ABOUT US
STRYDER SIMMS
Stryder is a 2008 graduate of New Mexico Filmmaker’s Intensive where he assisted in various capacities in the making of seven short films and 14 features. In addition to this, he worked in the locations and camera departments of half a dozen professionally produced short films made in 2009. Stryder has gone on to write and direct five short films of his own including a “Best Picture” award-winner in 2009.
For over 15 years Stryder made his living as an award-winning jewelry designer. Prior to this Stryder worked for Grassroots Television where he wrote and produced local programming and assisted in directing daily operations. A lifelong painter and draftsman, Stryder has also been a committed writer for over 20 years having penned nine screenplays, three novels, numerous short stories, countless poems, journals and essays. He is a world traveler, a nature-lover, an avid student of art history, literature and the cinema.
“I ask myself, if I have the opportunity to reach out to millions or even billions of people in my lifetime what should I do? I’ll tell them stories.”
As a writer and storyteller it was necessary for me to adapt to the filmmaking discipline because motion pictures reach more people than any cultural medium other than music. Besides, I, too, have always loved the movies.
Now, thanks to the digital age, a motion picture that I post on my website this morning can span the globe almost instantaneously. For an individual to have so much range to communicate is unprecedented. A film of mine can play in every corner of the world and be watched by individuals whose daily preoccupations are utterly different from my own.
If this individual has just wandered into the most far-flung Internet cafe on the planet and discovered my movie playing, what would they come away with? What should I tell them? I will remind them how much we rely on each other for our survival and confirm to them that their passionate participation in community is essential if we are to thrive as a species. It is a profound responsibility to be alive and making movies at this critical juncture in our history.
PHOENIX SIMMS
Phoenix was an interior architect for 12 years in San Francisco. In the 1990s, she moved to Colorado to become a partner in a full-service video production studio. Later, she founded a fashion accessories business which kept her busy designing and traveling for over 15 years, winning many awards for her designs.
Phoenix moved to New Mexico to begin a new chapter in her life and encountered a thriving motion picture industry. She attended the 2008 New Mexico Filmmaker’s Intensive for a post-graduate certificate in Motion Picture Production. Her award-winning first film, “Milagros,” (24 min.) was shot on location in Galisteo, NM. Phoenix produced seven short films in 2009 including an additional award-winner.
Off the set, Phoenix is into home and garden, physical fitness, painting, voice and dance. She is also a pet lover and community volunteer.
These days we hear much discussion about the perils of our modern media. Without a doubt, some people are using the digital frontier to spread lies, but we have access to the same screens. If you are concerned with the topics of environment, sustainability, social justice, art, enlightened politics, or science, let us help you make your own channel. Become a satellite in the digital revolution. Transmit and receive your insights with the global village.
CONTACT US
Open Channel Content, LLC
1000 Cordova Rd. #976
Santa Fe, NM 87505
520-906-8276