Julie Rubio is an award-winning film director, producer, writer, and actor whose work focuses on uncovering overlooked stories through deeply researched, character-driven filmmaking. She is the founder of East Meets West Productions, established in 2002, and serves as President of Women in Film San Francisco Bay Area (WIFSFBA), where she is dedicated to empowering women filmmakers and fostering a vibrant creative community.
Rubio most recently wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning feature documentary The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & The Art of Survival, which received the Best Documentary Award at the Paris Clown International Film Festival and the Best Cinematography Award at the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF). The feature documentary reexamines the life and legacy of Art Deco icon Tamara de Lempicka. Through years of international archival research, the film uncovered previously unknown evidence surrounding the artist’s origins, Jewish heritage, and identity, reshaping historical understanding of one of the twentieth century’s most important and influential artists.
Premiering to sold-out audiences at the Mill Valley Film Festival, the film became part of the landmark Tamara de Lempicka retrospective at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Since its premiere, it has expanded to more than 300 theatrical, museum, festival, and cultural screenings worldwide, including a nationwide theatrical release at AMC Theatres, Film at Lincoln Center, the New York Jewish Film Festival, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Centre Pompidou Málaga, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Artis–Naples Baker Museum, the Polish Museum of America, Peoria Riverfront Museum, the Roxie Theater, Laemmle Theatres, VIFF Centre, New Plaza Cinema, Independent Picture House, and many more. The film has also secured international television and streaming distribution through Canal+ Poland, further expanding its reach across Europe, and is currently in discussions with major streaming platforms for additional worldwide distribution.
As a producer, Rubio is also recognized for the critically acclaimed feature film East Side Sushi, which won 16 film festival awards and received nominations for Cinema Tropical’s Best U.S. Latino Film of the Year and Mexico’s Diosa de Plata Award for Best Picture. The film achieved international distribution through Samuel Goldwyn Films, Sony Home Entertainment, HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
Her additional directing, writing, and producing credits include Too Perfect, Six Sex Scenes and a Murder, Soledad Is Gone Forever, Oakland B Mine, Del Cielo, Everything Is Temporary, and Impression. Her films have screened at leading festivals and cultural institutions around the world, including Cinequest, the Miami International Film Festival, the Napa Valley Film Festival, CAAMFest, the San Francisco Latino Film Festival, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the World Film Festival of Bangkok.
In addition to her feature films, Rubio has directed and produced numerous commercials, music videos, branded content, short films, and a wide range of other creative productions, continuing to tell compelling stories across multiple formats and genres.
Through her work, Rubio explores themes of resilience, identity, artistic courage, immigration, survival, and social justice, connecting audiences across Jewish, Polish, Art Deco, fashion, and LGBTQ+ communities while bringing overlooked stories to audiences worldwide.
Blake Wellen is a distinguished film producer based in Orinda, California, originally from Mill Valley. Since joining East Meets West Productions, LLC. in 2007 as an associate and co-producer, Blake has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s creative and commercial success. With a focus on feature films, narrative shorts, and short-form documentaries, he has helped position the company as a respected force in independent cinema both domestically and internationally.
Blake was active on the production team of the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning feature film East Side Sushi, a breakout success that was acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Company, Sony Home Entertainment, HBO North America, and Netflix. In 2019, East Side Sushi was named one of the Top 20 Bay Area Films of the Decade by the Mercury News, affirming his commitment to producing culturally resonant and socially impactful cinema.
In addition to his production work, Blake has spearheaded national and global distribution initiatives for the company’s recent projects. Most notably, he has been securing widespread distribution for The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & The Art of Survival, forging partnerships with prestigious film festivals, museums, and cultural institutions around the world.
Blake’s strategic vision, coupled with his dedication to storytelling that bridges cultures and communities, continues to elevate East Meets West Productions as a leader in meaningful, independent filmmaking.
Amy Harrison is a San Francisco based filmmaker of scripted and unscripted films who is passionate about socially relevant storytelling that feature strong female protagonists and underrepresented communities. Her work has screened at venues such as New York’s Film Forum, LA Film Festival, London’s BBC Short Film Festival, Slamdance, NY’s Museum of Modern Art, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and more. Her documentary Guerrillas In Our Midst, about the art activists the Guerrilla Girls and their critique of bias against women and artists of color in the blue chip art world, has screened at hundreds of festivals, colleges, and museums world wide, and is distributed by Women Make Movies. She co-produced the feature A Girl Like Grace, which starred Meagan Good, Raven-Symoné, and Garcelle Beauvais. She directed the short narrative Miss Finknagle Succumbs to Chaos, which won the audience award at Berkeley’s Playground festival, and she directed the short Tormenta with the American Conservatory Theater (ACT). She produced work for Comedy Central, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the PBS series In the Life, MTV, and more. She is a committed educator and mentor, and is currently a faculty member in the Media Studies program at Foothill College in Los Altos, California where she is committed to equity and access.
