The Space Race

Award-winning director Lisa Cortés foments bold, explosive art that gives voice to the silenced and shunned. From helping launch the revolutionary artists Run DMC and the Beastie Boys to executive-producing the Academy Award®-winning film “Precious,” Cortés sparks cultural change through works of unrivaled excellence. “Little Richard: I Am Everything” (CNN Films), which she directed and produced, had its world premiere as the opening night selection in the U.S. documentary competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Magnolia Films. Also premiering at Sundance was “Invisible Beauty,” the documentary about Black fashion industry pioneer Bethann Hardison, which she produced. In 2020, Cortés directed and produced “All In: The Fight For Democracy,” tracing the violent history of the voting rights struggle. Emmy®-winning HBO documentary “The Apollo” (2019), which Cortés produced, explores African American cultural and political history through the story of the legendary Apollo Theater. Cortés executive produced “Precious” (2009) which was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two. The film received the Sundance Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for best drama. Her film productions have received over 80 international awards and nominations. Cortés launched her early career as a music executive at the iconic Def Jam label and Rush Artist Management; she was also vice president of Artist and Repertoire at Mercury Records and founded the Loose Cannon label. Cortés is a member of the producers’ branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She serves on the boards of film at Lincoln Center, Independent Television Services (ITVS), the celebrated artists’ community in Saratoga Springs Yaddo, and the Trajal Harrell Dance Company, as well as the DGA Focus on Women Committee.

Diego Hurtado de Mendoza is a Los Angeles based Emmy-Award winning producer and DGA director whose thought-provoking work often explores complex contemporary subjects using a rich and vibrant cinematic visual language. Born in Madrid, Spain, to Basque and Swedish parents, his career started as an artist-in-residence at FABRICA, the Research Center on Communications of Benetton, in Treviso, Italy, where he worked with artists from all over the world and directed the documentaries "Branding Kosovo" - about the independence of Kosovo, and "Welcome to Beirut" - about the relationship between filmmaking and war in Lebanon and also worked for COLORS magazine. Since relocating to Los Angeles he has continued to work as a commercial director for brands like Ford, Honda, Wells Fargo or Netflix, and also created short documentaries like "The Flower Man", a portrait of an unhoused artist living in Skid Row, the neighborhood with the largest homeless population in the US. In 2016 he executive-produced and directed the documentary series "Arriba Cuba", for The International Olympic Committee, and later went on to write, produce and co-direct with Peter Berg the feature documentary "The People’s Fighters" (2018), also in Cuba, which premiered at the Havana International Film Festival and won first prize at the AIPS Awards (International Sports Press Association.) Between 2017 and 2022 he produced the global Olympic premium documentary series Five Rings Films, which included the films "The Iron Hammer" (China), "Rulon" (USA), "The Distance" (Japan), "A Brilliant Curling Story" (UK) and "The Redeem Team" (USA) for Netflix. "The Redeem Team" was executive produced by Frank Marshall, Dwayne Wade and Lebron James and nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award and two Emmys - winning the Outstanding Sports Emmy Award.

With a career spanning over 50 years and more than 80 films, Frank Marshall has helped shape American cinema, producing some of the most successful and enduring films of all time. Starting in 1967 as an assistant to Peter Bogdanovich on their first film, “Targets,” and then as location manager on “The Last Picture Show,” Marshall worked closely with Bogdanovich for years, eventually making 10 pictures together. By 1980, Marshall was working as a producer on “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with his future wife, Kathleen Kennedy, and Steven Spielberg. Shortly thereafter, the trio formed industry powerhouse Amblin Entertainment, and together produced movies such as “E.T.,” “Gremlins,” the “Back to the Future” trilogy, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “The Goonies,” “Empire of the Sun” and the “Indiana Jones” trilogy. In 1991, Marshall and Kennedy left Amblin to form their own production company, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, where, from 1991 to 2012, they produced over 25 films, including “The Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” “Seabiscuit,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “War Horse,” “Lincoln,” all five films in the “Jason Bourne” series and the feature documentary “The Armstrong Lie.” In 2012, Marshall took over as sole principal of the company when partner Kathleen Kennedy became chairman of Lucasfilm. Since then, Marshall has broadened its slate beyond feature films to include television, documentaries and Broadway musicals. Those include the “Jurassic World” franchise and Orson Welles’ final film “The Other Side of The Wind” and the Emmy-nominated documentaries “Sinatra: All or Nothing at All,” “Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time” and “McCartney, 3,2,1.” Most recently, he produced the Tony®-winning musical “A Strange Loop” and the GRAMMY®-winning documentary “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story.” Along with five Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, including “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “The Color Purple,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Seabiscuit” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Marshall and Kennedy received the Irving G. Thalberg Award in 2018, awarded to “creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production.” In addition to his prolific producing career, Marshall is also an accomplished director, having helmed “Arachnophobia,” “Eight Below,” “Alive,” “Congo” and the HBO documentary “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” which was nominated for six Emmys. In 2019, Marshall made his stage directorial debut at the Geffen Playhouse with “Invisible Tango,” starring master magician Helder Guimarães. During the pandemic in 2020, they continued their creative collaboration by creating two virtual shows, “The Present” and “The Future.” Marshall’s interests also extend beyond film. He is a board member of the LA Promise Fund, the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television and The Archer School for Girls. In 2008, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame for his service to the Olympic movement. Currently, he is producing “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which will be released in theaters on June 30, and “Good Night, Oscar,” which will open on Broadway at the Belasco Theater in April 2023.

