If you guys missed the announcement, we're in the process of covering the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL! We'll have tons of content for you guys throughout the next couple of weeks with our coverage, but starting off, Darian had a chance to do an interview with talent behind the camera for a fascinating docuseries, 'An Update on our Family.'
Director/Executive Producer Rachel Mason & Executive Producer Rachael Knudsen sat down for a virtual interview with Darian highlighting the documentary surrounding Myka Stauffer and the Stauffer family, one of the pioneers of the "family vlogging YouTube community," who were on top of the world until one day they weren't. After adopting a young boy from China, their seemingly perfect family quickly became entrenched in a cascade of controversy.
In this chat, Darian talks to Rachel & Rachael about the article that spawned the series, the role that content has on people's lives, the family vlogging space and much, much more. Please enjoy this chat with Rachel Mason & Rachael Knudsen!
#interview #familyvloggers #anupdateonourfamily #tribeca #filmfestival
Rachel Mason is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker with a background in visual art and music. She received an Emmy Nomination for her Netflix Original Documentary CIRCUS OF BOOKS, Executive Produced by Ryan Murphy. The film explores her biographical story, learning the truth about her parents’ adult bookstore at the center of the gay community. Mason was featured as one of Indiewire’s “25 LGBTQ Filmmakers on the Rise.” Mason is currently directing the official documentary about Halyna Hutchins, with Story Syndicate. She is also directing a series about Billy Newton (aka Billy London) a gay adult film star whose unsolved murder haunted the Los Angeles gay community for 32 years. An Update on Our Family, a three-part documentary series directed by Mason based on a New York Magazine feature, is premiered at Tribeca this summer.
Rachael Knudsen is an award-winning producer and director whose work has been featured on Hulu, Netflix, MTV, VICE, A&E, Lifetime, Food Network, TLC, and Animal Planet. Raised in Texas and matured in New York, Rachael discovered the magic of visual storytelling in her father's photography darkroom, developing film as soon as she could reach the enlarger table. Over the past 15 years, she has dedicated her career to producing compelling non-fiction projects that explore culture shifts, sexual health, and the quest for belonging. In 2021, Rachael received a Front Page Award for her investigative documentary "Bad Goods," which exposed the global illicit trade of pangolins. Prior to her impactful work at VICE, she co-created and produced Marques Brownlee’s YouTube Original series "Retro Tech." The show's first season received an Emmy nomination in 2020, and its pilot episode has garnered over 40 million views, making it the most-watched video on Marques Brownlee’s MKBHD YouTube channel to date.