ERIC STEEL (PRODUCER/DIRECTOR)
Eric Steel (producer/director) began his career as a creative executive at Walt Disney Pictures after graduating from Yale University in 1985. Later he worked as a vice president at Cinecom, at the time, the leading art film distributor.
Shifting gears, he decided to take a position as an editor at Simon & Schuster and then as a Senior Editor at HarperCollins, where he published many noted and award-winning books of fiction and non-fiction.
In 1995, he became senior vice president of Scott Rudin Productions. Along with the acquisition and development of many of the company’s most prominent feature projects, he was the executive producer of ANGELA’S ASHES, and co-producer of BRINGING OUT THE DEAD and SHAFT.
In 2001, Eric Steel formed his own company, Easy There Tiger. He developed and produced JULIE & JULIA, Nora Ephron’s last film starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Amy Adams and Chris Messina.
THE BRIDGE is Eric Steel’s directorial and documentary debut.
His second documentary KISS THE WATER premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013 and was released theatrically in the UK and the USA the following year. It has been shown also on the BBC.
PETER MCCANDLESS (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)
Peter McCandless began work as an experimental filmmaker and photographer. He has collaborated with innumerable Bay Area musicians, composers, choreographers, and fellow filmmakers on performance and multi-media installations.
He began working as a cinematographer for commercials, and has been the DP for many independent features, documentaries and shorts.
As a recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts grants, McCandless’ has presented his films at major international film festivals, including the premiere of POOL OF THANATOS at the Sundance Film Festival.
As a cinematographer, his projects include the Emmy award-winning documentary, OF CIVIL WRONGS AND RIGHTS, THE FRED KOREMATSU STORY, and the critically acclaimed films CELEBRATION, REVEREND CECIL WILLIAMS AND GLIDE CHURCH and FROM TIBET TO TURTLE ISLAND.
SABINE KRAYENBÜHL (EDITOR)
Sabine Krayenbühl, a Swiss native, has worked in both the United States and Europe, editing documentaries and features. Her most recent work is the critically-acclaimed documentary MAD HOT BALLROOM, distributed by Paramount Classics and Oscar-nominated feature-length documentary, MY ARCHITECT; A SON’S JOURNEY, for which the American Cinema Editors also nominated her for an Eddie award in 2004.
Other works include ELEVEN FRIENDS, a feature-length documentary produced by ARTE and nominated for the Prix d’Europe; Jugodivas, which premiered at Sundance and won the Swiss Film Prize 2002; AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY, an acclaimed ten-part series for P.O.V., broadcast on PBS, ARTE and BBC; FRAU2 AND HAPPY END, a feature produced by Studio Canal and BMG International.
ALEX HEFFES (COMPOSER)
Alex Heffes’ work appears on cinema and television screens worldwide. Originally rising to prominence with his score to Academy Award-winning ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER, Alex’s versatility as composer has led to a busy scoring schedule taking him constantly across musical boundaries. Recent scores include acclaimed BAFTA-winner TOUCHING THE VOID, Miramax Film’s DEAR FRANKIE and the psychological thriller TRAUMA for Warner Bros., starring Colin Firth and Mena Suvari, and 2006 films, Fox Searchlight’s IMAGINE ME AND YOU, starring Piper Perabo and THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, directed by Kevin MacDonald starring Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson and James McAvoy.
Away from the screen, Alex’s concert music has been featured at venues as diverse as the Sangat Music Festival in India where he was the composer in residence in January 2000, Symphony Hall Birmingham and the London Jazz Festival. In 2003, he was invited to the Sultanate of Oman to attend the premiere of his overture commissioned by the Royal Symphony Orchestra.
Alex has also collaborated on Elton John’s movie score to WOMEN TALKING DIRTY and with members of the band BLUR.
TAD FRIEND
Tad Friend has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1998, and wrote the article “Jumpers” that inspired Eric Steel to make this film. Friend writes the magazine’s “Letter from California,” and often covers the entertainment business. Mr. Friend’s recent pieces have included articles about the William Morris agent David Wirtschafter; a female bounty hunter; and the man who hopes to introduce “green burial” to American cemeteries. He has also written profiles of director Peter Bogdanovich, director Harold Ramis, screenwriter Ron Bass, and San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom.
Prior to joining The New Yorker, Mr. Friend was a contributing editor to a number of publications, including Outside and Esquire.
He is the author of LOST IN MONGOLIA: TRAVELS IN HOLLYWOOD AND OTHER FOREIGN LANDS, a collection of his articles published by Random House in 2001.