DIRECTOR

Tod Polson received both his BFA and MFA from The California Institute of the Arts (Cal/Arts) under a scholarship from the Walt Disney Co. His student film, Al Tudi Tuhak, won many awards including the Student Oscar. Between degrees, Tod apprenticed under the Oscar-winning team of Chuck Jones, and Maurice Noble. Tod has worked extensively as a director, designer, and teacher, helping develop a variety of projects all over the world. Some of these projects include the Emmy award-winning El Tigre for Nickelodeon, the Oscar-nominated feature The Secret of Kells, and the Golden Globe-nominated, The Book Of Life. His animation design book, The Noble Approach: Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation, was published by Chronicle Books LLC.

PRODUCER

Mandi Hart is a filmmaker and attorney specializing in creative content development and production and intellectual property. She worked in documentary film production before obtaining her J.D. She is President of both Cave Pictures Publishing, an independent publisher of spiritually resonant comic books and graphic novels, and of MORE Productions, an agency that develops and produces films, graphic novels and stage productions and provides strategic consultation for various creative projects. MORE's past projects include the feature documentary Refuge; The Great Gilly Hopkins; Babette's Feast off-Broadway; Martin Scorsese's 2016 masterpiece Silence; and indie film The Ticket with Dan Stevens. Mandi is a screenwriter and published author of various articles concerning film financing and copyright protection in the age of social media.