Our Team

Diego Riley (Director/Producer/Editor)
Diego is a Cuban-American director. Growing up in a Peace Corps family in Bolivia, Western Samoa, Panama, and Washington DC, Diego is most drawn to stories with immersive visuals and real world impact. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Diego has worked across documentaries, music videos, ballot initiatives, irreverent comedy sketches, sustainable fashion promos, and United Nations committee campaigns. He is an avid outdoorsman, a native Spanish speaker, and often barefoot.

Will Buckley (Director/Producer/Editor)
Will is a photographer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles by way of DC and Wyoming. Shaped by a childhood full of western landscapes and stories of the lost eden in Glen Canyon, this project brings together much of what originally drew him to storytelling and the visual arts. He’s worked across documentary, narrative, music videos, and editorial photography but is most inspired by human impact stories and the larger systems they reveal. He’s happiest at 30,000 ft and always chooses the window seat.

John Laverman (Cinematographer)
A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, John holds a degree in Film Production. Based in Los Angeles, John thrives as a cinematographer and director, working across a diverse spectrum of projects, from dynamic commercials and music videos to compelling short films and documentaries. His latest endeavor involved shooting a documentary for Real Ice, a non-profit dedicated to pioneering methods for restoring polar ice caps. Beyond the lens, John is an avid outdoor enthusiast, with a love for skiing, hiking and recently frisbee golf.

Elias Ginsberg (Cinematographer)
Elias is a Los Angeles based Director of Photography and an alumnus of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Film and Television Production program. Elias was the recipient of the 2020 ASC Student Heritage Undergraduate Award-one of the most prestigious awards a young cinematographer can receive.

Lucas Bohlinger (Editor)
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Lucas has cultivated his passion for telling funny, strange, and unabashedly human stories from an early age. Since graduating from the USC School Of Cinematic Arts, he has edited content for companies like Netflix, Funny Or Die, CBC, and TBS, as well as many independent short films, commercials, comedy sketches, music videos, and documentaries.

Cat Johnson (Production Sound Mixer)
Cat (she/her) is a queer filmmaker from San Diego currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. After graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Cat has written, directed, produced, sound mixed, and art directed a wide range of films through her co-founded collective, Party of 7 Productions, and other freelancing endeavors. Some of these films have gone on to win numerous awards at festivals including. LA Shorts International, OUTFEST LA, Cleveland International, and the 43rd College Television Awards.

Nestor Trujillo Bazán (Production Sound Mixer)Nestor is a Cuban-American sound designer, film director and producer. Born in Cuba to a family of political refugees and later exiled to the United States, Trujillo was raised in Miami, FL where he was nurtured on a diet of classic literature, old school hip-hop, genre cinema, and an unwavering work ethic that inspired his passion for personal storytelling and artistic expression from a very early age. He now resides between South Florida and Los Angeles, where he earned his B.F.A. in Film and Television Production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Barry Thompson (Motion Graphics Designer)
Barry is an Emmy Award winning freelance Motion Graphics Designer based out of Missoula, Montana. He helps transform key story moments into brilliant lasting memories for feature films, documentaries, and social media. His credits include The Alpinist, Meru, and Damnation.

Behind the Scenes: On the River