Filmmakers

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Co-directors El Sawyer and Jon Kaufman

EL SAWYER

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JON KAUFMAN

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Seven Arne Halsema

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El Sawyer is a filmmaker and social justice activist.  At the age of seventeen he was sentenced to 8-20 years in maximum security prison for a drug-related shooting, and was released after 8 years at the age of 25. He seized an unlikely opportunity to be trained in film production while serving his time, and credits the gracious mentorship he received from older lifers in prison with preparing him to take advantage of the experience.

After being released  in 2003 Sawyer began to create media programs for youth, eventually serving as a director of a non-profit arts organization in North Philadelphia. Having won numerous awards for his work in film and community activism, he speaks nationally on the challenges of re-entry, and about the environments from which prisoners come, and eventually return back to.

El is the Co-Founder of Media In Neighborhoods Group (MING), a socially conscious film company whose mission is to use the power of media to change the culture of crime. MING’s projects have been funded and supported by the US Department of Justice through various prevention, intervention, and re-entry initiatives. The latest project is a documentary film Pull of Gravity which has screened all over the U.S. MING is currently developing a short film highlighting the national climate of employment for ex-offenders, and a video-based re-entry program based on the film for use in State and Federal prisons.

 

Jon Kaufman is a filmmaker and photographer born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. Originally exposed to the creative process as a musician, he discovered video & photography while attending Temple University. He didn’t take film courses, but learned the process in the field working on documentaries, music videos, and commercials, while creating media with youth at a local community center. Film provided an outlet for creativity and fulfilled a life-long passion for social change through storytelling. Since 2009 he has worked internationally on projects in Mexico, Haiti, Brazil, Nigeria, and across the U.S. for clients such as VICE, National Geographic, Red Bull, and Russell Simmons’ All Def brand, while teaching video production to high school students in North Philadelphia.

Jon is the co-founder of Media In Neighborhoods Group (MING), a socially conscious film company whose mission is to use the power of media to change the culture of crime. MING’s projects have been funded and support by the US Department of Justice through various prevention, intervention, and re-entry initiatives. The latest project is a documentary film Pull of Gravity which has screened all over the U.S. MING is currently developing a short film highlighting the national climate of employment for ex-offenders, and a video-based re-entry program based on the film for use in State and Federal prisons.

 

Born and raised in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Seven Arne Halsema is an accomplished post-production engineer. Before his career in the film industry, he studied Behavioral Science and taught and mentored immigrant youth in underserved areas of Amsterdam.. After having worked on major productions such as The Voice, Madagascar, Cars, Harry Potter, and for clients like Nike, Porsche, and Top Notch he pursued a career in documentary film making and creative content development for tv and internet. He joined MING in 2012 as a Creative Producer and Post Production Director and has been self employed since 2012 working as an editor and director for clients such as Red Bull, Def Jam, Comcast, The Mural Arts Program, Bread & Roses and Favela Painting.