Filmmakers:

Mark Turner (director, producer) was born and raised by divorced parents in Denver, Colorado and has four siblings. He attended private, Catholic primary and secondary schools and began his college education at Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. He studied political science and conflict issues in Northern Ireland with the School of International Training before earning a bachelor’s degree in Business and Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since graduating, Mark has volunteered as an international observer and human rights activist in the West Bank, Palestine. The Research Journalism Initiative is the continuation of his research on the mechanisms that perpetuate geo-political and ethnic conflict and of his work to foster better understanding of these issues within the United States. Ripples Cross is Mark’s directing debut.

David Schler (director, producer) is a fine artist and documentary producer/director who has received two Emmy awards and five Emmy nominations. His documentaries have been on the arts, social issues and history. Ripples Cross is David’s first feature length documentary. He was inspired by Mark Turner’s sense of passion, and optimism for the potential to affect change and wanted to help tell his story. Other documentaries include The Artist & the Muse, a behind the scenes and opening night performance look at the Colorado Ballet’s creation of an original ballet based on the life and work of Colorado artist Vance Kirkland. Perchance to Dream was a story of the Jimmy Carter work project of Habitat for Humanity, which built 100 houses in seven days by 1,000 volunteers in Tijuana Mexico and San Diego California. Currently in production is an 1864 story based on the Sand Creek Massacre of Colorado in which over two hundred innocent Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians were killed in a charge led by a fanatical clergy/military man. Several arts related projects for television are in pre-production. David continually exhibits his classically inspired limited edition, lithographs, etchings and drawings in gallery exhibitions.

Dave Wruck was destined for a life in audio. Art and music dominated his childhood which led to the pursuit of a Music Engineering Degree from CU Denver and the demise of several rock bands along the way. After honing these audio skills at Denver Center Media at the esteemed Denver Performing Arts Center in the mid ‘90s, Dave turned his attention to video editing and became the first employee for the ground breaking Douglas County Television which went on the air in 1999. Dave built the technical foundations and carved many a creative masterpiece for the multiple Emmy award winning station leading to the esteemed “Overall Station Excellence Emmy” for the NATAS Heartland region in 2004. He himself accumulated 4 Emmys and 1 Telly and a total of 12 Emmy nominations for his editing, composing and sound design during his tenure at DC8. These days you’ll find Dave basking in the world of feature length films and documentaries as a freelancer in the Rocky Mountain Region. Ripples Cross is his first feature length documentary.