Sundance

Dubbed the “mad scientist” of documentary film, Brett Morgen has been writing, directing, and producing groundbreaking documentary films for the past fifteen years.

Morgen received a BA in Mythology and American History at Hampshire College in 1992 and an MFA in film from NYU in 1999. His NYU thesis film, On the Ropes (1999), premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury award. The film won several awards and honors, including the 1999 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary, the 1999 IDA Award for Best Documentary, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary.

In 2002, Focus Features released Morgen’s second movie, The Kid Stays In the Picture, which he adapted from Robert Evan’s memoirs of the same name. The film premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and was an official selection at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. The New York Times called the film “one of the funniest films of the year” and it was named one of the best films of the year by over fifty publications, including Entertainment Weekly. It was also named Best Documentary of 2002 by the Boston, Washington DC, and Seattle Film Critics.

In 2007, Morgen wrote, produced, and directed Chicago 10, one of the first feature-length animated documentary films. Selected as the Opening Night film of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Chicago 10 was released theatrically by Roadhouse Attractions. The film was the recipient of several awards and nominations, among them nominations for the Emmy, WGA, and ACE Awards.

That same year, Morgen created and served as Executive Producer on the award-winning series Nimrod Nation, an eight-part television documentary that had its first public screening at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Nimrod Nation was named one of the Best TV series of the year by The Los Angeles Times, and in 2008, the series was awarded the Peabody Award for its honest and unflinching portrait of small-town America.

In 2010, Morgen directed June 17, 1994 as part of ESPN’s acclaimed 30 for 30 series. Morgen’s film, which examined the infamous OJ Simpson Bronco chase, was recently named by Rolling Stone as the single best film released in the 30 for 30 series. The film received a Peabody Award and several Emmy nominations, including a nomination for Best Documentary.

In 2012, Morgen wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Rolling Stones documentary, Crossfire Hurricane. The film, which has been screened in nearly every country around the world, was the recipient of four Primetime Emmy Nominations, including Best Documentary.

In 2015, Universal Pictures International will be bringing Morgen’s latest film, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, to cinemas around the world. Following its global release, the film will be broadcast on HBO in the United States. Morgen has been developing the movie for eight years and is serving as the film’s writer, director, producer, and editor. 9

In addition to his documentary work, Morgen has been directing commercials at Anonymous Content since 2000, where he has directed over 200 spots for some of the biggest brands in the world.

LAWRENCE MESTEL (Executive Producer)

Lawrence Mestel, Founder & CEO of Primary Wave Music, has been working in the music and entertainment industry for over 20 years. In 2006, Mestel took his extensive experience working at multiple record labels and founded Primary Wave Music, one of the largest independent music publishing, marketing and talent management companies in the United States. Primary Wave has controlled over 10,000 songs from the catalogs of legendary artists such as Kurt Cobain, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall and Oates, Chicago and many others.

Originally founded on music publishing, Mestel has strategically and successfully built the company into a full service music and entertainment powerhouse offering in-house branding, digital marketing, publicity, TV & Film development, touring division and a talent management company who manages artists including CeeLo Green, Melissa Etheridge, Natalie Imbruglia, Cypress Hill, Deborah Cox, Eric Benet, Ginuwine, Trevor Jackson, The Go-Go’s and more.

Prior to founding Primary Wave, Larry Mestel was Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Virgin Records, where he was responsible for all marketing, sales and business-related aspects of the company. During his tenure, he worked with iconic artists including The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Jermaine Dupri and Lenny Kravitz. From 2000 - 2004, Mestel was Executive Vice President and General Manager at Arista Records, managing sales, international and strategic marketing, A&R and marketing administration, finance and business affairs. While at Arista, he developed artists such as Avril Lavigne, Outkast, Usher, Pink, Carlos Santana, Dido among many others. Mestel also held the position of Chief Operating Officer for Island Entertainment Group, which included Island Records, Island Music Publishing and Island Pictures.

DANIELLE RENFREW BEHRENS (Producer)

Danielle Renfrew Behrens is an accomplished independent producer with credits ranging from grassroots documentaries to major motion pictures. Her most recent film The Queen of Versailles premiered as the opening night film at Sundance 2012 and received the Grand Jury Prize for Directing. The film was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures and was broadcast on Bravo.

Renfrew Behrens as had four other features premiere at Sundance, including Fox Searchlight’s Waitress, Miramax’s American Son, and Sony Classics’ November and Groove. She also produced Miramax’s Daltry Calhoun with Quentin Tarantino, Double Dare, which premiered at Toronto and aired on PBS, and One Nation Under Dog for HBO. Danielle has served on the jury for Los Angeles Film Festival and the Starz Denver Film Festival and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for producing.

