The Team

Chris Jordan – director

Chris Jordan is an internationally acclaimed artist and cultural activist. His images explore contemporary mass culture from a variety of photographic and conceptual perspectives, connecting the viewer viscerally to the enormity and power of humanity’s collective unconscious. Edge-walking the lines between art and activism, beauty and horror, abstraction and representation, the near and the far, the visible and the invisible, his haunting works ask us to look both inward and outward at the traumatized landscape of our collective choices. Jordan’s multi-award winning work reaches an increasingly broad audience through his exhibitions, books, website, interviews on radio and television, and speaking engagements and school visits all over the world.

Web: www.chrisjordan.com

Terry Tempest Williams – narrator/writer
Internationally known for her impassioned and lyrical prose, Terry Tempest Williams is the author of the environmental literature classic, Refuge – An Unnatural History of Family and Place; An Unspoken Hunger – Stories from the Field; Desert Quartet; Leap; Red – Passion and Patience in the Desert; and The Open Space of Democracy. Her newest book Mosaic: Finding Beauty in a Broken World, was published in 2008 by Pantheon Books. In 2006, Ms. Williams received the Robert Marshall Award from The Wilderness Society, their highest honor given to an American citizen. She also received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Western American Literature Association and the Wallace Stegner Award given by The Center for the American West. She is the recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in creative nonfiction. In 2009, Terry Tempest Williams was featured in Ken Burns’ PBS series on the national parks.

Jan Vozenilek – cinematographer

Jan is a multi-talented cinematographer and photographer, and founder of Copper Sky Productions based in Kelowna, BC, Canada. Established in 1998, his film production company has created numerous short documentaries, travel films and corporate promos for an array of clients worldwide. Jan’s passions include environmental education and telling extraordinary stories that bring together people, nature, cinematic beauty, and history.

Web:  JanVozenilek.com

Stephanie Levy – producer
Stephanie is an internationally recognized award winning producer.  She recently produced the independent feature film, David, winner of many prestigious awards, including: the Ecumenical Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival, Special Jury Award at the Napa Valley Film Festival. Stephanie is a committed animal advocate, developing community educational outreach programs, and producing short films and PSAs designed to raise awareness towards the compassionate treatment of animals.  Her nurturing and empathetic nature combined with considerable business savvy and experience, brings a focused and sharp eye to every project she undertakes.
Stephanie is so pleased to be part of the MIDWAY team, a visual feature length journey into the alarmingly sad effect of plastic garbage in the Pacific Ocean. She bows in gratitude daily.

Rob Mathes – composer
Rob Mathes is an arranger/composer, nationally renowned music producer / director and a performer. Rob has produced recordings by Rod Stewart, Bettye Lavette, Carly Simon, Vanessa Williams, and the young bands Panic at The Disco and The Young Veins. In the past year he has produced two records for Sting; 2010′s Symphonicities, and Live In Berlin, and arranged much of the music for Sting’s Symphonicity Tour with the Royal Philharmonic, serving as that tour’s Music Producer/Director. He also produced half of the new Matthew Morrison record, the star of the TV show Glee, including duets with Sir Elton John and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Jim Hurst – sound engineer, cinematographer

Jim Hurst is a photographer, cinematographer and sound recordist. His recent credits include the award-winning film Bag It, the National Geographic Adventure series First Ascent, and the controversial film Schooling the World.

Joe Schweers – cinematographer

Joe has been involved in the film industry for several years as a cinematographer and editor on many projects, primarily music videos and documentaries. He studied at the Art Institute of Vancouver and graduated with honors. He spent many years of his childhood growing up in the forest behind his house, and now, with a strong passion for nature and wildlife, he faces each project with an honest and curious eye, always striving to present truth with his lens. Joe enjoys studying and practicing film making techniques as well as figuring out a few new ones and taking them to the field to test them out. He often uses this as an excuse to stop everything and to get outside. From each new project and experience, he takes in valuable information on the art of film making and the little things that make the world such a beautiful and wonderful place.

Victoria Sloan Jordan – associate producer / assistant

Victoria is the associate producer and assistant for the Midway Film project, handling tasks such as travel logistics, assembling budgets, and grant writing. Victoria is also a poet whose work has appeared in various venues, including Callaloo and The North American Review, and was recently featured on KUOW.org. Her poetry has enhanced the Midway Film blog (www.midwayjourney.com) and she continues to write pieces for the upcoming mobile app and book projects.

Manuel Maqueda – transmedia

Manuel Maqueda is a journalist, a photographer, a veteran new media explorer and a writer and a lecturer on environmental strategy and transformations of human communication. He is involved in several leading Web and media initiatives around the world, such as BlooSee, and is a co-founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

Web: http://manuelmaqueda.com/
Twitter: @donbribon

Emily Chartrand – student outreach

Seventeen-year old entrepreneur and environmental activist Emily Chartrand is the president of Plastic Free Penticton Secondary School and a founding member of Plastic Free Penticton. With her sister Chanel, she has operated her own successful small business for eight years. Proceeds from their operation has helped fund working holidays to Mexico where they worked with the families who live off the Puerto Vallarta garbage dump.

Emily is driven to support the plastic free movement, and to raise awareness to the cause world wide.

She is available to speak to your school or organization. Follow her exciting Midway journey on her blog.

http://emilysmidwayjourney.blogspot.com