About the film

Betsy Schecter is an award-winning filmmaker and media executive with over two decades of experience creating and producing high-impact film, television, and branded content. She is the founder of Storyville Entertainment, where she has developed and sold original programming internationally, produced award-winning documentaries, and led major campaigns for brands including Match.com, Jeep, and The Gap. Her directing credits include Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and secured global distribution. A member of the Television Academy, Betsy is known for her creative leadership, strategic vision, and ability to tell powerful, character-driven stories that resonate across platforms.

Lauren Gellert is a senior media executive and creative leader known for building pop-culture franchises, accelerating multi-platform audience growth, and bridging legacy television with the modern creator economy. She blends data-driven strategy with bold creative instincts, cultivating talent and IP that resonate across cable, streaming, and social platforms.

Rising through every level of production—from Production Assistant to Executive Producer—Lauren brings rare, end-to-end fluency in both creative execution and network-level strategy. Most recently, she served as Lead Creative Programming Executive at WEtv, where she developed and oversaw the network’s reality and documentary slate. Under her leadership, WEtv rose to become the number-one network among diverse audiences, expanding its cultural relevance and solidifying its position as a destination for conversation-driven pop culture.

Throughout her career, Lauren has executive produced and overseen programming across virtually every television genre—documentary, competition, dating, game, sketch, and docusoap—creating content for women and adult audiences at major brands including VH1, Court TV, truTV, Ion Media, and WEtv. She has collaborated with award-winning talent and production companies, consistently delivering brand-defining series that drive both ratings and cultural impact.

Currently, Lauren is working with a major studio as Executive Producer on a feature-length documentary and scripted series centered on a young social media star with an extraordinary, real-world story—continuing her focus on talent-driven storytelling at the intersection of media, identity, and influence.

Deeply committed to philanthropy and female storytelling, Lauren founded Taste & Talk in 2023, a purpose-driven women’s salon designed to build community through curated conversations with female thought leaders. In 2026, Taste & Talk expands to four U.S. cities, with a long-term vision of scaling its impact, reach, and charitable footprint year over year.

Horses have been part of Meghan’s life for as long as she can remember. Long before filmmaking, they taught her about trust, patience, and quiet communication—lessons learned through presence rather than words. That lifelong relationship shapes how she approaches Unbridled Hope and the care with which the story is told. A vegan and lifelong animal advocate, Meghan came to this film not as an observer, but as a witness. Standing at horse auctions, watching lives reduced to numbers and bids, she encountered a system built on disposability. Those moments made it impossible to look away—and necessary to begin filming. Through her close collaboration with Penny Parker, founder of Horse Angels Rescue, Meghan was granted rare access to a world often hidden from public view—one defined by urgency, heartbreak, and extraordinary compassion. She shares her life with two rescued ponies, living reminders that nothing is ever truly beyond saving. Meghan holds an MFA from The Actors Studio at The New School, where she honed a storytelling approach rooted in emotional truth and human connection. Unbridled Hope is a story of second chances—an offering of grace, and a quiet belief in a more humane future.