• About
• Filmmakers
• Press
• Home

Filmmakers

Matt Mazer
Producer / Presenter / Writer

Matt Mazer is the President of the documentary film organization Historical Media. In 2005, Mazer spent 42 days in Poland leading his international team in the filming of “Buried Prayers”, a feature about their groundbreaking archeological research conducted in the former Nazi death camp, Maidanek, and its present day repercussions. The film, the first of a trilogy is in its penultimate stages of completion.

He recently completed “Keepers of Eden” narrated by Joanne Woodward. Mr. Mazer co-wrote and produced this important documentary depicting the struggle of an indigenous Amazonian tribe, the Huaoarani, and their attempt to preserve the Amazon basin, their culture, and their families from the negative impact of oil production. Four other long-form documentary features are in various stages of production.

Mazer also heads EHI, which owns, operates and licenses rights to family entertainment properties. The company controls all rights worldwide to a wide range of media brands including Buffalo Bill’s Wild West^® and Ice Capades^®. He also has produced live family touring shows based upon PBS characters including Clifford the Big Red Dog Live! ^® and Arthur Live! ^® 

Mr. Mazer has been in the entertainment industry for over twenty-five years, holding senior executive posts at Walt Disney Pictures, DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group, Cinar, Goldcrest Films & Television and Nest Family Entertainment. Mr. Mazer’s independent motion picture production credits include the full-length feature animated productions “All Dogs Go To Heaven” and “The Swan Princess”. 

At Sony Corporation of America Mazer served as Senior Vice President, Sony New Technologies, concentrating on the convergence of entertainment and technology, development of new platforms, and demonstrable strategic alliances: notably in the automotive, travel, hospitality, and sports industries.

He served as the principal of Brand Leverage, advising clients including: Sony Music Entertainment - Japan, Loews Theaters, WWE, Feld Entertainment, Dentsu, USA Films, and NASCAR.

Mr. Mazer served on the elected Board of Governors of the New York Friars Club and is President of the not-for-profit The Fund for Remembrance. Mr. Mazer served on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and is a past Founding Trustee of the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy. He has been recognized for the establishment of the ongoing Yosemite License Plate, which has now generated over $16 million net proceeds directly benefiting this National Park.

Mr. Mazer is an Eagle Scout.

 

Steven Meyer
Director / Producer

In a professional career that started in theater at the age of 13, Steven Meyer has worked in almost every area of the entertainment industry. Beginning as an actor and stage manager in live theater as a teenager in Minnesota, he landed at the Guthrie Theater in 1980 and had the opportunity to work with directors, Livid Ciuli, Garland Wright, Allan Schneider, Richard Foreman, and Marshall Mason as well as actors David Warrilow, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Patti LuPone, and Val Kilmer.

As a theater director he toured his production of “Steambath” through Midwest maximum-security prisons, as well as directing a critically acclaimed productions of “Happy Birthday, Wanda June” (among others) before moving to New York in the early 80s.

A stint as an independent video producer resulted in a number of video art pieces in collaboration with Juan Downey, that have been seen at the Whitney, MOMA, and national and innumerable international museums.

Since then, Steven has crewed for film and television and worked as a Producer, Director, Designer, and Technical Director for diverse clients like – Nike, Benetton, Post Perfect, The Biosphere in Arizona, Dennis Earl Moore, Edwin Schlossberg, Val Kilmer, and Laurie Anderson.

Since 1994 he has worked primarily as a Visual Effects and Post Production Supervisor/Producer/Director for features, long format television, live television, live theater/music, and the occasional commercial. A short list of selected credits includes:
Commercials for: Endust for Electronics, Krylon, Aquafresh Flex Direct, Ford Escort, Quaker Oats, Jif, Banana Boat, Pink Floyd, U2, Aerosmith, Kool-Aid, Prestone.

Broadcast Work for: CBS Sports/US Open, WPIX, Sci-Fi Channel, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central-The Daily Show, CSN, A&E’s Biography, Great Performances, Kennedy center/White House – “Concert For America”.

Long Format Television and Film Work for: Stephen King’s “The Langoliers”, “Judge Dredd”, “Hoodlum”, Stephen King’s “The Nightflier”, “Ricky 6”, “The Farmhouse”, “The Believer”, “Big Apple”, “Wonderland”, “Great Performances”, “Game 6”, Keepers of Eden”, & “Buried Prayers”.

Steven served as the High Definition/DI producer for the Henry Bean film “The Believer” which won the Grand Jury award at Sundance (The first feature to do this with an HD projection), the Moscow Film Festival, and the AFM Grand Palm award. He has also authored related articles on the production and post-production process for digital intermediates and delivering High Definition masters for film and television.

Steven supervised “Game 6” in New York for director Michael Hoffman, starring Michael Keaton, Robert Downey, Jr., and completed the HD media deliverables and installation for the multi screen theaters in the George Washington Museum in Mt. Vernon - which recently won the 2007 THEA award for best museum.

Now, with Historical Media/Turnstile Entertainment Steven has just finished producing, co-directing, and editing “Keepers of Eden” narrated by Joanne Woodward – Winner of the “Pierre Salinger Award” for best documentary at the New York Avignon Film Festival and is directing and editing the documentary “Buried Prayers” - A feature documentary about the discoveries made by an international archaeological team at the Nazi death camp Maidanek.

