MARIANELA MALDONADO
DIRECTOR / AUTHOR
Upon graduating from the NFTS in the UK, Marianela wrote and directed several short fiction films, including The Look of Happiness and Breaking Out, both premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. As a screenwriter, Marianela co-wrote Peter and the Wolf (Oscar Winner, 2008), Unmade Beds (Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam 2009), The Flying Machine (Toronto & 3D Film Festival 2013) and The Magic Piano (New York Film Festival, 2011, and shortlisted for the 2012 Oscars). She also participated in the prestigious Cannes Writing Residency, where she wrote The Other Girl, currently in development. As a documentary filmmaker, she worked for BBC Mundo and co-wrote Once upon a Time in Venezuela, premiered at Sundance in 2020.
LUISA DE LA VILLE
PRODUCER
Luisa is a Venezuelan filmmaker based in NYC with over 35 years of experience. She worked in films such as Taita Boves, El Enemigo, Al borde de la línea and Plan B. She was also an AD in international films such as: Arachnophobia (Amblin/Walt Disney Productions, 1989); Tom Shadyac's Dragonfly (ShadyAcres & Universal Films, 2001); Bayley Silleck's Lost Worlds (IMAX Films, Primesco); and in many Venezuelan films, such as: Azul y no tan rosa, by Miguel Ferrari (Goya Award, 2012); Tres bellezas (2015); Ellipsis (2006); Una vida y dos mandados, by Alberto Arvelo (1995); and Oriana, by Fina Torres (Cannes Award, 1984).
RICARDO ACOSTA, C.C.E
EDITOR / CO-WRITER
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member and internationally renowned film editor, story editor, creative/editorial consultant, Ricardo Acosta has been working in the film industry for over 25 years. Ricardo moved to Canada from his native Cuba in 1993. His keen sense of the human condition has contributed to the making of several award-winning films, including Once Upon a Time in Venezuela (2020) World premiere at Sundance 2020; I am Samuel (2019), World premiere at Hot Docs 2020; The Letter (2019), premiered at IDFA, and The Silence of Others (2018), Winner of Berlinale Audience Award 2018 and GOYA Winner 2019.
JESSICA WENZELMANN
CO-WRITER/STORY EDITOR
Venezuelan screenwriter and story editor. After working as a radio journalist and copywriter in her early days, she wrote and co-directed the Venezuelan feature film Dos de Trébol, which screened in theaters nationwide and in festivals in Miami, Sydney and New York. The film was awarded the People’s Choice Award during the Latin American and Caribbean Film Festival in 2014. After collaborating in Children of Las Brisas since 2015, she's developing two non-fiction projects with Invento, as she makes her way into animation. Her first animated short script, The Single Sock, was nominated at the NashFilm Fest in 2020.
ANDY GLYNNE
CO-PRODUCER
Andy Glynne is a double BAFTA Award winning filmmaker, producer and an author. Originally trained as a clinical psychologist, he is currently the Managing Director of Mosaic Films and is the Founding CEO of the Documentary Filmmakers Group – the UK’s national documentary organization. He is the former CEO of One World Media, and former Chairman of the European Documentary Network (EDN). Andy has directed and produced over 200 films for broadcasters and platforms both in the UK and overseas.
ROBIN TODD
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Cinematographer, editor, producer, writer and director, graduated from the London Film School (LFS). Among his latest productions is the science fiction short film Sk8rz, which participated in numerous international festivals, including Korea's Pifan and Austin's Fantastic Fest. He co-wrote The Magic Piano, a short film shortlisted for the 2012 Oscars. While living in Venezuela, he directed the television documentary series Biopiracy and Ancestral Knowledge for Latin American broadcasters. He also shot the documentary short film The Barrel, a 2013 Hot Docs favorite.
MIKE MAGIDSON
EDITOR
Working on trailers for directors like Sean Penn, Ridley Scott and Mark Rydell, Mike Magidson began to dream of a career as a filmmaker. Following his heart and a strong curiosity for French culture, he moved from California to Paris in 1992. After several years of editing for a diverse array of international directors, including Pan Nalin, Antoine de Maximy, and Jean-Michel Carré, Mike made his first award-winning documentary, Kanada. He has written and directed over thirty films, including his first narrative feature, Inuk, winner of over twenty-five international awards and Greenland’s official entry for the 85th Academy Awards.
NASCUY LINARES
MUSIC
Nascuy Linares is a Venezuelan musician and filmmaker with a prolific career as a composer, arranger, and musician for film and television. He has composed film scores for Embrace of the Serpent (Oscar nominee), by Ciro Guerra; To Play and to Fight, by Alberto Arvelo; Maroa, by Solveig Hoogesteijn; Los Silencios, by Beatriz Seigner; Luxor, by Zeina Durra; Once Upon a Time in Venezuela, by Anabel Rodríguez, first Venezuelan film premiered at Sundance (2020), among others. He holds a BA in Audiovisual Media and an MA in Post-Production from Bournemouth University.
LUC MARTIN-GOUSSET
CO-PRODUCER
Luc Martin-Gousset graduated from the Institut Politique de Paris (Master in Political Science) and Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (Master in Economics and Statistics). In 1990, he joined Point du Jour and then Ellipse Documentary as Senior Producer in 1995. Since 2000, Luc has been heading Point du Jour, one the main independent documentary production companies in France which received the "Producer of the Year" award in 2003 by the Procirep (National association of TV producers). In 2007 he founded PDJ et associés which includes Point du Jour and Point du Jour International. Since 2014 Les films du Balibari became part of PDJ et associés.
CAROLINA RÍOS
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Venezuelan graduated from the Universidad Central de Venezuela as a Media Producer, she began her career at the age of 19 by coordinating commercial recordings for local TV. In 1994 she is hired by the HBO LAG Company to create and broadcast the first cable channels in LA, managing to position Warner Channel among the most watched channels in the region. In 2012 she created the Audiovisual Company Alcayata Media Producciones, with which she has participated in a series of co-productions and own projects: BOLIVAR, Luis Alberto Lamata. PARA ELORZA SIN CANCIÓN, Maria Fernanda Martínez. Audience Award 2018. CHILDREN OF THE BRISAS, Marianela Maldonado. Field and Associate Producer. RITMOS LATINOS, Mirna González. Screenwriter and Producer. Community manager and content generator.
MARÍA FERNANDA MARTÍNEZ
SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR / CAMERA
A Venezuelan graduate in Arts mention Cinematography at the UCV. With diplomas in documentary script, fiction and animation from the National Association of Cinematographic Authors and National Film School. 2D animation at Artevision, Simón Bolívar University, and 3D animation at AP animation. She has participated as a script in Brecha en el Silencio, Rodríguez, Ley de Fuga Ignacio Márquez. Rueda Libre Jackson Elisondo. El infierno de Gaspar Mendoza Julián Balan. El Laberinto de Allende Miguel Littin. She was a Director of the second unit at Children of Las Brisas, Marianela Maldonado. Para Elorza Sin Canción Script writer and Director, also it worthed the honorable mention of his degree at the UCV. She directs commercial pieces for networks, designs and animates international 2D and 3D projects.