THE HOMEMADE TEAM

JASON MARIS, Director/DP:

Jason Maris is from the Chicagoland area and moved to Atlanta in 1993. He is a freelance editorial, commercial filmmaker and photographer with over twenty years of experience in the industry. He most recently worked on the award-winning feature length documentary Imba Means Sing as the Director of Photography.

Jason has worked with JWT, the advertising agency for the United States Marine Corps, as a recruitment photographer since 1994. His images are featured nationally on billboards, posters and in books and brochures, as well as on the web. Over 600,000 men and women have enlisted in the Marines since Jasonʼs photographs have been in circulation, because of this, he feels a tremendous responsibility to every Marine.

After 9/11, he volunteered his time on awareness building campaigns for The Bob Woodruff Foundation and Travis Manion Foundation. These experiences clarified that a greater understanding of the post combat landscape was extremely important to him.

Jason set out, with the help of partner, Danielle Bernstein, to make a durational movie illustrating the ambiguous nature of Post Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury through the eyes of a family. 

DANIELLE BERNSTEIN, Producer/Editor/Co-Director:

Danielle Bernstein is an award winning filmmaker and the founder of Clear Films Productions. Danielle's mission is to positively influence the community around her one film at a time. Most recently, she directed and edited the award-winning feature length documentary Imba Means Sing. In December 2015, Imba was released in 37 languages, in over 100 countries and screened at the United Nations.

Her directorial debut, When Clouds Clear, attended over 50 film festivals and was the recipient of numerous awards. Danielle has earned an INDIEFest Award of Excellence for Women Filmmakers, Cine Golden Eagle Award, Accolade Award, the New York State Council of the Arts Grant, and a First Pix NextPix. She has served on numerous panels and was honored to serve as a Juror for the 2017 Atlanta Film Festival Documentary Competition. She currently leads the Atlanta Chapter of Film Fatales, a national network of women directors and is a member of Nexus. Outside of her media endeavors, Danielle is a mother of three little girls, food activist, and loves spending time outdoors.

Jason Maris and Danielle Bernstein are partners in both life and film and are now based in Oregon.

NOAH GALLOWAY, Executive Producer:

Sergeant Noah Galloway was assigned to the 1st of the 502nd Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky during Operation Iraqi Freedom. A few months later Noah was blown up by an IED. Upon returning to the US for recovery, he fell into a deep depression. In an effort to remain a good father, Noah began to seek wellness through physical training.  He gives us the perspective of someone who is on the other side of PTS and offers solutions to mental and physical health.

A gregarious and unforgettable personality, Noah advocates for a healthy life style for all people and has become a public figure through CrossFit tournaments, obstacle-course races and speaking engagements. He has most recently been nationally recognized as a participant on Dancing with the Stars and was featured on the cover of Men's Health. 

SHANNON WRIGHT, Original Score:

Shannon Wright is an accomplished musician with 14 albums completed and released. She has been pursuing her love of music and actively playing since 1990. Most popular in Europe, Shannon has recorded and toured with esteemed artist Yan Tiersen, composer for Amélie. She has worked with acclaimed producers such as Steve Albini (Nirvana) and John Parish (PJ Harvey). Her most recent album was recorded at the studios of internationally renowned pianist Katia Labéque. Her approach to each project is heartfelt and original. Homemade will be her first original score for a documentary feature film. 

ACE HARNEY, Sound/Co-Producer: 

Ace has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. Specializing in sound mixing and cinematography, Ace’s wide range of technical skill and equipment knowledge has made him an invaluable asset to any production. Through the many years of digital storytelling from feature films to commercial productions, Ace has also become a successful producer and director. His company Captain Crazy Productions, Inc, was established in 2008 and is based in Atlanta, GA and Los Angeles, CA. 

TESS FENN, Impact Producer:

Tess joins the Clear Films team with ten years of experience in both the public and private sector. She is known for being a connector, a storyteller and a community builder. From producing concerts for the UN and working on global marketing campaigns for brands like Best Buy and Activision, to being a founding member of the impact gaming company Global Gaming Initiative, Tess has refined her prowess for producing compelling campaigns and building emotional connections between a product and it's audience.  Having been the life partner of a Marine officer for 3+ years, Tess brings her valuable life experience and perspective to the Homemade team and is thrilled to be able to direct her talents to support veterans and their families.

