Directory
Studio Of The Americas
Studio Of The Americas is a premiere independent production company. SOTA ( Studio of the Americas) works closely with top filmmakers to develop, produce, and finance feature films with broad market appeal. Studio of the Americas provides the means and the opportunity for the First Peoples of this land to tell their own stories.
Through strategic partnerships with major studios, agencies and foreign sales companies, SOTA produces studio-quality films, offering A-list filmmakers and talent the opportunity to partner with a financier that fosters an environment where both creative and financial decisions are made in a symbiotic manner.
The Team
The People of SOTA
Clifton Chippewa
Chairman & Co-Founder
Native American Affairs Advisor
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan
Chippewa has 32 feature film credits including an Emmy nomination. His credits include: Gran Torino; Real Steel; 8 Mile; A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas; The Ides of March; Flipped; Red Dawn; How to Catch a Monster; Oz The Great and Powerful; Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon; Transformers: The Last Knight; Five Year Engagement; The Butterfly Effect; Jumper and Batman vs. Superman. In his production career, he has worked with: Hugh Jackman, Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Rebecca DeMornay, Rosario Dawson and Benicio Del Toro, and others. Chippewa is an enrolled member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
Robert C. Wilson
CEO & Co-Founder
Wilson is the author of the international best-selling novel Crooked Tree, as well as the screenplay. The New York Times said that Crooked Tree was “An intense, meticulously researched thriller that handles Native American beliefs with both suspense and dignity.” He is the founder of Lake Effect Cinema (LFX), a former trial prosecutor in Detroit, and an attorney with experience in corporate, environmental and entertainment law. Earlier, Wilson was the founder and President of the leading Environmental Management Systems company in the U.S., his company helping many Fortune 100 companies, U.S. government agencies, governments of India and Mauritius, and the World Bank improve their environmental performance. Wilson is an historian of Native American cultures of the Great Lakes region, and he has been the Native American Institute guest lecturer at Michigan State University.
Mark Duff
CFO
Duff is the former head of global tax planning for a multi-national multi-billion-dollar manufacturing conglomerate based outside of Chicago. He was responsible for planning, implementing and defending complex tax strategies for the company in taxing jurisdictions around the world resulting in hundreds of million dollars of tax savings. He is an honor degreed accountant from the University of Texas at Dallas. He also has a Masters of Taxation degree from DePaul University, Chicago. After starting his own accounting/tax business, Duff has assisted companies and individuals with accounting and tax issues, including several large companies on multi-million-dollar acquisitions and dispositions.
Philip H. Viles, Jr.
Native American Advisory Board
Cherokee Nation
Viles is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and served continuously on that Nation’s highest court for over 25 years, 16 years of those as Chief Justice of the Cherokee Nation. He has served on the Georgia Supreme Court as a special justice, and has worked with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist on Cherokee affairs. He also served for ten years as the Bureau of Indian Affairs Chief of the Division of Capital Investment, Office of Indian Energy & Economic Development, Department of the Interior, Washington D.C. He was awarded the Cherokee National Medal of Patriotism in 2003, “in recognition for service to the tribe and upholding the Cherokee Constitution”. Viles is a veteran of the US Air Force and holds six decorations from the United States and two from the Republic of Vietnam
Diane Cheklich
Production
Cheklich is an independent director and producer. She produced the feature, TRAP, a psychological thriller written and directed by James Bonner. In addition, she’s produced or line produced several other features, including Red and Blue Marbles, Magic Mentah, and Barn Red. Ms. Cheklich has also written and directed the feature Offshore, and several short films, including the award-winning experimental short entitled LATE, which has been selected to play in festivals around the world. In addition to her expertise in the film industry, Cheklich’s undergraduate degree is in electrical engineering, and she holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
Giovanni Jackson
Production
Jackson is a former child actor, best known for his roles on TV shows like, Fame, and Different Strokes.
Now, an independent producer with experience in film, television and music.
He produced the feature, Not Another Movie, a satire comedy as an executive producer. In addition he produced Blood: A Butcher's Tale, a horror feature film. Jackson also managed and toured with Michael Jackson on his world-wide tours. Former founder and CEO of a movie production and distribution company.