The Team

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Cecilia Soghikian is a producer, writer, performer, and lifelong athlete whose work centers on authentic storytelling, collaboration, and amplifying underrepresented voices. After earning a BFA in Theater Performance with a minor in Psychology from Chapman University, Cecilia built her career producing commercials, music videos, independent films, and live productions, working with artists and brands including Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Tate McRae, Nissan, and Netflix. Her background spans both the entertainment and theater worlds, bringing a unique blend of creative vision, logistical expertise, and people-first leadership to every project she undertakes.

A dedicated athlete since childhood, Cecilia grew up playing nearly every sport available—from soccer, basketball, softball, skiing, lacrosse, rugby, and tennis to countless other competitive and recreational sports. She continues to prioritize athletics and movement in her daily life through tennis, running, yoga, Pilates, golf, and pickleball. Sports have shaped her understanding of discipline, teamwork, resilience, and identity, making Making Waves a deeply personal project. The film's exploration of a young woman fighting for her place in a male-dominated athletic environment resonates with Cecilia's lifelong belief in the power of sports to build confidence, create opportunity, and transform lives.

As writer and producer of Making Waves, Cecilia is passionate about helping bring a timely and necessary story to the screen—one that highlights the barriers female athletes continue to face while celebrating their determination, talent, and perseverance. She is honored to help develop a film that sits at the crossroads of two of her greatest passions: storytelling and women's sports, and hopes the project will inspire meaningful conversations about equity, opportunity, and the next generation of female athletes.

Jakob Zieman  is an award-winning, Los Angeles-based director, writer, and editor whose work spans narrative film, music videos, commercials, and branded content. A Webby Award winner with multiple film festival honors, he has spent his career shaping the visual identity of some of the biggest names in music and entertainment, editing hundreds of high-profile campaigns and collaborating with artists including Usher, Camila Cabello, the Jonas Brothers, Keke Palmer, Joey Bada$$, and Tyga. His commercial work includes projects for Netflix, Lionsgate, Nike, Meta, Amazon, Starbucks, Footlocker, Gap, and Oakley, consistently delivering bold, polished, and memorable content across both story-driven and fast-turnaround formats.

His dual background as director and editor gives him a rare command of visual storytelling, rhythm, and performance, along with a production instinct for getting the most out of every frame and every shooting day.

As director of Making Waves, Jakob brings a sharp cinematic eye and a grounded indie sensibility to a story that must feel both intimate and athletic. His focus is capturing the physical intensity of water polo while keeping the film rooted in Allie's emotional journey, the mother-daughter relationship at its heart, and the team bonds that make the championship run matter.

Jakob's Website

Dave Brown is writer and producer of Making Waves, a story shaped by his lifelong involvement with the aquatics community . A two-time high school All-American swimmer, Dave walked on to the Stanford swim team as a freshman and earned a spot on the roster. He later spent more than 25 years teaching and coaching youth and high school swimming.

Dave’s connection to the world of Making Waves is deeply personal. More than 40 years ago, he was a member of a boys’ high school water polo team that included two female teammates — an experience that helped inspire the film. He later was an assistant coach for Miramonte High School’s first girls’ water polo team that included four-time Olympic medalist, Heather Petri.

Dave’s background as a teacher, coach, and public servant also informs the world of Making Waves. He spent three years as a high school teacher and served  on the West Contra Costa school board, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and as Chief of Staff to three County Supervisors. He also served on the Federated Council of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) that oversees high school athletics in California. Through these experiences, Dave has a firsthand understanding of schools, athletics, community politics, public accountability, and the institutional pressures that shape the lives of young people and families.

Dave is also the writer/director/producer of two short films: happyangrysad, a raw and powerful drama about a man who must confront his bipolar diagnosis in order to repair his relationship with his wife and young daughter; and Te Amo Papá, a bittersweet story about a 13 year old girl searching for connection with the father she lost — a story of grief, memory, and the enduring love between parent and child.