“If you believe in your dreams,
your dreams will come to life." -Colleen Moore
MENTORSHIP
1
EQUIP
Our students do everything within their power to accomplish their dream. However, the demand of expensive equipment to practice their craft often leads to a failure to launch. We look to fill that need in order to keep their hope alive.
2
EDUCATE
We link our students with a veteran filmmaker to mentor them in the beginning stages of their career. The film industry is an incredibly supportive community however it is tough to navigate a successful start with limited knowledge.
3
EXPERIENCE
In the film industry you are judged by one thing...product. We provide our students with the opportunity to produce their first projects that fit the mission of Hope On Film and help them establish an identity as a creative artist and storyteller.
Aspiring Filmmaker
Anastasia Nikitenkova
Anastasia is from Dnipro, Ukraine. Due to the Ukraine/Russia war in 2022, she put her artistic ambitions on hold and joined efforts to help people within her country. Anastasia was raised in an orphanage. She does not regret her path as it made her stronger, giving her the ability to look at the world a little wider and dream. She sees film as the ultimate form of self-expression. A way to capture those moments in time forever and let the canvas of the lens do the describing. She thanks God for leading her into this career path which makes her happy every day.
Favorite Films: Schindler's List, Inception,
The Shawshank Redemption
Film Mentor
Linda Otle
Linda is an award-winning film director and screenwriter from Latvia. She is interested in making socially responsible and sensitive cinema which is demonstrated in her feature film debut. Sisters (2022) premiered at the Warsaw International Film Festival and won two top awards, The International Film Critics Awards and Best First Feature Film. Linda actively works in Latvian Television directing various documentaries and series including Project: Divorce and My Father The Banker for which she won a Latvian National Film Award.
Favorite Films: Aftersun, Close,
Where We Are Headed
GOALS
Anastasia and Linda will meet virtually at least six times throughout 2023 focusing on educating her about the filmmaking process. Anastasia will produce her first short documentary with Linda overseeing the project. Funds are needed for this project.
Aspiring Filmmaker
Suresh Persie
Suresh is from a small mountain town in northern India called Malana. Since the age of six years old he has spent his life at an orphanage and school called Dar-ul-Fazl or House of Grace. He is the first of his town to receive an education and learn life skills to succeed in the outer world. Suresh's interest in photography started at a young age and he would always jump at the chance to borrow someone's camera to practice. He went to University to expand his knowledge of videography for business and interned for The India Express newspaper. His dream is to start a production company to create content for people in North India and document the beauty of the Himalayan traditions and culture.
Favorite Films: The Hobbit, PK,
Planet of the Apes
Film Mentor
Blair Pogue
Blair is an independent film producer that has won numerous awards including the Grand Remi Award for Best Film & Video Production at Houston Worldfest, Best Drama at the South Film and Arts Academy and Best Overall Film at the Lionshead Film Festival. For over 20 years he has worked as a successful investment manager and recently started Yeti Productions as a creative output for his love of filmmaking and giving a voice to people of inspiration through documentaries. Blair has been on the board of the non-profit organization, Orphan Outreach, since 2007 providing Christ-centered care to orphaned and destitute children in Ukraine, India, Guatemala, Kenya, Nepal and the USA.
Favorite Films: Tombstone, Halloween,
Casino
GOALS
Suresh and Blair will focus their educational mentorship on the process of opening a video production company in India. They need to obtain necessary equipment for Suresh as he does not own a video camera or a computer. They will focus on building Suresh's professional reel as well as a website and branding materials.
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Aspiring Filmmaker
Etienne Surrette
Etienne is a photographer and mountaineer from Kalispell, Montana. Driven by visions of remote alpine climbs and untouched mountiansides, he knows there are amazing stories out there that have yet to be told. He has spent countless hours pouring over his beautiful photography and desires to make the move into documentary filmmaking. He wants to learn about a technique called Cinema Verite or Observational Cinema to let inspiring stories of outdoor exploration speak for themselves.
Favorite Films: The Revenant, Interstellar,
No Country For Old Men
Film Mentor
Vince Williams
Vince has been a film professor for 13 years while simultaneously participating in over 200 film projects in various roles. His latest film Launch (2022) has won 25 film festival awards including Best Director and Best Drama. Vince believes film is the most powerful creative art form and communication tool in the world and works to use it for the benefit of humankind. He has filmed documentaries in Ukraine, Guatemala, India, Peru, Russia, Honduras, Latvia and the USA about philanthropic subjects.
Favorite Films: Rear Window, Apocalypse Now,
The Thin Blue Line
GOALS
Etienne and Vince will meet virtually to discuss the process of visual storytelling in a documentary format. They will plot out the story and production of Etienne's first documentary following an old mountaineer deep into the Rocky Mountain range.