Jeffrey McHale (Director, Editor)
Jeffrey McHale is a documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His feature film debut, YOU DON’T NOMI, premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and was an official selection of BFI: London, SITGES, Outfest, Frameline, Melbourne International Film Festival, and several others. Released in 2020, NOMI won the 2020 Florida Film Critics Circle award for Best Documentary, Film Threat’s Award This! prize for Best Film About Movies, and was Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Featured as one of Tribeca’s “Nine Filmmakers to Watch” in the New York Times, McHale's work examines queer subcultures and how individuals define and express their identities.
As a television editor, McHale has worked on programming for World of Wonder, Al Jazeera English, KCET, Voice of America, Spectrum News 1, and Fox Sports. A native of Michigan, McHale got his start at WGN America after studying film at Columbia College Chicago.
KEVIN S. BRIGHT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
Kevin S. Bright was Executive Producer of the Emmy Award winning television series Friends for its entire ten-year run, directing over 50 episodes of the show including all 10 season finales. Bright’s television credits also include In Living Color and HBO's Dream On. Bright has been an Executive Producer and/or Director on numerous award-winning documentaries, including NEVER TOO LATE: THE DOC SEVERINSEN STORY (PBS American Masters), BEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS (SXSW, PBS Independent Lens), ON THESE GROUNDS (SXSW, Starz), and NUREONGI (independent release worldwide; 1 million+ views on YouTube).
ARIANA GARFINKEL (PRODUCER)
Ariana Garfinkel is the founder of Carriage House Pictures and Producer of feature documentaries ON THESE GROUNDS (SXSW, STARZ), NEVER TOO LATE: THE DOC SEVERINSEN STORY (PBS American Masters), YOU DON’T NOMI (Tribeca), I AM MARIS (Netflix); BEST AND MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS (SXSW, PBS Independent Lens); and BOYS OF SUMMER (ESPN, PBS AfroPop), among other projects. She has held positions at Miramax Films, Tribeca Productions, Reno Productions, and Bright Productions. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she graduated from Stanford University.
ZEL McCARTHY (PRODUCER)
Zel McCarthy is a writer, producer, host, and curator who specializes in telling stories about music and culture that speak to larger social issues. A regular contributor to Billboard, his work has also been published by The New Yorker and The Hollywood Reporter. He was the first openly queer editor-in-chief of a vertical for Vice Media and recently led editorial programs at music services Tidal and Beatport. McCarthy previously worked with McHale as an associate producer on YOU DON’T NOMI. A graduate of the University of Southern California, he started his career at art publishers Taschen and Phaidon/Cahiers du cinéma.
SUZANNE ZIONTS (PRODUCER)
Suzanne Zionts is a producer and writer who helped launch and produce programs for Fox Business, Al Jazeera America, The Young Turks on Fusion and Current TV. She began her career at CBS News, and years later, she wrote and produced for Dr. Phil on CBS Television Distribution. Her production work has contributed to award-winning documentary features YOU DON’T NOMI and THE FLYING FERCOS.