FINAL WARNING unfolds as a triage report from hell, told by doctors who know what a nuclear detonation would do to a body, a city, and the planet itself. In seconds, fire hotter than the sun vaporizes everything within miles; those who survive die slowly, their bodies burning from the inside out as the world descends into darkness and famine. Across continents, physicians are uniting again—the heirs of the Cold War doctors who once pulled humanity back from the brink. They know what will happen to the body, to the earth, to everything alive—and that knowledge terrifies them. Their mission is to warn the world while there’s still time to stop it.

Our Films

West Coast Cool Jazz explores the musicians, artists, producers, photographers, club owners, and cultural innovators who shaped a defining era of American jazz between 1949–1969. With aging archives, shifting ownership, and dwindling first-generation voices, this history faces a real risk of disappearing without dedicated preservation.

From Miles Davis and Gil Evans’ groundbreaking 1949 Birth of the Cool collaboration to the vibrant Black music scene on Los Angeles’s Central Avenue… and from the bebop fire of Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk to the spacious, modern California sound of Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Chico Hamilton, Art Pepper, Hampton Hawes, and Dave Brubeck, the film traces how these creative worlds influenced one another.

This is not only a jazz story—it is a portrait of a cultural moment when music, design, photography, fashion, and a new West Coast “cool” sensibility converged into a Californian identity admired around the world. Despite segregation and unequal access to venues and recording opportunities, collaboration and innovation still emerged across communities, shaping an era of creativity that continues to influence American culture.

CURRENT STAGE OF THE PROJECT

We have completed an early-phase, public-facing trailer developed specifically for donor outreach. Because the project relies heavily on licensed music and archival materials, as well as interviews this version does not yet include full period recordings or full archival footage. It introduces the tone, vision, and direction of the film while we raise funds to produce the fully licensed fundraising trailer required for major grants, broadcasters, and cultural partners.

PRESS, COMMUNITY, SUPPORT & CRITICAL ATTENTION

We would like to sincerely thank our supporters to date for their early generosity and for the many enthusiastic comments we’ve received about the importance of preserving and documenting this cultural history. Your encouragement has helped move this project forward at a critical stage.

We are also honored to have recent press attention from Ted Gioia, one of the most respected voices in jazz history and cultural criticism.

Gioia is the founder of Stanford University’s Jazz Studies Program, an internationally recognized jazz historian, author of 12 books, jazz pianist, and lecturer. His influential works include The History of Jazz, The Jazz Standards, and West Coast Jazz, widely regarded as a definitive study of the movement.

In his recent article, “Will West Coast Jazz Finally Get Some Respect? I intend to find out.”, published on his Substack The Honest Broker, Gioia highlights the importance of this project and the urgency of documenting an overlooked chapter of American cultural history.

Read the article:
https://www.honest-broker.com/p/will-west-coast-jazz-finally-get

URGENT FUNDING GOAL FOR SPRING PRODUCTION

We are raising $100,000 by the end of January to secure the next phase of West Coast Cool Jazz and move confidently into anticipated spring (April/May) production.

These funds are needed to:

Having these funds in place by the end of January allows us to finalize logistics and produce a fully licensed final fundraising trailer, which is essential for obtaining final completion funding for the film.

IMPACT AND EDUCATIONAL VALUE

The film will:

Educational materials will include classroom modules, educator guides, and community-programming tools.

DISTRIBUTION AND OUTREACH STRATEGY

Phase 1 — Festival Circuit (Following Completion of the Film)

Telluride, Sundance, SXSW, SFFILM, DOC NYC, Monterey Jazz Festival Film Series, and select international festivals.

Phase 2 — Cultural and Institutional Partnerships

SFJAZZ, LA Jazz Institute, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Monterey Jazz Festival, National Jazz Museum in Harlem, universities, conservatories, libraries, and art and design centers. Includes educator guides, classroom modules, and historical context materials.

Phase 3 — Broadcast and Streaming

PBS member stations, public-media partners, and select streaming platforms.

Phase 4 — Community, Library, and School Engagement

Community screenings, jazz-club salons, library programs, and cultural dialogues. Impact will be measured through attendance, educator feedback, media engagement, and digital reach.

