DIRECTOR | PRODUCER

Michael is a four-time Emmy and Grierson nominated filmmaker and the founder of Thoughtful Robot Productions. Since 2003, he has been committed to sharing stories that inspire, connect, and galvanize change. Michael's first documentary, GIVE UP TOMORROW, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011, where it won the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Best New Director. GIVE UP TOMORROW won 18 awards worldwide, was selected for the Puma Impact Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism.

Michael’s film ALMOST SUNRISE, chronicles the transformative journey of two Iraq war veterans who set off on a 2,700-mile walk to save themselves from suicide. It had 500+ screenings across the U.S., winning six major awards including the Cine Golden Eagle Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2018 for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary.

In 2022, Michael directed BEIRUT DREAMS IN COLOR (Guardian Documentaries), about a queer rock band and a courageous fan. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Michael produced, wrote, and edited DELIKADO, an environmental thriller set in the Philippines. The film premiered at HotDocs and has won multiple awards worldwide. Both films were nominated for Emmys.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY | PRODUCER

The founder of ( circle ) studios, Benjamin Henretig has spent the last decade elevating human stories from the edges of culture. As one of the early pioneers of short-format, impact-driven documentary filmmaking, Benjamin studied Film & Media Studies & Persuasive Technology at Stanford University, moving on to develop a storytelling framework & training system empowering filmmakers around the world to craft more than 2,000 short films aimed at advancing human values.

His award-winning feature documentary CROSSING BHUTAN [2016] explored Bhutan’s national policy of Gross National Happiness through the lens of a 500-mile, human-powered journey across the remote Himalayan Kingdom. In response to increasing censorship of science, Benjamin Co-Directed the docuseries LET SCIENCE SPEAK [Tribeca Film Festival, Weather Channel] offering an intimate glimpse into the worlds of some of America’s leading researchers & scientists. BUILDING WEB3 [2021], explored the implications of data monopolies and the possibilities offered by efforts to decentralize and open-source key internet infrastructure. BEIRUT DREAMS IN COLOR [2022], on which Benjamin was the Director of Photography, was nominated for an Emmy.

PRODUCER | CINEMATOGRAPHER

Deepti is a filmmaker & cinematographer, and an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). She is one of the first women cinematographers in India and has co founded IWCC (Indian Women Cinematographers Collective.

Her debut directorial feature documentary, SHUT UP SONA showed at IFFR Rotterdam, HotDocs, DocNYC, Sheffield Doc/Fest and more. It also received the National Film Award for Editing, and won her the Film Critics Guild Award (Special Mention) for gender sensitivity at MAMI Mumbai. Her work reflects her worldview, politics and spans documentary and fiction.