ERIKA COHN
DIRECTOR
Erika Cohn is a two-time Emmy, Peabody and DGA Award-winning filmmaker who Variety recognized as one of 2017’s top documentary filmmakers to watch and was featured in DOC NYC’s 2019 “40 Under 40.” Most recently, Erika directed/produced the New York Times Critics Pick, Emmy Award-winning and Peabody nominated BELLY OF THE BEAST, featuring the 2021 Oscar shortlisted original song, “See What You’ve Done” by Mary J. Blige. This powerful exposé of human rights abuses in women’s prisons opened in theatres and was broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens series last fall. Her current releases also include The New York Times Op-Docs short film, WHAT YOU’LL REMEMBER, a beautiful portrait of a family who reframes their experience of homelessness, now playing in theaters and
major film festivals.
Previously, Erika directed/produced THE JUDGE, a Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated film about the first woman judge appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a courts, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ 2018 Independent Lens series. She co-directed/produced IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST, an Emmy award-winning, feature documentary about young Pacific Islander men pursuing their dreams of playing professional football, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ 2016 Independent Lens series. Her work has been supported by IFP, the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Institute, Chicken & Egg, Hot Docs, ITVS, Women in Film, Fork Films, SFFILM, IDFA and BAVC among others.
Erika grew up attending the Sundance Film Festival as a native Utahn, where she first began her career. She studied at Chapman University (California) and Hebrew University (Jerusalem) and has degrees in Film Production, Middle East Studies, and Acting Performance. In 2013, Erika founded Idle Wild Films, Inc., which has released three feature documentaries, two short films, and produced numerous branded content and commercial spots, including Gatorade’s “Win from Within” series, for which she received a 2016 Webby award nomination. In her spare time, Erika is an avid documentary photographer, music editor and performing artist. Erika is currently in development with her fiction feature debut and is represented by APA.
MEET THE TEAM
RAJAL PITRODA PRODUCER
Rajal Pitroda is a producer of fiction and non-fiction films that examine issues of race, class and gender beyond the mainstream narrative. She is a Women at Sundance Fellow (2021-2022), Impact Partners Producers Fellow (2021-2022), Sundance Creative Producing Fellow (2020-2021), Black Public Media 360 Incubator Fellow (2021), Firelight Media Impact Producing Fellow (2018-2019) and SFFILM FilmHouse Resident (2018-2019).
Rajal most recently produced “Down a Dark Stairwell,” a feature documentary on race and the criminal justice system that premiered at the 2020 True/False Film Festival and was broadcast on Independent Lens.
Rajal is an associate producer of “The Kindergarten Teacher,” a 2018 Sundance selection, a co-producer of “O.G.,” a 2018 Tribeca Film Festival selection and an associate producer of “Driveways,” a 2020 Berlin Film Festival selection.
Rajal was the Founder and CEO of Cinevention, a media company focused on marketing and distribution, where she designed and executed distribution strategies for feature films, including “Outsourced,” which was developed into a sitcom at NBC. Prior to starting her own business, Rajal was a partner at Beyond the Box Productions, creating and running marketing campaigns for independent films. She started her career in film working in international marketing for Bollywood movies based in Mumbai.
Rajal is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, A-Doc and the Documentary Producers Alliance. She has a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and an MBA from London Business School.
KRISTIN MARION
PRODUCER
Kristin has produced and edited over 50 short films and is passionate about furthering the art of short form filmmaking. She has been a Senior Producer at Big Bite Productions since 2009, where she oversees the company's commercial and branded content in Los Angeles, CA. Kristin earned her B.A. in psychology from Cal State Long Beach.
SUSAN NEISLOSS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Susan has over 30 years of experience as a producer, content creator, and talent in film and television. She brings a wealth of marketing experience to her projects given her history in the corporate, media and public relations industries. Susan has worked on a variety of projects ranging from a short documentary about survivors of the Holocaust to a docuseries about the environment to a national episodic show about Jewish Americans who keep their heritage alive in creative ways. In 2001, Susan founded Big Bite Productions, a commercial and branded content production company based in Los Angeles, CA. Susan earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and graduated from Columbia Journalism School’s Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program.