ImageNation’s Cocktails and Sol Cinema

Ben Proudfoot is the Oscar_® nominated creative force behind Breakwater Studios. Dedicated to the art of the short documentary, the studio’s work has been recognized by the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca, Hot Docs, The Emmys, The Webbys, James Beard Foundation, and Telluride among others. Proudfoot was named one of Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30” for his leadership and innovation in the brand-funded documentary space. He hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Proudfoot is an accomplished sleight-of-hand magician and has performed at The Magic Castle in Los Angeles.

Kris Bowers is a Grammy-nominated, Emmy Award–winning, and Juilliard-educated pianist and composer who creates genre-defying music that pays homage to his jazz roots—with inflections of alternative and R&B influences. Bowers has established himself at the forefront of Hollywood’s emerging generation of composers. Throughout his career, he has consistently championed an art practice guided by multidisciplinary collaboration.

Kahlil Joseph is an American filmmaker, music video director, and video artist. Joseph is known for creating “intellectually and emotionally dense short films” that center on the experience of African Americans in the United States. Early on, Joseph  worked for the photographer Melodie McDaniel, and the movie director Terrence Malick, and at the commercial film production company Directors Bureau in Los Angeles.  Joseph was the original director approached by Beyoncé Knowles to direct the companion film to her 2016 concept album Lemonade. Knowles eventually remixed much of the film with a number of different directors, and has since allowed Joseph’s version of Lemonade to be screened only at art museums. He has directed a commercial for British telecom company O2 and a short film for the luxury brand Kenzo. Joseph has directed music videos for Blvck Spvde (Black Spade), Flying Lotus, Shabazz Palaces, Sampha, and Kendrick Lamar among others.

His short film Fly Paper debuted as part of his 2017 solo exhibition at the New Museum, New York. Other exhibitions include those at Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, Netherlands (2017); Frye Art Museum, Seattle (2016); and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2015). Joseph currently serves as the creative director of the Underground Museum alongside his family, carrying out the vision of his brother, the late Noah Davis.

Julia Jansch is a South African writer/director/producer living between New York and Cape Town. She is currently packaging her debut narrative feature, “Huberta.” Her previous work includes Narrative Shorts, Documentary Shorts and Commercials. Her short film, My Father The Mover, won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020. It was thereafter acquired by doc veteran, Sheila Nevins and MTV Studios. In 2010 she landed a position at FremantleMedia in London where she was pivotal in the development of online properties for digital platforms. Her role took her to FremantleMedia (LA) and then to RadicalMedia in New York. After 10 years in development, Julia’s thirst to tell her own stories became too much to bare and she plunged into indie waters, setting up her own production company, Point Pictures. Her films have seen recognition from many A-list international festivals. She sold her latest film to MTV Studios/Viacom.

Jorge Rivera is a digital, film, and television writer and producer whose most recent work includes a string of true-crime docu-series for the Investigation Discovery network. Twisted Sisters, the network’s highest-ever true-crime series premiere, and Betrayed, a recent People’s Choice nominee, are among some of the series Jorge has produced for ID. His TV writing credits include the Fox Television series A.P.B., starring Justin Kirk and Natalie Martinez. 

Prior to relocating to Los Angeles from New York City, Jorge got his start in the digital space, writing and producing a string of digital series including Rhyme Animal (creator/co-writer), about a cannibalistic, serial killer hip-hop MC (starring Craig “muMs” Grant, Al Thompson, and Bridget Barkan), ODESSA (an NBC Shortcuts finalist), and East Willy B (staff writer) which was critically acclaimed and touted as the “The Latino Show for a New Generation” by the New York Times. Jorge is an alum of the prestigious Fox TV Writers Intensive and the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s TV Series Writers Program. He is currently in development on several TV series and lives happily in Los Angeles with his wife and puppy.

Haitian-American filmmaker Philippe (Phil) Roc’s resume spans across film, music videos, documentaries, commercials, and web narratives. He has directed and produced projects for clients such as recording artists Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, and Roger Waters.

An alum of the inaugural Tribeca All Access program, Roc has directed several award-winning short films. Avenue X, which premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival later went on to screen at numerous film festivals internationally. It earned him a nomination for the IFP Market’s Gordon Parks Award for Directing. He directed Rhyme Animal, a serialized digital project that was awarded the Best New Media Series prize by the Independent Film Quarterly.

He produced Made in Heaven – The Making of Kind of Blue — the documentary covering the making of the seminal album by Miles Davis for Sony Music DualDisc. In 2009 Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame), tapped Phil as his Visual Content Producer for the international production of his The Wall Live tour. He also co-directed Little Ballers Indiana (EPs, Skylar Diggins, Lupe Fiasco, Amar’e Stoudemire).  He is currently filming a documentary on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and developing several film and television projects.