Nina Gilden Seavey, Director/Producer

Nina Gilden Seavey has been a filmmaker for the last 20 years. Her work can be seen on television, in theaters, and in museum exhibitions across the nation. She is also the founder and current director of the Documentary Center at The George Washington University, Washington, DC. Seavey's current film is "The Ballad of Bering Strait," a cinema-verite film shot in hi-definition which follows the journey of seven Russian teenagers who came to America to become country music stars.

Seavey's most recent film, "A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America" was nationally broadcast on PBS in October, 1998 and won an Emmy Award. The film also received the Erik Barnouw Prize for the Best Historical Film of the Year. The film received its theatrical release at the Film Forum in New York City after which it toured sixty cities nation-wide. The broadcast of "A Paralyzing Fear" was accompanied by the publication of a companion book of the same title, for which Seavey was the first author.

Among other notable projects, Seavey produced the Discovery Channel special, "The Battle of the Alamo," which she also co-directed with Academy-Award winning filmmaker, Paul Wagner. Seavey also produced four documentary films on permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum and co-produced ".... there we wandered sometimes west," a large-screen installation at the base of the great western trails for the National Park Service.

Most recently, Seavey has been commissioned to direct the theatrical film, "Inventing Flight," which will be the official commemoration of the centennial of flight honoring the Wright Brothers to be screened on permanent exhibition at the new Wright Brothers memorial in Dayton, Ohio opening 2003.

Seavey's activities outside of making films and teaching her annual Institute for Documentary Filmmaking at the George Washington University include her efforts on behalf of the American Film Institute's International Documentary Festival. She is also a consultant to the media program at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Seavey had a career in politics from 1972 until 1980. She was campaign staff for the presidential campaigns of George McGovern and Morris Udall. Later, she served as foreign and military policy advisor to Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) and then received a political appointment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during the Carter Administration.

Mrs. Seavey lives in Takoma Park, MD with her husband, Ormond, and their three children, Aaron, Eleanor, and Caleb - and the family dogs. Daisy and Lily.
 

Erich Roland - Director of Photography

Erich Roland has been a cinematographer for video, 16mm film, and 35mm film for the past 25 years. Roland has shot documentary film for some of the finest directors on both the East and West Coasts. He was the Director of Photography for the 1989 Academy Award-winning film "The Johnstown Flood" by Charles Guggenheim, as well as for Guggenheim's Oscar-nominated 1999 film, "A Place in the Land." In 1999 Roland won the Emmy Award for Lighting Direction for "The Secret Lives of Cats," produced for National Geographic Television. Roland has shot a number of music-related films, including "The Gospel According to Al Green," which aired on PBS and "Deep Blues," which was released theatrically. In addition to his accomplishment in the field of documentary, Roland is also a highly sought-after dramatic cinematographer. He served as the "A" Camera Cinematographer and Steadicam Operator for Bruce Bereford's "Driving Miss Daisy" and served as Second Unit Cinematographer for "Double Jeopardy." Roland also similarly contributed to Hugh Wilson's "Guarding Tess" and to Jeremiah Chechik's 1999 remake of "Diabolique."
 

Jeff Consiglio - Editor

Jeff Consiglio has been working as a film and video editing professional for 15 years. Over the term of his career he has developed a hybrid quality to his work that encompasses documentary, mainstream drama, and independent feature editing. Consiglio began his career in documentary by editing the "Understanding" series for the Discovery Networks and edited "The Battle of the Alamo" for Wagner and Seavey.

In 1997, Consiglio moved to from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles to expand his career further into feature and commercial work. His artistic eye has lead him to edit the main title sequences for a number of major Hollywood releases and network television series, including "The Truman Show," "The Mask of Zorro," "Angels," "L.A. Doctors" and "Snoops." His heart, however, still lies in independent film. He has edited a number of successful projects including a film about the alternative vocalist Ani DeFranco and the film "Ladies Room" which appeared at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.