Eight Billion Lives
Everyone has a story. Watch a day in the life of people from all over the world.
Suraj Das and John Francis McCarthy
Biography
John is a motion picture director/photographer. He was born in Princeton, NJ in 1985. He started to play with cameras in 1993. He studied filmmaking at NYU and The American Film Institute Conservatory.
Suraj Das is a recent graduate of NYU’s film program, and the award-winning writer-director behind the successful short film “Arranged: The Musical.” They both live in NYC.
Contact Info
Suraj Das: www.surajdas.com
John Francis McCarthy: www.johnfrancismccarthy.net
Film
Statement
We chose Micah Jesse as a subject because we believe his lifestyle and line of work say a lot about the time and place in which he lives; we feel that he embodies, to a large extent, the spirit of the “YouTube generation” – young people who enjoy unprecedented access to extraordinary technology and use it to relentlessly pursue fame and recognition above all else.
Donald Conley
Biography
Donald A.C. Conley has been immersed in the arts from an early age. In 2004, Conley enrolled at New York University, majoring in Film and Television Production. Conley wrote and directed his senior thesis, Underbelly, starring Al Thompson and Eric Lockley. Underbelly became an official selection of the Hollywood Black and New York International Latino Film Festivals.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
The New York Times published an article on America’s new generation of top community organizers, featuring Quinn K. Rallins. After speaking with Quinn about the work of his organization, I instantly saw a story of support and compassion. I traveled to Boston with a Panasonic high definition camera to spend one full day filming. An inspiring message was the result.
Katya Yakubov and Daniel Hess
Biography
Katya likes moving images, and the ideas and thoughts that give them purpose to move. She lives in Brooklyn and wants to make tons more movies. Daniel is a Salt Lakian, Utahn Newton. He is confused about life but enjoys loud sounds and the creative process.
Contact Info
Katya: paper.film@gmail.com
Daniel: danielhess@gmail.com
Film
Statement
We experienced Amy and Tibetan Buddhism as outsiders, welcomed into a space. Through editing we re-experienced Amy within the footage and sound gathered, but always limited to our own filters of understanding. These fragments, woven together, are our meandering discovery of Amy and the Milarepa Center.
Zachary Kerschberg
Biography
Zachary Kerschberg earned his B.A. from UC Berkeley in Romance Languages and Literature and his M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University. In 2008 he was a Fulbright Scholar to the United Arab Emirates, where he taught screenwriting and documentary filmmaking at Dubai Men’s College. He is currently pursuing his second M.F.A in film directing at NYU.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
In many places, disability is invisible. Going to Camp Kharaz allowed me to look at the disabled community within the larger, but equally invisible community of refugees. As an artist, I am convinced that disability, gender and refugee issues are the most significant challenges of our generation. The first steps towards a solution are raising awareness and creating a dialogue.
Davin Michaels
Biography
Davin Michaels is a self-taught screenwriter, filmmaker and editor. He graduated with a degree in English from Bowdoin College and has since worked in diverse areas of the film industry, including accounting, assistant directing and editing. He is currently completing work on an original screenplay, which he hopes to direct and produce in the near future.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
I am deeply inspired by Dan’s altruism and ambition in the work that he does, both as a non-profit worker and musician. One of my closest friends in college, Dan has always taken on an impressive amount of diverse commitments, but it wasn’t until I chose him for this film that I truly understood his unique dedication to improving himself, as well as the world around him.
Matt Mitchener
Biography
Matt Mitchener is currently studying at New York University in the Dramatic Writing department. In high school, he wrote, co-directed, and edited a feature film, Love. Blood. Kryptonite. The film’s website is www.lovebloodkryptonite.com. He is currently working on multiple new projects.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
I chose Steve Liss as a subject because he is using his talent as a photographer to do good, which I respect. There are many young people who live in poverty, but not enough effort is made to reach out to them. I hope that this small spotlight on Steve will spread the idea.
Hye Mee Na
Biography
Hye Mee Na was born in South Korea and moved to America when she was fifteen. She was a neuroscience research specialist for seven years before enrolling in New York University’s Graduate Film program. She is interested in issues relating to identity formation and how it influences the interaction between people.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
This documentary shows the daily life of a working actress/acting coach in New York city, which is said to be the “ground zero” for actors.
Dustin Nakao-Haider
Biography
Dustin is originally from Chicago, but is currently a film student at NYU. He enjoys all aspects of filmmaking, especially writing, directing, cinematography, and editing. He hopes to one day write and direct his own features, both narrative and documentary.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
Ifti is one of my father’s writer friends who has always been lurking around the outside of my life. When I was given the opportunity to create a film for 8BL, I instantly thought of Ifti as a possible subject. I hoped to convey not just how he lived one day in his life, but how he lived every day.
