Andy Awes

Andy Awes is the President of Committee Films and has been working professionally in film and video production as a director, producer, editor and Tom Hanks’ stand-in for over 20 years. That’s 140 in dog years.

In addition to turning the company into a production powerhouse, Andy has been Executive Producer and Showrunner for ABC’s hit docudrama series, In An Instant, Travel Channel’s, America Unearthed, Investigation Discovery’s Serial Killer: Devil Unchained and History Channel’s Found and True Monsters.  Long before the success of his series work, Andy’s first foray into television came in 2009 when he directed and produced the 2-hour documentary special Holy Grail in America for History Channel. It was so well received, it helped Committee Films launch America Unearthed, H2’s top-rated show – which aired an impressive 39 episodes and was re-booted on Travel Channel in 2019.  Andy has also produced multiple specials and pilots for National Geographic, History Channel, Travel Channel, MSNBC and HGTV.

Whew.  As if that’s not enough…

Andy’s television work doesn’t stop at successful network and cable programming. He continues to direct and edit national spots, digital content and brand campaigns for companies such as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Sperry, Dairy Queen, Herman Miller and Alice’s Wig Warehouse. (Okay, the last one’s a joke. But if Alice were ever to want cool branding, he’d be all over it. But we all know Alice.)

Maria Awes

Maria Awes is Sr. Vice President, Executive Producer and Head of Development for Committee Films. She also holds the title for most titles. Prior to coming on board, she spent 10.2 years (she’s very detailed) in broadcast journalism where she won multiple Emmys and the Edward R. Murrow award for her investigative projects. In 2009, after realizing her journalism award shelf had no more room, she decided to turn her talents toward one of her two other passions: producing and writing TV series and specials – or cooking.  While she’s been known to make a mean pork slider, she’s even better at cooking up ideas for kick-$*% television shows.

Since the success of her first television special, Holy Grail in America on HISTORY, she’s gone on to produce a LOT more content – including the hit docudrama series In An Instant on ABC.  She spent three years as the Executive and Series Producer for H2’s top-rated show, America Unearthed, oversaw the new HISTORY series True Monsters and was an EP on Top of the World for Travel Channel.  Specials she’s developed, produced or written include Who Really Discovered America, Bigfoot Captured, Secrets of Einstein’s Brain, and Nostradamus: 21st Century Prophecies Revealed – all for HISTORY – and Mystery of Easter Island for National Geographic/NOVA.

Maria has also done not too shabby of a job overseeing the successful, rapid growth of the company, which now employs nearly 30 people in varying roles.  That’s a lot more than the 4 it started with!

Is there anything she doesn’t do?  Yes, get enough sleep.  But – on the bright side she does still cook every night for her family while she and her husband Andy prep their two young children to take over the world, or at least the company, someday.

Secrets of Einstein’s Brain

2015 marks the 60th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s death, and the subsequent disappearance of his brain. After his brain was stolen by the doctor trusted to perform his autopsy, the priceless specimen was examined by scientists whose goal was to try and determine what made this seemingly normal man change the face of science and define the word genius. This documentary follows the path of Einstein’s physical brain and all the places it traveled, while simultaneously telling the story of Einstein the man. It dives deep into Einstein’s life, his theories and not just what we’ve learned about the human brain by studying his, but what we have yet to learn.