Episode 183: Mary Rachel Gardner, Filmmaker, Heartist

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Today I sat down with Mary Rachel Gardner. She graduated from USC in 2013 with major studies in Acting, Business and Film Production; she also spent a semester abroad studying at a theatre conservatory in London.

Mary Rachel gained hands on experience and knowledge working at production companies, such as Steve Carell’s Carousel Productions and agencies such as William Morris Endeavor. She also worked as a PA on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she learned about the production and operation elements of running a live television show.

Since graduating from USC, Mary Rachel founded her own film company Kalliste Zoe Productions to explore, create and share original content through visual art and storytelling. Kalliste Zoe "Όμορφη Ζωή" means "A Beautiful Life" in Greek. She has developed many of her own independent projects including music videos, parodies, comedic sketches and short films. Mary Rachel has received honorary awards at film festivals, such as Audience Favorite and Best Screenplay, and successfully licensed some of her films overseas.

Under the Kalliste Zoe umbrella, she founded the Independent Cinema Showcase (ICS): to discover and share independent filmmakers’ visions from around the world as well as provide an opportunity for them to join a cinema family that connects and supports talented creators.

Episode 182: Elizabeth and Isabella Blake Thomas - Mother & Daughter Entertainment

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For today’s episode, there was a happy miscommunication. I was meant to interview Elizabeth Blake- Thomas, a director, via the internet, as I assumed she was in England. Well, she also assumed I was in England. Once we were on the phone, we realized we were actually down the street from each other. So, I jumped in my car and ran down to the Hollywood film festival, where I got to interview both Elizabeth, and her daughter Isabella Blake-Thomas. A very lucky two-fer! Together, Elizabeth (Director) and Isabella (Actor, Singer) have the production company Mother & Daughter Entertainment, whose film Unseen I caught while I was at the festival. It was an unnerving film about child trafficking. We walked out of the screening, and into an outdoor bungalow for this interview. Forgive the background noise, but try to soak up the ambiance.

For more information:

http://www.elizabethblakethomas.com
http://www.motheranddaughterent.com/

IMDb link
Instagram:

@elizabeth_b_t

@isabella_b_t

Twitter: @Elizabeth_B_T

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethblakethomas/

Episode 180: Kathleen Courtney, UPM

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Kathleen has enjoyed working in the film and television industry for over 30 years. She has worked “on location” most of that time, shooting across this country as well as internationally. Over her career, she has served as Producer, Production Executive, Production Manager and Production Coordinator on feature films and most recently on TV. She is currently working on the Netflix hit 13 Reasons Why. Previous credits include Chance, Steve Jobs, San Andreas, The Boy Next Door, and Because of Winn-Dixie. At one point, she was the head of production at a company called The Film Department.

We talked all about her career, how she helped organize Production Coordinators, start the Frog & Frigate, and continue her career, even after moving out of Los Angeles. It takes effort, but it’s possible.

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

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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

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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 170: Emily Aguilar, Filmmaker

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Emily Aguilar has been out of college for about five minutes and has already made and sold three feature films. She is an award-winning film director in Los Angeles known for creating emotional impact for her audience in narrative films. She is the director and producer for The MomentEM Productions and has films distributed by Bridgestone, Pure Flix, The Dove Foundation and Amazon Prime. 

She is the founder of the 5th annual Global Impact Film Festival held in Washington, DC every August. A Washington DC native of Latino heritage, she has a competitive edge who aims to provoke, educate and inspire her audience in both her creative and commercial productions. Emily is currently in post production on her third feature film, "Brie's Bake Off Challenge." 

You can find more about Emily and follow her here:

Social Media Handles: @themomentem
FB: www.facebook.com/themomentem
IG: www.instagram.com/themomentem

Website Links:
Global Impact Film Festival: www.globalimpactdc.org
The MomentEM Productions: www.themomentem.com

Fundraiser Link: https://www.gofundme.com/briesbakeoffmovie

Episode 163: Angela Cohen, Actress, Writer, Filmmaker

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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 159: Pamela Douglas, Writer

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Pamela is an award-winning writer with numerous credits in television drama. She consults internationally with professional TV writers and producers, and has lectured in Africa, Europe, and throughout the US. She was awarded the Humanitas Prize for Between Mother and Daughter on CBS, and she has garnered multiple Emmy nominations and American Women in Radio and Television Awards for her other dramas. Her book “Writing the TV Drama Series” just came out in it’s 4th edition, and we talked about what is in the book and how to make it as a TV writer.

She is also an amazing visual artist. Her house is filled with her art, and I became quite emotional looking at a couple of pieces, which really never happens to me with art. I thought it was stunning. You can see more here: http://pamdouglasart.com/

You can buy the book here:

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Episode 157: T.L. Quach, Filmmaker

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

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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

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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.

