Filmmakers
DAWN PORTER, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
Dawn Porter is the founder of Trilogy Films. She is Director/Producer of GIDEON’S ARMY, which will premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and air on HBO Documentary Films. She is an alumni of the Tribeca All Access program, where she won the 2011 juried Creative Promise Award for GIDEON’S ARMY. Realscreen named Dawn one of their 2012 Doc Hot Shots 15 emerging directors to watch. Other Trilogy projects include SPIES OF MISSISSIPPI for ARTE Germany and PBS, and a documentary about celebrity Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli for the Cooking Channel. Dawn also works in narrative features as Executive Producer on SERIOUS MOONLIGHT, written by Adrienne Shelley and starring Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton. SERIOUS MOONLIGHT debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures and domestically on Lifetime Movie Network. She is also an Executive Producer on THE GREEN, an independent feature premiering on Showtime Networks and starring Cheyenne Jackson (30 ROCK) and Emmy®-winning actress Julia Ormond. Before becoming a filmmaker she was the Director of News Standards and Practices at ABC News, and Vice President of Standards and Practices at A&E Networks. Dawn is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Georgetown University Law Center. She was a practicing attorney at Baker & Hostetler and ABC Television Networks before beginning her television career.
JULIE GOLDMAN, PRODUCER
Julie Goldman founded Motto Pictures in 2009. In January 2013, three films that Julie produced will premiere in US Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival: GOD LOVES UGANDA directed by Roger Ross Williams, MANHUNT directed by Greg Barker and GIDEON’S ARMY directed by Dawn Porter. Julie premiered two films at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival: Participant Media’s A PLACE AT THE TABLE directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush, which will be released by Magnolia Pictures in March 2013, and AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY directed by Alison Klayman, which was recently shortlisted for the 2013 Academy Award®. In 2011, Julie produced BUCK, which won the Sundance US Documentary Audience Award. BUCK was shortlisted for an Academy Award® and was one of 2011’s top 5 grossing documentaries. Julie was Executive Producer of IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, which was released by THINKFilm. She was nominated by the Producers Guild of America for the Producer of the Year Award for SERGIO and was a consultant on the Academy Award®-winning THE COVE and Matt Tyrnauer’s acclaimed VALENTINO THE LAST EMPEROR. She has several films that are currently in production: 1971 directed by Johanna Hamilton; Steve James and Raj Patel’s GENERATION FOOD; THE GREAT INVISIBLE directed by Margaret Brown; REVOLUTION directed by Greg Barker and THE KILL TEAM directed by Dan Krauss.
MATTHEW HAMACHEK, Editor
Matthew Hamachek's work has aired on HBO, IFC, PBS, BBC and
the Discovery Channel. He began his career working on the Oscar-nominated
documentary STREET
FIGHT with
Marshall Curry, and went on to collaborate with Curry again on RACING DREAMS, which won Best
Documentary at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. Their latest partnership, IF A TREE FALLS, won the Documentary
Editing award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an
Academy Award® for Best Documentary. Matthew has worked on a number of other
projects including the non-fiction series FILM
SCHOOL
with Nanette Burstein (AMERICAN TEEN),
THE ONE PERCENT with Jamie Johnson (BORN RICH), and GIDEON’S ARMY with Dawn Porter. He recently traveled to Morocco as
part of the US State Department's American Documentary Showcase to screen RACING DREAMS at universities and
cinemas around the country.
SUMMER DAMON, Co-Producer
Summer Damon joined Trilogy Films in 2009, where she has
been an integral part of the company’s development. She co-produced GIDEON’S ARMY, which premieres at the
2013 Sundance Film Festival and broadcasts on HBO Documentary Films’ 2013
summer series. She is also Line Producer for SPIES OF MISSISSIPPI, currently in production for ARTE Germany and
PBS. In addition to her work with Trilogy, she was Production Manager and 2nd
Assistant Director for CONCUSSION, a
feature selected for US Dramatic Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film
Festival. Summer deftly adapts her film production skills as tour manager for
Natalie Merchant, the critically acclaimed vocalist and former frontwoman for
the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Previously, Summer worked with Oceans 8 Films as the production manager
for the documentary SOLA: LOUISIANA WATER
STORIES, and played a pivotal role in producing WHAT WOULD DARWIN THINK?, and TERRA
ANTARCTICA, which won “Best Ocean Issues Film” at the Blue Ocean Film
Festival. Summer was the lead assistant to Revolution Studios’ NY head, Elaine
Goldsmith Thomas, on the films LITTLE
BLACK BOOK and PERFECT STRANGERS.
