Personnel
Andy Abrahams Wilson, Exec. Director/Senior Producer
Founder and president of Open Eye Pictures, Andy Abrahams Wilson is a multi-award winning, Emmy-nominated producer and director of creative non-fiction films. Andy received a BA in cultural anthropology from Northwestern University, and an MA in visual anthropology from the University of Southern California, where he also studied at the USC School of Cinema. Andy’s approach emphasizes the moving image as a way to bridge disparate parts, peoples and ideas. While his work takes on controversial themes, he uses the filmmaking process as an opportunity to encourage empathy and identification. His most recent production, UNDER OUR SKIN, is the recipient of seven best documentary awards at international film festivals and was an Academy Award semifinalist for Best Documentary Feature. Andy's films have been shown on HBO, PBS, CBC, the Showtime Networks, and in theaters and film festivals worldwide. A recipient of a Pew Charitable Trust Fellowship in Dance/Media, he has produced several award-winning films on dance or dancers, and is the two-time Grand Prize recipient at the Dance on Camera Film Festival. Andy is a former budget director of the film distribution cooperative New Day Films and member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He has received numerous foundation grants, including the California Council for the Humanities, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Laurance Rockefeller Foundation, the Columbia Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation and the Educational Foundation of America. He has been recognized by the Northern California Marin Arts Council as Outstanding Artist, and by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences with honors for Outstanding Documentary Achievement. In addition to making films, Wilson also teaches a yearly workshop on "Photography as a Spiritual Journey" at the world-renowned Esalen Institute.
» Filmography & Honors
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Eva Ilona Brzeski, Associate
Eva works as a freelance editor and partner of Open Eye Pictures' boutque video services. She is the director/editor of the award-winning films THIS UNFAMILIAR PLACE, 24 GIRLS, CHINA DIARY (911 ) and the underground sensation LAST SEEN. Her work has been featured in Filmmaker Magazine and shown internationally. As a freelance editor Eva's credits include films such as the acclaimed documentary feature UNDER OUR SKIN as well as the TV shows The Real World and The Simple Life. Her work can be found online at www.evapix.com and her latest work-in-progress is at www.kindnessthemovie.com.
Regan Brashear, Associate Producer
Regan works as Associate Producer at Open Eye Pictures, as well as Community Engagement Coordinator for our films in release. Originally from Virginia, Regan has been working on labor, disability, youth, LGBT, race and environmental issues for over 20 years now through community organizing, documentary film, and other creative endeavors. After completing a masters in Social Documentation in 2008 from UC Santa Cruz, she co-founded the Making Change Media Collective in Oakland, CA, also working with Frederick Marx on social media strategy and outreach for his latest film, JOURNEY FROM ZANSKAR. She is currently in post-production on FIXED, a new documentary about disability, eugenics, and emerging human enhancement technologies.
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Renny McCauley, Post Production Supervisor
Renny serves in many capacities for Open Eye Pictures projects, including camera operator, sound engineer, editor and assistant editor. Originally from Texas, Renny is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Television/Radio/Film program, and is currently enrolled in the MFA program in Cinema at SFSU. In 2004, he edited Troy Dillinger’s music video ANOTHER SONG ABOUT LOVE, nominated for Best Music Video by the Austin Chronicle and Austin Music Network. He most recently edited WASTED ORIENT, a documentary about the Chinese rock band, Joyside. Currently, he is working on the short film DRIVE, a time-lapse trip across America.
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Debra Regina, Financial Manager
Before working at Open Eye Pictures, Debra was partner and CFO at Light Weavers, a unique design and event production organization that produced large-scale corporate events. Debra also has experience with non-profit organizations. She was the Director of Services for organizations that provided residential programs for the developmentally disabled; Managing Director of Under One Roof, a retail store for AIDS relief in San Francisco; and worked for the New York State Department of Mental Health. She received her MA in Psychology at California Institute of Integral Studies.
