One fateful day 14 years ago, Dorothy Day’s story landed in Claudia’s lap. She got the wild idea that Dorothy should tell her own story in a documentary. The only problem was...Claudia was no filmmaker. Nonetheless, there was this irresistible force pushing her forward, and so she began. Claudia learned little by little - ultimately producing, Dorothy Day: Don’t Call Me A Saint.

Claudia will share her documentary with schools and colleges so that students may learn from Dorothy’s heroic example. She also hopes that her journey with Dorothy will act as encouragement for students to “just begin” no matter the endeavor. In the end Claudia became something she never dared to dream – a writer, a director, and a producer.

Claudia has lived in Hawaii, currently resides in Hollywood, CA, but considers New York her home.

Alejandro Valdes-Rochin
Editor/Co-producer
inpotala@yahoo.com

Alejandro, a native of Mexico City, has been working in the film industry for 10 years. As a teen he landed his first job as an apprentice editor for Mexico ’s first financial newscast, Monitor Financiero. Since moving to Los Angeles in the late 90’s, Alejandro has worked in the cutting rooms of feature films such as Vertical Limit, Moulin Rouge, Road to Perdition and A Day Without a Mexican.

Alejandro has recently dedicated himself to exploring documentary filmmaking. He edited Maid In America, a film on the life of Latin American maids in Los Angeles, which screened at several festivals and aired on PBS’s Independent Lens. Dorothy Day: Don’t Call Me A Saint is his latest documentary-editing project.

Sam Shinn
Director of Photography
ironeye@earthlink.net

In 2000, Sam Shinn – documentary producer, director of photography and editor, was honored with an Emmy Award for Children of the Plague. Filmed in Zambia, the CNN film reveals the plight of 8 million children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

In 1997 Sam started his own company, Iron Eye Productions, Ltd., NYC, which aims at advancing stories ignored by mainstream media. In 2001 Sam produced a PBS Special about organizations assisting those suffering from the World Trade Center attacks of September 11th. Sam’s films are award winning and have aired on Cable and Network Television.

Sam was the principal DP on Dorothy Day: Don’t Call Me A Saint and has remained a steadfast supporter of the project.

Born in South Korea, Sam immigrated to the US with his family at the age of six. He received a BA in political science from Columbia University and studied filmmaking at New York University.