CREATIVE TEAM

Sandra Evans — Creative Producer / Producer, Wire Notebook Films

Sandra Evans is a creative director and producer with extensive experience shaping visual stories across nonprofit, commercial, and arts-driven environments. Her background includes work in corporate and commercial video, design direction, brand development, and managing creative workflows from concept through post-production. West Coast Cool Jazz draws on her long-standing interests in cultural history, visual storytelling, and research, bringing a thoughtful and well-organized development approach to the documentary.

Frank Zamacona — Executive Producer / Director, Zamacona Productions

Frank Zamacona is an executive producer and director with an extensive background in documentary, broadcast, and arts programming. His work includes television specials, cultural programming, and long-form projects for PBS, ABC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, HGTV, and Link TV, as well as theatrical and syndicated releases. He has received multiple Emmys, a Clio, Promax, CINE Golden Eagle, and other national awards. Frank is a longtime member of the DGA, NABET, and AFTRA, and previously served on the Board of Governors for the NATAS San Francisco/Northern California Chapter.

SPECIALIZED DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS

As part of the development phase, West Coast Cool Jazz collaborates with leading specialists in editing, cinematography, music rights, and archival research:

T.M. Christopher — Editor / Editorial Consultant

Tom Christopher brings extensive experience in documentary, feature, and effects-driven filmmaking. Credited as the Co Producer and editor of Facing Fear — an Academy Award–nominated documentary short — he contributes editorial leadership and narrative shaping to West Coast Cool Jazz. His earlier career included work on major studio blockbuster productions, providing a strong technical foundation that supports the project’s creative vision.

Steve Condiotti — Cinematography Consultant / Director of Photography

Award-winning cinematographer with extensive experience in documentary and nonfiction storytelling. His work spans broadcast, feature documentary, and cultural programming, bringing a refined visual approach to the project.

Eli Adler — Cinematography Consultant / Director of Photography

Documentary cinematographer known for visually driven nonfiction work, contributing camera direction and visual strategy to the development of West Coast Cool Jazz. 

Blanche Chase — Archivist & Archival Research Consultant

Archival sourcing, collection research, and early-stage identification of film, photography, and ephemera essential to the project’s development.

Brooke Wentz / The Rights Workshop — Music Rights & Clearances

Management of music rights and clearances for West Coast Cool Jazz. With deep experience in music licensing for film and television, The Rights Workshop plays a critical role in securing and protecting the film’s archival and recorded music assets.

These partnerships strengthen the film’s development and ensure a well-supported transition into full production.

PHOTO CREDITS

(c) Bob Willoughby / MPTV Images — photographs of Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, and Miles Davis.

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP

West Coast Cool Jazz is fiscally sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative under Wire Notebook Films (Sandra Evans, Producer). All donations are received, managed, and disbursed by Filmmakers Collaborative for the development of this project.

CALL TO ACTION

SUPPORT THE WEST COAST COOL JAZZ FILM

Your support today plays a direct role in preserving and illuminating a defining chapter of American cultural history.

Every contribution to this $100,000 development phase funds the urgent archival licensing, music clearances, interviews, and early production work required to create the fully licensed fundraising trailer — the essential bridge to full production financing.

As we move into the year-end giving season, early support carries exceptional impact. Donations made now help establish crucial momentum, demonstrating confidence in the project and enabling us to secure key materials and partnerships at this pivotal stage.

NEW — Year-End Donor Recognition

To honor this community and encourage deeper support, we are offering special film credit recognition for donors who give during the year-end window:

  • $500+ — Listed under Special Thanks in the film’s end credits

  • $1,000+ — Listed as Production Supporter in the film’s end credits

  • $2,500+ — Listed as Associate Supporter + recognition on our website

  • $5,000+ — Listed as Associate Producer (Development Phase) in the fundraising trailer and final film

  • $10,000+ — Listed as Co-Producer (Development Phase) in the fundraising trailer and final film

Now is the time to contribute and make your tax-deductible Year-End Donation. 

Your gift helps protect an extraordinary piece of American music history before it disappears — and brings this story to life for future generations.

