At Wavecrest Films, we have one mission: to create content that makes a positive social impact. It’s that simple. We consciously seek out brands, organizations and individuals who share our passion for spreading goodness around the globe.

Our speciality is creative, soulful storytelling – great nuggets of content that inspire audiences, move ideas forward and make a positive contribution to the media landscape. There’s enough noise already; we don’t care to add to it. We do, however, care about the messages we’re putting out there, and so we choose our projects carefully.

Whether we’re making films for clients directly, offering production services for foreign clients, or creating original content of our own, we put our heart and soul into the work we do, and we love doing it!

LATEST NEWS

Hi, Friends –

We hope everyone is staying strong and doing their best to maintain good health – physical and mental. COVID-19 is redefining how we live, and challenging us to rethink what we thought we knew…and with that experience a whole host of emotions are boiling up to the surface – some of which are actually quite peaceful and hopeful, and some that are far more unpleasant and stressful. As one of our favorite mindfulness teachers, Jon Kabat-Zinn, says: “You cannot fight the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

We cannot deny the anxiety about the uncertainty of our collective future. Many of us in the film community are struggling as independent contractors with no paycheck coming in while live action production stays at a necessary and indefinite halt. How do we keep ourselves calm and present to these feelings of discomfort without feeding into the fear and panic of the day? These are the questions we ask ourselves and others in our new short film project SURFING CORONA. For this 10 minute short, we talked to psychologists, neuroscientists, trauma-informed yogis, educators, artists, and every day people who have tools they wish to share with us all – tools on how to stay grounded and present in these turbulent times. Follow #surfingcorona on Instagram for extended interviews and to share stories of your own.

A mindfulness practice has been a staple of our lives for the past six years; now it’s needed more than ever as neuroscience has proven our immune systems require it if we wish for them to be in optimum working condition. Emotional regulation involves work, patience, perseverance, and compassion – towards ourselves and each other.

While we’re spending more time in stillness these days, we continue to move forward fundraising for our feature documentary and social impact campaign revolving around mindfulness & education. Check out our page on The International Documentary Association’s website to find out more about “Class of 20/20″. If you, or someone you know, are looking for a charitable cause to get behind — empowering teens with the tools they need to navigate through challenging times — please consider making a donation today: https://www.documentary.org/project/class-2020.

For a quick reference, please take a look at a short film we made called “Into Light”, about four graduates of a groundbreaking, for-credit public high school course in Mindfulness. It was these kids who inspired us to make this next documentary feature that follows a new group of struggling teens from the beginning of the semester, and bears witness to their transformations as the semester unfolds.

Please share the donation link with your friends, family, clients and colleagues today.

In other news: Our N is for Nature short film produced for Sesame Street just aired on HBO, and we couldn’t be happier, or more proud, to have had the opportunity to meet and work with the remarkable Shelby O’Neil. Shelby has spent the bulk of her teenage years championing ocean conversation. She founded Jr. Ocean Guardians, started the No Straw November movement, and educates children on the importance of keeping our oceans clean. She is a real hero!

Let’s use this time wisely to remember our interconnectedness and shared humanity. Be well, everyone. And be kind. Let’s all work on being better humans. The Earth is demanding it of us.

Warm wishes,

Julie & Josh

• All
• Documentary
• Branded Content
• Short

SURFING CORONA

Short/ Dir. Julie Bayer Salzman...

N is for NATURE

Our short N is for Nature premiered on Sesame Street/HBO on May 9, 2020. The girl featured is the remarkable ShelbyO’Neil. Shelb...

INTO LIGHT

The 3rd short film in our Mindful Shorts series, "Into Light" features 4 inspiring teens who use their mindfulness pract...

K is for KARATE – Directors’ Cut

The Directors' Cut for "K is for Karate", a film produced for our friends at Sesame Street. It aired on HBO on June 23, ...

Giusti Farms

Meet John Giusti, a 3rd generation farmer in Half Moon Bay, CA, and get a glimpse into the past, present and future of a family fa...

