DIRECTORS
AUBREY SMYTH
Aubrey’s comedic writing and colorful visual style has been greatly influenced by the imagination and Americana of her childhood, having traveled to 40 states in her family’s motorhome before the age of 10. In the years after graduating with High Honors in Film & Video and being awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award in Media Arts/Film by the acclaimed Pratt Institute, Aubrey set her mind on directing.
Her first documentary about donor conception and the unregualted fertility industry, “The Need To Know”, was executive produced by Tribeca Studios and 23andMe. Aubrey was the Grand Prize Winner for Moët Moment Film Festival sponsored by Moët & Chandon for her film “The Bout” and recipient of a $25,000 prize. She won 1st Place for a Lipton Iced Tea spot and was runner-up for a Klondike spot both via MoFilm’s International commercial competition.
In Aubrey’s commercial career spanning 10 years she has directed notable talents Mark Ruffalo, Priyanka Chopra, Busy Philipps, Hasan Minhaj, Laverne Cox and more. In addition, she writes and edits many of her commercials and studied improvisational comedy at Upright Citizens Brigade.
JESSICA EDWARDS
Raised on a hobby farm by musician parents, Jessica Edwards’ imagination for storytelling was inspired at a young age.
After a decade growing a career on the marketing/production side of media and advertising, Jessica made the natural transition to direct commercials and branded content for clients such as; Huawei, Stella Artois, The Washington Post, Air Canada, Kellogg’s, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Rethink Breast Cancer. She launched the next phase of her career with a short narrative film, HARD BOILED EGGS, and a fashion film (which paid homage to the 1966 film Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf) for an online magazine. She quickly established herself with visually rich stories using unique angles of narrative.
Jessica’s first feature film, STAY AWHILE, is a personal story chronicling her parents’ brush with fame as they climbed the worldwide music charts in the 1960s/70s as Canada’s first supergroup, The Bells. The film premiered at the Whistler International Film Festival and was an opening weekend selection for the Hot Docs International Film Festival, receiving glowing reviews at both. It was subsequently picked up by Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Prime, and DirectTV in the U.S. Her content work has won Best-Of-Show at the Gramercy Content Marketing Awards and her recent short films Connecting The North for Huawei was nominated for Best Documentary at the Cynopsis Media Awards taking place in NYC.
The success of the film Stay Awhile led to Jessica being deemed a “filmmaker to watch”.
While continuing to direct branded content and documentary work, she is currently in development with her next scripted feature The Laurentians.
JIM FABIO
Jim Fabio is an award-winning filmmaker with a distinctive visual style and a keen sense of story, for which he has garnered numerous accolades, to include Emmy, Cine Golden Eagle, New York Festivals, Voice and Telly Awards. His work on the groundbreaking Red Line Films sports documentary series Timeless for ESPN earned him his first Sports Emmy in 2005. From 2008 to 2010, as part of Lookalike Productions, Jim produced a series of social issue documentary specials for Sesame Street and PBS, for which the production team garnered several awards, as well as a Primetime Emmy nomination. And in 2013, Jim won another Emmy Award for his work on the NFL Network series The NFL Season: A Biography.
Jim was recently involved in the production of two documentary films in Africa: one in West Africa about the music of Mali, and another for Oprah Winfrey’s HARPO productions about the first class of students to graduate from her leadership academy for girls in South Africa. He more recently wrapped production on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia and the 2016 Olympic Games for NBC in Rio de Janiero for NBC; a pair of documentaries for the NFL Network about Pro Football Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Andre Reed; and a documentary film for Red Bull Media House about the sport of Jai Alai. He also directed a slate of feature stories for the 2016 Invictus Games for ESPN and 2017-2018 Thursday Night Football for CBS & NFL Network.
Currently, Jim is completing production of a documentary about the Orangeburg Massacre, the February 1968 mass shooting of unarmed black students by white Highway Patrolmen on the campus of South Carolina State College.
He has been selected to Who’s Who in America and is a member of American Mensa.
NIKA OFFENBAC
Nika Offenbac is an award-winning director, producer and collaborator whose heart lives in the world and whose stuff lives in Brooklyn NY.
