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 works of our own, we put our heart and soul into all we do, and we love doing it!

LATEST NEWS

Hi, Friends –

Welcome to a new year!

We are feeling extremely grateful for so many things right now, it’s hard to know where to begin. The past two years have been humbling, to say the least. We were out of work for a large chunk of it; our kids were at home, remote-learning, until just this past September; our family expanded when we became legal guardians to an amazing young man; Julie’s mom successfully went through chemotherapy; and on and on and on it went…one challenge after another. And while that was all happening, we still had a slew of good times, lots of laughs, and heart-expanding moments that we’ll never forget. (One pass through iPhone photos says it all!)

Now, we are more than ready to get back to work (thank you, Science)!  Our next project is the 4th film in our series of Mindful Shorts, following “Just Breathe”, “Release”, and “Into Light”. Tentatively entitled “Re-Imagine”, it will focus on young adults ages 18-25 who have experienced various types of trauma.

To start, we are partnering with Sandy and Lonnie Phillips of Survivors Empowered, interviewing people who are using mindfulness to help themselves heal from the horror of gun violence.  We will be expanding the casting net over time to find other trauma survivors with a mindfulness practice, so if you or someone you know might be interested in participating in this project, please reach out to us.

After Trauma, will come the 5th film (on Addiction), and the 6th and final film, on Grief, thus completing a series of short films that expands a lifetime, and shows how mindfulness helps people of all ages navigate the very real and very difficult task of being human.

In other news: Our years of traveling and collecting imagery, objects and whatnot along the way have resulted in some truly unique works of art. Check out our studio on Etsy to see what we’ve been up to, and maybe find a cool gift for someone you love this holiday season: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WavecrestFilmsStudio

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

Welcome to the Unknown. The coronavirus pandemic is affecting us all in a myriad of ways. Our short film, SURFING CORONA, is a lov...

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 for seven years.

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 showcased on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday program in April 2015, screens regularly at international children's film festivals, and is used as an educational tool in classrooms and training seminars around the world, having so far been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Hungarian.

Often with her hand in many pots, Julie is currently halfway through a six-part series of short films on Mindfulness and Mental Health. She's also developing a children's TV series, while continuing to write screenplays, work on photography projects, and produce television commercials. When she’s not working, you can usually find her wandering in the hills, camera in hand and dog in tow, or somewhere hanging out with her tribe. 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, with acclaimed documentarians such as Stacy Peralta, Steve James, Jessica Yu, Robb Bindler, and more. He lensed actor/director Tim Robbins' feature documentary “45 seconds of Laughter,” and 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. He currently is working on two high profile political projects that he is not allowed to talk about, so stay tuned for more...

Other 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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