Episode 204: Dr. Nidhi Gupta, Filmmaker, Doctor

For this episode, I spoke with Dr. Nidhi Gupta. Nidhi is a medical doctor with England’s NHS service and a filmmaker. After working in the covid unit, she contracted covid herself and she is still recovering. At the same time, she is a filmmaker and is directing a documentary called Start. Stop. Repeat. for which she is currently crowdfunding with the backing of funding platform Greenlit, which will examine the history of pandemics in interviews with scholars, activists and political figures. You have a few more days to contribute so go to  https://greenlit.fund/project/start-stop-repeat and chip in.

Episode 190: Gabriela Ledesma and Callie Schuttera, Filmmakers

For this episode, I got to speak with the founders of the production company, Poison Pictures: Gabriela Ledesma and Callie Schuttera. The pair met in 2015 and have since written and produced countless projects together including comedy specials, feature films, live events, commercials, and documentaries.

​Their work has been featured and acclaimed by Film Pulse, CherryPicks, Film Threat, Film Inquiry, and more.

We talked about their journeys, both before each other and together, and their film Blue, which you can find on Amazon Prime.  

Episode 189: Mary Montiforte, Production Executive

Mary Montiforte is the Vice President of Physical Production at Endeavor Content. She originally came up through production accounting and producing as a freelancer, then moved into staff positions in production finance and physical production.

Her longest stint was as a staff production controller for NBCUniversal before moving on to Lionsgate and now Endeavor Content. Some of her credits include 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Santa Clause 2, Thirteen Days, Air Force One and a crowd favorite The Commitments - just to barely scratch the surface.

Amongst everything else, we talked about the tenacity and persistence it takes to have longevity in this career.

Episode 188: Carolina Groppa, Producer

Carolina is a Brazilian born Emmy nominated producer living in Los Angeles.

She produced the award winning and 2017 Emmy nominated documentary AUTISM IN LOVE, which explores how adults with autism find and navigate romantic relationships.   Her narrative feature films include MISS VIRGINIA, starring Uzo Aduba, the Netflix Originals GIRLFRIEND'S DAY and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. She co-produced THE FEMALE BRAIN, Whitney Cummings' directing debut feature film, and also produced SYLVIE'S LOVE which had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. 

She also has her own podcast that you should check out – it’s called Life with Caca – It’s a podcast of intimate and honest conversations with producers from all corners of the entertainment industry.

It shines a light on the many career paths that exist under the umbrella of producing, the messy, unglamorous realities behind the title, and why we love it so much.

Episode 187: Becky Morrison, Founder

The production process when it comes to film, television, and advertising has lately been seen as outdated and needs to be simplified to be able to adhere to society’s needs for more diverse creators and stories. When Becky Morrison founded The Light, a production studio in Brooklyn, NY, she did it with a simple mission: change the culture of production, overhauling an outdated model in favor of one founded on values of equality, transparency and inclusion. She aims to create a system that prioritizes people, profit and the environment, responding to the ever-evolving economic landscape of the advertising industry. With that set model, Becky and The Light team have been able to secure work for brands like Lexus, JCPenney, and A&E. We spoke in her Brooklyn studio on a snowy day in NY.

Episode 186: Edith Mudge, Composer

This episode is brought to you by:

Edith is a composer and music producer. To date, her music has been placed in 790 episodes of 259 series.  Due to her rigorous 3-year training at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions and Bleeding Fingers, and 2 years of full-time composing at Jingle Punks, Edith has acquired a comprehensive set of musical, technical, and collaborative skills.  Her composing credits include YouTube Premium series Step Up: High Water, Saturday Night Live, and Showtime's The Circus, as well as a plethora of reality TV series, including Queer Eye, Project Runway, and The Real Housewives franchise. She currently composes for TV, film, podcasts, live theater and more, with a specialty in electronic drama, synth pop, and choral music. She told me all about being one of few women in this space, and you will hear her music right here.

Episode 185: Kate Chamuris, Filmmaker

This episode is brought to you by:

Kate Chamuris. Kate is a producer & director who recently won a Gold, Student Academy Award and a BAFTA student award for producing the American Film Institute short film MILLER & SON. She also produced the AFI thesis films, BALLOON and IF THIS IS WRONG. For the AFI Directing Workshop for Women, Kate produced UNSPEAKABLE and BLOCKS.  

Her directing work includes the comedic short A SARI FOR PALLAVI (winner, Best Comedy Short at Rhode Island International Film Festival).  

