Laurel Ladevich
President & Executive Producer
Laurel Ladevich is an award-winning filmmaker and producer with expertise in all aspects of filmmaking – writing, producing, directing and editing. As a producer at Lucasfilm and Pixar, she spearheaded numerous projects. And, as a film and sound editor, she worked on dozens of films - including two Star Wars, one Indiana Jones, and a Jurassic Park. Writer, director and producer of the Emmy award-winning documentary, Fly Girls, for The American Experience/PBS, she also co-produced the Academy award-nominated IMAX film, Special Effects, Anything Can Happen. She was nominated for the British Academy Award and received the Woman of Achievement in Communications Award in 2001.
David Bergad
Vice President
David Bergad worked in feature film post-production for twenty years, lending his sound editing talents to fifty films. His credits include Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, The English Patient, and Amadeus (Director’s Cut). He also worked with legendary film producer Saul Zaentz for eight years, with responsibility for a wide range of duties related to such notable films as Amadeus, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest andThe Unbearable Lightness of Being.
David served as Vice-President of the Berkeley FILM Foundation’s Board of Directors from BFF’s founding in 2009, transitioning to Executive Director/Program Director from January 2014 until December 2018.
Catherine Butler
Secretary
Catherine Butler is an Emmy award-winning documentary producer/writer. Her current feature documentary American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel, is currently enjoying a theatrical run and has been described as "Eye-opening" by The New York Times, "Compelling" by The Daily Beast, "A friendly conversation-starter," by The Hollywood Reporter, and "Authentically inspiring" by Spirituality & Practice.
Other films include Emmy Award winning docs Journey of the Universe (PBS); The Women of Tibet (PBS); and a National Emmy nomination for Documenting the Face of America (PBS). She also produced the critically acclaimed feature-length investigative documentary The Future of Food, which received widespread theatrical and digital distribution worldwide.
Lope Yap Jr.
Treasurer
Lope Yap Jr. is a producer, director, assistant director, and production manager on major motion pictures, television movies, series, documentaries, specialty films, commercials and visual effects. He has worked on hundreds of shows in these varied capacities. He is currently head of Production for Lopevision, Inc., a feature film production company start up.
Lope is an active member of the Director’s Guild and received an award for his outstanding contribution to the Director’s Guild of America in 2007.