Writer, Producer, Director & Cinematographer: Melissa A. Gomez
Originally from the island of Antigua in the West Indies, Melissa’s perspective as a documentary filmmaker has been greatly shaped by her experience of being a hearing child of deaf parents. Her parents’ deafness meant that she grew up in a world where visuals had much more value than words. It is no surprise then, that Silent Music, her first feature-length documentary, has become her labor of love.
Melissa’s professional background includes working for three years as a Producer and Production Manager with Cinqué Productions, her own independent production company in Antigua. During this time, she wrote and produced two seasons of EcoZone - a twelve-episode, forty-five-minute reality television series aimed at educating the public about pertinent environmental issues affecting the Caribbean region. Both seasons were broadcast throughout the Caribbean in 2005 and 2007 respectively. In 2009, Melissa was commissioned by Artscape (Canada) to produce and direct a short documentary entitled Changing Course for its Creative Spaces and Places Video Spotlight Series. More recently, Melissa has worked as a researcher with award-winning director Emily James at Dartmouth Films in London, England, and as an Archival Researcher at Jigsaw Productions in New York. Here she worked with Oscar award-winning director Alex Gibney on his most recent documentary feature, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, which was short-listed for an Oscar. Melissa’s first documentary short, Share and Share Alike, has been shown in film festivals across North America, the Caribbean and Europe. It recently won the award for Best Film / Video Documentary Production at the 2010 Berlin International Black Cinema Festival in Germany, and was also nominated for Best Short Documentary at the 2010 Pan African Film Festival in Culver City, California.
For more information about the director, please visit her portfolio website at: www.melissaannegomez.com
Writer, Producer & Editor: Jay Prychidny
Jay Prychidny is a Gemini-winning DGC picture editor whose projects range from shorts and music videos to feature-length films and episodic television. His films have played at film festivals in Canada, America and Europe. He edited the latest seasons of the hit reality series Canada's Next Top Model and The Week the Women Went, which were both seen by over one million Canadian viewers. He was awarded with the 2010 Gemini Award for "Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series" for his work on the season 3 finale of Canada's Next Top Model. He also worked as an editor and director on both seasons of the critically acclaimed Bravo! Documentary series Literature Alive. The episode he directed won the "Best Film/Video Documentary Production" at the Berlin Black International Cinema Festival. In 2003, he won the Best Editing award from Aspirations Film Festival for the documentary On Stage at the Rex. In addition to his freelance projects, he has worked on staff at the CBC, editing for Newsworld and CountryCanada, as well as CTVglobemedia and Citytv. He edited three seasons of the award-winning, internationally syndicated series SexTV, which ran for 10 years. The segment he edited about HIV resistant prostitutes in Africa was nominated for Best Lifestyle/Practical Information Segment at the 2007 Gemini Awards.
Producer: Lianna Walden
An explorer of life and all it has to offer, Lianna has been involved in film and television production for over 25 years. Having worked on numerous international and local projects as a Line-Producer, Production Manager and Location Manager, she has extensive knowledge in the field of research and production. To her own credit she has produced two short film projects, one which she wrote and directed and which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Her passions also extend to the world of theatre, where for two years she produced The Vancouver International Fringe Festival. In 2008, Lianna with her husband and two children, travelled around the world for 11 months to 18 different countries. As a result of this amazing adventure, she is also presently working on a multi-media presentation. After previewing Silent Music, Lianna felt immediately drawn to Melissa’s story. Soon after, they joined forces to begin the launch of Silent Music out to the world.
Assistant Camera: Christopher Hodge
Originally from Antigua, Christopher has over 10 years of production experience working throughout the Caribbean, USA and the UK. He began his film production career with Tropical Studios, an Antiguan company that co-produced commercials for numerous international clients. In 2005, Christopher co-founded Cinqué Productions, an independent production company, where he directed over 30 commercials, short films, music videos, and two series of the environmental television series, EcoZone. During this time, Christopher also worked as a freelance 1st / 2nd Assistant Director for Caribbean Crews on many of their USA and UK commercial campaigns. Currently based in New York as a freelance editor / cameraman, Christopher is completing post-production on Dinner, a short film he directed that is based on the poem by published Antiguan author, Tameka Jarvis.
For more information about Christopher, visit his portfolio website at: www.christopherfhodge.com
Music Composer: Andrea Caro
Andrea Caro has worked in the music industry for over 15 years, having trained as a classical pianist and flautist at an early age. Since then, she has scored dozens of film and documentary projects, ranging from hard-hitting drama and documentary to stop-motion animation and advertising campaigns. It is in documentary however, that she specializes, with a particular enthusiasm for writing sensitive, imaginative scores which retain respect for their subject material, whilst being musically diverse and highly original. Her credits include Kubrick (2008) directed by Armen Antranikian for Channel 4, 'The Pro' (2008) for Arcane Pictures and Family Vilakati, an award-winning documentary which won ‘Best Foreign Short Documentary’ at the Hollywood International Family Film Festival. Silent Music is Andrea’s second time working with director Melissa Gomez.
For more information about the composer, please visit her portfolio website at: www.andreacaro.com
Sound Designer & Sound Mixer: Quaison Nangle
Quaison Nangle has been working with sounds and music in one way or another for all of his life. Intensely exploring music as a child hobby evolved into remixing and songwriting for fun and eventually into a professional career as a sound engineer and musician. In recent years Quaison has been involved contributing to many international independent film projects, commercial video ventures and music collaborations. Currently his focuses are as an audio engineer with MTV Canada as well as working as the music and post production supervisor for an Olympic based series on snowboarders airing February 2010 on MTV.