It’s a hard question to answer, because it’s a topic people avoid. Yet, it’s one we all face. By exploring the ways people of all cultures grieve, The EMPTY CHAIR hopes to break through death’s taboo by walking into the vacancy that loved ones leave.
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Summer Finley is known for her infectious energy and strong work ethic, building the Fueld production business from $400,000/year into a multi-million dollar company that has recently been added as one of Fortune 5000s fastest growing small businesses. From feature films and indie docs to spots for Fortune 500 companies in both the US and the UK, Summer has contributed her unique skill set to all aspects of the film business.
Jon is the VP of Business Development and Feature Films at Fueld Films and is an Entrepreneur, Producer, and Financial Strategist. Most recently, he served as the Line Producer for the independent feature film ‘Friday’s Child.’ Other producers included Nicolas Gonda and Terrence Malick. Since 2014, Jon has led the structure of four different film funds including the Donsion Film Fund China, one of the first US-Sino Foreign Owned Joint Venture Film Funds in China. Building off that experience, he now serves as an ongoing representative for two of the funds.
As a Director of Photography, Shane is known for his recent successes with features Tim’s Vermeer (2014 BAFTA, nominated best documentary), Boyhood (2015 BAFTA, AFI and Golden Globes Best Motion Picture, six nominations by the 2015 Academy Awards), and Everybody Wants Some, the 2016 headliner at the SXSW Film Festival.
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Hanan is a New Zealand-born film composer based in Austin, Texas. He was a composer on Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or winning film The Tree of Life. He’s composed for numerous feature films, including Malick’s 2014 film, To the Wonder, and more recently, Knight of Cups, starring Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett and Imogen Poots.
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David Ferry Jr. has always been creatively driven – he grew up writing and recording music and in 2003 was captured by the filmmaking process while watching the ‘making of’ documentary on The Lord of the Rings. He went on to earn a B.A. in Media Arts and since then has produced dozens of short films and music videos, and has worked as a producer/editor at the cable television network Reelz. In 2010, he wrote, directed and produced Chamber No. 6, which won ‘Best Film,’ among other awards, at the 48 Hour Film Project. David looks forward to a long and successful career creating films, and to someday be working alongside Peter Jackson in New Zealand.
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An alumnus of both Ogilvy & Mather and DraftFCB, Dave has a passion for creativity, especially when used in conjunction with technology. He recently won top national honors at both the American Advertising Federation and Ad Age, bringing home the Campaign of the Year award, among others. He is most proud of his work using a graffiti-artist robot to market a global paper brand.
At MW+C for 19 years, Elizabeth grew up with the agency. She’s brought her production management skills to bear and had a hand in producing every award-winning piece coming out of the agency. This foray into documentary production is an exciting new challenge.
Elizabeth Reed / Executive Producer
The EMPTY CHAIR
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The Empty Chair Documentary was developed with fiscal sponsorship from The Film Collaborative as a 501(c)3 project. Thank you to all our sponsors, donors and volunteers who made this project possible.
