Ruth Ravina, Holocaust Survivor
Ruth Ravina is an extraordinary woman and Holocaust survivor. Ruth was two years old when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and she lived through three concentration camps by the time she was seven years old. Our film tells Ruth’s inspirational story of survival through the Holocaust and how she went on to live a wonderful life. Ruth was married to the late Oscar Ravina, a Holocaust survivor and second principal violinist at the New York Philharmonic who was discovered by Isaac Stern and Leonard Bernstein. Ruth organized concert tours and traveled the world with Oscar as he played for presidents and princes in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Ruth resides in Montclair, New Jersey. She has two sons and eight grandchildren.
Denny Klein, Director / Producer / Composer
A member of SAG since 1968 as a child actor, Denny studied music, filmmaking, theater arts, and multi-media at College of Marin and Sonoma State University. This was followed by a stint in Hollywood where he apprenticed at Theater East for three years and was a starving artist working all kinds of jobs in production, waiting tables, and making TV commercials. Denny finally decided that eating was a good idea and went into the family insurance business in NJ in 1981. His second avocation remains in the arts and he has been making documentaries since 2012. Denny also composes music and plays various instruments. Denny is a family man and happily married for 25 years to his wife Cathy. They have three kids; Joey, and twins Evie and Rebecca.
Joe Schreiber, Producer
Joe Schreiber is a 13-Time Emmy Award winning producer who earned his stripes during a 23-year career at NBC. In 2009, Joe helped launch 3 Penny Films, which has produced over 60 programs for national and regional television networks. Joe has partnered with Holocaust Creative Council Media for three films on Holocaust Survivors. Joe is a 1982 graduate of Boston College and 2008 Inductee of the Greater Washington Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Morgan Taylor, Associate Producer
Morgan Taylor is an award-winning media producer and marketing consultant based in New Jersey. As owner of boutique digital marketing agency Morgan Taylor Marketing, Morgan helps service-based businesses master their messaging and position themselves in front of their ideal audience with custom web development and creative solutions. An avid writer and musical hobbyist, Morgan is passionate about telling stories that inspire.
Greg Betza, Illustrator and Animation Supervisor
Greg Betza is an award-winning illustrator, artist and designer from New Jersey. His versatility in style and unique approach has led him to create work for a diverse group of clients, among them are NBC Sports, E&J Gallo Winery, and The New York Times. Greg is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and has also had the honor of studying with the late David J. Passalacqua.
Mark Ravina, Professor of History
Dr. Mark Ravina is a scholar of early modern Japanese history and Professor of History at Emory University, where he has taught since 1991. Outside of academic circles, he is most well-known for his book The Last Samurai: the Life and Battles of Saigō Takamori, published in 2004.
Bernard Ravina, Neurologist
Dr. Bernard Ravina is an Associate Professor of Neurology, the Director of the Movement and Inherited Neurological Disorders Unit, and the Associate Director of the Clinical Trials Coordination Center at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Mary Johnson, Historian
Dr. Mary Johnson is a dedicated teacher and scholar of history. She earned her Ph.D. from the Washington University in St. Louis. She teaches as an adjunct on the college/university level and trains teachers from middle and high school backgrounds. Mary researches on topics related to modern history, including atrocities, international affairs, judgment and the treatment of women. She has also led study tours in Poland and Germany.
Ann Saltzman, Historian
Dr. Ann Saltzman is Professor Emerita of Psychology at Drew University and Director Emerita of Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study. She earned her doctorate in Social-Personality Psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her Holocaust Studies publications include book chapters, articles and book reviews in publications at the intersection of Holocaust Studies, psychology, and history. Additional research and teaching interests include Psychology of Women and social issues psychology. Saltzman has received many awards, including the Sister Rose Thering Award from the New Jersey Commission for Holocaust Education for her work in educating for prejudice reduction, inter-faith understanding, and social justice.
Mark Bellncula, Animator
Animator Mark Bellncula started his creative career as a practical VFX technician for commercials back when they were all shot in film, and as that technology died and grew into digital filmmaking mark adjusted as well by becoming an early adapter in motion design. His motion design career has included collaborations with notable New York studios such as Trollback & Co, Superfad, Eyeball and Intersepctacular, where he developed the innovative motion design for Comedy Central’s 2005 network redesign, which was honored that year by a Broadcast Design Award (BDA). Mark’s award winning success with Comedy Central continued two years later with another BDA honoring his creative work for South Park’s 10th Anniversary, Comedy Central’s top show. Mark is currently living and working at the edge of civilization in Colorado and his enthusiasm for snowboarding and sunglasses is well documented.
Brendan Rosen, Cinematographer
Brendan Rosen is the founder and proprietor of C.L.O. Pictures, LLC: a full-service filmmaking company serving the greater New York City area. C.L.O. focuses on stories; leveraging inspired images to create elevated content- whether it is television, film, documentary, digital marketing or meaningful branded entertainment. Over the years he has created original content for NHL Network, Mountain Dew, WB Games, Samsung, MSG, Amazon, PGA TOUR Champions, EPIX, JetBlue, Budweiser, and the NCAA among others.
Matt Daniels, Audio Engineer
Alex Pikas, Audio Mastering
Alexander Pikas is an emmy-award winning veteran director with well over 3,000 TV shows under his belt for clients ranging from NBC/Universal to Discovery Channel to PBS. He’s also directed hundreds of commercials, several films and plenty of corporate projects. Besides directing, Alex really enjoys the technical aspects of moving pictures – particularly grading (color correcting). He found “An Inconvenient Time” to be a compelling presentation of an incredible story – when his long-time friend, Joseph Schreiber, asked him to grade the documentary, Alex jumped at the opportunity. Currently, Alex is Executive Producing several drag racing shows on various networks and lives outside DC with his daughter, Alexandra.