The Film Team
Renata Keller
Executive Producer and Director Renata Keller is a filmmaker and graphic designer based in Berlin. She has worked in visual arts for over twenty-five years and was until the end of 2018 the CEO and art director of the German philosophical quarterly magazine ‘evolve‘. With a master’s degree in Applied Imagination Renata went on to study documentary filmmaking in London. She runs various Salons in Berlin. Renata’s lifelong pursuit of philosophical and spiritual questions, along with her interest in women’s development, led her to Gerda Lerner’s work and inspired the creation of Why Women Need to Climb Mountains. Her next film project: In the Fire of Dancing Stillness.
Kathy Bayer
Producer Kathy began her career in publishing as an editor specializing in performing arts books at Doubleday & Co. in New York City. She went on to hold several positions in nonprofit education – event producer, publishing manager, educational center director, marketing and public relations manager. Following a lifelong passion for music, Kathy later started a music management and concert production company in MA, 4th Dimension Productions. Recently relocating to New York, she is now Principal at KB Marketing Communications Consulting, Inc. Kathy’s interest in supporting women’s personal and professional growth led her to co-found the Evolving Women’s Alliance in 2011, devoted to education about women’s history and cultural issues relevant to women today. www.kbmarcom.com @kathymbayer
Beatrice Madach
Editor Beatrice Madach is a Berlin based filmmaker. She first studied “Cultural Science” in Hildesheim, Germany and then went on to study “Documentary Filmmaking” in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2011 she returned to Germany where she founded Passionfruit Films a film production company specialised in creating image- and event-films. Beatrice has directed and edited several short documentaries, one of which being “We Worship Krishna” a documentary on the Krishna Consciousness movement in Auckland, New Zealand. “We Worship Krishna” screened as part of “Show me Shorts 2010”, the biggest national short film festival in New Zealand. Her interest in women’s rights and her questions around how gender equality can be implemented are what keeps her motivated in editing Why Women need to Climb Mountains. www.passionfruit-films.de
Suzanne Pradel
Script Consultant Suzanne Pradel is an international script consultant with more than 20 years experiences in the film industry, as a production assistant, an assistant director, script reader, book-scout and script consultant. Since 2008 she has been working as script expert for European film funds such as Eurimages and the MEDIA Programme. As a member of the German Cinema and the TV Consultants (VeDRA e.V.) she worked as a script development lecturer at various German film schools. In 2009 she founded the BuchScout Agency which specializes in novel-to-film adaptations as well as in international script consultancy, developing sophisticated TV features, cinematic features and documentaries for European production companies, TV broadcasters, public funds, distributors and independent filmmakers. Her working languages are: German, English and French. www.BuchScout.net
Judy Fox
Co-Producer and Research Manager Judy is an artist, philanthropist, and owner of J Fox Art Studio in Stockbridge, MA. She has worked for the past twenty-five years managing graphic and interior design projects and overseeing print production of books and magazines. Her longstanding love of art, film, and history, as well as her passion for women’s growth and transformation, have led her to in-depth study in these areas. Introduced to Gerda Lerner’s work several years ago, Judy recognised the importance of documenting her life and work and now lends her research skills to the project. J-Fox-Art-Studio
Laurenne Claire Chapman
Fundraiser and Producer’s Assistant Laurenne is a fundraiser, financial analyst, musician, and linguist with a degree in modern and medieval languages from Cambridge University. Laurenne worked as a fundraiser for Cambridge College before moving to London where she worked as an ACA qualified accountant as a credit risk manager. While pursuing her degree, Laurenne began to develop ideas around constructs of femininity related to art, and in particular music. She performs in solo recitals throughout the UK as a soprano and explores the emancipation of women in contemporary society through her blog The Divine She. Laurenne lives together with her small daughter named Amelia.
Anna Hewat
Research and Production Assistant Anna graduated from William Smith College with degrees in history and film. During her junior year, she worked in London for Purple Flame Media doing on-location shoots and post-production work. She went on to begin her career in New York City, working in conjunction with the United Nations to promote their film To Educate A Girl, and with Global Village Media on their groundbreaking PBS film, John Muir. Most recently, Annaworked in production on forty documentaries for the Jewish Museum of Tolerance Center, which opened in Moscow in November 2012.