Episode 215: Kim Gruenenfelder, Author

For this episode I got to catch up with my friend Kim Gruenenfelder. You may remember her from the podcast when her book, Hangovers and Hotflashes came out. Well she has a brand-new book that I have bought and will be reading over Thanksgiving called, My Ex’s Wedding. I was a fan of Kim’s long before I ever met her, so this is a real treat for me. And also, she’s hilarious. Some of her other titles include A Total Waste of Makeup, Misery Loves Cabernet, There’s Cake in My Future, Keep Calm and Carry a Big Drink, and Love the Wine You’re With. I mean, come on. Give yourself a treat. Heads up, our kids went to high school together so we may refer to them a bit as they are both navigating college online.

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 203: Sonya JF Barnett, Intimacy Coordinator

For this episode, sat down with Sonya JF Barnett, Canada’s only IPA-Certified Intimacy Coordinator. Sonya has been working in the field of sexuality for over ten years. She founded Toronto’s esteemed Keyhole Sessions as a safe and welcoming community for artists to experience the union between sex and art. In early 2011, she co-founded SlutWalk as a way to combat victim-blaming and sexual profiling, for which she was named one of UTNE Reader’s Top Visionaries. She recently completed a specialist degree in Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto, and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology, with a focus on sex therapy. She is also a feminist erotic filmmaker, with her short films touring world festivals and each winning multiple awards. A certified sexual health educator, Sonya is also part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community and is kink-friendly. She is currently working as the intimacy coordinator on Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming feature film Nightmare Alley and SEE (Season 2) for Apple TV+. 

I met Sonya on the live series Catch a Break podcast produced with GreenSlate called The Way Back where we talked about getting back to production in the time of Covid. You can see that series at Catchabreakpodcast.com or gslate.com. It is worth the watch or listen.

As you might suspect, we are going to be having a grown up talk about sex and sex education and some porn and you can decide whether or not to listen in your car if your kids are there. But, here’s your warning. Also, a pre-emptive correction, I referenced a piece Dan Savage gave talking about porn and the internet, but I called him Fred Savage. To my knowledge, Fred Savage hasn’t talked about porn on the internet publicly. Although we might be interested in what he has to say about it, that was a mistake. It was Dan Savage.

And in a wonderful full circle moment, Sonya talked about how hearing Amanda Blumenthal on this podcast, led her to seek her out and take her training. I love it when a plan comes together and this world is made a little smaller and more connected.

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 183: Mary Rachel Gardner, Filmmaker, Heartist

This episode is brought to you by:

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

This episode is brought to you by:

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 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 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 174: Leslie Belzberg, Producer

This episode is brought to you by:

Leslie is a producer, most notably working with John Landis, on all of your favorite things, such as Three Amigos, Beverly Hills Cop III, Coming to America, Trading Places, Thriller, Sliders, Dream On, Blues Brothers 2000, Honey I Shrunk the Kids series, Crazy Heart and the list goes on and on and on, before she transitioned to being a production executive in house.

At the time of this recording, she was at Gaumont, but has since transitioned to the Head of Production for Imagine Entertainment.

Leslie has always worked toward diversity, even and especially when she was the only woman in the room. She has incredible perspective and experience and it was such an honor to get to have this conversation.

Episode 173: Eleanor Wells, Filmmaker

This episode is brought to you by:

Eleanor was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was a lover of film, writing, and storytelling from an early age. She has written and directed several short films, including Feature Presentation, about three lonely people in need of connection who find it at the movies as well as Tales from the Airwaves, a Mercury Theater-esque radio drama. She fell in love with the classics as a teenager, and is especially interested in portraying other eras. She firmly believes storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have to empathize with and understand the lives of others.

She tells us all about her current film, Eagle Rock, which dives deep into the psychology of what might make a young woman join a cult. It’s pretty fascinating.

You can find more here:

website: https://www.eaglerockshortfilm.com/

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eaglerockshort/

imdb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9108344/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

THE 6th ANNUAL LOS ANGELES 

DIVERSITY FILM FESTIVAL 

AUGUST 23 - 25 IN WEST HOLLYWOOD

WITH FILM SCREENINGS, PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND GUEST SPEAKERS

 emphasizing works created by and featuring diverse 

stories, artists and experiences. 

August 22-24, 2019: The Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival (LADFF) is a three-day event featuring 7 different film screenings that provide the audience with a unique, fun and profound experience in an inclusive and multicultural environment.  Now in its sixth year, the growing festival features 40 films, guest speakers, panel discussions, and Q&As with filmmakers, all presented at the Let Live Theater (916 N. Formosa Ave, LA 90046).  LADFF kicks off Thursday, August 22 at 8PM with a screening of six global shorts with selections from Israel, Iran and the U.S. featuring films about magic, mental health, menstruation, falling in love with Cerebral Palsy, misconduct in a Southern Baptist church, to name only a few.  The screenings will be followed by a Q & A and will be capped with an Opening Night Party and meet and greet with the filmmakers; food and beverages will be served.  For tickets to opening night and other festival programming: https://filmfreeway.com/LADFF/tickets. 

