I am an award-­winning filmmaker, renowned for my work in promoting the production and advancement of the documentary film genre. In one of my current projects, IMAGINING A BETTER WORLD, The Nelly Toll Story, www.imaginingabetterworld.com, I return to a theme I last explored in my award-winning documentary, SUGIHARA Conspiracy of Kindness - our human ability to triumph over any adversity. That film tells the remarkable story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Europe who, during World War II, risked his life by issuing illegal transit visas to Jewish refugees. Today, it's estimated that his actions saved the lives of over sixty thousand men, women and children. The film received the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Documentary and the prestigious Pare Lorentz/IDA Award. It was honored by the United Nations and aired nationally on PBS to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance month.

In 2001, at the suggestion of scoring mixer, Tommy Vicari, I was invited to capture on camera an "historical recording" at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, CA. The artist, composer and arranger that day was no other than Sammy Nestico.

Starting during the roaring swinging 1920's and continuing up to today, Sammy shows us how the dreams of a poor Italian-American are fulfilled, from the streets of Pittsburgh to Hollywood stardom, even carving out a place at the White House. He changes his world forever "one note at a time." At 70 years old, this musician began saving his money over seven years, to fulfill his lifetime dream, to self-produce and record his own "big band" album. For most of his 60 years-career, Maestro Sammy Nestico lived in the shadows of some of the greatest musical icons of the 20th century. But there was one day in 2001, as Sammy stepped up to the podium, that he transformed his demeanor from captivating yet unassuming into a powerful force to be reckoned with. Hollywood's finest performers competed for the musical chairs, hoping to join Sammy "as they made history." In the few days that followed, the magic became tangible as his new journey began. With Sammy leading the band, in rhythm with his commitment and belief in himself, I began to intimately document the next two decades of the life of Sammy Nestico. In January 2021 at the age of 96, Sammy left us. But throughout our journey together, the Maestro continually reminded us to: "Never let anyone steal your dreams, if I can do it so can you." Now is the perfect time to bring the story of the legendary Maestro, one of our National Treasure, to fruition and to inspire and support the next generations of artists by sharing with them his inspirational example of how they can fulfill their own dreams.

is a multi-Emmy Award, Grammy Award, CAS Award and a Peabody recipient, recognized as one of Hollywood’s most respected recording engineer & scoring mixer.  Over his career, Tommy has earned a reputation and versatility in weaving his music mixing from the recording industry, to television and films. The list of his sonic achievements is eclectic and archives over 50 years of history in music.

Since 1969, Tommy has recorded music for every genre of the entertainment industry with world renowned artists, from Billy Preston to producing Prince debut record, “For You”, to George Duke, Jeffrey Osborne, Quincy Jones, Barbara Streisand, Sammy Nestico, Pino Daniele and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, to name a few.

His film credits began in 1974 with the cult classic Brian DiPalma’s “Phantom of the Paradise” to the latest 2024 release of "Cabrini," with composer Gene Back. Tommy works along with composer Nicholas Brittel, recorded and mixed Brittel's scores for the Netflix film “The King”, “If Beal Street Could Talk”, “The Big Short” and the 2016 Academy Award® Best Picture winner “Moonlight,” to name a few.

Some of his television credits includes, the HBO series “Sucession”, which earned Tommy a 2024 Emmy Nomination as well as a Cinema Audio Society Nomination for excellence in sound mixing. Tommy earned a 2022 Peabody Award as the scoring mixer on "Andor," Lucas Film Ltd. Other television credits includes "Don't Look Up, "Six Feet Under”, “The Newsroom," “Angels in America” and his mixing of “Behind the Candelabra” earned him the 2013 Emmy Award, as well as the Cinema Audio Society Award.

For some nineteen years, Tommy collaborated with composer Thomas Newman, scoring over 26 films including "Let Them All Talk," “The Highwaymen,” “Road to Perdition,” “Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events,”  “Saving Mr. Banks,” “The Judge,” “He Named Me Malala,” the 2015 Academy Award® nominee for Best Score “Bridge of Spies,” the 2016 Academy Award® nominated film “Passengers,” Pixar multi-Academy Award® nominated animation film “Finding Nemo,” “Finding Dory,” and the 2009 Academy Award® nominee for best sound mixing “Wall-E.”

Tommy lives in Sherman Oaks, CA with his wife.  Dad to one daughter, he is a mostly proud “Nonno” of her twins Juliet & Jagger.  

For more info visit: http://www.tommyvicari.com

Brian began his career at WTTW Public Television, where he worked on the acclaimed documentary anthology series Chicago Stories and the highly rated feature documentaries The New River Tour and Seven Wonders of Chicago.

