One of the IDA’s primary goals is to develop a robust community of documentary filmmakers and supporters. To further this effort, each month we’spotlight a group of new(ish) members in the Welcome New Members column.

If you’re a new member and would like to be included (or an “old” member who hasn’t been featured yet), please send your bio (250 words max) to associate editor Tamara Krinsky at krinskydoc@gmail.com. You must include “Welcome New Members” and your name in the subject line of the e-mail. Bios should focus on your filmmaking background, interests, experiences, education, accomplishments, etc. If you’re a student, tell us about where you’re studying. If you’re a film fan, tell us what you love about documentaries. Please also include the city, state and country in which you currently reside.

Marc Levitz (Los Angeles, CA) began his filmmaking career in 2004. Attracted to films shot by hand-held cameras, actual locations, a relatively small budget and real people, Levitz felt compelled to explore the humanity behind today’s glossier media by diving head-first into one of history’s most fascinating serial killer tales. By showing a person’s real situation in life and capturing the world as it is, Levitz believes his responsibility is to enlighten his audience by illustrating the truth from a fly-on-the-wall perspective. By using digital video as an artistic medium, Levitz’s unobtrusive storytelling captures the intimate moments of regular people in unrehearsed situations.
    Levitz's filmmaking path began at the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism in 1995. Upon graduating, he took a job as a media buyer in a small ad agency in Kansas City. From there he moved to Los Angeles and found work as a bartender and commercial actor, with an emphasis on bartending. In 1997, he moved to Milan, Italy and began a five-year career as a print and runway model for such designers as Gianfranco Ferre, Giorgio Armani, Romeo Gigli, Krizia and Jil Sander.  Extensive travel throughout Vienna, Paris, London, New York and Amsterdam enlightened his mind and exposure to great works of art inspired Levitz to wind down his career and move back to the US in 2001.
     Upon relocating to LA for the second time, Levitz worked as a free-lance journalist, script reader and bouncer before starting pre-production on his first feature-length documentary, Feast of the Assumption: BTK and the Otero Family Murders in the spring of 2004. With help from dear friends and family and fiscal sponsorship from the International Documentary Association, Levitz managed to complete the film in the spring of 2008. FOTA has won awards in the Rincon, Riverside and the Accolade Competition film festivals and has screened at other festivals as well, including Milan, Las Vegas and Kansas City. The film is a personal journey, true-crime, horror piece shot in verité style and has been well received since its premier in 2008. Imagination Worldwide, an LA-based, international sales company, currently represents the documentary for foreign sales.
     An animal lover, Levitz also spends time training dogs and from time to time, does some print work modeling his hands for clients such as Band Aid, Hewlett Packard and Visa. He hopes to continue his work as a filmmaker but might end up in the Turks & Caicos, living with his dogs and picking fruit.


Dan McComb was an entrepreneur and an award-winning photojournalist before he took up filmmaking in early 2009. He completed his first short documentary, SHINE: The Entrepreneur's Journey, in December and is currently in production on a documentary about Seattle mural artist Ryan Henry Ward. McComb, who lives in Seattle, is also co-founder of Biznik.com, a social network for small business owners which connects more than 50,000 entrepreneurs in 160 countries. In 2008, McComb was named one of Seattle's top 25 most innovative entrepreneurs by Seattle Business Monthly.
     In addition to documentary work, McComb makes commercial videos for clients that include the University of Washington. Favorite directors are Werner Herzog, Ross McElwee and Jennifer Baichwal. Favorite film: Sherman's March. He blogs regularly about his documentary filmmaking experiences at danmccomb.com.

