Ramona S. Diaz is a Peabody, Gotham, IDA, Emmy award-winning, PGA and Independent Spirit award-nominated Asian American filmmaker best known for her compelling character-driven documentaries that combine a profound appreciation for cinematic aesthetics and potent storytelling. Ramona’s films have demonstrated her ability to gain intimate access to the people she films – be they rock stars, first ladies, dissidents, mothers, teachers, or journalists – resulting in keenly observed moments and unforgettable nuanced narratives. Her films have been screened and won awards at Sundance, Berlin, Busan, Tribeca, SXSW, IDFA, HotDocs, and many other top-tier film festivals. Ramona’s feature-length independently-produced films— Imelda (IL, 2004), The Learning (POV,2011), Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey (IL, 2012) and, Motherland (POV, 2017), A Thousand Cuts (Frontline, 2020)—have been nationally broadcast on PBS, Arte, and the BBC amongst others. Ramona is both a Guggenheim Fellow and a USA Fellow – prestigious awards given to artists with singular visions who have significantly contributed to the arts in the United States. She was recently named the inaugural McGurn Family Trust Resident in Film by the American Academy in Rome. Ramona is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Producers and Writers Guilds of America. In 2017, she received a Women at Sundance Fellowship, a Creative Capital Award, and a Chicken & Egg Pictures Filmmaker Award. For the past ten years, Ramona has served as a film envoy for the U.S. State Department’s American Film Showcase in partnership with USC and, more recently, for Film Independent’s Global Media Makers program. Ramona is a graduate of Emerson College and holds an MA from Stanford University.

Aaron Soffin is a documentary film editor compelled by the puzzle of each unique story. His award-winning feature documentaries include Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested’s analysis of the Syrian crisis, Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of Isis; DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus' retelling of Bill Clinton’s 1992 victory, The Return of the War Room; Andrew Jacobs' uplifting tale of a community of Holocaust survivors refusing to surrender their joie-de-vivre, Four Seasons Lodge; and Andrew Berends' verité portraits of Iraqi families during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Blood of My Brother and When Adnan Comes Home. Aaron is drawn to intimate stories that bring viewers into times, places, and the lives of people they would never otherwise imagine. Aaron lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.

David and Linda Cornfield are philanthropists with backgrounds in the tech industry who believe in the power of images and storytelling to spark curiosity and foster understanding. They are executive producers of the Emmy® award winning nature documentaries Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral as well as other documentaries such as The Social Dilemma, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Inventing Tomorrow (2019 Peabody award), The Human Element, and Dark Money (2020 duPont-Columbia University award).

Passionate and dedicated, I am a commercial cinematographer based in the vibrant landscape of the Philippines. With an innate ability to weave diverse narratives through the lens, showcasing the beauty and complexity of the human experience, I recently embarked on an inspiring journey into the realm of documentary filmmaking.

Sheila S. Coronel is director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and the Stabile Professor of Professional Practice in Investigative Journalism at Columbia University. She is currently also Dean of Academic Affairs of the Columbia Journalism School. Sheila worked for many years as a journalist in the Philippines and was a co-founder and director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. She is the author and editor of more than a dozen books. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

Allana de Guzman was born in Manila, Philippines. Currently, she lives in Brooklyn. She attended Penn State University to prepare for a career in international development. She has worked on different international development projects, from land rights for the indigenous populations in the uplands of the Philippines to environmental and wildlife conservation in the Central Africa region with USAID in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, she found her passion in production with a focus on documentary filmmaking after working with the American Film Institute coordinating Silver Docs and as a Director for TEDxPSU. She sees compelling storytelling as a powerful tool in bringing to light the most profound issues of our time. Allana has worked on the Emmy nominated VR film Changing Same in partnership with POV, MIT, and Sundance; and projects for HBO and the Food Network. She is the Associate Producer on Frontline’s Emmy award-winning film, A Thousand Cuts, and Apple TV+ docuseries Super League: The War For Football.