Web Burrell (Santa Monica, CA) is currently in post-production on his first documentary film, Big Easy Blues: Musicians' Prayers for New Orleans. What makes this film unique is that it is focused on the musicians who made the commitment to return to New Orleans after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, and remain committed to making their homes in this historic and culturally rich city. Burrell lived and performed as a musician in the city for 13 years, including gigs at the New Orleans Jazz Festival and the legendary club Tipitina's. He was inspired to make this film in order to show what he knows from personal experience to be the unique combination of tenacity, humor, heart and love of music and the New Orleans lifestyle that enables these dedicated artists to remain in a place that many of their peers have abandoned. Working with director Mark Moormann, who was nominated for a Grammy in 2005 for his film Tom Dowd and the Language of Music, they have captured over 22 hours of interviews and performances, including breathtaking scenes of the devastation and rebuilding efforts. While Burrell is new to the world of documentary film production, he has produced and directed film, video and live events on four continents for over 25 years for museums and corporate clients including entertainment, travel, pharmaceutical, retail, telecom, franchise, high tech, video gaming and more. In addition to his membership in IDA, Burrell is also a voting member of National Association of Recording Art and Sciences (NARAS). webburrell@mac.com.

Illya Friedman (Woodland Hills, CA). A former freelance cameraman, Freidman has spent the last five years as a sales rep and technical consultant to feature films, primetime television series, networks and production companies. A pioneer of digital to film transfer tests, Freidman worked closely with major post facilities to produce film-out comparisons, and helped create a popular HD workflow methodology. Since entering the motion picture industry in 1993, Friedman has served as a trusted resource for a variety of industry publications including Action!, Film & Video, Studio Daily and Post Magazine.

Martin Huberman (Washington, DC) is the president of VideoArt Productions in Washington, DC. Recent broadcast documentaries include Transformation: Building the Rubin Museum of Art and Chevy Chase, Maryland: A Streetcar to Home. Recent clients include the National Portrait Gallery, the United States Institute of Peace and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. VideoArt is currently at work on a documentary on the creation of a new museum, another on a prominent contemporary art world figure and a piece on the American Presidency.

Dan Katzir (Los Angeles, CA/Tel Aviv, ISRAEL). Israeli filmmaker's Dan Katzir's acclaimed films have won 22 international awards in the US, Europe and Asia and a nomination for the Israeli Academy Award. His films have been shown in hundreds of film festivals and on many prestigious TV channels around the world including HBO and Channel 4 (UK). His film Out for Love...Be Back Shortly became an instant classic, expressing the voice of his generation and becoming the most important film about the Rabin era in which the Prime Minister Rabin of Israel and King Hussein of Jordan signed a peace agreement and tried to move the entire region from war to peace. Katzir incorporated his personal experience of war from his four-year army service as a paratrooper and infantry officer in the Israeli army. Before becoming a leading Israeli filmmaker, Katzir graduated magna cum laude from Tel Aviv University. He also holds an MFA from American Film Institute (AFI) in Hollywood. Katzir recently premiered his latest documentary feature film, Yiddish Theater: A Love Story, at the Mann Chinese in Hollywood. Opening remarks were made at that event by legendary director Arthur Hiller (Love Story). Katzir is currently developing a few new projects both in Israel and in the US.

WELCOME NEW IDA TRUSTEES

Producer Nancy Dickenson (Santa Fe, NM), released her first documentary, Home of the Brave (Paola di Florio, dir.) in 2004. In addition to being selected for the documentary competition at Sundance that year, the film has received numerous awards, including recognition by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as an outstanding documentary in that year. Her current film project is Miracle at Midnight (Thomas G. Miller, dir.), about a self-taught artist, Reverend Albert Wagner. The film is a character-driven feature documentary about a charismatic saint/sinner family man who found redemption through art and his ministry, "The People Love House of God." Dickenson has been successfully supporting projects in the arts, education, human rights and animal welfare for over 40 years. She directed the Cleveland Black Folk Art Exhibit and Festival in 1984, for which she received the Northern Ohio Magazine Visual Arts Award. As a graduate of Cornell University with a BFA in Fine Arts and graduate studies in Art History at Case Western Reserve University, she directed the Mather Gallery for five years and opened Folkways, the first contemporary folk art gallery in Northern Ohio. She is an advocate for public arts education, animal welfare and Israeli/Palestinian peace initiatives and other community issues. 

Mark Nelson (Atlanta, GA) is vice president and senior executive producer for CNN Productions. A veteran broadcast producer with nearly 30 years experience, Nelson is responsible for the network's award-winning documentary series, CNN Presents, as well as special event programs. Nelson joined CNN in 2004 as the senior executive producer of Paula Zahn Now, a nightly news and information program with interviews, current events news reports from CNN correspondents based around the globe, and analysis from experts in their field. Nelson comes to CNN from the National Geographic Channel, where as vice president and executive producer he built a staff of more than 40 producers, correspondents, writers, editors and directors to launch and produce National Geographic Today, the network's hour-long, signature documentary program. His unit also produced specials and other documentaries for the channel. Before joining the National Geographic Channel in 2000, Nelson spent 11 years as the senior broadcast producer for ABC's Nightline, where he produced numerous Emmy-winning broadcasts. At the same time, Nelson served as a senior producer for special events programming including broadcasts of political conventions in 1996 and 2000. Nelson joined ABC News in 1982 as a producer and has served as chief of the network's bureaus in Tel Aviv, Rome and the western United States. Nelson started his career in 1976 in Des Moines, Iowa, as senior producer and director of Iowa Public Television. Nelson attended Drake University and studied political science.