In Her Voice: A Women and Hollywood Podcast

No news brief this week rather a focus on the Tribeca Film Festival. Melissa highlights some of the fantastic women-made films selected for the festival. She also interviews Jennifer Esposito, writer/director/actor of FRESH KILLS and Academy Award®-nominated director Waad al-Kateab (WE DARE TO DREAM).

The daughters of the Larusso family struggle to break the unspoken code of the women behind the men in the mob world of Staten Island in the late '80s and early '90s. Unlike any mob movie you’ve ever seen before, FRESH KILLS reveals the women behind the men. The stories never told. Violence, fear, and unspoken rules dictate who they are and who they are allowed to become. 

"Fresh Kills is less about the mafia world and more about the journey of the women in it. It explores the issues of wanting more than you were allotted in life. A theme almost everyone can relate to. It looks at unspoken rules in our society and then seeing if we have the courage to break them for ourselves and for the generation to follow.” Jennifer Esposito 

WE DARE TO DREAM:

We Dare to Dream is the story of refugee athletes from Iran, Syria, South Sudan and Cameroon who swim, run and fight their way to opportunity and safety in host nations across the world. Spanning a breadth of backgrounds, personal stories and Olympic sports, the film reveals the lives and hopes of refugee athletes training to compete on the world stage, showing the fire and the drive of young people forced to leave their families, homes and countries of birth to build new lives out of nothing.

Directed by Academy Award®-nominated director  Waad al-Kateab (For Sama) and produced by Academy Award® winner Joanna Natasegara (The White Helmets, Virunga, The Edge of Democracy) and Emmy-winning producer Abigail Anketell-Jones (The Edge of Democracy, The Nightcrawlers) of Violet Films, two time Academy Award®-nominated producer, Bryn Mooser (Body Team 12, Lifeboat) and Kathryn Everett of XTR Studios and Joe Gebbia of Gebbia Productions, We Dare to Dream tells the amazing stories of young refugee athletes aiming to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.

The film features refugee athletes Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, Cyrille Tchatchet II, Kimia Alizadeh, Saeid Fazloula and Wael Fawaz Al-Farraj. 

This is their story of resilience and inspiration, hardship and loss, hope and home.

Show Notes

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa chats with Georgia Oakley, writer/director of BLUE JEAN. In Georgia's stunning directorial debut BLUE JEAN, it’s 1988 England and Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians, forcing Jean (Rosy McEwen, in a powerhouse performance), a gym teacher, to live a double life. As pressure mounts from all sides, the arrival of a new student catalyzes a crisis that will challenge Jean to her core. The BAFTA-nominated film won the Venice Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award, as well as four British Independent Film Awards.

BLUE JEAN hits US theaters on Friday 9th June 2023 - make sure you see it!

Show Notes:

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa's weekly round up of all industry news dedicated to highlighting the voices of women who work in the global entertainment business.

Show Notes

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa interviews Erica Saleh (ONE OF US IS LYING) in a great conversation about the current writers strike, what it means to be a TV writer and how they work their way up the career ladder. This episode has a lot of excellent information about why this strike is so important at this moment in the entertainment business.

Erica Saleh is a New York City based TV writer, screenwriter, and playwright. Most recently she was the Creator/Showrunner of One of Us is Lying for Peacock. Prior credits include EVIL, INSTINCT, WISDOM OF THE CROWD and CHANNEL ZERO. She serves on the WGA East's Council and is a member of the WGA's 2023 Negotiating Committee.

Show Notes:

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa's weekly round up of all industry news dedicated to highlighting the voices of women who work in the global entertainment business.

Show Notes

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa talks with Yolonda Brinkley (Creator of Diversity in Cannes) and Melanie Hoyes (Head of Inclusion at the BFI) about the work they are doing to highlight and celebrate black women filmmakers at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Events at Cannes:

- Saturday morning 5/20 in the Marche, 9:30 arrival.

