Crew

Susan Cohn Rockefeller

DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER

Susan is a documentary filmmaker whose in-depth look at critical issues in our world has won top awards at many film festivals across the United States and around the world.

Her recent efforts include producing and directing the HBO documentary, Making the Crooked Straight, which will receive the 2011 Christopher Award, and co-producing the internationally acclaimed A Sea Change.

Susan is co-founder of RocknRola, a jewelry company whose focus is consciousness-raising about the environment and our world through the use of bold, hip, timeless, sustainably produced designs. She is also an active philanthropist and environmentalist. For more about Susan, visit her website.

Jackie French

EDITOR AND CO-PRODUCER

Jackie has a gift for creating a compelling story from almost any footage, and combines her strong sense of narrative with a love of documentary filmmaking. She has been a highly regarded producer and editor for the past 20 years, bringing her unique visual style to many independent documentaries, as well as both scripted and verité television. Jackie’s work has been seen on MTV, VH1, Oxygen, Lifetime, PBS, A&E, Nickelodeon, Style and the Discovery Channel. She is based in New York City, and owns her own post-production company, Jackie French, Inc.

Nara Garber

CINEMATOGRAPHER, FIELD PRODUCER

Nara is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker who divides her time among writing, directing, shooting and editing. As a cinematographer, Nara has dragged camera equipment across five continents in pursuit of the perfect shot. She has filmed stand-alone segments for NOW with Bill Moyers and award-winning projects of all genres, including The Quiet War (2007: Best Documentary, Reel Women Film Festival) and Drawing Angel (2007: Audience Favorite, African American Women in Cinema Film Festival). She is co-director and producer of Flat Daddy, a work-in-progess documentary about military families coping with deployment as combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan continue into a seventh year. Striking A Chord is Nara’s third collaboration with Susan Cohn Rockefeller.

Rob VanAlkemade

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Rob has been a director, producer, cinematographer, sound recordist and editor on a variety of broadcast and documentary productions since 1995, including collaborations with the International Rescue Committee and the makers of Super Size Me, Jesus Camp, and The Devil Came on Horseback. He directed the feature documentary What Would Jesus Buy (2007) about the commercialization of Christmas and the Church of Stop Shopping’s crusade to save us from the Shopocalypse (the end of the world from shopping). Rob currently works in Los Angeles as a cinematographer, director, and Red Cross Emergency Response Instructor.

Angela Alston

OUTREACH CONSULTANT

Angela has managed grassroots outreach for her own award-winning shorts and for other projects, including the feature documentary A Sea Change (2009), which continues to screen around the world, raising awareness about the effect of excess carbon dioxide on the ocean. For two years, she served as workshop director for CineWomen NY. Angela has an MFA in film and video production from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA in biology and philosophy from Swarthmore College. She is a member of D-Word, New York Women in Film and TV, and Dallas Women in Film. Angela designs and executes community outreach with her sister Gwen through their company Moca Media. She divides her time between New York City and Dallas.

Gwendolyn Alston

OUTREACH CONSULTANT

Gwen is the founder of Moca Media, where she focuses on documentary outreach as well as online video production, social media marketing and vlogging. Her previous experience includes serving as marketing director and editor in the publishing industry. Gwen has a doctorate from the University of Madrid in comparative literature, and a master’s from New York University. She has lived in Madrid for 20 years and is trilingual in French, Spanish, and English.