Growing Cities Filmmakers

Filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette grew up with one another in Omaha, NE. They split ways for college as Dan went east to Dartmouth and Andrew west to Willamette. Five years later, they are back together again to take a trip from coast-to-coast to learn about city farming.

Dan Susman (Producer/Director)

Dan’s passion for city farming originated when he worked on an urban farm in Portland, OR. Ever since he has been dreaming of how to bring it back to his community and to people across the nation. One short documentary he made, Landmark, examined the social and political issues around developing a piece of land in his community.

Andrew Monbouquette (Director Photography/Co-Producer)

Andrew earned his degree in Rhetoric & Media studies from Willamette University, where the motto was “Not unto ourselves are we born.” For him, making this film is about fulfilling his duty to fellow Americans by ensuring that everyone has access to fresh, healthy food. In addition to being a lifelong cinephile, Andrew has worked on several short films throughout college and high school.

Brent Lubbert (Production Manager)

After returning to Omaha from studying film in San Francisco, Brent wanted to apply what he learned to benefit his hometown. He hopes that this film will inspire Omahans to get connected with their land and food. Brent has been a part of the Omaha film community through his work on short films, radio documentaries, and interning at Omaha’s non-profit independent cinema, Film Streams.

Kathleen Franco (Outreach Intern)

Kathleen is finishing up her undergraduate career at Creighton University, where she's been studying Photojournalism and Theatre. She's always been curious about documentary filmmaking and quite serendipitously stumbled upon Growing Cities. She is excited to be able to help spread the word about sustainable farming and healthy eating.

Clare Ellis (Media Strategist)

Clare is a seasoned journalist and magazine editor, having worked with both well established media companies, such as Nickelodeon and Time-Warner, and been on the founding team of many others. Her interest in supporting just, healthy, and sustainable alternatives to the current food system is what brought her to join the Growing Cities team