 
Mark Rozzo has been a columnist at the Los Angeles Times Book Review, a contributor and staffer at The New Yorker, a James Beard Award-nominated food writer and contributing editor at Gourmet, and the deputy editor of Men’s Vogue. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Oxford American, Esquire, Vogue, I.D., and Bookforum. In 2005 he was awarded a National Arts Journalism Fellowship at Columbia University in New York, where he is now an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Nonfiction.
     Rozzo is currently co-directing Hallowed Ground, a feature documentary about the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with Sam Erickson and Matthew Amster. A 2004 article Rozzo wrote for The Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine entitled “Who Chooses History?” was the initial inspiration for Hallowed Ground, which will explore the reasons why Gettysburg — site of the apocalyptic July 1863 Civil War battle — is America’s most famous small town and its ultimate shrine. In following a cast of characters who have dedicated themselves to Gettysburg’s “hallowed ground,” the film will explore how a place that symbolizes the 19th century illuminates the American character in the early 21st century, and how it continues to stir up passion, obsession, controversy and fighting spirit.
     Rozzo has also done TV work for MTV and Bravo. As a musician/songwriter, he has recorded with Champale, Maplewood, and America, and contributed several songs to the soundtrack of Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Peter Schnitzler has produced, written and/or directed over 200 documentary and dramatic films, many of them dealing with human behavior, psychology and social issues. His subjects have included ecology, evolution, art, dance, adolescence,  parenting, drugs and society, conflict and the police, innovative education. Many of his films have received awards and festival recognition. Among his sponsors have been the US Office of Education, National Institute of Mental Health, National Science Foundation, United States Information Agency, Harper and Row Publishers, McGraw Hill Publishers.
     Schnitzler has been head of a university department (the UCLA Media Center), director of an experimental college campus (International Community College, Viborg, Denmark), director of a community film training project for young African-Americans and Hispanics and head of his own film company (Peter Schnitzler Productions, Los Angeles). Working in Europe, he has written and directed two six-part television series, co-productions between ZDF (Germany) and ORF (Austria). The World of Dance takes a broad look at the forms and functions of dance throughout the world. The Psychology of Hope introduces a variety of new therapies and strategies for personal growth that have arisen out of the fields of humanistic and transpersonal therapy.
     He has also made an hour-long documentary for ZDF on Permaculture in Germany: Green Horizon. In Austria, he has written and directed films for ORF on his grandfather, the writer Arthur Schnitzler; on Vienna’s multicultural second district, the Leopoldstadt; and on the making of a major Council of Europe exhibition on Historicism.  

David Sousa grew up on the east coast in Rhode Island but currently calls San Diego, California his home. He attended film school at San Diego City College and San Diego State University and currently runs two small companies, Visual Union and Bracket 1, doing video production and video camera accessory design. His love for learning, sharing and storytelling have led him to his goals of producing interesting and informative films which explore the human experience and benefit our community.
     Sousa has just finished his first feature documentary, Changing our Minds--Clear Thoughts on Depression, Drugs, and Alternative Paths to Better Mental Health, which premiered Wednesday, May 12, at UltraStar Cinemas in Del Mar, CA. An answer to the pharmaceutical industry's media blitz, Changing our Minds questions society's values while revealing interesting and disturbing truths about psychiatry and the drug industry. It continues by exploring well-understood, cognitive paths to recovery as scientists, counselors, spiritual leaders and affected individuals share their compelling stories of struggle, discovery, and catharsis.  www.changingourmindsmovie.com
     His second documentary, Salts of New England (working title), is a story of a love for the ocean, family and sailing culture. The story is told through the eyes of a couple who raised two sons while living aboard their 32-foot sailboat, while keeping alive the ancient craft of wooden boat building. The film is currently mid-production, and Sousa hopes to finish it in the upcoming year.


Andy Walcott is a videographer, video editor and filmmaker based in Greensboro, NC. He specializes in documentary video for entrepreneurs, local businesses, non-profits and web designers. As a member of the International Documentary Association, Walcott stays current within the community of documentary filmmakers. He recently attended the History Makers 2010 Conference in New York City, which brought together representatives from PBS, National Geographic, BBC, the History Channel and more. Walcott holds a BA and MA in English literature and an MLS in educational media and has completed advanced graduate work in instructional systems technology.
     After a career as an English teacher, media specialist and instructor in broadcast journalism and video production, he became an independent producer/filmmaker and currently directs the Motion Imaging Division of NyghtFalcon Photography in Greensboro, NC. NyghtFalcon produces event videography and photography seminars that teach the unique NyghtFalcon methodology to "See the World Again for the First Time."  He is also a TurnHere Filmmaker.
     Walcott enjoys the green lifestyle afforded in Greensboro with its hiking trails, natural foods of the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market and the exciting artistic and entrepreneurial culture of the Triad region. His doc heros are Hilary Harris, Robert Flaherty, Merian Cooper and Pare Lorentz. He is also inspired by John Ford, Sergei Eisenstein, Stanley Kubrick and Wisit Sasanatieng.