Minding Shadows is produced by So Fare Films, an American film production company and internship program with its operational headquarters in Rome, Italy. The production is supported by and International Co-Production with Afropäa, a Hanover-based German nonprofit association dedicated to supporting and strengthening the Afro and Afrodiasporic community.

Read more about the Minding Shadows Team below.

Jenn Lindsay: PRoducer/Director

Jenn Lindsay is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, social scientist and Ted Talk speaker. She is the CEO and Head of Production at So Fare Films. Since 2005, she worked in post-production as a film editor, story assistant, and independent producer with MTV, the Sundance Channel, Atmosphere Pictures, and Swete Films. Her 2020 documentary short Quarantined Faith won multiple awards at film festivals. She has screened her ethnographic documentaries in festivals, conferences, and classrooms around the world, winning awards from the International Society for Religion and Science and the Society for Psychological Anthropology. Jenn earned her Ph.D. in the social science of religion at Boston University, a masters degree in religious studies from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University (2011), graduate training in arts management from Yale University School of Drama (2005), and an undergraduate degree in Playwriting from Stanford University (2001). She is a Lecturer in Sociology and Communications at John Cabot University in Rome.

For a decade prior to graduate study, Jenn worked in the film and music industries as a composer, film editor, performer and documentary filmmaker. Her ten albums are available on Spotify, iTunes and at JennLindsay.com.

Victor Gyamfi: Associate Producer and Executive Chair of Afropäa

Victor Gyamfi is driven by the goal to build awareness for the potential of Africa(ns) and plan collaborations to cultivate sustainable factories, adapted technologies and socioeconomic networks in Africa and throughout the African diasporal community. As the founder and Executive Chair of the Hanover, Germany-based NGO Afropäa, Victor presides over programming that supports and strengthens the Afro and Afrodiasporic community in Germany and beyond.

He coordinates fundraising and project development for their local Afrolibrary and creation and distribution of books in in a number of African countries, manages apprenticeship programs, and coordinates resources to maintain the program facilities and teaching staff. Victor met venerable Sangharakkita through a Hanover community development event from Afrikanischer Dachverband-Norddeutschland and described their relationship as “friendlike brothers.” His interest in realizing the Minding Shadows film project is grounded in an Akan saying: sɛ wo foro dua pa a - if you are climbing a good tree...[you will get a push].

He is devoted to helping a fellow African in a mission that is good for the community and has global impact. Even though Olivier's journey has been harder and more violent than many people’s, he and Victor share a path on the way to heal their own and other people's trauma. They are writing a book together which will be boosted by the Minding Shadows film project (and vice versa), and has already secured funds for a series of seminars that Afropäa will be hosting with Ama Agyemang, the Vice Chair of Afropäa, who specializes in Eurythmic-based healing through movement, in line with the Tai Chi and Qi Gong practice of Venerable Sangharakkita.

Manuela Barroso: Assistant Producer of Minding Shadows and Business Operations Specialist, So Fare Films

Manuela Barroso is a Brazilian student of International Affairs and Business at John Cabot University, in Rome, Italy. Filmmaking has been a primary passion of hers since her high school years in São Paulo, Brazil, when she had the opportunity to take two film production courses. With extensive experience in management, she organized the biggest Leadership Conference for Brazilian students in Europe (BRASA EuroLeads), also participating and winning awards in Conferences such as the Harvard Congress Model Latin America 2017. In January 2023, she also worked at the TedXRoma Conference welcoming 18 international speakers and sponsors. Since 2022, Manuela has been part of the So Fare Films team, acting as the Business Operations Specialist, and Assistant Producer for Minding Shadows.

ZIL SENCZY: Chief Financial Officer, So Fare Films

Zil Graduated from Elon university in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Management and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She continued to pursue her education while working and in 2018 became licensed as a CPA. She continued to work with multiple businesses and industries at her various positions both as an internal staff accountant, working at a CPA firm and working at an accounting outsource company. Her strongest passions have always been empowering others through her support of small businesses and process optimization. It is her belief that with the right structure and support people can accomplish amazing things.

The Venerable Sangharakkhita / olivier biraro: Protagonist and author

The Venerable Sangharakkhita Olivier Biraro was born in Rwanda in 1981. At age 17, he started practicing Buddhism and later became the first and the only Buddhist Monk in the Theravada Tradition from Rwanda. He is an inspirational speaker on subjects of inner peace, forgiveness, reconciliation and trauma healing. So far, he has authored seven books on the aforementioned subjects. He addresses private and public schools, universities and religious communities. He teaches Yoga, Tai Chi and Mindfulness Meditation as ways to mend broken communities. Aside from publishing spiritual materials, he translates classic books that aim at awakening the human consciousness. He has translated “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran and “Your Word is your Wand” by Florence Scovel Shinn into his mother tongue. His interests include eastern martial arts. He holds a black belt in Karate and Tae Kwon Do, and has attended several international competitions as a member of his country’s national teams.