elijah (Eli) yetter-bowman

Director, Narrator, and Editor

Eli is an award-winning filmmaker who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina as a curious problem solver. They attended UNC Chapel Hill to pursue a career in public health but saw that many complex issues lacked creative communication. They founded Ethereal Films to help solve problems with media, storytelling, and impact campaigns. Their work bounces between directing films, leading impact campaigns with events & conversations, and research as an Affiliate at the UNC School of Public Health. Elijah’s work has received several awards including “Excellence in Science Communication” award from the National Academies of Sciences and has been featured in Forbes, People Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Telegram.

sammy bauer

Assistant Director

Sammy is a seasoned documentary producer and North Carolina native. Passionate about education, Sammy crafts impactful community campaigns for films and works as an environmental education coordinator for local government, fostering connections between people and their watersheds. Beyond their work, Sammy contributes to the Environmental Educators of North Carolina as a board member and was honored with the Southern Producers Lab Fellowship in 2023 and the title of Kentucky Colonel from Governor Andy Beshear in 2022. Their educational background includes a Master of Public Administration and a BA in Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Executive producers

Mark Ruffalo & Ray Ellis

Assistant producers

Carrie Lederer, Gill Holland, & Yuma Kobayashi

Additional Production Team

Bri Mellott, Heather Divoky, Anna Mann, Brooks Lester, Eric Bullock, & Bryan Hoffman