film by SHALINI KANTAYYA “LOVE APPTUALLY” Director of Photography STEVE ACEVEDO Edited by ZACHARY LUDESCHER and RANDY REDROAD Music by GIL TALMI and ANDREW GROSS Visual Effects by ZACHARY LUDESCHER Production Design CATHARINA SCHÜRENBERG Graphic Design PABLO LONDERO Executive Producers DAVIS GUGGENHEIM, RAHDI TAYLOR Executive Producer DORON WEBER Executive Producer MALINDA WINK Co-Executive Producers MERYL METNI, NATASHA DOLBY and DAVID DOLBY Produced by SHALINI KANTAYYA and ELIZABETH WOODWARD Directed by SHALINI KANTAYYA