CAST (in order of appearance):
Stacey Ravel Abarbanel
Teri Ravel Kane
David Ravel
Paula Reinman
Richard Ravel
Marilyn Ravel Reinman
Jeff Ravel
Joshua Abarbanel
Maxwell E Greenberg, Historian of American Jewish Studies
Robert Bouilli, Military Historian
Florian Waitl, Military Historian
Myra Ravel Gasser
Norma Gomez, Columbus Chamber of Commerce
Ignacio Montoya, Calbagata Binacional Villista
Esequiel Salas, Mayor of Columbus
THE FILMMAKERS:
Stacey Ravel Abarbanel (writer/producer) is a consultant for museums and other arts/cultural organizations. From 2002–14 she was director of external affairs for the Fowler Museum at UCLA, after ten years in arts-related publishing at Getty Publications and Architectural Digest. In addition to her consulting practice, her award-winning writings about art, culture, and history have appeared in Alta, Smithsonian Magazine, UCLA Magazine, Zócalo Public Square, and other outlets. In 2019 her essay about this odyssey to unravel the family lore about her grandfather and Pancho Villa was published in Tablet Magazine.
Jeff Swimmer (director/producer) is professor at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts where he teaches documentary and leads international documentary programs. The author of Documentary Case Studies: Behind The Scenes of the Greatest (True) Stories Ever Told (Bloomsbury, 2015), he is an award-winning writer and producer whose programs have aired on numerous outlets including BBC, PBS, NBC News, HBO, A&E, and CNN. He wrote and produced The Sinking of the Andrea Doria for PBS’s Secrets of the Dead series (2006), and directed, produced, and wrote Can Animals Predict Disaster? for the PBS series Nature (2005). His 2015 film A Golden State of Mind: The Storytelling Genius of Huell Howser has aired on PBS affiliates nationwide.
Joshua Abarbanel (producer/graphics/still photography) is a visual artist and former professor of digital art and graphics. His work in a variety of media—including sculpture, video, and photography—has been exhibited and reviewed nationally and internationally.
Gayle Gilman (consulting producer) worked for National Geographic and A&E in both programming and development before moving into production. She was the EP/Showrunner on hit series Ice Road Truckers and Swords: Life on the Line. In 2013, she moved to Fremantle Media to launch their digital content studio Tiny Riot, where she created content for VICE, Munchies, and Stylehaul. In 2016, she launched Ripple Entertainment in partnership with Red Arrow Studios and ProSeibenSat 1. Gilman received an Academy Award nomination and the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for The Farm, about prisoners inside America’s oldest prison, a former slave plantation in Angola, Louisiana. Her other awards include an Emmy Award nomination for Best Children’s Series for Operation Junkyard and NYTVF’s award for Best Animated Program for Tiffany, the Teenage Grim Reaper.
Ramsay de Give (cinematographer) is a photographer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His photographs and videos regularly appear in The New York Times and other outlets.
Mel Metcalfe III (editor) is a producer, director of photography, director, and editor who has worked on numerous projects ranging from those shot on hand-held devices to large format IMAX, including the international documentaries Bombies and Mission in Kosovo. He teaches filmmaking boot camp for high school and university students, and is an adjunct professor for Chapman University International Documentary Scholarship Program. Metcalfe was producer/director/editor for the documentary The Art of the Dollmaker (Washington DC International Film Festival, Cine Golden Eagle Award; San Luis Obispo Film Festival, Bronze; Houston Film Festival, Bronze; Telly Awards Film Festival, Bronze), and a producer on numerous award-winning shorts and feature films. He edited A Golden State of Mind: The Storytelling Genius of Huell Howser, which aired on PBS stations across the country.
Peter Himmelman (composer) is a Grammy and Emmy-nominated musician, film composer, visual artist, and best-selling author. He has released more than 20 albums of his songs, including five award-winning albums of children’s music. Highlights from his extensive work as a composer for network television include Fox’s Bones, CBS’s Judging Amy, and the ABC series Men In Trees. His work for film includes A Slipping Down Life, Crossing The Bridge, and The Souler Opposite. Himmelman is the recipient of five ASCAP Performance Series Composer Awards.