The information printed in this column has been provided to us by each individual and is assumed to be accurate. ID Magazine assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or other inaccuracies.
Nell Cox (New York, NY) started making films in New York in the ’60s as an editor, working for such documentary filmmakers as Richard Leacock, Don Pennebaker, Bob Drew, and Al and David Maysles. Subsequently she was president of Nell Cox Films, Inc., in New York for nine years. While running her own company, she produced, directed, edited and wrote many award-winning documentary films, including films for AT&T, Japan Airlines and the Ford Foundation. Cox also lived in Los Angeles for a number of years, during which time she directed many prime time programs, including M*A*S*H, Lou Grant and L.A. Law, and wrote a number of feature film screenplays. As a director she is known for her award-winning PBS dramas, including Ghostwriter (pilot for CTW series), The Roommate, Konrad and Liza's Pioneer Diary, which she also produced and wrote. Cox recently directed the feature film Hudson River Blues, a romantic comedy that takes place in and around New York, and several documentaries, including two about the Broadway theater for PBS. She is a member of the Directors Guild, Writers Guild, Women in Film, IFP and AIVF.
Bill Dickenson (Richardson, TX) is a college instructor and has begun principal photography on a Ph.D. film project that chronicles the history of the 1936 Texas Centennial. The project combines archival photography, newsreels, and contemporary writings with interviews with historians and visitors to the Centennial Exposition. The film examines the legacy of the event and how it molded and changed the image of Texas both within the state and throughout the country.
Ingrid Lantz (Los Angeles, CA) works as a freelance television production manager and associate producer in reality and documentary productions. Previous to moving back to Los Angeles three years ago she worked at Discovery Communications in international co-production and marketing. Her background includes a diverse range of positions in both feature film and television production, including clearances, casting, coordinating and post. She is currently seeking financing for a documentary on a health project that has empowered and transformed the lives of women in rural Bolivia.
Jesse Phinney (Los Angeles, CA) started making documentaries at high school in Newton, Massachusetts, for the local cable channel, and to this day works exclusively with docs. Since graduating from USC School of Visual Anthropology, he has shot, directed and/or edited programs for HBO, MTV, Discovery, Travel Channel, NBC, History Channel, National Geographic, Channel 4 UK, BBC and many more. Aside from steady freelance work as director of photography, he also shot and co-edited the Emmy-nominated documentary Small Town Ecstasy for HBO America Undercover/Arnold Shapiro Productions. Most recently he directed the lifestyle doc series Single in the City - LA for September Films (UK) and was D.P. on Biker Women and Bike Build-Off (Original Productions/ Discovery Channel), as well as Music Behind Bars for VH1. His personal projects include short documentaries about ecotourism in Belize, the Full Moon Party in Thailand, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Millennium celebrations in Bali, and the “anthropology” of clubbers in Ibiza, as well as many concerts and extreme sports segments. For every project he has used different formats, including Beta, DigiBeta, High-Def and 16mm, but his specialty is making the small DV cameras look great. He edits on AVID and Final Cut Pro. Though the cable documentary world has been very good to him, Phinney is currently seeking more independent, meaningful, and socially conscious theatrical release docs to get involved with. He has traveled literally around the world both for work and life experience. A recent climb of Mt. Fuji has inspired his next personal project, about pilgrimage sites all over the world. phinney13@aol.com
Jeff Roloff (Chicago, IL). Since the beginning of 2001, Roloff has been working on his first film, titled Pearl in the Hood. It is a story about a woman named Pearl who runs a free day care center on the South side of Chicago so that teen moms can finish school. The final cut was recently completed, and after music is finished it will be submitted to film festivals. The web site is available at www.pearlinthehood.com. Prior to making this film, Roloff founded and helped lead a computer hardware company located in Champaign, Illinois. The sale of that company allowed Jeff to pursue this new vocation. Always a self-learner, he immersed himself in documentary production books, soaked up issues of International Documentary, and watched tons of docs on DVD, especially enjoying director commentaries when they were available. He especially enjoys the post-production aspects of documentary filmmaking.