Our Films

 
A stubborn daughter and her equally steadfast immigrant mother argue over dreams versus stability after a recent career switch.
 
Though Brownies is a comedy, it quickly becomes clear that this argument has high stakes in the lives of the Kumar family. Through the humor, wit, and pacing of this argument, we learn about the wounds and the deep motivations of both mother and daughter.

We learn about:

  • deep seated fears (financial insecurity, womanhood, unfulfillment)
  • childhood wounds (feeling enough)
  • what an intergenerational diasporic mother-daughter duo must do to meet in the middle

Two people unwilling to be vulnerable with each other, two people who for decades thought they had to only be ‘strong’ for one another, begin to let each other in. Though this argument won’t fix twenty-seven years of tension, it may lead to tomorrow’s argument. and tomorrow’s argument may well lead to next year’s solutions.

Much of this film is a conversation that takes place between rooms. We want our audience to know the space as if it were their own, to hear the natural reverb of the living room hardwood or the harsh stillness of the kitchen tile. We want our audience to feel the deadened thump of the dropped groceries, to be aware of just how far Sarita walks away when the argument continues to heat up. We want audiences to hear Tara’s held breath as Sarita listens to Tara’s compositions, to hear Tara run her fingers over her mother’s palms.

There are few things more colorful or chaotic than a diaspora household. This is a house caught between places – generations. We want to emphasize every detail. The aging steel pressure cooker and steel cups look out of place in the architecture of the Glendale kitchen, as do the Bandhani pillowcases in the Glendale living room, but in its infinite contradictions, the house makes sense. The Kumars try their hardest to stay grounded in a foreign land, reminding themselves of what is important, of why they left home in the first place. But Tara is emboldened by these colorful, loud, unapologetic reminders of home to follow her dreams, not to be sated by notions of stability.

I want to shed new light on the conversation, to explore our togetherness, collective experiences, and healing. Our parents are doing this whole life-thing for the first time too. I wanted to start a raw, honest conversation about this all-too-familiar tension. I hope this film invites mothers and daughters from across the diaspora to start communicating openly, honestly, and vulnerably. And even more so – I hope this film invites mothers to join their daughters on their quests for their dreams.

This one’s for mothers and daughters.

Our Films

WE ARE ALL SEEDS… 

Requires Full Sun is a feature documentary following filmmaker Blayre Pichon’s seven-year journey with a rare and debilitating migraine disorder. Through intimate, sensory-driven visuals, the film traces her cross-country search for healing, from the subtropics of the Deep South to the deserts of the American West – as she explores the complex relationship between mind, body, and environment. 

As Blayre travels the healthcare labyrinth, her world slowly unravels, exposing the emotional and physical toll of life with chronic pain. With every turn, discoveries in groundbreaking research and integrative medicine invite the audience to question everything you’ve known about this complex condition, and evolve. 

Scientists, healers, physicians, and patients illuminate a hidden crisis affecting 39 million Americans, which remains one of the most under-treated in modern medicine.

Your support advances awareness, empathy, and access to care for those still searching in the dark. 

LET’S GROW TOGETHER… 

Each conversation can spark a connection. Share our landing page, follow our journey on social media, or tell someone about the film.

If you have expertise in neurology, integrative and environmental medicine, pain management, healthcare advocacy, psychology, or herbal and holistic healing, your guidance or introductions can help this project grow and reach those who need it most. 

At this stage, your encouragement, shares, and belief in the film help nourish its development and expand its reach.

IN A GARDEN OF VOICES.

Your experience is bigger than you think. If you live with chronic migraines, care for someone who does, or love someone navigating this journey, we want to hear from you.

Submissions can be anonymous and will not be shared publicly at any time or within the final film. They are used solely to inform the project and help us tell a story that is honest, solution-oriented, and serves the community it grows from. 

https://bit.ly/RFScommunitysurvey

A STATEMENT FROM THE FILMMAKER

I once had a migraine that lasted three years.

What was once a manageable condition in childhood grew into a season of chronic pain in my teens and later returned to define my adult life. 