As a part of our celebration of black women in film, we (Diversity in Cannes and THE BFI) are producing a small panel highlighting their personal journeys. It's an hour long with coffee and croissants after. 

Cannes You See Us: A Celebration of Black Women in Film at the Cannes Film Festival

Itinerary

12-2PM luncheon at La Pizza Cresci (50-100) women.

For the In Your Voice audience only, DM @diversencannes on IG for additional information. No festival accreditation required

4-5 PM Demystifying Film Finance Panel (UK Pavilion)

5:30-7:30 Networking Reception

- May 20, 2023

Cannes You See Us: A Celebration of Black Women in Film Continues

10am-12pm Conversation, Coffee and Croissants in the Marche du Film Panel discussion focusing on the filmmaking journey of black women in film featuring women from US, UK, France and Africa

- Monday, May 22, 2023

Diversity Day at the Cannes Film Festival (Diversity in Cannes) which includes short film screenings, panel discussion and awards reception. 

- Tuesday, May 2023, tentative lunch-awaiting confirmation. 

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa's weekly round up of all industry news dedicated to highlighting the voices of women who work in the global entertainment business.

Show Notes

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa interviews Arlene Nelson, director of the gripping three-episode docuseries ANGEL CITY (HBO MAX - 16 May 2023)

The show goes behind the scenes and onto the pitch of the groundbreaking Los Angeles-based professional women’s soccer team, Angel City Football Club. Pulling back the curtain on the origin story through the 2022 inaugural season of the female-founded and led team, the series reveals the passion and grit needed to build a franchise from scratch and blaze a bold trail in the world of professional sports.

The series is directed by Arlene Nelson and executive produced by Academy Award®-winners Natalie Portman, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Sophie Mas, Anna Barnes and Christine O’Malley.

Show Notes:

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa interviews director Niki Caro on the release of her new Netflix film, THE MOTHER starring Jennifer Lopez.

Director Niki Caro, is one of the most successful filmmakers to emerge from New Zealand in recent years.  

After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Postgraduate Diploma in Film, Caro directed a number of highly acclaimed short films. "Sure To Rise" screened in Competition in Cannes in 1994; and "Footage" at the Venice Film Festival in 1996.  Her first feature film "Memory & Desire" was selected for Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998.  

Her second feature film, "Whale Rider," won twenty seven international awards, including audience awards at prestigious international film festivals including Toronto, Sundance, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Seattle and Maui. It won an Academy Award nomination for Keisha Castle-Hughes, then the youngest person ever to be nominated in the Best Actress category.

Following the international success of "Whale Rider", Caro directed "North Country" for Warner Bros. Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand were nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively at the 2005 Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, BAFTAs, Satellite Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

After relocating to the United States, Caro directed "McFarland, USA" starring Kevin Costner, for Disney, "The Zookeeper's Wife", starring Jessica Chastain, for Focus Features, and a movie length pilot for Netflixí "Anne With an E".  Nominated for 54 awards, with 27 wins, "Anne With an E" also won Caro the prestigious DGA award for the pilot episode.  

In 2018 Caro directed Disney's live action remake of the classic animation "Mulan", making her the 4th woman in history to direct a movie with a budget of over $100M.  Mulan was released in 2020.

Caro's latest project is the epic global action movie, "The Mother", starring Jennifer Lopez, to be released on Netflix on May 12, 2023.

Show Notes:

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood

Melissa chats with writer/director Laurel Parmet on the eve of her debut feature film release, THE STARLING GIRL, starring Eliza Scanlen.

Show Notes:

In Her Voice is a Woman and Hollywood Podcast, hosted by Melissa Silverstein (Founder of ⁠Women and Hollywood⁠ and Co-Founder of the ⁠Athena Film Festival) and produced by ⁠⁠Leonie Marsh⁠⁠.

Subscribe to this podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

⁠Join Substack ⁠for Melissa's weekly curated list of content made by women.

Twitter ⁠@melsil⁠ and ⁠@womenahollywood⁠

Instagram ⁠@womenandhollywood