Laura Zéphirin
DIRECTOR - CINEMATOGRAPHER - EDITOR
Laura Zéphirin is a French Filmmaker based in New York. She grew up in Paris where she worked for a decade as a producer, editor and videographer in the main national TV channels. She then relocated to the Big Apple in 2017 to further explore and investigate the profound injustices that underlie our world’s social and environmental issues. Given her longtime passion for this cause, Laura decided to initiate the production of “Making Waves” in 2019 while enrolled in the News and Documentary program at New York University. Laura’s intention and purpose behind “Making Waves” was to both inform the worldwide audience of the robust impact we, as humans, have on our natural environment, as well as stimulate a shift in our overall understanding of our oceans. While executing this project, Laura followed Lamya Essemlali on an edifying journey into nature for approximately six months; there, she was able to compile a wide array of invaluable information and perspectives from all over the world. Laura has since been inspired to alter her diet and stop eating fish altogether - her ongoing mission within her career is to spread awareness of this emergency situation, and incite action towards reducing the damaging effect humanity’s negligence is having on our natural environment. After all, "if the ocean dies, we die.”
Juliane Antoine
ASSISTANT CINEMATOGRAPHER
Juliane Antoine is a French Journalist, and filmmaker. She graduated from the Paris School of Journalism in 2010. Antoine mainly collaborated with national television channels to produce, shoot and edit societal and environmental reports. She has always been sensitive to this topic, but also to the green bashing and climatosceptics. The documentary is an opportunity for her to highlight the commitment of one woman in the hope to raise awareness about climate issues for millions of people. What does everyone at their own scale is willing to do for the planet?
Jean-Aimé Venault-Moore
POST-PRODUCTION
Jean-Aimé is a filmmaker, producer and editor, based in New York, NY. He started his career in the filming industry telling stories for media and luxury brands. After 10 years of traveling the world for his clients, he decided to put his societal commitment and his beliefs at the center of his work. Joining the Making Waves team gave him the opportunity to put his core values first and help bringing awareness to one of the global issues we should all be concerned of. And there are many other issues that must be pointed out. This is the beginning of a genuine mission to make a difference for the sake of today’s generation and the next ones to come.
Pierce Constanti
COMPOSER
Pierce Constanti is an American composer, orchestrator and singer, writing in a wide range of musical styles. For Lamya Essemlali’s fight against animal exploitation and cruelty, Pierce created music expressing anguish, hope, and resolve: emotions experienced when witnessing horrible acts against animals and the fight for change. For this, Pierce emphasized expressive solo instruments and mixed classical and electronic styles, layering improvisational cello and voice with subtle synthesizers and audio effects including delay and reverberation. Since 2016, Pierce has composed over twenty scores for documentaries, independent films, student films, television, and advertisements, including Lone Star Deception, winner of the Gold and Special Jury Remi awards at WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Pierce is studying film scoring while earning a masters degree in music at New York University and holds a Bachelor of Music cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis.
Sophia Stone
COMPOSER
Sophia Stone is an American composer based in Manhattan. Originally from Rochester, New York, she received her BA in Music from the University of Rochester, and expects her MM in Screen Scoring from NYU in 2021. Stone is passionate about the way music of all genres can help people to empathize with the stories of others. As a long-time vegetarian and supporter of environmental activism, she was thrilled to have the opportunity to use her craft to help bring awareness to one of the most important issues of our time. Stone hopes that everyone who hears Lamya's story is just as inspired to create positive change in the world, and is incredibly thankful to have been a part of telling that story.
Justin Matley
SOUND SUPERVISOR & RE-RECORDING MIXER
Justin Matley is an award-winning Audio Engineer, Re-Recording Mixer, Sound Designer, and Music Director/Supervisor. After a decade at NYC's largest audio post-production studio, Sound Lounge, he went solo seven years ago, and currently works out of multiple studios in NYC and Connecticut.
Justin works on a plethora of film, TV, radio, internet, music, and experiential projects for dozens of high profile clients worldwide. An accomplished veteran of the broadcast, advertising, and film industries, Justin has thousands of projects under his belt, and has a reputation for being an excellent problem solver, team player, and creative executor.
Benjamin Kruse
SOUND EDITOR & RE-RECORDING MIXER
Ben Kruse is an audio editor, sound engineer and re-recording mixer that works in various sonic post-production mediums. Though based in Chicago, he is a New Yorker and a Bolivian at heart. He received his BFA in Sonic Arts from the City College of New York and now works as a freelancer in collaboration with various studios and collaborators in the New York City area and beyond. Working on a story of great significance, such as “Making Waves”, is what he enjoys the most.