FILMMAKERS

 
Diana Gross  is a documentary filmmaker and global media educator based in New York City and Cambodia.  Her documentaries 'Behind Closed Doors' and 'Healing Neen' explored the affect of childhood trauma on incarcerated women in Baltimore, MD.  Directing 'From Trauma to Peace' continues her work in giving voice to those affected by trauma worldwide. Diana is the founder of the Global Citizen Media Project which provides media arts and production workshops to underserved communities in SEAsia and East Africa. 
www.dianagross.com
 
Prosper Ishimwe  started as a translator on this project. With his extensive knowledge of Rwandan lifestyle and politics, he quickly became a valuable asset to the direction of the film and transferred from behind the lens to in front of it. This is as much Prosper's story as it is all Rwandans.
Born in Villach, Austria, Jo Danieli has been an author, journalist, artist and globetrotter for decades. At the age of eight she had her own story-telling hour at primary school – so that she could read to her fellow pupils the stories she had written.

Her professional life brought her a background in journalism, marketing, advertising and copywriting. As a travel journalist she authored print feature reports about such exotic themes as “The Mbuti-Pygmies in Zaire”, “Okapi, the last forest giraffes”, “In memory of Dian Fossey: Tracking the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda”, “Seals in South Africa”, whilst always doing the photography herself.

Since 2001, Jo Danieli has been a filmmaker, transforming her love for storytelling and photography into films. With the assistance of Bob Stone, she soon gathered quite an array of commercials, promos and TV-coverage as a writer, grip, camera-operator, editor and co-director. Her very own works as a filmmaker include (among early short films and documentaries) the epic feature documentary film “Native Of Owhyhee”, based on her extensive research of Hawaiian culture, an educational documentary work about Hawaii's history. 

Jo Danieli’s love for Africa lead her into fifteen African countries, always as a free spirited travel author, among them Rwanda, where she spent New Year’s Eve 1989/1990 in Ruhengeri, right after descending from Mount Visoke, one of the volcanoes in the area. This visit was part of a three-month overland truck voyage from Vienna, Austria to Mombasa, Kenya – with unbelievable adventures. Jo has therefore seen East Africa before the genocide in Rwanda, and the opportunity to work on a project that could help Rwandans in their healing and moving on in a peaceful direction has been a dream come true. 
Robert C. Stone  is an accomplished filmmaker, director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor and audio technician whose work spans a 38-year career in film and video production. He has created (written, produced, directed, filmed and edited) numerous television commercials, music videos, infomercials, promos and other works. MauiTVSpots.com

He most recently produced, along with Dr. Tom Vendetti, the documentary feature film “When the Mountain Calls: Nepal • Tibet • Bhutan,” as well as serving as its film and sound editor. It's currently airing on public television and nominated for a 2013 EMMY® Award.

Prior to this, he was the director, co-producer, editor and cinematographer of  award-winning “Taylor Camp” (2010), a documentary about a treehouse commune in the early 1970’s on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i and the nostalgic reflections of the camp’s former residents over 30 years later.

In 2009, he was co-producer and cinematographer as well as being involved in all aspects of post-production on the six-hour, epic Hawaiian documentary “Native of Owhyhee” by Austrian writer, producer and director Jo Danieli, which tells the story of how Hawaii turned from an ancient “pagan” society into one of the most literate Christian nations in the world of the 1800’s. 

In 2004, Bob co-produced, filmed and edited the film festival and Emmy® award-winning documentary “Kiho’alu - Keola Beamer.” Bob also co-produced and was editor and cinematographer on the Emmy® award-winning documentary “Bhutan: Taking the Middle Path to Happiness” (2007) - still airing on public television.