Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Her career has spanned over 70 years; her notable acting work includes supporting roles in the musical films Singin' in the Rain (1952), The King and I (1956) and West Side Story (1961).

She is an EGOT; she has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. She is also one of 23 people who have achieved what is called the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony awards for acting; she and Helen Hayes are the only two who have achieved both distinctions.

Rita released her documentary in 2021 at 90 years old, titled Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It, which recently premiered at Sundance Film Festival. The West Side Story remake with Moreno and director Steven Spielberg will be released in Dec 2021 Moreno plays the role of Valentina, a new role created for the remake.

Michelle Thrush is an award winning, Canadian actress. Her wins include Rosie, Leo, and Gemini awards. Schitt’s Creek Catherine O’Hara is a Gemini winner. She also starred alongside Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro in the movie, “AKA: Jimmy P.” Michelle’s credits also include, “North of 60,” and numerous First Nations centered content. Listen to Michelle’s fascinating story where she tells in the end to shine. A beautiful message. Take a listen!

Meet Mayan Supreme Queen, Lady K’Abel. She was a Mayan Supreme leader who had higher authority than her husband, the king. Learn more about a fascinating woman who was part and parcel of Mayan politics and social life. 

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HOST: Ashwini Prasad | www.InclusiveScreenwriter.com | IG @theinclusivescreenwriter | Twitter: @INCScreenwriter | Clubhouse: incscreenwriter

Kevin Marcus Miller was Born on December 24th, 1993. He is a music producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur from Seattle, Washington, United States, has been making music for over 15 years, always with the goal of uplifting and educating his audiences.

As we end our three month arc about Asians and their influence around the world, we discuss artists who are Anglo Indians. Some famous artists who are Anglo-Indian are discussed as well as some of their histories. Anglo Indians include author George Orwell, actress Vivian Leigh, singers Jay Sean and Charli XcX, and award-winning actor Krishna Pandit Bhanji, or Ben Kingsley to name a few.

Nikesh hosts Indian Noir, a critically acclaimed, chart-topping podcast featuring thrilling crime and horror audio stories set in India, featuring Indian characters. Indian Noir has been featured in the Harper’s Bazaar, India Today, CBC, The Hindu, Times of India, New Indian Express, Deccan Herald, The Statesman, Femina, The News Minute, ABC Radio, Mashable, Reader’s Digest India, Men’s World, Your Story and other media outlets. It has won rave reviews on major podcasting platforms from critics and listeners alike and is a chart-topper on the global Apple & Spotify Podcast Fiction and Drama charts. It also has blockbuster ratings on JioSaavn, Gaana and other major Indian audio streaming apps.

Nikesh is the author of a multi-award winning, Amazon bestselling short story collection ‘The Killing fields’. His novel ‘His Night Begins’, which was praised by Crime Fiction Lover magazine for its ‘terse action scenes and brutal energy’, was released to critical acclaim and earned him the tag of the ‘most hard-boiled of Indian crime writers’ from World Literature Today Journal.

Nikesh is also an internationally acclaimed spoken poetry artist. His readings of some of the greatest poets of this generation on Twitter & Instagram (@indiannoir) are viral sensations, which have been viewed over a million times. His work was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in Poetry in 2007.

In this episode, we briefly highlight Bollywood and Indian cinema as we journey through Asian and Pacific Islander contributions around the world. Bollywood began in the 1930s and is a huge movie industry that is popular around the world. We will also learn about key people in front of the camera, and behind the scenes, from the past and today that make up Indian cinema. 

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HOST: Ashwini Prasad | www.InclusiveScreenwriter.com | IG @theinclusivescreenwriter | Twitter: @INCScreenwriter | Clubhouse: incscreenwriter

Zosimo Maximo is a Filipino US American who was born in West Virginia in the US, and grew up in SE Ohio. He ventured to NYC to study fashion at Parsons School of Design. His journey has taken him to working with high end clients like Damon Wayans, a streetwear business, to directing, producing, and being a film maker. Today, Zosimo and his wife are focused on an inclusive health and wellness streaming channel as well as doing a documentary about street wear. 

I am super excited to share Zosimo’s conversation during Asian (US) American PI month because Zosimo and I are part of AAPI creatives which an amazing group of creatives. 

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HOST: Ashwini Prasad | www.InclusiveScreenwriter.com | IG @theinclusivescreenwriter | Twitter: @INCScreenwriter | Clubhouse: incscreenwriter

The Asian influence in Hollywood has a long history of talent and exclusion. This episode highlights some of the great talent in early Hollywood, forgotten talent, and a success story!

Media and Hollywood are influential and inform viewers about people. As we continue to stop Asian hate, Hollywood has to embrace its past and produce, promote, and showcase content that show the diversity and humanity of Asians around the world. 

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HOST: Ashwini Prasad | www.InclusiveScreenwriter.com | IG @theinclusivescreenwriter | Twitter: @INCScreenwriter | Clubhouse: incscreenwriter

Nicole Go is a queer Filipino/Chinese American entertainment professional, originally from Chicago. She is currently the Sr. Manager, Business Development – Diversity & Inclusion at Staff Me Up.

With over a decade of media production experience spanning from the music industry to Emmy-award winning television, she is relentless about collaborating with organizations, studios and production companies to increase inclusivity within the TV landscape. 

Lastly, this episode is the first in a series of episodes highlighting those from Asia and SE Asia. There is a significant rise in anti-Asian hate, particularly directed to women and the elderly, in North America over the last year. Tragically, six SE Asian women were murdered in Atlanta, GA USA in mid-March and has sprung protests and the #stopasianhate movement in the US and Canada. Nicole notes to listen to be more inclusive in our lives. I hope you will.

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HOST: Ashwini Prasad | www.InclusiveScreenwriter.com | IG @theinclusivescreenwriter | Twitter: @INCScreenwriter | Clubhouse: incscreenwriter