​MEET OUR FILM TEAM
Jill Orschel, Director / Producer / Cinematographer
Jill Orschel is an award-winning filmmaker whose projects give voice to women from the rural Mountain West and other underrepresented communities. Her breakout documentary short, SISTER WIFE, about a mother of twelve within an infamous polygamist sect, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won a special jury award at SXSW, and went on to screen and win awards at festivals internationally. Jill’s non-fiction work has also premiered at DOC NYC, IDFA and other top tier and regional festivals. She received a BA in Journalism from Colorado State University, a MFA in Film Studies from the University of Utah, and continues to evolve her media-making practices through organizations such as Sundance Institute (Collab) and Women Make Movies. Jill is also affiliated with the International Documentary Association and Film Fatales. She founded and directed the annual Filmmakers Showcase for fifteen years in Park City, Utah which highlights new work by emerging and established filmmakers throughout the state. Jill’s debut feature-length documentary SNOWLAND pairs an intriguing character-driven story with innovative, artful stop-motion collage.
Susan Metzger, Editor
Susan Metzger is a Los Angeles based film editor, producer and director. Her most recent documentary editing credit, SAVING JONES, won the Audience Award at the 2024 Dances With Films Festival. She has editing credits on: ANGEL CITY (HBO), MANZANAR DIVERTED: WHEN WATER BECOMES DUST (Big Sky 2021, Special Jury Award for Editing at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival) THANK YOU FOR COMING (Los Angeles Film Festival), RIGHT FOOTED (Discovery), and the short doc INSIDE THE BEAUTY BUBBLE, among others. She edited the PBS films CITY RISING - THE INFORMAL ECONOMY and MOTHER X ARTIST, which were nominated for Emmy awards. Susan was an assistant editor at the Sundance Documentary Edit & Story Lab in 2007 and 2008. Her mentor, the award-winning editor Kate Amend, thought Susan would be an ideal lead editor on SNOWLAND and she has been cutting footage and shaping the story since early 2021.
Connor Cook, Composer / Musician
Connor Cooke received her BM in Music Theory and Composition from Appalachian State University and a MFA in Music Composition for the Screen from Columbia College Chicago. She is a 2020 Sundance Film Music in Animation Fellow, a 2021 Sundance Interdisciplinary Program Art of Practice Fellow, and a 2022 Sundance Mass MoCA Interdisciplinary Lab Composing Fellow. She received a 2022 Sundance/MacArthur Foundation Journalism Grant for her music project THE ACT OF REMEMBERING. She was a mentee in the inaugural 2019 Alliance for Women Film Composers Mentorship Program studying under Miriam Cutler, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Women Film Composers.
Bridey Bush, Animator
Park City, Utah local Bridey Bush created the short animation film, SKIMATION, and the short biographical animation film, EVA. Bridey utilizes eclectic techniques on her animation table to create enchanting stop-motion sequences of collage compilations that include photos, sketches, fabric, flora, and other memorabilia. Her diverse experience has contributed to her abilities and aptitude in animation from being a nationally ranked athlete in alpine ski racing and lacrosse, to music and dance, solo travel and independent design commissions. After studying civil engineering and landscape architecture at Cal Poly, and photography and printmaking at Salt Lake Community College, she found a place to study and practice animation, art, and environmental science at The Evergreen State College. She looks forward to continuing her art and science education at Evergreen and exploring the possibilities that animation brings to the documentary story.
Joanne Feinberg, Co-Producer
Joanne Feinberg is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and curator. She brings over 25 years of film production experience, and thousands of hours of thoughtful film viewing, to her work and a deep love and understanding of cinema informs all of her endeavors. Her recent co-producing credits include the New York Times Critics Pick GASOLINE RAINBOW, directed by Bill and Turner Ross. Her award-winning short films include BLOOM, Broken/Fixed, and The Road Between Us. As the Director of Programming at the Ashland Independent Film Festival for 11 years, she was instrumental in creating this nationally recognized top regional festival. She was the Guest Director of Programming at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in 2020, 2021, and 2024 and a Senior Programmer at BendFilm, DocLands, Mountainfilm, and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. She serves on many juries and selection committees including the Santa Fe International Film Festival and Cinema Eye Honors, and has reviewed grant applications for Creative Capital, Film Independent and the NEA. Joanne graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in Cinema Studies and Film & TV Production. Joanne joined Snowland’s producing team in 2016, offering creative input, networking and business guidance.
J.R. Hardman
Producer / Project Manager
Jayne Moyes
Marketing Coordinator
Kathleen Stone
Marketing Assistant
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Claire Wiley
Marketing Video / Photography / Editing
Advisors:
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Kate Amend, Creative Advisor
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Miriam Cutler, Music Advisor
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Karen Everett, Story Consultant
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Aaron Kopp, Animation Advisor
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Mary Kerr, Consulting Producer
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Diana Witten, Grant Writing Consultant