Kevin Breslin, Director
Kevin Breslin’s first short film, “A Smile Gone, but Where?” was shown at film festivals throughout the world. It premiered on the Oxygen Network along with Breslin’s second short film, Women of Rockaway, which won the 2003 Gracie Allen Award for best TV documentary. Other television credits include Heartbreakers, an Oxygen exclusive television show. Kevin co-created as well as directed and produced a series of PSA’s for the “Made in New York” campaign, for which he won a New York City Film and Television Award in 2007. The PSAs featured Will Smith, Debra Messing, Colin Farrell, Danny Devito, Ed Burns, and Rachel Ray.
Other recent works include an “Exclusive XMen3 Confessional” with director Brett Ratner for Mercedes, and a featurette for The Boys’ and Girls’ Club of America featuring President Bill Clinton.
Current commercials Kevin has directed include the Chevy Silverado “This is Our Country” campaign, PGA, IBM, The Seminole Hard Rock brand and the Brady Campaign for Sensible Gun Laws. Kevin also directed and co-directed the Sprint campaign featuring Sprint CEO Dan Hesse that was shot throughout New York City, presenting the city in stunning black-and-white cinematography. Some of the past commercials Kevin has worked on include ESPN, Bank Of America, Crest, and Verizon,
Current documentaries include The Other Side of the Street, a story about the life of Jimmy Breslin and newspapers in New York City. Kevin is also filming New York Vertical with award-winning photographer Horst Hamann, based on his book of the same title.
Kevin’s work as a director has proven that he is as comfortable shooting real people as he is actors. He is currently in pre-production on a feature film, The Teddy Bear Habit, based on the award-winning children’s book, and The Unconquered, a feature-length documentary on the journey of The Florida Seminoles.
Maria Cuomo Cole, Producer
Maria Cuomo Cole was inspired to make the documentary Living for 32 after hearing gun violence survivor Colin Goddard share his story of tragedy and fortitude. Throughout her career in the private and nonprofit sectors, Ms. Cuomo Cole has produced and directed films and public service announcements to raise awareness for social issues including homelessness, domestic violence, at-risk youth, and gun violence. She has captured numerous intimate first-person stories of hardship and perseverance on film, video, and in print, which have been broadcast and published in a variety of media. Current film projects include documentaries on female veterans and reflections by prominent Americans on their personal mentors. Ms. Cuomo Cole has served as a Director of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Million Mom March since 2005, participating in the strategic leadership of the organization.
Since 1992 she has led the nonprofit agency, HELP USA as Executive Chairman. Under her leadership, the organization has expanded nationally to become one of the largest providers of homes, jobs and services for the homeless in the United States. Today the organization operates twenty-nine supportive service residences for homeless and low income populations including victims of domestic violence, veterans, and people living with HIV/Aids. Ms. Cuomo Cole is an appointee of the New York State Advisory Committee on the Welfare of Children and Families and the Mayor’s Task Force to Combat Domestic Violence of New York City. This year she was honored with the American Red Cross Humanitarian Award and the Newark Now Award. Past awards include: The National Alliance to End Homelessness Private Sector Award, The Public Service Leadership Award from St. Bonaventure University, The Humanitarian Award from Iona College and The Public Service Award from Manhattanville College.
Luca Fantini, Cinematographer
Luca Fantini is an Italian Director of Photography (A.D.C., Advanced Digital Cinematographer) and Director who lives between Milan and New York City. He is an established documentarian known for his style and versatility, with a great passion for light and composition, the very same passion that brought him to shoot commercials, music videos and feature films all over the world. Many of these productions earned him international recognition and awards, among which are the Best Footage in Action at Montana WFF and the Epica Award.
Luca has been a visiting professor at DAMS Universita’ di Padova and teaches film and shooting technique classes at MTV Italia, and private film schools. Luca is also a writer and his book Fare un Documentarioâ (How to make a Documentary) is currently used in many film schools and Italian colleges.
Garrett Sergeant, Editor
Garrett graduated in 2008 from the University of Southern California School for Cinematic Arts. While at USC, he served as Post-Production Manager at Trojan Vision Television. From stints at Hungryman Films and Outpost Digital, Garrett has since catapulted into the film world to work on a number of award-winning shorts and television shows.
The Maltese Murder Mystery (2008) won Garrett the Crystal Reel Film Festival Best Editing Honor for a Feature Under $1 Million. His work on Brothers Incorporated (2009) helped nab the film Winner Best Short at Detroit Windsor International Film Festival and Best Student Film at The Hayti Heritage Film Festival.
Garrett’s work has also been seen on Animal Planet and HRTV, where he edited features for the Emmy-winning series Inside Information.
Joel Martin, Music Supervisor
As a fixture in the Detroit music scene for over 30 years, record producer, publisher, and music industry veteran, Joel Martin is also the co-founder of the Deaf Professional Arts Network, a non profit organization dedicated to promoting access to the entertainment, visual, and media arts fields and professional development for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Martin has produced, managed, published, and negotiated recording deals for some of the most prominent artists that have come out of the Motor City, including George Clinton, The Romantics, Sponge and multi-platinum selling rapper Eminem. His passion for music, developing talent, innovation, and protecting the rights of artists has fueled his journey through the ever-changing climate of the music industry.