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  • IT IS HERE. THE LAST EPISODE OF THE YEAR!!

    Y'all. 2020. We can't thank you enough for sticking with us throughout this entire year. We know you have a lot of podcasts to listen too and we are grateful you keep coming back to our chats.

    CLOSING 2020 on a HIGH NOTE with the lovely, actress, activist, philanthropist, producer, GABRIELLE RUIZ!!

    She is known for The CW’s critically acclaimed comedy, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, where she received rave reviews as Valencia Perez. Her most recent project is What Are Friends For podcast, where she produces and co-hosts. You can also catch her on Star Trek: Lower Decks, Modern Family, Better Things, Alone Together, Orange Is The New Black, Sesame Street, Law & Order: SVU, and The Filth.

    She performed on Broadway in If/Then with Idina Menzel, Evita with Ricky Martin, In The Heights with Lin-Manuel Miranda and in the 1st National Tour of A Chorus Line, as Diana Morales.

    Gabrielle hails from Edinburg, Texas, known locally as the Rio Grande Valley, where she produces many musical theatre projects and workshops for the public school educational systems.

    We sit down with Gabrielle to talk about her love of dance, her first break on Broadway, transitioning into TV, the meaning behind platonic love and her new venture into podcasting. PLUS Gabrielle chats with us about sharing her miscarriage and pregnancy journey, and we chat about diversifying American theater.

    Follow Gabrielle on Instagram @gabrielleruiz

    Follow Pink Among Men on Instagram @pinkamongmen

    Rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by Amy DePaola @amydepaolafilms and Lauren Flack @laurenflackfilms, edited by Sarah Weck, @sarahweck.

  • Julia 秀英 Ngeow is a filmmaker on the rise. An award-winning Australian film writer and director based in New York, who has created films across the globe, driven by a passion to uncover truth and cultivate empathy through storytelling. Creating documentaries, narrative films and commercials, she explores psychology, the physics of reality, with a focus on human vulnerability and interconnectedness. Julia has a background in STEM, graduating from a Bachelor of Biophysics (Neuroscience); and previously worked in cancer research at the Australian Cancer Council and Telethon Kids Institute. Many of Julia’s recent projects revolve around health, wellness and the environment - exploring the intersection between art and science.

    In this episode we sit down to hear about Julia's transition from the world of science to the science of filmmaking and how she's cultivated a practice for "dream writing" and now, getting back to the root of storytelling - discovering feeling. We chat about Julia's recent projects: "A Scale for Hurt" a short film which recently premiered online on Filmshortage and will take part in the Andromeda Film Festival 2021, Cift Festival of Toronto 2021 ad the 9th International Video Poetry Film Festival 2021; "Unspoken" - a short documentary she co-directed with Emma Zurcher-Long and Geneva Peschka (insta: @gneva) and was recently accepted into the Slamdance 2021 Unstoppable program, highlighting disabled creators. And lastly, the filmed-in-quarantine "And the People," a film that combined a collection of readings in 10 languages with user-generated content from over 20 countries. Made in collaboration with writer Kitty O’Meara, based on her poem that begins, “And the people stayed home”, creatives around the world collaborated to make a film to celebrate solidarity in the age of isolation.

    For more on Julia follow her on IG at @juliangeowfilms and visit: https://www.juliangeow.com/

    Please rate and review Pink Among Men wherever you get your podcasts! Follow us @pinkamongmen.

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  • Most known as the fiercely feminist fat activist 'Rubi' on AMC's critical darling DIETLAND, Jen is an award-winning actress, TEDx talker, and body liberation activist. With a television resume that includes 30 ROCK, UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, LAW AND ORDER: SVU, THE BLACKLIST, and BLUE BLOODS, she also launched the storytelling podcast ALL THE FUCKS. It can be found wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as www.allthefuckspodcast.com. Socials: @jenponton (Twitter, IG), www.jenponton.com

    Jen and Amy sit down in this interview and find that as two thirty-somethings from Jersey - they find they have a lot in common! They talk about their love for John Hughes, the secret beauty of the "garden state," how Jen broke into acting, landing her first gig on 30 ROCK, and later how some studios wanted her to sign contracts to regulate her weight. They also discuss how racism plays into our beauty standards. Y'all this one is GOOD.

