About The Filmmakers
Robert Manganelli, Filmmaker
From Lew Hunter's bestselling book "Screenwriting 434:" Robert's work: "is not Lawrence of Arabia in scope, but Tennessee Williams spectacular in depth."
Robert owned his first darkroom at the age of 7. By age 13, his photographs had toured more than 30 countries through the Photographic Society of America. Among his numerous exhibits at home and abroad, he was selected to participate in a group show, "Pennsylvania Photographers" curated by Weston Naef, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Founding Curator, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Dept. of Photography.
From 1983 to 1985, he worked as a photojournalist in Washington, DC. and was Senator Ted Kennedy's "Inside the beltway" personal photographer. He transitioned into filmmaking by making his first film, "3.23.85," which was a self-portrait drawn from a selection of phone messages that were collected over a two-year span.
Robert was later chosen to participate in the Writers and Directors Labs at Robert Redford's, Sundance Institute (6 chosen from over 3,000 applicants) where he fully developed his screenplay, "Seeing in the Dark" ("After Image" 2001), a film starring John Mellencamp, Louise Fletcher (Academy award –"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"), and his first wife, Gio's mother, Terrylene. It screened at Sundance and was picked up by Miramax for domestic distribution and Intermedia for International.
Currently, in addition to developing his documentary "We Were Here," Robert is spearheading the effort to build a motion picture and imaging science studio. The technology blueprint for the studio is delineated by his patent-pending, "Media Management System."
After his experience as a mentor to Inner-city Filmmakers, Robert admitted, "My take-away was far greater than my contribution. My students began to see their backyard as something inspirational or sacred, not something to be ashamed of."
He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 1983 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photographic Illustration. He received a Masters degree from UCLA Film School. As a graduate student, he was UCLA'S nominee for the Paramount Pictures Fellowship. He also wrote and directed the award-winning short film, "Listen Carefully," which was selected by numerous film festivals, including: Sundance, AFI, Berlin, Haifa Israel, Porto Portugal, Cork Ireland, CINE Golden Eagle, Critics Choice/Peoples Choice – Tokyo, The Columbus Award, and the Spotlight Award – UCLA Alumni.
Deanna Cook, Producer
Deanna's education and background ranges from studying design, mass communication at Towson State University, business and marketing at Cornell and business and marketing at Dale Carnegie. As a child, she remembers asking lots of questions about who created GOD. "I seem to have been born with a keen sense of intuition. I was blessed with gifts that foster empathy in others. I found writing to be a sort of welcoming home." Deanna began writing short stories for her church at the age of ten. Journalism soon followed wherever and whenever she could write. As a young entrepreneur, she found joy in leadership, service and volunteerism .
As a humanitarian-producer and business strategist, she immerses herself in the creative process by inviting soulful expression that triggers a certain awareness, while encouraging self-empowerment cultural change.
"Timidly embarking on my first role as a film producer, it quickly became clear that We Were Here provides a way to introduce the origins of paternal grief and exposes the long term silence that men have carried to their graves in the name of masculinity. We Were Here imbues a symbiotic cinematic exploration of gender roles where sorrow becomes a visual narrative that speaks its own language of love as grief. The film depicts a personal yet universal expression of love with no where to go. The systemic challenges of producing the film has been in its financing. Our belief in this important work is at the very core of who we are, and our commitment to completion and distribution."
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Our Advisors
Niels Mueller
Niels Mueller
Niels Mueller
Niels was born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin, and attended Tufts University where he earned a BA. He subsequently attended film school at UCLA where he earned an MFA. His most notable work remains: The Assassination of Richard Nixon, starring Sean Penn, which he directed and co-wrote. Other writing projects include: Tadpole and 13 Go
Niels was born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin, and attended Tufts University where he earned a BA. He subsequently attended film school at UCLA where he earned an MFA. His most notable work remains: The Assassination of Richard Nixon, starring Sean Penn, which he directed and co-wrote. Other writing projects include: Tadpole and 13 Going on 30. He wrote The Defenders which was picked up by CBS. The series starred James Belushi. Niels is currently in post production on the film, Small Town Wisconsin which he produced and directed.
Jim Lane
Niels Mueller
Niels Mueller
Jim is Senior Scholar-In-Residence at the Emerson College Los Angeles Center. A filmmaker since 1982, his documentaries include: Women of Prague, Background Action, I Am Not an Anthropologist, and East Meets West. Jim earned an AB from Harvard and a Phd from UCLA Film School. He authored the book, The Autobiographical Documentary in Amer
Jim is Senior Scholar-In-Residence at the Emerson College Los Angeles Center. A filmmaker since 1982, his documentaries include: Women of Prague, Background Action, I Am Not an Anthropologist, and East Meets West. Jim earned an AB from Harvard and a Phd from UCLA Film School. He authored the book, The Autobiographical Documentary in America which established him as one of the nations' foremost academics in the field of journal-diary films.
Don Archiable
Dr. Keerthy Saunder M.D.
Dr. Keerthy Saunder M.D.
Don is an Equity Partner, Executive Vice President, Director of Technical Architecture, Engineering and Technology for Osborn Engineering. He has more than 25 years of experience in network television facilities, Olympic sports, entertainment, communication IT transition, motion picture, and new advanced technology "next gen" companies. H
Don is an Equity Partner, Executive Vice President, Director of Technical Architecture, Engineering and Technology for Osborn Engineering. He has more than 25 years of experience in network television facilities, Olympic sports, entertainment, communication IT transition, motion picture, and new advanced technology "next gen" companies. He designed and developed NBC systems of the 40 story 100 million NBC Tower in Chicago's miracle mile. He engineered the Rockefeller Center, NBC's World Headquarters. Don completed the 20 year, $308 million master Saturday Night Live 8H, David Letterman 6A, Nightly News 3A, Donahue and the redevelopment of the NBC Network Integration. Don also worked with the Architectural and Engineering design teams on George Lucas' "Big Rock Ranch" in San Rafael CA.
Dr. Keerthy Saunder M.D.
Dr. Keerthy Saunder M.D.
Dr. Keerthy Saunder M.D.
Dr. Sunder holds Diplomas from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Addiction Medicine. He is also a Diplomate of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in London, He served his Psychiatry residency at the University of Bristol, England as well as the Western Psychiatric Institute and Cli
Dr. Sunder holds Diplomas from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Addiction Medicine. He is also a Diplomate of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in London, He served his Psychiatry residency at the University of Bristol, England as well as the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Visionary Board Member of the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Riverside School of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor at Southern California University of Health Sciences. Dr. Sunder currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for: "Tune My Brain," an Integrative Brain Optimization Center in California and is the Founder of Doctor Sunder's Brain Tune, Gut-Brain Optimization program - which includes cutting-edge Nutraceutical Supplementation, Meditation and Neurofeedback. Inspired by his beloved mother who suffered from Depression and who embraced integrative approaches from both Eastern and Western traditions, Dr. Sunder has devoted his life to optimizing mental wellness.
