Lost in Jersey Live at Montclair Film Festival – Resilience in Film with Shine Global

Resilience in Film: A Conversation with Oscar & Emmy-Winning Shine Global with Young Filmmakers Winners Spotlight

Lost in Jersey Live joins the Montclair Film Festival for a special evening celebrating the power of storytelling and the art of resilience. The event spotlights Shine Global, the Academy Award- and Emmy-winning non-profit production company behind WAR/DANCE (Oscar nominee, Emmy winner), INOCENTE (Oscar winner), ANUJA (Oscar nominee), and many more acclaimed documentaries that explore courage, compassion, and the human spirit.

Now celebrating 20 years of powerful storytelling, Shine Global continues its mission to give voice to children and families around the world. Their latest film, THE BUSINESS OF TROUBLE (directed by Kristi Jacobson), screens at this year’s festival as part of the Resilience Shorts program.

This special conversation features Co-Founders Albie Hecht and Susan MacLaury, along with recipients of Shine Global’s 2025 Resilience Award for Young Filmmakers, Jaskson Provan and Henry Slater, with special shoutouts to Julian and Sean.

Co-Founder of Shine Global and an award-winning producer. He previously served as President of Nickelodeon, where he oversaw the development and production of SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, and All That. He also co-created and executive produced the Kids’ Choice Awards and produced the Oscar-nominated film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Hecht later became the creator and President of Spike TV and served as General Manager of CNN’s Headline News Network before joining pocket.watch as Chief Content Officer, where he created and executive produced the Emmy-nominated Ryan’s Mystery Playdate.

As a producer with Shine Global, Hecht produced the Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning War/Dance, as well as the Oscar-winning documentary Inocente.

Susan MacLaury Co-Founder and Executive Director from 2005 to 2024. She executive-produced the Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated documentary War/Dance, as well as The Harvest (La Cosecha), the Academy Award-winning Inocente, 1 Way Up in 3D, The Eagle Huntress, Liyana, Tre Maison Dasan, Through Our Eyes: Homefront, and Home Is Somewhere Else. She also produced The Wrong Light and Virtually Free.

MacLaury holds dual graduate degrees in social work administration and health education and served as an associate professor of health education at Kean University from 1994 to 2013.

Winners of Shine Global’s 2025 Resilience Award for Young Filmmakers, co-directors of In Case You Forgot.

In “In Case You Forgot,” a high school senior receives a letter from his fifth-grade self, offering a poignant and heartfelt look at growing up—the challenges of changing friendships, college and academic pressures, shifting dreams, and struggles with mental health as the world’s complexities are more felt.

Directed, written, and produced by Jackson Provan and Henry Slater | 4 min | USA | 2025