Director Power Plant

Turning Tide

PO Box *** Wendell, MA ***** USA

Tel: 978-***-****

******@***********.***

www.turningtide.com

Productions

Robbie Leppzer Resume

Robbie Leppzer is an award-winning independent documentary film director,

director of photography, location sound recordist, and editor with thirty-five years

experience producing over thirty television and public radio documentaries for national and

international distribution. His critically acclaimed feature-length and short documentaries, as

well as commissioned television news magazine segments, have been broadcast globally

by CNN International and broadcast nationally in the United States and Canada by

HBO/Cinemax, PBS, CNN, Sundance Channel, HDNet, Black Entertainment

Television, Link TV, Free Speech TV, National Public Radio, Pacifica Radio

and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

In addition, Leppzer works as a freelance news and documentary videographer and

location sound recordist. His broadcast television videography clients include CNN,

PBS, HDNet, CBC, Aljazeera, Bloomberg Television, E! Entertainment, The Learning

Channel, WashingtonPost.com, WGBH (PBS, Boston) and WGBY-TV (PBS, Springfield, MA).

Since 1985, Leppzer has been director of Turning Tide Productions, an independent documentary video

production and distribution company located in Wendell, Massachusetts.

Filmmaker Robbie Leppzer is remarkably sensitive regarding the nuances of his subject matter and

protagonists. The result is filmmaking that is both compelling and thought provoking.

Geoff Gilmore, Director, Sundance Film Festival

BROADCAST TELEVISION AND INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARIES

power struggle

(90 minutes, color HD video, work-in-progress) director, producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

A feature documentary about the political battle being waged in New England over the future of nuclear power.

Produced in association with HBO.

BEATING THE ODDS

(58 minutes, color HD video, 2010) director, producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

An inside look at three high-performing urban charter schools in the Boston area that serve mostly low-

income, Black and Latino students, many of whom are several grade levels behind academically when they

enroll. Narrated by Sarah Jones. Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV.

BEATING THE ODDS is a powerful testimony for what can be done for upgrading education and

breaking the cycle of poverty for many of society s children.

Martha Pennington, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Education, East Central University

HDNET world report

(various 13 - 45 minute segments, color HD video, 2007-08) producer, videographer, editor.

Produced numerous segments for HDNet WORLD REPORT, a weekly hour-long newsmagazine program

broadcast in high-definition. Reports include SOLDIER STORIES, a 45-minute feature segment about

U.S. combat veterans who served in Iraq; and CRISIS IN NEW ORLEANS, a four-part series (totalling

56 minutes), an expos about the on-going crisis of public housing and homelessness and its devastating

impact on the African-American community in post-Katrina New Orleans. Nationally broadcast on HDNet.

IRMA S JOURNEY

(9 minutes, color video, 2007) director, producer, videographer, editor.

A chronicle of a unique journey to Senegal, West Africa by African-American storyteller, Irma

Gardner-Hammond, who along with her 17-year-old son, Earl, make an emotional re-connection

with their African roots. Nationally broadcast on Black Entertainment Television.

Robbie Leppzer Resume/page 2

THE PEACE PATRIOTS

(78 minutes, color video, 2005) director, producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

An intimate portrait of American dissenters reflecting on their personal participation as engaged citizens in a

time of war. The film follows a diverse group of individuals, ranging in age from 14 to 75, including teenagers,

college students, war veterans, teachers, clergy, and community activists, as they take part in vigils, marches,

theater performances, and civil disobedience sit-ins to protest the U.S. invasion and on-going military occupation

of Iraq. Featuring music by Steve Earle, Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Billy Bragg, Jonatha Brooke and John

Sheldon. Narrated by Janeane Garofalo. Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV.

In a time of sadness, thinking of the dead and maimed on both sides, this film gives us hope and

inspiration. I hope it will be shown widely.

Howard Zinn, Author of A PEOPLE S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

HEALING THE WOUNDS OF WAR

(40 minutes, color video, 2004) director, producer, videographer, editor.

A film about the work of the U.S.-based Karuna Center For Peace Building with Serb and Muslim teachers

seeking to rebuild and reunite their devastated communities in the aftermath of the war in Bosnia.

Dialog is so very important. We will never be able to move forward if we aren t able to sit at the same

table and listen to each other s needs, wishes, and hopes.

Senka Jakupovic, Bosnian Teacher

WORLD BEAT

(various 5 - 7 minutes segments, color video, 1998 - 2001) field producer, videographer, sound recordist.

A weekly CNN International half-hour news magazine program devoted to world music. Conducted and

filmed interviews with over 50 musicians, including Ani DiFranco, Janis Ian, Pete Seeger, Dar Williams,

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Hugh Masekela, Salif Keita, Richard Thompson, Susan Tedeschi, Shirley Horn,

Diane Reeves, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Hornsby, Maxi Priest, Laura Love, Beausoleil, The Saw Doctors, and

The Klezmatics. Globally broadcast on CNN International.

AN ACT OF CONSCIENCE

(90 minutes, color video, 1997) director, producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

Filmed in a cinema-verit style over a five-year period, this feature-length documentary chronicles the story

of a family in western Massachusetts whose home was seized by federal marshals and IRS agents after they

publicly refused to pay federal taxes as a protest against war and military spending. Narrated by actor Martin

Sheen. Produced in association with HBO/Cinemax. World Premiere, 1997 Sundance Film Festival.

