Laura VanZee Taylor (Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor) is a narrative and documentary filmmaker. I Am Maris is her first feature film. It premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2018 and is distributed worldwide by ro*co films.
Before devoting herself to filmmaking, she spent a decade as an editor, director, and creative strategist in the publishing industry. She holds a Master’s Degree in Theatre from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor’s Degree from Lewis and Clark College, in Portland, OR.
More at www.LauraVanZee.com.
Ariana Garfinkel (Producer) most recently produced the feature documentary Best and Most Beautiful Things, which premiered at SXSW (2016), was released theatrically by First Run Features, and broadcast by PBS’ Independent Lens and Netflix. Past projects include award-winning feature documentaries Boys of Summer (Tribeca Film, ESPN, PBS, Netflix), Symphony of the Soil (PBS), Wrenched, andTrumbo (PBS), and narrative shorts Sea Meadow (SXSW) and A Juice Box Afternoon (Lincoln Center). Ariana held positions at Miramax, Tribeca Productions and Reno Productions, and worked on location for HBO Films and Columbia Pictures. She graduated from Stanford University.
Brandon Eversole (Animator, Illustrator) is an artist, interactive and motion designer, and filmmaker. His work is known for its highly conceptual, yet intricate and beautiful style.
Eli Olson (Additional Editor) is an Emmy® Award-winning film editor with a unique storytelling ability. She has worked with Oscar-winning film directors and producers, and her work has been featured on HBO, PBS’s American Masters and in film festivals around the world.
CRISTINE PLATT DEWEY ((Executive Producer) is Managing Director of ro*co films International. She builds and maintains relationships with media buyers and acquisition executives around the world. She manages the international contracts and works collaboratively with filmmakers to maintain a long-term international distribution presence for each of our films. Cristine joined ro*co in 2005 after several years of experience as a community activist. She has a B. A. in English from Carleton College and a professional back- ground in development and grants administration.
ANNIE RONEY (Executive Producer) Annie Roney is Founder and CEO of ro*co films. After nine years working with a top industry distributor, Annie founded ro*co films in 2000 with two complimentary ideas: the belief that a well-told, well-researched and emotionally-driven documentary can challenge the way people think about issues in every corner of the globe; and, to be entrusted with the distribution of these stories, ro*co needed to be in service to the filmmaker first and foremost. The combination has earned ro*co the trust and respect of countless independent filmmakers in the US and abroad and, in turn, ro*co has curated the most highly acclaimed collection of documentaries in the world.
SUE TURLEY (Executive Producer) Sue Turley is Managing Director of ro*co films productions. Sue is responsible for exploring ro*co’s interests in all areas of documentary development, funding and production, with special attention towards adapting documentaries into feature films and/or scripted TV series. ro*co films productions was founded in 2009, and, under Sue’s leadership, together with Founder and CEO of ro*co films, Annie Roney, has secured previous partnerships with OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, The OWN Documentary Club, and most recently with Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures and Lisa Erspamer Entertainment. As a consultant and independent producer, Sue has contributed to the growth of ro*co films since its inception. She has a strong background in production as Producer/Executive Producer on several documentary film projects. Sue currently serves on the IFP Advisory Board and continues to serve on granting committees for both narratives and documentaries for The International Documentary Association (IDA) and the San Francisco Film Society.
With Music by GARTH STEVENSON a Brooklyn-based film composer and double bassist. Raised in the mountains of Western Canada, nature became his primary inspiration and the common thread between his life and music. In the past four years, Garth has released two full-length solo albums, informed by his experiences carrying his 150-year-old double bass to the woods, the beach, and the desert. His most recent and critically acclaimed release, Flying, is a seventy-five minute homage to a recent life-changing trip to Antarctica. Of Flying, iTunes praises, “Garth Stevenson joins the likes of Brian Eno and Sigur Rós as a practitioner of this ethereal yet accessible genre… ‘The Southern Sea’ offers the aural equivalent of effortlessly swimming underwater without ever needing to come up for air.” Flying was recently featured on WNYC’s New Sounds radio program along with Ben Frost and Yo-Yo Ma and was featured on the main page of iTunes.
ro*co films (Distributor) ro*co films international is committed to finding audiences around the world for the best documentaries of our day. We have eleven Oscar-nominated and or/winning documentary films under our watch, as well as a slate of award-winning film festival documentaries. We license our films worldwide, territory by territory, for theatrical, broadcast, digital, home video, and educational distribution.
SFFilm (Fiscal Sponsor) The McBaine Fiscal Sponsorship program supports nonfiction filmmakers step-by-step through the process of getting their films funded, made, and seen.
Fiscal sponsorship program provides SFFILM’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to emerging and established documentary filmmakers in the US, as well as guidance on proposals, fundraising strategy, and additional project development support from application through release. https://www.sffilm.org
STARRING
Maris Degener (Cast, Writer, Painter) Maris Degener is an old-souled hero born from the strength of a young, fighting spirit. She’s a yogi. She’s a teacher. She’s an inspiration to her students, to the young girls she mentors, and to the thousands who follow her on-line. And she’s only 17. https://yogamaris.net
Sharon Degener, Steve Degener, Dr. Keri Turner, PsyD., Jenni Wendell, Misha McNair, Malia Hill, MaryMac Propersi, Ryan Stickney, Julia Wickware, Ashley Francich