film crew
Mila Aung-Thwin
writer & director
Co-founder of EyeSteelFilm, Mila Aung-Thwin revels in the diverse documentary joys of writing, directing, producing, editing, selling and mentoring. He has produced more than 25 feature documentaries, including Up the Yangtze, Forest of the Dancing Spirits, and the Emmy Award-winning Last Train Home. He served as president for 5 years of RIDM, Montreal’s International documentary festival, as well as juror for the International Emmy Awards, AFI DOCS, the New Zealand Film Awards, and the Sundance Film Festival. He has also taught documentary film programs to students in places such as Inukjuak, Nunavik, and Yangon, Myanmar.
Van Royko
cinematographer & co-director
Van Royko, MA, CSC is a filmmaker and director of photography from Montreal, Qc. He is best known for his award winning cinematography for the feature documentaries ‘Monsoon’ and ‘Koneline’. With these films among others, Van has consistently employed an expanded vision of cinematography, using novel technologies and aesthetic techniques to tell truly cinematic stories. Over the course of his career Van has collaborated with world renowned directors and producers Yung Chang, Daniel Cross, Nettie Wild, Sturla Gunnarsson and the Oscar-winning Denys Arcand on projects ranging from advertising campaigns and music videos to art installations and feature documentaries. In the past year Van has shot and directed for several new films and TV series including the highly regarded CBC series Interrupt the Program and his debut feature doc, Pipe Dreams.
Bob Moore
Producer
Bob Moore is co-president of EYESTEELFILM, specializing in the creation of cinematic documentaries such as Last Train Home, China Heavyweight, I Am the Blues, and Forest of the Dancing Spirits. With partners Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, Bob has produced films that have been recognized by international awards including the Emmys and Golden Horse, as well as numerous festival grand jury awards. Bob also oversees EYESTEELFILM’s theatrical distribution company and its new Creative Reality Lab, which focuses on meaningful interactive and immersive storytelling. He has degrees in Philosophy, Fine Art, and Law, and regularly lectures at and consults with film institutions around the world.
Gilda Pourjabar
Co-Editor
Gilda Pourjabar is a Montreal-based filmmaker/editor. She was born in the north of Iran, in the Gilan province. She grew up in Tehran. She graduated from Iran University of Science and Technology in 2007 with B.Sc degree in Industrial Engineering. In 2011, she obtained her Associate degree in Cinema. She studied Film Production at Concordia University (2012-2015). During her studies she has written and directed six short fiction films. After graduation she has been working as a freelance editor on both fiction and documentary films. Currently, she is in the process of a documentary film on art.
Daniel Cross
Executive Producer
Daniel Cross is founder of EYESTEELFILM in Montreal, named by Real Screen Magazine as a top 100 non-fiction production company. He is an Associate Professor and previous Chair of the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University. Cross also serves on the University’s Board of Governors and holds a university research chair in interactive documentary filmmaking. Cross’ latest feature documentary I AM THE BLUES premiered at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (IDFA) and had its North American premiere at SXSW in 2016. Daniel Cross is a multi-disciplined award-winning documentary filmmaker with a long history of directing and producing theatrical documentaries and exploring new media approaches. He made his mark directing feature length films concerning issues of homelessness; The Street: a film with the homeless, S.P.I.T: Squeegee Punks In Traffic and the online interactive documentary Homeless Nation winning the UN World Summit Award for e-inclusion. Together with eight Inuit students, he co-directed Inuuvunga: I am Inuk I am alive. He co-directed the films Atanasoff for History TV and Chairman George for the BBC and CTV networks. Cross also co-produced the Genie Award-winning films Up the Yangtze and Last Train Home, which also won two Emmy Awards in 2014. Other documentary productions include Jingle Bell Rocks, Fruit Hunters, Rip: A Remix Manifesto, Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam, China Heavyweight, Inside Lara Roxx, and Chameleon. Daniel has won both the Trailblazer award at MIPDOC in Cannes, and the Inaugural Mentor of the Year award from the Canadian Media Producers Association.