Forest Steven Whitaker
Executive Producer

Forest Steven Whitaker was born in Longview, Texas on July 15, 1961. His family moved to South Central Los Angeles and then Carson, CA. Currently, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife Keisha and children.

Forest is one of Hollywood’s most accomplished actors, directors and producers, who have showcased his talents in a multitude of demanding and diverse roles. During his career, he has won 18 Critics Awards and been nominated for 50 others.  He received the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award, the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, Image Award, etc.  Most notably he received an Academy Award for Best Actor in the 2006 film, “Last King of Scotland.” He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April of 2007.

Whitaker made his directorial debut with “Strapped,” which won the International Critics Award at the Toronto Film Festival. He has also directed “Waiting to Exhale,” (which won numerous NAACP awards); “Hope Floats,” and “First Daughter,” films for which he also served as an executive producer. He has produced numerous award-winning films, and he has executive produced several made-for-television movies and miniseries, most notably “Door to Door” in 2002, which earned him an Emmy.

He has also ventured into music through his record label at Sony, where he executive produced two albums that together received 14 Grammy nominations. Whitaker was the Game Developer Producer for DEWmocracy.com, a Web site that allows people to decide the next flavor of Mountain Dew in a "People's Dew" poll. He also directed the short film that opened the video game. This campaign turned into the most successful launch of a soft drink in Mountain Dew’s history.

Forest’s social awareness has urged him to seek ways of using the film medium as a means of consciousness. He lent his voice for Stacy Peralta’s “Made in America,” a documentary examining the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles. Together with his wife Keisha, he produced the 2008 documentary “Kassim the Dream,” the story of World Champion Boxer Kassim Ouma, who was born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army, and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6.  The documentary won the American Film Market/SILVERDOCS Award. He is currently the Executive Producer for a five part Documentary drama called “Brick City,” which follows Newark Mayor Cory Booker and his efforts at Urban Transformation. Go to www.imdb.com for a complete list of filmography, awards and nominations.

Whitaker has done extensive humanitarian work; he has been involved with organizations like Penny Lane, an organization that assists abused teenagers, as well as PETA and Farm Sanctuary, organizations that protect animals’ rights. Last year, he was a part of the fundraising team of “Stand up for Cancer,” and he has also helped raise funds for Human Rights Watch.

Additionally, Forest has fundraised for neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black’s research against cancer.  Throughout the last couple of years, he has become a spokesperson for Hope North, a Ugandan Orphanage. He is also part of the Committee for Artists for a New South Africa. This year he helped in the establishment of Nelson Mandela’s day, which helps promote volunteer service.

Forest has received numerous awards for his humanitarian work, and he is involved in several important causes. He twice received both the Humanitas Prize and Vision Award, and he was awarded the Peace Award in Berlin. In 2008, he was honored by The City of Los Angeles with the Hope of Los Angeles Award, and his entire clan received the LA BEST Family Focus Award. His wife Keisha is currently a Commissioner for the Los Angeles City Commission for Children, Youth and their Families. He was also honored by SCLC, Women’s Organizational Movement for Equality Now with a Drum Major for Justice Award. He joined forces with “Idol Gives Back” and “Malaria No More” to raise awareness and funds to combat Malaria. Forest also became a GQ Ambassador for The GQ Gentlemen Fund to help promote “Agents of Change.”
Because of his interest in urban development, he joined The Urban Metropolitan Policy Committee in 2008, working throughout the Barrack Obama Campaign, during which time he also served as a Presidential Surrogate. And he has been invited to be Patron of The Arts at this year’s UNESCO Gala.
Forest Whitaker has received honorary Doctorate Degrees from The North Carolina School of The Arts, Manhattanville College and Xavier University. He was given a Chieftaincy title from the Igbo tribe of Nkwerre in Nigeria in 2009.

Lisa R. Cohen
Director

Lisa R. Cohen is an Emmyaward-winning television news magazine producer with over twenty years of network news experience at both ABC and CBS News. At “PrimeTime Live” and then at “60Minutes” she produced reports for Diane Sawyer, Sam Donaldson, Peter Jennings, Cynthia McFadden and others, on topics as diverse as the right to bear arms, have abortions and exercise the death penalty.  She has covered some of the biggest moments in recent history including TWA 800, the Oklahoma bombing, and the September 11 terror attacks.  She became a welcomed guest at Angola Prison after making her 1996 one-hour documentary for ABC News “PrimeTime Live”, “Judgment at Midnight.”  The hour won critical praise as “a tough nugget of journalism” (Eric Mink, NY Daily News) “more than provocative, it is profound…truly outstanding work”  (Tom Shales, Washington Post) and earned multiple awards, including the NATAS Emmy; CINE Golden Eagle; International Film and Television Award; and the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television “Gracie” award.

