THE SHEPHERD AND THE BEAR

Max Keegan is a filmmaker from London. His film ROGER was commissioned by the British Film Institute and BBC Four for the ‘Born Digital: Raised by The Internet’ series and won the Jury Award at Ennesimo Film Festival ‘festivalfilosofia’ and the Young Talent Award at New Renaissance Film Festival. His recent work includes series one and two of DEFENDERS OF DIGITAL, an online series for Tomorrow Unlocked which celebrates digital activists across the world. The first series reached over 20 million viewers. Max completed an undergraduate degree in Politics and Political Philosophy at University of East Anglia, for which he was awarded first-class honours. He was then accepted onto the highly prestigious Broadcast Journalism Masters at City University of London and graduated in 2019 with merit. SHOOT THE BEAR is Max’s feature debut.

Elizabeth Woodward is a producer of documentary and narrative films and founder of Willa Productions. She was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30, DOC NYC 40 Under 40, Berlinale Talents, and the Impact Partners Producers Fellowship. Her recent projects include ON THE DIVIDE (Tribeca Film Festival 2021, POV on PBS) and YOU RESEMBLE ME (Venice Film Festival 2021, executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Alma Har’el, Riz Ahmed). Past projects include Netflix’s THE GREAT HACK (Academy Award shortlist, Emmy nominee, BAFTA nominee, IDA nominee, Cinema Eye winner, Sundance Film Festival 2019), HBO’s hit series THE VOW, and PERSUASION MACHINES (Sundance New Frontier 2020). Her films have been supported by Sundance Institute, Tribeca Institute, Chicken and Egg, Film Independent, Impact Partners, Artemis Rising, Field of Vision, Level Forward, The Gotham, Perspective Fund, Berkeley Film Fund, Quiet, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Young Professionals Group on the Council on Foreign Relations, the Frontline Club, and the Documentary Producers Alliance. She is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Cambridge.

Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss have been filmmaking partners for twenty years. Most recently they co-directed BOYS STATE, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Apple Original Films and A24. The film won the 2021 Primetime Emmy Award for Best Nonfiction Film. Jesse and Amanda received Emmy and DGA nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. Their previous film THE OVERNIGHTERS won the Special Jury Prize for Intuitive Filmmaking at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Drafthouse Films and Netflix. Jesse received a DGA nomination for the film, and The Toronto Film Critics Association, The Playlist, and Nonfics named THE OVERNIGHTERS the top documentary of the year. Both BOYS STATE and THE OVERNIGHTERS were shortlisted for the Academy Award for Feature Documentary. Jesse also directed THE FAMILY, a five-part series for Netflix, as well as the ‘Payday’ episode of the Netflix series DIRTY MONEY. As a producer, Jesse’s work includes GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH (2019 Tribeca Audience Award, MTV Films) and WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE (Sundance 2009, POV). Amanda’s past work as a producer includes THE BANDIT (SXSW, CMT), SPEEDO (POV), and GHOSTS OF ATTICA. Jesse and Amanda recently completed MAYOR PETE, a film about Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for President, for Amazon Studios, and are embarking on new projects with National Geographic Films and Apple.