Email: jim@soundunseen.com

Jim Brunzell III was born in the 70's, played sports in the 80's, went to school in the 90's, and started working on film festivals in the 2000's. He graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2001 with a B.A. in English studies. In 2005, he started out as a volunteer at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF) and worked his way up to associate programmer and office manager in 2008 before leaving for the corporate world and becoming a freelance film critic writing for many outlets and publications. He joined Sound Unseen in 2008 as a programmer and became the festival director in 2012. During his tenure the festival has been named "One of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" by Moviemaker Magazine in 2016 & 2019 and "One of the 20 Great First Time Moviemakers Festival'' in 2022. He was also the Program & Artistic Director for the All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival (aGLIFF) in Austin, TX from 2014-2020. In 2016 Brunzell was named by the Austin Chronicle as "One of the Top 10 Local Queer Heroes." As the chronicle said, "It says a lot when an ally makes the list, but as program director he has done a bang-up job curating the film festival and screenings for the entire LGBTQ spectrum." From May 2021 to March 2022, he was the Interim Executive Director of the Oxford Film Festival based in Oxford, Mississippi. He has served on numerous film festival juries and is a big sports nerd, especially a die-hard Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Dodgers fan. He is also the father to a 4-year old tabby cat named Bruce.

Email: rich@soundunseen.com

Since the late 90's Rich has been involved in many areas of the entertainment industry. He's ran record stores, booked punk rock shows, worked on film sets, and been a film programmer at multiple movie theaters including the historic Uptown Theatre in Minneapolis, MN, which he also managed up until its closing in 2021. He spent the majority of his 20’s touring the country in his own bands as well as working with respected indie artists such as Motion City Soundtrack and The Lawrence Arms which included stints on the Plea For Peace and Vans Warped tours. He is a trained sexual assault advocate and co-hosts a popular podcast called enough. which centers on survivors of abuse in the music industry.

In 2007 Rich became Managing Editor and Writer for a popular and critically acclaimed Minneapolis based film / music / comedy blog called Switchblade Comb. It was through writing for that website that he became a friend of Sound Unseen, a relationship which culminated in him joining the team in 2014. Since that time he has become Program Director for the festival and in 2015 was responsible for the first ever public screening of the 1999 "lost" Mitch Hedberg film LOS ENCHILADAS.

Email: kat@soundunseen.com

Kat’s passion for live music lead her to working at some of the largest clubs and concert venues in Mpls & St.Paul including The Quest, First Avenue, Target Center, Xcel Energy Center, and Target Field. As a production assistant for local and national concert promoters she worked with artists such as Béyonce, Outkast, Amy Winehouse, Ministry, Lady Gaga, Blink-182, DJ AM, Chance the Rapper, and countless others.

Kat began working with Sound Unseen in 2015, helping out with small things and immediately realized how special this festival was. Her ninja like organizational skills (and previous professional experience) made her a perfect addition to the Sound Unseen team. Kat attends more concerts than one person should and is unabashedly in love with pop music. One time Zooey Deschanel told Kat her car smelled like Christmas.

Email: becky@soundunseen.com

Serial entrepreneur, recovering marketer, film lover, and admitted live music groupie, Becky Arreaga joins the Sound Unseen team as the Director, Strategic Partnerships. Becky has been insistently nagging Sound Unseen Director Jim Brunzell to bring the Festival to Austin since their meeting in 2014. In 2020 her dreams came true (virtually) and now in 2021, she's jumping on board to help bring the full Sound Unseen Festival experience to life in Texas.

In addition to this work, Becky, along with her sister and business partner Liz, own and manage The Arreaga Agency, an insurance agency in Austin that specializes in supporting Austin's creative community. Becky is also an award-winning graphic designer, having won 3rd place in her third grade fire prevention poster contest.

