Chris Perkel (Director)

After graduating from Columbia University with a dual degree in Psychology and Film Studies, Chris Perkel moved to Los Angeles to earn his MFA at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television. His thesis documentary screened at nearly a dozen international film festivals and won the UPA innovation grant and his first screenplay (co-written with Georgie Roland) won the Jack Oakie Writing Award and was a semi-finalist at the prestigious Austin Heart of Film Screenplay Competition. Since graduating, Chris has distinguished himself as an editor cutting features and shows that have appeared on A&E, AMC, MTV and The Sundance Channel. The Town That Was is his feature directing debut.

Georgie Roland (Director)

A graduate of Cornell University, Georgie Roland studied further at The London School of Economics and at the University of Southern California Graduate Film Program. After winning awards for both writing and directing, yet disillusioned by Hollywood, he returned to his hometown in Pennsylvania and began working blue collar jobs. Based on his experiences, he has several projects in development, including his first narrative feature to be set in Northeastern PA, as well as a novel based on his 2 years of experience as the Night Shift Supervisor in the kitchen of a Pennsylvania county prison. He co-owns the production company, Dog Player Films, with creative partner Chris Perkel. The Town That Was is their first documentary feature.

Melinka Thompson-Godoy (Producer)

After graduating from Columbia University in 1998, Melinka began a three-year tenure at the independent feature film company, Good Machine. While there, she worked very closely with award winning producer Ted Hope on such projects as Storytelling, In the Bedroom and The Laramie Project. Beginning as his assistant, Melinka quickly excelled at the company, moving up to senior assistant before being promoted to production executive in 2001. As production executive she worked on several films culminating with overseeing the critically acclaimed film American Splendor from pre-production through delivery. Since leaving Good Machine Melinka has worked in several capacities ranging from location coordinator on Focus Features’ 21 Grams, to assistant production office coordinator on Season One of ABC’s hit TV show Lost to most recently working as the visual effects coordinator on Julie Taymor’s upcoming musical feature film Across the Universe, while continuing to develop and produce short films, documentaries and features in between projects. The Town That Was marks Melinka’s documentary feature film producing debut.

Paul Henning (Composer)

Paul Henning graduated from the University of Southern California’s Film Scoring program in 2000. Prior to USC, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Washington State University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Since moving to Los Angeles, Paul has worked on the score orchestrations for over 30 feature films, including King Kong, The Day After Tomorrow, Swordfish, I Spy, and Chocolat. As a violinist, Paul has performed with Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) and Smokey Robinson. Paul grew up in Pullman, Washington. He is an avid hiker, is fluent in French, and has also studied German, Russian, Danish and Japanese. Paul has a strong interest in architecture, and has recently photographed a collection of over 800 historical buildings in Whitman County, Washington to help promote their preservation. The Town That Was is his first feature score.