Esther Podemski is a filmmaker and visual artist whose works have been exhibited in galleries, film festivals and academic venues. House of the World, her documentary about the aftermath of the Holocaust, was shot in Poland and has been showcased in European and American art centers and festivals, including Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, Lincoln Center, and Los Angeles International Jewish Film Festival. Discovery Communication and Jewish Broadcast Network purchased the film for broadcast. Podemski has exhibited her paintings in the Pacific Northwest and in New York City. Her grants include the New York State Council on the Arts, The Jerome Foundation, The Soros Foundation, The Memorial Foundation For Jewish Culture, and the Yaddo and Ucross Residency Programs. She has taught graduate and undergraduate studio art courses at Parsons School of Design in New York, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and Sarah Lawrence College. Recent exhibitions include 5 Days in July; a two-screen projection that revisits the Newark riots of 1967. This work has exhibited at numerous museums, galleries, and festivals. It won the director's choice award at the Black Maria Film Festival and the jury award for the best short at The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival.
Chuck's work gives a voice to our nation's underserved communities. His current documentary "The Last Crop" (in post-production) follows one family's struggle to ensure their farm's future in California's Central Valley, a story being echoed on farms across our nation. He is the executive producer of David Ranghelli's 2009 documentary "The Calling", a film that follows three individuals called to serve their faith (Winner Best Documentary Feature Costa Rica International Film Festival). Chuck collaborated with Esther Podemski to create the "5 Days in July" video installation and the NPR radio drama written by playwright Tracey Scott Wilson (The Story, The Good Negro and Buzzer), Winner 2007 PRX's Zeitfunk Award for Debut Artists. His documentary "The Rural Studio" that chronicles the work of Samuel Mockbee and his student architects of Auburn University was a selection of the 2002 Montreal International Festival of Film on Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art's 2002 Biennial; and China's 2005 Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism/ Architecture. He co-produced "A Day at a Time", William Garcia's candid portrait of a family raising two children with cerebral palsy: Winner Crystal Heart Award 1993 Heartland Film Festival and NHK Japan broadcast. ITVS, the NEA, Alabama Humanities Foundation, NJ Council for the Humanities and NJ Arts Council have all supported his work.
JUDAH-LEV DICKSTEIN, born in and perpetually inspired by Philadelphia, first came to film through editing documentaries, collaborating on the art world heist film "The Art of the Steal," the ESPN 30 for 30 film, "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks," and Barbara Kopple's Dixie Chicks political musical, "Shut Up & Sing." Judah recently received his MFA in film directing from Columbia University and is currently in production on a feature documentary about an unlikely and contentious City Council race in Philadelphia, set against the backdrop of sweeping gentrification.