FROM INCARCERATION
TO EDUCATION
documentary film + resources program
MEET THE
FILMMAKERS
Skylar Economy
Executive Producer + Co-Director
Skylar received her B.A. in Film and Media Studies at UC Berkeley in May of 2016. As a student at UC Berkeley, she served as Co-Executive Director of CalTV, Cal’s premiere student-run TV channel; and as a founder and leader of several film and media organizations at UC Berkeley. As an intern at CNN for two undergrad summers, Skylar worked on over 20 documentaries that have aired. She also served as a film program coordinator and mentor to high school students in Bosnia for the Mediterranean Film Festival, and taught photography to young women in Syrian refugee camps in Jordan. Skylar started working with formerly incarcerated students in April 2015, and produced and directed a short documentary, Free Scholars (June 2015) that is being shown in youth detention centers and organizations across the country, to encourage incarcerated individuals to consider enrolling in college. More recently, she co-founded a film and media production company and rental service, Photogenie Films, LLC, and works with commercial and documentary clients on a variety of projects.
Tristan Caro
Producer + Assistant Editor
Tristan is an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, studying in Cognitive Science and Film Studies. Along with serving as a film-editor for a civil rights attorney, Tristan has directed short narrative and documentary films. Tristan is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Berkeley Media Review, a student-run publication that discusses various media.
Clarence Ford
Producer
Clarence has been involved with the criminal justice system since the age of 16, with his most recent sentence being three years in state prison. After release, he re-entered community college and became a community organizer and policy advocate for criminal justice reform in Richmond, CA. Having just earned his BA at UC Berkeley in American Studies with a minor in Public Policy, Clarence will be starting his graduate studies this Fall at Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy - the #1 Public Policy program in the country. HIs plan is to earn a joint MPP/JD degree as well as to continue to work on policy issues that impede communities similar to his.
Sheila Wagner
Producer + Social Media Marketing Director
Sheila Wagner graduated with a degree in Film and Media Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in May 2015. She has extensive experience in both film production and film analysis, ranging from independent to commercial work. Having spent much of her time at Cal as a founder of the University's only professional cinema fraternity, as well as General Manager of ASUC SUPERB, a non-profit entertainment board, Sheila has become well-versed in real-world business entertainment practices and large-scale event planning. In addition to her role as Producer for the documentary, Sheila assists with the coordination of screenings and promotional events, and also serves as the Director of Social Media Marketing, after having coordinated social media strategies with various Bay Area tech start-ups for years. She currently resides in LA, and is adding onto her almost decade's worth of work in music management and artist branding.
Christian Collins
Producer + Co-Director
Christian Collins (Producer & Co-Director) - Christian Collins graduated with a degree in Film and Media Studies and Political Science from UC Berkeley in Fall 2015. He previously worked for UC Berkeley’s Media Relations department in which he helped produce short videos, and assisted with the logistics of shoots for outside media publications. After graduation, Christian spent Fall 2016 as a Camera Technician, Media Manager, and Camera Operator on Ondi Timoner’s Viceland docu-series "JungleTown" in the Panamanian jungle.
Sydney Barnett
Outreach Team + Production Assistant
Sydney studied Film and Media Studies and Chicano Studies at UC Berkeley. She has been directly affected by the prison industrial complex repeatedly in her life with family members and friends in and out of prison as well as multiple arrests at a young age. She has worked on several short films and documentaries and is interested in on-the-ground organizing with an emphasis in youth and art, especially film.
Amy Ma
Camera Operator
Amy recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Film and Media Studies and a B.A. in Social Welfare, Amy has a range of experience directing, shooting, and editing documentaries, narrative shorts, and commercial videos. She is dedicated to making a difference in the world and disrupting oppressive social structures through her work in digital media.
London Lee
Outreach Team
London Lee is a recent UC Berkeley graduate studying Business and Global Poverty. London is a compost enthusiast with the firm belief that everyone shall have the right to a just and prosperous life. She is ecstatic to be a part of the FITE outreach team, helping change the narrative of incarceration in America.
Lana Lam
Camera Operator + Sound Recordist
Lana is a UC Berkeley graduate with a BA in Film Studies and Media Studies. She has worked in post-production for four years, and been involved with several documentary and narrative shorts. As a first-generation daughter of Vietnam War refugees, she aspires to be an activist filmmaker who tackles issues of gender and racial representation and inequality.
Michele Meltzer
Social Media + PR
Michele Meltzer is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying English and History of Art. Michele’s background includes content writing and PR/marketing strategy with a number of Bay Area companies, as well as a range of experience in art galleries and museums across the SF Bay Area.
Chloe Feng
Research
Chloe is currently working towards her undergraduate degree in Economics at UC Berkeley. Her deep appreciation for education is rooted in the stories of her family members, whose lives are the products of their education. With mostly narrative short film experience, she joined FITE to integrate her passion for storytelling, social welfare, and research.
Dapree Doyle
Digital Content Creation
Dapree Doyle is a rising 2nd year with intended majors in Business Administration and Media Studies. He has a passion for creating content that connects with people. Incarceration affected many of his family members growing up and he would like to impact our imprisonment system in a positive way.
Nemuel Morden
Social Media Manager
Nemuel Morden graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington in 2018. Informed and shaped by the struggles that his parents had in pursuing higher education in the Philippines, Nemuel is determined to establish an organization that provides free education and financial assistance for underprivileged children in his hometown in the Philippines. In addition to his rich knowledge in social media marketing, he has experience in photography, B2B/Partner Marketing, Digital Marketing and content creation for a number of online platforms.