The Choice: Screening and Talkback with John David Coles, Marianne Engle, and Iris Haim

John David Coles feature directorial debut, Signs Of Life, starring Vincent D’Onofrio and Mary Louise Parker won the International Critics Prize at Deauville. His next project Rising Son with Matt Damon won the Audience Award the next year at Deauville. Other films include Darrow with Kevin Spacey, The Good Fight with Christine Lahti and Friends at Last with Kathleen Turner.

John was executive producer and director of the Emmy Award winning Netflix series House of Cards. Other television directing credits include the Emmy Award winning Homeland, The Right Stuff, Berlin Station, Mr. Mercedes, 11/22/63, Sex and the City, The West Wing, Damages. Executive Producer credits include The Sinner, Thief, which received the Emmy award for Andre Braugher, Elementary with Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Lui, 3LBS with Stanley Tucci, Law and Order: Criminal Intent with Jeff Goldblum, New Amsterdam with Nikolaj Coster Waldau, and Wonderland from creator Peter Berg.

Coles creates original dramas through Talking Wall Pictures, where he co-created and executive produced the series Crash and Burn and produced the CBS drama Songs in Ordinary Time (based on the Oprah Book Club pick) starring Sissy Spacek and Beau Bridges. (Johndavidcoles.com)

Iris Haim is a certified nurse, specializing in palliative care. Since 2011, she has been supporting families and assisting in end-of-life processes, with a focus on dementia patients. Iris has also studied various spiritual disciplines, including mindfulness, spiritual accompaniment, Theta Healing, psychodrama, NLP, Reiki, bioenergy, and positive thinking. Over the course of her 30-year career, Iris found her passion in supportive care. She worked as a hospice nurse and, in 2014, founded the Refuat Haim organization, which is dedicated to supporting and assisting all people in need. She is the mother of Yotam Haim, who was tragically shot by IDF troops after escaping from captivity in Gaza.

Marianne Engle, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and a sports psychologist. Her clients have included professional athletes and teams from the NBA, PGA, and the America’s Cup sailing race in addition to elite athletes in ice skating, baseball, tennis, soccer, water polo, squash, dressage, volleyball, etc. Marianne has written a sports psychology program for youth athletes and coaches to enhance commitment, physical and mental skill building, and group dynamics. She is currently on the faculty of the NYU Langone Medical School. She has held faculty appointments at Harvard, MIT, and UCSD in addition to being a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Sport and Society. She is a board member of the NYU Sport and Society program. Marianne also has a long history as a food writer and cook. She is also the daughter of Dr. Edith Eger, who remind us that you can’t heal what you don’t feel; acknowledging our stories is a step toward freedom.

Rabbi David A. Ingber is Senior Director for Jewish Life and Senior Director of the Bronfman Center at 92NY. A nationally recognized Jewish leader, educator, and teacher of Jewish spirituality, he is the founding rabbi of Romemu, the largest Jewish Renewal synagogue in the United States.

Ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, Rabbi Ingber founded Romemu in New York City in 2006 and later established Romemu Yeshiva, the first fully egalitarian yeshiva dedicated to mystical and meditative Jewish learning and practice.

His approach to Torah, Jewish mysticism, prayer, and spirituality is informed by a broad range of Jewish traditions, philosophy, psychology, and religious thought. Rabbi Ingber has taught and lectured internationally and serves on the faculties of the Wexner Heritage Program and the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America and Israel. He was also an AJWS Global Justice Fellow.

Named by Newsweek as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in the United States and by The Forward as one of America's 50 most notable Jews, Rabbi Ingber is widely recognized for his thoughtful, inclusive approach to Jewish learning. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Ariel, and their three children.