JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL SCREENING ON AUGUST 30TH AT UC BERKELEY presented by
UC Berkeley Office of Disability Access & Compliance w/ the Graduate School of Journalism & the Dis/ABILITY Film Festival
Who we are
Drea Castro - Director/ Producer/Editor
Drea Castro is a director and producer who’s passion lies with helping tell underrepresented and BIPOC stories. Sher serves as the Vice President of Career and Creative Development for the non-profit organization, Filam Creative where she helps create programming to help educate Filipino and SEA creatives. She is a WIF Mentee 2022, WWF Cohort Mentee 2022, and a recipient of the Woman of Her Word grant.
Her upcoming work includes “The Jungle,” a tv series exploring the history of the Filipino American diaspora, “Browned,” a docu-series about chefs of color, as well as “Black Hat” starring Filipino star, Jodi Sta. Maria. She also finished producing and directing the magic realism/fantasy driven short film, “Bless” starring Arianna Basco and Darius Basco as well as the short film, “Purgy’s” starring Richard Riehle (“Office Space”) and Arnold Chun (“The Man in the High Castle”)
Matt Zimel - Co- Producer/Editor
Matthew Zimel is a seasoned Editor and Producer known for work spanning short- and long-form narratives, documentaries, commercials, high-budget music videos, and reality television. With a meticulous attention to detail and exceptional technical expertise, he has collaborated with renowned brands such as Subaru, LEGO, SyFy, Volkswagen, Impact Theory, Smosh, People Are Awesome, and many others. Notable highlights of his recent work include the feature documentary "Baldy for the Blind" and an upcoming, yet-to-be-named children's science program. Matthew's years of experience in the industry have solidified his reputation as a highly sought-after Editor and Producer, consistently pushing the boundaries of his craft and making significant contributions to the success of projects spanning various platforms and genres.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
13 YEAR FILM JOURNEY TO CLIMB MY OWN MOUNTAIN
One hopes that during this life’s journey, we find the thing that changes
the course of who we are and we find our purpose. “Baldy for the Blind”
was that fork in the road for me. At the time that this was filmed 13 years
ago, I was a young transplant in Los Angeles, fresh eyes and big dreams. 13
years... This took me 13 years to get here from when I started this film. It
feels like 7 lifetimes ago. I was a different person - A different filmmaker -
so inexperienced, so young, so naive. I foolishly thought I could complete
this in a few months, maybe a year, max. I laugh at the thought now.
When I first moved to LA, I found myself addicted to the trails and the
mountains surrounding this city. In finding this love for nature and the
outdoors, I found a group of people that would forever change me. At the
time, I didn’t really know too many visually impaired or blind people, so I
had a stereotypical, narrow view of the disabled community. That naive,
young minded, biased way of thinking quickly changed. And the 13 year
journey to get to the finish line with “Baldy for the Blind” grew me as a
person in so many ways and all for the better.
Initially, I was only supposed to be a volunteer sight guide for Baldy for
the Blind but I realized pretty quickly, that I needed to help tell this story.
Something pulled at my heart. I knew deep down, how important this all
was and so my path to becoming a storyteller for those who have no voice,
came to life. And if there’s one thing that the blind hikers taught me, was
that - no matter how long it takes - one foot in front of the other, and you
will reach the summit.