Ema Ryan
Biography
Japan -born Ema Ryan was raised in a bilingual household of English and Japanese. After graduating from a Japanese elementary school, she attended an international school where she developed a passion for dance and filmmaking. Ema moved to New York City in 2008 and is studying film production at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a particular interest in documentary filmmaking.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
It is only in the past year that I have realized the greatness of my modest grandfather, Shigekazu Yamazaki. Hoping to capture a glimpse of his heart through following his simple everyday life, I lived with him for three days. Unthreatened by the camera, he quietly but steadily shared his story, which he would have been too humble to mention had he not been asked.
Ema Ryan
Biography
Japan -born Ema Ryan was raised in a bilingual household of English and Japanese. After graduating from a Japanese elementary school, she attended an international school where she developed a passion for dance and filmmaking. Ema moved to New York City in 2008 and is studying film production at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a particular interest in documentary filmmaking.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
Despite his ridiculously busy everyday life, David Burke never once treated me as though I was wasting his time or slowing him down. As I followed him around his activities for two days, my strongest impression of him was how he is such an honest man, living the way he does because he simply does not want to live any other way.
Ashley Shuyler
Biography
Ashley Shuyler is a recent graduate of Harvard University, and the founder of AfricAid, a non profit organization that works to support girls’ education in Tanzania. Ashley has spent time living, working, and teaching in Tanzania for the past decade. Her first film, Somebody Like Me, has been screened across the US, as well as at the Moscow Visual Anthropology Film Festival.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
While in the village of Losinoni, I walked to school each day with the children there, and was continually struck by the distances they covered to go to school, but also by the great sense of camaraderie that existed among them. I chose a common, but elusive, Tanzanian proverb (”Mountains never meet, but people do”) as the anchoring point in this piece because it mirrored both the psyche and landscape of this village.
Jason Stefaniak
Biography
Jason Stefaniak is a 23-year-old filmmaker who was born in Buffalo and raised in Northern Virginia. Jason was heavily influenced by his upbringing in a predominantly female household. He is interested in telling stories about diverse people and cultures and using his work to explore socio-political issues. Jason is currently pursuing his M.F.A in Film Production at NYU.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
I made this film because I wanted to explore the day of an average, middle-class American child and give the audience a chance to experience that world as well. I shot the film exclusively observationally and tried to shoot the entire film from the height of my subject so as not to “look down” on her and to allow the audience to experience the world from her perspective.
Eric Swiecinski
Biography
In 2007, Eric was awarded a student Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his piece, The Race. Eric has since been studying at the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Whether it be writing, editing, directing, or performing, Eric is at home in his vocation. He is currently a Director of Moving Images at North Tower Media.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
Despite living within spitting distance of Philly growing up, I never got to explore it quite the way that I did while on this shoot.
Andrew White
Biography
Andrew is a graduate of the Tisch School of Film and Television Production at New York University. While in school he shot numerous films and took home two best cinematography awards. He is a co-owner of the production company 20/20 Pictures based out of New York City. His reel can be viewed at his personal website: www.andybianco.com
Contact Info
Film
Statement
We decided to make this film because it focuses on a profession that has come under much scrutiny since the economic meltdown of this past year. We hoped to explore how one man, Brian, deals with this and how he views his role in the complex global economy.
Lou Yablonsky
Biography
Lou Yablonsky is a writer, director and editor, whose films have won awards and appeared in festivals in New York City. He is currently a senior at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He recently has worked in development at New Line Cinema, and currently in production at Focus Features.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
I made this film to bring Sustainable Party into the spotlight as a worthwhile cause, and also to further my own knowledge about interesting subjects around the globe.
Sung-Min Yi
Biography
Sung-Min Yi is a writer and filmmaker from Los Angeles, CA. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
I first met Dan Choi when I interviewed him for a magazine article. Being of Korean descent myself, I knew firsthand the kinds of cultural obstacles he had to overcome as he became the face of a movement. It made his fight feel a bit like mine. I hope the film can play some small part in helping him on his mission to overturn the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Yared Zeleke
Biography
Yared Zeleke immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia at the age of ten. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in International Development, his interest in global issues led him to study, work, travel and live in a dozen countries, including Namibia and Norway. Mr. Zeleke is currently pursuing his M.F.A in directing at New York University’s Kanbar Film Institute.
Contact Info
Film
Statement
I met Ye’absira or Allula during a visit to my childhood home in Addis Ababa. His chubby cheeks and bold behavior–unusual for Ethiopian children–drew me into this little character. After learning of his past in which he had come so close to death from poverty, I decided to capture him on the pro-sumer camera I had brought along with me.