Episode 18 - Chloë Walters-Wallace - “Take Me Home, Country Road/West Jamaica”
Photo Credit: Aura Aura
[Image Description: Chloë is pictured from the neck up as she looks straight into the camera. She wears a black top and black and gold earrings. Her hair is an Afro parted on the side.]
In the this episode, I speak with Firelight Media’s Manager of Artists Programs, Chloë Walters-Wallace. In our conversation, we chat about what got her started in the documentary field, her work at the Tribeca Film Institute and the New Orleans Film Society, and some of Firelight’s new initiatives for BIPOC filmmakers. Because she is originally from Jamaica, this episode’s song is Toots & the Maytals, “Take Me Home, Country Road/West Jamaica.”
Episode 8 - Fallon Young - “Walking to New Orleans”
(Image Description: Fallon Young stands slightly to the side and smiles at the camera. She has red hair and wears a black dress that has a black and gold design, and a gold necklace.)
In this episode, I speak with Fallon Young, Executive Director of the New Orleans Film Society about the plans for the New Orleans Film Festival and other programs in the time of COVID-19, “regional” documentary filmmakers, the George Floyd Uprising, and the specific, anti-racism remedies that are being put into place. Since the motto of the Crescent City is, “Laissez les bon temps rouler,” and there is no better place to be, just let the late, great Fats Domino take you there with the classic song, “I’m Walking to New Orleans.”
Episode 4 - Sonya Childress - “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun”
[Image description: Sonya Childress smiles. She wears a multi-colored top.]
In this episode, I speak with Sonya Childress, Senior Fellow at the Perspective Fund, about her pioneering work in the field of documentary and impact. Because in all her work, she centers People of Color and Blackness, in particular, this week’s song is the New Rotary Connection’s classic, “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun.”
Episode 1 - Tracy Rector - "I'm Every Woman"
Photo Credit: Petter Cohen
[Image Description: A black and white photo of Tracy Rector. Her head is turned slightly to the left and her hands are in her pockets. She wears a dark-colored coat and dress. The background is made up of gauzy materials of varying textures.]
In this episode, I speak with Choctaw/Seminole co-founder of Longhouse Media, Tracy Rector about her filmmaking, her new gig with Nia Tero and, her mentorship with the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab. With everything that she does, like Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston, Tracy’s informal mantra should be “I’m Everywoman.” I spoke with her at the 2020 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.