creative Collaborators
Part of the reward of being a filmmaker is getting to stretch, experiment and challenge ourselves and our partners as creative collaborators in telling compelling, entertaining and often important stories. Below is our current group of collaborators.
Melissa Kirkendall
Producer • Director • Writer • Founder of LVBM
Melissa is a long time successful creative entrepreneur in both the music and film communities. In her 20's she was a maverick in the music scene in Dallas/ Fort Worth Texas where she owned and operated several award winning live music venues. In 2002 she began working in film on a variety of TV and film productions for networks like ABC, NBC, LIFETIME, as well as for many independent production companies. In 2012 she released her 1st feature length documentary on the 1960's teen garage rock scene called "Teen A Go Go" as director and producer. It screened at music and film festivals around the world and was on Netflix for 2 years. In recent years she has been producing on a variety of independent scripted films as well as documentaries including as a producer in 2017 on the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series for the feature length documentary "What Carter Lost". Most recently the feature film “The Vast of Night” that she produced screened at Slamdance, Overlook,EIFF, TIFF and several other festivals winning awards at some. It was nominated for a Spirit Award and was sold for profit to Amazon Studios in November of 2019. It is now streaming on Amazon Prime after a successful theatrical release.
Adam Dietrich
Producer • Director • Writer
Adam is a filmmaker based in Texas and is co-owner of the production company “Adam & Elliot Moving Pictures.” He is passionate about storytelling in various formats on a spectrum of platforms. He's Produced, Directed, and Designed for 20 years, including the award winning short film, “The Flood” and the controversial drama “Knowing” . He's written, directed, and produced over a dozen episodes of Docudrama television for shows like “Murder Made Me Famous” for the premium channel Reelz. He is a producer with Melissa Kirkendall on “The Vast of Night”. Currently Adam is a producer on “You are Me & I am You” as well as in development with Melissa Kirkendall on some new projects for 2020/21.
Director of Photography
Chad is an Austin based up and coming filmmaker very passionate about his work. As a cinematographer he has collaborated with many talented people to make short and long form documentaries, narrative shorts, branded content, commercials and music videos. Most recently the short “Sprites” premiered at Fantastic Fest. In 2007 he worked on a narrative feature filmed in Ecuador and was one of the great experiences of his life, so much so he returned in 2008 to live there another year. His love and respect for Ecuadorian culture is what eagerly drew him to the project. Chad is the Director of Photography for “You are Me & I am You”
Editor
Wenjing is a film editor based in Austin, TX with more than 7 years of experience in post production. Her past work has played at festivals including SXSW, Cannes, and Berlin Feminist Film Week. She recently finished editing the feature length documentary “Loss and Found” which is slated to start it’s festival circuit in 2020/2021. Besides “You Are Me & I Am You” she is also editing on a documentary series for Hulu called “Small Business Revolution”.
Rodrigo Rodriguez
Producer • Director • Writer • DP
Rodrigo is an award winning producer/ director and DP based in Texas owning and operating the esteemed Rio Bravo Pictures. His resume is extensive with credits on numerous programs such as National Geographic, Oprah, America's Most Wanted, BBC, MTV, Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and Michael Moore's TV. He has filmed in over 25 countries. Currently Rodrigo is in development for the feature length documentary “Radio X” and he is a producer on “You are Me & I am You” .
Nora Gracia Tovar
Editor • Photographer
Nora is Senior Editor and Associate Producer at Rio Films in South Texas. Mrs. Mrs. Gracia-Tovar brings over 10 years of experience in the area of video editing. She is editor for “You are Me & I am You”. A natural storyteller, Mrs. Gracia-Tovar has edited feature-length documentaries like, “The Hoax”, as well as numerous national commercial products.