Dan Gordon

Professional screenwriter and co-founder of the Zaki Gordon Institute, Dan Gordon, has been the screenwriting instructor at the film school since its inception. He travels from LA weekly to teach at the Zaki Gordon Institute and also finds time to teach at Columbia, UCLA and USC film programs.

As a master storyteller, Dan creates indelible characters and relationships, which have afforded actors the opportunity to play some of their most unforgettable roles. From Kevin Bacon's haunting portrayal of Henry Young in Murder in the First to Kevin Costner's darkly heroic lawman in Wyatt Earp, from Aiden Quinn's conflicted spy in The Assignment to Denzel Washington's towering portrayal of Rubin Carter in The Hurricane. Gordon's characters are marked by their struggle to maintain their humanity in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Dan Gordon graduated UCLA as a film and television major and later served as a Sergeant in the Israeli Army. His film credits include: Tank, Gulag, Passenger 57, Wyatt Earp, Murder in the First, The Assignment, The Hurricane and the upcoming Celestine Prophecy. He is, in addition, the author of five novels. He has been a member of the Directors Guild of America since 1985.

Stephan Schultze

An active industry professional as a screenwriter, cinematographer, director, Stephan Schultze is the founding director of the Zaki Gordon Institute. Schultze has been instrumental in the development and oversight of the film school for the past eight years.

Stephan Schultze began his career in advertising before moving to Los Angeles in 1989 to pursue a career in the film industry. Once in Hollywood, he worked his way up through the ranks, while learning the crafts from the best, including projects directed by James Cameron and Ron Underwood. Schultze has worked in every aspect of the industry including major motion pictures (The Abyss, Tremors, Henson Productions), television (Drew Carey Show, HBO, Showtime), music videos, commercials, industrial videos and countless independent films. As Director of Photography he has worked with all media formats, including 70mm, and High Definition.

Schultze's credits include The Lesser Evil, an independent film he coauthored and co-produced with Jeremy Levine (MGM). As founding director of the Zaki Gordon Institute for Independent Filmmaking, he enjoys sharing his experience and encouraging new talent. In addition, Schultze sits on the board of the Sedona International Film Festival & Workshop and works tirelessly to support the growth of the film industry in Arizona.

Bryan Reinhart

Bryan Reinhart is coordinator of the documentary program at the Zaki Gordon Institute. Reinhart teaches documentary filmmaking, as well as master seminars in editing. An active editor and documentarian, he finds it just as important to take the time to teach.

A native of Northwest Indiana, Reinhart was raised in a theatrical family and was on stage at the age of 6. By the age of 13 he was making short films. He worked in the entertainment industry in a variety of positions including producer, director, and editor for both film and television.

Reinhart’s first Hollywood experience was producing a documentary on the feature film "Hoosiers." Reinhart went from film to television and produced the nationally televised American Highways for Public Television. In the 1980’s,Reinhart started his own television production company and produced corporate and industrial projects for Fortune 500 companies as well as documentaries. Several of his documentaries were aired nationally on public television. Classroom Under The Canopy, filmed in Costa Rica, was produced in cooperation with Indiana University and the Indianapolis Zoo. The Eyes of Nepal aired in Australia and the US.

Zirque Bonner

Bass player and freelance musician since 1988. While he studied at Bassist Rufis Reid he worked extensively in the NY area where he performed and/or recorded with many jazz artists such as; Brad Meldeau, Eric Alexander, Buddy Montgomery, Cedar Walton.

Zirque was the recipient of the Milt Hinton Jazz Award in 1990, and a guest performer at the International Society of Bassists Convention and the JVC Jazz Festival. He also played as Assistant Principle Bassist for the Wayne Chamber Orchestra 1988-1991.

Since moving to Sedona in 1992, Zirque has toured Germany, Greece, Morocco, Spain and the United States with guitarists Ralf Illenberger, Chris Spheris and Stanley Jordan. Locally, Zirque has performed with jazz artists Stanley Jordan and Saxophonist Lee Konitz. He has recorded with Native American flute musician R. Carlos Naki, and enjoys performing with Guitarist William Eaton. In 2002 , he graduated from NAU while studying under bassist Joel DiBartolo.

Today, Zirque is the Director of Music and Arts Department Chair at Verde Valley School and teaches sound design as adjunct faculty for the Zaki Gordon Institute.

Daniel Helberg

Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs for The Weinstein Company, focusing on the development, production and distribution of scripted and non-scripted television programming, and the distribution of feature films to television and new media outlets.

Dan recently moved to The Weinstein Company from Stone & Company Entertainment, a leading producer of non-scripted and factual television shows, where he headed up the business and legal affairs group.

A graduate of Northwestern University, Dan began his career in media as an account executive for advertising firms in Chicago. He attended the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television, earning his Masters of Fine Arts. Helberg produced award-winning short films, including two films selected for screening at the Sundance Film Festival.

After graduating from USC, Dan served as a production manager and line producer on independent feature films, commercials and industrials. While earning his legal degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Dan worked in the business and legal affairs departments of the William Morris Agency and Motown Records. Like many people gaining experience in Hollywood, he also worked for Roger Corman at Concorde-New Horizons.

After producing his first feature film, “The Lesser Evil”, which was released by MGM, he joined Tomorrow Film Corporation as Vice President of Production where he developed and produced independent features for the production and sales company.

Dan lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife Leigh and their two children. As an Adjunct Professor at the Zaki Gordon Institute where he teaches up-and-coming filmmakers about the business of filmmaking.