Episode 172: Jeffery Tobias Halter, Gender Strategist

This episode is brought to you by:

Jeffery Tobias Halter is a gender strategist and the President of YWomen, a strategic consulting company focused on engaging men in women’s leadership advancement. Jeffery is the former Director of Diversity Strategy for The Coca-Cola Company. He is the author of two books including WHY WOMEN, The Leadership Imperative to Advancing Women and is a two-time TEDx speaker. His clients include dozens of Fortune 500 companies and he serves on the Board of Trustees for Miss America 2.0.

I originally interviewed Jeffery for episode 13, which you can find here. This was before #metoo and TimesUp and we were just exploring unconscious gender bias in the workplace.

Jeffery has been doing his work as a gender strategist for a long time, but I wondered how his work has ramped up and changed focus in recent days. Luckily, I got to ask him.

You can find more here:

Gender Advocacy Quiz - https://ywomen.biz/male-advocacy-profile/

Articles - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefferyhalter/detail/recent-activity/posts/

website - www.ywomen.biz

Twitter - @YWomen

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 166: Maria Mealla, Filmmaker

This episode is brought to you by:

Maria was born in Bolivia and raised by storytellers that encouraged her to pursue filmmaking, a path which eventually led her San Francisco. She ventured into movie-making in 2010 and learned the craft through work trade by collaborating with other talented filmmakers on their projects. She has since written, produced and directed the feature film Women and Cigarettes, a collection of romantic short films titled Business Affairs, and a handful of shorts on lower-middle class millennials. She is the chapter leader of the SF Cinefemme Director’s Collective as well as an active member of Film Fatales. Her most recent film Bring me an Avocado, premiered in March and took home the audience award at Cinequest. When she’s not working on narrative films, she freelances as a video producer throughout the Bay Area.

We talked about her path to filmmaking, the state of inclusion within commercial advertising, and her film Bring me an Avocado.

Episode 165: Lisa Hammer, Filmmaker, Writer, Musician

This episode is brought to you by:

Lisa Hammer is a film director, writer and musician. She is best recognized as the voice of Triana Orpheus on the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros. She has written/directed independent dark comedy feature and short films such as Pox and Pus$bucket, and the CMJ Film Festival winner The Invisible Life of Thomas Lynch which she co-wrote and co-directed with James Merendino (SLC Punk). Lisa's films have won awards from dozens of festivals including: the CMJ Film Festival, Telly Awards, Hugo Awards, It Came From Kuchar Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, Canada International Screenplay Festival, Ontario Film Festival, Antimatter, Indieworks and two from New York Press. She has had one-woman shows at the Olympia Film Festival, Perth International Film Festival, and the Duolun Art Museum in Shanghai, China. Her surrealist silent film Empire of Ache was recently acquired by The Getty Museum’s feminist film collection, curated by Miranda July. Her storytelling abilities support not only writing, but her editing, gaining her the reputation for saving shelved films as “The Edit Doctor”.

Hammer’s most recent film The Sisters Plotz, starring Eve Plumb (The Brady Bunch) was recently acquired by Amazon Prime, the Roku Channel and FandangoNow. Hammer co-created and co-writes the original series Maybe Sunshine now on the Seeka TV channel on Roku. Her new "Environmental-Comedy-Sci Fi- Horror" screenplay Ghostapus is winning and placing in dozens of festivals and screenplay contests and is in development. 

We talked about her career and the gritty days in New York where you could have rent control and live as an artist.

Episode 164: Sigrid Gilmer, Writer

This episode is brought to you by:

Today I talked with Sigrid Gilmer. Sigrid makes black comedies that are historically bent, totally perverse, joyfully irreverent and concerned with issues of identity, pop culture and contemporary American society. Sigrid burst onto the national theater scene with her play Harry and the Thief, an action film/historical/time travel play about a thief who is blackmailed into traveling back in time to deliver a cache of arms to Harriet Tubman. It has since been produced across the country, including runs at the Pavement Group (Chicago), the Know Theatre (Cincinnati), and the Skylight Theatre (LA).

Additional select works include Slavey (Clubbed Thumb), Seed: A Weird Act of Faith, It’s All Bueno (Cornerstone Theater Company), Frilly, and White 3: Manifestdestinyland. Her television work includes: A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix) and Claws (TNT).

Sigrid’s play Mama Metal is playing right now at IAMA Theatre Company at the Atwater Village Theatre through June 23rd. You can get tickets here iamatheatre.com.