When Mountains Fall

The Filmmakers

About Us

We are a group of individuals from very divergent backgrounds, in different stages of life and from different cultures. What we share is a vision and a commitment to the idea that young people, torn from the life they knew for no fault of their own, should have the opportunity to live, prosper and contribute to building a better world.

When Mountains Fall has been a collaborative project between crew, cast, NGOs, specialists and supporters from the start.

Michel Bolsey

Michel Bolsey

Director

Kiran Adarkar Bolsey

Kiran Adarkar Bolsey

Camera

Manar Aeid

Manar Aeid

Interpretation, Story

Jessica Tilli

Jessica Tilli

Educational Advisor

Moaz al Homsi

Moaz al Homsi

Sound

Richard Emmet

Richard Emmet

Music

A little more about us

About Michel
Michel has a long history of involvement in the Middle East and Greece. He was a schoolteacher in a Lebanese village during the 1970s and continued as a journalist operating out of Lebanon for National Geographic, Smithsonian, Aramco
Magazine, and others. He founded and hosted the award-winning Pacifica Radio program Middle East in Focus, devoted to news, politics, and culture from that region. MEIF was one of the first news programs in the United States to bring Palestinians and Israelis together around a microphone. Bolsey continued to host MEIF for ten years, and thirty-seven years later the program still airs on the Pacifica network. In the course of his reporting career, Bolsey has been a regular visitor to Greece, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt.

About Manar
Manar is the mother of three children. A native of Damascus, Syria, she attended Damascus University, majoring in psychology, until the outbreak of the civil war forced her and her family to leave Syria. She now lives in Thessaloniki, Greece, where she works as an Arabic/English/Greek translator and interpreter. She joined this project in 2017 as an interpreter and cultural mediator. Since then, her involvement in the film has broadened to include every aspect of the process, on both sides of the camera.

About Jessica
Jessica is a passionate educator with twelve years of teaching experience. She is the school-based teacher leader at Meredith Elementary School in Philadelphia. Jessica is a fierce advocate for our most vulnerable youth. She cares deeply about improving outcomes for children, particularly students who are struggling. In addition to teaching she also supports a nonprofit educational organization called Foundations, Inc., directing their social media department. Jessica works with an organization called Students Run Philly Style which trains inner-city youth to run a variety of races including the Philadelphia Marathon. She also serves on the Friends Board of the Urban Affairs Coalition. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two young sons.

About Kiran
Kiran is a twenty-one year old videographer and musician. Coming from a family with an extensive background in cameras, photography, and filmmaking, he started experimenting with cameras at a young age. He taught himself videography skills through the simple process of analyzing, dissecting, and emulating film and photography that inspired him. He hopes that through hours of trial and error his own vision and aesthetics will begin to show through his footage. He believes that the goals and responsibilities of filmmaking and music are similar in that they both aim to inform, emote, aid, and enlighten people’s lives through storytelling.

About Moaz
Moaz is eighteen years old. Originally from Damascus, Syria, he is now a student in Thessaloniki, Greece. He works as a sound artist and DJ on the club scene in Thessaloniki. His interests include musical composition, sound design, and arrangement

About Richard
Richard has been working in the music industry as a composer and arranger for many years. His music can be heard on numerous TV shows, films, and more than forty audiobooks. He has written for the stage and for modern dance and ballet performances. Richard wrote the theme music for Dr. Helen Caldicott’s radio show, “Prescription for Survival” and actor Robert Foxworth’s radio show “American Dialogues.” As a performer, Richard has played in classical orchestras, big bands, fusion bands, and Indonesian Gamelan orchestras. In addition, Richard spent five years as an assistant to Frank Zappa, producing his notated orchestral scores and transcribing several of his guitar solos.

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Keep in touch. We'll do the same, but sparingly. We'll announce milestones, completions, screenings, and, of course, our thanks for your involvement.

When Mountains Fall

When Mountains Fall

When Mountains Fall

When Mountains Fall

When Mountains Fall

When Mountains Fall