Learn about the filmmakers behind the story
meet THE TEAM
Capucine Salvi-Offer
Director
Capucine Salvi-Offer is a French-Australian filmmaker based in Los Angeles, specializing in projects that fuse narrative and documentary. Raised in both Paris and Australia, her passion for cinema was nurtured by her cinephile parents, leading her to study Documentary Practice and Film Production at Queen Mary University of London and USC.
Capucine focuses on telling authentic and ethically-driven stories. Her documentary 'Blood and Dust' captured a family’s life in the remote West Australian wilderness, highlighting themes of resilience and survival. 'Knitting for Knockers' sheds light on a community of women who knit prosthetics for breast cancer survivors, offering an intimate look at compassion.
'Through the Eyes of a Death Doula', her first feature-length documentary, explores the transformative role of death doulas. This film is deeply personal to Capucine, as it examines the universal human experience of death. With it, she aims to shift perceptions around death and encourage a dialogue about mortality.
Catalina Parra
Director of Photography
Catalina Parra is a visionary cinematographer whose passion for diverse storytelling and breathtaking visuals continues to elevate every project she touches.
Originally from Houston, Texas, she lived and studied in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles. In 2022, she graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with an MFA in Cinematography and Directing.
Catalina’s work has been featured at prestigious events such as the Outfest Film Festival and the Beverly Hills Film Festival. She was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2023 Camerimage Competition, solidifying her reputation as an up-and-coming force in the industry.
Alongside her filmmaking career, Catalina also owns and operates a successful videography business, further expanding her creative influence.
Tony Tehle
Producer
Tony Tehle is a storyteller and an independent Producer born in Dallas, raised in Nashville, and now based in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2021 to pursue his passion of film with his end goal being to put the story and the people who are telling it first. He aims to create projects that matter and ultimately elicit change.
Before becoming a producer, Tony worked for years as a gaffer and key grip on projects for Netflix, Disney/ABC, and HBO, gaining hands-on production experience. He now applies that expertise to producing, ensuring stories come to life both physically and logistically.
His recent projects include 'Natural Selection' (2024), a Netflix/NALIP queer, woman-of-color sci-fi short, 'Henry's Ebb' (2025), an indie feature about a teen and his dubious imaginary friend, and 'Through the Eyes of a Death Doula' (2025), a documentary on death and dying in the U.S.
Producer
Mara Kikuchi
Mara Kikuchi is a versatile producer and writer whose expertise spans creative, academic, and technical writing. As an AAPI creative, Mara brings a unique perspective to her work. Currently dividing her time between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, she develops projects that bridge meaningful storytelling with impactful visuals.
She studied with writer Penn Mullin before honing her craft at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she studied under acclaimed author Victoria Redel, cultivating her passion for storytelling. She furthered her academic journey at Queen Mary University of London and earned technical writing certifications at UC Berkeley.
Mara’s work reflects a commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices and exploring diverse narratives. Her previous projects include 'Belly Belly', a narrative short film that received awards and critical acclaim.
Her passion for Through the Eyes of a Death Doula is rooted in her own experiences with loss, particularly the passing of her grandmother, which sparked a deep interest in death narratives and end-of-life care.
Editor
Marie Lessel
Marie Lessel is an editor from Copenhagen, Denmark, and an MFA graduate from the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts.
With over 10 years of experience in editing, her work spans reality television, documentaries, features, and shorts, with films showcased at festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, and HollyShorts.
Some of her notable credits include 'Diane Warren: Relentless', 'MasterChef Denmark', 'The Spirit Became Flesh', 'Madness Incarnate', and working with Michael Mann on 'Ferrari – Behind the Scenes'.
Having lost her mother at a young age, Marie is deeply drawn to stories that explore the many nuanced ways humans process grief and death, bringing a profound and personal perspective to her work.
Matthew O'Connor
Composer
Matthew O’Connor is a Vancouver-based film and game composer who in his early career has worked on impactful, award-winning productions across both mediums.
He most recently scored 'Good Bad Things', directed by Shane Stanger who Matthew met while studying at the University of Southern California’s Master of Music Screen Scoring program. The film can now be found on Apple TV and Prime Video, featuring a magnetic score by Matthew that combines dramatic scoring with popular music.
Matthew has worked on the music team for several AAA video games with Lionshead Entertainment, co-composing music on Disney Mirrorverse and working as a music editor on Minecraft Legends. Legends was a Music + Sound Awards Awards finalist in two categories in 2023. Matthew has been working as a music editor and integrator on an unannounced AAA game still in development. Matthew is always writing new music. Currently, he is songwriting and producing for a sync catalog to be released in 2025.
