Team

DIRECTOR / CINEMATOGRAPHER / SOUND

For over fifteen years, Ben Kolak has worked as a documentary cinematographer and producer, with a focus on education. His work has appeared in outlets including Netflix, PBS, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

RESEARCHER

Rebecca Burns is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work has appeared in outlets including the Chicago Reader, the Intercept, ProPublica Illinois, and USA Today. Her reporting focuses on housing, finance, and urban policy, and her 2017 story on predatory lending in Chicago won the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s first-place prize for investigative reporting. She is also a contributing editor at In These Times magazine, where she helped launch the Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting.

PRODUCER

Kyra brings experience producing for WBEZ 91.5 and the National Association of Black Social Workers, as well as leading Spotlight Youth, a nonprofit providing youth of color with film education. She studied social work at The University of Illinois-Champaign and broadcasting at the Illinois Media School.

IMPACT PRODUCER

Sophia is a screenwriter and documentary impact producer based in Chicago, IL. Trained as a visual artist and ethnographer, she has worked on non-fiction films and contemporary moving image artworks that have been presented at the Berlin International Film Festival; Metro Pictures, New York; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

EDITOR

Augustín Donoso received his MFA from Northwestern University in 2019, and is currently based in Chile, where he runs lontra.tv as well as Anima Producciones, a production company specializing in educational motion graphics.

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Michael is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where he studied journalism.

DESIGNER / ASSISTANT EDITOR

Kerry is a recent graduate of DePaul University, where she studied film and design.

COMPOSER

Jamaal Crowder is a Chicago-grown composer and musician working across genres. He studied at the City Colleges of Chicago before graduating in 2017 from University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in music performance. He is currently pursuing a Masters while teaching music to youth at the Chicago West Community Music Center.

COMPOSER

Hannah Kolak graduated from Boston University in 2005 with a Masters of Music in composition, and then promptly moved back to Chicago and ended up with a career in finance. She continues to pursue music as a choral singer, and occasional composer/arranger, especially for the liturgical ensembles at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in East Lakeview. She is also a cat person.