DIANA GREENE
DIRECTOR | PRODUCER
Diana Greene produces and directs documentary films that blend inquiry and discipline with the insight and creativity of fine art. Themes addressed in her award-winning work involve the human conditions of community, place, identity, and memory. In 2017 and 2018 she was a Pulitzer Center grantee and produced two short films. Her last film, Home Stretch, funded through Winston-Salem State University, premiered at RiverRun International Film Festival in 2022.
REN DEMPSTER
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Lauren "Ren" Dempster is a graduate of UNC School of the Arts with a BFA in Cinematography. Ren also explored her passion for directing by auditing the directing program while at UNCSA, and in her final semester she wrote, directed, and filmed a narrative short titled Eucharist. Born and raised in Fayetteville, NC, Lauren has a deep fondness and sense of nostalgia for her hometown and North Carolina as a whole. She plans to use her passion for both directing and cinematography to tell raw, human stories based around her experience and the experiences of others growing up and living in the South.
QUIQUE RODRIGUEZ-PASTOR
ORIGINAL MUSIC
After moving from Peru to the U.S. at age 11, Quique picked up the guitar and an old boom box (complete with a tiny built-in microphone) and began recording music on cassette tapes. Though the lifelong plan was to pursue a career in something different altogether (visual arts), Quique switched gears last minute and attended Davidson College instead, majoring in Sociology. Afterward, he took another turn and earned a Master's degree in Counseling at Wake Forest University. Quique went on to work in community outreach with Latino families in the Old Town area of Winston-Salem. In 2012, Quique left the non-profit sector to devote himself to his passion in music composition, recording and performance; he also began to explore the craft of videography.
SARA WOODMANSEE
ASSISTANT PRODUCER / FUNDRAISING MANAGER
Sara Woodmansee wears many hats including field producer for the national PBS show 'My Music with Rhiannon Giddens', nature photographer, and photo editor. A lifelong love of documentary photo and film has only deepened her view that capturing people's lives through visual storytelling is very much needed in this world.
IAN McCLERIN
EDITOR & STORY CONSULTANT
A graduate of UNC School of the Arts with a BFA in Direction, Ian now resides in San Francisco, CA. His films have screened at the New York Film Festival, AFI DOCS, Fantastic Fest, Miami Art Basel, and Slamdance. He has received a finalist nod for the Golden Eagle Award for Independent and Emerging Media and camera-operated a Smithsonian documentary that earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding cinematography.
BOBBY GUPTON
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
UNCSA ’22 graduate Bobby Gupton is a multi-disciplinary filmmaker with a concentration in cinematography. He was nominated by the school in 2021 for submission to the international film festival of the art of cinematography CAMERAIMAGE. He is a native North Carolinian who overcame diagnosed agoraphobia in his youth to enter the field of the cinematic arts, where he enjoys exploring the boundaries of visual storytelling.
DANIEL CHRISTIE
PRODUCTION SOUND MIXER
Daniel Christie is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts who specializes in Editing & Sound Design. As a production sound mixer, he's enjoyed setting up multiple microphones to capture Nick Bragg’s beautiful voice, and ensure that they record properly. Nick is a fascinating man and serves as something of an aspiration point for Daniel. "It’s beautiful to see someone with so much lived experience still living in the moment." Daniel hopes that people will see Nick the way that he does, and draws inspiration for their own life.
ANNA ROONEY THORP
ADVISOR
Anna studied Performing Arts Management at UNC School of the Arts and has an MA in New Media and Global Education from Appalachian State University. She first worked with Nick Bragg when she was the Co-Founder of Peppercorn Theatre and he was on the Founding Board, and first worked with Diana as her Studio Assistant in 2012.