Director / Producer
THIS AIN’T NORMAL

Trinidadian-born and Boston-bred, Rudy Hypolite is an Emmy nominated and American Film Institute and Henry “Eyes on the Prize” Hampton award recipient. Rudy started KreateAbuzz Documentary Films LLC in 2010, with Co-Producer Dennis G. Wilson, to continue the mission of creating documentary feature films in a more structured and sustainable manner. The aim of the films is to entertain, but more importantly to challenge, educate and stir audiences to action from the stories and critical issues depicted in the films. Rudy’s fourth, independent film This Ain’t Normal was nominated for a 2021 Documentary Emmy® Award in the category of Outstanding Social Issue Documentary. This Black Boston feature film humanizes the stories of gang-involved youth and the unusual team of social and street workers tasked with helping to transform their lives. The film is currently on air and streaming on the SHOWTIME® TV Network, a recent 2-year deal brokered by Byron Allen’s L.A.-based distribution company Freestyle Digital Media. Rudy directed, wrote and executive produced the award-winning film, PUSH: Madison versus Madison, the acclaimed basketball documentary broadcast on ESPN Classic, Magic Johnson’s Aspire network and PBS' World America Reframed series. Rudy’s current independent feature film project is entitled “Black Barbershops and Hair Salons: Neighborhood Oasis” (working title). Rudy previously worked at Cambridge Community Television, WFNX-FM Radio, USA’s The Big Easy television series, Harvard University and is a graduate of Boston University's Television and Film Program.

Director / Producer
ERNIE & JOE: CRISIS COPS

Jenifer McShane is an independent filmmaker committed to using film to bridge understanding in situations where structural, cultural or religious divisions typically keep people apart. Her most recent film, Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops won the Jury Award for Empathy & Craft at SXSW in 2019, an Emmy for Outstanding Editing and is currently streaming on HBO. The film has been screened by well over 1,000 enforcement agencies in the US. Jenifer spent nearly five years visiting Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to make her previous documentary, Mothers of Bedford (PBS), which reveals the impact of incarceration on jailed mothers and their children. 

Director / Producer
DAWNLAND, RECIPROCITY PROJECT, UPSTANDER PROJECT

Adam Mazo (he/his) is the creative director for Upstander Project and an Emmy® Award-winning social issue documentarian. Upstander Project uses storytelling to amplify silenced narratives, develop upstander skills to challenge systemic injustice, and nurture compassionate, courageous relationships that honor the interconnection of all beings and the Earth. Adam has (co)directed and/or produced all of Upstander Project’s films, including Dawnland, which won an Emmy® Award in 2018. His films have been broadcast on domestic and international television (Independent Lens), programmed at film festivals (Sundance, Hot Docs, Camden) and international conferences, and screened at universities and K-12 schools, where they are also often used in curricula. He is Ashkenazi Jewish and lives with his family in the territory of the People of the Blue Hills — the Massachusett Tribe.

Founder
Twin Seas Media

Marga Varea is the founder of Twin Seas Media, a Boston-based impact distribution boutique agency working with documentary filmmakers. With over twenty years of experience in film and television, Marga has a deep understanding of the industry and believes in the power of storytelling to engage and transform. Marga has worked with dozens of films over the years in a variety of positions from script consultant to line and consulting producer. Since 2008 she is dedicated to impact and distribution having led dozens of campaigns (e.g. A Reckoning in Boston, A Crime on the Bayou, Pony Boys) and consulted on audience engagement for a variety of film festivals internationally.