THE TEAM
LEA DE CARMO
Director / Producer / Editor
Léa de Carmo is a Portuguese-French filmmaker working between Los Angeles and Paris. With roots in performing arts and a strong visual sensibility shaped by her background in film production, she crafts intimate, time-infused narratives that blur the lines between documentary and fiction. Her work is driven by memory, place, and the invisible traces left behind by people and stories. Back to Bagdad Café is her first feature documentary, a contemplative return to a cinematic landmark, where past and present gently collide.
VISHAL SOLANKI
Cinematographer / Executive Producer / Editor
Vishal produced, co-directed, and shot Caffeinated (2015, Amazon Prime), a feature documentary filmed in ten countries that premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. He is currently an associate producer on the series We Are the Los Angeles We Have Been Waiting For, part of the EveryoneInLA campaign to end homelessness. A member of the International Documentary Association and the Asian American Documentary Network, he heads Evoke Mediaworks LLC and teaches cinematography at Santa Monica College and Duke University. His work has appeared on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, MTV, PBS, and international broadcasters.
ATANAS GEORGIEV
Consultant Editor
Atanas Georgiev is an Academy Award–nominated producer, director, and editor, and co-owner of Trice Films and FilmTrick, subsidiaries of FX3X in Macedonia. His debut feature Cash & Marry won multiple international awards, and his producing and editing work on Honeyland (2019) earned three Sundance awards and two Academy Award nominations. He also produced and edited Avec l’Amour (2017), which premiered at Hot Docs, and contributed to the editorial team of The Truffle Hunters (2020), a Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee and winner of Best Documentary at the Adelaide Film Festival.
JOANNA GAGUECHE
Executive producer
Joanna Gagueche is a French executive producer based in Paris. With a background in acting and cross-cultural production, she brings a uniquely creative and collaborative approach to storytelling. After training as an actress in both France and the U.S, Joanna naturally found herself moving behind the camera, eager to help bring original and meaningful projects to life. She has since self-produced several short films and is continuing to explore new formats. As an executive producer, Joanna is committed to building bridges between creative teams in Europe and the U.S., while supporting emerging voices and ambitious, genre-blending narratives. In 2024, she further developed this approach through her work on the documentary Back to Bagdad Café.
ASIA BONETTO
Co-Producer
Asia Bonetto is a Los Angeles–based freelance film producer originally from Italy. A graduate of Santa Monica College with three associate degrees in film production, she co-produced Broken Layers, winner of the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. She is currently co-producing the feature documentary Back to Bagdad Café, alongside projects such as Girls of Enghelab Street, Donut Boy, Slim Chances, and an artistic collaboration with DoDo. Known for balancing creativity with strong compliance and safety expertise, Asia brings a multicultural perspective and multilingual background to every production, making her a dynamic voice among a new generation of producers.