Witch Hunt - Executive produced and Narrated by Sean Penn

Dana's fascination for people and stories coupled with an inquisitive nature made her career choice in journalism a perfect fit. Now, 15 years after she started out as a local news intern, her career has turned into so much more than she could have ever imagined. She's interviewed thousands of people, from politicians to athletes, to sex predators and those wrongly accused. These interviews shape who she is as a person and as a journalist.

After hop scotching TV station to TV station, Dana landed at NBC11 in the San Francisco Bay Area. She's been there for the last ten years working as a show producer and the station's special projects producer. This is where she first dabbled in documentary. Her first endeavor won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award, Emmy Award and the Radio Television News Director Association Award for a documentary called "Close to Home." Since then she has won numerous other awards including the Associated Press Award for Best Documentary.

Dana graduated from Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut where she studied Middle East Relations. She went on to earn a Master's degree in Journalism at New York University. Dana is the proud mother of a young daughter and son. She was born in the Bronx in New York.

FILMOGRAPHY
Witch Hunt (2008) (KTF Films) (Co-Producer, Co-Director, Writer) (91 minutes - documentary)
Dreams to Dust: Americans Interned (2007) (TV NBC11) (Producer, Director, Writer) (48 minutes) - 2008 Emmy Nomination for Best Documentary
Pot and Politics: California vs. US (2004) (TV NBC11) (Producer, Co-Director, Writer) (48 minutes - documentary) - 2005 Associated Press Award for Best Documentary
Close to Home (2002) (TV NBC11) (Producer, Director, Writer) (60 minutes - documentary) - 2003 Emmy Award, Radio and Television News Director Association, Edward R. Murrow Award - Best Documentary

DON HARDY
Don Hardy knew at an early age he wanted to create documentary films. He was always a fan of compelling stories that exposed audiences to new thoughts, ideas and perspectives. Throughout his professional career he's always worked toward turning that passion into action; producing relevant, sometimes quirky, always thought provoking work.

Don spent more than a decade working as a television news photojournalist with FOX, ABC, and NBC affiliates in New York, Florida, and the San Francisco Bay Area. He also spent a year as lead photojournalist and editor for TechNow, a weekly technology and business show that airs on NBC11 in the Bay Area and is syndicated to select major markets across the country. Don has
won numerous awards for his photography and editing including 5 Emmys, 3 Edward R. Murrow Awards, 7 Associated Press Awards, the prestigious San Francisco Bay Area Photographer of the Year Award and more than 15 National Press Photographer Association Awards throughout his career.

In 2002, he and producing partner Dana Nachman created their first long-form documentary Close to Home, revisiting Bay Area families who lost loved ones a year before in the attacks on September 11th. The emotionally gripping story was awarded an Emmy, RTNDA and an Edward R. Murrow award for Best Documentary. The team followed up their first film with a scorching look at the medical marijuana debate in Pot & Politics which garnered the pair an Associated Press award for Best Documentary. Their new film, Witch Hunt, is currently being prepared for a theatrical release in 2008.

In 2005, Don collaborated with former NBC colleague and TechNow host Scott Budman to create Sound Man: From WWII to MP3. The film tells the story of Jack Mullin, a sound engineer who changed the face of American music recording for a generation of musicians by developing the first magnetic tape recorder. Sound Man screened at film festivals around the country, was broadcast on NBC in the Bay Area, and has become part of the curriculum for prestigious music schools nationwide.

Born and raised in Upstate New York, Don and his wife Margot now call the San Francisco Bay Area home.

FILMOGRAPHY
Witch Hunt (2008) (KTF Films) (Co-Producer, Co-Director, Director of Photography, Editor) (91 minutes - documentary)
Dreams to Dust: Americans Interned (2007) (TV NBC11) (Post Production Supervisor, Online Editor) (48 minutes) - 2008 Emmy Nomination for Best Documentary
The Kiss (2006) (Bay Area Pictures) (Cinematographer) (8 minutes - narrative)
Sound Man (2006) (TV-NBC11) (Co-Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor) (59 minutes - documentary) - 2007 Emmy Nomination for Best Documentary
Doing Time (2005) (Bay Area Pictures) (Cinematographer) (10 minutes - narrative)
Pot and Politics: California vs. US (2004) (TV NBC11) (Co-Director, Cinematographer, Editor) (48 minutes - documentary) - 2005 Associated Press Award for Best Documentary
Close to Home (2002) (TV NBC11) (Cinematographer) (60 minutes - documentary) - 2003 Emmy Award, Radio and Television News Director Association, Edward R. Murrow Award - Best Documentary

