Creators & Filmmakers

KEVIN JOHN FITZGERALD, DGC
Kevin is an Academy Award® Nominated and critically acclaimed French-Canadian Documentary Filmmaker, Director, Producer, Editor, Camera Operator, and Videographer of Arawak-Kanak heritage; Tuareg-Bantu; and Polynesian ancestry born in Lënapehóking, the unceded homeland of the Lenape people, known colonially as Southern Ontario, Kanata, and New York, North America/Turtle Island! He is a person of diverse abilities, known for his renowned classic documentary “Freestyle The Art of Rhyme”. It screened at numerous film festivals worldwide & won several awards including the HBO Documentary & Kodak Maverick Awards. He is a Netflix Diversity of Voices and WarnerMedia Access Fellow, an Indigenous Screen Office - Solidarity Filmmaker, and a Rogers - Black Screen Office - Creator. His films have been released theatrically globally & commercially broadcast on MTV Networks/Vh1, B-Sky-B, SBS; & distributed theatrically by Palm Pictures and on home video by Netflix, Universal, EMI, Sony, and Agnes B. He studied acting & dance at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas & his father; an on & off-Broadway Dancer-Actor/Muhammad Ali fight Director & student of Sandy Meisner at The Neighbourhood Playhouse and a dancer in the original Ziegfeld Folies at Radio City Music Hall. Kevin was nominated for a Student Academy Award that he shot one of his 1st films with actor/friend David Arquette & fellow Unity Committee crew member Lucas "Cut Chemist" McFadden of Interscope music recording artists Jurassic-5 and the Grammy Nominated group Ozomatli. He is also a DJ-musician having performed with Mos Def, Wu-Tang Clan, Young MC, DJ Shadow, Macey Gray, The Black Eyed Peas, and Aloe Blacc. He attended the prestigious USC Film School and was taught directing by Jay Roach, DGA (Austin Powers), screenwriting by Robert Mckee and Oscar Williams (WGA), acting for the camera with Joan Scheckel, and sound by Tom Holman (inventor of THX) of Lucasfilm. He further studied with and mentored and apprenticed under directors D.A. Pennebaker and John Singleton (DGA) on the feature film “Higher Learning” for Columbia Pictures. He is a co-host and technical support advisor on Club Peace Pipe Radio, formed post-LA 90's Riots as a way to unify the BIPOC community and DJ on KPFK 90.7 FIM. Kevin directed and produced a documentary on Macy Gray for Columbia Records. He followed this with the film “7-Days In Paris” about Ben Harper and his band The Innocent Criminals recording their final album for Virgin Records “Lifeline” at the all-analog Gang Studio in Paris, France. Kevin was also the Director of Photography on the documentary film “Soundz of Spirit,” featuring Common, and was a Producer on the feature film “Half Widow” shot in Kashmir.
Kevin comes from a long Indigenous lineage with a strong understanding of his culture and spiritual teachings. He has a passion for traditional cultural filmmaking, music, and dancing traditions that have a sense of identity and connections to the ancestors that is vital to community wellness and development, and sustainability. As a holder of knowledge and living documents, he is humbled by the traditional connection to our collective ancestry and stories to carry on these sacred practices with the utmost integrity.
Kevin has diverse and extensive experience as a media arts professional for over 30 years as a documentary filmmaker, director, cinematographer, editor, DJ, musician, traditional healer, storyteller, and sound designer, sharing traditional knowledge and wisdom, creating and building collaborative teams and communities, in a collective process. Kevin combines culturally focused filmmaking as a way to share knowledge.

