Crushing the Myth

Tanny Jiraprapasuke

Tanny is the co-founder of Whole Self Systems, a mindfulness coach and independent film producer. She has held leadership roles and conducted internal training in a broad range of industries. She has lead mindful meditation workshops and coached artists, professionals, and small teams. Tanny strives to embolden the voices of women and especially people from marginalized communities through every facet of her work.

She started her storytelling journey in 2004 when she became an assistant to David O. Russell. Then in 2006, after having forged a healthy relationship with Sundance, she was personally invited to attend the prestigious Producer’s Lab at Sundance. In 2015, after taking a sabbatical from producing, Tanny returned to storytelling and was determined to produce films by Asian-American storytellers. She produced the critically acclaimed short film, More Than One, a story that examines the complicated issue of abortion, written by Jordan Wong and directed by Takahisa Shiraishi. This film served as a turning point in how Tanny understood the power of film, this film reflects her dedication to bringing unheard voices to the screen. The film received the Platinum Remi Award at the 2016 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival as well as the Gold Award at the 2016 Los Angeles Film Review Independent Film Awards. In addition, the film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, Short Film Corner.

In 2016, she attended Harvard University, Divinity School, where she studied Buddhist Studies and focused her research on female monastic movements in the Buddhist world. During her tenure, she produced several live events including: Harvard’s Buddhism and Race Conference, Monthly Buddhist Film Series and HDS Film Festival. As part of her training, she traveled to Thailand in 2017 to document the illegal ordination of Thai women, and produced several short non-fiction films.

In 2018, after completing her graduate program, she returned to Los Angeles and co-founded Whole Self Systems and Whole Self Stories with her creative partner, Melissa Center. Currently, Tanny is an associate producer for “The Psalm of Howard Thurman”, researching and developing an immigrant story that reflects her own family’s immigrant experiences. In her effort to bring lasting impact, Tanny and her business partner continue to coach emerging leaders, storytellers and activists to help them fearlessly leverage their authentic voice for real change.  

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Part of Crushing The Myth’s COVID Stories.

Fawzia Mirza

Fawzia Mirza is a Pakistani-Canadian film and television actress, writer, producer and comedian. She is known for her works such as web series Kam Kardashian, Brown Girl Problems and the film Signature Move (2017).  

CONTACT:

https://www.instagram.com/thefawz

I believe that pop music can be about so much more than does-he-love-me-does-she-love-me-not. Catchy hooks and tasteful riffs will bring you into my world and the issues that are important to me--feminism, LGBTQ rights, individuality, and support for minority groups. If I can get you humming along to my tunes and mouthing my rhymes, I’ve already opened up your mind to a spectrum of ideas you may never have considered before. Open-mindedness gives way to compassion and understanding. Isn’t that how music brings us together in the end?  

CONTACT:

https://www.instagram.com/jlymusic

Recorded at Crushing The Myth 02 (LA, March 23rd, 2019)