THE FILMMAKERS

All people participating in the Local Voices project are volunteering their time for the cause. They see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity and wish nothing more than to dedicate themselves to electing the next President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. All donations received go toward the purchasing of airtime to share these "Local Voices" with our fellow Americans.

Team Missouri | Team Nevada | Team Ohio | The Political Strategy

TEAM MISSOURI
LEE HIRSCH - Director
Lee Hirsch's debut feature film, Amandla! a Revolution in Four Part Harmony, which chronicles the history of the South African anti-apartheid struggle through a celebration of its musical heroes, was released to acclaim, winning the Audience and Freedom of Expression Awards at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as one of the five Emmy awards it was nominated for, among many other honors.

Hirsch is also an established director of music videos, his most recent being a narrative shot on location in Zanzibar for John Legend was just nominated for an NAACP Image award. In 2007, Hirsch directed and produced the History Channel special, Act of Honor, an intimate portrait of a Mexican-American family dealing with the tragic death of their son, Rafael Peralta, which was applauded in reviews by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and other major papers. Currently, he is directing and producing on the Discovery Channel series Next World, airing primetime throughout the Fall of 2008.

GEOFF SCHAAF - Cinematographer
Geoff Schaaf is an award winning director/cinematographer who works in documentaries, TV series and feature films.He has received 4 Emmys and 13 Emmy nominations for his documentary work. Recently, he directed his second feature film, "Portal," scheduled for release late this year.

Schaaf's first feature was the critically acclaimed "Shelter Island," starring Aly Sheedy, Steve Baldwin, and the late Chris Penn. Cinematographer television credits include such diverse shows as "SeaQuest," "Charmed," "Jack and Jill," "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," and over 400 documentaries as director/cinematographer. Schaaf is currently slated to direct the family thriller feature film "Lightning Strikes" in January 2009.

ALLAN WACHS - Post Producer (Missouri and Ohio)
Working in the entertainment business for over 30 years, Allan Wachs has produced a wide variety of projects in almost every media in the business. He began working in film production in 1984 and received a strong foundation in the craft of filmmaking working in various capacities and departments on hundreds of music video, commercial and feature sets between 1984 and 1986. In 1987 he began producing music videos and has since produced more than 400 with budgets ranging from $10,000 to more than $1 million for artists like Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and The Strokes. He has also produced more than 100 commercials for clients such as Toyota, Honda, McDonalds, SBC, Levis and many others with budgets over $1 million.

Over the course of his career he has produced projects for many acclaimed directors, Roman Coppola, Mark Romanek, John Schlesinger, Bryan Singer and Antoine Fuqua and worked extensively for companies such as Propaganda, Polygram, ILM, HKM, The Directors Bureau and many, many others. Projects he has produced have earned Grammy nominations and several MTV Music Video Awards.

Allan has also produced a couple of feature "cult classics. The full length martial arts documentary "Choke" is considered a "unique masterpiece" chronicling the interior mind-set of fighters as they prepare for a brutal no-rules contest in Tokyo, Japan. While "Gift" has been an underground college favorite for years, featuring the music of Jane's Addiction.

Allan has had additional experience working as a Music Video Commissioner for Warner Records, Head of Production for RSA Independent and Head of InHouse Production at NBC. He has also worked as an Agency Producer for Chiat/Day and The Donat/Wald Agency.

Allan is a co-founder of The Photobubble Company, marketers and providers of a revolutionary filmmakers tool, an inflatable film environment.
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TEAM NEVADA
JOHN ALLEN - Director
John Allen started Possible Pictures in 1994 with a commitment to the transmission of quality content that contribute to a world that works. This has been the focus of his film work, participating in films such as Amandla! a revolution in four part harmony - Lee Hirsh’s acclaimed award winning documentary; the World Festival of Sacred Music - initiated by the Dalai Lama; and Wijdan, the mystery of Gnawa trance music - an intimate portrait of two shaman who transmit to their children their knowledge of music and healing.

Allen's collaboration with Mondomix Media, in Paris, produced a series of 200 World music artist's-portraits, broadcast daily by TV5 throughout the francophone countries of the world.

Allen's projects in development explore the transmission of tradition through popular culture; such as Barge People, a film about the disappearing family tradition of river shipping in Europe; and Lovely Chaos, a thought provoking portrait of a mother and daughter's 12 year struggle to "make it" in Hollywood.

BELLA LENESTOUR - Producer
PETER HASTINGS - Editor, Audio
AARON OHLMANN - Cameraman
MARISSA MICIK - Field producer
SANDRO PALLADINI - Soundman, Still photographer
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TEAM OHIO
ALICIA DWYER - Director
Alicia Dwyer has worked for twelve years as a documentary filmmaker in the US, Mexico, Africa, and the Middle East. Alicia is currently directing part of The Calling, a four-hour series being made by The Kindling Group for PBS. A look at America through intimate portraits of religious leaders in training, this project follows Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and Evangelical students through seminaries around the country as they struggle to deepen their faith and prepare to lead congregations in today's world.

