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Filmmakers Christine & Mark
with Robert


We know - you expected more people, right?
The two of us have been producing award winning films for over 12 years,
on virtually no budget. We hope this is a testament of just how
creative we can be and how much passion we have
for each and every one of our films.
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MARK BONN
Director/Co-Producer

For the past 42 years I have had the opportunity to work with some really creative people in Television. Starting off at PBS in the early 80’s shooting and editing short form documentaries with an Ikegami HL77 and CMX340x. Then making the big jump from Buffalo to Los Angeles in the late 80’s, I found work as a Tape Operator on various studio and locations productions. In 1987 I was finally back to editing and also started Technical Directing. In 1988 I took a freelance “daily hire” job at an upstart network called Fox. I worked there for 28 years.
I would have to say that the most exciting and creative work that I have done lately is on our Documentaries. My wife (Christine) and I have been making Documentary Short films for the past 14 years.
Our first “Letters To Defiance” is on my wife's Uncle's experience in WWII. The film showed at a handful of festivals and has recently played on PBS in Ohio and won 2 Telly Awards. The response from audiences encouraged us to create the In Times of War Documentary Project (www.intimesofwar.us)
Over the past 12 years we have recorded 20 stories in our spare time. Our second Documentary “In Times of War: Ray Parker” premiered in March of 2007. Of the 10 festivals where we were in competition, we won 8, including an Audience Choice Award from the Sedona International Film Festival!
Our third film "Wings of Silver: The Vi Cowden Story" has done better than we could ever imagine. 12 Festival Awards, 5 of them the most coveted Audience Choice Award!
In total the project has won 24 Awards to date.
Our hope is to continue to capture these stories before they are lost forever.
Currently we are Premiered our first feature length documentary. "Robert Shields My Life as a Robot" at the 30th annual Sedona International Film Festival! The film follows Robert s' story from performing an incredible street act in Union Square in San Francisco, to entertaining on TV and how his movement influences today’s dancers! It won BEST OF FEST Documentary and the Prestigious Marion Herrman EXCELLENCE IN FILMMAKING Award! (You can find more on our other documentary and work websites at:
In Times of War Documentary Project and www.mymonkeyhouse.com)
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CHRISTINE BONN
Producer/Co-Director

I began my documentary work in radio at WUWU 107.7 FM in Buffalo, NY, producing and hosting a half-hour weekly program, “Issues and Insights.” Two years later, I found myself living in Vienna, Austria, working as an actor with the International Theatre. I starred in 12 productions in Vienna as well as tours throughout Austria, Germany and Switzerland. When I returned to the States three years later, I went to work for WNED-TV (PBS) where I was an Associate Producer for their award winning documentaries, Turning Points and Great Lakes in Crisis - and met my future husband, Mark.   

After moving to California, Mark and I married (over 30 years ago - that's
 
110 in Hollywood years!) and then began our own production company, My Monkey House, in 2002.  My memories of looking at my grandmother's collection of wildly witty illustrated envelopes sent by my uncle from his WWII military postings inspired me to seek them out again; with my uncle’s blessing, Mark and I began the journey that became Letters To Defiance.

This documentary opened the door to meeting other WWII veterans and hear their amazing accounts of military service, and thus the award-winning In Times of War Documentary Project was born.

Along with our documentary work, I've produced several plays to raise funds for local charities.
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