Susan Fink: Executive Producer, Director
Susan Fink was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After two years studying classical violin at The Manhattan School of Music, she transferred to the University of Chicago in 1988 where she received a B.A. in Anthropology in 1992. Upon graduation, she attended a summer workshop in photography at the Royal College of Art in London where she fell in love with the photographic image. She then attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where her interest in photography expanded to film. After receiving a B.F.A. in Media Arts in 1997, she worked on small personal projects and produced two feature-length documentaries: Accelerated Under-Development (1998), An Injury to One (2001), and one feature-length narrative: Who Killed Cock Robin (2005). These films were seen at over 100 festivals internationally, including screenings at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals. An Injury to One received international distribution through First Run Icarus Films, was purchased by the Sundance Channel, and received favorable reviews in numerous publications including the New York Times. From River To Sea is Susan Fink's directorial debut.

Emerson Machtus: Co-Producer, Co-Writer
Emerson Machtus was born into the film business and is known for his creativity and intricate knowledge of the international film marketplace. He has been actively working in the Film Business for over 12 years in different capacities including film production, creative development, acquisitions, international sales, film distribution and financing in Mexico, Spain, London and Los Angeles. From his early experience in Mexico he went on to manage the film division of American Video Films and Negro y Azul, S.L. While in Spain he executed the acquisition and co-production of such films as "Crimespree," "Absolon," and "Wake of Death," among others. Following this, Lucky 7 Productions took Emerson to London from where he associate produced the film "Citizen Verdict". He went on to supervise the creative development department of the company, landing him eventually at Bauer Martinez Studios in Hollywood where he became Head of Acquisitions and Development. He acquired the titles "Harsh Times" with Christian Bale and Eva Longoria, and developed such titles as "The Flock" with Richard Gere and Claire Danes and "I Could Never Be Your Woman" with Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd as well as other titles. In 2007 Emerson left BMS to pursue production interests, leading him to co-produce "Gospel Hill" with Julia Stiles, Danny Glover, Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson. His name will appear on future projects such as "20% Fiction" with Val Kilmer and "Dark Tracks", a documentary about modern day surfing pirates.

August Thurmer: Director of Photography
August Thurmer studied cinematography at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico. In recent years his craft has brought him to Australia and Eastern Europe. As a new member of the International Cinematographers Guild he is continuing to work with Camera Assistants and Directors of Photography from around the world. August's philosophy on his work: "I am taking risks and discovering the world as I see it. I endeavor to create images that draw attention to the story and the emotion of the scene -- this is why for the moment I am in love with documentary. I'm always working on being fast, efficient, and attentive while looking for the magic that can only happen on set, whether it is a documentary, commercial, music video, or narrative. I try to think like an editor and a director; the Director of Photography in me should just come naturally."

David Hopper: Film Editor

Marisa Collins: Assistant Director
Marisa Collins studied filmmaking at Minnesota State University-Moorhead and Concordia College, where she received her B.A. in Media Studies in 2001. She studied photography and filmmaking at the National Film School in Prague, Czech Republic; past credits include Factotum (2003, dir. Bent Hamer) and Endless Bummer (2008, dir. Sam Pillsbury) in addition to many national commercials. In Minneapolis, Marisa worked with the Sound Unseen Film & Music Festival and the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival, as well as the Walker Art Center. She recently relocated to Los Angeles to pursue her love for independent film and music.

Rauelsson: Composer
Self-considered an adopted Oregonian, Raul Pastor Medall (a.k.a., Rauelsson) has spent the last years of his life living in between Portland, OR and Spain where he was born. His constant attempt to connect the Mediterranean air that raised him with the intense green landscapes of the Pacific Northwest has heavily influenced his life and his quiet, word-conscious folk music. On "From River to Sea" Raul fully gives himself into the deeply intense and personal world of Susan Fink's work. The writing process of the music for the film paralleled a period in Raul's life driven by a dramatic unexpected medical condition of his wife, whom fortunately recovered, which seriously contributed to this cathartic, truthfully passionate catalog of compositions. His works mostly focused on layered guitars, minimalistic instrumentation, and full of texture, Rauelsson has composed 18 instrumental pieces and 2 songs with lyrics for this project. This work represents his first original motion picture soundtrack, a territory he hopes to explore further. Rauelsson has recently released a two-E.P. record on the Portland-based label Hush Records and is currently working on two different projects to be released later this year 09. Hear more of Rauelsson's music here.