SARAH GLENN BOMAN, Associate Producer:

Sarah Glenn's expertise lies in operations coordination, administrative systems, and social media.  With a background working high-profile hospitality and design firms, Sarah Glenn is excited to be transitioning into the growing GA film industry by using her skills to support the Clear Films and Homemade teams.  You can usually find her behind a computer screen making sure that no one on the team misses a beat - managing email communication, creating social content, or working on our websites.  In her free time, Sarah Glenn loves to cook, travel, and try new restaurants with her husband Lars as well as spending time together at home with their rescue dog Ernie. 

BRAD COLBERT, Advisor: 

Master Sergeant Brad Colbert is a speaker on post-combat stress issues for the Heroes and Healthy Families organization. He has served in the USMC for 20 years. Colbertʼs personal decoration includes the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with V for Valor, Army Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon.

Colbert was recognized for his platoon's role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq featured in a series of Rolling Stone articles by Evan Wright. Wright was an embedded reporter who rode in the backseat of Colbert's vehicle until his departure on May 4, 2003. Wright later expanded these articles into the book Generation Kill, subsequently becoming an HBO miniseries. 

YOCHI DREAZEN, Advisor: 

The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in the Era of Endless War,” was picked as one of The New York Timesʼs Notable Books of 2014 and one of Amazonʼs Best Books of 2014.  Prior to joining Vox, he was the managing editor at Foreign Policy, a contributing editor at the Atlantic, and a senior national security correspondent for National Journal.  He began his career at the Wall Street Journal and spent 11 years at the newspaper, most recently as its military correspondent. Mr. Dreazen covered the invasion of Iraq and spent the next two years helping to run the paper's Baghdad bureau.

Mr. Dreazen has made more than 12 lengthy trips to Iraq and Afghanistan and has spent a total of nearly four years on the ground in the two countries, mostly doing front-line combat embeds. He has reported from more than 20 countries, including Pakistan, Russia, China, Israel, Japan, Turkey, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.  His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time, The Boston Globe, and The New Republic, and he appears regularly on TV and radio.

FIONA OTWAY, Editor Consultant: 

Fiona Otway is a documentary filmmaker who tackles complex social issues through nuanced, emotionally resonant stories. She was an editor on IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, which was awarded 'Best Documentary Editing' at Sundance Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination. Fiona was also an editor on the Academy Award-nominated film SARI’S MOTHER. In addition, she was the editor of HELL AND BACK AGAIN, which won the Sundance Film Festival ‘Grand Jury Prize', a DuPont Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. 

SJ MURRAY, Story Consultant:

SJ Murray, Ph.D., is a story designer, EMMY®-nominated writer and producer and award-winning researcher and educator. She is the author of two books, including Basics of Story Design, and a sought-after speaker on story and creativity. Since 2014, her purpose-driven story strategies for entrepreneurs and non-profits via AnderImage have been awarded more than a dozen international awards for branding and marketing, including the Silver Telly and Communicator Award of Excellence. SJ covers inspiring stories of social entrepreneurship for Conscious Company Media. She has hosted impact conversations at the White House, Sundance, SXSW, the United Nations, and is deeply committed to using film and story to shift the needle on important social issues. SJ's TEDx talks on story have been viewed over 250,000 times.

VELISSA SPADE ROBINSON, Story Consultant:

Spade Robinson is an award winning filmmaker, screenwriter, actress and commedienne with experience that spans feature film, documentary, television, commercial and stage. Spade is a master's alumnus of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she emphasized writing and directing, completing her MFA in Film and Television Production. Since then, she's been commissioned to direct and produce commercial content for by clients ranging from Time Warner and Sundance Instituteto Peculiar People and Finding Charlie. Her original works include award winning films such as Seen Also In Men, The Wedding and The Love Life of A Black Girl as well as a host of feature screenplays and television pilots. Her feature directorial debut, Bad Hair, is currently in post-production. She's directed both contemporary and classical stage plays including Starting Monday, A Mid Summer's Night Dream, and A Lesson Before Dying. Independent plays include Black Voices and Pocketbook.

Spade's work as an actress spans film, television, commercial and stage. Notable works in film include the leads in The Wedding and The Love Life of a Black Girl, in film and Antigone and Starting Monday on stage. Her extensive work in supporting women storytellers and storytellers of color birthed her consulting firm, Story Consulting Services, a company designed to drive the most compelling version of stories for independent artists and corporations. In 2017, after changing her first name from Velissa to Spade, she founded Spade Ink, a production company to finance, develop and produce a diverse slate of projects spanning feature film, documentary, television and digital. Spade is currently in development on several film and television projects.