MARK ALLAN KAPLAN, PH.D. (Researcher-Producer-Director): Mark is an award-winning independent filmmaker and researcher with over 30 years of filmmaking experience. His 1985 dramatic film Voice in Exile won 10 international awards and honors including the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Silver Medal at the Chicago International Film Festival, Grand Prize at the Birmingham International Film Festival, and a Cine Golden Eagle Award. Voice in Exile was also aired on Cinemax and A&E Cable Networks, and was honored at the Deauville Festival of American Film in Deauville, France. Mark’s 1981 short film The Tree was also aired on Cinemax Cable Network and received 7 international awards and honors including a Cine Golden Eagle Award, Grand Prize at the Wattrelos International Film Festival in Wattrelos, France, and First Place at the Coimbra International Film Festival in Coimbra, Portugal. His 1987 educational film Dropout Blues won the Blue Ribbon Award at the American Film Festival, the Golden Babe Award at the Chicago Educational Film Festival, and was aired on England’s Channel Four Television Network. Dropout Blues was also distributed to schools all across the United States and was credited with reducing dropout rates the year it was shown, including a 40% dropout rate reduction in the Los Angeles Public School system. Mark made his first film, Progress (1974), at the age of 16. It was an experimental short film that won the prestigious Kodak Teenage Movie Award, First Place in the PBS Young Filmmakers Festival, and was aired nationally on PBS. In addition to being an independent filmmaker, Mark has also worked professionally in the entertainment industry as a motion picture producer, writer, director, editor, researcher, and consultant. He has conducted and published seminal research on the transpersonal dimensions of the cinema, and was awarded Integral Institute’s Integral Life Award for his preliminary research into the application of Integral Theory to cinematic media theory and practice. Mark has a B.A. in Motion Picture and Television Production from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts; an M.F.A. in Motion Picture Directing from the American Film Institute; an M.A. and Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology; and a Certificate in Integral Studies from Fielding Graduate University. During his studies, Mark also trained with many of the leaders in the fields of film, psychology, and consciousness, including being personally mentored by Robert Wise, the director of The Sound of Music and editor of Citizen Kane. For more on Mark, visit his online portfolio at: www.markallankaplan.com.