PUBLIC INTEREST PICTURES was founded by a group of individuals committed to making quality movies and promoting social and political change. Combining the power of film and the passion of people, our low-budget, highly acclaimed films have garnered broadcast deals, film festival awards, and critical praise. All that's nice, but it's not why we're here. Public Interest Pictures is not just a documentary company. We're activists who make documentaries as an extension of our activism.

Earl Katz, President Earl Katz, President of Public Interest Pictures and President of Creative Philanthropy, is an activist/documentary producer. He is currently Executive Producing two documentaries, Broadcast Blues and One Nation Under God. He has been a lead driver on the electronic voting issue since early in 2003. His award-winning documentaries have been an adjunct to his career as a political, social justice, and environmental activist since 1970. Katz is Executive Producer of Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election with Danny Glover (Sundance Channel), Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties (Sundance Channel), and Hacking Democracy (HBO), for which he received an Emmy®   award nomination.  He has been Executive Producer of numerous other documentaries including: El Barco de la Paz - The Peace Ship to Nicaragua, The CIA & World Peace, Lanzo Del Vasto: The Warrior For Peace and Only One Earth. He was the fundraiser for Winter Soldier, a documentary film for Vietnam Veterans Against the War (Cannes Film Festival Award). Since 1972, all of his documentaries have been used as fundraising and organizing tools to benefit grassroots organizations. In 1982, Katz initiated the video production of Night of at Least a Dozen Stars - I Love Liberals, the first non-profit benefit aired on HBO. He has led several national and international peace and environmental initiatives, many under the aegis of Fellowship of Reconciliation. In 1984, his proposal won a $20 million grant from the National Park Service for the museums built at Liberty and Ellis Islands. Earl serves on the boards of: Earth Communication Office, Independent World Television and Free Speech TV.

Marcos Barron, Executive Director Marcos Barron is an emerging young leader who puts his skills, connections, and passion to work for good. As a political fundraiser, he helped elect Al Gore, Barbara Boxer, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Hillary Clinton, all while building budgets of non-profits, ranging from Handgun Control and the National Breast Cancer Coalition to Rock the Vote and Free the Slaves. He later ran People For the American Way's California Office where he helped defeat Ward Connerly's divisive initiative that would have had disastrous medical and civil rights impacts throughout the state. His work in the political arena lead him to a stronger interest in the entertainment industry, beginning with grassroots marketing of documentaries to the distribution of a socially powerful full length feature, Innocent Voices. Marcos recently left a lucrative career running the Hispanic Entertainment Marketing Division of Terry Hines and Associates to executive direct Public Interest Pictures.  Marcos is the father of Kennedy Justice Barron, a six-year who lives up to his middle name by giving his birthday money away to poor kids and being nice to children who aren't nice to him.

Margery Tabankin Currently, Margery Tabankin is the Executive Director of both Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation and The Streisand Foundation (since 1986). Established in 1994, the Righteous Persons Foundation has made over $67 million in grants to projects that strengthen and reinvigorate Jewish life in the United States, and the Streisand Foundation has allocated over $14 million to organizations concerned with the environment, women, children, civil rights and civil liberties. From 1988 to 1994, Tabankin served as the Executive Director of the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee (HWPC). During this time, she helped establish an extremely effective and powerful women’s political organization, raising millions of dollars for progressive candidates. She also organized the entertainment industry on issues of women’s reproductive health, support for the arts and human rights around the world. From 1981 to 1988, she also was the Executive Director of the Arca Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting issues of equity, civil rights, the environment and human rights. Previously, she served as Director of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) under President Carter from 1977-1981. Currently, Tabankin sits on the boards of several philanthropic organizations including People for the American Way, Defenders of Wildlife and the Institute for America’s Future. In addition, Tabankin produced the documentary film, Heartstrings: Peter Paul & Mary in Central America.

Terri New Terri New, Founder and President of Capital Strategies, a fundraising consulting firm based in Los Angeles, is a seasoned fundraiser. She has worked for over 18 years with elected officials, philanthropists, corporations, business executives and grassroots activists around the country and has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for various causes and candidates. Her recent projects include: CALEAP, a California ballot initiative focusing on alternative and renewable energy; Senator Hillary Clinton’s (NY) re-election bid; Congressman Harold Ford, Jr’s (TN) Senate campaign; and American Family Voices. Previously, she headed up fundraising efforts in Southern California for two major national Democratic operations: the Democratic National Committee and America Coming Together (ACT)/The Media. In 2002, she served as Finance Director for Arkansas Attorney General Mark Pryor’s successful campaign for U.S. Senate. Among her other clients have been Al Gore, the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Jane Harman, Tom Daschle, Ann Richards, Lawton Childs, Antonio Villaraigosa and The Jackie Robinson Foundation.

Rufus Gifford After graduating from Brown University in 1996, Rufus began his career at Davis Entertainment as a Creative Executive and had a hand in the development and production of such feature films as Heartbreakers, Dr. Doolittle 2, Life or Something Like It, Daddy Day Care, Garfield and First Daughter. After 6 years in the trenches at Davis Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox, and close to the Kerry family, he decided to work to support the Democrats during the 2004 Presidential election. He became Deputy Finance Director, Western States for the Democratic National Committee and raised in excess of $30 million in the eight Western states he oversaw. After the election, Gifford realized that political fundraising was his true path rather than entertainment. 2006 clients included the successful Senatorial bids of Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Jim Webb in Virginia as well as John Garamendi for Lt. Governor of California. Rufus has recently partnered with Jeremy Bernard to form B & G Associates whose primary client is Senator Barack Obama. Gifford and Bernard oversee fundraising for the state of California for the campaign. In addition to the Presidential race, they are also overseeing the California fundraising for the Senate campaigns of Jeff Merkley in Oregon and Mark Warner in Virginia.

Tim Hoy, Vice-President, Legal with the Wasserman Media Group, currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in addition to the Board of Directors of Public Interest Pictures. He earned his BA from Oberlin, his MFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, & Television, and his J.D from the University of Michigan Law School. His varied film experience includes credits as an Executive Producer on the feature film Beautiful Ohio, starring William Hurt, Rita Wilson, and Juliana Margolies, directed by Chad Lowe, and produced by Chad Lowe, Hillary Swank, and Mark Burton; and co-writer on the television film El Grito, which filmed on location in Mexico City and was produced by Paloma Productions for Univision. He was a crossword puzzle writer for the New York Times and has served as a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention three times.