PABLO KOONTZ

Movies have always inspired me with their simple but visually enriched language. Whether speaking through the pure entertainment cinema of my youth or exposing me to those uniquely specialized films that have transformed the medium, the art of film continues to greatly influence my own life, reinforcing and supporting a passion for those distinct and varying artistic visions of its medium. I am cur­rently finishing my undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Film. I will be going to graduate school in the fall at UCLA for Film Archiving and Preservation. I enjoy watching movies, surfing, and long walks in the rain. Movies have always inspired me with their simple but visually enriched language. Whether speaking through the pure entertainment cinema of my youth or exposing me to those uniquely specialized films that have transformed the medium, the art of film continues to greatly influence my own life, reinforcing and supporting a passion for those distinct and varying artistic visions of its medium. I am cur­rently finishing my undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Film. I will be going to graduate school in the fall at UCLA for Film Archiving and Preservation. I enjoy watching movies, surfing, and long walks in the rain.

MARY CRUSE

My experience at HSU has been an amazing one, a first step to many doors opening outward; from working on the Osprey magazine, as editor-in-chief of a first-place state award-winning issue to the 4 semesters working with the Humboldt Film Festival.  My journey here has been much richer than a BA in Journalism and my much-anticipated MA in Film production in May 2004. The greatest rewards are my true friends, the tool belt filled with a bit of this and that, and the belief that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to. It’s been a long trek since that first day when I felt I had nothing to offer. Those thoughts are long gone. What’s next? My first priority will be to spend some time with my husband, dogs, family and backyard hammock. Then, I’ll start checking my list …

MARIA MATTEOLI

Last January I left Manhattan to return to Humboldt County after being gone for almost a decade. It has been one of the best things I have ever done. Filmmaking is the combination of everything I love, writing photogra­phy, acting. I plan on making films until I run out of ideas, which I hope will never happen. My favorite aspect of this festival is that we get to see these films that people are making all over the country, all over the world, and it allows us this little window into how people are living their lives, an opportunity to experi­ence something different from our own. Much love to my awesome family and Greg for patiently supporting me in this pursuit, and every pursuit.

GB HAJIM

GB Hajim was raised in Cos Cob, Connecticut and then moved west attending UCSD, where he eventually taught classes in African Film, Ethnographic Filmmaking and Polynesian Art. While doing field studies in the Kingdom of Tonga and Western Samoa, he shot two documentaries faitoka and kava tonga. In 1989 he received his BA in Visual Arts with a focus in animation, video and filmmaking. Before he graduated, he interned at the San Diego Supercomputing Center, testing and helping develop the first ALIAS/Wavefront 3D animation system.

After some practical experience in Mexico and Canada, GB enrolled in the M.A. Filmmaking Program at HSU, where he focused on directing narrative and experimental films.

KEVIN PEER

Kevin’s work has been seen by more than a billion people over the past 20 years and has garnered him more than 40 national and International film festival awards. Hi overwhelming exposure is a result of working with the National Park Service and National Geographic Explorer as staff producer/ director/ cameraman, as well as working as a freelance documentary filmmaker. His passion today is teaching and being a part of Sacred Cinema. Instead of letting jet lag and stress get the best of him, Peer became a practitioner in zazen. His awareness through Zen crossed over to every aspect of his filmmaking and to each segment of his life.

CHEL WHITE

Chel has a 20-year career as an independent filmmaker. One description that often comes up when describing his works is that, “his short films consistently defy categorization.” He has been able to be true to his passions and his drive to explore such psychological territories as obsessions, alienation, fetishism, death, and childhood memories. Dreams also play a large part in this multiple-award winning filmmaker. From Sundance to Berlin to Humboldt, his work has touched the heart, spirit and intellect of those who experience them.