Welcome to 5 Stick Films, where storytelling meets social impact. We are a production company dedicated to crafting visual media that not only entertains but also enlightens and inspires.
At 5 Stick Films, we believe in the power of cinema to create change. Our mission is to produce stories that raise awareness about social justice issues, celebrate diverse cultures, and explore the human condition with depth and compassion.
TEAM
BENJAMIN BRATT
Actor / Producer
Benjamin Bratt’s distinguished career includes the critically acclaimed films Piñero, for which he was lauded for his “career-defining” performance as poet-playwright-actor Miguel Piñero; Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, which received five Academy Award nominations and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Ensemble Cast; and Curtis Hansen’s The River Wild opposite Meryl Streep.
Bratt can currently be seen in Rian Johnson’s hit limited series from Peacock, Poker Face, alongside Natasha Lyonne and Adrian Brody. He also serves as executive producer on the Academy shortlisted documentary short film, Wings of Dust, directed by Giorgio Ghiotto. The film follows Indigenous Peruvian journalist Vidal Merma in his fight for dignity and clean water, as he tries to bring attention to the environmental injustice wrought by modern industrialization in his Quechua community of Espinar, Cusco. Wings of Dust won the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards in October 2023.
Earlier this year, Bratt was seen in the Walter Hill western, Dead for a Dollar, in which he stars alongside Christoph Waltz and Willem Dafoe. Bratt also starred in the Ava DuVernay directed limited series DMZ opposite Rosario Dawson for HBO Max, for which he received an Imagen Award nomination.
A veteran of more than 25 films, Bratt’s other work of note includes Taylor Hackford’s i; Brad Furman’s The Infiltrator opposite Bryan Cranston; Phillip Noyce’s Clear and Present Danger opposite Harrison Ford; Donald Petrie’s beloved blockbuster comedy Miss Congeniality opposite Sandra Bullock; Love in the Time of Cholera, co-starring Javier
Bardem; Mike Mill’s Thumbsucker opposite Tilda Swinton; and Ric Roman Waugh’s Snitch alongside Dwayne Johnson. He also appeared the worldwide blockbuster Doctor Strange for Marvel. Prior to that, he was seen in Tim Story’s Ride Along 2 opposite Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, which opened number one at the box office. Bratt has also enjoyed great success as a voice over artist, having voiced the super villain ‘El Macho’ in the worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me 2, and the voice of ‘Manny’ in the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and its sequel.
Bratt voiced the famed musician ‘Ernesto de la Cruz’ in Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film Coco. The adored animated picture received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards for ‘Best Animated Feature’ and ‘Best Original Song’ for ‘Remember Me.’ Other notable awards include the Golden Globe Award for ‘Best Animated Feature Film,’ ‘Best Animated Film’ by the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle, the BAFTA for ‘Best Animated Film’ and 11 Annie Awards including ‘Best Animated Feature.’
In 2010, Bratt won Cinequest’s Maverick Spirit Award for his work as producer and star of the acclaimed independent hit La Mission. Written and directed by his brother Peter Bratt, the locally produced San Francisco film garnered much critical praise, winning a Best Indie
Film nomination from the NAACP, a GLAAD award nomination, and multiple Imagen Awards, including two wins for Best Picture and Best Actor.
Continuing his work with his brother, Bratt served as Consulting Producer for the 2017 documentary film Dolores, which centers on the work of labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. Written and directed by brother Peter, the Emmy-nominated film won a Peabody Award as well as numerous other accolades, including the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the SF International Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Houston Latino Film Festival. The documentary aired on PBS in February 2018.
Television audiences perhaps best recognize Bratt from his Emmy-nominated role as 'Detective Rey Curtis’ on NBC’s long-running drama Law & Order. Other credits include the A&E drama series The Cleaner, for which he also served as producer. His portrayal of real-life extreme interventionist ‘William Banks’ garnered him the 2009 Alma Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Bratt also recurred as Sofia Vergara’s ne’er-do-well ex-husband ‘Javier’ on Modern Family.
PETER BRATT
Writer / Director / Producer
Peter is a Rockefeller Fellow, a Peabody Award winner, and an Emmy-nominated film producer, writer, director. His credits include writing, directing, and producing La Mission which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, received the prestigious Norman Lear Writers Award and was one of the ten American independent films selected by the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities to launch the Sundance Film Forward program. He also wrote, produced, and directed the critically-acclaimed documentary Dolores, about civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, which was executive produced by legendary musician Carlos Santana. Dolores debuted at the 2017 Sundance Film festival and won numerous awards, including a 2019 Peabody Award and a Critics Circle Award. Distributed by PBS and Independent Lens, the celebrated film was also nominated for a 2019 Emmy award. Most recently, he executive produced and directed the ABC primetime special, Soul of a Nation: Corazon de America., Raised by a strong Indigenous single mother from Peru, his family was part of the Indians of All Tribes occupation of Alcatraz, the Wounded Knee stand- off, Northwest Fishing Rights struggle, and the Farm Workers Movement. His long-standing commitment to increasing visibility of Indigenous peoples, community engagement, and policy change is reflected in his film work as well as his 28 years of leadership at the Friendship House Association of American Indians – an Indigenous-led non- profit that provides vital social services to the thousands of Native Americans living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
ALPITA PATEL
Producer
A former William Morris motion picture agent who is now a manager/producer, Patel is currently serving as an executive producer under her 5 Sticks Films banner, on the Academy shortlisted documentary short film, Wings of Dust, directed by Giorgio Ghiotto. The film recently won the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards in October 2023.
5 Stick Films was created by Patel, actor/producer Benjamin Bratt, and writer/director, Peter Bratt, to focus on projects promoting social consciousness and social justice. Working with emerging filmmakers on subjects that are often erased is an important goal for 5 Stick.
With Benjamin and Peter, she produced the Peabody Award winning documentary, Dolores, which debuted in competition at Sundance and was distributed by PBS and Independent Lens. The film has won various awards including an International Emmy and a Critics Choice Award. Her first feature film with 5 Stick, La Mission, also debuted at Sundance and won 4 Imagen Awards (including Best Picture) and was nominated for a GLAAD AWARD and a NAACP Image Award.
She recently served as the Supervising Producer on the ABC Primetime special, Soul of a Nation: Corazon de America. She also co-produced the Ravi Kapoor directed comedy, Miss India America, starring Tiya Sircar and Hannah Simone, which was distributed by MarVista.
Alpita brings a variety of experience as a producer and former rep. From working with talent, overseeing story and script development, budgeting, festival strategy, extensive on-set producing experience, post production notes, being involved with distribution strategy, running an awards campaign on limited funds, and more, Patel’s vast knowledge of the business makes her integral from start to finish.
Outside of 5 Stick, Alpita is also attached to a produce an independent feature, Generationals, with Daniel Ross Noble, written and to be directed by Suhashini Krishnan.
Alpita started her entertainment industry career in the ICM Mailroom, she was promoted to Motion Picture Talent Agent after transferring to the William Morris Agency. During Patel’s tenure as an agent she worked with many actors including Alfre Woodard, Radha Mitchell, Josh Brolin, Anne Hathaway, Alessandro Nivola, Patrick Stewart, Liev Schreiber and Benjamin Bratt. As a manager, she guided developed and guided careers such as Hannah Simone who went from a MuchMusic VJ to a series regular on New Girl to a creator/EP/star of her own pilot for ABC.
Patel received her degree from the University of Wisconsin. She resides in Los Angeles.