    Please rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.

  • In this episode we sit down with Pink Among Men collaborator, Caitlin Graham to discuss her life, work and recent venture with THE NATURALS which you can view on YouTube, Facebook and IGTV - check it out here.

    https://www.thenaturals.tv/

    CAITLIN GRAHAM has been creating her own work in film and theatre for over a decade, including the award-winning dark comedy web series No Method and her brand new queer crime drama series The Naturals. She also cast and co-wrote the hit web series Queering, which went to SXSW in 2019.

    Before COVID-19 hit, she was set to launch a tour of The Next Stage, a solo show that tells the story of her first panic attack, which happened while she was performing in a play. When live theatre is in full swing again, she’s slated to present it at The Barrow Group as part of their Artist Residency Program and at the Atlanta Fringe Festival.

    When she’s not creating her own work, she helps tech companies and nonprofits alike as a video/marketing and operations consultant and often works as a casting director. She’s a proud member of AEA & SAG-AFTRA and an NYC native (Brooklyn, born and raised). MFA, Boston University. www.caitlingraham.com

    *Please note that Pink Among Men is a production partner of The Naturals and the series was directed by host, Amy DePaola.

    FOLLOW THE NATURALS ON INSTAGRAM: @thenaturalsseries

    FOLLOW CAITLIN ON INSTAGRAM: @thecaitlingraham

    FOLLOW AMY ON INSTAGRAM: @amydepaolafilms

    ALSO THE POD: @PinkAmongMen

    Rate and Review us wherever you get your podcasts. We

  • Alyce Chan is a stand-up comedian and the creator of BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) comedy. Alyce has also been featured on Filter Free Parents and the Tamron Hall Show. Alyce was also recently selected to be part of the White and Warren's modenr icons. She is the founder of MomComNYC on Instagram and also appears in the Pink Among Men produced quarantine comedy series "I Loathe the Quaran20s" streaming now.

    We talk about how Alyce discovered her love for being funny at a young age when she memorized dirty jokes to tell her classmates to re-discovering comedy through stand-up in her thirties and creating a world of entertainment for parents, particularly, moms.

    Follow Alyce on Instagram @momcomnyc

    Follow "I Loathe the Quaran20s" @iloathethequaran20s to see Alyce. Also available on Facebook and YouTube.

    Follow @pinkamongmen and rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts!

    This episode was produced by Lauren Flack, edited by Sarah Weck and hosted by Amy DePaola.

  • WE ARE BACK. WHAT HAPPENED WHILE WE WERE GONE?

    Greetings from our new studio in LA! That's right. Still NY'ers at heart (its really our home - if you can't tell when Amy's accent slips in) but, this official makes us a bi-coastal team!

    In this episode, Amy sits down with two extremely talented and hard working individuals, comedian and actor, GIANMARCO SORESI and actress, writer and producer, LINDSAY-ELIZABETH HAND. The two first collaborated a few years ago when they made the viral hit "Voldemort's First ASMR," and haven't looked back since.

    Now they have partnered to bring together Gianmarco's debut stand-up comedy special SHELF LIFE where Gianmarco proves that stand-up always finds a way - even in a global pandemic. Experience his first (and hopefully last) outdoor comedy special filmed in front of a socially distanced audience. Directed by Emmy Award-winner Andy Buck, produced by Jacklyn Thrapp andLindsay-Elizabeth Hand, the special is available on Amazon Prime and is being lauded, and rightfully so, by critics for how funny it is.

    Gianmarco also stars in the Pink Among Men quarantine comedy series I LOATHE THE QUARAN20's which is available on IGTV, Facebook and YouTube.

    ABOUT GIANMARCO:

    Gianmarco Soresi is a stand up comedian who just released his first comedy special, SHELF LIFE, on Amazon. He can also be seen briefly in the movie HUSTLERS with J-Lo, CBS' BLUE BLOODS, Netflix's BONDING and the upcoming Billy Crystal movie, HERE TODAY. Follow him across all socials @gianmarcosoresi.

