Team
Emmett Ferra — Executive Producer
Emmett is the Executive Producer and Founder of PAKKE in 2018. In its early days, PAKKE produced numerous creative and cultural events in Washington DC that garnered attention from The Washington Post and NPR. More recently, over the last two years, Emmett has guided the company towards scripted and unscripted productions including Curated Culture and other projects in pre-production. Emmett’s mission has been to build an inclusive company that facilitates the discovery of unique and moving stories; give brands a more meaningful way to connect with audiences; and, offer up a platform for artists to forge emotional connections through their self-expression.
Valerie Edwards — Executive Producer & Writer
Valerie is a writer and producer who began her career working for Dateline NBC along with numerous reality-based programming such as Trading Spaces and Texas Justice on FOX. She entered the scripted television world in 2001 on the hit drama Soul Food: The Series, and later assisted award-winning producers Bob Balaban and Amy Robinson on the indie hit Game 6 starring Michael Keaton and Robert Downey, Jr. In 2006 Valerie earned a MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she won the prestigious New Works for Women Award for her work as a playwright and garnered recognition for her original Screenplay, Assata. Later, she developed original programming for Chicago based TV station, WJYS, before becoming a producer for the No.1 daytime TV show— Judge Judy. Since then, Valerie has gone on to produce the indie film, The Purple Onion for AMAZON, along with the documentary, Bricks in Motion and the animated feature, The Immortal Warrior, which premiered at the 2019 Pan African Film Festival. Currently, Valerie splits her time between Houston and Los Angeles, where she recently produced the now Emmy-nominated, The One and Only Dick Gregory alongside director Andre Gaines and executive producers Lena Waithe and Kevin Hart.
ET Williams — Consulting Producer
E.T. Williams is the CEO of Elnora, Inc. and a prolific African American art collector. Included in his collection are works of art by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and Aaron Douglas. He owns the estate of Hale Woodruff and donated a sizeable portion of it to the Studio Museum in Harlem and other museums. Williams is a member of Sigma Pi Phi, Zeta Chapter of the Boulé; the Comus Club of Brooklyn; the Reveille Club of New York; the Knickerbocker Club and the University Club of the City of New York. He also sits on several museum boards, including the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Other boards include the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; the Nature Conservancy (the Long Island Chapter); the Trinity Church Wall Street; the Central Park Conservancy; and the Cathedral Church of St. John The Divine. Williams continues to collect art in New York City, Sag Harbor, Long Island; Dark Harbor, Maine; and Naples, Florida; where he resides with his wife and family. He is married to Auldlyn Higgins Williams, and they have two grown daughters (Brooke and Eden).
Amir Browder — Producer & Host
Amir is a cultural organizer, curator and arts advocate in his hometown of Washington, DC. Driven by the belief that art is a communal, transformative experience, Amir set out to to disrupt the traditional art scene at the onset of his career and in 2014 he launched HOMME —a multidisciplinary creative community and home for emerging artists. HOMME has become a new entryway for diverse artists and the platform through which Amir has been able to curate over 240 exhibitions for local and international artists. He has also expanded his platform to three additional galleries in Washington DC and has partnered with several local businesses that have begun showcasing his artists. To further his cause for diversity and inclusion, Amir has recently become a member of the Opportunity Intensive 2020 Halcyon Incubator Fellowship Cohort, which is a stipend-based program for social entrepreneurs to accelerate impact-driven ventures. In addition, Amir currently serves as a committee member for DC Arts and Humanities to develop programs that promote progress and access to the arts.
