Desert Bayou
Alex LeMay (Director, Producer)
Alex LeMay founded Taproot Productions in Canada in the Spring of 1991. After moving the company to its current location in Chicago in 1994, Alex has produced and directed countless films under the Taproot name. The short film THE SCOREBOARD opened to critical acclaim. He then found himself in the deserts of Arizona directing the world famous stunt team of Hanion-Lee's action films in the short western THE SHEWING UP OF BLANCO POSNET. His feature films include the cult classic CASTING JUDGEMENT and the documentary THE BULLS OF SUBURBIA. Entering into the world of television, Alex produced the soon to be released "Conversations with the Enemy." Alex also produced and directed all of the bullfight footage for the Academy Award nominated film SEABISCUIT for Universal Studios.
New Orleans Music in Exile
Robert Mugge (Director, Producer)
Robert Mugge has been dubbed everything from “the king of the American music documentary” (LA Weekly) to “the best music filmmaker on the planet” (Liberation, Paris). He has earned this reputation thanks to thirty years of working as a producer, director, writer and editor of widely distributed feature-length music documentaries. His most recent two-hour film, NEW ORLEANS MUSIC IN EXILE, was commissioned by the Starz Entertainment Group, which previously backed his 2003 film, LAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI JUKES and his 2005 film, BLUES DIVAS. Muggue’s other most acclaimed films include DEEP BLUES (1991), GOSPEL ACCORDING TO AL GREEN (1984), SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS (1986), ENTERTAINING THE TROOPS (1988), THE KINGDOM OF ZYDECO (1994), THE RETURN OF THE RUBEN BLADES (1985), GATHER AT THE RIVER (1994), and RHYTHM ‘N’ BAYOUS (2000). For a complete list of his films, go to www.robertmugge.com.
Mugge was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950. He grew up primarily in Raleigh, North Carolina and then Silver Spring, Maryland where his mother still resides. His education includes a BA in Film and Associated Art Media from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Campus, and a year studying with Temple University’s Documentary Film MFA program and serving as a graduate assistant for Temple’s Radio-TV-Film Department. From 1973-2003, he lived in the Philadelphia area, primarily working as an independent filmmaker. In the summer of 2003, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi to serve as Filmmaker in Residence for Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi. While in those positions, he created several new works, including the aforementioned BLUES DIVAS film and TV series, a series of thirteen sixty-second films called BLUES BREAKS, and two other feature-length music films that have yet to be released. In the summer of 2005, he decided to leave public broadcasting but remained in Mississippi in order to produce NEW ORLEANS MUSIC IN EXILE with his new production partner Diana Zelman, and to wait for the older of his two sons to finish high school in Jackson. During the summer of 2006, he worked with executive producer Ty Warren of the Foundation for Public Broadcasting in Mississippi to complete post-production on A NIGHT AT CLUB EBONY with B.B. King before relocating to Media, Pennsylvania in late August.
Mugge’s favorite of the awards he has received are the 1992 Keeping the Blues Alive in Film Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis, and the 2005 Luminaria Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Santa Fe Film Festival. He presently has several new projects in various states of development.
Tim’s Island
Laszlo Fulop (Director, Producer)
Laszlo Fulop grew up in the ethnic Hungarian community of the Transylvanian region of Romania. He received an MFA in Film Production from the University of New Orleans. He works as an editor. He also teaches video and film
related subjects.
Wickes Helmboldt (Director, Producer)
Wickes Helmboldt is an artist/educator/writer who prior to working for New Regency Productions in the Creative Development Department, taught photography while completing her Masters in Art Critical Practices at Ohio State University; a tri-partite degree in Studio Art, History of Art, and Philosophy. Preceding that, she completed a Bachelors of Fine Art from Parsons Paris School of Design with a minor in Art History and currently develops independent projects. She also worked as an adjunct faculty member at Loyola University of New Orleans, teaching classes in "World Art" and "Film/Photo/Culture."
An Eye in the Storm
Neil Alexander (Director, Executive Producer)
Neil Alexander is 52 years old, a husband and the father of two children. His professional work includes architectural photography and documentary film. A native of Philadelphia, Alexander has lived in New Orleans for 29 years. His passion and his work have focused on the culture of Louisiana and New Orleans – on the region’s food, music, politics and religion. His continuity of vision and depth of understanding compelled him to remain in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. By not evacuating, Alexander placed himself in the heart of the calamity and in a unique position to bear witness to one of America’s greatest tragedies. His first person recording of the events during Katrina, its immediate aftermath and for the year following the storm contribute an important chapter as the nation seeks to understand this extraordinary event. Alexander’s method of storytelling embraces the city and its people in an intimate and informed way. Whether he is speaking with a high school principal in the midst of a marching band rehearsal, the Lieutenant Governor during a rescue operation, or a longshoreman on his front porch, Alexander manages to reveal both the complexities and commonalities of our shared experiences. AN EYE IN THE STORM transcends the stereotype of the “Big Easy” so often captured in films about New Orleans and successfully creates an authentic portrait of the time, the place and the people.
In 2005, Alexander co-produced two documentaries that proved prophetic for him. Produced for the Army Corps of Engineers, the first film highlighted the corps’s coastal restoration projects and was shot in places that no longer exist because of the devastation wrought by Katrina. That project put him directly at the center of the coastal restoration issues now being discussed in the halls of Congress. Ironically, the original footage for that film was lost in the New Orleans floodwaters. The second film tells the story of Galatoire’s Restaurant, one of America’s oldest continually-operated, family-owned restaurants, which celebrated its centennial birthday in 2005. Though Galatoire’s survived the flood, many of the family owners, employees, and regular clients lost their homes.
