Valentina Ganeva
Director, Producer
Valentina Ganeva holds a BA degree in Film and Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, Sofia. After a successful career as a film critic in her native Bulgaria, she relocated to Los Angeles. For over a decade, Valentina helmed Murex Films, a post-production company in Santa Monica, as an executive producer and one of its prime editors. Her first film as a producer, director, and editor, Schindler Space Architect, explores the life and works of modern architecture pioneer R.M. Schindler and is narrated by Meryl Streep. The film was an official selection at 27 film festivals, receiving several awards, and was in consideration for the 98th Academy Awards. It has been broadcast on PBS SoCal, received a North American theatrical release through Abramorama, and is currently represented by Cargo Film & Releasing for worldwide sales. (www.rmsdocumentary.com)
Axel Schmitzberger
Producer, Writer
Axel Schmitzberger is a licensed architect and Professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His curatorial and scholarly work includes co-curating Resident Alien: Austrian Architects in America at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and an exhibition on Austrian-Hawaiian architect Alfred Preis developed with the Austrian Foreign Ministry. In 2022, he authored Alfred Preis Displaced: The Tropical Modernism of the Austrian Emigrant and Architect of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor (Doppelhouse Press / Pacific Historic Parks), the first monograph on Preis, which received the 2025 Docomomo Merit Award. He also curated its traveling exhibition, shown at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and Austrian Cultural Forum New York. Schmitzberger has contributed to major architectural publications, including Thom Mayne’s M.: Modeled Works [Archive] 1972–2022.
Laka Preis-Carpenter
Associate Producer
Laka Preis-Carpenter is the grandson of Alfred Preis and a true Hawai‘i native. He also hosts the Alfred Preis Family Archive.
Graham Hart, AIA
Consultat
Graham Hart is an O‘ahu architect, co-founder of Kokomo Studio, and curator at the Ossipoff Cabin. Graham serves on the Hawai‘i Historic Places Review Board, is a current board member and former president of the Docomomo US Hawai‘i Chapter.