Key Personnel

Patrick Donohew
Director/Producer

A Kentucky native, Patrick has been a freelance Film/Video and Event Producer in San Francisco for over 10 years, working in films, commercials, music videos and theater. His work has been seen on venues ranging from PBS to MTV to CNN. Patrick founded Kudzu Theatre company in San Francisco, which went on to win four Dramalouge Awards, including Best Production in 1994. In addition to his ongoing involvement with theater, Patrick has worked with clients ranging from Habitat for Humanity to Brian Eno and was the Associate Producer of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the United Nations with President Bill Clinton. Patrick founded Sour Mash Films in 1996, an independent production company which focuses on films about community in all its forms. He is now very happy to be turning to home to make his directorial debut with “Seven Sisters: A Kentucky Portrait”.

John White
Editor

One of Philadelphia's leading independent creative editors for eight years, John Douglas White's achievements include Nike's highly-rated 1996 Super Bowl advertising campaign "Pee Wee Football: The Year in Review", as well as Nike's entire 1995 fall campaign "This Week in Pee Wee Football". He was Senior Editor for NFL Films'/ESPN's "Black Star Rising", a history and celebration of the African-American athlete in professional football. In 1996, White edited the pilot for The Discovery Channel's global travel series "Travelers", and he became the series' Senior Avid Editor during its first season. In the winter of 1997, he finished editing the independent experimental documentary film, "De Aquí a Allá (From Here to There)", a two-year endeavor with director Maria Teresa Rodriguez Since he has arrived in San Francisco, he has edited "Country Salutes Elvis: Long Live The King" for The Nashville Network, and "Dreams Spoken Here", a film about teaching profoundly deaf children to listen and speak, for The Oberkotter Foundation. Other credits include programming for NBC, Fox, Comedy Central, ESPN, and CNBC/ America's Talking, as well as commercial spots for Brita Water Filters, Subaru, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He also served as a technical editorial consultant for Universal Pictures' release "Up Close and Personal."

Jeffrey Kazor
Musician/Musical Advisor

Raised in northern California, Jeff's musical roots span further to the music of America's south east region. Growing up in a house where he was surrounded by his father's harmonica playing of old fiddle tunes, his commitment to traditional old-time music began at an early age. To further his musical knowledge, Jeff toured the east coast to attend several old-time fiddle conventions and festivals, such as at Clifftop NC, Mount Airy NC and Galax VA. He studied unaccompanied singing with Dwight Diller, one of the most respected old-time Appalachian musicians, at the Augusta Heritage Center. Jeff is the creator and director behind the San Francisco based bluegrass old-time string band, The Crooked Jades. This band's accomplishments include participation at major music festivals, showcase performances at the 1998 International Bluegrass Music Awards and a nationally-recognized debut album, Going to the Races, which is praised for it's rare assemblage of traditional fiddle tunes and ballads. Jeff has also been involved in several Bay Area music projects with Richard Buckner, a MCA recording artist known for his alternative, bluegrass and country roots music. As an avid collector of traditional folk songs, Jeff is committed to exploring the roots of Appalachian music, oral tradition and folklore.

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Betsy Taylor – Humanities Advisor
Research Director, Appalachian Center

Betsy has been the Research Director of the Appalachian Center at the University of Kentucky since 1999, during which time she has also been the Chairperson of the Editorial Board for the Appalachian Atlas. She has been widely published in Appalachian Studies journals, and has also been very active outside the academic community as a committee member for the Kentuckians for the Commonwealth--a powerful grass-roots economic and enviornmental justice organization in Kentucky. Betsy's background also includes extensive work overseas, studying rural community issues in India, Nepal and Nigeria.

Gail Silva
Director, Film Arts Foundation

Gail has worked as co-director or director of the Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco since 1979. In that time, the organization has grown from 100 members to over 3400 independent film and video makers from around the world. Currently Gail serves as the president of the Board of Directors of California Newsreel, a nonprofit distributor of films and tapes on the African American experience and history. She is currently on the Advisory Boards of National Asian American Telecommunications Association, Frameline, the San Francisco Cinematheque, and the Selection Advisory Committee for the Sundance Film Festival. She has been a panelist for the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation and the California Arts Council. She has also served on the boards of Cine Accion, the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture and the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media. In the Fall of 1997 she joined the U.S. selection committee for INPUT 98, an annual international public television conference.

Michael Moore

Michael is a documentary producer, writer, and director and has been writing documentary scripts and treatments on a range of political and social issues for ten years. His writing credits include the Academy Award-nominated feature documentary "Freedom on My Mind," the three-hour PBS documentary "Fundamentalism: Defending God in the Secular Age", and the two-hour Disney Channel documentary "Alpine Adventure", which debuted as part of the Emmy Award-winning series, "Great Wonders of the World". Michael's directing and camera credits include a one-hour documentary on Antarctica for Rand McNally, which has been broadcast internationally, "The Coffee Connection", a documentary on Salvadoran Death Squads, and a six-part series of scenic videos on San Francisco. Michael's recent work, "The Legacy", a documentary investigation of California's "Three Strikes" law, was broadcast in the fall of 1999 on POV.