About the filmmakers

Directors: McKenna Asakawa and Brady Holden

Director of Photography: Brady Holden

Producer: McKenna Asakawa

Executive Producers: Peggy Olwell and Lisa Smith

With funding and support from:Natural Areas Association

McKenna Asakawa

McKenna is a documentary director and producer who specializes in telling human stories about the environment. Drawing on a decade of interviewing experts and writing for the public, she translates complex, technical systems into clear, compelling, and people-centered narratives.

Her films and writing have been featured at universities and film festivals and by environmental and engineering organizations including the Society for Ecological Restoration, Wild Salmon Center, The Nature Conservancy, The Klamath Tribes, Hawaiian Electric, and HDR Engineering.

With roots from rural Japan and the mountains of Colorado, McKenna brings to every project a deep love of the outdoors and curiosity about the connections between culture and nature.

Brady Holden

Brady is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer and the founder of Holden Films, a production company specializing in documentary storytelling for environmental organizations.

Brady has led film projects for organizations including The Nature Conservancy, Society for Ecological Restoration, Wild Salmon Center, Oregon Wild, Columbia Land Trust, Land Trust Alliance, Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge. His work has also appeared on PBS FRONTLINE, CNN’s Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain, NPR, Outside Magazine, Bloomberg, HGTV, and in museums and National Park Service visitor centers across the country.

Having filmed in more than 25 countries, Brady is drawn to human stories connected to overlooked landscapes and communities working to protect and restore them.

Learn more about our production company, Holden Films at holdenfilms.org.

Contact us

mckenna@holdenfilms.org

brady@holdenfilms.org