Hal Rifken – Director, Cinematographer & Co-Writer
Hal has worked as a cinematographer and documentary film producer/director for over 30 years. He began his career as an educator at the University of Wisconsin, then moved to New York City to start a production company. His production highlights include two years on location for the Food Network (Edible Roots With Martin Yan), music videos and artist profiles for Sony Music, a documentary that includes an Indian-American artist (Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona Benjamin), and this ambitious string quartet project (Behind The Strings: The Shanghai Quartet). Hal is currently producing a documentary on Guatemala’s indigenous Maya people called Guatemala: Trouble in the Highlands.
Michael Peroff – Executive Producer, Producer & Co-Writer
Michael also wears many hats as the executive producer, producer, and co-writer of Behind the Strings. Previously, he co-founded a TV production company in China, developing weekly prime-time programming (Around the World and Across the Pacific) for China Central TV (CCTV), Shanghai TV (STV), and Beijing TV (BTV). He also worked for several global advertising agencies, including the Leo Burnett Company and J. Walter Thompson.
Tracy Nichole Cring – Editor
Tracy is an award-winning editor, credited for her work on more than thirty feature films. She began her career as a cinematographer before learning how to edit, eventually winning the grand prize at the 1997 LA Film Festival. In 2018, her work on Danseur, a documentary about the difficulties faced by male ballet dancers, was featured in an episode of NBC Nightly News. She is currently working on the documentaries, The ISIS Trial and Trouble in the Highlands.