The Team
J.R. Biersmith, Director
J.R. Biersmith is an LA-based filmmaker, producer, and host of the Just Droppin' In podcast. His 2017 feature, Men In The Arena, a film about two Somali national soccer team friends chasing their dreams in the face of impossible odds, premiered at the Heartland Int. Film Festival, won the Jury Prize at Berlin's 11MM Festival, and sold to Hulu. Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden called it “the most hopeful story to come out of Somalia in 25 years.”
In 2020, he was tapped by Spectrum News to produce a one-hour special called Vision 2021- The Future of So-Cal and received an LA Emmy nomination.
He's currently developing two other documentary projects: Agri-Culture, a series that transforms the way we perceive what lands on our plates and our bodies, and The Historical Truth, a film about Tijuana journalists demanding justice for their murdered colleagues.
J.R. began his career at the Miami Herald, where he created and hosted a daily web show and helped launch Miami.com. He holds an MA in Broadcast Journalism from the U. of Miami and a BA in International Business from Bradley University.
Brian Ceci, Cinematographer
Brian Ceci is a freelance cinematographer from Vancouver, Canada. Brian's 15 year career spans multiple mediums from advertisements playing on jumbotrons in stadiums, tv series on Discovery+, and documentaries screening at festivals. Brian's worldview is constantly being challenged having traveled to 70+ countries across six continents, notably shooting in Greenland, several countries in Africa, Albania and Central America for a multitude of projects as a camera operator and a DOP.
