diane estelle Vicari Director, Producer. I am an award-­winning filmmaker,  renowned for my work in promoting the production and advancement of the documentary film genre.

With my current project, IMAGINING A BETTER WORLD, The Nelly Toll Story, I return to a theme I last explored in my award-winning documentary, SUGIHARA Conspiracy of Kindness ­- our human ability to triumph over any adversity. This film tells the remarkable story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Europe who, during World War II, risked his life by issuing illegal transit visas to Jewish refugees.  Today it’s estimated that his actions saved the lives of over six thousand men, women and children!  The film won the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Documentary and the prestigious IDA/ Pare Lorentz Award. It was honored by the United Nations and aired nationally on PBS to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance month.

Just as extraordinary as Chiune Sempo Sugihara is Nelly Toll, the main character of my film, IMAGINING A BETTER WORLD, The Nelly Toll Story.

In 2006,  following a screening of SUGIHARA Conspiracy of Kindness  at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Palm Beach County, Florida, a message had been left at my office.  Dr. Toll gracefully praised the film and requested that I connect with her since she had her own story to share.  Such requests occasionally occurred after the screening of the film, as it evoked an array of emotions among the audiences.  These calls were often made on impulse and the interest would soon die.   But Dr. Toll’s message was unique and her persistence engaged me in long conversations.  Unfortunately, after a ten year journey with the story of Chiune Sugihara, I had promised myself that I would not revisit stories with the Holocaust as a backdrop, as it demanded too much of my soul.  Dr. Toll insisted that at the very least, I read her book Behind The Secret Window, A Memoir of a Hidden Childhood During WWII.   I knew I had days of travel to Lhasa, Tibet coming up, on another assignment, so I agreed to read her book and I thought that then we could close the door.  Three times I read her book and every story she told, and every painting she made came alive to me.  I entered Nelly’s imagination and she captured my heart.   I returned with a strong desire to bring her story to the screen along with her universal message “we can all imagine a better world.”

This film documents the life and achievements of a remarkable woman who, surviving a devastating childhood in Nazi occupied Poland, emerges from the darkness as an artist, writer and later a therapist, mother and much more.  

In addition to my own documentary filmmaking career, I love to be a champion for others who have powerful stories to tell. I have been privileged to do this most notably through my extensive work with the International Documentary Association (2000-2009), an organization for which I served as board President from 2006 to 2009. And, more recently, I extended these efforts as chair and co­founder of the 501c3, DOCClub®LA.

FUTURE SONIC STUDIOS - producers of bespoke 3D sound & music for truly immersive virtual reality, games, films, and experiences. Housed in a state-of-the-art studio complex Wisseloord, Future Phonic Studios brings together some of the finest musicians, composers, producers and sound designers in a world class space fitted with high-end digital and analogue recording equipment, to craft the most immersive listening experience technology can deliver in this day and age.

Since its official opening in 1978 by the Dutch Prince Claus, the studios’ proud historical heritage has included hosting artists such as U2, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Metallica, Tiesto, and Armin Van Buuren to name a but few,

Help Us Bring Nelly's Story of Hope to Life by Donating to Support Film Production

Robert Kirk, Director / Producer, is an Emmy Award winning producer /director with over 30 years of television, feature film, commercial and interactive media experience.

Co­Founder of Digital Ranch Productions and Texture, Inc. he’s served as Executive Producer on numerous shows including the popular History Channel series: Mail Call, Dogfights and Shifting Gears and the truTv series, Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege and Justice.  

In 2000, the feature documentary he produced with diane estelle Vicari, Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness, was named that year's Best Documentary by the Hollywood Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS. Kirk has received an Emmy for his special, Remembering World War II: Pearl Harbor and was Emmy nominated for the three hour special, The Last Days of World War II. He produced and directed both shows.

Other major credits include: Executive Producing the Discovery Channel shows, James Ellroy's LA: City Of Demons, Out Of Egypt and Combat Cash; Animal Planet's Animal Armageddon, and the 3net series, Dark Secrets, in 3D. He co­-created and Executive Produced the History Channel’s, Dangerous Missions and Produced and Directed the acclaimed A&E series, Weapons at War, hosted by George C. Scott. He also Produced and Directed Angels: The Mysterious Messengers (NBC,) Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack: The Men and Their Movies (NBC), Making of a Model (ABC), Sightings (FOX), Robots (A&E), Top Speed (History) and Sink the Bismarck (A&E) as well as the feature films, Kid Colter and Destroyer starring Anthony Perkins.

Kirk’s talents also extend to the digital world where he’s produced numerous interactive projects including the San Diego Zoo Children's iPad App: Baby Panda's New Home and the renowned interactive CD­Rom, Nine Worlds with Patrick Stewart.

"Sunflowers growing in the Shadows", 1943, Collection of Sharon Segall

and it remains to this date, amongst the few studios left in the world for recordings without compromise. In addition to its services, Future Phonic Studios also teaches professionals about sound for virtual reality in partnership with the educational institution of the legendary Abbey Road Studios.   

RICHARD BURKI

Richard Burki is a music composer, producer and founder of Future Phonic Studios, a sound & music production company established to bridge the gap between sound and vision in virtual and augmented reality.