Brian co-produced, shot and edited the Showtime comedy documentary, Phunny Business, which received critical acclaim from The NY Times, Hollywood Reporter, The Onion, and The Guardian. Legendary movie critic Roger Ebert called it, “one of the best documentaries of the year”. He directed and produced the cautionary environmental doc Everglades of the North, which inspired a National Wildlife Refuge and water trail; and edited Shifting Sands, a doc that directly influenced the creation of the Indiana Dunes National Park in 2019.

He produced and edited the festival hit roadtrip documentary, The 25,000 Mile Love Story, narrated by Oscar© winner John Ridley. Brian’s two Emmy© Award winning WWII documentaries, both narrated by Bill Kurtis, Heroes On Deck and A City At War have been screened around the globe.

In addition to making independent documentaries, Brian has edited and produced docs and docuseries for History, HBO Max, Discovery+, Hulu, HBO Documentaries, Apple+, Disney +, and other networks with a variety of production companies. He is currently in post-production on HOLDING PATTERN, a David and Goliath story about a controversial airport project in Illinois. Brian currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and small menagerie.

is an Iranian director and editor currently based in Vancouver. In addition to working in the post production team of shows such as Netflix’s “Chef’s Table”, “Cheer” and “Street Food” and HBO’s “Last Stop Larrimah”, Sam has worked as a freelance director and editor for award-winning independent films such as “the Shuttle” and “Through His Left Eye”, official music videos for bands such as ‘Dang Show’, ‘WGR’ and ‘Achromatic’, as well as working with companies such as ‘Operation Smile’, ‘Revolt TV’ and ‘Boardwalk Pictures’ on various projects.

As a musician, Sam has also composed the original score for independent films and TV shows both in Iran and in Los Angeles. He’s currently acting as the head of post-production for TDR Media.

Robert Kirk is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker with over 40 years of television, feature film, commercial and interactive experience. He Produced the popular History Channel series Mail Call and Dogfights as well as Discovery’s Out of Egypt. Recently, Rob Kirk worked with 1895 Films to produce the series The Lost Tapes for Smithsonian Channel and In Their Own Words, Apollo: Missions to the Moon, The Real Right Stuff and Charles: In His Own Words for National Geographic.

The feature documentary he produced with diane estelle Vicari, Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness, was named that year's Best Documentary by the Hollywood Film Festival and was honored with the prestigious Pare Lorentz Award. The film aired nationally on PBS. Kirk has received an Emmy for his special, Remembering World War II: Pearl Harbor and was Emmy nominated for the three-hour special, The Last Days of World War II.

Other major credits include: Executive Producing the Discovery Channel shows, James Ellroy's LA: City Of Demons, and Combat Cash; Animal Planet's Animal Armageddon, and the 3net series, Dark Secrets, in 3D. He co¬-created and Executive Produced the History Channel’s, Dangerous Missions and Produced and Directed the acclaimed A&E series, Weapons at War, hosted by George C. Scott. He also Produced and Directed Angels: The Mysterious Messengers (NBC,) Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack: The Men and Their Movies (NBC), Making of a Model (ABC), Sightings (FOX), Robots (A&E), Top Speed (History) and Sink the Bismarck (A&E) as well as the feature films, Kid Colter and Destroyer starring Anthony Perkins.

Kirk’s talents also extend to the digital world where he’s produced numerous interactive projects including the San Diego Zoo Children's iPad App: Baby Panda's New Home and the renowned interactive app, Nine Worlds with Patrick Stewart.

is a Peabody and Emmy award winning senior producer who after 25 years as Senior Series Producer for PBS’s award winning science series NOVA, launches Melanie Wallace Media Strategies. Wallace’s company connects broadcast and cross platform storytellers with financial support and distribution opportunities, guiding programming ideas from concept development through funding to successful global distribution.  

An internationally acclaimed media executive, Wallace has rare insight into all aspects of factual programming, including content development, talent acquisition, and complex business deals. She refined her skills working closely with commercial and public broadcasters, foundations and government agencies.

Her content expertise includes climate science, STEM education, the role of diverse voices in documentaries, and the evolving media marketplace. She’s brokered deals with international partners including BBC, ARTE, NHK and CCTV and many others and has extensive experience with pan-Asian production deals and multi-partnered international co-productions.

has taken her extensive experience in networking and communications and leveraged it into the world of social media marketing for the entertainment industry. She has successfully built Internet footprints for various clients, from films, to industry personalities, directors, and writers.

Social Media Darling Productions is known for "bringing the social to production," taking projects and social media from inception through crowdfunding to premiere. Recent projects include the Award Winning RAISE HELL: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins; the Netflix original documentary, FEMINISTS: What Were They Thinking?; IMAGINING A BETTER WORLD: The Nelly Toll Story; The Manhattan Transfer Story, now in production; and Nc Heikin's Life & Life now on the festival circuit.

And in her spare time, Jeryl teaches Crowdfunding and Social Media at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.