In 2018, one of the top neurologists in the southwest region told me: 

“You’ve been dealing with this since late childhood, you have a family history, you’re now crossing into your prime…you were always headed this way.” 

He was right. 

This is a shape-shifting journey, and the labyrinth demands deep exploration.

In one season, I sat in a place called denial. 

In another, I scaled the walls of depression.

I drank from the river of revelation, 

and walked through a portal called destiny. 

After years inside this reality, in 2023, I arrived in the Las Vegas desert, barely able to walk and perform basic functions for myself. What followed was a slow but steady process, where I began to heal in ways many doctors said I never would. 

This film is my version of the medical articles and journals I’ve used as a map, my post on the forums that lit my path. These places hold stories that taught me how to live again.

There’s a real opportunity for healthcare to shift with the completion of this film and the power to change policy. I’ve come a long way, and although I still have challenges, I’ve never been this close to fully recovering from the hardest time in my life. 

Through this project, I’ll not only continue to heal, but bring thousands of people with me.  

Thank you for helping this story take root.​

Our Films

 
The Quiet After is a real-life love story set against the backdrop of the catastrophic wars that continue to define the present moment. We’ll see our subjects, Alex Potter (a war photographer) and Pete Reed (a humanitarian medic), travel the world and take us into thematic territory we know well from tragic love narratives that have resonated across time.

Between our couple, colleagues, friends, and family, we have a unique collective experience in conflict-zone filmmaking and access to hours of intimate, first-person, archival footage. We’ll juxtapose these personal moments of their love story with present-day scenes of Alex as she grieves, heals, and rebuilds her life anew after Pete’s untimely death in the line of duty, using a striking parallel narrative technique to heighten the deep feeling and transformative power at the heart of our film.

This film is an intimate portrait of our subjects as feeling, loving, imperfect humans, coming together in the midst of the most demanding circumstances imaginable. Despite the tragic events of the film, it is not a tragedy. Our tone is courageous, human, and deeply inspiring — showing moments of love, laughter, and connection in the most dangerous and unlikely places.

The world has never seen a love story like this firsthand, where love and war intertwine, both in metaphor and heartbreaking reality.

Our Films

The Beginning: In 2010, our dear friend and visionary entrepreneur Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos.com, set out to transform downtown Las Vegas into a cultural oasis of art, music, and community. A serendipitous corner of this “Downtown Project” blossomed into a whimsical village of Airstreams, tiny homes, shops and eateries, not to mention five dogs, four chickens, three cats, two llamas, and one three-toed sloth. We locals dubbed the area Llamalopolis – a living, breathing experiment in creativity and connection. One day, while walking its colorful streets, Ashton remarked how Llamalopolis felt exactly like a kids’ animated show. Tony not only agreed, but encouraged Devin and Ashton to begin development on an animated series celebrating these colorful characters, vibrant vistas, and the magical music behind it all!

The Series: Llamalopolis is a living, breathing canvas of creativity – where residents live, work, and play. Some of the ordinary goings-on in this not-so-ordinary village include charity crawl-a- thons, community mud puddle splashes, and 85-foot pancake flips! Aspiring music duo, DEAN (a big-dreaming Slow Loris) and SANDLER (an overly cautious Puffin), are recruited by a wise- minded CABOOSE to lead the “music scene” in the eccentric Llamalopolis, where anything and everything is possible. Jumping at the chance to play music for a living, the two bestie bandmates quickly discover the significant impact their songs have on the whimsical residents there. Dean and Sandler’s music effectively solves their community’s issues from the simple to the absurd and everything in-between.

The Tribute: Since Tony’s untimely death in 2020, our series has become an endearing tribute to his vision – an animated representation of the unforgettable place he worked to build and the one- of-a-kind residents that inhabit it. At its core, Llamalopolis is a playful animated series with heart, harmony, and humor. It celebrates the power of the two “T’s”: COMMUNITY and POSSIBILITY – the beliefs Tony held closest to his heart. Our sincere hope is to create a living legacy through this series that furthers Tony’s mission to deliver happiness. Just like Dean, Sandler, Caboose, and the outlandish residents of Llamalopolis.