As senior vice president of Documentary at The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Tony Rosenthal serves as executive producer supervising the company’s documentary slate. Recent projects include “Rather,” “The Space Race” (NatGeo) and “The Redeem Team” (Netflix). Prior to joining the Kennedy/Marshall team, he was part of the producing teams responsible for Emmy-nominated documentaries “Lucy & Desi” (Amazon) and “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (HBO). Rosenthal started his career producing commercials for brands such as Alexander Wang, Adidas and Instacart; music videos for P!nk, Jay-Z and Finneas; and a television pilot for FX.

Leland Melvin is an engineer, educator, former NASA astronaut and NFL wide receiver. He served on board the space shuttle Atlantis as a mission specialist on missions STS-122 (2008) and STS-129 (2009), helping to construct the International Space Station. Upon hanging up his space boots, Melvin led NASA Education and co-chaired the White House’s Federal Coordination in STEAM Education Task Force, developing the nation’s five-year STEM education plan. After 24 years with NASA as a researcher, astronaut and senior executive service leader, he shares his life story as an athlete, astronaut, scientist, engineer, photographer and musician to help inspire the next generation of explorers to pursue STEAM careers. Melvin holds six honorary doctorates for his service in education, the sciences and philanthropy. In May 2017, Melvin released his memoir, “Chasing Space: An Astronaut’s Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances.” In “Chasing Space,” Melvin shares his personal journey from the gridiron to the stars and examines the intersecting roles of community, perseverance and grace that align to create opportunities for success.

As the president of documentaries at The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Emmy-nominated producer Aly Parker oversees a full slate and works closely with filmmakers to bring captivating stories to life. Her recent projects include “Picabo” (Peacock), “The Redeem Team” (Netflix) and “Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name” (CNN). Prior to joining the company, Aly was the supervising producer for the Emmy-nominated documentary “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (HBO) and consulting producer on the filmed production for the Tony-winning Broadway musical “Come From Away” (Apple+). She also served as the executive producer for the live-captured Broadway musical “Diana” (Netflix). Parker started her career producing commercials for mega-brands like Adidas, Microsoft and Land Rover and music videos for Selena Gomez, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar.

Alex Bowen has been with The Kennedy/Marshall Company since 2015, working across all divisions: narrative features, television and documentaries. Past producing projects include “Boston” (Lionsgate), “Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time” (MGM+), GRAMMY-winning “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story” (Sony Pictures Classics), “Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records” (MGM+) and, most recently, “The Space Race” (Nat Geo). In addition, Bowen teaches coverage writing workshops at Belmont University, Chapman University and the University of Las Vegas. She is a member of the PGA.

Keero Birla is an award-winning producer of factual documentaries, television series and Imax films with entertaining and artistic themes that promote lifelong learning and engagement. He is known for “Tiger Tiger,” directed by George Butler, which was awarded the Warner Prize at the Environment Film Festival. His filmography includes “The Age of AI with Robert Downey Jr.” (YouTube Premium), “The Holy Traveller” (BYUTV) and several Imax documentaries, including “India: Kingdom of the Tiger,” “Flight Without Wings” and “Dinosaurs Alive 3D.” As director and writer of 150+ hours of factual and lifestyle television, his work can be seen on “Brave New Worlds with Stephen Hawking” (Discovery), “The Big Decision” (CBC), “Property Shop” (HGTV) as well as all five seasons of the Gemini-nominated “Chuck’s Day Off” and the international hit series “Eat Street” (Food Network), among others.

Mark Monroe is an award-winning documentary writer, director and producer, and co-founder of Diamond Docs. An Emmy winner, two-time WGA Award winner and BAFTA nominee, his film credits include writing the Academy Award winners “The Cove” and “Icarus,” as well as the GRAMMY-winning “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.” Recent collaborations include Peabody nominee “Lucy & Desi” with Amy Poehler, “Becoming Cousteau” with Liz Garbus, “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” with Frank Marshall, “Pavarotti” with Ron Howard, “Before the Flood” with Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Dissident” with Bryan Fogel, “Watch the Sound” with Mark Ronson and Morgan Neville, and the animated music series “Tales From the Tour Bus” with Mike Judge. A journalism graduate from the University of Oklahoma, Mark began his career as a writer for CNN. He had at least one film premiere at the Sundance Film Festival for 12 years straight. His other theatrical credits include “Hell On Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS (Tribeca 2017, National Geographic), “Under the Gun” (Sundance 2016, Epix), “Hooligan Sparrow” (Sundance 2016), “Racing Extinction” (Sundance 2015, Discovery), “Fed Up” (Sundance 2014), “Sonic Highways” (HBO 2014), “Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon” (Sundance 2014, Showtime), “Mission Blue” (Berlin 2014, Netflix), “The Summit” (Winner, Best Editing Sundance 2013), “Who Is Dayani Cristal?” (Winner, Best Cinematography, Sundance 2013), “Sound City” (Sundance 2013), “The Tillman Story,” “Chasing Ice” (Winner, Best Cinematography Sundance 2012), “Stolen Seas,” “Last Play at Shea,” “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos” (WGA nomination, Best Documentary Script, 2007), “Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who,” and “Morning Light” (Disney Pictures).