CREATORS

NIVA DORELL

DIRECTOR

Niva Dorell has been writing and making films for more than 25 years. Her writing was first noticed by Robert Zemeckis and the late John Singleton who both chose to mentor her on the short film KINGS when she was still a graduate student at the University of Southern California. KINGS went on to win Showtime's Black Filmmaker's Grant, screened and won awards at dozens of film festivals, including Slamdance and the Pan African Film Festival, and was one of seven short films featured on Afrocentricity - Vol 1 (available on Amazon). With the Showtime grant, Niva wrote and directed her second short film MILK AND HONEY, starring Russell Hornsby and Maya Rubin. MILK AND HONEY premiered on Showtime’s Black Filmmaker’s Showcase, screened in competition at the Jerusalem International Film Festival, and later aired on BET-Jazz. She then directed Academy-award winner Louis Gossett Jr., Kym Whitley, and Keshia Knight Pulliam in the 2-hour TV pilot WHAT ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS. She also directed multiple music videos, PSAs, and theatre productions with actors such as Keith David, Loretta Devine, Ernie Hudson, Ella Joyce, Harry Lennix, Lorraine Toussaint, and Mykelti Williamson, among others. Niva’s most recent directorial effort is the short film TRAVELING MERCIES, written by Madison Trice and produced by Social Cinema Foundation. She will produce and direct her fourth short film THE LOTTO LINE in the fall of 2024, followed by her first narrative feature film, LIVING LIVING, an emotionally powerful love story based on her own experience. LIVING, LIVING is currently represented by CAA with Niva attached as director. She has several other projects in development, including two original television pilots. Niva’s writing has been championed by mentors David Mamet, Rodrigo Garcia, and Scott Frank, and supported by residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, Millay Arts, and Cill Rialaig in Ireland. Over the years, Niva has also mentored other young aspiring filmmakers via Social Cinema Foundation, Make a Film Foundation, and the New York Film Academy. Niva received an M.F.A. from the University of Southern California School of Cinema and B.A. from Temple University. An Angeleno for 20 years, Niva now lives in New York and divides her time between New York City, the Hudson Valley, and Los Angeles. Niva writes about life as a creative on her Substack A Writer's Think Tank. Niva's work can be viewed at nivadorell.com.

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MARJORIE KILPATRICK

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Marjorie Lin Kilpatrick has devoted her life to the entertainment industry. She is currently CEO of NJoy Productions, a producer of both film and theatrical projects. Having grown up in the entertainment business watching her father, Lincoln Kilpatrick’s groundbreaking career, Ms. Kilpatrick has been exposed to all facets of the entertainment business. She has found a passion for producing meaningful content of all forms, including short and long film projects, theater, music videos and electronic press kits. Her goal is to expand her career and experience in ways that highlight her strength to bring a project together from beginning to end telling the intended story, while keeping within the time and financial parameters of the project. In 2015, Ms. Kilpatrick refined her skills as a producer as a student in the NYFA Producer program. In addition to the academic work, she has produced four short film productions, including raising the funding for one project via a crowdfunding campaign. The NYFA program allowed her to to work with the state of the art industry equipment and software. She has become expert in film breakdown, planning and budgeting using such programs as Movie Magic, Celtix and Avid. Her work on projects has included fundraising, location identification and negotiations, actor negotiations, shoot day logistics and overall project management. Since 2005, she has been the CEO of Njoy Producing which is an independent production company that works with local content providers to produce short films, commercials and Electronic Press Kits. Prior to founding Njoy Producing, Kilpatrick was an administrative instructor at the renown Kilpatrick-Cambridge Theater Arts School.  Njoy Producing has worked with InArt Media as a producer on many of its projects, including red carpet events for HBO. Producer, The Stuttering Preacher and Dad. She served as the lead producer of a two play series by award winning playwright, Levy Lee Simon. The show has a very successful two month Los Angeles run. In 2006, Mrs. Kilpartick was the Co-Producer of the Bow Wow Club and was awarded the 2006 NAACP Award.

OUR CAST​

MADISON TRICE AS AYALA 

Madison Cuffee Trice is an actress and screenwriter who wrote the Traveling Mercies screenplay and played Ayala Carter. Madison works as a policy analyst and obtained a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College with a concentration in Government and a secondary in Theatre, Dance, and Media. As a Harvard undergraduate, she testified in the Harvard vs. SFFA trial in favor of holistic admissions on behalf of the NAACP LDF, for which she was interviewed on CNN, as well as in the Washington Post and USA Today. She also published an article on the importance of holistic admissions in Refinery29. As an actress, she has played a leading role in the short films Melissa and Mangobaby, and starred in a few theatrical shows with Harvard’s BlackCAST. For her work in Melissa, she won the award of Best Actress in a Short at the Bare Bones Film Festival. She is committed to uplifting black stories that have gone untold, having written Traveling Mercies to reflect on her time in Houston as a black student in a predominantly white private high school and the racism she and others dear to her faced.

SAVANNAH HOLMAN AS OLIVE

Trained in all of the arts, Savannah has used her talent and passion to excel in the entertainment industry. From modeling on the runway with well-known designer Ashton Hall, to modeling and performing commercial work for top corporations such as Walmart. She has had numerous commercial appearances on the Hallmark Channel and Hulu, and has performed with well known gospel singers Sandy Patty and Eddie James. Savannah is well rounded in modeling, acting, and singing. Savannah is a Graduate from Ramp University (The Ramp School of Ministry) in Performing Arts, and is currently represented by Sculp Agency and Stage 28 Talent.