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Tom Shepard, Producer
Currently serving as Producer and Editor for THE GROVE, Tom has been producing and directing documentaries for over 13 years. He co-directed and produced KNOCKING about the history and experiences of Jehovah's Witnesses which broadcast nationally on the PBS program Independent Lens in May of 2007. In 2001, Shepard produced and directed SCOUT'S HONOR, a PBS-funded documentary (www.itvs.org) about the anti-gay policy of the Boy Scouts of America. SCOUT'S HONOR won the two top awards at the Sundance Film Festival as well as several other others including Grand Prize at the 2001 USA Film Festival. SCOUT'S HONOR broadcast nationally when it opened P.O.V.'s 14th season. Mr. Shepard coordinated national outreach campaigns in conjunction with the Independent Television Service (ITVS) for both of these films prior to broadcast.
Recently, Shepard directed WHIZ KIDS, a feature documentary that chronicles the lives of three high schoolers who compete in the nation's oldest and most prestigious science competition, a competition that Shepard won himself when he was in high school 20 years ago.
Tom Shepard started his career as an editor at National Public Radio for Linda Wertheimer. At NPR, he co-produced LISTENING TO AMERICA, an audio documentary on the history of public radio in America. He graduated from Stanford University, where he majored in biology and film, and currently serves as President of New Day Films, a progressive film distribution company.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Helbraun, Esq
David Helbraun is a principal in the Helbraun Law Firm. He is a graduate of Yale University and of Hastings College of the Law, University of California at San Francisco. Formerly a partner in the San Francisco office of Wilson, Elser, Mosowitz, Edelman & Dicker, Mr. Helbraun's practice focuses on the areas of professional liability defense and insurance coverage, construction and commercial litigation, and copyright and trademark. Mr. Helbraun has also defended intellectual property, franchise law and constitutional law tort claims. Mr. Helbraun is a member of the California State Bar and the American Bar Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom; and serves on the California State Bar's Committee on Professional Liability Insurance.
Lisa Hinman, Treasurer
Lisa Hinman has been an editor, producer and executive producer in the commercial video industry for over 30 years. She is a founder and current President of Phoenix Edit, Effects & Design, a high-end post-production house in San Francisco. Clients include Apple, Microsoft, Sony, McDonalds, Palm, HP, iPod, AT&T, Adidas and Yahoo. Prior to coming to California, Ms. Hinman was a television director at production houses and television stations in Philadelphia and Cleveland, where she also worked independently as a film and video editor. She is the President of AICE, the Association of Independent Creative Editors, an international trade association which represents the interests of independent creative editorial companies and their editors. She is also a longtime hospice volunteer.
Diane Livia, Secretary
Diane Livia has worked in the media arts field for 20 years including cable, industrial video and broadcast television where she has produced, directed, programmed and managed. At KQED TV, Ch 9 (PBS), as director of broadcast services, Ms. Livia managed unsolicited proposals, revitalized KQED’s relationship with independent producers, experimented with PBS in the field of digital broadcast and enhanced television, and administered production grants. While program director/executive producer at KCSM, Ch 60 (PBS), she took the station to number two in a market dominated by the most-watched public television station in the nation, and executive produced numerous documentaries and a 26-part educational series. Previous to her public television career, Ms. Livia managed and expanded a cable programming network serving 10 cities. She served as event producer for INPUT 2005, an international, screening conference of public television. Ms. Livia has served on the P.O.V. editorial board and numerous selection committees including ITVS, INPUT and the National Science Foundation.
Andy Abrahams Wilson, President
Andy Abrahams Wilson, MA, is the founder and Executive Director of Open Eye Pictures. He has been a producer/director of independent, educational films for over ten years. In this time, he has garnered a national Emmy Award nomination and numerous honors for his films, which have been broadcast on HBO, PBS, Showtime Networks, and the Canadian Broadcast Company, as well as distributed educationally worldwide. Mr. Wilson’s approach emphasizes the moving image as a way to bridge disparate parts, peoples and ideas. While his work takes on controversial themes, he uses the filmmaking process as an opportunity to encourage empathy and identification, rather than separation and polarization. Mr. Wilson is the recipient of a Pew Charitable Trusts fellowship in Dance/Media and was recognized by the Marin Arts Council as an Outstanding Artist of the Year. He is a former Budget Director of New Day Films, a national film distribution cooperative, and member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In addition to his in-house and contract production work, Mr. Wilson teaches “video as art and discovery” in the Open Eye Pictures’ studios, the renowned Esalen Institute, and in workshops worldwide.
PERSONNEL 
