ABOUT

Little Stones is an award-winning documentary that unites the personal narratives of four women around the world using art to create positive change in their communities. From a graffiti artist speaking out against domestic violence in the favelas of Brazil to a dancer rehabilitating sex-trafficking survivors in India, each of these women is contributing a stone to the mosaic of the women’s movement through their art.

This 87-minute documentary directed by EMMY® Award-winning filmmaker Sophia Kruz and cinematographer Meena Singh (HOLLIDAYSBURG), with music by Amritha Vaz (500 DAYS OF SUMMER), was named Best Documentary at the 2017 Vail Film Festival, Best Foreign Documentary at the Female Eye Film Festival, and an Award of Excellence from the Impact Docs Awards.

THE FILMMAKERS

SOphIA KRUZ     
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER

Sophia Kruz is an EMMY® Award-winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker. Her work has been broadcast nationally and screened at film festivals and museums around the world. Her most recent film, Little Stones, won Best Documentary at the Vail Film Festival, Best Foreign Documentary at the Female Eye Film Festival, and an Award of Excellence from Impact Docs.

Previously, Kruz produced Ride the Tiger, a nationally-broadcast PBS documentary about neuroscience and bipolar disorder. She also produced, directed, and edited the EMMY Award-winning film A Space For Music, A Seat For Everyone.

In 2015, Kruz co-founded Driftseed, a nonprofit which seeks to empower women and girls in the U.S. and around the world through the art of documentary storytelling. Kruz was the recipient of the 2015-2016 University of Michigan Center for the Education of Women Visiting Social Activist fellowship, and her documentary work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council  for Arts & Cultural Affairs, Womanity Foundation, and many others. 

Meena Singh      
CINEMATOGRAPHER & CO-PRODUCER

Born in Chicago to an Indian father and an American mother, Meena's mixed cultural background has helped her bring a unique perspective to her work. Driven by her desire to bring affecting stories with social impact to the screen in a visually compelling way, she is a valuable asset and long-term collaborator with award-winning directors.

Meena can be seen in-action on Starz docu-series The Chair produced by Chris Moore (Good Will Hunting, American Pie).  The show followed the filmmakers during the production of feature film HOLLIDAYSBURG, for which Meena was the Director of Photography. Meena studied cinematography at Columbia College Chicago and shot her first two feature films before the age of 21. Following her early success, she relocated to Los Angeles to attend the prestigious American Film Institute. Her work has received numerous awards and critical acclaim, and has screened at film festivals around the world. Meena is a member of the International Cinematographer’s Guild. She is a founding member of Driftseed.

KAROLIINA TUOVINEN   
Editor

Karoliina Tuovinen was born in Finland, raised in Columbus, Ohio, and is currently a Los Angeles-based editor. Since completing her MFA at the American Film Institute Conservatory, she has edited numerous narrative and documentary features and shorts. Karoliina recently edited WOODY ALLEN: A DOCUMENTARY, a biography of the legendary filmmaker. It screened at the Cannes International Film Festival and internationally on television and in theaters. Her most recent narrative work can be seen in the soon-to-be released indie romance, HOME, JAMES. Her other feature work includes the documentary, I AM COMIC, a humorous look at the lives of stand-up comedians.

amritha vaz    
composer

Classically trained in both Western and Indian music, multi-instrumentalist Amritha Vaz has journeyed from performing to arranging and finally composing scores for film and television.  After scoring a CBC documentary about Hungarian refugees, she began working with Oscar and Grammy award winning composer, Mychael Danna. Her work with Danna spanned 11 feature films and two television shows, including the Oscar nominated score for "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus", Marc Webb’s award-winning "500 Days Of Summer", Cannes winner "Adoration" and "The Time Traveler’s Wife". With Danna, she co-composed the scores to Najwa Najjar’s Doha Tribeca award-winning "Pomegranates and Myrrh", and Dilip Mehta’s "Cooking With Stella". Having branched out on her own, she now composes out of her studio in Hollywood where she recently scored the award winning feature documentaries "Made In India" (PBS) & "Music for Mandela", for which she was nominated for a Leo Award for Best Musical Score, and the feature film "Miss India America".

Interpretors                                                  

ELISABETE MAISAO - Brazil
YAYE AMY MBAYE DIOP - Senegal
MADHURIMA GUHA - India
ADITI SIRCAR - India
BERNICE SAINEPO - Kenya

Additional Translation

MADHURIMA MUKHOPADHYAY - Bengali
POOJA CHAKRABARTY - Bengali
DR. CAMELA LOGAN - French
KEVIN HALL - German
DOROTHEA ROMER - German