She was also a tape producer for GOOD MORNING AMERICA. From 2002-2004 she was
the Production Manager for Havoc Films, the production company of Academy
Award-winning actor/director Tim Robbins. In addition to filmmaking, Summer
holds a degree from The French Culinary Institute and has worked at some of New
York’s best restaurants.
Chris Hilleke, Director of Photography
Chris Hilleke is a filmmaker from Birmingham, Alabama who
has been making motion pictures in one way or another for almost two decades.
As a die-hard independent he writes, edits, scores and directs, but it is his
cinematography that has kept food on the table and small budgets available for
his own work. Some of Chris’ more notable feature-length contributions in
cinematography, include: the HBO documentary GIDEON’S ARMY, which premieres at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival; the
award-winning MAN IN THE GLASS: THE DALE BROWN STORY; the sex comedy AUTOEROTIC with
Joe Swanberg; and the thriller A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE with longtime
collaborator Adam Wingard. A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2010. Chris’ commercial clients include
US Space Camp, Mercedes-Benz, Subway, and Southern Progress. Between gigs as a
director of photography he has managed to produce a slew of his own
award-winning, short narrative and documentary films including the 2009
Sidewalk Film Festival's Audience Choice Award Winner SOME OF WHAT I KNOW
ABOUT TOMMY, which follows a man struggling with paranoid schizophrenia.
His current feature documentary, now 4 years in the making, chronicles one
man's battle with a lifelong crack addiction as he moves from life on the
street, to prison, to halfway houses, and his inspiring transition back into
society.
Patrick Sheehan, Cinematography and Sound Recordist
Patrick Sheehan is a documentary filmmaker with 15 years in the video and film production and post-production fields. Sheehan began working in video and film production as a location sound mixer. Film and video credits include multiple feature and short films including the Academy-Award Nominated JOHNNY FLYNTON, over 70 documentary films, broadcast work for HBO, MTV, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and The History Channel and regional and national advertising for Phizer, Wal-Mart, Verizon Wireless and The Weather Channel. In 2004, Sheehan filmed and directed his first documentary film titled GETWELL. Since that time, Sheehan has written, directed, filmed and produced multiple documentaries including HAITI IS ON FIRE and MAN IN THE GLASS: THE DALE BROWN STORY winner of the “Award of Excellence” at the 2011 Los Angeles Movie Awards, and The Audience Choice for Best Documentary at the 2011 Sidewalk Film Festival. Sheehan was also awarded “Best Director” at the 2011 Los Angeles Movie Awards (Feature Documentary Category). Recently, Sheehan was Director of Photography for AMERICAN MAN directed by HBO’s REAL Sports’ Jon Frankel. The film won Best Feature Documentary at the 2012 Sidewalk Film Festival and aired on ESPN Classic in late 2012. Sheehan’s recent work includes camera and audio for BaddDDD SONYA SANCHEZ and Director of Photography for UNCLE GLEN: A BIRD OF RARE PLUMAGE.
Paul Brill, Composer
Paul Brill’s compositions for numerous award-winning films,
TV series and commercials, NPR program themes, and several acclaimed CDs of
original and innovative songwriting show that youthful adventures as an herbal
smokes salesman, street performer, valet, corporate errand boy, and a marine
biology instructor can serve the creative spirit well. Paul has received 3 Emmy® nominations for his scores for the
films, FULL BATTLE RATTLE (National
Geographic), THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK (Break Thru Films), and THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT (HBO), which was hailed by Variety as
“memorably chilling, sounding notes of purest dread.” Paul won the 2011 Best
Music Award from the International Documentary Association for his score for
the film, BETTER THIS WORLD. He
recently collaborated with rock legends U2 on the HBO film, BURMA SOLDIER, composing a new string
arrangement for an acoustic version of their classic song, “Walk On.” He scored
the hit documentary, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE
OF WORK (IFC), the recently released PAGE
ONE: INSIDE THE NY TIMES (Magnolia), as well as Christy Turlington Burns’
directorial debut, NO WOMAN, NO CRY (OWN),
on which he collaborated with songwriter Martha Waignwright, and the film
adaptation of the best-selling book, FREAKONOMICS
(Magnolia). He is also the composer for dozens of TV series and films for A+E,
MTV, The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), History Channel, National Geographic,
Discovery Channel, and PBS, among others.
