Interview Series

Shawn Davis has been the Executive Producer of the Film Independent Spirit Awards for 22 years. The Film Independent Spirit Awards is the premier awards event for the independent film and television community. Shawn is a two-time Emmy nominated Producer for his work on the Spirit Awards. Prior to his current role, he was the Director of Events for the Los Angeles Film Festival for 18 years. We talk to Shawn about the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the importance of the independent film community, his personal ties to Florida, and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Sam Read is the Executive Director of the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance. SEA is a consortium of the world’s leading studios, streamers, and industry leaders dedicated to advancing sustainability initiatives through advocacy, education, and innovation. Sam works collaboratively with SEA’s member companies to reduce environmental impacts within the global entertainment industry and inspire a sustainable future. We talk to Sam about SEA and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Amy Paskow is an award-winning visual effects artist with credits on some amazing projects including "The Lion King," "Suicide Squad," "The Legend of Tarzan," "The Jungle Book," "Maleficent," "Rescue Me" and "Boardwalk Empire" just to name a few. We talk to Amy about the evolution of visual effects, her career, her newest venture as Owner and CEO of New Wave Colour and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Based in South Florida, Jacobo Rispa and Damián Romay are award-winning producers and directors with close to 200 credits between the two of them. Both have produced titles all over the world with projects airing on Netflix, NBC, Amazon, HULU, BET, Tubi, Lifetime, Paramount, Great American Family & UpTV. Their company, Sunshine Films, is a South Florida-based film and television production company with a successful track-record making movies and TV series from original ideas through post production and delivery. We talk to Jacobo and Damián about all of this and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Here’s my conversation with Jacobo Rispa and Damián Romay from Sunshine Films. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Joe Chianese is the Senior Vice President & Production Incentives Practice Leader at Entertainment Partners. In his role at EP, Joe provides production and legislative consulting, financial, tax, and administrative services for domestic and international production incentives. He has over 30 years of accounting, government affairs, production and tax experience including positions at Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, the ABC Television Network, Paramount Pictures and Ernst & Young. Today, he is recognized as a leading expert on production incentives for the global film industry. We talk to Joe about all things EP and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Terry Olson is the Co-Founder, Creative Director and Chief Instigator of FusionFest in Central Florida. Previously, Terry was the Director of Arts & Cultural Affairs for the Orange County Government. His purpose is to help create dynamic events which celebrate, unite, enliven and empower people, with the primary conduit being the arts. We talk to Terry about his background, his time with the County, FusionFest, his passion for the arts, the evolution of the arts & culture scene in Central Florida and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Susan Fox is the Founder & CEO of Casting Workbook. For over two decades, Casting Workbook has been driving the industry forward with leading-edge enterprise casting software by bridging essential communications between production, casting, agents, and their talent. Casting Workbook’s global network consists of offices all over the world with production, casting, agents, managers, and talent in 62 countries with services are offered in English, French, and Spanish. We talk to Susan about her background, all things Casting Workbook and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Aaron Gilman is the CEO of Steamroller Studios in Central Florida. Prior to his current role, Aaron worked in the animation and visual effects departments on such films as “The Matrix Revolutions,” “The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “The Hobbit” franchise, and “Avatar” among others. But arguably Aaron’s biggest passion is in providing leadership and creating the culture at Steamroller Studios that has allowed the independent animation studio to grow and flourish while providing exceptional service to clients and creating their own intellectual property in an area of the industry in constant flux and transition. We talk about all of this and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Born in Detroit but raised in Florida, actor Tom Nowicki has more than 160 film and television credits, including a major role in the new series “Bad Monkey” on Apple TV+. We talk to Tom about his numerous roles in Florida-based projects, stories from his most well-known projects, how he got his start in the industry and advice for young actors. Tom also runs Hip Dog Canine Hydrotherapy, a small organization that does swim-therapy for injured and disabled dogs. We talk about all of this and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.

Film Florida Podcast Episode 127- Based in Miami, Marco Mall is the Executive Producer of the Florida Film House, the Founder of World Wide Urban Distribution, 1st Take Youth Film Program and Urban Film Festival and an Executive with the Urban Streaming Network. Marco has spent more than a decade mentoring young talent, developing an in-house team of filmmakers, and vertically integrating their business from service productions to their own six feature films. We talk to Marco about all of these endeavors and more on this episode of the Film Florida Podcast. Audio editing by Rob Hill.