FOSTER CARE / SESAME STREET

The warm, empathic Adriana Molina offers tools to foster parents on how to help their foster kids through challenging transitions....

G is for Grandparents

A tribute to the special role grandparents play in our lives, "G is for Grandparents" was produced for Sesame Street and...

Release

The 2nd film in our series of Mindful Shorts, "Release" addresses Anxiety as experienced by middle school kids, and offe...

CETMA Cargo

We've been big fans of cargo bikes ever since we first saw them in Europe a few years ago, and we've been waiting to find an Ameri...

Just Breathe

The viral hit "Just Breathe" features kids speaking candidly about anger and how they use mindfulness techniques to cope...

A MAD(libs) SUMMER — Expedia

What started out as a fun idea for our son's preschool class turned into a piece for Expedia. ...

Time & Tide (trailer)

"Time & Tide" began in April 2000 upon reading an article about how the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu signed a deal...

Julie and Josh are storytellers. Their own story, and the spirit of their work, is driven by the power of vivid, creative filmmaking. Both self-taught photographers and avid environmentalists, they have combined their unique talents and experiences in film and video to pursue projects that give voice and visibility to the true stories of others. As co-directors and creative partners, they strive to craft distinct productions that tap into the issues of today, and the emotions of today’s audiences.

Julie Bayer

Filmmaker

A lover of powerful stories with rich imagery, Julie spent the first part of her career gaining a solid understanding of the nuts and bolts of commercial production. For over ten years, she produced and oversaw countless commercial campaigns for others before moving into writing and directing projects of her own.

She and her partner, Josh Salzman, made their directorial debut with “Time & Tide”, a documentary about the impact of globalization and global warming on the tiny South Pacific nation of Tuvalu. The film garnered numerous film festival awards, screened internationally, and was broadcast in the US on PBS.

Julie's sensitivity to subject and subject matter was fully realized and recognized in the widely celebrated short film “Just Breathe” - a film about the power of mindfulness to transform anger, as articulated by a group of elementary school kids. The unscripted piece was showcased on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday program in April 2015, plays internationally at children's film festivals and has so far been translated into Spanish, Italian, German and Hungarian.

Often with her hand in many pots, Julie is currently working on a series of short films about Mindfulness, while in development on a feature about mindfulness in education. She's also writing an animated screenplay based on the true story of the two homeless dogs she and her family adopted, and developing commercial projects centered on sustainable and progressive businesses. When she’s not working, you can usually find her wandering in the hills, camera in hand and dogs in tow; hanging out with her tribe; or just at home digging in the dirt. She puts a tremendous amount of heart and soul into everything she does, and believes that the joy and beauty of filmmaking (and life itself, really) lies as much in the process of creative collaboration as in the actual completed projects.

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Josh Salzman

Director/DP

Director of Photography Josh Salzman successfully straddles the seemingly incongruous world of documentary and commercial filmmaking. His skills for visual storytelling and creative collaboration have made him an invaluable asset to each project he dives into.

Josh has lensed several successful commercial campaigns for companies including Ford, Bank of America, Pepsi, Intel, Sprint, and Nokia. He was recently DOP for actor Tim Robbins on his upcoming feature documentary “45 seconds of Laughter,” and filmed with “Chasing Ice” director Jeff Orlowski for his latest documentary adventure. Josh also helmed “The Human Element,” (2018) about renowned photographer James Balog, who uses his camera to reveal how environmental change is affecting the lives of everyday Americans.

His past highlights include “Under the Gun” for director Stephanie Soechtig and Katie Couric, and “ForEveryone.Net” by director JessicaYu, both standouts from Sundance 2016. Also from Slamdance 2016, “Los Punks: We Are All We Have” by director Angela Boatwright. Other recent collaborations include two premieres from Sundance 2018: “The Devil We Know” for director Stephanie Soechtig, and “Inventing Tomorrow”, for academy award-nominee director Laura Nix.

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