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Deborah is an award-winning documentary director and producer whose films use compelling personal stories to raise awareness about the challenges and strengths of underrepresented communities. Her work has played at LGBTQ+, women’s, and documentary film festivals in the U.S. and internationally.
A GREAT RIDE, a 33-minute documentary about lesbians and aging and Deborah’s most recent short, premiered at the Frameline LGBTQ+ Film Festival in San Francisco. In 2018, the film was picked up for distribution by Frameline, has screened at over 50 film festivals around the globe, and has won multiple awards. SALLY is her first feature-length documentary.
Deborah has a BA in history from Columbia University, did undergraduate work in photography at California College of the Arts, and has a Master of Public Health from San Francisco State University, where she currently teaches in the Public Health Department.
Director / Producer
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Ondine is a filmmaker, editor, and writer. Her documentary FOOLS AND HEROES was a Grimme-Preis nominee (the German equivalent of an Emmy), airing on ARTE in France as well as stateside on PBS. She has edited well over a dozen documentary features and shorts, including NOW EN ESPAÑOL (for PBS), A GREAT RIDE, WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY and, “REBEL HEARTS” an official selection at Sundance 2021. She has also worked on multiple TV series, including “KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS and ALIEN ENCOUNTERS.
Ondine received a BA from UC Berkeley in History and a BFA in Documentary and Journalism from the Munich University for Television and Film in Germany. She currently resides in Southern California.
Co-Director / Producer / Editor
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Jörg is an award-winning filmmaker with a career spanning over 25 years. He has written and directed over 10 short films, four feature documentaries, and numerous music videos and PSAs. Of the awards and distinctions Jörg has received, the most important ones are retrospectives at the Goethe Institutes in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and Mexico City, two Emmys, and a special prize from the International Film Festival in Berlin.
In addition, Jörg is a critically acclaimed television producer of award-winning shows such as Bravo’s QUEER EYE, ABC’s WIFE SWAP, the Sundance Channel’s BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET , and AMC’s SMALL TOWN SECURITY.
Jörg is the owner of Eclectic Media Lab, a production company in San Francisco, CA, that produces videos focusing on social justice issues.
Co-Director / Producer
Executive Producer
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A San Francisco native and "homosexual" business instructor at City College of San Francisco, she credits firebrand Sally Gearhart for her fearlessness, determination, and perseverance—qualities that contributed to the defeat of the 1978 “No on 6” campaign (Briggs Initiative). Making her debut in film production, Susan brings a unique perspective to the project’s current fundraising efforts, combining her extensive experience in corporate finance and sales with a deep love for and connection to San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ history and community.
Susan is passionate about collecting LGBTQ+ ephemera and preserving and honoring Sally’s grassroots activism and the powerful legacies of those who came before us. Susan is conducting an oral history project focused on LGBT elders, using video interviews to preserve their stories and experiences.
Susan earned a BA in Economics from UC Berkeley and an MBA in Finance from the University of San Francisco. She currently lives in San Francisco and is the uber proud lesbian mom of a twentysomething-year-old son, Samuel. "We are not going back.”
Co-Executive Producer
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Corey Tong is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, executive producer, and photographer. He is also a creative and public relations consultant for festivals/exhibitions, film programming, sales/acquisitions, distribution, and award campaigns, and frequently hosts and presents film and cultural programs with special expertise on Pacific-Asia, international, and LGBTQ stories.
He has produced, represented films/distributors, and directed/programmed festivals for many years with CAAMFest, Frameline, OutFest, SFFILM, DocEdge FF, PBS (Frontline, KQED, World, ITVS), NatGeo, ABS-CBN, Cinetic, Forum des Images Paris. His films and work have been nominated for an Oscar, four Emmys, screened in over 40 countries and 90+ festivals. Notable titles include (producer) FOREVER, CHINATOWN; CURIOSITY MAN; “Kaimana” (film/art installation); THE LAND HAS EYES; (exec. producer) LAST DAY OF FREEDOM, JIMMY IN SAIGON; (consulting producer) DEFENCER; POINT OF NO RETURN. He has partnered with award-winning film teams for broadcast, theatrical distribution, and award campaigns including CAIRO CONSPIRACY (BOY FROM HEAVEN ); THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL; A THOUSAND CUTS; FOR SAMA; JANE; SEA OF SHADOWS; DEPARTURES; BEAUTIFUL BOXER.
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LGBT film archivist and historian Jenni Olson has been working to connect filmmakers to archival footage for more than 30 years. Most recently she served as an archival producer for the Scout Productions LGBT history series, EQUAL (HBO Max, 2020), and was a consulting producer on the acclaimed Netflix original documentary, DISCLOSURE (2020). Footage from her personal archive has been utilized in dozens of films including such acclaimed documentaries as STONEWALL UPRISING, SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD, REGARDING SUSAN SONTAG, and I AM DIVINE.
Among her many efforts championing LGBT films and filmmakers, she is a founding advisory board member of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for LGBT Moving Image Preservation. A 2018 MacDowell Fellow, Jenni is now in development on her third feature-length essay film, THE QUIET WORLD and an essayistic memoir of the same name.
Archival Producer
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Maddy is a recent graduate of San Francisco State University. They majored in Cinema and minored in Animation, with Editing and 2D Animation being the main focuses of their education. Maddy is very passionate about animation and has been making art since they were a little kid. They would describe their style as dark fantasy, as their biggest inspirations are the movies THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and CORALINE.
Maddy is most passionate about animating and telling stories about underrepresented groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, as well as focusing on topics of mental health. She is very excited to be a part of the SALLY team and is working hard to bring “The Wanderground” to life!
Graphic Artist / Animator
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Silvia Turchin is a gifted DP with an emphasis on documentaries and experimental documentaries. Her experimental documentary, F-LINE, won best experimental film at the Fargo Film Festival. Her other films include DOGS OF THE NINTH WARD, A GREAT RIDE , CIRCLES: A POEM IN THREE PARTS, and SUMMER LIGHT FOR TULA.
Silvia’s work has screened at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Festival, Pacific Film Archive, Dresden Filmfest, Mill Valley Film Festival, Frameline, and Haverhill Experimental Festival. Silvia has taught film production at UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Art Institute, and Cal State Monterey Bay.
Cinematographer
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Lauretta Molitor first discovered her love of documentaries in high school as an assistant editor and production assistant for her local Public Broadcasting Station, KPBS in San Diego, CA. After a stint at San Francisco State University, she settled into a career in sound as a freelance recordist.
Three decades later, Lauretta has experience in all types of production including commercials, industrials, television, documentaries, and narrative features. Many of her projects have been nominated for and/or won Academy Awards.
Lauretta was personally nominated for an Emmy for Best Sound in Documentary for THE CELLULOID CLOSET. Recent projects include the documentaries INEQUALITY FOR ALL, SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY, WE WERE HERE, DOLORES, and CRIP CAMP.
Audio Recordist
Lauretta, Silvia, Sally, Deborah, and Ondine
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