about us
Croma Pictures is an independent production company founded by Monica Ma and William Cross, two people with very different backgrounds but shared dreams and values. In these polarizing times, we are telling stories that revere the nuances of individual perspectives and shared experiences.
We are currently working on our full-length feature, an untitled documentary about the socio-economic transformation of rural West Tennessee as a result of a new multi-billion dollar factory.
Monica Ma
Producer / Director
Monica is a Chinese-American filmmaker from Los Angeles who has spent the last decade traveling, studying, and working in more than 40 countries. She began making short films while living in Istanbul, motivated by a desire to portray the people and communities around her truthfully, free from the common stereotypes and assumptions that often pervade Western portrayals of the region. Her debut short film, Another Country, follows her friend Selmat's journey from Xinjiang to Istanbul, driven by the pressures of family and country.
Before founding Croma Pictures, Monica worked in Washington, D.C., conducting research and writing on human rights issues for the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, and managing partnerships and grants for Carnegie China. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in History from UCLA and earned an M.A. in International Development from the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland.
William Cross
Producer
William Cross is a graduate of Brown University, where he studied history and played Division I soccer. Will is particularly fascinated by the effects of the automobile on American urban development and culture. His interest in urban studies led him to intern with the Metro Nashville Planning Department, for which he wrote a lengthy research report on Transferable Development Rights in 2017. Since then, he has honed his research skills at the intersection of the legal and financial industries across multiple professional roles.
An avid cyclist with a passion for travel, Will rode a bicycle from Portugal to Turkey in the summer of 2021. He attended Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School in Nashville Tennessee, where he grew up.