Cathy Stevulak – director/co-producer
Leonard Hill – co-producer

Cathy Stevulak, a friend of Surayia’s, formerly on the staff of the United Nations Development Programme in Dhaka, is leading the effort to produce the documentary and the catalogue of Surayia’s work. With her husband, Leonard Hill, a US diplomat who first met Surayia when he was posted to Bangladesh, Cathy has assembled a team of award-winning filmmakers who are excited by the story and the prospect of telling it to the world. In cooperation with Surayia’s children, they are committed to produce an inspiring documentary about a remarkable woman, and to show the stunning beauty of embroidered tapestries created by women in Bangladesh.

Catherine Masud – consulting producer

Catherine Masud is an award-winning filmmaker with over 20 years of experience in producing, directing and editing. She has worked in both documentary and fictional genres. Her major credits include The Clay Bird (producer and editor), Antarjatra (co-director and editor), A Kind of Childhood (co-director and editor), Song of Freedom (co-director/producer and editor), and most recently, Runway (producer and editor). Her films have been broadcast on many international outlets including Turner Classic Movies, Channel 4 (UK), TV Ontario, Telequebec, and SBS (Australia). An American citizen by birth, Catherine lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she and her husband Tareque Masud work together under the banner of their production company Audiovision.

Tareque Masud – adviser

Tareque Masud is a leading film director from Bangladesh. His films have won many national and international awards and have been shown at major international film festivals. His 2002 feature The Clay Bird won the Critics’ Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was theatrically released in the US, Canada, the UK, France, and other territories. He is a founding member of the independent filmmaker’s forum in Bangladesh and organized the country’s first International Short and Documentary Film Festival. He also regularly writes and lectures on cinema-related themes. His latest feature, released October 2010, is Runway.

Frederick Marx – consultant

Frederick Marx is an internationally acclaimed, Oscar and Emmy nominated director/writer with 35 years in the film business. He was named a Chicago Tribune Artist of the Year for 1994, a 1995 Guggenheim Fellow, and a recipient of a Robert F. Kennedy Special Achievement Award.  His film Hoop Dreams played in hundreds of theatres nationwide after winning the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It was on over 100 “Ten Best” lists nationwide and is one of the highest grossing non-musical documentaries in United States history.  It has won numerous prestigious awards, including Academy Nomination (Best Editing) and the Prix Italia (Europe’s top documentary prize).  He has recently released the documentaryJourney from Zanskar.

Rita Meher –Editor

Rita Meher has been working in the video industry for over 14 years, making her debut in television career as a producer in Japan. Born and brought up in India, Rita made her first short film Citizenship101 in 2002 based on her own immigrant experience. She was also the production manager and assistant editor for Nazrah, a Muslim Woman’s Perspective that won many festival awards. Currently she works as freelance video producer, editor and instructor in Seattle for local production companies and Seattle TV stations such as KOMO TV, Channel 77 SCAN TV.  She is the founder and director of Tasveer, a South Asian film organization. Every year she directs two major festivals called Aaina: South Asian Women Focus and Seattle’s Independent South Asian Film Festival. She currently finished editing the feature length Nepali narrative Highway.

Mishuk Munier – cinematography

Mishuk Munier is a news and documentary cameraman specializing in assignments in Asia. He has over 25 years of experience working in a variety of formats, both film and video. He has worked as a cameraman for BBC world service, WTN, ARD1, Channel 4, ETV, CBC, Discovery Health — in Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Canada. In addition to his camera work, Mishuk designed and set the newsroom for Ekushey Television, Bangladesh’s first private terrestrial channel, as Director News Operations. He also taught broadcast journalism at the University of Dhaka, and holds a Master’s degree in Journalism. Currently Mishuk is CEO and Director of News Operations for ATN’s 24-hour news channel in Dhaka.

Jay Ferguson – cinematography

Jay Ferguson is an award winning filmmaker who has contributed as a writer, director, producer and cinematographer on over 15 feature films. His documentary work with institutions such as The National Film Board of Canada has garnered him acclaim as a cutting-edge filmmaker. He has won the Canadian Society of Cinematographer’s top award for cinematography in documentary and been nominated numerous other times. He has also been nominated for Gemini awards and won top awards at various film festivals. Jay’s first feature film, Suburban Legend, was selected for official competition in the 1996 Montreal International Film Festival and won best director at the RPM film festival in Toronto. His second feature, Posthumous, was short listed for official competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001. Besides Features and Documentaries, Jay also has 12 years of experience in commercial production.

Tobie Caplette –cinematography and photography

Tobie is a graduate of Capilano University, Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking Diploma Program.  She is the producer/director/cinematographer for several student films as well as a current production entitled Beyond Grief.

Anil Advani – photography

Anil is a self-taught photographer who has explored various genres through his work. He enjoys and collects local art and craft and is often involved photographing local and visiting artists at work at the Institute of Fine Arts in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His poignant photographs have been the inspiration for the interpretive paintings of several artists. He has participated in exhibitions in Dhaka and has published several online photographic books. People, particularly children, have been a major focus of his photography. He has been associated with the American International School of Dhaka elementary school plays and theatre performances, photographing the progress of the plays from their inception to the final performances.

Erin Kelly – intern

Erin is a junior Film Production major at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She has directed, produced and crewed on several student films in the Los Angeles area as well as freelance film projects in the Tristate area. One of her recent documentary projects entitled A Lot to Grow followed the growth and development of a community garden outside of New York City.

advisers

Dr. Niaz Zaman

Niaz is a well-known expert on nakshi kantha and the author of The Art of Kantha Embroidery.

Lesley Armstrong, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Frances Dorsey, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Tom Jones, Halo Group

Natasha Lili Klauss, Worldview Productions

Tim McMahon, Educator

Robin Muller, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

Mary Ann Peters, former US Ambassador to Bangladesh

Oren Rudavsky, Oren Rudavsky Films

Polly Wells, Producer, Writer and Story Editor