Episode 20 - Victoria Thomas - “Survivor”
[Image Description: Victoria is pictured from the torso up and sits in front of a starry, black background that is just out of focus. Her hair is slightly longer than shoulder length. She wears a red and black blouse and red lipstick. She smiles at the camera.]
In this episode, I speak with filmmaker and educator Victoria Thomas. In our conversation, we chat about her latest project, Born in New York, Raised in Paris, her teaching at the London Film School, the production company she founded, the Polkadot Factory, and the challenges of navigating a documentary and narrative film industry rooted in a white supremacist work culture that is resistant to change. Because just like many Black women, Victoria finds being in these spaces can be taxing and exhausting, to say the least, this episode’s song is Destiny Chid’s “Survivor.”
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 17 - Rüzgâr Buşki - “İstikrarlı Hayal Hakikattir/Consistent Fantasy is Reality”
Photo Credit: Sibel Özen
[image Description: Rüzgâr stands by a large rosebush and leans their head into a large flower. Behind them is a high fence with flowering vines. The wear a multicolored shirt beneath a red jacket.]
In this episode, I speak with artist and filmmaker Rüzgâr Buşki. In our conversation, we talk about immigrating from Instanbul, where to get great Turkish food in Berlin, discrimination in Germany, and their current project, I’ve Got the Power. Because I’ve Got the Power explores how imagination and fantasy can be used as tool to process and heal grief and be basis for creating a new reality, this episode’s song is Gaye Su Akyol’s “İstikrarlı Hayal Hakikattir/Consistent Fantasy is Reality.”
Episode 9 - Claire Aguilar - “A Meeting in the Ladies Room”
[Image Description: Claire Aguilar is pictured from the shoulders up She stands in front of a screened window and a multicolored abstract painting. She smiles.]
In this episode, I speak with award-winning film curator, film festival director and television commissioning editor and broadcaster, Claire Aguilar about her career in documentary and her recent work with the American Film Showcase Pakistan. Because we first began working together, we always seem to run into each other to and fro from the restroom, this week’s song is Klymaxx’s R&B classic, “Meeting in the Ladies Room.”
Episode 7 - Dante Alencastre - “Finally”
Photo Credit: John Skalicky
[Image Description: Filmmaker Dante Alencastre is shown from the chest up and at a slight angle. He wears a black T-shirt. In the background is a black chair with a patterned pillow. He smiles.]
In this week’s episode, I speak with the filmmaker, Dante Alencastre, director & producer of AIDS Diva: The Legend of Connie Norman. This episode’s song is one of Connie’s favorites, CeCe Peniston’s “Finally.”