Trilogy Films Team
Tim Kauffeld, Assistant Editor/Production Assistant
Tim Kauffeld is an assistant editor, editor, and production assistant from the Greater New York City area. He has experience as both freelance and full-time staff for some of the most prestigious production companies in New York City and Northern New Jersey including 1st Ave Machine, P-13 Productions and Trilogy Films. Tim has worked on projects ranging from popular music videos, television shows, national commercials, and the award-winning documentaries. He was the assistant editor for the Food Channel pilot EDEN EATS, and acted as office manager and production assistant on several shoots for Google. Tim also assisted in the production of the music videos MARRY THE NIGHT by Lady Gaga, and the Foo Fighters GARAGE TOUR. He spends most of his free time at the dog park and trying to figure out how to play the guitar.
Amanda Goscinski, Office Manager/Production Assistant
Amanda Goscinski is the current Office Manager/Production Assistant for Trilogy Films. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rutgers University in May 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication. She has worked as a freelance assistant for Ntropic, a post-production company in New York City, and has interned for Life & Style Magazine, MTV Networks, and Xanga.com. For the past several years, she has also been working with her colleague, Ryan Polukord, on several short films including DANGER ZONE, GLASS DIAMOND, and CAMP 139. The short film, CAMP 139, in which Amanda co-produced and starred in, won “Best New Jersey Based Short Film” in the 2011 Downbeach Film Festival and was an official selection in the 2010 Garden State Film Festival.
Consultants
JENNIFER MACARTHUR, Director of Outreach and Media Engagement
Jennifer is a multiplatform communications and engagement strategist with a focus on social issue documentary and civic engagement. Her
background spans over 15 years working in radio, film and TV, publishing and
the web. She has held positions at the National Center for Media Engagement,
Link TV, Scholastic Entertainment and Village Voice Media. In 2008, out of a
passion for helping producers and organizations create social change, she
formed Borderline Media. Projects include GIDEON’S
ARMY (HBO), the Emmy®-nominated TRACES OF THE TRADE
(POV/California Newsreel), the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism’s Global Film
Series, the ITVS social TV platform OVEE, the transmedia projects SANDY STORYLINE
and DIGITAL DIASPORA FAMILY REUNION ROADSHOW, Arts
Engine/Media That Matters, Firelight Media, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and
the Alaska Broadcasters Association. Prior to founding Borderline Media, she
produced NPR’s StoryCorps Griot mobile tour (2007-08). Jennifer is regularly
invited to speak at conferences and industry events, including: the Wyncote
Foundation Roundtable, CPB/PBS Producers Academy, National Endowment for the
Humanities and Silverdocs International Documentary Conference; and has
produced workshops for Firelight Media Producers Lab and PubCamp West. Recently,
she was one of twelve senior film professionals selected by the BritDoc Foundation to
participate in their prestigious Impact Producers retreat at Osea Island in the
UK. Jennifer holds a BA in liberal arts and a certificate in film production
from The New School.
BRYCE KIRCHOFF, Digital Media Coordinator
Bryce Kirchoff has produced web and social media campaigns for organizations at all levels of the media industry including local broadcast stations, regional cable service providers, and national cable networks. He currently leads social media efforts for Next Avenue, a national PBS franchise, and the social engagement campaign for the HBO documentary GIDEON’S ARMY. His clients and previous employers include Charter Communications, Wisconsin Public Television, Disney | ABC Television Group and Court TV (now truTV), where he worked closely with Emmy® -winning producer Linda Ellman to manage community engagement for ON NATIVE SOIL and optimized Court TV's website for its “Choices” educational campaign aimed at helping at-risk youth make positive life choices. From 2009-2011, Bryce was the production and social media manager at the National Center for Media Engagement (NCME), where he independently launched and nurtured all aspects of NCME’s social media presence. Through targeted Facebook ad placements and outreach to key stakeholders in the independent producer community, Bryce attracted a record number of participants for NCME’s online launch of their Engagement Guide for Producers. In 2011, Bryce received his master’s of science degree in New Media Management from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications where he studied under Professor Stephen Masiclat, co-director of the Center for Digital Convergence and former IBM Fellow. He lives in Los Angeles.