Commercially she has directed brand campaigns for Evian, Airbnb, Ubisoft, Nestle & TBS, among others. Her visual style and onset approach is based on 10+ years of experience in post-production, animation and visual effects leading tour visuals for Skrillex, Tiesto & Zedd, and branded content for Nordstroms, Macy’s. Toshiba, & Sprint.
In the realm of network television, she has executive produced rebrands, show packages, promos, series and network campaigns for the likes of truTV, Amazon, Netflix, FX, MTV & HBO, including co-executive producing a 5 part documentary series for MTV World, “Until the Sun Comes Up,” about the global evolution of dance music.
When not on set, in meetings or a windowless editing bay, you can usually find her in the boxing ring taking a refresher course on some of life’s deeper lessons which can be boiled down to the following. Be fearless. Be kind. Never ask how many.
SHELDON CANDIS
Baltimore native Sheldon Candis is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Candis created and directed the docu-series ‘I WILL WHAT I WANTʼ, a cinematic portrait of ballet phenom Misty Copeland for Under Armour. Candisʼdocumentary THE DWELLING, chronicles the lives of two homeless men living along Tokyo’s Sumida Gawa. The film is being distributed by Scion and Giant Robot magazine.
Candis directed and produced the feature length documentary BALTIMORE BOYS for the prestigious ESPN 30 for 30 original films. The inspiring story of the greatest high school basketball team ever; the 1981ʼ-83ʼ Dunbar Poets that achieved a 59-0 record over two undefeated seasons and produced four NBA players in David Wingate, Reggie Williams, Boston Celtic great Reggie Lewis, and a 5ʼ3” tiny dynamo named Tyrone ‘Muggsyʼ Bogues.Candis directed and produced the feature length documentary BALTIMORE BOYS for the prestigious ESPN 30 for 30 original films. The inspiring story of the greatest high school basketball team ever; the 1981ʼ-83ʼ Dunbar Poets that achieved a 59-0 record over two undefeated seasons and produced four NBA players in David Wingate, Reggie Williams, Boston Celtic great Reggie Lewis, and a 5ʼ3” tiny dynamo named Tyrone ‘Muggsyʼ Bogues.
Candisʼ accolades donʼt solely apply to long form filmmaking. His high impact storytelling has translated effectively into the short form ad world doing culture defining campaigns for the likes of Ford, Beats, Honda, Walmart, and Microsoft.
Currently, Candis is directing the Everfi and Wondros docu-series DREAMS, chronicling the untold stories of African American history through the narrative storyteller point of view of todayʼs youth. Produced by Charles Barkley.
EVAN SAVITT
Evan Savitt is a NY-based director of commercials, branded content, and music videos. His fascination with the rhythmic momentum of everyday life and the elevation of the ordinary into the filmic has translated into a longstanding career in lifestyle content, comedic dialogue and music videos.
As a director, he’s known for his love of dissecting the mechanics of a brief and developing dynamic practical effects and visual patterns.
He has directed projects for clients ranging from Under Armour, to DVF, Kate Spade, Condé and Nast, to name a select few. Evan has built a reputation in the health and wellness spaces as well, shooting for Columbia-Presbyterian and Hope and Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund for over 15 years.
FARAH X
Farah is an award-winning director and editor, whose list of clients include Prince, Mariah Carey, and Beyoncé– among many other industry icons.She began editing at age 19, prior to attending the prestigious Film Production Program at USC. At age 20, Farah was hired to edit a project for famed Hellraiser director Clive Barker. She also directed her first music video around this time, which made the rounds at numerous festivals, and got her on Billboard Magazine's "Top 10 Up and Coming Directors to Watch" list.
Farah was sought out by Mariah Carey to be her personal editor. Soon after, she became the personal editor to the legendary Prince. Since then, Farah has gone on to edit and direct several award-winning projects, with a consistent focus on women’s stories–especially women of color. Her work has been showcased at SXSW, AFI Docs, LA Film Festival and can be seen on Netflix and iTunes.
Farah recently finished co-directing (and co-editing) her first feature length documentary, The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion. The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2019 and has gone on to win several awards worldwide. She is also finishing her first novel.
When Farah is not editing or directing, she is often traveling or hiking with her dog, Ziggy. She calls Brooklyn, NY home.
