KANKANTRI: team bios
HONORE VAN OMMEREN (CAST)
Born and raised in Suriname, Honore Van Ommeren graduated from the Rotterdam Dance Academy (CODARTS), University of the Arts in The Netherlands with a specialization in Jazz Dance. She was a lectur at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and performing Arts – School of Dance and Junior Department in Kingston, Jamaica from 1994 till 2009. She has choreographed for The Company Dance Theatre, Xaymaca, Ashe, Cathy Levy Players and many many more all over the Caribbean and Europe. Honore is now based in Suriname where she co-founded CoD@nCo an organization dedicated to developing dancers and dance education. She’s also a certified Zumba instructor and the director of the Cod@nCo yearly dance show/festival since 2013. Follow Honore on Instagram.
ANN HERMELIJN (PRODUCER)
Ann Hermelijn is a versatile and creative professional with over 25 years of experience in the Creative Industries and Event Management arenas. She is also co-creator of socially engaged and educational theater, music and film productions, often in cooperation with international partners. She is especially committed to productions and artistic initiatives that aim to contribute to social change and sustainable community development. Ann Hermelijn works from her home base in Paramaribo, Suriname, where she is also the director of Anco Multi Services, her creative production and events consultancy. Visit her website for more information.
STEVEN elbers (Director of photography and editor)
Steven Elbers is an audiovisual designer with a strong connection to human interest stories. Based in Amsterdam, he works as an independent filmmaker both shooting and editing all his projects. His artistic practice focuses on independent art projects rooted in movement and dance, while he supplements his income with commercial assignments.
Combining a strong technical background with an artistic director's eye, he is a sought-after collaborator by indie- and documentary filmmakers, choreographers and dancers working with moving images. As a first generation Dutch citizen from Surinamese descent, Steven is especially interested in making sure that “minorities’ are represented honestly and fairly, and not stereotyped. In a world dominated by big studios, production companies, Elbers has been exploring small-scale adventures and finding new ways to show the talent of people by combining forces in front and behind the camera.
He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Rotterdam University's Willem de Kooning Academy of Arts and Design. Follow Steven on Instagram.
Eve Cuyen (SOUND DESIGN)
Eve Cuyen is an artist and a lover of all things film. She has a degree in music and is a sound designer, editor and cinematographer with award winning movies to her credit. Working mainly for an independent cinema and television, you can see her work projected in many film festivals in the United States and Europe. Her credits include Foreign Letters, Happy Hour, Living River, Our Hawaii, And Then Came Love, Twisted Fortune, Kali Ma, Zheng He for History International, The Sublet, a feature comedy and many more. Her full list of credits is available at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1993505/
Mazz Swift (Musician and Composer)
Mazz Swift is a Juilliard-trained violinist, as well as composer, conductor, singer, bandleader and educator. As violinist and singer, she has performed on many of the world’s greatest stages including Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Müpa Budapest, and David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center in New York City. As composer, Swift’s works include commissions by The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, and the Blaffer Foundation. As an educator, Swift has performed and taught workshops in free improvisation and “conduction” (conducted improvisation) on six continents and is a performing member and teaching artist with the acclaimed Silkroad Ensemble. She is also a Carnegie Hall teaching artist, where she writes and records lullabies with incarcerated mothers and mothers-to-be at Rikers Island, and coaches the inmates at Sing Sing Penitentiary on string studies and composition.
Improvisation is a throughline in Swift’s practice across genres and instrumental configurations, and as such, can be found in most of her works. She is a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, continually creating orchestral compositions that involve Conduction, and solo works that are centered around protest and freedom songs, spirituals, and the Ghanaian concept of ‘Sankofa’: looking back to learn how to move forward.
Chavelli Monsanto (sound recordist, assistant producer, driver)
Chavelli Monsanto, born, raised and living in Paramaribo, Suriname, has a strong passion for creativity. She discovered her love for entertainment at a young age, which led her to the world of audio-visual media. With 11 years of experience, she's developed her skills in various roles, including being a camera journalist, boom operator, and even working in production. Always up for new challenges, she believes her creative abilities, combined with her experience and determination, make her a valuable asset to any team. Additionally, Chavelli has been involved in music since the age of 7 and has contributed to various Surinamese bands over the years as a drummer, singer, and songwriter.