Carolyn Projansky

Founder and President

"As filmmakers, what our audience learns and feels is up to us. What they do about it is up to them."

Carolyn has been creating independent documentaries, consulting on scriptwriting and program development, and producing commissioned films since 1993. Her film clientele and associations have included, among others, the Smithsonian Institution, USAID, Maryland Public Television, National Geographic Channels, Discovery Networks and SABC (South African Public Broadcasting Corp.). Carolyn's media expertise includes producing, directing, shooting, scriptwriting, historical research, fundraising and most recently, video production for distribution on the web. She has produced films in several languages and has worked in the United States, South Africa and Ukraine.

Before entering the film industry, Carolyn Projansky was an award-winning direct mail copywriter for progressive candidates and social causes - and she has continued crafting successful direct mail appeals for non-profit organizations over the past twenty five years. Carolyn has a passion for social issue communications that challenge people to look, think, learn and hopefully to act in new and more positive ways to create a better world.

Carolyn@fivestarfilmsinc.com

Karen Whitehead

Producer/Director

"We need to tell stories, disseminate facts and empower the audience. How else does change happen?"

Karen is an accomplished producer, director and researcher of current affairs documentaries. She began her career as an investigative newspaper journalist in London, assigned to the crime beat. Her documentary film experience is diverse, ranging from tracking down war criminals to investigating the national health crisis in the UK. Karen has developed, produced and directed numerous documentary projects for the BBC and Independent Television (ITV) in the UK that involved shooting throughout Europe and in the US. In 2004 she produced a film on the history of the Berlin Wall for the Newseum in Washington, DC. Karen holds a Masters in International Relations from the University of East Anglia, UK with a focus on arms control and nuclear weapons technology. When Karen is not directing camera angles, she is active in advocacy for special needs education.

Karen@fivestarfilmsinc.com

Shauna Lawhorne

Production Associate/Editor

"I enjoy making documentaries because they are windows into other people's worlds. I don't believe I could get the same insights without the power of the camera."

Shauna is an exciting young filmmaker who had already completed eight short documentaries before joining Five Star Films in 2005. Her most recent independent film was RockIn' the Beltway, a rock documentary which showcased to an enthusiastic audience at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, DC. Shauna is completing her MFA in Film and Electronic Media at American University.

Shauna@fivestarfilmsinc.com