About Rich McKeown

Creator, Producer, Narrator & Musician

Richard McKeown is founder & President of KoolKidz Television & Publishing LLC which to date has garnered over 65 Film Festival selections & awards! KoolKidz brings fresh, intelligent programming to today’s sophisticated children. Our mission is to instill pride & knowledge of self, particularly for children of color, with high quality programs, consisting of original music & artwork that both entertains and educates. KoolKidz Television & Publishing produces work appealing to both children and adults. With exciting characters, terrific stories and amazing music, we teach important lessons for life without being preachy.

Richard is an accomplished musician and producer. Not only did he write Kung Fu Lee his first work, nominated for Best Music Video during the 2005 H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival, he directed the first version, solely performed, produced the soundtrack as well as providing all of the voices. He continues to be the sole composer & producer all of the KoolKidz soundtracks as well as providing the additional voices to the principal narrators. "It's a lot of fun & hard work, but mostly fun!"

Richard, a father of two sons, is passionate about presenting positive and realistic images of Black males in ways that boys as well as girls will enjoy. He believes these images are essential to help boys develop strong character and become exciting men. Richard uses his creativity to produce engaging stories. Other DVD short programs are currently in the making.

About the Director Manauvaskar Kublall

Manauvaskar Kublall is the founder and director of MEDIA SUTRA, an innovative art and design company specializing in the fields of photography, graphic design, film, video and strategic communications.

Manauvaskar is an artist and entrepreneur who utilizes his company as a platform to explore the depths of his creativity and forge partnerships with clients to help them reach their individual or organizational goals. Building on his expertise as a photographer and filmmaker, he ventures into new areas such as design and multi-media to further expand his services and express his creative talents.

Manauvaskar is also the co-founder of Overdose Music, an independent music label. He has worked on various documentaries with well-known filmmakers, at the same time fostering and developing his own projects. Manauvaskar recently visited New Orleans documenting the journey of a family's return to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, four months after they were rescued off their roof due to the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Recently he completed "Lyrical Minded" a 29-minute documentary about the first Hip-Hop/Spoken word curriculum developed for New York City High Schools. His photography was exhibited at the Queens Museum of Art as part of Queens International 2004.

Through Media Sutra he has served as a design consultant for a number of organizations, including East Harlem Tutorial Program, Resource Generation, The Funding Exchange, Kool Kidz Publishing, Rajkumari Center for Indo-Caribbean Arts and Culture, Andre Maurice Press and Blackout Arts Collective. Through Overdose Music, he has produced a number of performance events and helped to market and promote individual artists. www.mediasutra.net