Truth to the Powerless - Crew
Pitasanna Shanmugathas
(Writer, Director, Producer, Editor)
Pitasanna Shanmugathas was born and raised in Canada. Pitasanna's interest in foreign policy first came from reading the works of progressive thinkers such as Noam Chomsky and Yves Engler. While completing his post-graduate education at the University of Toronto in global affairs, Pitasanna decided to embark on a three year documentary journey starting in 2019 to explore the role of Canada's foreign policy in the international arena. Pitasanna has also worked in multiple organizations advocating for peace and disarmament.
Ryan Ellis
(Director, Producer, and Videographer)
Ryan Ellis graduated from Toronto Film School in 2003 with top honors. Ellis has produced and directed short films such as Great Ganalden, Barber of Kigali, Schnapps and Go See Mommy. Ellis' short films have been screened at many film festivals including Los Angeles, Boston International, and Indie Film Jam. His short film, Prospect, has been accepted into the Cannes Film Festival. Ellis is also a cinematographer, having worked on award-winning feature films such as The Tenant, Nine Plus One, and We Run These Streets.
Amy Miller
(Script Consultant)
Amy Miller is a Canadian writer and filmmaker based in Montreal, Quebec. She attended Carleton University in Ottawa. Previously a union organizer, she started making films in 2007. Her documentaries include Myths for Profit, The Carbon Rush, No Land No Food No Life, Tomorrow's Power and Gaza: Health Under Siege.
Mark Achbar
(Script Consultant)
Mark Achbar is a Canadian filmmaker. A graduate of Film at Syracuse University, Achbar found his footing as the driving force behind the two most successful Canadian feature documentaries ever made. His five-year collaboration with Peter Wintonick resulted in Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992) and six years working with Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott gave us The Corporation (2003). Manufacturing Consent became Canada's all-time, top-grossing feature documentary.
George Chu
(Sound Designer)
George Chu graduated from the Vancouver Film School with Honours and specializes in post-sound design. George has worked on post sound design for films such as The Sick Roses, That's A Wrap, and Welcome Aboard.
Umair Malik of Red Eagle Productions
(Editor, Sound Designer)
Umair Malik graduated with a bachelor's degree in film production from the University of Toronto. Umair Malik is a founding member of Red Eagle Productions, a full service production company based in Canada and Pakistan, which specializes in creating video content for television and digital platforms.
Manuel Garcia
(Editor)
Manuel Garcia graduated from “Universidad Modelo” (Yucatan) with a bachelor's degree in Communications, as well as from the “Escuela Activa de Fotografía” (México City) with a diploma in Digital Photography. In 2021 Manuel created the documentary “Isolations” for Dance Ontario and he worked as editor for the “Chand” and “Lazgi” films with Sashar Zarif.
Sean Mitchell
(Videographer)
Sean Mitchell studied design and applied arts at Sheridan College. Sean Mitchell has done extensive work as a freelance photographer and videographer.
Srikar Damaraju
(Videographer)
Srikar Damaraju is pursuing a diploma in film at Sheridan College. Prior to this, Srikar was working as a software engineer at Bose Corporation.
Niranjan Singh
(Videographer)
Niranjan Singh is an incoming student at Toronto Film School. Niranjan recently directed his first film called EQUATION focusing on the issue of ADHD.