Marques Hardin — Producer & Host
Marques is one of the co-founders of Artgence, an art agency focused on curating art experiences for individuals and corporations in the digital space. Marques began his career as an Operations Manager in the United States Air Force, where he was responsible for supervising and training personnel on the latest technological innovations. With his technical know-how, Marques went on to successfully work in engineering and managerial roles for several companies like KONE and Empower RF Systems. However, throughout his career, he was secretly driven by a love of art which began at early age. After serious deliberation about his path — Marques began collecting artworks and collaborating with artists and galleries alike to create experiences. Seeing an opportunity, he decided to combine his love of art with his tech background to create Artgence, where he serves as an Art Consultant and Tech Entrepreneur. With Artgence, Marques aims to advocate for artists while bringing the art experience to the digital future. Marques has collaborated with a variety of distinguished institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts and OPENEYE Magazine to create immersive virtual exhibitions and fairs. Recently, Artgence staged one of the largest virtual NFT museums, IT IS ALL AROUND US, featuring artists like Beeple and Bosslogic.
Chris Knitter — Producer & Cinematographer
Chris graduated from the Los Angeles Film School in 2003 and worked in Hollywood on set as a cinematographer, and freelancing out of Kansas City. Chris has taken on producer roles such as Line Producer and UPM, and has a primary residence in New York City. Recently he produced a feature film entitled The Stylist and always has more projects on the horizon. He has produced quality content for numerous clients all over the world, in a variety of styles and formats. As a film producer, Chris is co-owner of Method Media, a feature film and content creation production company, producing original content with and for artists and companies.
Jordon Rioux — Director of Photography
Jordon is an Emmy award winning Cinematographer and Film Editor who has worked on film and network television productions of all shapes and sizes over the last 20 years. He recently produced a feature film entitled The Stylist directed by Jill Gevargizian in KC. He also produces content for many national brands. Jordon has an incredible eye and unique storytelling ability that he brings to every production. As a cinematographer, Jordon is co-owner of Method Media, a feature film and content creation production company, producing original content for artists, companies and brands.
Jonathan Ian Chase — Producer & Writer
Jon is a comedian, writer, and filmmaker based in New York City. He has worked on set as a writer/producer in both New York and Hollywood for the last decade. In addition to directing and writing multiple short films and music videos, Jon currently has a feature film in post-production, with a release planned for 2023.
Marcus Guider — Director
Marcus has lit and shot for narrative, commercial, documentary and broadcast media in many genres. He is a continuous student of the art- observing and learning from all that is around him. By spending countless hours on set and studying his craft, he has successfully led crews on notable American shows. Marcus Guider is passionate about people, the art of story telling, and the powerful influence of the visual medium. Other Notable Collaborations CBS, Gatorade, Louis C.K., The Steve Harvey Show, American Girl, National Geographic, Sprint, Travel Channel, Fox Sports, GQ, MasterCard, Edward Jones, SKYPE, UPROXX, MTV, Sports Illustrated, Mercedes, Barry Crimmins.
Partners
A Collaboration
The Work
Method Media
Apart from producing award winning feature films such as The Stylist, Chris & Jordon have been producing docu-style productions for over a decade. While Chris was beginning work on Temples & Brothels with Moushumi Ghose in 2011 out in the Wild West talking to sex workers and Mormon families in polygamist compounds, Jordon was supervising post production on We The People, an IMAX film about America’s founding documents, which was narrated by Morgan Freeman. Jordon also produced The Next American Dream with Inland Sea Production which won an Emmy. Since then, both Jordon and Chris have worked together to bring television shows like Catching Kelce to the E! channel, Patient: A Surgeon’s Journey and American Masters: Virgil Thomson to PBS, among many other short form stories about people’s lives; Faces of Innocence: The Midwest Innocence Project, Hope & Play: Global FC, and many more. Project FIRE is an IMAX documentary Method Media is producing alongside Inland Sea Productions which is currently in pre-production. Project FIRE is a groundbreaking documentary that will immerse audience members in the sensory experience of a firefighter. The public will be able to accompany these heroes into a burning structure that will allow them to feel the rush, the fear, and ultimately the triumph of a successful fire rescue. Chris also worked on Love Fraud on Showtime, produced by Oscar nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady.
