PBS – Hard To Believe

Felipe Boertz

Associate Producer

Felipe Boertz, a Brazilian filmmaker, started his journey in video production a decade ago as a news cinematographer with New Tang Dynasty Television in New York. His skills were honed at Darcy Ribeiro Film School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under the mentorship of the renowned director Ruy Guerra. Felipe’s flair for filmmaking was noticed, snagging awards at national and international film festivals. Since then, he’s taken the global film scene by storm as a freelance producer and cinematographer.

Ragnar Freidank

Sound Engineer

Ragnar worked in entertainment for the last 15 years as a sound engineer on several independent films. As a German, he’s highly organized but somehow, like the embodiment of yin-yang itself, he’s equally mellow and brightens any atmosphere.

James Houston White

Creative Producer

Since 2015, James has been working with Magnason Film as a creative producer and copywriter. In the same year, he started as a consultant under Reinventure’s principal Dr. Lynn Phillips, the co-creator of the concept ‘value proposition’ and other widely used customer-focused value-delivery frameworks. He’s also an arts and culture journalist, writing for The Epoch Times and luxury lifestyle publications Magnifissance and Taste of Life. He eats one meal a day, but only because ancient warriors and longevity masters used to, so he says.

Bilbo Lantto

Producer

Bilbo Lantto is relentless. Over the last 25 years, he’s logged 3,000 working hours as a producer and cinematographer for Swedish broadcast TV. In just two years, he produced 100 promotional films for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Radio Choir in the Berwald Hall. But Bilbo wasn’t born Bilbo. After reading Lord of the Rings, he legally changed his name and has been living within the magic of fictional storytelling ever since.

Paulio Shakespeare

Director of Photography

Paulio has been working with Magnason Film as a producer and videographer since 2012. His talents have attracted assignments from networks such as NTD, BBC,  National Geographic and commercial work for companies such as Shen Yun, Adidas, Calvin Klein, Mercedez Benz, Jaguar to name a few. Paulio is detail-oriented, reliable and fun to be around. Like Michael Jordan, Paulio is an Aquarius and thrives in high-stress environments. 

Joan King

Executive Producer

Joan King began her broadcasting career at China’s Jiangsu People’s Broadcasting Station, where she excelled in various capacities. She expanded her global reach by guest-hosting for Korea’s Broadcasting Corporation (KBS) and later made significant inroads into the U.S. media scene. Joan also plays a pivotal role as an advisor at Magnason Film, a company co-founded by her husband, Mathias Magnason, leveraging her vast media expertise. Known for adding a personal touch, she often brings her renowned dumplings to our U.S. filming locations, much to the crew’s delight.

Mathias Magnason

Founder & Creative Director

Mathias has loved storytelling his entire life. At the age of 5, he was obsessed with Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series. At age 18, his uncle—an award-winning cinematographer—offered him an internship. On the sets of movies and drama TV, Mathias entered the world of visual storytelling. For five years, Mathias assisted in various roles, from producing to directing,  editing, lighting and sound design. He fell in love with the magic, spirit and tenacity of the industry. 

Motivated to create films that would impact the world, Mathias went on his own. The United Nations hired Mathias for his directorial debut, where he shot a documentary about a cultural exchange between two schools in Sweden and Malawi, southern Africa. Working with the African children was so rewarding, they inspired Mathias to continue down the road of making humanitarian-focused documentaries. 

In his second film—“Article 23”—Mathias produced a 20-minute documentary that told the story of Falun Gong, the persecuted spiritual group in China. At a time when no one else would touch the subject, Mathias was able to get it aired on broadcast TV in Sweden. 

In 2010, Mathias moved to the US and founded Magnason Film to continue making impactful documentaries and to produce videos for commercial clients. Since its inception, Magnason Film’s videos and films have earned over 30 film festival awards and garnered millions of views across social media. 

Tireless in his desire to improve his filmmaking craft, Mathias has been studying acting at the Michael Chekhov School of Acting since 2018. He initially began his acting study to improve his communication with actors, but Mathias has found a second love, having as much fun in front of the camera as behind it.