MOTHERS OF CHIBOK

Joel ‘Kachi Benson is passionate about stories, shooting in both traditional 2D as well as virtual reality technology across his beloved Nigeria and the African continent. In April 2019, Benson’s DAUGHTERS OF CHIBOK, a film taking viewers into the heart of Nigeria’s war against the Boko Haram insurgency, made history when it won the Venice Lion for Best Immersive Story at the Venice Film Festival, making Benson the first African to win the prestigious prize in that category. DAUGHTERS OF CHIBOK has gone on to screen at some of the most prestigious festivals and venues across the globe, including Berlin, Cannes, and the Phi Centre, while winning awards and receiving special mentions including a Best Story award at Cinequest, and being listed on the Forbes List of Top 50 VR Experiences of 2019. Benson became the first Nigerian filmmaker to shoot a VR film when he released IN BAKASSI in 2017, a virtual experience of life in one of the largest IDP Camps in Northeast Nigeria. IN BAKASSI premiered at the Cairo Film Festival, and subsequently screened at HotDocs and the Berlin Film Festival. In December 2019 Benson was named among the New African Magazine’s 2019 Top 100 Most Influential Africans. Benson received formal and informal film training from the Central Film School London, Legacy Media Institute, Virginia USA; National Film & Television School, Beaconsfield UK, and StillMotion in Portland, USA. MADU, a film he co-directed, will be released by Disney+ in late 2023.

Hunting Lane founder Jamie Patricof produces auteur-driven narrative features, television and documentaries. Some of his narrative features include Niki Caro's THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE, starring Jessica Chastain, Matt Ross’s CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, starring Viggo Mortensen, Gavin O’Connor’s THE ACCOUNTANT, starring Ben Affleck, Derek Cianfrance’s THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes, Cianfrance’s BLUE VALENTINE, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and finally Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s HALF NELSON, also starring Gosling. On the TV front, Patricof produced Derek Cianfrance’s HBO series, I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, starring Mark Ruffalo. Additionally, Patricof has produced multiple documentaries for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, earning him both a Peabody Award and an Emmy. Other documentary projects include LEVITATED MASS, HBO's THE OFF SEASON: KEVIN DURANT, US KIDS, Disney+’s MADU and MOTHERS OF CHIBOK, which is slated to premiere at DOC NYC this year. He is currently in pre-production on Derek Cianfrance’s next film, ROOFMAN.

Rachel Halilej is a documentary and narrative film producer hailing from Northern California. She recently produced the debut feature film from acclaimed artist Titus Kaphar, EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS. The film premiered in competition at Sundance Film Festival 2024. She also recently produced two documentaries, MADU for Disney+,  which premiered at Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2024, and MOTHERS OF CHIBOK for Impact Partners, which will premiere at DOC NYC 2024. In the short form space, Rachel has produced 4 episodes of Shannon Plumb's sketch comedy series, CHOPPED LIVER. She is currently in pre-production on Derek Cianfrance’s next film, ROOFMAN.

Katie McNeill is a producer at Rian Johnson & Ram Bergman’s T-Street Productions. McNeill’s recent credits include MADU, a documentary for Disney+  and WILDFLOWER, Matt Smukler’s directorial debut written by Jana Savage. The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in 2023 by Momentum Pictures. Prior to that, she produced HOLLER, Nicole Riegel’s directorial debut, which IFC released. The film received a “Best First Feature” nomination at the 2022 Independent Spirit Awards.McNeill’s other credits include US KIDS, a documentary by Kim Snyder; Netflix’s THE AFTER PARTY, written and directed by Ian Edelman; Focus Features' THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE, directed by Niki Caro and starring Jessica Chastain; A24’s MISSISSIPPI GRIND, written and directed by Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden and starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn; and LEVITATED MASS, a documentary film directed by Doug Pray. McNeill was an Associate Producer on Derek Cianfrance’s THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, starring Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, as well as the Sundance Lab project, LITTLE BIRDS, from writer/director Elgin James. She produced four documentaries for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series and won a Sports Emmy Award for her work on Ryan Fleck’s THE DAY THE SERIES STOPPED.