Director / Co-Writer
Greg Kwedar makes his feature film directorial debut with TRANSPECOS, but has been working in film since he dropped out of accounting in college. He is the producer of RISING FROM ASHES about the Rwandan national cycling team, executive produced by Forest Whitaker. Greg has spoken on panels at UNESCO, SXSW and the United Nations, among others.
PRODUCER / CO-WRITER
Clint Bentley co-wrote and produced Transpecos. He was raised on a cattle ranch in Florida. Two of his great-grandfathers were shot to death. Another was killed by lighting. He’s trying to figure out what all that means. After college he worked a series of odd jobs: as a waiter, a day laborer on a sod farm, a deck stainer. Then he started working in film. He’s made internet videos and random long-form tv content and promos for the History Channel, Travel Channel, and the Food Network. Transpecos is his first feature.
PRODUCER
Molly Christie Benson is co-owner of the feature film production company 8750 Films, and the executive producer of 99 Tigers, a creative services agency. Molly has produced the movies 7 Chinese Brothers, starring Jason Schwartzman, It’s a Disaster, starring David Cross, Julia Stiles and America Ferrara; Tuna, starring Louis CK, David Krumholtz and Nick Offerman; and How Did It Feel?, starring Blair Underwood. She’s worked closely with the filmmakers Mark Pellington, Peter O’Fallon, and Glenn Lazzaro, and is a longstanding DGA member.
PRODUCER
Nancy Schafer is a producer who works in independent film. She is the Executive Producer of the documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball (Sundance 2014), Frame by Frame (SXSW 2015) and Producer of the narrative film 7 Chinese Brothers (SXSW 2015). She is the Executive Producer of the forthcoming documentaries American (ESP)ionage as well as the Producer on two feature films in development, Glass and Dead End. Schafer worked at and ran the Tribeca Film Festival from inception until July 2012, a period of 11 years. Prior to joining Tribeca, she created and ran the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW Film) in Austin, Texas for eight years.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Josh Braun runs Submarine Entertainment, a hybrid sales and production company. Braun was a producer on Andrew Rossi’s Sundance competition documentary Page One: Inside the NY Times and was an executive producer on Celine Dahnier’s Blank City. Mr. Braun was an executive producer on David Cronenberg’s Oscar and Golden Globe nominated A History of Violence. Braun is a producer on the feature film adaptation of John Wagner’s graphic novel Button Man, recently set up at Dreamworks. Some of the films represented by Mr. Braun have included: Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Tiny Furniture, Page One: Inside The NY Times, Tabloid, Bill Cunningham NY, Buck, Winter’s Bone, Man on Wire, Food Inc., Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, The Cove, Supersize Me, and many others.
Born in the United States, Jeffrey Waldron spent his formative years around the world, living in seven cities in four countries on three continents before graduating high school. His fascination and determination to pursue filmmaking earned him a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California’s prestigious Cinema-Television Production program and an MFA in Cinematography from the American Film Institute. Narrative feature films Jeff has photographed have premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and South by Southwest. In 2012 he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography for his work on “The Dynamiter”.. Earning a 2012 Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Outstanding Cinematography, Jeffrey has received over ten other awards and nominations for his directing and cinematography work in both narrative and documentary films.
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Peter K. Benson grew up in South Florida, as a boy he became fascinated by the Art Deco movement around him. He went on to study art, film, and architecture at the University of Southern California, graduating to a career in film. By working and learning on set in the art department, he quickly grasped the essentials of becoming a Production Designer—mastering both creative arts and balanced budgets. Working in commercials and television gave Peter the opportunity to collaborate with top Directors and DP’s, and to become a technician of his craft. Peter now focuses his aesthetic and creative knowledge as a passionate partner for independent filmmakers. Equally at home in high-end commercials and down-and-dirty indies, he delivers work that is intuitive and multi-layered. Peter resides in Venice, California.
EDITOR
Prior to editing Transpecos, Alan’s most recent project was Songs My Brothers Taught Me. It was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Among his other work is Hellion (Sundance), The Catechism Cataclysm (Sundance), and Girl Model (Toronto).
Aaron Dessner is a New York based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer, and member of the Grammy Award-nominated band The National. Outside of his work with The National, Aaron has made a name for himself as an influential producer, working with a myriad of acclaimed musicians. Most recently, Aaron produced Frighted Rabbits forthcoming album and worked as an associate producer on Mumford & Sons’ new album, Wilder Mind, which came out in May 2015. He also recently produced This Is The Kit’s Bashed Out (2015); The Lone Bellow’s Then Came the Morning (2015); and Australian band Luluc’s album Passerby (2014), which received rave reviews and was featured on many best album of the year lists. Other production credits include Local Natives’ Hummingbird (2013); Sharon Van Etten’s Tramp (2012); Doveman’s The Conformist (2009) and the Red Hot Organization’s AIDS charity compilation Dark Was The Night (2009), on which Aaron collaborated with his brother Bryce. The record features exclusive recordings and collaborations and has raised over 2 million dollars for AIDS charities. Aside from his work as a producer, Aaron co-founded and curated the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, which will return to Wisconsin this summer, and Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, which took place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2012 and 2013. He is also a co-curator of the bi-annual Boston Calling Music Festival.
Bryce Dessner is one of the most sought-after composers of his generation, with a rapidly expanding catalog of works commissioned by leading ensembles. Known to many as a guitarist of the Grammy Award-nominated band The National, he is also active as a curator – a vital force in the flourishing realm of new creative music. His orchestral, chamber, and vocal compositions have been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Metropolitan Museum of Art (for the New York Philharmonic), Kronos Quartet, BAM Next Wave Festival, Barbican Centre, Edinburgh International Festival, Sydney Festival, eighth blackbird, So Percussion, New York City Ballet, and many others. Recently Bryce was tapped to compose music for Alejandro Iñárritu’s film, The Revenant, which received a 2016 Golden Globes nomination for Best Original Score. Recordings include Aheym, a Kronos Quartet disc devoted to his music (Anti- ); St. Carolyn by the Sea on Deutsche Grammophon, with the Copenhagen Phil under Andre de Ridder; and Music for Wood and Strings, an album-length work performed by Sō Percussion (Brassland). Bryce’s recent activities as a curator have included ‘Mountains and Waves,’ a weekend-long celebration of his music at the Barbican Centre in London—with guests including Steve Reich, eighth blackbird, Sō Percussion, Caroline Shaw—and ‘Sounds From A Safe Harbour,’ a weekend of performances at the Cork Opera House in Ireland. He is also the founder and curator of MusicNOW, the Cincinnati-based contemporary music festival, which will present its 11th season this March. Along with his brother Aaron he founded and curated Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, which took place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2012 and 2013.