A BRIGHTER LENS

We sat down with directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West and producer Talleah Bridges McMahon to chat about their new film MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

The film takes an in-depth look at the life and ideas of Pauli Murray, a non-binary Black lawyer, activist and poet who influenced both Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall.

The film comes out in theaters today (September 17) and will be available on Amazon Prime after theatrical release.

Emily Best is the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, a platform that makes entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected and essential. Over the last 8 years, Seed&Spark has developed an unprecedented pipeline of unique voices and award-winning content through its education and crowdfunding platform. Seed&Spark’s platform and national education program have helped thousands of bold storytellers raise millions to bring to life entirely new stories, and Seed&Spark delivers those stories into workplaces for employee training, engagement, and intelligence through its proprietary Impact Screening Platform.

This week, we chat with Ariel Marx, composer of the documentary Rebel Hearts, which premiered at Sundance this year. An eclectic composer and multi-instrumentalist, Ariel draws from many genres and often combines orchestral and rare instruments with electronics to create unique worlds of sound. Her scores have premiered in films at Sundance, TIFF, SXSW, Tribeca, Woodstock, Criterion Channel, as well as Amazon, Netflix, HBO, and is a Sundance Film Music and Sound Design Lab fellow. We really enjoyed hearing about her collaborative process with Pedro Kos (director of Rebel Hearts), discoveries she had while working on the music, and her Sundance Lab experience. Enjoy!

This week, we chat with writer/director Mei Makino, about her feature film debut Inbetween Girl, which just had its premiere at SXSW! For three years, Mei taught filmmaking to youth in the Austin area which inspired her to tell honest stories about kids and teens. She’s written and directed short films that have played at The Dallas VideoFest, PBS, and ESPN’s Longhorn Network, and is an AFS grant recipient. Makino is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Radio-TV and Film. Enjoy!

This week, we chat with Whitney Skauge, director of the short documentary The Beauty President, premiering at SXSW this week. The Beauty President asks the question, “If a bad actor can be president, why not a good drag queen?” In 1992, Joan Jett Blakk made a historic bid for the White House as an openly queer write-in candidate. Today, Terence Smith, the man behind the persona, reflects back on his place in gay rights history at the height of the AIDS crisis. By making this film, Whitney’s vision is to fill in one of the many gaps in the oral history of queer America. Though popular history has often swept the triumphs of gay heroes under the rug, documentary film helps us bring these incredible stories back into the light of day. As a black queer person, Whiney understands how imperative it is to share perspectives from underrepresented communities. Whitney Skauge is an award-winning filmmaker dedicated to diverse storytelling and representation. Their films act as an extension of social and political activism with hopes of helping audiences understand themselves and the world around them better. Having worked at Breakwater Studios, Women In Film, Sundance Institute, and the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, their career has demonstrated a consistent commitment to the art of independent filmmaking. They received their B.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking from the University of Montana. We loved chatting with Whitney about the perseverance needed to make the film, the process, and what they hope people will come away with after watching the film. Enjoy!

Brenda Wachel is a veteran script supervisor. She has worked closely as a script supervisor for directors and producers including Joe Johnston, Paul Haggis, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, John Dahl, Gary Sinise, on projects such as Jurassic Park 3, Hidalgo, October Sky, and The Next 3 Days. Additionally, Brenda recently wrote, produced, and directed a Get Out The Vote video called “America, Vote!” We chat with her about all things script supervision, and about her exploration into directing. Enjoy!

This week, we check in with Jessie Barr, director of SOPHIE JONES. We talked to Jessie at the beginning of the pandemic and wanted to chat with her again now that her film is out in the world. The film tells the story of a teen who [ushes the boundaries of her newfound sexual awakening as she copes with the recent loss of her mother. Jessie discusses the distribution journey during a pandemic and what she’s looking forward to in 2021 (hint: lots of space to daydream). The film is now available on VOD. After our check-in, we re-air our first conversation with Jessie, who talks more about the process of making the film.

This week we chat with Emmy award-winning production designer, Amy Williams. Amy has worked on over 40 films, including a number of Sundance selections, in addition to several TV shows. She won an Emmy for her scenic design work on A Crime To Remember, and some of her other work includes Master of None season 2, HBO’s Crashing, and the Apple+ series Little America. We chat specifically about Amy’s recent work on Amazon Prime’s new series, The Wilds. Enjoy!

This week, we chat with director Ashley O’Shay and producer Morgan Johnson about their film Unapologetic. They talked about collaborating, their love for Chicago, and why this doc following two fierce abolitionist leaders coming of age within the Movement for Black Lives in Chicago is a timely watch. The film most recently screened at TIFF Next Wave Festival and will be playing at the Black Lesbian Film Festival and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival this weekend. Check out unapologeticflm.com to see where you can watch. Enjoy our conversation!

This week, we chat with Gillian Wallace Horvat, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, writer, and film programmer about her new film I BLAME SOCIETY. I BLAME SOCIETY is Gillian’s feature film debut; previous projects include KISS KISS FINGERBANG, which was awarded the Jury Prize in the Midnight Shorts category at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival, and a Vimeo Staff Pick. She has also produced several documentaries and is a guest columnist for Filmmaker magazine. I BLAME SOCIETY is available to watch on demand February 12!