Kapok Pictures, LLC is a film development and production company founded by the husband and wife team of Writer/Producer Daniel Meisel and Writer/Director Amy Wendel.
Our projects have garnered festival awards, including Sundance, as well as theatrical and national television distribution. It has been a priority in our work to portray real women, authentic characters, and underrepresented communities.
Amy Wendel
Director, Writer & Producer
Amy's feature directorial debut, BENAVIDES BORN, which she co-wrote with husband Daniel Meisel, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. The film earned Amy the L’Oreal Paris Women of Vision Award at Sundance and the Adrienne Shelly Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Nantucket Film Festival. Maya Entertainment released the film theatrically and on other platforms under the new title ALL SHE CAN in 2011, and it made its broadcast premiere with HBO in 2012. ALL SHE CAN launched digitally via Sundance’s Artist Services Program in 2013.
Amy is a 2004 alumna of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program. Each of her film school shorts, WEIGHTLESS (2001), COVERED GIRLS (2002), and BODIES (2004), earned festival awards and all of them aired nationally on either Independent Film Channel or Showtime.
In her pre-film days, Amy earned a B.A. from Cornell University, taught 7th grade English and History for Teach for America, earned a Masters in Education from Stanford University, and climbed 8,000-meter peaks, including an attempt on Mt. Everest.
Daniel Meisel
Writer & Producer
Dan co-wrote and produced the independent feature BENAVIDES BORN, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Maya Entertainment distributed the film theatrically under the title ALL SHE CAN, and it aired on HBO. Dan has continued to partner with his writer/director wife, Amy Wendel, on the writing and development of feature film and episodic television projects.
Dan previously wrote, produced, and provided legal services for award- winning short films, including BODIES (2004), FOREIGN POLICY (2005), and COVERED GIRLS (2002), which enjoyed widespread festival screenings and airings on the Independent Film Channel and Showtime Networks.
Before turning to film, Daniel was a litigation attorney with San Francisco's Cooper, White & Cooper. He has written book and film reviews for Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine and The Lancet.
Dan earned a J.D. from U.C. Hastings College of the Law, was a Member of the Hastings Law Journal, Chair of the Moot Court Board, and served two terms on Hastings’ Alumni Board of Governors. He earned a B.A. with Honors from Wesleyan University’s College of Social Studies and has served in local and national board leadership roles for non-profits focused on civil rights and educational opportunity.
Ali Oshinsky
Writer
Ali Oshinsky started her career as a news writer at a radio station in New York City. After several years writing the morning drive newscast, she transitioned to television where she wrote and produced international news for Bloomberg Television. She then ventured into documentary films, working as a researcher and associate producer at Guggenheim Productions in Washington, DC.
Ali earned a B.S. from Cornell University with a degree in communication. When she’s not servicing the needs of her three smelly boys, she can be found knuckle-deep in glitter creating designs for her custom stationery and invitation business.