Production Team
Meaghan Kimball, Creator and Producer
Meaghan Kimball is an award-winning producer, writer, and director with a proven track record in the competitive field of broadcast television and digital media. She has demonstrated leadership in developing and executing journalistic segments and promos with cross-functional teams for HBO, History Channel, Current TV clients like Rock the Vote and American Express, and advertising agencies such as McCann Erickson. Kimball’s spot for HBO GO earned the Silver Mark Award. She has interviewed numerous influencers, including the cast from the HBO original series Entourage, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, and The New York Times Berlin Bureau Chief Richard Bernstein. Kimball’s debut documentary, Blau Jeans, won several awards on the film festival circuit, including Grand Remi Award Worldfest Houston International FilmFestival, Best Feature Documentary Rhode Island International Film Festival, and Best International Documentary ITV Festival Los Angeles. Kimball has been interviewed about her documentary by BBC World View, has guest lectured at University Of California, Department of European Studies San Diego and has been a finalist for the Alexander von Humboldt German Chancellor Fellowship. Kimball holds an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute and a B.F.A. in Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is a native San Franciscan and has also lived in Los Angeles, Berlin, and New York. She currently resides in New York and is a writer-producer for HBO Creative Services.
For her full portfolio go to meaghankimball.com.
Jim McSilver, Co-Producer and Editor
Jim McSilver has edited, written and produced numerous documentaries, shorts, and feature films since 1990. He co-wrote, produced, and edited the award-winning PBS documentary, The Split Horn: Life of A Hmong Shaman in America. He cut the investigative documentary Drug Money for CNBC and the historical documentary, The Treaty of Versailles, for Lucasfilm/Paramount. He was one of the editors of the theatrically-released documentary, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, which garnered rave reviews and awards at festivals both domestically and internationally. McSilver holds a B.S. in Film from Northwestern University.
Lawrence Lerew, Associate Producer
Lawrence Lerew has been an assistant editor and production coordinator on the international ITVS documentary China Blue and American Experience national television documentary Summer of Love. He holds a certificate in editing from the Bay Area Video Coalition and a B.A. in psychology and sociology from University of Arizona.
Dirk Schumacher, Cameraman
Dirk Schumacher has shot numerous long-form documentary films in Germany, including Der Landarztand, Freude für Das Leben, both of which aired nationally in Germany on ZDF-TV.
Jochen Nuss, Cameraman
Jochen Nuss has shot several long-form documentary films, including Jazz Warriors for BBC and pop promos that aired in Germany and England.
Matthias Richter, On-Location Soundman
Matthias Richter has done on-location recording on German television and film productions, including Deutschland 09 – 13 kurze Filme zur Lage der Nation, Männerherzen, and Frei nach Plan.
Sean Carney, Sound Designer
Sean Carney has contributed sound design and editorial work with short and feature length films in the USA screened at film festivals like Sacramento International Film Festival.
Daniela Rible, Assistant Editor and Marketing Special Projects
Daniela Rible has over a decade of experience in media in both in the United States and Russia for NBC and Moscow Times amongst others. Rible is Director of Green Film Festival, San Francisco. She is fluent in German and holds B.A. in Political Economy from UC Berkeley and a certificate degree in Video and Editing from San Francisco City College.
Philip Perkins (CAS), Sound Editor and Mixer
Philip Perkins has worked in virtually every part of film, radio, and music fields over the last 30 years as a sound mixer, editor, designer, and composer. His documentary credits in the USA are the PBS Sundance Ballet Russes, Smitten, and Speed and Angels amongst others.
Interviewees
Dr. Prof. Winfried Fluck, Professor and Chair of American Culture at the JFKennedy Institute, at the Freie Universität, Berlin. JFK Institute is the largest institute in Germany dedicated to scholarly research about the United States.
Richard Bernstein, American Journalist, The New York Times Berlin Bureau Chief. Bernstein currently writes the “Letter from America” column for The International Herald Tribune. He is a foreign correspondent for both Time Magazine and The New York Times in Europe and Asia.
Albrecht Mayer, Principal Oboist, Berlin Philharmonic. Mayer is a German classical oboist. Mayer has been awarded the echo Klassik prize for his colorful and versatile discography.
Sven Regener, Novelist. Regener is the acclaimed novelest Herr Lehmann (Berlin Blues) and co-founded Berlin band Element of Crime. Mr. Regener’s debut novel received the honorable Corine Best Debut Book Award Regener wrote a second novel Neue Vahr Süd, and plans to write a concluding third part of the novel series.
Ralf Schmerberg, Filmmaker. In the commercial and music-video business, Mr. Schermberg became one of the most in-demand directors in Germany with award-winning visual commercials for Nike and American Express. He went on to make international films Hommage a Noir, Poem, and Licht Fur Alle. He is one of the founders of the multi media international Dropping Knowledge.
EBOY, Computer Pixel Art Design Team. EBOY’s designers are widely in Europe and the United States as the masters of the pixel. EBOY cites American pop culture as its main influence and their work appears internationally in Vogue and The Face.
Paul Stoop, Program Director, American Academy in Berlin. American Academy’s mission is to establish intellectual and cultural ties between Americans and Germans in the arts, humanities, and public affairs. He currently serves as Head of Communications of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB), an independent research institute.
2raumwohnung, Musicians. BMG recording artists 2raumwohnung are among the pioneers of electronic music in Germany and one of Berlin’s most influential acts.