Episode 149: Jenny Buccos, Director, Producer, Explorer

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Jenny is a multi-award winning director and producer of the long running program called Project Explorer, and the founder of Project Explorer.org. which is a free multimedia website designed to educate kids about global cultures and histories. She has explored six continents, in over 500 episodes, and has met incredible people and seen amazing places.

She is currently working on a television show to bring this programming to an even wider audience. Jenny is incredibly purpose driven, an explorer, an entrepreneur, and is living her mission every day. I am very inspired by her and I’m sure you will be too.

Episode 140: Jill Gilbert, Head of Creative Affairs

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I sat down with Jill Gilbert, who is Head of Creative Affairs at Luma Pictures, a visual effects and original content company. Jill has had an amazingly interesting career coming up through development, animation, theme park development, and producing. She has credits that range from Disney animated titles to Grandma’s Cats Are Trying to Kill Her and a Spongebob movie. This episode is full of good advice, interesting stories, and a career well built.

Her career is an example of take the opportunity – you never know where it will lead.

Check out the BRIC Foundation Summit here: https://bricfoundation.org/2019summit/

Episode 138: Julia Camara, Filmmaker, Writer

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To kick off this year, I sat down with writer and filmmaker Julia Camara. Originally from Brazil, Julia has made several award-winning shorts. She has also written the feature films Area Q, Open Road, and Occupants. She recently released her experimental feature film called In Transit, which won Best Experimental film at the Glendale International Film Festival and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Video.

We talked about her career, her films, and spent a minute unpacking the Kavanagh hearings, as we recorded during that week. Somehow, we kept our sense of humor, because we laugh a lot about the absurdity of gender inequality.

Episode 137: Paulina Lagudi, Filmmaker

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Paulina Lagudi is a filmmaker who just released Mail Order Monster, which is available on all the streaming services. I gotta tell you, this woman is an inspiration. She’s an artist, a savvy business person, and a force to be reckoned with.

We talked about her film and its distribution, female empowerment of the “right kind,” setting boundaries, martial arts and growing up the only girl in a family of men with a single father and how instrumental her step mother turned out to be.

Episode 128: Shirley Davis, Production Executive

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Shirley Davis is a film and television production executive, lecturer and speaker.

As of this publishing, Shirley is consulting with Imagine Television as they begin to rollout their production arm. 

Prior to this, Shirley was the Executive Vice President and Head of Physical Production at Alcon Entertainment, where she oversaw projects such as Blade Runner, Point Break Prisoners and Dolphin Tale 1 and 2.

In addition to numerous film and television credits, Shirley was Co-Executive Producer for several digital projects for Mark Burnett Productions, MTV Networks, AOL, and Yahoo, where she had an inside view of tech first meeting entertainment.

Shirley has served as Guest Professor at the Graduate Producers Program at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television, and is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America and a Board Member of Outfest. 

Episode 114: Tricia Lee, Director

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Tricia is a Canadian film Director, who earned her US Green Card as an Artist of Extraordinary Ability. She has 3 award-winning feature films, 2 webseries and 11 shorts under her belt which can be found on various digital platforms. Meeting Mommy, for example is a moving and powerful film about a father and daughter coping with a life twist they didn’t expect. Find it here.

We talked about finding your voice as a director and an artist, learning to write your own stories, and Tricia’s upcoming projects. She is very disciplined in her process.

Also, Tricia's short film Affection will be having its world premiere at the Oscar-Qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival on July 29, 2018.

You can learn more about Tricia here: wwwtricialeedirector.com.

Episode 112: Allegra Clegg, Production Executive, Producer

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Allegra is the Senior Vice President of Physical Production at Paramount Pictures. Before becoming an executive, Allegra was a Producer and Production Manager on no less than four Transformer movies, along with Paranormal Activity 4 and a favorite of mine, The American President. If you need to see even more credits, here is the link to her IMDB page. She is a serious badass. One might even call her the Michael Bey whisperer.

We talked about what it took to rise to the top of the production world and how she made the shift to a studio job. What is important? What matters? What factors into your important career decisions?

Episode 88: Marilyn Anderson, Writer

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Marilyn is a Writer with many TV and Film credits and her most recent book, “How to Live Like a Millionaire When you’re a Million Short.” Her book answers one of the biggest questions of the Universe, “How does Marilyn live?” You can find it here. She has written on Murphy Brown, FAME, Friday the 13th and many others.

She started life as a scientist and then had one lucky break after another. She has a million stories and she cracks me up. Doesn’t everyone book a Broadway show their first week in New York?

Episode 79: Alexandra Boylan, Actor, Writer, Director

Alexandra is an Actor, Writer and Producer.  She has two production companies – Mirror Tree Productions produces Horror Films and Mustard Seed Entertainment produces Faith-based Family Films. Because there is room for both.

She moved to Albuquerque and started producing and distributing independent films, which kept growing in size and budget as she got bigger and better deals.

Alexandra is also a key contributor to Ms in the Biz, which you can have a look at here.

And this – your poster is way more important than you think.

“Sometimes you have to deconstruct your life in order to reconstruct it.”