Svetlana Cvetko is an award-winning cinematographer known for her work on many critically acclaimed documentaries, including OSCAR® winner Inside Job, OSCAR® nominated Facing Fear, the Cannes Official Selection Red Army, and the Sundance US Documentary Special Jury Prize-winning Inequality For All. In addition, she was the first cinematographer on films such as OSCAR® winner O.J.: Made in America and Sundance documentary Miss Representation, setting the look for those films. Svetlana has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2019. Her feature-length directorial debut is the award-winning Show Me What You Got. An ode to Jules et Jim and the rule-breaking French New Wave, the film has been called a “work of courage in search of the meaning of life" by MadMass Cinema in Italy and "a captivating well-acted story with great style" by FilmThreat. Show Me What You Got tells the story of three twenty-somethings, Marcello, Nassim and Christine, who form a ménage à trois and struggle to prove their worth to their families and the world around them. Currently playing in festivals, Show Me What You Got has garnered five awards and one nomination in just eight festivals so far, including being awarded the Grand Jury Prize by Oliver Stone at its world premiere in Taormina, Italy. Svetlana also directed the genre film Deadly Switch starring Dylan Walsh, Teri Polo and Danika Yarosh, currently on Netflix, and she received the Grand Prix du Public at Films de Femmes for her short autobiographical film No War and Best Documentary at LA Shorts Fest for her blend of narrative and documentary styles for Yours Sincerely, Lois Weber.
Neva Tassan co-produced From Baghdad to The Bay, which won Best Documentary Feature at its world premiere at Cinequest, screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and won several other awards. Neva is also an associate producer of One, a narrative feature which is currently in pre-production, by East Side Sushi producer Julie Rubio.
Jennifer comes from a 20+ year career in Marketing, business development and operations for Fortune 100 and high-net-worth banking. She is active in the independent film community including leading a production company, Thunderbolt Forge Films, which currently has a feature-length documentary, “Who Do We Have Here” in production and "Mexico '85" in pre-production, and includes an active marine services division supporting all aspects of maritime needs during film production. Jennifer is also the President of the Board of Directors for Artists United, a global nonprofit with more than 30,000 members, helping artists connect to ask for what they need help with and offer what they can help with, to work in reciprocity for collaborating, coaching and mentoring.
Tasha Nesbitt is a producer, director, and writer and is the President of Women in Film San Francisco Bay Area (WIFSFBA). Tasha runs the production company TASHA.MEDIA and coaches clients how to shoot and publish their own videos through her business DIYWEBVIDEO.COM. She has produced a wide range of video productions including documentary, web series, commercials, PSAs, music videos, instructional videos and narrative films in the San Francisco Bay Area. After placing in the Broadcast Education Association’s National Screenplay contest, Tasha earned a certificate in Professional Writing for the Screen through Writer’s Boot Camp LA. In 2004, she co-wrote and produced the feature film Pathogen and from 2005 to 2011 Nesbitt produced and hosted the annual Short Film Showcase for Bay Area Women In Film & Media (BAWIFM). At the heart of Tasha’s success is a love of story and storytelling. She is passionate about uncovering the universal, emotionally resonant message in every story. Tasha lives and works in Oakland and is a Bay Area Native.
Alexis Hazelwood is a creative based in San Francisco. As an experienced video professional, she has worked on large and small scale productions for commercial, documentary, and educational platforms - with capacities for photography, set design, lighting, and sound recording. Post-production skills include long and short-form editing, 2D animating, compositing, rotoscoping, sound design, product coloring/retouching, and motion graphic design.
Lisa Tanisawa supported the production of the award-winning documentary feature From Baghdad to the Bay. She trained in Improv and Sketch at The Upright Citizen's Brigade in New York. Lisa received her BA in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara and Masters in Public Health from San Jose State University.
Rachel is a New York-based video editor and researcher. She graduated from New York University with a degree in Film & TV and a minor in art history. Her goals are to promote untold and authentic stories and to help create greater community engagement through documentary film.
Nikki Hausherr is an experienced creative who is all about storytelling. She was raised in the woods of Connecticut and received her bachelor's degree in Documentary Production at DePaul University in Chicago. Nikki now lives in sunny Aspen, Colorado.
Passionate about capturing the essence of individuals, experiences, small businesses, and places, Nikki works closely with her clients to deliver a final product they are excited about. Whether it's through photo or video, Nikki believes that everyone has a story, and she has the skills and mindset to genuinely capture and portray these stories.
Nikki has experience with food & drink photography, portraits, commercials, events and interiors. She also helps local businesses build an online presence through web design and social media.