Filmmakers

Andrew Kukura, Director/Producer/Writer

Andrew Kukura is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and Principal/Creative Director of Northern Light Productions, where he has been producing both short-form and long-form documentary work for over twenty years. His recent credits include producing and directing Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden, a two-hour History Channel special featuring interviews with Presidents Obama and Bush, Secretaries Clinton and Gates, and members of Seal Team Six. Other notable directing credits include Urban Nutcracker: Beyond the Stage, a PBS holiday special, and The Dhamma Brothers, a theatrically released feature about the profound effects of Vipassana meditation on inmates inside a maximum-security prison in Alabama, which won numerous awards and was featured as part of Oprah’s Soul Series. As an editor and writer, Andrew’s work includes Killer Poet, an independent documentary selected for Hot Docs and winner of multiple Best Documentary awards, as well as Circus Without Borders and Beyond the Wall, for America ReFramed.

Andrew has been Creative Director on multimillion-dollar projects for museums and visitor centers including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the National World War II Museum, and the Canadian Museum of History, among others. His work has been featured on NPR, PBS, The New York Times, OWN, History Channel, Hulu, and Netflix.

Jenny Phillips, Producer

Jenny Phillips was a filmmaker, cultural anthropologist, and psychiatric nurse whose work focused on the lives of incarcerated individuals and the transformative potential of mindfulness and emotional literacy programs within prisons. With more than fifteen years of direct teaching experience inside prisons and jails, she brought both professional expertise and deep compassion to her filmmaking.

Jenny directed and produced the award-winning documentary The Dhamma Brothers, which followed inmates inside a maximum-security prison as they participated in a Vipassana meditation course, as well as Beyond the Wall, exploring the challenges faced by returning citizens after release. She was also the author of Letters from the Dhamma Brothers: Meditation Behind Bars, a collection of letters and interviews from inmates who took part in the meditation course. Her work consistently sought to illuminate the human stories within incarceration and to foster greater understanding of the social and emotional barriers confronting those reentering society.

Key Creative Team

Tim Raycroft, Editor

Tim Raycroft has been editing documentary films for more than 25 years. His work has screened at film festivals, aired on cable and public broadcasting, and been featured in museums and national parks across North America. Known for his collaborative approach to storytelling, Raycroft has worked with a wide range of directors and producers to shape character-driven and long-form documentary projects. In 2025, he joined the faculty at Bridgewater State University, where he teaches and mentors emerging media makers.

Andrew Kukura, Co-Editor

Glenn Fukushima, Co-Editor

Glenn Fukushima is a Senior Editor at Northern Light Productions, where he has led the post-production of films and exhibits since 2016. With over two decades of experience in documentary storytelling, Glenn crafts emotionally resonant narratives that span topics from Indigenous histories to U.S. military tributes. Previously an editor for PBS’s American Experience, Glenn’s credits include the Emmy Award-winning JFK. His editorial work is grounded in story clarity, thoughtful structure, and a deep respect for lived experience.

Jesse Beecher, Cinematographer

Jesse Beecher is a Director of Photography with Northern Light Productions whose documentary work spans multi-camera interviews with U.S. presidents to vérité filmmaking inside state prisons and remote backcountry environments. His cinematography is grounded in careful observation and a sensitivity to character and place. His visual approach favors restraint and intimacy, allowing people and environments to reveal themselves gradually on screen.

Joe York, Cinematographer

Joe York is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer whose work explores the culture and social history of the American South. A longtime contributor to the University of Mississippi’s Southern Documentary Project and the Southern Foodways Alliance, he has produced more than 50 short films and four feature-length documentaries. His work has appeared on PBS and in publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Bitter Southerner.

Ruth Mendelson, Composer

Ruth Mendelson is an Emmy-nominated composer, producer, and arranger whose work has been recognized as a New York Times Critics’ Pick. For more than 25 years, she has written original scores for documentary and broadcast projects for HBO, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, PBS, CBS, and NBC, among others. Her approach to film scoring emphasizes emotional clarity and narrative restraint. She also teaches in the Film Scoring Department at Berklee College of Music.