Email: dash@soundunseen.com

Dash Donato is an award-winning filmmaker based in Austin where her work is dedicated to marginalized and underserved communities. Her feature directorial debut, Gossamer Folds, was nominated for Outstanding Picture at the GLAAD awards and has won over 20 grand jury and audience awards on the festival circuit. She co-wrote the feature film, Signature Move, which world-premiered at SXSW, screened at 200+ festivals worldwide, and can now be found on Amazon Prime, HBOMax, etc. (certified 100% Rotten Tomatoes). She directed a telly-winning DocuSeries about drag culture in the US called Behind The Drag which showcases the real lives of American drag queens. She’s earned a passionate following by telling stories that don’t shy from the unique struggles of women—queer and straight—but focus on the power, resilience, and love they demonstrate in the face of them.

Rick Vaicius has been a film geek (some would say snob) since the day his parents gifted him with a small black and white television for his childhood bedroom.

Rick founded and was the Executive Director of the Flyway Film Festival for 10 years which garnered Moviemaker Magazine’s 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World in 2013 and 2014.

Some of his favorite recent films are The Lost Daughter, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once and Navalny.

Rick is passionate about film festivals and loves working on Sound Unseen in just about any capacity.

Email: kelly@soundunseen.com

In addition to her work as a publicist and publicity manager for film festivals, including MSPIFF, Slamdance, and LAFF, Kelly Nathe is also an award-winning filmmaker and Emmy-winning television producer. Her directing & producing credits include rock-n-roll girlfriend (IFC, Walker Art Center), Hotel Hidajet (SXSW, Slamdance), Minnesota 13 (Cucalorous, Hot Springs), and Miss Tibet (DocNYC, SF DocFest); and her television producing credits include Airline (A&E), Hacking Democracy (HBO), Crash Test World (Discovery+), and the Emmy-winning series The Zimmern List (Travel Channel).

Email: jswildman@hotmail.com

John Wildman is a multi-faceted presence in the entertainment world, known for his work as a film and film festival publicist, consultant, filmmaker, journalist, and critic.

Currently, Wildman is the publicist and consultant for independent films, and a number of national regional film festivals, including; Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival, Oxford FF, Harlem International FF, San Luis Obispo International FF, Naples International FF, Hot Springs Documentary FF, Deep in the Heart FF, Sidewalk, Cine Las Americas, Festival of Cinema NYC, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, Austin Asian American Film Festival, Asian Film Festival of Dallas, Coronado Island Film Festival, Horror Fest International, Billy the Kid FF, San Pedro International FF, the Imagine Science Film Festival, and Out on Film-Atlanta’s LGBTQ FF.

He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of FilmsGoneWild.com, co-host of the Fog of Truth Podcast on Documentary Films, and has been a host on The Daily Buzz NPR broadcast reporting from Sundance, Toronto, and Cannes for the past six years. His feature film directorial debut, the grindhouse art-horror thriller THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE was released to critical acclaim in 2015, The comedy short, SWEAT OF HIS COW is currently winning awards on the regional festival circuit in 2022, and he is in development for the horror-comedy HUGE WRACKBANGER’S STAG PARTY.

Wildman was formerly the Senior Publicist for the New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, the Chaplin Award Gala, and the Director of Press and Public Relations for the American Film Institute. As a journalist, he was formerly a contributor to Film Comment.com, Film Threat, Movie City News, Beyond Cinema, Fangoria.com, Moving Pictures Magazine.com, and Festworks.com.

Liz Brooks has been involved in the Minneapolis music scene in different capacities for ten years. She has been an outspoken advocate for survivors of sexual violence in the industry, and has been committed to building a safer, more diverse scene.

Corinne distributes her time between freelance marketing, event planning, talent buying for local MN music venues, touring & writing with her surf-punk band Black Widows, going to shows, watching flix with her dog Roxy & her cat, Kumiko, walking in the woods, and lending a hand when she can. Once in a great while she is asked to dance on stage, but rarely. She is fun at parties, but spends A LOT of time alone. Although she is always learning, she feels she has paid her dues and is STILL waiting for her big break.