Alicia was an associate producer on the 2001 Academy Award-winning documentary Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, narrated by Judi Dench, about Britains rescue of 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazis just before WWII. Alicia also associate produced and was an editor on Rory Kennedys feature film and Emmy Award-winning HBO series, Pandemic: Facing AIDS, narrated by Elton John, music by Philip Glass, about families dealing with HIV/AIDS in India, Thailand, Brazil, Uganda and Russia. In 2006, Alicia was at the Sundance Film Festival with a Participant Productions documentary on which she was an editor, The World According to Sesame Street.

JESSE DWYER - Sound
Jesse Dwyer is a song writer, performer, producer and sound engineer. Jesse volunteered a performance of his song "Human Dignity" for an Obama rally in Los Angeles. His rock song "Round and Round" aired on NPR and the album "Hold on to your Soul" can be found at www.myspace.com/jessedwyer. Jesse also writes children's music. One of his songs is featured on the upcoming interactive website: Clay Graham's www.MrsP.com with Kathy Kinney, debuting Nov 14th. Jesse is passionate about filmmaking and has produced music videos, films and multi-media presentations. He also enjoys field sound and often works as a part of a team with his sister and brother. His sound work can be heard on PBS, The Discovery Channel, and in independent films.

MICHAEL DWYER - Camera
Michael Dwyer has worked as a cinematographer and lighting designer all over the world, including the Pacific Islands, Japan, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. Michael shot and produced Farnsworth Bentley's "Everybody" music video featuring André 3000 and Kanye West; his cinematography appears in a documentary series for Chinese television, Bai Yu's "Ocean's Away" and a series for PBS which will air in 2009, "The Calling." Michael is also shooting a comedic documentary with his sister and brother, "Christmas Without China," about how immigrant Tom Xia challenges an American family to do Christmas using no Chinese products. Michael also writes, directs and shoots narrative films, including a Spanish-language short featuring Roberto Urbina and Mexican star Magali Boysselle.

GREG GOLD - Sound Recording and Production Support
Greg Gold is an award winning director of commercials music videos and producer and writer for television and long form video.

Together with fellow directors David Fincher, Dominic Sena and Nigel Dick, and producers Joni Sighvattson and Steve Golin, Greg founded Propaganda Films, a company that redefined the style and image of a contemporary production company. He has directed videos for everyone from Stevie Wonder to classical violinist Joshua Bell and helmed innumerable commercials from Pepsi to Audi.

Following his tenure at Propaganda, Greg cofounded and served as president of Milk and Honey Films (1995-2003), an innovative international production service company whose credits include the Emmy winning mini-series Anne Frank and Dune, as well as commercial and film projects such as Blade II. He was also a partner in Prague Studios, a complex of film studios and services in the Czech Republic until his departure in 2003.

Greg was an executive producer and co-creator of the television pilot, PainKiller Jane, for The SciFi Channel/NBC. He has written and directed for children's media and his projects have been awarded Parents Choice awards among others.

Greg currently lives in Los Angeles. His work has received many awards including a gold medal at NY the Internationl Film Festival and the Eastman Kodak/MVPA Lifetime Achievement Award.
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THE POLITICAL STRATEGY TEAM
BRYAN CHOATE - Democratic Media Consultant
Bryan Choate is the Democratic Media Consultant for Spot Runner and a founding member of Spot Runner’s Political Division.  Bryan used Spot Runner’s proprietary Geo-Voter Targeting Technology and his knowledge of the American political landscape to choose the locations best suited to the Local Voices project and necessary for an Obama victory.

EUGENE HEDLUND - Truth and Hope PAC
The founder of TruthandHope.Org is Eugene Hedlund, a mortgage banker in Southern California. Before joining the mortgage industry, he was an executive at an advertising agency, who sculpted & helped coordinate nationwide advertising campaigns. Eugene was a lifelong Republican, who supported John McCain in 2000, and George W. Bush in the general election. After witnessing how the current administration took advantage of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, sank our economy with excessive tax cuts & unfunded mandates and most importantly sent our soldiers to war based on lies, he knew we needed a change & that the upcoming election would be the most important crossroads for our country in memory. After spending time in Iowa on the ground in support of Governor Dean & witnessing the defeat in the Iowa caucus & then the loss in the New Hampshire Primary, Eugene considered what more he could do. So he called upon his experience in media campaigns from the past & formed TruthandHope.Org PAC.

GLORIA PARK - Web Design
Gloria Park is the IT Director of a prestigious non-profit organization.  She is a highly-skilled artistic design professional with over 13 years experience in online communications. She has an innate ability for website design, particularly as it relates to charitable, non-profit, and political entities.   
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