MARUPONG CHULADUL was born in Bangkok, Thailand, but he and his family emigrated to Los Angeles in the early 1970’s. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film production and screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. While in college, Chuladul supported himself by landing his dream job at a small, independent video store in Santa Monica. Supported by his job as a video store manager, he spent most of the 90’s writing scripts. He considers his years in the video store business as his “real” film school education. Chuladul has written film articles for 2-Pop—the leading web site for Final Cut Pro users, and film reviews of children’s videos for a local Los Angeles family magazine. He co-produced a short film, Freight, that was an official selection at the San Diego International Film Festival, and Nashville Independent Film Festival. Rise Above: The Tribe 8 Documentary is his first feature documentary as a co-producer.

LILITH SIMCOX is a freelance producer residing in Los Angeles. Having attended some of Tribe 8's earliest shows, she was delighted to join forces with Tracy Flannigan to work on a project with such potential for positive influence.

JESICA BORNEMANN is from the Bronx. Her mission in life is to make movies about heroic women that inspire women (and some men too!) to live greater lives than they ever imagined possible. She’s grateful to Tracy and the musicians in Tribe 8 for making a film that fulfills that dream.

RINALDO VILLANI, a native Italian, began his career as a documentary photographer in 1989. His photographic journey began with two years in Asia, working in extremely remote conditions with a makeshift studio, documenting the people of the region. From this journey came a vivid portrait of life in Kashgar, China and a series of portraits of the Pashtu and Baloch Tribes in Pakistan. His passion led him next to San Francisco and then Australia dedicating his energies to working with people with AIDS. Over the last five years, he worked with Tracy Flannigan covering the all girl punk band Tribe 8. Currently he is working as a still photographer on a PBS documentary, called Lasting Love.

SARAH HARBIN has occasionally been referred to as a “Film Babe” by Lynnee Breedlove. This is basically a woman who likes making independent films and is generally more concerned with social/political issues and artistic expression than she is with making money (example: working on this wonderful but low-budget film). Besides producing, directing, shooting and editing, Sarah also enjoys painting, traveling, and learning to play the cello. Her recent work has taken her to exciting places such as Cuba, Mexico and Las Vegas.

EVE BREGMAN is a Los Angeles Native. She is a NEA awarded video artist who has shown her work at PS122, The Kitchen, EZTV, Filmforum and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. As a cinematographer and director, she has completed several music videos and short films, which have screened at numerous film festivals. She feels honored to have introduced Tracy to Tribe 8 one fateful night in Austin.

Who knew what a life changing moment that would be? Tracy's film and Tribe 8 were an inspiration to all creative and strong women who want to make a difference. Eve plans to direct films that are evocative, beautiful and challenging — films whose stories haunt from within and linger in memory.

MICHELLE HARRISON is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her thesis film was accepted at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the past ten years she has worked with high-profile directors as an associate editor for Paul Schrader on Forever Mine, and Kimberly Pierce on the Academy Award winning Boys Don’t Cry. Also as an assistant editor for Barbet Schroeder’s Murder by Numbers, and James Mangold’s Copland. She also served as an additional editor on Wayne Wang’s The Center of the World. Harrison is happy to be contributing her extensive editing talents on Rise Above: The Tribe 8 Documentary.

MARINA TAIT has been preparing her entire life to edit this film. Born in France and world-travelled as a child, she spent six years trapped in a tiny Oregon mill town as a punk rock teenage freak, before busting out to the “big” city of Portland armed with a National Merit Scholarship. There she earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology & Women's Studies and began a scattered career as an abortion counselor, a library assistant, an espresso barista, and a bean cannery worker. As a filmmaker since 1994, she has worked on many independent productions as well as producing, directing, and editing her own short films. She is delighted to work on this movie—combining her early passion for punk rock and her lifelong commitment to feminism. She hopes that this film will inspire a few kids like the one she used to be, and give them hope that it's possible to live the life they imagine. She relocated to L.A. 18 months ago. This is her first feature editing credit.