Prior to narrative filmmaking, Kate worked as an advertising account manager for ROLEX Global at J. Walter Thompson. While there she produced the branded feature documentary “Deepest Dive: The Story of the Trieste,” directed by Fisher Stevens that aired on National Geographic and BBC Worldwide. Kate resides in Los Angeles, CA and produces feature films for dir/writer Jeremy Merrifield and his production company, Dream Three Films.

You can watch her two Oscar Qualified Live Action Shorts at the links below:

BALLOON - http://bit.ly/Balloon_SOTW

MILLER & SON - http://bit.ly/MillerSon_SOTW

Social handle on Instagram & Twitter - @katechamuris 

Episode 181: Heidi Nel, Social Impact Executive

This episode is brought to you by:

Heidi Nel is the Executive Director of Good Films Impact. She previously served as the head of The Raben Group’s Impact Entertainment division where she provided pro‐social consultation to leaders in media, entertainment, and philanthropy. Clients included the American Film Institute, The Fledgling Fund, One Community, PBS, Sony Pictures TV, and YouTube, as well as independent filmmakers, artists, and change makers.

With nearly two decades working in entertainment, advocacy, strategic communications, and public engagement, Heidi is a leader in the social impact field, with unique insight and expertise in advancing cultural and policy change through stories and film. Her issue‐area expertise includes criminal justice reform, immigration, sexual assault, and gender and racial equity.

Prior to The Raben Group, Heidi was a Partner at Picture Motion where she led the Washington, D.C. office. She began her career at Ghost House Pictures where she co‐produced an original web and TV mini‐series for Comcast, and managed marketing at Lionsgate for Grindstone Entertainment films. In addition to her work on Just Mercy through the development of the Represent Justice campaign, she has led impact strategy and successful engagement campaigns tied to award‐winning films, such as Batkid Begins, The Best of Enemies, Food Chains, Happening, The Human Experiment, The Hunting Ground, The Invisible War, The Return, Racing Extinction, and The Rape of Recy Taylor.

Heidi has guest lectured at Boston University and the George Washington University, and was an adjunct instructor at Duke University in the Sanford School of Public Policy. She has been featured in Variety, Real Screen, Screen Daily, Washington Life Magazine, and HuffPost; has been recognized by the Case Foundation as a “Millennial Leader to Follow”; and received the Media Impact Award from the PVBLIC Foundation and the United Nations Office for Partnerships. Originally from South Africa, Heidi grew up in Colorado and attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she majored in modern dance. She is currently completing an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband and dog. 

Episode 179: Jessie Levandov and Nina Reyes, Co Founders & Directors of Mala Forever

This episode is brought to you by:

Jessie Levandov and Nina Reyes are the Co-Founders & Directors of Mala Forever. Mala Forever is an award-winning, women-run film and digital studio based in LA and NYC.

They develop and produce films, new media, and commissioned work that centers unheard voices. They are redefining the future of filmmaking through equitable production practices, and their growing community-based platform is a cultural hub for the radical femme revolution. 

Jessie is an award-winning community-based filmmaker, creative director, and educator. Her queer documentary series Signified was presented by the Guggenheim Lab, and her short film The Greggs won the Spirit Award at Slamdance. Her work has been featured in publications such as Teen Vogue, Huffington Post and Them. Jessie is committed to storytelling as a tool for social justice, and served as the longtime program director of Youth Documentary Workshop at New York’s Educational Video Center.

Nina is a countercultural filmmaker and creative director whose work is grounded in her point of view as a mixed-race first-generation Mexican-American and Jewish woman. Her feature-length screenplay La Paz was a finalist for the 2017 Latino Screenwriting Project; her short films, Organism and Invisible Men, have won press and played at festivals around the world including Outfest, Frameline, and HBO: New York Latino Film Festival. They both are fellow NYU alums with BFA’s from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts – go violets.

You can follow them on the social media @_MalaForever_

Episode 178: Natalie Metzger, Writer, Director, Producer

This episode is brought to you by:

For this episode, I spoke with Natalie Metzger, who is the VP of Development and Production for Vanishing Angle. Natalie is a Spirit Award nominated producer whose credits include Jim Cummings’ newest film THE WEREWOLF, GREENER GRASS (Sundance, SXSW), THUNDER ROAD (Grand Jury Award - SXSW), THE ROBBERY (Sundance), MATPAT’S GAME LAB (Streamy Award), Lil Dicky’s FREAKY FRIDAY (over 506 million views), HYDRANGEA (Vimeo Staff Pick), THE ARRIVAL (Jury Award - Napa Valley Film Festival), THE STOP (Vimeo Staff Pick), virtual reality miniseries GLOBAL GAMER, among numerous others. 