    ABOUT LINDSAY-ELIZABETH:

    Lindsay-Elizabeth Hand is a SAG-AFTRA actress, an award-winning screenwriter, and the Owner and Founder of Edge In Motion Productions, a full-service production company specializing in comedic TV Pilots and viral internet content. Her work has caught the eye of several publications including HuffPo, Funny or Die, Broadway World, A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, Flavorwire, Laughspin, Spoiled NYC, Comedy Cake, and Theater Geek to name a few. Follow Lindsay on social media @thelindsayhand.

    As always, follow along with Pink Among Men @pinkamongmen and rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. XOXO

  • MARIAMI IS KNOWN FOR HER TIMELESS, NOSTALGIC SOUL SOUND. HER MUSICAL ROOTS IN TRADITIONAL GEORGIAN CHURCH MUSIC LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR HER PROGRESSIVE SONGWRITER TOOL KIT. SHE PAINTS WITH A KALEIDOSCOPIC PALETTE IN THIS WAY, BLENDING INDO-EUROPEAN MELODY + SOUL. FROM THIS SHE HAS BUILT HER INDO-POP SOUND. TAKING HER MUSICAL CAREER FROM HER HOME COUNTRY OF GEORGIA TO NEW YORK, SHE ULTIMATELY LANDED IN LA WHERE SHE IS REALIZING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF HER PERSONAL STYLE.

    In this episode we chat with Mariami about turning heartbreak into inspiration and purpose; following your instincts and what is it is like for a woman navigating the music scene independently. Mariami's new single MISS THE SHOW released earlier this week and is available on her Soundcloud for you to groove to.

    FOR MORE:

    https://www.mariamisound.com/

    Follow Mariami on Instagram: @officialmariami

  • EPISODE 50 COMIN' IN HOT.

    We sit down with a dude on episode 50! Dennis Cahlo is an award winning filmmaker, photographer, podcaster, and musician from Brooklyn, New York. In the last 5 years he has made 3 self produced short films The Weekend, Death (And Disco Fries), and Lonely Hearts and his first award winning feature documentary In Flowers Through Space in collaboration with E Scott Lindner. Dennis's film's have been credited as being "Very New York" and it's his goal to always make the city he lives in a part of his films. His lifelong dream is to own a greyhound named Chicken and a french bulldog named Waffles.

    We chat with Dennis about his latest short LONELY HEARTS, which he collaborated with his partner and star, Bethany Watson, on as well as FLOWERS THROUGH SPACE, his feature documentary both of which are on the festival circuit this year. We also chat about his relationships, both working and personal, with women and how as a man he can be an ally to women. This conversation gets into the tough stuff that we need to be discussing with one another right now - and we are here for it!

    Follow Dennis on Instagram: @denniscahlo

    Follow Pink Among Men: @PinkAmongMen

    Stay up to date with all the podcasts on the Paperhouse Network: @paperhousenetwork.

  • This week we continue our conversation about the moral dilemma, THE SURROGATE (2020 SXSW Official Selection). J

    Jessica (Jasmine Batchelor) a 29 year old web designer for a nonprofit in Brooklyn, is ecstatic to be the surrogate and egg-donor for her best friend Josh (Chris Perfetti, "Looking") and his husband Aaron (Sullivan Jones, Slave Play). Twelve weeks into the pregnancy, a prenatal test comes back with unexpected results that pose a moral dilemma. As they all consider the best course of action, the relationship between the three friends is put to the test.

    We are joined this week for PART II with the cast behind this moral drama that brings up conversations surrounding race, sexuality, class and activism while taking a glimpse into the down syndrome community.

