Kivalina
Logline
A rare and cinematic portrait of life lived on a disappearing Arctic island from the perspective one of the last surviving Eskimo cultures.
Gina Abatemarco
Director, Producer
Gina Abatemarco is a director, producer, and writer for documentary films and creative projects with a focus on contemporary topics in food, culture, and the environment. Gina's feature documentary film Kivalina: Life in the Modern Arctic a unique and intimate portrait of an ancient Eskimo culture has been supported by IFP's Filmmaker Labs, Vision Maker Media, The Richard Vague & Chris Columbus Award, Tribeca All Access, and the IFP Filmmaker Labs. Gina's work has been screened around the world at festivals including IDFA and the Berlinale. In addition to her film work, Gina is active in the sustainable food movement. She has cooked at The American Academy in Rome for the Alice Water's Rome Sustainable Food Project and worked passionately with Slow Food International to bring attention to the endangered Arctic landscape and food culture. Gina is a graduate of Tisch School of the Arts Film & TV Program where she co-founded The Fusion Film Festival, now celebrating its 13th year.
Anne Takahashi
Producer
Anne Takahashi, a native of France, graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Film and Television program where she focused on producing emotive and intimate work. After graduating she signed onto to Produce Kivalina as well as leading multiple projects in distribution, PR, art direction, and creative design in wide areas such as fashion, film, documentary, and interactive media. Her clients have included Dior, Diane Von Furstenberg, DKNY, Lacoste, Sony Pictures Classics, the Tribeca Film Festival and more.
Anna Wendt
Producer
Anna Wendt is a producer of both fiction and documentary films for cinema and television, and founder of Anna Wendt Filmproduktion in Berlin, which works with filmmakers and film industry professionals both in Europe and around the globe. In 2008, Wendt began her collaboration with director Gina Abatemarco and co-producer Anne Takahashi on The Kivalina Project.
Zoe White
Director of Photography
Zoë White is passionate about the image and loves immersing herself into the world of each film she works on. She treasures her background as a classical musician, finding much of her motivation for cinematography in its abstract correlations with music. Zoe has found homes in both Australia and the US, and continues to seek global collaborations. She completed a BFA in Cinematography at the University of North Carolina School of Filmmaking and an MA in Cinematography at the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney, Australia. Zoe was awarded the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Cinematography Internship, and recently picked up both a Gold and Silver Award at the Australian Cinematography Society Awards. With one feature and an assortment of shorts, music videos, and commercials under her belt, she continues to strive for innovative and effective storytelling.
Nadav Harel
Editor
Nadav Harel, founder of Noprocess Films, is a spear fishermen and award winning documentary editor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director. Nadav's work educates and inspires audiences around the world about controversial subjects related to culture, science and nature. His work has been screened in prestigious venues such as BBC World, The Museum of Natural History in New York, Harvard Medical School, Berlinale, MOMA, and many more.
Enat Sidi
Consulting Editor
Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Enat Sidi is very active as an editor in the American documentary film world. She is a frequent collaborator with directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, having edited most of their nonfiction feature films including “The Boys of Baraka” (2005 Emmy nominee), “Jesus Camp: (2006 Academy Award nominee), HBO’s 12th & Delaware (Peabody winner) and most recently DETROPIA for which Enat won the editing award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. In addition, Enat has worked on many prestigious films for a myriad of diverse filmmakers including Ellen Kuras (“The Betrayal”) and Jennifer Vendiiti (“Billy the Kid”). She acted as the consulting editor on “Bully,” the high profile doc released in 2012 by the Weinstein Company and edited the 2015 Grand Jury Winner at Sundance: "The Wolfpack". She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Melanie Levy
Associate Editor
Melanie Vi Levy is an editor, producer and director with a passion for arts and education. She has worked on projects supported by NYSCA, The Ms. Foundation for Women, The Ford Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. As editor she has contributed to features including Kivalina People (supported by NAPT, Tribeca All Access, IFP) Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines (SXSW premiere, supported by the Sundance Institute), and the Sundance award-winning film E-Team by Academy Award winner Ross Kauffman and Katey Chevigny. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University and a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.