J. Bob Alotta
Director / Producer / Post-Supervisor
j. bob alotta is a filmmaker, media activist, writer, performer and educator. She is the former Director of Digital Technology for Film for the School of the Arts at Columbia University where she also instructed both undergraduate & graduate students in editing & post-production. At Williams College, Bob taught an “Editing for Activists” class incorporating technical instruction & media-literacy. Currently she is the Director of Production at Zeitbyte in NYC. Her work has screened or been exhibited at the Leslie Lohman Gallery (SoHo, NYC); Cinders Gallery (Williamsburg, NYC); Black Lilly Film & Music Festival (Philadelphia); Outfest (Los Angeles); Image Nation (Montreal); AGLiFF (Austin, TX); InsideOut (Toronto); Cineffable (Paris) as well as having been aired on Democracy Now!; GRITtv and PBS. Bob is a native New Yorker who has provided principle photography, recorded sound, produced, post-produced, technical directed, assistant directed, directed and edited documentaries, PSA’s, video installations, EPKs, artists’ reels, industrials and narrative fiction films for the past 15 years. Bob has performed throughout the country including notable New York venues: Dixon Place, WOW Café Theater & CBGBs. Bob is also the proud board chair of FIERCE! - an organization established by and for the political empowerment of NYC's queer youth of color. In 2009 she was presented with an award at the United Nations from the Stonewall Foundation recognizing the efforts and development of FIERCE!’S Board of Directors.
Samantha Schutz
Director of Photography
Samantha Schutz's work as a Cinematographer has appeared on ABC's Nightline
News, PBS, The Discovery Channel's "Animal Planet," Oxygen Network, The
Independent Film Channel, and The Documentary Channel. Her debut fiction feature,
the award-winning "Pretend," premiered at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern
Art, and was hailed as "dazzling," by A.O. Scott, chief critic of the NY Times.
Samantha shoots on a wide range of formats from 16mm to 35mm film to all video for-
mats, including 24p and the newest High Definition. She sees her work as seamlessly
finding the vision for any story, regardless of its origin as a documentary, fiction, or
news.
Samantha's work has premiered at festivals nationally and internationally including:
Tribeca Film Festival, The Montreal World Film Festival, The Hollywood Film Festival,
The Vancouver Film Festival, The Hamptons Film Festival, The Philadelphia Film
Festival, Hot Docs International Documentary Festival, Full Frame Documentary
Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, WorldFest Houston, New York
Video Festival, Starz Denver Film Festival, Franco Arab Film Festival, Sacramento
International Film Festival, Harlem International Film Festival. Film Awards include
Bronze Award for Ethics and Humanities for "Not That Kind of Christian," Best
Narrative Feature Film: "Pretend," and Best Narrative Short Film: "Fur."
Melina Leon
Writer/Director/Editor
Melina Leon is a Peruvian filmmaker based in NY. She recently
graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in film directing and
both her
feature film project, "Child Song", and her most recent short film
"Lili's Paradise" were Faculty Selects at the Columbia University Film
Festival. Her short film "Girl with a walkman" (NY 2006) has screened
in many international film festivals and TV channels and her feature
film project is in development with the support of the Tribeca Film
Institute.
Za Martohardjono
Associate Producer / Editor
Za Martohardjono is an editor and director of short works and a recent graduate of the M.F.A. Media Arts Program at City College where her focus was writing and directing documentary. Za joined Zeitbyte’s staff in 2008. Her interests are in cross-genre filmmaking, experimental documentary, performance art videos, community perspectives and youth media education. Her work has screened in at MIX21, Lincoln Center Dance on Camera Film Festival, Entzaubert Film Fest in Berlin, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Ciné Salon, WOW Café, the Flickering Light Series in Philadelphia, OUT LIKE THAT! and the 3rd Annual Streaming Festival in the Netherlands. Her student films have won prizes at the CUNY Asian American Film Festival, City University Film Festival and Citivisions. She recently joined the judging panel and organizing team for the MIX Queer Experimental Film Festival.
