Episode 186: Edith Mudge, Composer

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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

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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 184: Thérèse Plummer, Actor and Audiobook Narrator

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Today I spoke over the internet with Thérèse Plummer. Therese is an actor and award-winning audiobook narrator working in New York City. She has recorded over 400 audio books for various publishers. She won the 2019 Audie Award for her work on the multicast, Sadie by Courtney Summers for Macmillan Audio,  and was nominated for the Multicast, Any Man, by Amber Tamblyn for Harper Audio and her solo narration for The Rogue: Planets Shaken by Lee W. Brainard for Podium Publishing. 

The American Library Association (ALA) awarded her work on Sourdough by Robin Sloan as part of the 2018 Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration for Adult Listeners. Thérèse has been nominated for 5 Audie Awards in 2018. She was named AudioFile’s Best Voices of the Year in 2015 for her work on Robyn Carr’s A New Hope.

Thérèse is the voice of Maya Hansen in the Marvel Graphic Motion Comic Ironman Extremis, Dr. Fennel in Pokemon and for various Yu-Gi-Oh characters. Television Guest Star Roles on The Good Wife, Law and Order SVU and Virgin River for Netflix.   

You can imagine how intimidating this was. She told me how she broke in – it was a series of preparation meeting miracles, and she spoke about what everyone wants to know – how do you voice those sex scenes?

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 181: Heidi Nel, Social Impact Executive

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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