Cohen is the author of the critically acclaimed AFTER ETAN, which was published by Grand Central Publishing (Hachette) this year.  In her book, Ms. Cohen details the 30 year battle waged by prosecutors and family to bring to justice, Jose Ramos, the man responsible for the abduction and murder of 6-year old Etan Patz.  The book has been hailed as "a complex, many-tentacled account of just how tantalizingly close Mr. Ramos has come to incriminating himself in the Patz case, and just how tirelessly he has tormented prosecutors." (Janet Maslin, New York Times) Cohen is also a media consultant and teaches journalism/broadcast production. She is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, and recently was a Princeton University Ferris Professor of Journalism.  She lives in New York City.

Tom Mason
Director of Photography

Tom Mason is also a Producer and Editor and has worked on a wide range of broadcast documentary projects including the HBO feature documentary “Hard As Nails,” “God in Government” on PBS, and the feature length documentary “The Good Mother,” which premiered on the European channel Arté in May 2009, and was part of the DP team for “In 500 Words or Less.” He has created commercial and non-profit marketing videos for clients including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the New York City Penny Harvest, and Echoing Green. Mr. Mason is an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and lives in New York.

Molly Fowler
Executive Producer

Molly Fowler is an award-winning producer, director and writer for television, film and theatre, specializing in documentary (long and short form) scripted serial drama and international production.  Ms. Fowler has divided her professional work between drama and journalism.  She began her career at the Yale School of Drama, has directed and/or produced plays on and Off-Broadway and in the West End in London, worked in feature film developing material for 3 major studios as well as for Dustin Hoffman’s Punch Productions.  She acquired plays for Warner Brothers, was Literary Manager for Manhattan Theatre Club,  served in literary offices at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and the New York Shakespeare Festival.  She was a dramaturg and/or director at the Sundance Institute for 5 years.  After transitioning to TV, she studio produced for Phil Donahue and was a booker for Diane Sawyer, as an off-air reporter for ABC News “PrimeTime Live.”  She was a development executive for ABC Entertainment for seven years during which she developed writers and directors for the network, and oversaw 10 hours of programming a week.  In 2001, she left ABC to produce three two-hour documentary specials for Discovery: “World Birth Day,” “World Birth Day: Delivering Hope” and “World Wedding Day.”  She coordinated teams in 16 countries, and in almost as many languages.  The New York Times noted “the program's intimate tone and broad international focus are deeply revealing of the inequities and assumptions that underlie this pivotal human experience.”

As a filmmaker, she has field produced throughout South Africa for various documentaries.  She was a story consultant for "Planet B-Boy" which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Off Broadway she directed Broad Channel, which was subsequently produced for television by Scott Hornbacher  ("Mad Men," "The Sopranos") for My Three Sons Productions. She was Consulting Producer for "Adopted," which was part of the Tribeca All Access program in 2007 at the Tribeca Festival.  She directed and produced a feature documentary on the college application process: "In 500 Words or Less" which is making the rounds in festivals.

Nick Stuart
Executive Producer

Nick Stuart is the president and CEO of Odyssey Networks, the largest interfaith multiplatform media organization in the U.S. dedicated to media production, distribution and promotion.  Based in New York City, Stuart is responsible for developing short-term and long-term strategies, implementing policies and procedures, as well as directing the work of all the employees within Odyssey Networks.

Stuart, an award-winning television producer, was CEO of the UK-based, nonprofit independent production company, CTVC.  He is credited with re-inventing that organization by expanding distribution of its faith-oriented programming into prime time and into the mainstream media, establishing an educational department, and introducing TrueTube, a teen-oriented Web site where real-life stories and documentaries are featured on a YouTube-style online platform. TrueTube, often referred to as “You Tube with a conscience,” won major awards in the UK in its first year of operation, including the Jerusalem Award for best on-demand Internet TV network and the Education Resource Award for innovation. Additionally, Stuart has created quiz shows, produced music videos and reported from war zones. Earlier in his career, he was a reporter and presenter on Britain’s most watched TV network, ITV, as well as on the Five channel. A veteran of radio and TV programming and production, he created hundreds of hours of programming for BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 4, ITV, Channel 4, Five, Discovery, History and National Geographic during his tenure at CTVC alone. His work, which has garnered both critical acclaim and strong ratings, is characterized by a commitment to themes of spirituality and interfaith understanding that appeal to a broad audience.