Project Team:

Paul Holze – Director/Producer
The Story of Happiness is Paul’s directing debut, integrating his passion for traveling and shedding light on the challenges people face day to day with film and writing. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences, Paul’s background of studying the biological roots of disease ultimately led to the investigation of the psychological, cultural, and societal factors impacting our well-being. A trip to Quito, Ecuador to study and work on conflict resolution further cemented this pursuit, and in the Spring of 2010 he developed The Story of Happiness amidst the World Bank Institute’s call for collaborative proposals exploring creative solutions to global problems. His interest in film and writing was sparked at an early age and now continues on a professional level starting in South Africa. Connect with Paul by emailing him at paul@groundworkglobalmedia.com.

 

Stephanie Stean – Director/Writer
Stephanie brings great passion for cultures and languages to the project. She has worked and traveled internationally, studied 5 languages, and conducted anthropological fieldwork in the Ecuadorian Amazon. She earned a masters degree from the University of Illinois in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and her specialization in tribal religions of the Amazon further fueled her interest in human rights and the neglect of first peoples in the developing world. She lives and works from a vision of prioritizing global health in decision-making, especially involving industrialization and development of the modern world. Stephanie founded the company Groundwork Global Media to create and produce media that is globally aware, as well as environmentally and socially conscious, with The Story of Happiness being its debut project. Connect with Stephanie online or at stephanie@groundworkglobalmedia.com

 

Isaac Holze – Technical Advisor
Isaac brings to the project an expertise on the filmmaking process, contributing advice on equipment, production values, and post-production editing.  With a master’s degree in Film and Animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Isaac has worked on the animated feature films Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Rio (2011), and Ice Age 4 (2012) at Blue Sky Studios in New York. Isaac's work can be seen on Vimeo and followed at IMDb.

Victor Udoewa – Technical Advisor
Advising the project on affairs in South Africa, Victor draws on experience as a former HIV/AIDS and crisis pregnancy counselor in South Africa and lecturer at the University of Cape Town. He currently conducts research on international development as an engineer at USAID in Washington, DC and has a great passion for the arts with experience acting, writing, and performing music. Learn more about Victor and connect with him online at LinkedIn.

Adam Hitchell – Musician
No stranger to film, Adam lends his songwriting talent to the project following the success of his work in the short feature Past Present and Future Tense. Calling to mind artists like Wilco, Ryan Adams, and Ray Lamontagne with influences from folk and roots music, Adam's songs of inspired melodies and lush textures were featured on his 2010 debut album Dry Spell.  He can be heard performing throughout Chicago and followed online at MySpace and iTunes.