Meet Our Team
Executive Producer
Paul Edward Gingras had been an avid photographer his entire life, growing up in a post industrial community like the ones that dot central Massachusetts allowed him to capture images and experiences that are traditionally missed in the field of photography by a professional culture that valued photos of nature and animals over the lived experiences of men and women who occupied a world opposite to the natural one but was just as savage and unforgiving, his hobby of photography led to him eventually meeting the artist Tom Lewis in 2006, at the time Tom Lewis was an esteemed legend of the arts community whose reputation in the field of sketching and printmaking was only rivaled by his reputation as a champion for social justice dating back over 50 years. After striking up a friendship with Tom Lewis, Paul was given the opportunity to take his photography to a professional level when by photographing Tom’s art and activism By the time of Tom’s death in 2008 he had amassed a large collection of over a thousand photographs showcasing every aspect of Tom’s life. Working tirelessly as the executive producer on this film he now is spending his time making sure that this documentary comes to fruition and is made into the best film it can be using a variety of creative and sometimes unorthodox filmmaking techniques.
Producer
Steve Marx entered the industry in Community Television at Urban Planning Aid in Boston, since then he worked in succession for a number cable television studios, culminating in him being appointed the Regional Director of Original Programming for Comcast. A company that owns many major Hollywood film studios and television networks such as NBC, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks. Most recently he has been the producer of ‘Around Town,’ a TV magazine series in Boston which has been awarded best Community Television Program in the United States for the past six years.
Anna-Claire Simpson is a musician and PhD candidate of English Literature at UMass Amherst. As a published researcher, her work has explored representations of childhood and race on the English early modern stage. As an educator, she teaches writing, critical thinking, and literary analysis across a range of courses and themes at UMass Amherst and the Clemente Course for the Humanities Springfield. As a musician, she toured the U.S. with her band Lily and the Ladies, and currently performs and the west and east coasts with her duo The Tarantula Arms (formerly NOW Music). She has also been a union activist for several years in Western Mass.
Michael Singh grew up in the Punjab and the Himalaya mountains. He studied Indian history at The University of Chicago, and filmmaking at USC’s film school in Los Angeles. As an actor on stage, he played Mr. Patel in the hit production of Trevor Griffith’s “Comedians” at the Wisdom Bridge Theatre, in Chicago. His first Hollywood job was writing billboard copy for 20th Century Fox’s big-budget movies. He is now a Princeton, MA based documentary filmmaker. His latest film, the award-winning documentary “Valentino’s Ghost: Why We Hate Arabs and Muslims,” has played in over 100 countries. It made its world premiere at La Biennale, (The Venice Film Festival), where it received a standing ovation. It is designated a New York Times CRITICS’ PICK and was called “the decade’s most important film” by The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Mar/Apr 2016). He has written, produced and directed several award-winning Sikh-centric documentary shorts: “Prisoner’s Song,” “Rebel Queen,” “The Visionary,” and “Uncommon Ground.” Michael was Senior Producer/Writer for Discovery’s Health channel’s reality TV series “Chicago’s Lifeline,” where his episodes won two national (network competition) media awards for Best Science Series. Michael is co-writer of a romantic comedy feature film, “Good Sharma,” starring Joan Allen and Billy Connolly. He is currently completing “Riding the Tiger,” his personal eye-witness account of one of the massacres of Sikhs in 1984, which he audio-recorded. He speaks Hindi and French. He can be reached at [email protected]
Director of Photography
Robbie Leppzer is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker with over forty years experience as director, director of photography, producer and editor of over thirty independent film, video, and public radio documentaries for national and international distribution. His critically acclaimed feature-length and short documentaries, as well as commissioned television news magazine segments, about contemporary social issues, grassroots activism, and multicultural themes have been broadcast by CNN International, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, HBO/Cinemax, PBS, CNN, Sundance Channel, HDNet, Free Speech TV, Link TV, National Public Radio, and Pacifica Radio. Since 1985, Leppzer has been director of Turning Tide Films, an independent documentary video production company located in Wendell, Massachusetts. From the environmental protests of the 1970s, to the growing social justice, environmental and global peace movements of the new millennium, Leppzer has chronicled grassroots social movements over the last four decades. “I film stories of people who stick their necks out to take risks for grassroots social change and build bridges across cultures,” says Leppzer. His feature documentaries include: POWER STRUGGLE. A chronicle of a successful grassroots citizens’ effort to shut down a problem-plagued nuclear power plant in Vermont. Produced in association with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). A 50-minute Japanese version was co-produced and broadcast nationally by NHK in Japan. Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV and Link TV. THE PEACE PATRIOTS. An intimate portrait of American dissenters reflecting on their personal participation as engaged citizens in a time of war. The film follows a diverse group of individuals, ranging in age from 14 to 75, including teenagers, college students, war veterans, teachers, clergy, and community activists, as they take part in vigils, marches, theater performances, and civil disobedience sit-ins to protest the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Featuring music by Steve Earle, Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Billy Bragg, Jonatha Brooke and John Sheldon. Narrated by Janeane Garofalo. Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV. AN ACT OF CONSCIENCE. Filmed in a cinema-verité style over a five-year period, this feature-length documentary chronicles the story of a family in western Massachusetts whose home was seized by federal marshals and IRS agents after they publicly refused to pay federal taxes as a protest against war and military spending. Narrated by Martin Sheen. Produced in association with HBO/Cinemax. World Premiere, 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Nationally broadcast on HBO/Cinemax, Sundance Channel, Link TV, and Free Speech TV.
Editor
Timothy Montgomery, 44, is a Veteran of the Massachusetts Army National Guard and has been working in Boston, MA in the Film/TV/Postproduction industry for over 20 years. Montgomery served in HQ of the 102 Field Artillery, where he trained for 6 years of readiness while completing his Bachelor’s Degree from Westfield State College in Communications focusing on Broadcast and Journalism. During college, Montgomery spent 2 years on-staff at the Westfield Evening News covering local sports and news. After completing his tour in The Massachusetts National Guard in 2003, Montgomery Joined the staff at Boston’s top Post Facility, Finish Editorial. Montgomery spent 6 years as an assistant and junior artist and has worked with leading brands and ad agencies as an Offline Editor, Online Editor 2d/3d/VFX Artist, Compositor, and Colorist since 2008. He has worked on over 15 feature films, 1000’s of TV and Web commercials and several Broadcast TV Shows and many other projects. He has worked on brands such as New Balance, Samsung, Boston Beer, and Titleist. In the future Montgomery plans to venture out as an independent and he would like to build a personal brand as a creative artist being able to bring all of his skill sets to bear to realize the client’s vision. He is proficient in Autodesk Flame, Adobe Creative Suite, Avid, and Maxon Cinema 4D. He has also worked as a demo artist for Boris Mocha and done technical editing for Adobe Premiere Video Tutorials. He is a Member of the Visual Effects Society. Montgomery is married and a father of two. He has spent 15 years coaching youth hockey. He also spends a good portion of time on his SUP Board along the coast of Maine.
Consultant
Howard Phillips brings a wide range of filmmaking and educational skills to the Tom Lewis project. Born at White Sands Air Force Base, Howard learned early about the core value of communicating, negotiating, and adapting to different languages, cultures and points-of-view. Howard has created documentary work from his early filmmaking regarding Catholic art in Western Montana – Preserving Brother Carigniano’s work at St Francis in Missoula Montana – to cultural transformations in Mexico, rediscovering the fine artist in Westward, Massachusetts and the value of generational understanding. Howard Phillips was a team leader for Avid Technology’s 1999 Technical Oscar, and managed The Edit House as the only film-centric digital editing facility in New England. At Avid Technologies, Howard headed up the quality assurance team that contributed to Avid’s second Technical Oscar in 1999. He created Boston University’s digital filmmaking curriculum which helped graduate many working filmmakers and media makers since 2004. Howard was hired as a consultant for the Academy Media Production as well as Bunker Hill Community College to develop and enhance existing curriculum, His is also working as Program consultant with other schools nationally and internationally to enhance and update their programs with leading developments in education as well as production: the SAE Institute DF, where he co-created the Digital Film standard curriculum for national secondary and university level school Studios in Mexico City, development and teaching for Manosanta Studios in Mexico City, Soulfilms for post-production services and consulting currently in development. He is a Visiting lecturer for Boston University. Voluntary services include the board of Mass General’s Patient Family Advisory Council, Skills USA, and a range of career-advising for many years.
