Cast + Crew

Florence Buchanan, DIRECTOR

Florence grew up in London and moved to New York where she became a creative director, telling stories for major brands at ad agencies like Deutsch, J. Walter Thompson and BBDO. In her spare time, she began directing, starting with a short film called SHEPHERDS (07:37).

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Florence’s two young children were inside PS 234 in Tribeca, four blocks away from the Twin Towers. Florence was in the schoolyard with other parents when the first plane flew low over their heads. Miraculously, no one at the school was hurt that day.

Ten years later, disturbed by post-9/11 anti-Muslim sentiment, Florence wondered if a good public education could help make a person more tolerant. On September 11, 2011, a group of teenage alumni, including her own daughter, planned to visit PS 234 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the attack. Florence decided to find out what these kids were thinking, and to film them.

RIGHT THERE, A Short Film About Tolerance (16:44) screened at multiple festivals and won Best Short Doc at the Richmond International Film Festival. It is in the permanent collection of National September 11 Memorial Museum.

Filmed ten years later, RIGHT THERE PART 2 (09:47) features six of the same kids, now in their 20’s. The short film is a commentary about the passage of time, trauma, and the immeasurable value of education.  

In 2016, Florence created a campaign called THE SURVIVOR SERIES for RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) made with a Getty Images Creative Grant. She directs documentary shorts and consults on storytelling for companies, nonprofits and individuals.

She has written a tv pilot, DON’T CALL ME MRS. HEMINGWAY, about Martha Gellhorn, the only female war correspondent to land on a D-Day beach.

Florence serves as Board Chair and communications director of Unite for Health, a maternal health NGO in Cameroon, and serves on the board of 3 Generations, a human rights advocacy nonprofit that uses the power of storytelling on film.

Florence has lived in lower Manhattan since 1998.

imdb

Photo by Gia Sergovich

  • Peter Mostert

    EDITOR

    Peter is a natural at capturing emotion through visual storytelling. Give him any footage, and he’ll weave together a compelling story without a single scripted word.

    A South African native, Peter built his reputation as editor and owner at Cutaways, where his spots for clients from the U.S., Europe and Asia, won eight consecutive Loeries—the most prestigious award in Africa and the Middle East.

    In 2001, Peter moved to New York City where he cut for top editorial houses before joining Hooligan Edit.

    Peter is a contributing artist and supporter of Femme Fatales, a non-profit organization that advocates for gender parity in the film industry.

  • Melissa O'Brien

    DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY (PART 1)

    Born in Dublin, Melissa graduated from Trinity College with additional studies at the International Center of Photography and the School of Visual Arts in New York.

    As a director of photography, she has lensed projects in Africa, Malaysia, India and Argentina to promote youth education initiatives. Melissa’s sensitive portrayal of her subjects challenges ideals of femininity, strength and beauty. She finds elegance in simplicity and her work shows a mastery of natural light.

    Melissa is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild and has lectured at the International Center of Photography in New York City and at La Fémis in Paris. She is based in Valencia, Spain and continues to work internationally.

  • Emma Huibregste

    DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY (PART 2)

    As a young girl, Emma constantly asked her mother “Can we make a film today?” The usual overwhelmed response was “Go make a storyboard first.”

    Her dedication to the details of every frame have paid off. Emma’s short films have premiered at MOMA, Lincoln Center, and the Tribeca Film Festival, where she won “Best Experimental Film” for Le Vol de Solange. Her short Head Space was a Student Academy Award film finalist.

    Emma has collaborated with fashion designer Jussara Lee as well as Grammy-nominated composer Stephen Gaboury. Her experiences as a dancer and funk trumpet player allow elements of rhythm, sound, and tempo to infuse her work.

    Emma, also known as @miss100percentfunk, is a graduate of USC School of Cinematic Arts.

CAST + CREW

RIGHT THERE

Director Florence Buchanan

In collaboration with Arthur Bijur

Producer Susan Smitman, Florence Buchanan

Executive Producers Nadia Zilkha, Jane Wells, Susan Ould

Producers Jane Newman, Donna Green

Cast (in order of appearance) Octavia Spelman, Julia Delmedico, Joshua Lorberblatt, Nick Karam, Sam Levine, David Johnson, Harriet Fisher, Emma Huibregtse, Sarah Weldon, Elliott Kafton, James Dellasala, Ethan Marcus, Andrew Marcus, Jenice Walford

Director of Photography Melissa O’Brien

Portraits / PS 234 Video & Stills Joanne Dugan

Editor Peter Mostert, Hooligan Edit

Assistant Editors Damien Oramas (graphics), Shane Deblasio, Stephanie Crane

Music Amber Music / Opus

B Camera / Timelapse Arthur Bijur

1st AC / A Camera Peter Morello

1st AC / B Camera Sam Elliot

Grip / Electric Jeff Holman

Location Sound Andrew Baker

Mix Phil Loeb, Cory Melious, Jodi Levine, Heard City NYC

Executive Producer Gloria Pitagorsky

Hair and Makeup Sabrina Ziomi

Executive Music Producer Michelle Curran

Music Supervisor Mike Perri

Catering Betty Reed, Barbara Simon

PAs Octavia Spelman, Julia Delmedico

Editorial Photographs William Thomas Cain, Chris Hondros (2), Spencer Platt (4), Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Courtesy Getty Images

Tribeca Photographs ©2001 Kara Pranikoff and her 2000-2001 2nd grade class. Courtesy Oomf, Inc. All rights reserved.

Advisors Bettina Volz, Ph.D., Clinical psychologist; Hillel Levine, Ph.D., President / Founder of International Center for Conciliation and Professor, Boston University  

Legal Counsel Melissa Georges, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC, New York

Statistics ‘What It Means To Be American: Attitudes in an Increasingly Diverse America Ten Years After 9/11’ by Robert P. Jones & Daniel Cox, William A, Galston & E.J. Dionne, Jr.

Published by Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution and Public Religion Research Institute

©2012 Project Buchanan 

RIGHT THERE PART 2

Director, Producer Florence Buchanan

Executive Producers Nadia Zilkha, Jane Wells, Bruce Hager, Florence Buchanan

Cast (in order of appearance) Emma Huibregtse, James Dellasala, Jenice Walford, Andrew Marcus, Octavia Spelman, Ethan Marcus

Director of Photography Emma Huibregtse

Editor Peter Mostert

9/11 Footage Jim Huibregtse

Sound Matthew Bunker

Music Amber Music

Color Matthew Annitto

Final Mix Tom Morris

Visual Fx Paul Marangos

Assistant Editors Vanessa Rodriguez, Shane Deblasio

Production Assistants Octavia Spelman, Solomon Shulman

Craft Service Bruce Hager

Additional Photography Julie Gang, Joanne Dugan, Erica Zak, James Dellasala, Sky Dellasala, Octavia Spelman, Jenice Walford, Florence Buchanan, Andrew Marcus, Dumto