-Ashton Allen & Devin Moore — aka the band Rabbit!

Discover our Llamalopolis pitch bible by clicking HERE!

Our Films

In August 2001 filmmaker Jane Williams was asked to shoot an international windsurfing competition on the Magdalen Islands, when athletes and journalists arrived from around the globe. The documentary follows the 14-day event, captured at a crucial moment in history: the two weeks before the world changed on 9/11. “14 Days” takes us on that journey, some 25 years after that fateful day.

“14 Days” is an intimate story of a sport and its adherents – professional and amateur. With pulse-pounding footage, it is an immersive film, dramatizing windsurfing’s raw edge it brings viewers closer to the story. Here are the lifestyle and the athletes dedicated to their extreme sport: the beats of competition – race meetings, constant assessment of conditions, the interviews, the entertainments, soirées. Until the final moment of that year’s video.

“14 Days” is a time capsule that tears a page from history. The boat exiting the harbor leaves pre-9/11 innocence and windsurfing becomes a prism through which we see the changes that bring us to today. From a bucolic, serene, pure competitive environment we witness the pivotal moment. When the Islands’ majestic ferry faces south into the Gulf of St. Lawrence to return the last of the sailors to handfuls of countries, after 14 days, on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the world changes forever.

Our Films

For most of its history, the Romani commune of Zmaljevo was a peaceful residential area. As the Chinese-owned Zijin Mining Company has expanded and begun mining directly behind, life in these footholds has become significantly worse. Now, after a recent purchase of the land on which they live on by Zijin, the Romani await as resettlement hangs over their heads. In the shadow of all of this, we follow a variety of personal stories: Romani boxers, patriarchs, schoolgirls, and the Chinese workers who have come to settle in around this community. 

Our Films

 
On July 9 1391, nearly all the Jews in Valencia, Spain were massacred, abruptly ending 1300 years of vibrant Jewish life and community in this area. On July 4, 2025—nearly 634 years later to the day—a nascent Reform Jewish community in Valencia was gifted its first Torah from a sister congregation in Connecticut. Threaded traces the journey of this 100-year-old scroll from its pre-war roots in southern Poland to its longtime residence in several congregations in the northeastern U.S., to its current home in Spain, where Judaism is, half a millennium after the Inquisition, newly ascendant once more. Through the movement of this Torah, we also see mirrored, the vibrancy and resilience of the myriad Jewish communities that have treasured it, as well as the endless capacity for spiritual connection and religious rebirth that marks the story of Judaism the world over. 
 
In a country with a long history of expulsion and violence against Jews, this community is nonetheless marked by rebirth, resilience, and the power of human connection in ways that transcend the current hatred and polarization. The story of the Jews is one of perpetual rebirth, reimagination, and survival. This timely film serves to showcase a vibrant example of these themes in our present, fraught moment.​

Our Films

South Africa: Four Journeys. One Mirror. Identities Shattered.

Ubuntu Rising is a documentary that follows four young Black Americans: an aerospace engineer, a public health scholar, a pastor, and a tech entrepreneur. Together they travel to South Africa, almost 30 years after apartheid. What begins as an exploration of another country’s history quickly becomes a mirror, forcing the team to confront their own questions about race, identity, and inequality in the United States.

As the journey unfolds, the team uncovers striking parallels between apartheid’s aftermath and America’s present. Wealth inequality refuses to die, systems of racism reinvent themselves, and unresolved questions of opportunity and responsibility surface. These realizations ignite heated debates and tense conflicts as the team clashes over topics ranging from reparations and personal responsibility to capitalism and the different paths toward change.

The team set out searching for answers to America’s toughest questions but instead found themselves wrestling with their own beliefs. What follows is an emotional rollercoaster of raw conversations, clashing worldviews, and revelations that grip both the team and the audience, daring viewers to question their own assumptions.

Our Films

We are grateful for the generous support of our sponsors:

National Endowments for the Arts
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Lowel Cultural Council
Cabot Family Charitable Trust
Liberty Mutual Foundation
City of Boston Arts and Culture
Melrose Cultural Council
Watertown Community Foundation
Lynn Cultural Council