Jack Riccobono has written, directed and produced a wide range of work across the five boroughs of his native New York City and around the world. His critically acclaimed documentary feature THE SEVENTH FIRE premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and received a NYTimes Critics’ Pick during its theatrical release in North America and the UK. A graduate of Harvard’s VES Film Production Program and Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School, Jack’s films have screened at festivals and venues including New Directors/New Films, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the New Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. In 2008, Jack launched the production company All Rites Reserved, dedicated to producing films with global reach that push visual and conceptual boundaries.

Shimi Mizrahi serves as the Texas Hillel Israel Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin where he promotes connections to Israel and Israelis throughout the campus community by sharing personal experiences about the complex realities of life in the region.  A native of Jerusalem, he served as a technician in the Israeli Air Force and graduated from Hebrew University in Jerusalem where he majored in political science and international relations. His grandparents fled Iraq and Iran during the 1930s prior to Israel’s War for Independence in 1948.

David Finkel is the Director of the Austin Jewish Film Festival, now in its 18th year.  AustinJFF.org.