THE FILM CREW
Nastia Tarasova
Founding Member and Director
Nastia Tarasova -Was born in the Ural Mountains, Russia. She graduated with a degree in Journalism from the Urals State University in Yekaterinburg while also working as a reporter. In 2001 she enrolled in the Film Directing program at the Gerasimov All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. She completed her degree in 2006, with a concentration in Documentary Film.
Tarasova is a founding member and director of the Albatross Film Studio. Now she works and lives in Moscow. Her films "The Light of the White Sea", "The Old Dacha", "Children of the Great Lake", "No borders", "Faithful" and "Unemployed" have been shown and won prizes at numerous Russian and international film festivals. Tarasova worked also on several historical documentary projects. She currently preparing for the release of her new feature documentary.
Irina Shatalova
Founding Member and Director of Photography
Irina Shatalova-Was born in Moscow. Graduated from the Gerasimov All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow in 2007, where she took Vadim Yusov course (director of photography for various films by Andrei Tarkovsky, George Danelia, Sergei Bondarchuck and many others). Shatalova is a founding member of the Albatross Film Studio.
Director of photography for the following films:
“The Light of White Sea” directed by Nastia Tarasova 2005
“The Old Dacha” directed by Nastia Tarasova 2005
“Children of the Great Lake” directed by Nastia Tarasova 2006
“Festival” directed by Alena Polunina 2007
“No borders”, directed by Nastia Tarasova 2007
“Virginity” directed by Vitali Manski 2008
“Sunrise/Sunset. Dalai Lama XIV” directed by Vitali Manski 2008
“The revolution that wasn’t” (in conjunction with Dmitriy Rakov) directed by Alena Polunina 2008
“Faithful” directed by Nastia Tarasova 2008
“Nikolina gora. Epilogue” directed by Vitali Manski 2009
"Unemployed" directed by Nastia Tarasova 2009
Awards:
Prize of the 5th RAFF Jury for THE BEST CAMERA, Salekhard 2006
Prize for Excellence in Cinematography at Open DFF "Russia", Ekaterinburg 2009
SAVAGELENS.COM
Dan Savage
Photographer/Support Team
Dan Savage was born on April 2, 1982. From an early age, I was fascinated by photography. Being dyslexic, I always found that I learned more from photographs than I did from words. I have been photographing since I was in first or second grade. It wasn’t until college that I found that I wanted to make photography more part of my life.
I started off my college education in Burlington, Vermont, at Champlain College, in hopes of becoming a teacher. It was during this time, I found myself not in class, but on day trips with my camera. So, I put my mind at ease and withdrew from Champlain to follow my passion. In 2002, I started my first year at the Antonelli Institute of Photography, where I learned more about what it takes to make a photograph art, and honed my skills in lighting and technique.
I graduated in 2004 and soon after left for my first voyage to the country of Jamaica. Here during the summer, I worked with other students in one-room school houses, and also helped build a women’s center that is still being used today. During this time, I was shooting film of everything I saw and experienced.
Again in 2005, I returned to Jamaica to further my education of the world so to speak. After returning, while keeping up with the traditional landscapes, I found myself at live music shows with camera in hand. I have photographed many bands, including members of the Grateful Dead, the Marley family and Steve Kimock, to name a few.
I am floored and humbeled by the opportunity to join the Arctic Alchemy team. This journey that we will embark on is a once in a lifetime experience that I could not pass up. Throughout the years I have always been inspired by photojournalism. I have always wanted to move more into the documentory photography spectrum. Paul simon said it best “born at the right time”, and this timing couldn’t be any better. I also have some more personal projects in the works, which will help show a part of life only viewed through my eyes. I hope to educate people through my images—not just in hopes to have people quickly glance at my images, but actually to stop and make their own story of what they see in the image. I am a firm believer that one can put a million words down on the paper and have it mean nothing, but a photograph speaks volumes, and never lies.
Thank you kindly for taking the time to view my photographs, and I hope that you continue to follow my works through time. www.savagelens.com
WORLD STORIES FILM
Mel Halbach
Filmmaker - US Team
Mel’s curiosity and interest in people continues to sustain his 20 year independent film career. Numerous travels to Vietnam in the 1990’s culminated in his award winning film The Long Haired Warriors; a documentary about Vietnamese women who were soldiers, activists and prisoners of war. His films for non-government organizations bring forward the personal stories of people living in the war torn countries of Southeast Asia, Kosovo, El Salvador and Mozambique. His latest film, What Lights Nate; documents the personal journey of artist Nate Smith and his fire vortex performances at the Burning Man Arts Festival in Nevada. Additional details on Mel's films are at http://worldstoriesfilm.com/
Jay Farbman
Photographer - Filmmaker - US Team
Jay Farbman is based out of Santa Barbara California, teaming up with Mel Halbach, Jay will be driving a motorcycle-mounted camera for Arctic Alchemy. This unique filming technique will provide a dynamic perspective to the film. “ I decided to make my way into the world as a freelance photographer. I call myself an Adventure, Sports, Travel, and Documentary Photographer, but find myself taking assignments that don’t necessarily fall into those categories”. http://www.jayfarbman.com/