JOSEPH HANSON AS ISAIAH 

Joe Hanson is an actor based in New York City. Joe hails from Houston, TX and attended college at Stanford University. Traveling Mercies is Joe's debut role.

MARLEY MOLINA AS ​ROBERT

Marley is a graduate of Fayetteville High School. His performance in Traveling Mercies is his film debut.

OUR CREW

KRISTIAN R. HILL
EDITOR

Kristian R. Hill, an award-winning documentary filmmaker. has over 25 years of experience in film, television, and entertainment media. Born in Detroit, the city and its history defines much of his work. Thanks to the encouragement of his parents, Kristian found an early affinity with computers and love of video editing, which served as an entryway to television. As am editor, he earned television credits, such as "Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense" and other projects with the NFL network, HBO and Apple. Driven by a thirst to tell authentic stories, Kristian eventually began focusing on producing and directing in addition to editing. In 2014, Kristian Garnered an NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Children's Television Program for "Postcards: Mandela." Later that year, his short film, "Electric Roots: The Detroit Sound Project," was selected to screen at the Court Mertage of the Cannes Short Film Corner. He directed, shot, and edited both projects. Kristian made his feature-film directing debut in 2022 with "God Said Give 'Em Drum Machines- The Story of Detroit Techno" at the world-renown Tribecca Film Festival. Through the making and rollout of the film. he has earned speaking engagements at the school of cinematic arts at Depaul University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Documentary Lab, British Film Insitute at the London Film Festival, and the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum to name a few. Kristian is currently living and working in Los Angeles where he is in-demand as an editor and growing his reputation as a director and executive producer. Still closely engaged with his hometown, he was recently the recipient of the Detroit Diaspora - Cultural Titan Award. His latest project, "Welcome to Rap City," is a three-part docu-series presented by Bet and Mass Appeal which premiered on the Bet Network in October 2023.

ZACHARY A. JOHNSON
COMPOSER

Born and raised in Louisiana, Zachary A. Johnson grew up playing jazz and classical saxophone and piano. As a young man, he liked to compose music and work with musicians in his high school to perform them at events and in class. Music has always been a driving force for him. Zachary enjoys thinking outside the box and is not afraid to take chances with his music. There was just something about being able to move people with music that Zachary loved. Ultimately, Zachary knew he wanted to write music for film. Zachary graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) with a bachelor's of Music Composition in 2021. Zachary was able to finally realize his true passion for writing music for film while pursuing his education at New York University (NYU) in their graduate screen-scoring program. While at NYU, Zachary has collaborated successfully with many different directors, producers, and animators on numerous projects, many of which are being showcased at festivals around the world. Having graduated from NYU his goal is to spread diversity and create memories for audiences across the globe for generations to come.​
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GREGG MANN
​SOUND DESIGNER

With more than 25 years of experience in major recording studios and concert halls across America and Europe, Gregg Mann brings a high level of professionalism to all his endeavors. He has been mixing front of house at the Apollo Theater since 1985. He has toured as audio engineer with Alicia Keys, John Legend, Gladys Knight, and Erika Badu. He recorded and/or mixed Sean « Puffy » Combs, Bad Boy Records, LL Cool J, Heavy D & The Boyz, Brand Nubian, Black Sheep, Ce Ce Peniston, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gloria Gaynor, Jodeci and Ornette Coleman's last 3 albums including the Pulitzer Prize winning sound grammar. He has been A1 mixer for showtime at the Apollo, Bet 106 and Park, Rap City and The Source Magazine Awards. Gregg Mann has been working in the Independent Film Community as a director and editor for the last 10 years. He has also provided publicity photography for major labels and artists: Universal Records, MCA Records, Elite Models, The Apollo Theater, (the Hall of Fame Board of Directors portraits), Ray Chew, David Banner, Lil Wayne, Raekwon and Keziah Jones.

RYAN BATES
SOUND MIXER

Ryan Bates is a Location Sound Recordist for TV, Film, & Commercial Video Production. He is based in Little Rock and available for travel shoots. Before specializing in recording sound for video, Ryan studied film at the University of Central Arkansas. He has always enjoyed the idea of working on team based projects as a specialized role. He developed a passion for his work through seeing how essential technical audio is for film. He takes pride in prioritizing the audience through his work; and cares deeply about everybody's voice to be heard loud and clear. Shortly after graduating from college he invested in his audio equipment and has been working on various projects locally ever since.

ADRIAN LARSEN
POST PRODUCTION MANAGER & GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Raised with a blend of cultures, Adrian Larsen utilizes their experiences from living overseas and growing up LGBTQ in a mixed-race family to prioritize diversity in their work. Adrian started in the performance industry at a young age with lead acting roles in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. In 2020, Adrian co-wrote COLLECTION, a stage production about mental health during the Covid pandemic, and was the Technical Director for its three showings in 2021. Adrian discovered their passion for screenwriting and completed a feature film composition course through Low Key Arts. Adrian currently works for NJOY Productions and as a freelance editor. Traveling Mercies is their first film, in which Adrian was Post Production Manager, Executive Assistant, Production Assistant, Script Supervisor, Graphic Designer, Casting Assistant, and Website Designer.