Meet the filmmakers

The Architects of Connection.
Behind every transformative story is a team of creative leaders who shape it with care, vision, and heart. These are the producers, storytellers, and strategists bringing Touching the Sky to life, each one driven by a shared belief in the power of community, trust, and human connection.

  • Tim Hedberg

    DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

    Tim Hedberg is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, and all-around media maverick who heads up Motivo Media, a production company focusing on audience empowerment and storytelling for a variety of nonprofits, universities and startups around the world.

    Tim’s most recent works include: Biogas or Bullshit, an animated short voiced by Joaquin Phoenix about industrial animal agriculture and greenwashing; Bitcoin Cowboys: Will Wyoming Become the Next Crypto Capital?, a short documentary investigating the wild frontier of cryptocurrency; Taking Poletown, a short film examining a Detroit suburb’s battle against GM to build a controversial factory; and Justice The Horse, a short film in partnership with the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

    Previously, Tim was CMO of CoBuy, a shared real estate startup, and Klink Delivery Inc., an on-demand delivery company. He was also a visiting professor at Universidad Francisco Marroquín’s film school in Guatemala City and speaks regularly at film conferences and events around the world.

  • Chris Jeckel

    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, STORY CHARACTER

    Chris Jeckel is a licensed attorney and Employee Benefits Specialist based in Chicago, Illinois. He leads strategy on Global Financial Benefits at a multinational engineering company and is a fierce advocate for inclusion and blind rights.

    With over a decade of public speaking experience at nonprofits and corporations, Chris understands the power of storytelling and its potential to create change in the places we work, live, and play.

    Chris’s tireless work ethic and discipline for meeting milestones sets him up to effectively manage people and productions. His improv and sketch comedy training from The Second City comes in handy.

  • Andrea Hedberg Rojas

    MARKETING LEAD

    Andrea Hedberg is a marketing strategist with a background in law and a passion for building meaningful, human-centered campaigns. At Touching the Sky, she leads brand development, audience engagement, and partnership strategy—bridging creative storytelling with thoughtful execution to amplify the film’s message of connection and transformation.

    She holds a law degree from Venezuela and brings years of experience in product marketing across the financial services and tech industries. A certified yoga instructor, she first discovered AcroYoga in Venezuela, where the joy of movement and trust-based collaboration sparked a lifelong love for the practice. Today, she channels that same energy into her work, creating campaigns that invite people to move, feel, and belong.

Meet the impact team

  • Lux

    ADVISOR

    Lux has been a student of circus for the past 17 years. He credits the start of his career to Chuck Johnson at the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts in Seattle (SANCA). He has since studied in over a dozen countries with teachers from around the globe.

    In the early 2000s, Lux joined Primary Element, a Seattle-based Acro & Fire troupe. The trio performed together for many years, and in 2005, performed for Cirque Du Soleil at the celebration of Varekai’s 500th performance. Though he is now retired from the stage, Lux performed for many years in duo & trio acts.

    Lux began teaching Acro to recreational practitioners and professional acrobats in 2005. Over the past decade, his approach to teaching and creating acro content has earned him a loyal following across the globe.

    Today, Lux is best known as a teacher, content writer, and leader in the global acro community. In addition to teaching bi-monthly intermediate and advanced series in Seattle, Lux regularly leads workshops and teacher trainings around the country.

  • Neal Tyler

    DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

    Born the son of a photographer, Neal Tyler has always had a camera in his hand and a vision in his mind. Whether working as director, DP, producer, writer, or still photographer, Neal considers himself a storyteller above all else.

    His feature directorial debut, Driftwood, recently had its premiere as an official selection at the Golden State Film Festival. The short films directed by Neal have placed at over twenty festivals and have garnered a plethora of awards including Best Drama, Best Editing, and numerous acting awards. Neal also won Best Cinematography at the Silver State Film Festival for the feature film, Blood Covered Chocolate, which he DP’ed and produced.

    Neal has produced and shot for documentary series such as "Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog," “Live Rescue," and "Lone Star Law." His work has been broadcast on National Geographic, A&E, Animal Planet, PBS, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and more.

    His original screenplays have placed at Austin Film Festival, PAGE International Awards, BlueCat, Script Pipeline, ScreenCraft, and other top competitions.

  • Jules Forrister

    OUTREACH MANAGER

    Meet Jules Forrister, our Outreach leader. Combining data-driven insights with a passion for human connection, she helps our team engage meaningfully with our audience.

    Based in the heart of Texas, Jules is a seasoned yoga instructor turned UX researcher and designer. With over 10 years of experience in human-centered design for health and wellness, she knows the power of community in achieving personal goals.

    Since she started flying in 2016, Jules has been thriving while floating upside down. She’s also a board member of Austin Acro Advocates, where she leads publicity, outreach, and community support for Acro Yoga Austin.

Special thanks to our donors ☁️

Noah Bradon
Julie Hedberg
Alexander Yershov
Teresa MacDonald
Carolyn Baxley
Maria Kolakowska
Stuart Jeckel
Michael Fairbanks
Jennifer Foote

Amy Athenil
Ben Baxley
Casey Baxley
Carolyn Baxley
Norman Baxley
Mathew Bermudez
Robert Bersahdski
Jacob Brown
Zhilmil Dhillon
Ian Fischer
Tim Furman

Roshelle Goldstein
Victoria Gobat
Torsten Spooner
Alexander Pugh
Rita Jane Gabbett
Emily Peterson
Mark Rhodes
Janet LeRoy
Henry Fineberg

And to our volunteers ☁️

Rebecca "Porkchop" Hudson
Lisha Joy
Bill Kalbac
Scot Krumbein
Sofia Matute
Nick LaFleur
Loc Le
Mat Linek
Yun-En Liu
Andrew Long
Fey Mason
Teresa McDonald

David Ehrenberg
Ben Emslie
William Kalbac
Jacob Montgomery
Joseph Yonek
John Jeckel
Benjamin Jeckel
Jessica Riddle
Morgan Kelley
Jamie Matthews

Eric McKeethan
Sarah "Pearly" Pearlman
Jenae Poe
Hanae Sambe
Chris Shaiman
Valentina Matute
Vanessa Volkmann
Arianna Uberti
Tommy Turner
KB Tyn
Jay Winston
Jessika Zhijdermans