Alexander’s award-winning photographs and documentaries have been exhibited in the U.S. and in Europe. His still photographs illustrate several books on Louisiana food, culture and architectural history, and have been published in numerous national magazines, including Architectural Record, Interior Design and Town & Country, among others. His portraits of Creole tradesmen and his photographs of New Orleans (or Louisiana) architecture were exhibited at the New Orleans Museum of Art in a groundbreaking exhibition entitled Raised to the Trade-The Creole Building Trades of New Orleans. Currently, an abbreviated version of Alexander’s film short on Katrina and its immediate aftermath along with his photographs from that same period are being exhibited in the United States Pavilion at the 10th International Architectural Biennale in Venice, Italy.
Alexander currently lives in Massachusetts with his son and wife. Like all families from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the future remains uncertain but a plan is in the works.
Still Standing
Paola Mendoza (Director)
Paola Mendoza, was last seen in the critically acclaimed feature film ON THE OUTS, which she also co-created. Ms. Mendoza received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress from the Method Film Festival for her portrayal of a 17-year-old mother addicted to crack cocaine in ON THE OUTS. ON THE OUTS was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, Gotham Award and was a recipient of the Audience and Jury Awards at the 2005 Slamdance Film Festival, as well as the Jury Award at the 2005 Deauville Film Festival. Ms. Mendoza will next be seen in the feature film PADRE NUESTRO directed by Christopher Zalla’s a Spanish language drama about immigrants crossing the border looking to make a better life for themselves in NYC. She recently finished ONE NIGHT an independent feature film directed by Michael Knowles about single New Yorkers looking for love. Ms. Mendoza is currently starring in COMING SOON directed by Steven Tanenbaum. Ms. Mendoza also a director recently co-helmed AUTUMN’S EYES, a feature length documentary about a 3-year old girl who tries to navigate herself through the harsh reality of severe poverty, her teenage mother’s incarceration and looming foster care. AUTUMN’S EYES made its world premier at the 2006 SXSW film festival. Ms. Mendoza also directed a short documentary, STILL STANDING; about her grandmother trying to put her life back together after loosing her home to Hurricane Katrina. Still standing made its world premier at this year’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. She is also developing a narrative feature about the struggle of an immigrant mother and her two fatherless children during their first years in the United States, which will mark her directorial debut. Ms. Mendoza is currently producing a feature documentary for NetFlix: AMASWATI: A YEAR IN THE KINGDOM directed by Michael Skolnik (ON THE OUTS, HOOKED: THE LEGEND OF DEMETRIUS “HOOK” MITCHELL). Ms. Mendoza received her Masters in Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and her BA from UCLA. She is repped by Rachel Sheedy of Don Buchwald & Associates and Lillian LaSalle of LaSalleHolland.
New Orleans Furlough
Amir Bar-Lev (Director)
Amir Bar-Lev graduated from Brown University in 1994, and studied at FAMU, the Prague Film Academy, under Czech directors Jiri Menzel and Jan Nemec. He has written and directed programs for PBS, ESPN, and the Outdoor Life Channel. As a free-lance editor he has cut pieces for PBS and HBO. Credits include work for HBO's Real Sex, Preventing Violence With Groark, and Place/Setting. Fighter is Mr. Bar-Lev’s feature-length debut. He is currently screenwriting in Los Angeles, CA.
After Katrina: Rebuilding St. Bernard Parish
Adam Finberg (Director, Producer)
Adam Finberg is continuously dissecting his imagination. His passion for writing and directing stories has lead him to Los Angeles’ creative scene, where he has worked in collaboration with other award winning filmmakers. Two films he recently wrote and directed have brought him recognition: THE FIFTH HORSEMAN, a sci-fi thriller that won gold at Worldfest, and ON ALERT, which won acclaim and awards on the festival circuit and was broadcast on Los Angeles’ KCET. His newest film, THE MESSENGER, was funded by several prominent Los Angeles Jewish leaders for its poetic depiction of Judaic conflicts. He has produced and directed two documentaries on the reconstruction of New Orleans, one of which is currently in distribution. He has directed music videos for up and coming Los Angeles bands as well as world-renowned DJ’s like Armin van Buuren. Adam’s music video for Armin’s remix “The Longest Day” promoting by the hit FOX show “24” has aired internationally. Music has always been a part of Adam’s life. An accomplished musician on the saxophone and guitar, he has played with a jazz band on piano. Adam’s attraction to the moody nature of music has given Adam a sense of tone and rhythm that continue to show up in his work. Adam has a degree from Northwestern University in Radio/TV/Film, Northwestern’s selective Creative Writing for the Media program, and an MFA in directing and editing from the American Film Institute.
Myra Spence (Producer)
Myra Spence is 28 years old and for now, considers Los Angeles home. She was raised in a lower-class, Hispanic neighborhood in Pasadena and attended public schools. She held a 4.0 until the 9th grade, when she ran away from home and dropped out of school. After almost a year of homelessness, she joined the work force and found herself in food service management by the age of 16. During her teens she audited college classes; political science and fine art. Her incredible work ethic propelled her into entrepreneurial positions with small businesses in real estate and film production. She found herself a homeowner at the age of 20. She has had a hand in many real estate investments, built a number of homes and produced dozens of low budget, independent film projects, many of them award winning. Into her late 20’s, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina coupled with the governments irresponsive behavior had an enormous impact on her. Earlier this year she became an integral part of a start-up non-profit aiding the Katrina survivors and turned her attention towards documentaries as a way of exposing he truth for the survivors. She has recently sacrificed many ‘comforts’ in order to define and pursue her humanitarian ambitions. Relationships, personal growth and cause work are among her greatest passions. For leisure she enjoys reading, travel, cooking, gardening, and most of all, her animals.
