Although the filmmakers have yet to shoot a deer themselves, they have joined together to take viewers on a wry and revealing journey into the hunt for local and sustainable food sources.
Ellen Frankenstein, Director/Camera/Editor, is a former vegetarian who now eats fish and venison and tries to grow vegetables in the Alaskan rainforest. She is an independent director and producer living in Sitka, Alaska. Frankenstein also created the award-winning documentaries Miles from the Border, A Matter of Respect, Carved from the Heart, and No Loitering. Ellen's work has been supported by awards including a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship and grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Independent Television Service, the Alaska Humanities Forum, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Valerie Lapinski, Producer/Sound, is the Program Director at Raven Radio-KCAW, a community-sponsored radio station in Sitka. Beyond sound production, she has experience in with film and video working with the Detroit Filmmaker's Coalition and with Ellen Frankenstein. Her volunteer and coordination experience includes an Americorps stint in early childhood literacy, sales and writing arts columns for University of Michigan publications. Growing-up in mid-Michigan, Val grew up as carnivore, observing her brothers and father hone their skills with firearms, fishing and archery. Currently, with the help of some amazingly self-sufficient women friends, Val is grappling with her own role in the food chain.
Shirley Thompson, Producer/Consulting Editor, edits thought-provoking social-issue documentaries for television, including Louie, Louie, Tangled Roots, Surfing for Life and It's Elementary. She collaborated as consulting editor on Ellen Frankenstein's No Loitering. The documentaries she has edited have been awarded Emmy awards, Best of Festival Awards, Cine Golden Eagles, and the DuPont Columbia Award for Journalism, and have screened at festivals worldwide. She also writes and produces on-air promotions for PBS' Independent Lens series. Shirley is based in Dallas, Texas, and is a gourmet home cook with a messianic fervor for organic foods. She grows some of her own vegetables and cooks mostly organic meats and produce.
Lily Herwald, Executive Producer, is a Grant Writer for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. Lily has over twenty years experience in public radio as General Manager, Business Manager, and Development Director. She currently serves on the six-member board of Alaska Public Broadcasting Inc., an organization that provides vision and leadership to support Alaska's public broadcasting institutions (26 radio and 4 television stations). Her volunteer experience includes working on the design and fundraising committees of the Sitka Performing Arts Center. Lily began her career in media and fundraising at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. Her mother was employed in the meat department of a local grocery when she was born. Recently, her 12-year old daughter announced her vegetarianism as a non-negotiable point. She is not certain she could harvest the meat she eats and wrestles with that dilemma with every bite.
Jim Mahan, Executive Producer, has over 25 years of experience in public television production, at KTOO-TV in Juneau, beginning with the cable pulling to camera operator, editor, producer and finally production manager. Jim's role is to help secure in-kinds for Open Arms, to advocate for the project and to provide technical and content support. Jim has a passion for producing programs which have a positive effect on the community in which he lives. Jim served as Executive Producer on several programs delivered to PBS such as In the Wake of the Exxon Valdez and Frankenstein's No Loitering, as well as numerous award-winning statewide and local programs. Living by the Tongass National Forest, when time allows Jim finds other passions to pursue, which take him into the wilderness of Alaska, including surfing and sailing.