Her directing credits include AT&T original documentary ALONE IN THE GAME (AFI Docs, Frameline, Outfest); healthcare documentary SPECIAL BLOOD (Best Feature Documentary - CWFF); PSA “Topless Women Talk NFL” (featured in Washington Post, Huffington Post, Vice); and numerous award-winning commercials and short films. 

Also an accomplished writer, Metzger won the Gold Prize at the Page International Screenwriting Awards for her sci-fi script IMMORTAL.

Metzger holds a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University

Episode 177: Susie Singer Carter, Writer, Director, Producer, Actor

This episode is brought to you by:

Susie’s website bio says this: “If you asked five-year-old Susie what she wanted to be when she grew up, she’d have placed her hands defiantly on either side of her pink tutu and said, “Everything. Duh!” And that is what she has done. She’s a writer, producer, actor, musician. She sat down, we became immediate friends, and talked about everything – marriage, divorce, parenting, daughtering. She recently made an autobiographical short film about alzheimer’s called My Mom and the Girl, starring the great Valerie Harper, which she’ll tell us all about, and you can see her dancing hip hop on facebook all the time. She has the media company called Go Girl Media.

And here are all the links:

MY MOM AND THE GIRL

TRAILER - https://vimeo.com/183072790

AMAZON VIDEO - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NDQPGXL

ITUNES - https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/my-mom-and-the-girl/id137275414

GOOGLE PLAY - https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/My_Mom_and_the_Girl?id=P6LORPD00no

Women writer documentaries

Women Who Wrote The Way - https://vimeo.com/207360299/bbbf9385e6

Breaking Good - https://vimeo.com/266981218

Music Video

Bad Dreams in Hollywood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF00Et4vHxE

Episode 176: Eline Mets, Writer, Producer, Motocross Racer

This episode is brought to you by:

Eline Mets is creating a series about women in motocross. She got tired of waiting for someone else to do it, so like a real badass woman, she’s doing it herself. Originally from Estonia, Eline is a motocross champion and the first woman in Canada to jump her dirt bike onto an airbag. Passionate about motorcycles and filmmaking, Eline is dedicated to telling stories of badass women. With a background in creating non-fiction content for years, Diaries of Badass Chicks is her directorial scripted series debut. She started a crowd funding for a webseries, and then realized it’s much bigger than that when she received videos and encouragement from women all over the world.
www.badasschicks.tv

Episode 175: Marquette Jones, Filmmaker, Professor, Podcaster

This episode is brought to you by:

Marquette Jones began her filmmaking journey in her hometown, Youngstown, Ohio. Marquette is an alumna of New York University’s Film and Television Production graduate program. Before becoming a filmmaker, Marquette was a public interest attorney and social entrepreneur in Oakland, California.  

Her feature film screenplay, AFTER THE JUMP, http://www.afterthejumpmovie.com/, which is currently in development, was recently selected for the Athena Screenwriting Lab in Los Angeles and was a finalist in the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, Broad Humor Film Festival as well as a semi-finalist in the Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition. It was also selected to participate in the Women in Film/ Sundance Institute’s Film Financing and Strategy Intensive.

Her directing work includes FORGIVING CHRIS BROWN, ROUND ON BOTH SIDES, TUNK, HEROES WANTED and STREETS 2 SUITES (lensed by Bradford Young).  Her films have been featured on Amazon Video, PBS, Showtime, KweliTV, Aspire TV, BET, IFC, StreamPlix and other broadcast & digital outlets. She has also directed several commercial spots, which led to both a Telly Award and Aurora Award for excellence in storytelling.

As a producer, Marquette’s credits include Andrea Williams’ SPOONFUL OF SUGAR, Alrick Brown’s ADVENTURES OF SUPERN*GGER, and Tamika Guishard’s JACKIE. Her past filmmaking-related awards include: New York University’s Warner Bros. Production Award, Panasonic‘s “P2 for a Cause” Grand Prize Winner, Fotokem Film Processing Grant, Woods Hole Film Festival, Best Short Screenplay Winner for “Free’s Rain”, ProMotion Pictures / Heineken Branded Entertainment Shorts Competition Winner, Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival Best Short Narrative, and First Run Festival’s Producing Award.