Advisor
Lynne Sachs creates cinematic works that defy genre through the use of hybrid forms and cross-disciplinary collaboration, incorporating elements of the essay film, collage, performance, documentary and poetry. With each project, Lynne investigates the implicit connection between the body, the camera, and the materiality of film itself. She has produced 40 films as well as numerous projects for web, installation, and performance. Her films have screened at venues such as the Museum of Modern Art, Wexner Center for the Arts, the Walker and the Getty, and at festivals including New York Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival. Retrospectives of her work have been presented at the Museum of the Moving Image, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, Festival International Nuevo Cine in Havana, and China Women’s Film Festival. In 2001, Lynne worked with Daniel and Philip Berrigan, Tom Lewis, John Hogan, and Marjorie and Tom Melville in the making of her film “Investigation of a Flame”, a documentary on the Catonsville Nine. Lynne lives in Brooklyn.
Composers
Roger and Ellen Bruno are award winning composers and songwriters. As staff songwriters for publishing giant Warner/Chappell Music, they wrote songs for multi-platinum recording artists including Cher, Pat Benatar, Teddy Pendergrass, Angela Bofill, Nancy Wilson, Agnetha Foltskog of ABBA and Martha Davis of the Motels; and for TV shows including Fame, General Hospital, and As The World Turns. They eventually formed a band, Too Human, with several albums to their credit and an active touring schedule. At the same time they began creating instrumental music for film. Under their production company, Boenel Productions, their film work is atmospheric, eclectic, and totally in sync with the vibe of the project. Their music becomes an integral part of any film, creating tension and intensity, sweetness and sensitivity or whatever meets the needs of the project. Their most recent film project, La Transazione, has won multiple awards from international film festivals and two Best Original Score awards.
Narrator
Erica Brookhyser is an accomplished voice actor with over 15 years of performing experience. She has been the voice for The Washington Post, Apple, Microsoft, Johns Hopkins University, The Alzheimer’s Association, and many other companies and institutions. A nuanced narrator, her thoughtful phrasing can be heard on documentaries for The Council on Foreign Relations, the Wyoming Historical Society, and for historical audio guides throughout Europe. In addition to her work in voiceover, Brookhyser is a professional opera singer. She has sung leading operatic roles, and performed on stages around the world including Berlin, Moscow, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Her on-screen credits include the role of Mezzo-soprano in The Upside with Kevin Hart, Bryon Cranston, and Nicole Kidman. She also appeared in 7 episodes of the German talent-search ARTE-TV program, Open Opera: Who will become Carmen?, in which she won the grand prize, as well as the chance to sing the title role in a production of Carmen in Berlin. A champion of independent film-making, Brookhyser is on the Board of Advisors for Women in Film and Video New England where she helps connect industry professionals through networking events, educational opportunities, and mentorships. Brookhyser is excited to be part of this documentary film on the artist, activist, and Catholic Worker, Tom Lewis. Mr. Lewis’s story is especially close to her heart, since Erica herself lived and worked in a Catholic Worker community in Chicago as a college student. She understands intimately the particular kind of ‘radical Catholicism’ and non-violent social justice philosophy that influenced the way Tom Lewis lived his values, and expressed his beliefs through his artwork.