Jon Shenk is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and founder of Actual Films. He was the Director of Photography for the Academy Award-winning Smile Pinki (2009). He was awarded an Emmy for Blame Somebody Else (2007), a feature story about human trafficking, he wrote, produced and photographed for the PBS series, Exposé. Shenk directed and photographed the Emmy-nominated Lost Boys of Sudan (2004), a feature documentary that follows two young refugees of Sudan’s civil war through their first year in America. Lost Boys of Sudan was released theatrically, received the Independent Spirit Award, and aired on PBS/POV. He co-directed and photographed Democracy Afghan Style (2004, 80 minutes), a PBS/ITVS/Arte film about the post-war constitutional process in Afghanistan. In 2005, he directed and photographed segments for The New Heroes (PBS). He directed and photographed The Beginning (1999), an observational chronicle of George Lucas’s complex creative process during the making of Star Wars: Episode I that some reviewers consider to be “the best DVD behind-the-scenes documentary ever made.” Shenk has produced and photographed dozens of documentaries for PBS, the BBC, A&E, Bravo, CBS, NBC, and National Geographic. He has been nominated twice for Emmys for his cinematography.