When she is not busy writing, producing or directing, Marquette hosts the Directing Magic podcast,http://www.directingmagic.com/, and teaches creative media at The University of Alabama.

Episode 167: Farhoud Meybodi, Wayfarer Entertainment

This episode is brought to you by:

As EVP of Creative at Wayfarer Entertainment, Farhoud Meybodi sets and executes Wayfarer’s overall creative vision across feature film, documentary, series, and commercial content, further strengthening the company’s mission to create entertainment that compels social change.

At his core, Farhoud is passionate about storytelling that entertains, educates, and inspires. He also believes in the transformational power of empathy and shared human experience to heal the political-social divide of the present day.

Mostly recently, Farhoud directed and executive produced several episodes of Wayfarer’s flagship series, My Last Days. He received a Television Academy Honors Award, Muse and Clio for his work on the series. Farhoud also executive produced and wrote Man Enough, for which he received a Telly and Adweek Arc award, and created Project Upgrade, an unscripted series featuring YouTube stars, The Merrell Twins, as they set out to design and build a new consumer product with the help of successful female mentors.

Farhoud serves as a board member of the Wayfarer Foundation, The Muslim Public Affairs Council, as well as Loyola Marymount University’s Business School A-LIST Marketing Pathway, where he teaches a course on Branded Content for Social Impact.

We talked about many things, but one of them was how to invite men into the conversation about equality that promotes healing and forward movement.

See more of Farhoud’s work here:

My Last Days: Meet Anthony: https://www.facebook.com/mylastdayssoulpancake/videos/391034138419712/

Man Enough: #metoo: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreManEnough/videos/2129001024007697/

Episode 163: Angela Cohen, Actress, Writer, Filmmaker

This episode is brought to you by:

I spoke with Angela Cohen for episode 163. Angela is a writer and an actress with a degree from Emory University in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. In 2012, Angela founded Charley Bear Productions Inc, with a vision to affect change through art, showcasing the female perspective in front of and behind the camera. Charley Bear produced the dramatic short film, Without Grace, starring Angela alongside award winning actress Ann Dowd. It is wonderful and you should watch it.

In fact, you should watch it today, as it is in the All Voices Film Festival on Amazon through June 17th. Finalists are based upon the numbers of views in the time period. Angela would love to recoup her angel investor’s generous contribution in making this film and stir your heart with emotion in the process. It's 18 minutes- you have 18 minutes!  

Here's the link to watch Without Grace. Tell your friends! 

Angela is fascinated with the brain and the overlap of art and science. The synergy of this will be actualized in her work in Virtual Reality, which she will tell us all about.

Episode 162: Stavroula Toska and Eleni Yiovas of SWITCH

This episode is brought to you by:

I spoke with Stavroula Toska and Eleni Yiovas about their award-winning series SWITCH. Switch is the story based on Stavroula’s experiences of going undercover and working as a dominatrix in New York City. Now before you pre-judge this, as I did, let me tell you, you have never heard anyone describe the BDSM world before in this way. Stavroula is the creator, writer, actor – coming from a long career as a filmmaker, and Eleni is an Executive Producer and actor.

The series features no less than Olympia Dukakis, John Lindstrom, and Cady McClain, and episodes were directed by Cady McClain, Laurie Weltz, Katie Maguire and Stavroula.

Stavroula and Eleni sat down with me and spoke of this work with such empathy, compassion, and respect for humanity, vulnerability, and the ways in which we heal the world. Seriously, we brought up Brene Brown.

More about the series:

www.switchtheseries.com

Based on the true life story of creator Stavroula Toska, SWITCH follows Stella, an immigrant woman with a dark past who begins training as a professional dominatrix in New York City's most exclusive BDSM Establishment while battling PTSD and trying to build a better life for herself. 

SWITCH takes viewers on a journey to the riveting world of BDSM from a deeply benevolent, unorthodox and cerebral POV by following Stella and the main characters as they navigate leading a double life, the struggle for power, identity, ambition, love and family.  We explore the many aspects of human nature and conditioning that most people never discuss openly; the fantasies we have and why, the childhood trauma buried inside each one of us, the various masks we wear in order to survive in this world, the struggle to lead a decent life, the unspoken pain that is desperately looking for an outlet, the duality in us all, and the lengths we go to in order to connect with one another. 

The title refers to the switch we make when we explore our other side, when we go through the darkness in order to find our light, when we start listening to the parts of our self that were shamed to silence, when we hit rock bottom and start rising again.  Switch is also a popular term used in BDSM practice representing the power exchange between two consenting adults of the opposite sex. 

