Team

Salam Darwaza Producer

Our Palestinian American producer raised with one foot in the Arab world and one in the West, has a passion for storytelling through film and a unique ability to connect two sides of what may be the world’s widest cultural gap. Her life experience as the daughter of refugees and someone who was raised in host countries, was an inspiration point for the film, allowing her to lend a voice of Arab authenticity and speak from a personal perspective on the current refugee crisis.

In July of 2015, Salam was honored by the U.S. Department of State for her efforts as a Muslim woman storyteller who is working to challenge the negative stereotypes depicted in the media. Previously, Salam worked in development/production with film director Robert Rodriguez on projects with George Clooney and many other talented artists. She began her career at Apple’s renowned ad agency, TBWA Chiat/Day, creating some of their award winning work. See more here.

Mohab Khattab Producer

As the founder of Book Club for Men, aka documentary film night, Mohab is pleased to give up his theater seat to produce meaningful films. After years of advocating for corporate clients, Mohab formed 1001 MEDIA to cast light on the Arab world’s unseen humanity. As the team’s grey-hair, Mohab’s legal, financial, strategic, and entrepreneurial skills help round out the creative talents. A frustrated graphic artist, Mohab is thrilled Zach and Chris let him choose Salam Neighbor’s fonts. Read more here.

Zach Ingrasci Director/Producer

Despite being a chronic doodler, Zach never expected to be a filmmaker. From farming radishes on less than $1 a day in rural Guatemala to living in a tent in a Syrian refugee camp, he hopes to bring new perspective to some of the world’s most pressing issues. Zach and his co-founder Chris directed, produced and starred in Living on One Dollar and Salam NeighborFind both films on Amazon, iTunes, and Vimeo on Demand.

He was recognized alongside Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie as a top 100 visionaries of 2015 by WPO/YPO’s Real Leaders Magazine and was awarded the 2016 Muslim Public Affairs Council Annual Media Award. Read more here.

Chris Temple Director/Producer

Chris is an award-winning humanitarian, activist and filmmaker. With his co-founder Zach, Chris produced, directed, and starred in the films, Living On One Dollar and Salam Neighbor, which embed him into some of the world’s most complex issues and environments. Find both films on Amazon, iTunes, and Vimeo on Demand.

He has spoken at the United Nations, TEDx, and on CBS This Morning, and his work has been featured in The New York Times and Variety. He was recognized alongside Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie as one of the Top 100 Visionary Leaders of 2015 by WPO/YPO’s Real Leaders Magazine and was accepted by the U.S. State Department into the American Film Showcase. While he no longer has the accent, Chris is 100% British. Read more here.

Sean Kusanagi Director of Photography

Director and editor, Sean Kusanagi is fascinated by the fleetingness of one’s memory and the power of film to capture, document and inspire.

Sean brings a powerful narrative and kinetic style to every film.  He loves the balance between sound, visuals, and pacing that creates the harmony of an original story.

Sean has done films for Workhouse Creative, Spot Welders, Optimist, and Seattle music duo, Odesza.

Currently he lives in Seattle and enjoys bánh mì sandwiches.

Mohamed El Manasterly Film Editor

Mohamed El Manasterly is an Emmy Award winning, bilingual video editor with a diverse professional experience including documentaries, narratives, commercials and talk shows. Known for mixing editing styles, his fluency in Arabic and English has allowed him to bridge the gap between both cultures and to produce films that are understood by a wide audience.

El Manasterly moved from Cairo to Los Angeles in 2014 after winning an Emmy for best picture editing for the documentary “The Square”. “The Square” was also an Oscar nominee for best documentary. El Manasterly’s films have won numerous other awards at the IDA Awards, the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, Sheffield film Festival, Dubai Film Festival, DOC NYC, and IDFA. He is currently working with the Emmy award winning directors/producers, the Konwiser Brothers, on a documentary about innovation via STEM in the U.S.

Jennifer Tiexiera Film Editor

Jennifer Tiexiera is a documentary film producer and editor. She most recently produced the VR documentary, ZIKR: A Sufi Revival, official selection of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Last year, she both produced and edited documentaries, A Suitable Girl, winner of the Albert Maysles Award at the 2017 TriBeCa Film Festival and Waiting for Hassana, official selection of the 2017 Sundance, SXSW, and Toronto Film Festivals. She edited The Last Goodbye, a VR documentary that made it’s debut at the 2017 TriBeCa Film Festival, internationally at the 2017 Venice International Film Festival, and won the 2018 Lumiere Award for Best VR Documentary. Some of her previous work also includes the documentaries Salam Neighbor, Oprah Builds a Network, Biggie : The Notorious Life of B.I.G., the Emmy-nominated ESPN film, The Marinovich Project, and the 2011 SXSW Documentary Grand Jury Winner, Dragonslayer.

Snuffy Walden Composer

W.G. Snuffy Walden’s music can be heard in over sixty different television shows. Walden has gained much acclaim for scoring thirtysomething, The West Wing, Friday Night Lights, Under the Dome, Nashville, Aquarius, and many other television shows; more than a dozen cable films and movies for television; several independent films; and the major release “Leaving Normal.” He has received twelve Emmy nominations, multiple BMI awards, and was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Theme for The West Wing.

Patrick Rose Composer

Patrick is a Los Angeles based composer whose music has for over ten years been the emotional fabric for a wide gamut of projects ranging from the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies to hit television shows such as Nashville and Under the Dome.

An alumni of Berklee College of Music, he believes strongly in the power of music as a narrative language necessary to storytelling in media. He also believes a cappella groups and trombone solos are highly underrepresented in the current meta of media music and is constantly searching for new ways to right this injustice.

Ibraheem Shaheen Interpreter/Fixer

Ibraheem is a 21‐year old aspiring filmmaker with a Bachelor’s degree in Digital Film Making from Middlesex University in the U.K. He has extensive experience as a fixer and Production Manager, including work with Al‐Jazeera English, BBC, Vice & Channel Nine Australia. His hard work and passion for film led him to proudly represent Jordan in FLY2013 Film Leaders Incubator, a workshop comprised of 14 Asian countries, with Jordan as the only participating Arab representative. Ibraheem is well known for his dedication to his work, especially with regard to documentaries and films focused on human rights issues.