Our Team
COLETTE GHUNIM
As a documentary filmmaker and nonprofit co-founder, Colette Ghunim’s soul purpose is to use the power of film and storytelling for those oppressed around the world to be seen, to be heard, and to heal. Her first documentary, The People’s Girls (2016), received over 2 million views and won Best Short Documentary at the Arab Film Festival for its bold spotlight on street harassment in Egypt. In co-production with Kartemquin Films and funded by Latino Public Broadcasting, she is directing Traces of Home, her first feature-length film documenting her inner quest to find home through unearthing her parent’s forced migrations from Mexico and Palestine. Colette is also the co-founder of Mezcla Media Collective, a nonprofit organization aimed to cultivate a thriving landscape for over 700 women and non-binary filmmakers of color in Chicago. Her work has been highlighted on international outlets such as Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, Univision, and TEDx. Colette was selected as a 2023 Obama Foundation USA Leader, 2024 Sundance Institute x ISF Fellow, and was featured on Arab America’s “30 Under 30” list.
Director/Producer
SARA MAAMOURI
Sara Maamouri is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and editor who has explored a diverse range of topics for over 20 years. Her work touches on social, educational, and political issues, from We Are Not Princesses (2018), which follows Syrian refugees connecting with ancient truths through Sophocles’ Antigone to the Peabody Award-winning film The Judge (2017), the groundbreaking story of the first woman appointed to the Sharia courts in the Middle East. A multilingual Tunisian-American, Sara brings cultural sensitivity to her editing, production, and story development, with an emphasis on social justice and impact driven filmmaking. Her most recent films include For Our Children (SF International festival 2022), and Clarissa’s Battle (Human Rights Watch Film Festival, NYC 2022).
Editor/Producer
Executive Producer Dena takruri
Dena Takruri is an award-winning on-air presenter, producer, and author who is known for her bold and immersive reporting around the world. She is a Senior Presenter and Producer at AJ+ (Al Jazeera) where she hosts the docuseries “Direct From with Dena Takruri.” Dena has reported on events of global significance, including Israel’s occupation of Palestine, Europe’s refugee crisis, and tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Her show has been honored with a Peabody Award and two Edward R. Murrow Awards, among others. Dena also starred in and served as a consulting producer for the Emmy and Peabody-nominated documentary series “The Secret Life of Muslims.” Additionally, Dena is the co-author of the memoir, “They Called Me A Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight For Freedom,” which chronicles the life of young Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi and offers a rare, intimate account of Palestinian childhood under Israel military occupation. The book won the Memoir Award at the 2023 Palestine Book Awards.
Keith wilson
Keith Wilson is a producer, director, and artist based in Athens, Georgia, whose films have screened at Sundance, the Berlinale, the U.S. National Gallery of Art, documenta14, and the Museum of Modern Art. He is the producer of Joonam (Sundance 2023) and I Didn’t See You There (2022), which won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, the Grand Jury Prize at Full Frame, and a Film Independent Spirit Award. His live documentary performance Moore for Sale (2023) continues to be staged at festivals, museums, and conferences internationally. Keith is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia, and grew up on a cul-de-sac in suburban Atlanta.
Executive Producer
dan rybicky
Dan Rybicky is an award-winning director, producer, and writer who tells stories from a queer perspective to inspire conversations about complicated social issues. Past projects include: Almost There, Kartemquin Films' acclaimed feature documentary about mental health and aging in America; and The Trump Trilogy, three short documentaries made between 2016-2020 about arts education (Larry from Gary), women's rights (Stormy and the Admirals), and healthcare (Accident, MD - Vimeo's Best of 2019). Dan is currently in production on two feature documentaries: The Other American, an intimate portrait of John Leguizamo writing and developing his first feature-length play, a "Latin Death of a Salesman" for our time titled The Other Americans; and OpenMe, which celebrates the life of his dear friend Jennifer Farber Dulos, a tragic victim of domestic violence in 2019, told primarily through her voice in the form of the many plays, stories, essays, and letters she left behind.
Producer
Executive Producermelissa barrera
“I’m honored to come aboard Traces of Home as EP. This documentary feels particularly urgent and personal for me. Not only because of my love and deep connection to Mexico and Palestine, but because it premieres at a time where it is imperative to address the generational trauma that refugees and their families live with. We are living through and witnessing wars and dispossession at home and abroad and our communities are being directly affected. Through the lens of one Palestinian-Mexican family, TOH poignantly articulates how a family can be affected and the importance of finding the tools to heal that trauma. I hope this doc gives hope and shows a way forward to the people that need it.”
capella fahoome
Capella Fahoome leverages her twenty years of film production expertise alongside her deep commitment to positive psychology to create opportunities and cultures that nurture genuine interactions and evolution. She ignites the stories within people, organizations, and communities and weaves them together using storytelling tools with evidence-based well-being practices to deepen relationships, cultivate growth, and elevate performance. The honor is hers to have worked with executives and leaders across philanthropy, higher education, healthcare, media, and Fortune 500 companies, as well as individuals at important transitions in their lives.
Producer
ro grace
Ro Grace (they/he) is a Brooklyn-based experiential educator, which is to say - a decent storyteller. Easily persuaded by the tease of a well-researched tangent and head over heels for healing lineages that have prevailed through and beyond colonization. Guided by the belief that our collective liberation depends on our willingness to be moved, listen deeply, and remember who we are. Experiments in film, sound, and embodied practices are the threads weaving this unfinished (as in, Trans) story together. Also, 13 years as a Yoga and Mindfulness guide helps.
Impact Producer
Impact CoordinatorEmma soltani
Emma Soltani is a San Francisco-based creative, specializing in video editing, production managing, and producing. She has been working as a professional video editor and assistant video editor for over three years, having worked on both narrative and documentary films. She also production managed the 68th annual San Francisco International Film Festival and is currently the producer and editor of Rooted in Love, Colette Ghunim’s podcast.