HuffPo story about Stavroula here

The Awards so far…

SWITCH was recently honored with the 2019 BEST STORY AWARD at the prestigious Santa Fe Film Festival, it has received the BEST SUSPENSE/ BEST ACTION AWARD at the New York Women in Film and Television & Go Indie TV / Roku TV competition, and Stavroula Toska received the OUTSTANDING ACTRESS AWARD category in the same competition. The series has also received the BEST PILOT / BEST NEW SERIES AWARD at the 2019 Calcutta International Film Festival and at the 2019 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, the BEST PILOT AWARD at the 2019 Best Shorts Film Festival, the BEST WEB SERIES AWARD at the Global Shorts Film Festival. 

Cast: 

SWITCH features a most inclusive and stellar cast and crew (over 70% female), including Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck, The Infiltrator, Bored to Death, Steel Magnolias, Tales of the City, Look who’s Talking), two-time Emmy winner Cady McClain (All My Children, As the World Turns, Seeing is Believing: Women Direct, Law & Order), Emmy-nominee Jon Lindstrom (True Detective, BOSCH, NCIS: Los Angeles, General Hospital) Mark Borkowski (House of Cards, Boardwalk Empire, Blue Bloods), India Ennenga (The Irishman, The Orchard, About Scout, Treme), Bobby Daniel Rodriguez (Narcos, Central Park Five, Bel Canto, Orange in the New Black), Katie Maguire (Billions, Search Party, LI Divas, Blue Bloods), Catherine Chadwick (White Collar, Z: The Beginning of Everything, The Normal Heart).

Episode 157: T.L. Quach, Filmmaker

This episode generously sponsored by:

T. L. is an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles after studying Film Studies at UC Berkeley and working in production on major TV and Films in New York City.

Her short films have been all over the festival circuit and her short film, Rule of Threes, won an Award of Merit for Women Filmmakers at the Accolade Global Film Competition and an Award of Merit at One-Reeler Film competition.

She is currently developing a new screenplay and also producing her first screenplay, Crave, into a feature film. Which she will tell us all about. You can find more about TL here: http://www.tlquachfilms.com/

Episode 156: Liz Jenkins, CFO, Hello Sunshine

This episode generously sponsored by:

Liz is the Chief Financial Officer of Hello Sunshine, the media brand founded by Reese Witherspoon. She tells us all about the company, their mission, and their culture. It’s as good as you imagined. Liz was formerly the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Media Rights Capital. While there, she worked on the deal to bring House of Cards to Netflix, which was then written up as a Harvard Business Review business case, and she talks it about it here as well. Liz is very much one of the best and brightest, and I’m so happy to have her on the show.

Episode 153: Mari Meyer, Writer, Journalist, Filmmaker and Actor

This episode generously sponsored by:

Mari is a writer, journalist, filmmaker and actor. She holds a BA in Journalism and completed the 3 Year Conservatory program at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York.

As a journalist, she has over ten years of experience in news, art and entertainment journalism, both in the Netherlands and in the U.S. She is producer and director of VAGILANT, a short documentary film about the Women's March on Washington and was the lead producer on music video project A Whole New World. She co-wrote, produced and starred in The Soothing System, an award winning narrative short film. In 2018, Female Filmmakers Fuse Film Festival in Los Angeles named her Filmmaker of the Year.

We talked about her new projects in development, her work within the prison system in New York and how finding your voice and telling your story, as cliché as that is starting to sound, is still imperative.

You can find more about Mari here.

Episode 152: Michelle Salcedo, Director/Writer

This episode generously sponsored by:

Michelle directed a gorgeous short film called Piel Canela, that she shot in Cuba and which is screening at several film festivals this week. It will be premiering at the San Diego Latino Film festival March 23, as well as the Chicago Latino Film Festival March 29, and 31st, with a Miami screening happening first weekend in April at the Indie Pasión Film festival! So, if you are anywhere near any of those places, make a point of going to see it. I have seen the trailer and it is gorgeous. You can see the trailer here.

Michelle came up through marketing and editing at Miramax during the heyday, editing with Bunim Murray, and is now writing and directing full time. She tells us the whole story of scouting and then shooting in Cuba, counting all her cash in a bathroom stall at LAX to make sure TSA hadn’t taken any, and her Grandmother’s spirit yelling at her about all of it.

You can find more about Michelle and Piel Canela here.