Nationally broadcast on Cinemax, Sundance Channel, Link TV, and Free Speech TV.

AN ACT OF CONSCIENCE is one of the most deeply moving films I ve seen in years. Seeing this

movie lifts your spirits, exhilarates, and offers hope.

Studs Terkel, Author of WORKING, HARD TIMES, and THE GOOD WAR

A balanced riveting story.

Renee Graham, BOSTON GLOBE

FUTBOLITO: A JOURNEY THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA

(28 minutes, color video, 1994) director, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

A chronicle of five New England young people who travel through Guatemala and Nicaragua to show how

a cooperative footgame can be used to make cross-cultural bridges. Produced in English and Spanish

versions. Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV. Excerpts nationally broadcast on PBS and The Learning

Channel.

This film about down-to-earth peacemaking sends a positive, constructive message to young people

everywhere.

David Conrad, Co-Director, Center for World Education, University of Vermont.

COLUMBUS DIDN T DISCOVER US

(24 minutes, color video, 1992) director, co-producer, videographer, co-editor, sound recordist.

Indigenous people from North, South and Central America speak out about the impact of the Columbus

legacy past and present on their lives. Produced in English and Spanish versions. Broadcast by WGBH

(PBS, Boston, MA). Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV. Excerpts nationally broadcast on PBS.

This moving video offers an alternative view of Columbus s place (or misplace) in history, seen

through the eyes of Native Americans. A telling video, straight from the heart and the source.

Steve Garbarino, BILLBOARD.

Robbie Leppzer Resume/page 3

THE 90s

(various 4 - 8 minute segments, color video, 1991 - 1992) field producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

A national primetime weekly hour-long PBS series about contemporary social issues which featured the work

of independent filmmakers from across the country. Produced special segments including, MOHAWK

CRISIS AT OKA, about an armed stand-off between a Mohawk community and the Canadian Army;

SCOTT & NANCY, a portrait of a married couple coming to terms with domestic violence and abuse in their

relationship; and WALLY NELSON, a portrait of a 82-year old African-American pacifist and organic farmer.

STRAIGHT TALK

(28 minutes, color video, 1990) director, producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

Vietnam veterans speak to high school students about their first-hand experiences in war. Nationally broadcast

on Free Speech TV. Excerpts nationally broadcast on PBS.

Painful and critical observations shared by Vietnam War veterans. Those who have survived combat

know the real truth about war.

Lon Grahnke, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.

CALL OF THE PEACE PAGODA

(28 minutes, color video, 1989) director, producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

A portrait of a Japanese and American Buddhist spiritual community in Leverett, MA dedicated to the

philosophy of nonviolence. Co-produced with and broadcast by WGBY-TV (PBS, Springfield, MA). Nationally

broadcast in Canada by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Nationally broadcast in the U.S. on

Free Speech TV.

Filmmaker Robbie Leppzer has made the film something of a universal prayer.

Wes Blixt, UNION-NEWS

SONGS OF THE TALKING DRUM

(57 minutes, color video, 1989) director, producer, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

A portrait of a cross-cultural artistic collaboration: CBS jazz musicians Tony Vacca and Tim Moran link

contemporary jazz with its African roots, and African-American performance artist Andrea Hairston blends

dramatic monologue, movement, and music to create a jazz theater. Broadcast by WGBY-TV (PBS,

Springfield, MA).

SONGS OF THE TALKING DRUM is a powerful musical and theatrical testimony to jazz and its

African roots.

Carl Grant, Professor of Education and African-American Studies, University of Wisconsin

HARVEST OF PEACE

(29 minutes, color 16mm, 1985) director, videographer, editor, sound recordist.

U.S. volunteers travel to a war zone in Nicaragua during the height of the U.S.-backed Contra war in the

mid-1980s to harvest cotton in a unique citizen-to-citizen peace effort. Produced in English and Spanish

versions. World premiere, 1985 Telluride Film Festival. Best Nonfiction Film, 1986 San Antonio Cine

Festival. Curator s Choice, 1987 New England Film Festival. Broadcast by WGBY-TV (PBS, Springfield,

MA). Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV.

A striking evocation of Nicaragua s struggle and a moving expression of America s best response.

Andrew Kopkind, THE NATION

CHOOSE LIFE

(10 minutes, color 16mm, 1984) director.

The historic march for world peace when over a million people gathered in New York City to call for an end to

the nuclear arms race on June 12, 1982. Nationally broadcast on Free Speech TV.

A stirring film about a stirring event. A must viewing for anyone concerned about halting the nuclear

madness. choose life documents an piece of history that must not be forgotten.

Harvey Wasserman, Historian and Author of ENERGY WAR and KILLING OUR OWN.

SEABROOK 1977

(87 minutes, b/w video, 1978) co-director/producer/videographer, editor, sound recordist.

A chronicle of a seminal event of 1970s environmental activism when 1,414 people were arrested in a civil

disobedience protest at a nuclear power plant under construction in Seabrook, New Hampshire and jailed en

masse in National Guard armories for two weeks. Broadcast by WGBY-TV (PBS, Springfield, MA).

SEABROOK 1977 is an invaluable historical document. The film manages to capture not only the

sights of an extraordinary action, but the voices of ordinary people expressing their most personal

feelings about one of the critical issues of our time.

Howard Zinn, Author of A PEOPLE S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

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