Freestyle The Art of Rhyme - New Trailer

Judi Lewinson
Ms. Lewinson's distinguished resumé in the fields of entertainment, education and politics boasts an impressive array of accolades & acknowledgements, including two Emmy-nominated titles, a coveted Peabody award-winning documentary, and a host of other industry honours. She is a Writer | Director | Producer, and Founder, VANGRIOT I LOVE Bringing Audiences Together Via intercultural storytelling Experiences and an Award-winning Multi Futurist & Creative (MFC). is the visionary force behind VANGRIOT (pronounced van-GREE-oh). As the Founder and Owner of VANGRIOT—a proudly BIPOC woman-owned production & consultancy firm, JudiLew is fiercely committed to the craft of multi-disciplinary and intercultural storytelling, communication, and engagement.
From wielding the pen to commanding the stage, from astute consulting & leadership to masterful strategizing, writing, producing & directing, for nearly 3 decades, JudiLew has been intricately involved in shaping the creative, social, and political endeavours & engagements of some of today's most prominent stars, leaders & initiatives.
JudiLew's creativity and distinct skillset bring people and ideas together. It is her ability to thoughtfully blend multiple worlds through mindful intercultural communication & engagement that makes Judi Lewinson a star. Ms. Lewinson’s distinguished resumé in the fields of entertainment, education and politics boasts an impressive array of accolades & acknowledgements, including two Emmy nominated titles, a coveted Peabody award-winning documentary, and a host of other industry honours.
Meet the Team
These are our award winning filmmakers who help us make masterpieces

Director
Henry Alex Rubin, DGA
Henry-Alex Rubin is an Academy Award-nominated American filmmaker and Emmy Award-winning commercial director.
Rubin won initial acclaim with his first feature, a documentary film titled Who is Henry Jaglom? featuring Candice Bergen and Dennis Hopper and released by PBS and First Run Features. The film won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Slamdance Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the New York Avignon Film Festival, and was a finalist at the Dallas Film Festival.Rubin, who was mentored by James Mangold while at Columbia University, was hired by Mangold to direct the second unit on several films including Cop Land and Girl, Interrupted.[5]
In 2000, Rubin returned to documentaries and was one of the producers on Kevin Fitzgerald’s Freestyle, which won Best Documentary at the Woodstock, LAIFF and Urbanworld Film Festivals. This was followed by him co-directing Murderball with Dana Adam Shapiro. Murderball won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for a Best Documentary Academy Award in 2005.Rubin directed the 2012 feature film Disconnect, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival in 2012. Rubin's feature, Semper Fi, starring Jai Courtney, Nat Wolff, Leighton Meister, and Finn Wittrock was released in 2019.

Producer
Youree Henley, PGA
Youree Henley is an Indigenous Mexican-American film producer and long-time collaborator of Sofia Coppola and Kevin Fitzgerald. His films include Priscilla (2022), Somewhere (2010), (20th Century Women in 2016, and Kajillionaire in 2020), he has been affiliated with Annapurna Pictures and A24. His productions have included: Freestyle The Art of Rhyme co-produced with Kevin Fitzgerald (2005) A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2012), Len and Company (2015), 20th Century Women (2016), The Beguiled (2017), A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019), The Lighthouse (2019), Kajillionaire (2020), On the Rocks (2020), Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (2021), Priscilla (film) (2023), He has also been co-producing the suspended film project for the uncompleted film Being Mortal (starring Aziz Ansari, who has also been co-producing).

Exectuive Producer
Maija Garcia
Maija is a director, producer, and cultural curator, developing original work at the intersection of music, theater, dance, and film - and an advocate for equity in the arts. Executive Producer of Art of Dance documentary, García’s signature work in film and
tv includes Spike Lee’s Oscar award-winning Blackkklansman, Chi-Raq and She’s Gotta Have It on Netflix. Directing credits include Salsa, Mambo,
Cha Cha Cha with Isaac Delgado and X Aflonso at Teatro Mella in Habana, Cuba. García made waves as a Choreographer of FELA! working alongside Bill T. Jones to choreograph the Tony award-winning musical on Broadway and at the National Theater of London, becoming Creative Director of FELA! World Tour and FELA! The Concert in
the US, Europe, and Africa. Maija developed the original choreography for West Side Story. John Leguizamo, Meshell N’degeocello at Harlem Stage, SF Jazz and Kennedy Center. Garcia founded Organic Magnetics to generate urban folklore .I Am NY: Juan Rodriguez at
El Museo del Barrio - a musical about the first
Afro-Latin/Indigenous New Yorker. Director of
Education and Professional Training at the Guthrie Theater, Maija is dedicated to building professional opportunities for theater artists, BIPOC leaders, and change makers.