Peter Himmelman: Additional Music
Peter Himmelman is a songwriter, Grammy nominated creator of children's music, and an Emmy nominated film and television composer. His broadcast scoring includes the Disney series Bug Juice, NBC's American Embassy and the Touchstone film Crossing The Bridge. In 2002, he earned an Emmy nomination for his work on Judging Amy. He is currently scoring the show Bones on Fox and ABC's Men In Trees. His most recent release is 2007's The Pigeons Couldn't Sleep.
www.peterhimmelman.com

Richard Hama: 1st Assistant Camera
A native Californian, Rich has been working in the camera departments of some of the industry's finest commercial production crews since his graduation from Humboldt State University. A shooter in his own right, Rich has most recently worked in music video production, working with such bands as The Bird and The Bee, Cold War Kids, and Under the Influence of Giants.

Petra Zlatohlava: Production Coordinator/Interpreter
Petra Zlatohlava is an established interpreter in many capacities including film, business meetings, conferences and trade fairs. Her translation work includes film scripts and subtitling, publicity materials, web pages, and more. Her working languages are Czech, Slovakian, English and Spanish, and she is communicative in Russian and German. Currently she is finishing her masters' degree in translation studies at Charles University in her native city of Prague, Czech Republic.

Preston DeFrancis: Sound Mixer
Preston DeFrancis is a filmmaker and cinema technology specialist based in Los Angeles. A recent graduate from the M.F.A directing program at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Preston's thesis film, "The Big Production," was recognized before completion by the competitive Caucus Foundation's Student Filmmaking Finishing Grant and the Irving Lerner Finishing Fund. It will soon be making the festival rounds. In addition to his directing studies at USC, Preston also learned Cinema-TV technology through his apprenticeship with Tomlinson Holman, creator of THX. Preston's technology specialties include production sound recording, video engineering, ProTools sound editing and post-production workflows.

Kirk Sullivan: Boom Operator
Kirk Sullivan recently graduated from the University of California's School of Cinematic Arts. His work as a sound mixer and boom operator has brought him to Australia and across Eastern Europe. Kirk has been fortunate enough to work on multiple films that have brought him to fantastic locations around the world. He is currently involved in a number of different film and music projects.

Sheila Govindarajan Bell: Boom Operator, Production Assistant
Sheila Govindarajan is an artist/musician born and raised in Los Angeles. While growing up in a traditional South Indian family, she picked up music that reflected her local surroundings. Although this background is deep-rooted, it has not limited her from expressing her ways. On the contrary it has made her adapt to many different situations making her art distinctive to her upbringing. She disciplines in tabla, Northern Indian drum, Latin percussion, voice, as well as engineers and produces. For From River to Sea she wore multiple hats: music composer, music coordinator, sound production in the field, as well as playing production assistant in the film.

Ryan Horner: Assistant Film Editor
Ryan has been working in post-production for three years. He got his start as an intern on the feature film Kids in America (dir. Josh Stolberg). He then spent a number of years working in commercials, and now enjoys the return to feature film work on From River to Sea. He is currently working on smaller independent film projects as he continues to hone his craft as an editor. He also likes to scuba dive when necessary.

Nathanael Theisen: Camera Loader
A Wisconsin native, Nathanael Theisen graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a double major in Theatre Arts and Russian Language and Literature. His previous work lies primarily in the theatre as an actor, stage designer, and costume builder. He worked for two years as Russian translator, and is currently in training for the theatre at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.