JOE BESHENKOVSKY (Editor)

Joe Beshenkovsky is an editor of numerous television programs and documentary films. Recent projects include "Another Day, Another Time" for producers Joel and Ethan Coen and the documentary feature "Teenage." Other projects include "This American Life," for which he received an Emmy award, the critically-acclaimed "Raising Adam Lanza" for Frontline, "Objectified" for director Gary Hustwit, and "One Nation Under Dog" for HBO. He is also partially responsible for other things of lesser quality which he would not like you to know about. 10

JAMES WHITAKER (Director of Photography)

Most recently, James Whitaker lensed Pawn Shop Chronicles, his fourth feature collaboration with writer/director Wayne Kramer, having shot the gritty crime drama Running Scared for New Line Cinema, Crossing Over for The Weinstein Company, and The Cooler starring William H. Macy, Maria Bello and Alec Baldwin. Whitaker also shot Jason Reitman’s critically acclaimed debut Thank You For Smoking as well as the Sundance Film Festival darling King of California, starring Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood. Notable short films include the Academy Award nominated Everything In This Country Must, Market Hours directed by Jon Goldman for The Weinstein Company, as well as the Jordan & Ridley Scott-helmed Jonathan, part of a series of UNICEF shorts which premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. Born and raised in the Midwest, James Whitaker studied still photography at the Maine Photographic Institute before moving to Los Angeles to work in the film industry. His work garnered immediate attention in the commercial and music video world after several high profile spots with Nike and Hummer and he has since gone on to shoot numerous award-winning ads for companies including Ikea, Sony, Lexus, and AT&T. Recent commercial work includes campaigns for Adobe, Chase, Progressive, Geico, Toyota and several documentary style commercial projects for such clients as GE and the US Navy. Whitaker has also worked often in the music video world, filming such renowned artists as Jay-Z, Radiohead, The Black Eyed Peas and Carlos Santana.

ERIC EDWARDS (Director of Photography)

Eric Edwards has been behind the camera on more than 30 films including director Gus Van Sant's 1991 seminal My Own Private Idaho, for which he garnered an Independent Spirit Award nomination. In 1996, Edwards shot two films that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival: Gus Van Sant’s To Die For, starring Nicole Kidman and Matt Dillon, and director Larry Clark's first feature effort, the highly controversial Kids. The following year, Edwards’ natural, edgy photographic style returned to Cannes with David Russell’s quirky comedy Flirting with Disaster, starring Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette and Tea Leoni. Next, director James Mangold asked Edwards to photograph his sensual and sweaty Copland which included heavyweights Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta.
Edwards’ gritty, handheld camera work illuminated Another Day in Paradise, with Melanie Griffith, James Woods and Joaquin Phoenix. Likewise, his handsome visual flourishes told the story of Clay Pigeons, starring Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix. Edwards lensed in wide screen format, the ‘big sky’ Montana indie The Slaughter Rule, for the provocative filmmaking twins Alex and Andrew Smith, which competed at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, this cinematographer’s fourth film at the festival. He next shot Britney Spears’ feature film debut, Crossroads and more recently The Break Up directed by Peyton Reed starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston and the 2007 blockbuster comedy for Judd Apatow, Knocked Up, starring Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. Edwards just completed the crime drama Winged Creatures, starring Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning and Forest Whitaker directed by Rowan Woods, and the romantic comedy Management, starring Steve Zahn, Jennifer Aniston and Woody Harrelson directed by Stephen Belber.

In addition to his film work, Edwards is highly sought out for his clean, clear images for international commercials and music videos for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Michael Jackson and the Red Hot Chile Peppers whose video Under the Bridge won MTV’s best music video of the year. 11

JEFF DANNA (Musical Score)

Born in Canada to a musical family, Jeff Danna has created scores for a long and varied list of films. His credits include such divergent projects as Fracture, The Kid Stays In The Picture, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, The Boondock Saints, Lakeview Terrace, Chicago 10, Silent Hill, The Grey Zone, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, and Closing The Ring for director Richard Attenborough. Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck marks Danna’s fourth collaboration with Brett Morgen.

CAMERON FRANKLEY (Sound Design)

Cameron Frankley spent his eighteenth birthday in the cutting room working on Walter Hill's The Long Riders, and has been active in the film industry ever since, working on over 75 films. He has worked in picture editorial, production sound, music videos, sound design, and mixing. He has supervised sound on actions films such as Mr.& Mrs. Smith, Live Free Die Hard and Terminator Salvation, comedies like The Hangover Part II & III, and animated features like Tangled. In recent years, Cameron has sound designed and a mixed several music documentaries, including Levon Helm and Quiet Riot. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck represents his second collaboration with director Brett Morgen, following Crossfire Hurricane in 2012, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

STEFAN NADELMAN (Animation)

The son of a photographer and wedding videographer, Stefan received a BFA for drawing, painting, and printmaking from Iowa State University in 1994. Following graduation, he began working in New York City as a graphic designer and by 2000, he made a complete transition and pursued animation full time for all media platforms. Stefan currently resides in Portland, OR and continues to animate for food, film, and fun.

HISKO HULSING (Animation)

Hisko Hulsing majored in painting and animation at the art academy of Rotterdam in 1995. His films Harry Rents a Room, Seventeen, and Junkyard were invited to numerous festivals, such as Annecy, Palm Springs Film Festival and the London Film Festival, and won many awards, including the Grand Prize at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the Audience Award at the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film. Both Seventeen and Junkyard were official Dutch entries for the Oscars. Aside from writing, directing, painting, and animating for his animated films, Hisko composes the orchestral soundtracks for his own films. In addition, he has made illustrations and storyboards for over 100 advertising and production companies such as Saatchi & Saatchi and Czar. He directed and animated television leaders for MTV and Dutch broadcasting companies and creates comics which have been published in Eisner and Zone 5300. Most recently, Hisko created over 100 oil paintings on canvas to serve as backgrounds for the hybrid liveaction/animation documentary The Last Hijack, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival 2014.