Director/PRODUCER
Xiaoying Echo Su
Xiaoying Su, known as Echo Su, is a documentary filmmaker based in New York, focused on cross-cultural topics, women’s rights, and social justice. She actively engages with social justice organizations and the AAPI community. Using visual storytelling to drive positive impact and spark essential conversations on social justice is her passion, supported by a background in journalism.
Echo's expertise shines through her roles as director, producer, and editor of short documentaries such as First Saké Brewery in New York and Christian Demarco, which were screened at film festivals including DOC NYC 2022 (an Academy-qualifying festival and the largest documentary festival in America), the Maui Film Festival 2022, and Ethnografilm Paris 2023.
Her latest short documentary, Fighting Back (2024), has screened internationally and received recognition, including Best NYC Film at the Winter Film Festival (2025) and Best Short Documentary at the Hamilton New York International Film Festival (2024). It was also named a Semi-Finalist at the Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival and screened at the Boston Asian American Film Festival and the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF). Her previous work has been selected for the BAFTA Student Awards and screened at DOC NYC (an Academy-qualifying festival and the largest documentary festival in America), the Maui Film Festival, and the Ethnografilm Festival in Paris.
Her filmmaking journey began as a co-editor of the feature film Love Story in Xiangxi (China) in 2017, which was screened at events such as the 27th China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, among others. She also worked as a film instructor for one year in Yunnan Province, China, from 2018 to 2019.
She holds dual master’s degrees: an MFA in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York and an MFA in Broadcast and Television from the Communication University of China(CUC).
PRODUCER
Justin Zimmerman
Justin Zimmerman, MFA in Film, is a nationally recognized film director, producer, comic writer, and professor. His diverse projects have been broadcast on national public television and distributed globally. He is the recipient of multiple grants and fellowships, he contributed a story to the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel Love Is Love, and his script and comic work have been optioned on multiple occasions. He is also the founder of Bricker-Down Productions®(BDP), BDP’s narrative and documentary work has appeared in over 200 film festivals across the globe.
PRODUCER
Ashley Lam
Ashley is an accomplished risk & control specialist and strategic advisor with 15+ years of experience across multiple global financial institutions. Ashley holds a B.A in Economics and Politics from New York University.
Ashley serves on the iMentor Young Executive Leadership Board and is a committee leader for several women’s network as well as AAPI organizations. She is an advocate for first- generation students, Asian American leadership, and women's leadership. She has also founded a scholarship for first generation BIPOC high school and college students.
When she is not working, you’ll find her spending time mentoring, meeting new people, keeping up with her 3 kids & dog, and pursuing her breakthrough venture in entrepreneurship and app development. She is most recently an award winning children’s book author - “Wrapped with Love: Wonton Noodle Day with Grandma.”
Cinematographer
Yaakov Gottlieb
Yaakov Gottlieb is a documentary filmmaker based in New York and Chicago who covers mainly human rights issues with a focus on themes of immigration.
He was a co-director and co-producer of La Casa del Migrante, a documentary about Mexican immigrants, which was nominated for the International Documentary Association's David L. Wolper Award. He has worked abroad at La Nación as a producer and videographer, covering topics such as poverty and resource accessibility in rural and urban areas of Buenos Aires and Argentina. He has also worked as a photographer in Iceland, documenting natural and cultural life for a travel guide.
COMPOSER & SCORE
John W. Snyder
John W. Snyder is a composer and pianist in Los Angeles. He scores films, documentaries, theatrical works, theme parks, and commercials for numerous clients such as Sundance, Sony, ABC, Warner Brothers, Capitol Records, and countless commercial products. He also provides additional arrangements and orchestrations for popular bands and international agencies such as Watsky, Daveed Digg's Clipping, Black Cat White Cat, and many others.
