The Team.
PARTING THE WATERS IS LED BY A TEAM OF EMMY-NOMINATED FILMMAKERS.
Michele Kuvin Kupfer
Co-Director/Producer
Documentary filmmaker, behavioral therapist, and educational consultant. Michele grew up in Palm Beach, Florida and Jerusalem, Israel. Michele was a member of the Israeli 1980 Olympic team, held numerous Israeli national records and participated in many international competitions, most meaningfully the 1981 Maccabiah Games.
Michele attended and swam at Indiana University, spent her junior and senior year studying at Hebrew University and got a Master’s of Science from Syracuse University. Michele has worked at various hospitals in the US and Israel focusing on the psycho-social issues young people face as they work to be more independent.
She is the co-founder of Difference Diaries; a documentary short film series focused on adolescents and young adults with chronic illness. Michele just finished a feature documentary about her experience swimming over a span of 40 years both in America and Israel calledParting The Waters. Michele is married to Gary Kupfer who is a renowned physician specializing in Hematology/Oncology at Georgetown University. Together they have three children, Noa, Zev, and Meital.
Marc Salomon
Co-Director/Producer/Editor
Marc Salomon is an Emmy-nominated director, producer, and co-founder of The Marcs Studios, a documentary production company known for telling deeply human stories across sports, culture, and identity. As a Jewish American and the second generation in his family born in the United States, Marc draws inspiration from a rich personal history—his paternal grandparents met in a displaced persons camp in Israel after surviving the Holocaust, eventually immigrating to the U.S., where his family’s story continued. That legacy of resilience informs Marc’s approach to filmmaking, with a focus on character-driven stories about people who meet adversity with heart, courage, and determination.
Marc’s work spans international sports documentaries, commercial campaigns, and cinematic nonfiction series. His storytelling is rooted in authenticity and empathy, and he is drawn to stories that explore belonging, transformation, and personal triumph.
For Marc, Parting The Waters, which he co-directed with Marc Levy and Michele Kuvin Kupfer, is a deeply personal film that blends Marc’s love of sports narratives with a cultural and emotional exploration of Jewish identity.
Marc Levy
Co-Director / Producer / Editor / Cinematographer
Marc Levy is an Emmy-nominated director, cinematographer, editor, and producer, and the co-founder of The Marcs Studios. Born and raised in New Orleans, Marc earned his MFA in Cinematography from Chapman University in California. He spent over a decade working in Los Angeles, before settling with his family in North Carolina.
Marc has directed and shot documentaries, commercials, and feature films around the world. His work has screened at Cannes, earned Emmy nominations, and streamed on platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Facebook Watch, ESPN, NFL Network, and YouTube.
He is passionate about human-driven content that explores issues like mental health, social justice, and identity—particularly as they intersect with sports, music, art, and culture. As a filmmaker who has long grappled with what it means to be Jewish, working on Parting the Waters became a meaningful opportunity to explore his own relationship with his Jewish identity. At the heart of Marc’s work is a deep commitment to telling stories that put people first—their lives, passions, struggles, hopes, and dreams. He strives to make every frame feel personal, authentic, and emotionally resonant.lity and commitment to impactful storytelling across various platforms.
Austin Kase
Producer
Austin Kase is a Telly award-winning writer, director, and producer. His film Hide Your Crazy, which he wrote and directed, won best thriller at the BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival, and was honored at multiple Oscar, BAFTA, and Canadian Screen Award-qualifying festivals around the world. It was picked up for distribution by ALTER, and received over 100K views in its first month. Austin was selected as a directing fellow at Sundance Collab and as a writing fellow for the ScreenCraft Writers Retreat, where he was mentored by Vince Gerardis, Executive Producer of Game of Thrones, and Sean Covel, producer of Napoleon Dynamite.
His feature film script, Wish You Were Here, was also selected for the Stowe Story Labs Screenwriting Retreat, where he was mentored by Academy Award-nominated producer Amy Hobby and the Academy Award-nominated writer of Finding Neverland, David Magee. Several of his screenplays have placed at the prestigious Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. Austin won two Telly Awards and an Internet Advertising Competition award for Why Music"?”, a branded admission video he created for the Yale School of Music. He also edited “A Conjoining of Ancient Song”, a MacArthur Genius Grant-funded documentary directed by Jazz Legend Willie Ruff. Austin collaborated with Michele Kuvin Kupfer as a producer and editor on her Difference Diaries series.
Lisa A. Hedley
Executive Producer
Filmmaker, lawyer, writer, and mother of four, who created and produced the Emmy nominated HBO documentary "Dwarfs: Not a Fairy Tale." Other projects include: Just Sit, Yoga and Mediation For All, Healing Zone, Bridges of Hope, The Family Project and co-founder of Difference Diaries. Lisa founded The Children of Difference Foundation to create and produce projects to educate, entertain and support children with medical differences.