Meet Our Team

David Friend—a filmmaker, producer, and writer—is an editor at Vanity Fair and the former director of photography of LIFE. The documentary short Maurice and Marvin (2026) is his directorial debut. As an executive producer, he won best documentary Emmys for Lakota Nation vs. United States (2024) and 9/11 (2002). He executive produced MLK/FBI, which was shortlisted for the 2021 Best Documentary Oscar; The Flag, for CNN (2013); and Take No Prisoners (2025).

As a correspondent, he covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Lebanon, and elsewhere. As an editor, he broke the 2005 story that identified the FBI's Mark Felt as “Deep Throat,” the Washington Post’s secret Watergate source. David was the founding Web editor of LIFE.com and VanityFair.com. He has co-edited 13 Vanity Fair books, curated photography exhibitions on three continents, and written poetry published in The New Yorker.

David is the author of The Naughty Nineties; Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11; The Meaning of Life; and two children’s books.

Instagram: @DavidMFriend1

David Friend

Director

Amy Berg is a critically acclaimed, Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Her first feature, Deliver Us From Evil, was nominated for both an Academy Award and a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. She went on to direct West of Memphis, with producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.

Amy directed the psychological thriller Every Secret Thing, starring Diane Lane, Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Banks, Common, and Danielle MacDonald; An Open Secret, a documentary about the exploitation and sexual abuse of young actors; and an introspective look at a religious cult, Prophet’s Prey, in association with Showtime and Imagine Entertainment. Her film about Janis Joplin, Janis: Little Girl Blue, premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.

Amy’s company Disarming Films produces long-form documentary features and docuseries. Projects include The Case Against Adnan Syed (HBO), We Are: The Brooklyn Saints (NETFLIX), the Emmy-winning series Dogs (NETFLIX) for which Amy directed the groundbreaking episode, “Bravo Zeus,” and Phoenix Rising (HBO). Her latest feature, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, has received widespread acclaim after premiering at Sundance 2025. It was released by Magnolia and HBO Documentary Films.

Amy Berg

Executive Producer

Meghna Rao is an independent producer based in Brooklyn. She was previously a creative producer/executive at MasterClass. Before that, she joined Pushkin Industries where she oversaw all film & TV development. She also spent several years as an executive at Topic Studios, where she was involved in a number of features including The Mauritanian, Nanny, and The Climb. She began her career at Left/Right where she helped develop their first slate of scripted television projects.

Meghna Rao

Producer

Katie Schiller is a queer filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York.  She has developed, directed, and produced projects ranging from short films and branded content to television and feature-length productions. Katie received the John Cassavetes Award at the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards for her work on Emma Seligman’s feature directorial debut, SHIVA BABY (SXSW, TIFF 2020). Katie’s narrative short, A Portrait of Frances, Enclosed, co-directed with Jacob Levy was an official selection at the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s 2020 Shortfest. Katie produced the narrative short film, CHAPERONE (Sundance 2022) and the documentary short, BETWEEN EARTH & SKY (Big Sky Short Film Winner 2023, Oscar Short-Listed 2024), co-produced the Netflix documentary series The Principles of Pleasure, served as a segment producer on Lady Gaga's The Power of Kindness for Facebook Watch, and produced the 3-part docuseries Lesbian Bar Project now available on the Roku Channel. Katie holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Masters of Social Work from Fordham University. Katie owns and operates It Doesn’t Suck Productions where she carries out soup to nuts producing with a focus on women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and stories it would really suck not to tell. Additionally, Katie has a small therapy practice focused on supporting creatives and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Katie Schiller

Producer

PARTICIPANTS

Maurice Berger (1956-2020)

Marvin Heiferman

WITH

Katherine Dieckmann

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Nan Goldin

Sarah Lewis

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Amy Berg

A. Cary Brown

Clare Rooney Butler

Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo

CO-PRODUCERS

Beth Rudin DeWoody

Agnes Gund

Marvin Heiferman

Alec Ring

SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHS & TEXT

Marvin Heiferman

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Sebastiano Tomada

EDITOR

Alex Keipper, ACE

THEME MUSIC

Jason Moran

  • Directed and Produced by: David Friend

    Featuring: Maurice Berger (1956-2020), Katherine Dieckmann, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Nan Goldin, Marvin Heiferman, Sarah Lewis

    Executive Producers: Amy Berg, A. Cary Brown, Clare Rooney Butler, Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo

    Produced by: Meghna Rao, Katie Schiller

    Co-Produced by: Beth Rudin DeWoody, Agnes Gund, Marvin Heiferman, Alec Ring

    An Available Light Media Production

    Co-Produced by: It Doesn’t Suck Productions

    Edited by: Alex Keipper, ACE

    Cinematography by: Sebastiano Tomada

    Special Photographs and Text by: Marvin Heiferman

    Music by: Jason Moran

    Special Footage courtesy of: Brian Storm, Media Storm

    Additional Cinematography by: Luis Romero

    Production Sound: Anthony Charles

    Assistant Editor: Augustine So

    Voiceovers for @whywelook Followers: Maggie Coughlan, Tracey Ryans

    Associate Producer: Lily Blavin

    Co-Executive Producer: Zak Tanjeloff

    Production Coordinator: Letícia Bianco

    Production Assistants: Cody Byrd, Patrick Hogue

    Intern: Grace Walters

    Graphics and Animation by: Kaleida Studio and Mighty Oak

    Lead Graphics Designer: Ivo Stoop

    Lead Graphics Producers: Julie Gratz, Megan Barbour

    Graphics Producers: Emily Collins, Michaela Olsen, Daniel Shepard

    Additional retouching by: Michelle Leedy, Swell Digital

    Sound Designer & Mixer: Jesse Peterson

    Voice-Over Services provided by: Gigantic Studios NYC

    Voice-Over Mixer: Léa Dessart

    Audio Post Producer: Mehar Gujral

    Picture Finishing provided by: Goldcrest Post NY

    Colorist: Andrew Geary

    Senior Finishing Artist: Larry Schmitt

    DI Assist: Dan Dragicevich

    Data I/O Manager: Michael DelPlato

    Photography of Maurice and Marvin courtesy of:
    AP/Mediapunch/IPX
    Chelsea Adewunmi
    Maurice Berger
    Dawoud Bey
    Irene Borger
    Mark Cohen
    Paula Court
    Michel Delsol
    Donna De Salvo
    Katherine Dieckmann
    Mitch Epstein
    Leon Falk
    Nona Faustine
    Dan Feigelson
    Robert Giard - courtesy of Estate of Robert Giard
    Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
    Lavonne Hall
    Lyle Ashton Harris
    Marvin Heiferman
    Peter Kunhardt, Jr.
    Matthew Larkin
    Therese Lichtenstein
    Judith Miller
    Steve Miller
    Sandy Skoglund
    Akiko Takano
    William Karl Valentine
    JoAnn Verburg
    Oliver Wasow

    Featured Artwork by:
    Jenny Lee Fowler
    Deborah Kass
    Susan Shortridge
    Pacifico Solano

    Additional Photography courtesy of: The Marvin Heiferman Collection, Juan Glassford, Vivian Maier

    Fiscally sponsored by: Utah Film Center, Dorothea L. Leonhardt Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas

    Gordon Parks Images courtesy of: The Gordon Parks Foundation

    Legal services: Steven M. Kalb, Paul Szynol, Marc Von Arx

    Additional Footage courtesy of: Katherine Dieckmann

    Represented by Cinetic Media