A BRIGHTER LENS

Linda Goldstein Knowlton is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, working in both documentary and scripted feature films, as well as in television. Linda directed and produced WOMEN AND HOLLYWOOD, one of the six, one-hour documentaries for the Emmy-nominated PBS MAKERS: Women Who Make America series. Prior to that, she produced CODE BLACK, Best Documentary winner at LA Film Festival and the Hamptons International Film Festival, and the basis for the new CBS one-hour drama of the same name. Previously she directed and produced SOMEWHERE BETWEEN, which won the Sundance Channel Audience Award at the Hot Docs Film Festival, and was released theatrically in over 80 cities across the US. The film was chosen as one of 10 films for the 2012 Sundance Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue program. For her directorial debut, Linda co-directed THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET, which debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival in completion and aired nationally on PBS. Linda started her career producing feature films, including the award-winning WHALE RIDER and THE SHIPPING NEWS.

Today, we talked to her about her most recent documentary, WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS. The film follows the first troop of Radical Monarchs, an alternative to the Scout movement for girls of color, aged 8-13, for over three years, until they graduate. The film also documents the Co-Founders, Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest, struggle to respond to the needs of communities across the US and grow the organization after the viral explosion of interest in the troop’s mission to create and inspire a new generation of social justice activists. Stream now on PBS until 8/19!

We’re excited to announce our new name: A BRIGHTER LENS! In this time of reflection and learning, we wanted to have a more inclusive and expansive name. We’re still committed to spotlighting women in the film industry, but also want to feature more trans and non-binary folks as well and wanted our name to reflect that.

For our first episode of Season 3, we chatted with Sue Ding, director of The Claudia Kishi Club. Sue is a documentary filmmaker and new media producer based in Los Angeles. As a freelance filmmaker, Sue directs and produces nonfiction media—from feature documentaries to VR—for a wide range of clients, including The New York Times and PBS. Her documentary work explores the intersection of identity, storytelling, and visual culture.

Her short documentary explores the legacy of Claudia Kishi, the iconic (and all too rare) Asian American character from the hit Baby-Sitters Club book series. Claudia inspired a generation of young readers of color, many of whom are now successful writers and artists creating new stories of their own. The film was an official SXSW selection and is now available on Netflix.

We have a special bonus episode for you today featuring one of our favorite past guests, Nisha Ganatra, director of the recently released The High Note, starring Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson. Check out watchthehighnote.com to find out where you can digitally watch it! Hope you enjoy the conversation and stay tuned for our upcoming Season 3!

We were so sad to hear of the passing of beloved filmmaker and director, Lynn Shelton. We wanted to honor her memory by re-airing her episode in which we discussed her recent film Sword of Trust. Lynn was deeply loved in the film community (and beyond) and known for both her own films and her extensive TV directing resume.

Her films include We Go Way Back, My Effortless Brilliance, Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister, Touchy Feely, Laggies, Outside In, and Sword of Trust. She had also directed episodes for The Good Place, GLOW, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Casual, Fresh Off The Boat, Mad Men, and most recently, Little Fires Everywhere. In our interview, we were especially struck by her journey of becoming a filmmaker later in life, in addition to the joy of collaboration she felt with Marc Maron. We are so grateful we had the chance to talk with her. She will be so deeply missed.

We’re back from Sundance and have finally had a chance to catch our breath and regroup in Los Angeles! We were so inspired by the festival and by all of the films we saw. First, we interview our favorite film critic Beandrea July for her festival hot-takes and in-depth thoughts on her favorite films. We had the chance to watch some films with her during the festival and loved hearing her takeaways. Next, we interview production designer Tracy Dishman. Tracy designed for Black Bear, which was directed by Lawrence Michael Levine and stars Aubrey Plaza. We loved getting to hear about how Tracy found her way into production design and what her process was like designing for Black Bear. Finally, we interview Jess Engel, founder of production company Crimes of Curiosity, and Myriam Achard from the PHI Centre in Montreal, who both produced the New Frontier mixed-reality experience, Breathe, which uses body movement, gesture, and breath (through biometric sensors) to immerse participants in the story of air. Larkin and Elise had the chance to experience the project firsthand!

Season 2 Finale! Thank you to all our listeners for tuning in this season. This week we reflect on our personal favorite moments about women in film in 2019, as well as our favorite AFL moments! Then, we interview Sandra Mae Frank. Sandra is a deaf trained stage and film actress, best known for her role as Wendla from Deaf West’s Spring Awakening on Broadway. She’s performed in numerous regional theatre productions, as well as Netflix's Daybreak and Freeform’s Switched at Birth. We interview her with the help of her translator, Paul Racy. Please find a transcript of our interview on our website under Sandra’s profile page via the link in our show notes!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Jennifer, Larkin, and Elise at A Female Lens! If you have enjoyed listening this season, please take a moment to rate and review on Apple Podcasts, and sign up for our newsletter via our website to receive updates about Season 3!

Season 2 Finale! Thank you to all our listeners for tuning in this season. This week we reflect on our personal favorite moments about women in film in 2019, as well as our favorite AFL moments! Then, we interview Sandra Mae Frank. Sandra is a deaf trained stage and film actress, best known for her role as Wendla from Deaf West’s Spring Awakening on Broadway. She’s performed in numerous regional theatre productions, as well as Netflix's Daybreak and Freeform’s Switched at Birth. We interview her with the help of her translator, Paul Racy. Please find a transcript of our interview on our website under Sandra’s profile page via the link in our show notes!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Jennifer, Larkin, and Elise at A Female Lens! If you have enjoyed listening this season, please take a moment to rate and review on Apple Podcasts, and sign up for our newsletter via our website to receive updates about Season 3!

This week, we chat about the recent Golden Globes nominations and the absence of women in the Best Director category. Then, we interview Natalie Bronfman, costume designer for film, TV, and theatre. Most recently, she has designed for The Handmaid's Tale. In between projects, she can be found doing runway shows during fashion week.

This week is the third installment of our collaborative series in partnership with Free the Work, which is a curated talent-discovery service of underrepresented creators. Free the Work is a non-profit founded by Alma Ha’rel. Check out their new platform at freethework.com.

For our third episode of this series, we interviewed writer and director Sophia Takal. Sophia directed ALWAYS SHINE starring Mackenzie Davis and Caitlin FitzGerald, which played at the Venice Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival. Takal co-wrote and directed NEW YEAR, NEW YOU, the January installment of the INTO THE DARK Hulu horror anthology series. And Sophia’s latest film is the Blumhouse / Universal feature BLACK CHRISTMAS, which she directed and co-wrote. Black Christmas will be released in theaters today, Friday the 13th!

This week, we chat about the recent DGA report on female and minority TV directors and how they directed 50% of all episodic TV this year. Then, we interview writer Samantha McIntyre, who recently wrote Netflix’s Unicorn Store, directed by Brie Larson. Samantha has written for HBO’s Bored to Death, TBS’s People of Earth and is an alumnus of both the Warner Bros. Writers Workshop and the Sundance Screenwriters Lab (where Unicorn Store received the Annenberg Film Fellowship Grant). Samantha is currently a Supervising Producer on NBC’s upcoming musical dramedy, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.