Independent Spirits – A Whisky Series

GREG SWARTZ • DIRECTOR

After walking away from a job as a newspaper reporter in his native Pennsylvania, Greg moved to Los Angeles to make films. After spending a year at Warner Bros., he moved into commercial production, eventually developing a client roster that included Kia, BMW, United Airlines, and Gray  Advertising.

His directorial debut Another Harvest Moon — described by Box-office Magazine as “Powerful, poignant, honest, uncompromising, and touching — won two “Audience Choice” awards and stars Ernest Borgnine, Piper Laurie, Doris Roberts, Cybill Shepherd, Anne Meara and Richard Schiff. It’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Guy Satchwell • DIRECTOR

 Having jumped ship from working in airports, Guy joined the world of film in the mid 90’s as co-producer of a documentary starring the late Sir Terry Pratchett. Moving over to the sound department he has worked mostly in documentary and factual ever since. Recent years saw a return to producing with several co-productions in the streamers catalogues and a few projects currently shooting. Guy met director Greg Swartz whilst employed as sound mixer on the Blacksmith & Jones film Water of Life. Becoming firm friends, a phone conversation in mid 2020 led to a ‘let’s do it’ moment…and Guy started shooting material for a documentary about Independent Bottlers. Independent Spirits is his directorial debut.

TREVOR JONES • PRODUCER

Originally from Toronto, Trevor Jones produced for the hit National Geographic documentary Billy the Kid: New Evidence, which represented the third docudrama project he produced for television after Discovery Channel’s Kidnap and Rescue, and Animal Planet’s Virus Hunters.

Trevor has also produced two branch-narrative series for Eko, Timeline directed by Kimmy Gatewood (GLOW) and Damage Control starring Busy Philipps and Ben Schwartz.  As a commercial producer, Trevor partnered with Kimmy Gatewood and Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) to produce three PSA’s for Refinery29 on behalf of Planned Parenthood.  He has also produced spots a spot for Activision that was awarded an AICP award.

Roopa
Krishnaiah-Felten • EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Roopa is a seasoned technologist and whisky enthusiast who blends innovation with passion. With decades of experience in Silicon Valley’s tech industries, she has honed her ability to transform ideas into successful realities.

Born in Bangalore, India, and now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Roopa has transitioned from the tech world to the whisky industry, driven by her deep passion for Single Malt. As a partner and investor in the whisky industry, she leverages her leadership expertise and deep appreciation for craftsmanship to every venture. Her commitment to reinvention and lifelong learning fuels her continuous growth in both business and spirit.

An avid traveler and adventurer, Roopa has explored remote corners of the world, often carrying her favorite drams along the way. To her, whisky is more than a drink – it’s an experience to be savored and shared.

RICHARD PALAIMA • EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Originally from Pennsylvania, Richard earned his bachelors degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Penn State University. He then spent the next 20 years in the tech sector as a UI Engineer, working on award winning websites for some of the largest entertainment, gaming and comparison shopping companies out there. He is helping to manage the digital aspects of this campaign.

NATE BARLOW • PRODUCER

Nate graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, but quickly rejected an engineering career to be a filmmaker in Los Angeles. He has since worn many hats in the entertainment industry, from producer to writer, actor, director, and executive. Recent work includes restoring the silent film His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz, which premiered in September 2024, and directing the award-winning experimental documentary short A Brief History of Hollywood, which played thirty-three festivals worldwide. Previously, Nate also wrote the Meghan Markle romantic-comedy Random Encounters and produced & directed the sci-fi/horror anthology Tales From Beyond, starring Adam West.

Rob Chatlin • PRODUCER/ Lead Editor

A native of Detroit, Rob relocated to Los Angeles and began a long career in Entertainment Marketing, producing and editing campaigns for major networks in Broadcast, Satellite and Cable.

The siren song of Documentaries brought Rob into The Water of Life family, as both Editor and Associate Producer.  Next came producing and editing an award-winning film on the life and career of legendary artist/illustrator Dave Stevens.  

Following his work on Independent Spirits, Rob is refilling his glass once more, with Distilled to Perfection: The Spirit of Japanese Whisky, a comprehensive 3-part docu-series exploring 100 years of whisky in the Land of the Rising Sun.

ALFONSE PALAIMA • PRODUCER

Like with motorcycling, Alfonse got a late start with the spirits-based lifestyle. Similarly, the learning curve for both riding a motorcycle and drinking adult beverages was rocky at first, but smoothed out over time.

Having grown into a long-distance rider and motorcycle journalist, Alfonse has been focused on the journey over the destination for the last twenty years. Through numerous careers, his path–as an artist, to programmer, to photographer–is wide and colorful.

A parallel journey through the world of libations happened during that time as well; grain to vodka, Irish whiskey to rum, wine to craft beer… and back again to whiskey, but without the ‘e’ this time.  The “good stuff” is now on his radar, and acting as producer to Water of Life, Alfonse merges his many talents into one. His mysterious blend of artistry and machinery, help to propel the WOL brand from concept to celluloid.

As par for his course, his creative agency, Motion-Activated, has primarily serviced the motorcycle industry, and includes such clients as Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki and American Honda.

Keith Duncan – Co-Producer

This is Keith’s first foray into the film business. Working in the software business for his “day-job”, he is a keen whisky enthusiast and discovered The Water of Life – A Whisky Film during lockdown when he attended an online tasting, Q&A and screening of the film. Following many other online screenings and Zoom calls, Keith started to build a personal relationship with the members of the team. These friendships have developed over the years and when Keith was invited to join the production team for Independent Spirits – A Whisky Series he was delighted to accept. Primarily involved as a “feet on the ground” resource based in Edinburgh, Scotland Keith is involved in administers the film’s Facebook pages, organising events, building relationships with partners and stepping in where face to face communication will work best. 

Udo Sonntag – Co-Producer

Whisky brings people together – that’s Udo Sonntag’s credo. And as far as the movie is concerned, this is also completely true. It was at the Celtic Castle Festival, a well known Whisky Festival in Germany that we showed “The Water of Life” for the first time in Germany together with Jim McEwan. Nobody could have expected that this very weekend around whisky would change Udo’s life. It was here that the idea for Jim McEwan’s biography was born, which is now available internationally under the title “A Journeyman’s Journey”. But, and this is much more important: a friendship with lots of creative ideas developed.

Apart from that, Udo is a full-time teacher and has been involved with whisky in the form of tastings for a very long time. 

Everything else at www.tastingwithudo.com

LINDA BICKET – Co-Producer

This marks the second film for Linda Bicket. But it will not likely be her last. An Argyll native, Linda is a nurse by trade. But she is also our team’s All-Scottish resource. Whether it was tracking down Jim McEwan’s email for our first outreach, finding us food at the last minute, or telling our team how to pronounce Scottish phrases and words, Linda has been an invaluable component of our film. She also bakes cakes to celebrate the first day of production.