Laura Dauden is a director, screenwriter, journalist and founder of Forward. In addition to her career in film, since 2009 she has worked as a communication and advocacy advisor and consultant for several human rights organizations in Brazil.

She has a degree in Journalism (Federal University of Santa Catarina) and a master’s degree in International Relations and African Studies (Autonomous University of Madrid). In 2011, she wrote the first book ever published in Brazil about the Western Sahara conflict.

In addition to co-directing and writing Occupation Inc., selected by the Donostia International Human Rights Film Festival, Laura is the screenwriter of the short films “Free Mothers” and “Tomorrow has Come,” as well as executive producer of the feature film “The Hots,” which was shown at Santa Barbara International Film Festival, in the United States, and at São Paulo International Film Festival.

Miguel Angel is a director, DOP, editor and founder of Forward. In recent years, he has produced several documentaries and campaigns for different international organizations such as UN Environment, UNDP (United Nations Development Program), Ford Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Between 2012 and 2014, he was responsible for the production and editing department at VICE Brazil, where he produced three documentaries about the June 2013 riots. Additionally, he worked in advertising and received two international awards in 2015 for Ford campaigns.

His documentary “Free Mothers” won the Best Directing and Best Social Awareness Campaign categories of the Revolution Me Festival 2022 and was selected for the UN Arts X SDGs International Festival. Miguel was also director of photography for the documentary “The Hosts”, released at the 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the 45th São Paulo International Film Festival.

Miguel was also responsible for the direction of photography, editing and post-production coordination of the documentaries “Occupation S.A.”, which was selected for the Donostia Human Rights  Film Festival, among others, and “Tomorrow has Come”, which was released at the UN Climate Conference held in Poland in 2018.

João Paulo Brito is a Brazilian journalist with a specialization in Production and Audiovisual Business Management from FAAP (Armando Álvares Penteado Foundation), a respected institution in film and communication in Brazil.

He worked as a correspondent for Agencia Mural de Jornalismo das Periferias (Mural Journalism Agency of the Peripheries), of which he is a member of the Advisory Board, and collaborated in portals and magazines covering mainly politics, human rights and culture.

He was part of the jury of the Vladimir Herzog Journalistic Award for Amnesty and Human Rights, in the 2016, 2017 and 2020 editions.

He was content editor of the international NGO Conectas Human Rights and is currently the communications manager of the São Paulo Public Defender’s Office and executive producer of Forward.

Carla Dauden is a Brazilian film and advertising director. Her advertising work includes clients such as Google, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, Amazon, and Facebook. In 2019, her campaign for the Disney Team of Heroes initiative was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award, but her true passion is in film.

Her first short film, “Mr. Polman Wants to Fit In,” has screened at some of the world’s top festivals, including Short Shorts Asia, Raindance, and the Newport Beach Film Festival. 

In 2018, Carla was selected for the Nalip (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) Latino Lens Incubator for her short film “The Jump,” later released by PBS. In 2016, Carla co-directed the short documentary “The Discarded: A Tale of Two Rios,” which won the best short film award at the American Conservation Film Festival. In 2021, she finished her most desired project, the documentary “The Hosts,” which premiered at the 36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in the Social Justice category and was selected at the 45th São Paulo International Film Festival.