Originally from Canada, Laurie Little is a Chicago based filmmaker, digital artist, colorist, photographer and educator. Her award-winning films have screened in festivals and exhibitions worldwide and her observational documentaries and short fiction films inspire dialogue, advocacy, and action. Laurie’s recent film, Sisters March, a short documentary reflecting on the journey between Chicago and DC, connects voices of hope, empowerment, and intersectionality during the Women’s March. Her film Totalité about Photographer/Umbraphile Richard Bellia, created with Justin T. Jones, looks at Bellia’s passion for the creative process and its parallels to nature. Laurie is currently in production on a new feature documentary, Waiting for Winter with partners Anuradha Rana and B. Rich, following the stories of five female dog sled racers ranging from ages 13 to 63 on the Lake Superior South Shore racing circuit.
Little holds a BFA from York University and an MFA in Film and Video from Columbia College Chicago where she teaches documentary and media classes as an adjunct instructor.
Justin Jones is an award-winning documentarian and cinematographer based in Chicago. His films have screened at festivals across the country and internationally, including the BEA Festival of Media Arts, Ethnografilm Paris, and the Fresh Coast Film Festival. As a cinematographer Justin often works across genres and styles, from experimental to traditional narrative and documentary. Originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, his work is currently focused on personal stories of people and place and family dynamics in the rural Midwest. Justin is finishing his MFA in Documentary at DePaul University. When not making movies, he enjoys cross-country skiing and film photography.
Re-connecting through a flurry of Facebook messages with my old friend, rock photographer, Richard Bellia, I discovered that not only was he coming to visit us from France, with daughter, Valentine to see the eclipse of 2017 but that he was an eclipse chaser with a wealth of knowledge on the subject. Richard’s beautiful photographic work and his passion and impish joy for life and art led me to jump on the idea to make a film with him. I called up my friend, Justin Jones to see if he would help me make the doc and another great friendship was launched. We are all in love with photography and the processes of photography and filmmaking and their parallels with nature.
Documentary Film Festival. Los Angeles & Toronto 