 

Douglas K. Dempsey
Editor/Writer

Douglas K. Dempsey background in film and documentary gives him a strong sense of story, and he approaches his Writing/Content Development/Editorial work with a focus on flowing narratives and an engaging, entertaining audience experience. His work is                 characterized by humanity, humor, accuracy and audience-pleasing stories.  

Mr. Dempsey is an award-winning filmmaker, writer-producer and content developer in both the world of documentary film and museum media.

He began his professional career at age 15 as a still photographer, graphic designer and model-builder for a national magazine.  Working in Princeton, New Jersey, New York and Los Angeles for the next three decades, he shot, edited and directed numerous corporate and documentary films for such clients as Random House, Ziff-Davis Publishing (Car & Driver, Stereo Review), General Electric, Exxon, PBS     Television, McGraw-Hill Films.  He worked as an Editor on “Heroes of Rock ‘n Roll” for ABC Television, and wrote radio plays for Hy Brown’s Mystery Theater on CBS Radio.

At Maysles Films Inc, he Co-Produced, with Karen Thorsen, the internationally acclaimed documentary “James Baldwin:  The Price of the Ticket” which has won awards and been distributed in over 25 countries.  The film has been in continuous     distribution to educational institutions for 15 years, and shows on American television every year.

As Senior Writer and Content Developer with Dennis Earl Moore Productions, Mr. Dempsey created award-winning museum exhibit content for: The Museum & Education Center at Mount Vernon; The Price of Freedom Exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument; Bob Ballard’s Institute for Exploration at Mystic Aquarium and others.

Mr. Dempsey has worked as Technical Consultant, Writer and Visual Consultant on the IMAX films “Living Planet”, “Flyers” and “Shackelton’s Antarctic Adventure”.  He has worked as Story Editor for Producer Steven Haft (“Dead Poets Society”) and John G. Avildsen (“Rocky,” “The Karate Kid”).

Mr. Dempsey and his wife Karen Thorsen formed DKDMedia, LLC, to focus on  documentary and museum media.  Currently in production are three projects slated for broadcast AND museum exhibition:  “Thomas Paine:  Voice of the Revolution” – A feature-length documentary about the author of Common Sense:  the one Founding Father who has been banned from the Pantheon.  Produced in conjunction with a     multimedia museum exhibit and a series of public programs designed for international distribution.  “John Bowne, Radical Pacifist” – A feature-length documentary about a Quaker rebel whose 17th-century fight for religious freedom led directly to the First Amendment in America’s Bill of Rights.  Produced in conjunction with a multimedia museum exhibit.  “Non-Zero”:  feature-length documentary on FASD—Fetal Alcohol Suite of Disorders—and its connection to ADHD and various social issues.  With the California FASD Health Initiative, California Correctional Institutions and various medical associations.

Mr. Dempsey’s exhibits, media pieces and documentaries have been seen by literally millions of visitors and viewers around the world.

 

Christopher Gambale
Producer

Starting in the entertainment industry at the age of 15, working alongside Bill Cosby and Jay Sandrich (“Soap”, “Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “Get Smart”) director of “The Cosby Show”, Chris functioned as an assistant to Cosby and trained under Mr. Sandrich, sitting in the back row of the control room learning from one of the masters of television comedy

After receiving his BFA from The School Of Visual Arts where Chris was a Film Production/Film History major, he began working as a location assistant and later location manager on major studio feature films being produced in New York City.  Among the 15 films Chris worked on were “Scenes From A Mall”, “Home Alone 2”, “Glengarry Glenn Ross”, and “Billy Bathgate”, at the time, the largest budgeted feature film to date ($68 Million).

When the production boycott hit New York City, Chris tried his hand at agenting and began working at International Creative Management (ICM) and learned the art of the talent deal from legendary agents like Sam Cohn, Ed Limato and Boaty Boatwright.  Clients handled included, Joanne Woodward, Anjelica Huston, Michael Hoffman, Sidney Lumet, Alan Pakula and Albert Finney.

While working at ICM, Chris met and forged a relationship with the Chairman of Miramax Films, Harvey Weinstein and was hired to work as Mr. Weinstein’s Senior Executive Assistant, supervising an office of four and delegating duties to the Senior Executive Staff of the company.  Chris was with Mr. Weinstein during the Miramax “glory years”, from “Pulp Fiction” to Shakespeare In Love” and was directly involved with over 100 Miramax productions.

While at Miramax, Chris coordinated Academy Award campaigns with the publicity and marketing teams and was responsible for implementing the Chairman’s personal Academy strategy for “The English Patient”, which won the Oscar^® for Best Picture.  Chris also forged and maintained the White House relationship, as liaison to President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.

During his tenure at Miramax Films, Chris met iconic director Martin Scorsese, and was later hired to write “Deuces Wild”, a 1950’s gang drama Executive Produced by Mr. Scorsese and released by MGM/United Artists.  

Chris then formed his production company Cineful, LLC and began working on a slate of feature films and television productions, including the controversial HBO Original Program “House Arrest”, which he created and co-executive produced with his production partner Judith Regan and HBO head Sheila Nevins.

Chris is extremely proud to be associated with Historical Media^® as Co- Executive Producer of “Keepers of Eden” an environmental documentary narrated by Oscar winner and entertainment legend Joanne Woodward.  Additionally, he is executive producing the “Buried Prayers” trilogy of films.

 

 

Historical Media
10 East 40th Street. 48th Fl. New York, NY 10016
(212) 812-9381