Sean Penn's career as an actor spans nearly three decades. He has been nominated four times for the Best Actor Academy Award; for Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking (for which he was named Best Actor at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival), Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown, Jessie Nelson's i am sam, and Clint Eastwood's Mystic River. The latter performance brought him the Oscar and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

His over two dozen other films include Harold Becker's Taps; Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High; Richard Benjamin's Racing with the Moon; John Schlesinger's The Falcon and the Snowman; James Foley's At Close Range; Dennis Hopper's Colors; Brian De Palma's Casualties of War and Carlito's Way; Neil Jordan's We're No Angels; Phil Joanou's State of Grace; Nick Cassavetes' She's So Lovely (for which he was named Best Actor at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival); Oliver Stone's U-Turn; Anthony Drazan's hurlyburly (for which he was named Best Actor at the 1998 Venice International Film Festival); Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's 21 Grams (for which he was named Best Actor at the 2003 Venice International Film Festival); Sydney Pollack's The Interpreter; Steven Zaillian's All the King's Men; and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line and upcoming The Tree of Life. Mr. Penn can currently be seen in the film Milk, a performance that earned him his second Academy Award for Best Actor in addition to a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Mr. Penn's feature film directorial debut came with The Indian Runner (1991), which he also wrote and produced. This was followed by The Crossing Guard (1995), which he also wrote and produced, and The Pledge (2001), which he also produced. The latter, starring Jack Nicholson, was cited as one of the year's 10 Best by the National Board of Review. Representing the United States, he wrote and directed a short film for 11'09"01, the compilation feature which united directors from around the world to create short films in response to the horrific events of September 11, 2001. In 2003 the feature was nominated for a Cesar Award in the best European Union Film category, and received a Special Recognition award from the National Board of Review.

As writer, producer and director, his most recent work was Into the Wild (2007), adapted from Jon Krakauer's best-selling nonfiction book. Mr. Penn was a Directors Guild of America and Critics Choice Award nominee for his helming of the picture, and was also cited as Director of the Year by the Palm Springs International Film Festival; his screenplay adaptation brought him a Writers Guild of America Award nomination. Into the Wild also earned four Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for its cast, including Emile Hirsch (who also stars in Milk); and two Academy Award nominations.

Mr. Penn has appeared on stage in productions including Alfred Hayes' Girl on the Via Flaminia and Albert Innaurato's Earthworms in Los Angeles. On Broadway, he performed in Kevin Heelan's Heartland and John Byrne's Slab Boys. He starred in David Rabe's hurlyburly and Goose and Tom-Tom, at the Westwood Playhouse and Lincoln Center, respectively, with both productions directed by the author. His most recent stage work was opposite Nick Nolte and Woody Harrelson in The Late Henry Moss, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard.

In 2002, he was presented with the Modern Master Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In 2003, became the youngest-ever recipient of the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Sebastian Film Festival. In 2004, he received the John Steinbeck Award, given to outspoken torch-bearers in the creative arts. Most recently, he served as president of the jury at the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival.

As a journalist, Mr. Penn has written for Time, Interview, and Rolling Stone. In 2004, he wrote a two-part feature for The San Francisco Chronicle after a second visit to war-torn Iraq. In 2005, he wrote a five-part feature for the same paper, reporting from Iran during the election which led to the Ahmadinejad regime there.

Joe Rosato Jr.
There's a small city in California called Fresno. It's a place surrounded by agricultural fields... and swallowed by fog every winter. There's not much to do there... except imagine yourself somewhere else. Joe Rosato Jr. began playing music as an escape. His songs are imbrued with the characters of his hometown. A collection of urban misfits who pound their heads against the wall... and wonder what it all means.
www.joerosatojr.com