Suzanne Girot (Co-producer, Director) holds a BA in Latin American Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and an MFA from California College of the Arts in Oakland. Girot, who speaks fluent Portuguese, has a history of involvement in the arts of Bahia dating back to 1993, when she installed her first multimedia collaboration at the University of Bahia. Her 1996 documentary, The Ultimate Dive, about the art and science of dumpster diving, won awards at New York Expo of Short Film & Video, Berlin Transmedia Videofest, Raindance Festival in London, Canyonlands in Utah, and Victoria International Festival in British Columbia, and has aired on several PBS affiliates. Her first documentary, 'Havana Bienal,' which she filmed in Cuba, has also won numerous awards and aired on PBS.
Renato Frota (Co-producer, Cinematographer) is a native of Minas Gerais, Brazil, who now resides in Santa Cruz, California, where he directs the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange. He holds a BA in theatre arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz and has spent the past fifteen years producing cutting-edge cross cultural performing arts events. He brought Rain Forest Futures to the U.S.-a ritual performance by the Krenak tribe of southeast Brazil. Renato has sponsored numerous Brazilian musical productions in the U.S. including Olodum, Ile Aiye, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil. He produced the Tibetan theatre performance and video, The Life of Padmassambava, which was awarded a United Nations invitation for performance at the Geneva World Peace Conference in 2001.