Meet the production team

Debra Pascali-Bonaro (Director/Producer) Meet the Filmmaker

Kris Liem, Producer/Editor A three-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing, Kris has edited many award-winning documentaries, including episodes of the Emmy winners for Outstanding Nonfiction Series for both 2004 and 2005, Broadway: the American Musical, and 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America. She co-produced a number of the films she has edited, including They Came For Good: A History of the Jews in the United States. Kris started her career in the early 1970s with the Maysles brothers and has since worked at all the major networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS, as well as HBO, A&E, and The History Channel.

David Ford, Director of Photography In the last decade, David has shot numerous commercial, narrative, and documentary films. His credits include two Emmy Award–winning documentaries: New York: A Documentary Film by Ric Burns (Steeplechase Films) and Divided Highways: The Interstates and the Transformation of American Life (Florentine Films). Recently David was Executive Producer and Director of Photography for an hourlong documentary on gay rodeo for MTV’s new channel, LOGO. David is a successful signed Producer/Director with Image Bank, the largest stock footage supplier in the world. He teaches cinematography in the graduate film department at Columbia University.

John McDowell, Composer John is an internationally award-winning pianist, percussionist, producer, commissioned composer, and instructor. He wrote the music for the film Born Into Brothels, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2005 and 25 other film awards. John’s touring and recording credits include Mamma Tongue, the platinum-selling band Rusted Root, Krishna Das, and Ram Das. He has performed with Sting and Carlos Santana. He has produced several albums, including Pilgrim Heart, Live on Earth by Krishna Das, Beloved Chants by Shyamdas, and A Night of Sufi Music by the Jerrahi Dervishes. His latest release, Speaking the Mamma Tongue, on Raven Recordings reached #19 on top 100 World Radio. www.johnmcdowell.net

Sabina Sciubba, Additional Composition and Lyrics Born in Rome and raised in Bavaria, Sabina has lived in France and now resides in New York City. Sabina sings and composes in six languages and is the lead singer of the New York Brazilian Girls. Besides recording and touring worldwide with the Brazilian Girls, she has collaborated with many artists, including Bebel Gilberto, Adria Petty, Meshell Ndegeocello, Baaba Maal, Wax Poetic, Herbert, MSTRKRFT, ThreeASFOUR, and Gemma Kahng. Original scores besides the score for Orgasmic Birth include The Party’s Over (2002), Dogs in the Basement (2003), Born into Brothels (2004), and Forty Shades of Blue (2005). Sabina has acted in the films LL (2006), The Doorman (2006), The DIG (2005), and the German television series “Marienhof” (1995-96).

Tom Paul, Sound Mixer An accomplished sound professional with more than 20 years in the business, Tom has mixed and sound-designed more than 80 films, including both dramatic features and documentaries. After a busy start as a boom operator and then a production mixer, Tom began a transition into postproduction audio in 1994, having developed a keen interest in sound design. Gaining post chops and a loyal clientele, he moved his operation up to Rockland County, New York, where he designed and built his first mixing studio in a 1940s vintage streamside cottage that has become the mixing and sound-design studio of choice for many New York film projects over the years, including Academy Award winners Born Into Brothels and The Fog of War.

Judith Halek, Photographer Since 1987, Judith, who is the director of Birth Balance, has filmed and photographed waterbirth conferences and pregnancy/labor/birth/postpartum, nationally and internationally. Judith filmed, directed, and edited 39 “Alternatives in Childbirth” documentaries that aired on the Manhattan Neighborhood cable station. www.BirthBalance.com

Jada Shapiro, Photographer Jada is the co-founder of Birth Day Presence, a company that provides professional birth photography, birth and postpartum support, and childbirth education to expectant women and their families in the New York City area. Her intimacy with the birthing process allows her to witness and record the beauty and power of a birthing woman and her partner as they make the transition into parenthood. www.birthdaypresence.net

Jessica Ranek, Photographer Jessica has worked in film and television since 1987 both in front of the camera and behind it. She started to work on films about birth in 1995 to combine her love of film and her passion for conscious birthing. In 1997 she became a doula and childbirth educator. Her credits include producing and co-directing the waterbirth in the opening segment of the 2004 feature film Birth, directed by Jonathan Glazer. Jessica continues to work on birth-related films on a freelance basis and is also working as an actress in Los Angeles.

Arp Laszlo, Website Designer & Webmaster Arp is a web designer and developer who became involved in the film Orgasmic Birth because of a personal interest in homebirth and a desire to expand the options available for women during their birth journey. He and his family also appear in the film in scenes in which his wife gives birth to their daughter at home.