Tommy Vicari, Music Supervisor & Scoring Mixer, is a multi-Emmy Award, Grammy Award, CAS award recipient and recognized as one of Hollywood’s most respected recording engineer & scoring mixer. 

The list of his sonic achievements is eclectic and archives over 40 years of history in music including six Grammy nominations with two Grammy Awards and twenty-three Emmy Nominations, taking home six Emmy Awards.

Since 1969, Tommy has recorded music for every genre of the entertainment industry with world renowned artists, from Billy Preston to producing Prince debut record, “For You”, to George Duke, Jeffrey Osborne, Quincy Jones, Barbara Streisand, Sammy Nestico and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, to name a few.

Over his career, Tommy has earned a reputation and versatility in weaving his music mixing from the recording industry, to television and film.  Tommy is the music mixer on the “Academy Award™ television shows for the last twenty-three years, as well a scoring mixer on some of Hollywood’s most acclaimed films.

Some of his television credits includes “Sucession”, “Six Feet Under”, “The Newsroom," “Angels in America” and his mixing of “Behind the Candelabra” earned him the 2013 Emmy Award, as well as the Cinema Audio Society Award for excellence in sound mixing.

His film credits began in 1974 with the cult classic Brian DiPalma’s “Phantom of the Paradise”, to the latest Academy Award winning film “Moonlight”, Over the last nineteen years, Tommy collaborated with composer Thomas Newman, scoring over 25 films including “the Highwaymen,” “Road to Perdition,” “Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events,”  “Saving Mr. Banks,” “The Judge,” “He Named Me Malala,” the 2015 Academy Award® nominee for Best Score “Bridge of Spies,” the 2016 Academy Award® nominated film “Passengers,” Pixar multi-Academy Award® nominated animation film “Finding Nemo,” “Finding Dory,” the 2009 Academy Award nominee for best sound mixing “Wall-E.” 

Recently working along side composer Nicholas Brittel, Tommy scored “The King”, “If Beal Street Could Talk”, “The Big Short” and the 2016 Academy Award® Best Picture winner “Moonlight”.

For the last 40 years, Tommy lives in Sherman Oaks, CA with his wife.  He has one daughter and is a mostly proud “Nonno” of her twins Juliet & Jagger.

Andreas Kronenberg, Creative Director-Animation, is an Award-Winning Computer Animation and Motion graphics Creative Director. Owner of Kronenberg VFX, a graphic design studio that specializes in motion graphics for the broadcast industry that creates everything from CGI, Compositing, Title Sequences to Visual Effects. Andreas is a well known as a master of creating remarkable animation using Adobe After Effects. Andreas has collaborated with Robert Kirk on numerous projects including, the Discovery Channel series Out of Egypt, and he also created the first animations of Nelly Toll’s paintings used in the video segments of Massillon Museum’s traveling exhibition. Andreas’ client list includes Digital Ranch Productions, Discovery Channel, History Channel, Animal Planet, Harvest Moon Studio, IDA, National Geographic Channel as well as companies ranging from General Atomics to Four Seasons Hotels.

Melanie Wallace, Consulting Executive Producer, is a Peabody and Emmy award winning senior producer who after 25 years as Senior Series Producer for PBS’s award winning science series NOVA, launches Melanie Wallace Media Strategies. Wallace’s company connects broadcast and cross platform storytellers with financial support and distribution opportunities, guiding programming ideas from concept development through funding to successful global distribution. 

An internationally acclaimed media executive, Wallace has rare insight into all aspects of factual programming, including content development, talent acquisition, and complex business deals. She refined her skills working closely with commercial and public broadcasters, foundations and government agencies.  

Her content expertise includes climate science, STEM education, the role of diverse voices in documentaries, and the evolving media marketplace. She’s brokered deals with international partners including BBC, ARTE, NHK and CCTV and many others and has extensive experience with pan-Asian production deals and multi-partnered international co-productions.

Mike Herbick, Sound Supervisor / Re­recording Mixer, is a multiple Academy Award nominated re­recording mixer for films ranging from Batman Forever toThe Shawshank Redemption. He has five Oscar nominations in all.

Mike is an Emmy winner (Lonesome Dove), a CAS Award winner and British Academy Award winner for The Fugitive and is credited on close to one hundred film and TV productions.

Mike started in the entertainment industry in Chicago working for Ken Nordine before moving to Marin County California and working in the record industry at The Record Plant Studios and then at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. There, he worked with artists such as Neil Young, Country Joe McDonald and George Duke, among others.

Besides mixing and producing albums for Country Joe, Mike also went on tour as the drummer in Joe's band.  From working for the creator of "Word Jazz" -Nordine -­ to touring with Country Joe McDonald to mixing movies with budgets in excess of $100 million, Mike has acquired a wide range of experience in film, TV and music.

Michael C. Donaldson, Legal Counsel, is an entertainment attorney who has been fighting for independent filmmakers for over thirty years. He is the founding partner of Donaldson & Callif, a Beverly Hills, California law firm specializing in entertainment and copyright law, with particular emphasis on the representation of independent film producers.