    In this first part, writer/director, Jeremey Hersh, introduces us to Brooke Bloom:

    Theatre credits: Cloud Nine at Atlantic Theatre Company (2016 Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play), You Got Older with Page 73 (Obie Award Winner & 2015 Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress in a Play)...I’m Looking For Helen Twelvetrees at the Abron Arts Center, Somewhere Fun at Vineyard Theatre, Lungs at the Studio Theatre in D.C. and Barrington Stage, Becky Shaw at the Wilma, The Grown-Up at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Marie Antoinette at ART, as well as A Feminine Ending, Completeness and Hamlet all at South Coast Rep.
    Film: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Ceremony, He’s Just Not That Into You, Gabbi on the Roof in July, Swim Little Fish Swim (SXSW 2013) and She's Lost Control (Berlinale 2014). Television: Series Regular roles on Netflix's "Gypsy" and "Amazon's Alpha House," guest appearances on the USA series "Falling Water," "Louie," "The New Normal," "Person of Interest," "Law & Order: SVU," "The Good Wife," a recurring role on "CSI: Miami" and various pilots for NBC. The recipient of the 2012 Barrymore and 2013 IRNE awards for Best Actress, Brooke also received a 2013 Elliot Norton nomination.

    And, finally, the star of THE SURROGATE Jasmine Batchelor sits with us to discuss filling the shoes of Jessica and what life has been like for her after her first big film role:

    Jasmine Batchelor currently stars as Jess in THE SURROGATE, a feature film written and directed by Jeremy Hersh. She is an actor, writer, producer, and teaching artist residing in New York City, and an alumnus of The Juilliard School. She has been seen on stage at The Public Theater, Playwrights Realm, Manhattan Theatre Club, Two River Theater, and Baltimore Center Stage, among others. She is a major Lorraine Hansberry fan.

    ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

    Jeremy Hersh is a New York-based filmmaker whose first feature, The Surrogate, was an Official Selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. His 2015 short, Actresses, screened at Sundance, SXSW, BAMCinemafest and the New Orleans Film Festival, where it won the audience award for best narrative short. Jeremy’s undergraduate thesis short, Natives, premiered at SXSW in 2013.

    THE SURROGATE is available on VOD.

    Rate and Review Pink Among Men wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Insta @pinkamongmen.

  • In THE SURROGATE (2020 SXSW Official Selection),Jessica (Jasmine Batchelor) a 29 year old web designer for a nonprofit in Brooklyn, is ecstatic to be the surrogate and egg-donor for her best friend Josh (Chris Perfetti, "Looking") and his husband Aaron (Sullivan Jones, Slave Play). Twelve weeks into the pregnancy, a prenatal test comes back with unexpected results that pose a moral dilemma. As they all consider the best course of action, the relationship between the three friends is put to the test.

    We are joined this week for the start of a two part discussion with the cast and crew behind this moral drama that brings up conversations surrounding race, sexuality, class and activism while taking a glimpse into the down syndrome community.

    In this first part, writer/director, Jeremey Hersh, introduces us to cinematographer, Mia Cioffi Henry.

    Mia Cioffi Henry is an award winning American cinematographer who lives and works between New York City and Pescara, Italy. She travels all over the world to shoot feature films, commercials and music videos which have premiered in major film festivals such as Sundance and Berlinale. With a background in dance and still photography, Ms. Cioffi Henry is inspired by Sirkian Melodrama, the world of William Eggleston and fantastical light in everyday life. Ms. Cioffi Henry received her MFA in Cinematography at NYU Tisch's Graduate Film program where she is now a current faculty member.

    Jeremy Hersh is a New York-based filmmaker whose first feature, The Surrogate, was an Official Selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. His 2015 short, Actresses, screened at Sundance, SXSW, BAMCinemafest and the New Orleans Film Festival, where it won the audience award for best narrative short. Jeremy’s undergraduate thesis short, Natives, premiered at SXSW in 2013.

    THE SURROGATE is available on VOD September 1st.

    Rate and Review Pink Among Men wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Insta @pinkamongmen.

  • DEAR YOUNG ROCKER IS AN AUDIO MEMOIR ABOUT GROWING UP A LONER AND FINDING A HOME IN MUSIC.

    Created and narrated by Chelsea Ursin, Dear Young Rocker, is a podcast that profiles a young teen seeking relief from the anxiety, body issues, and pent up aggression of adolescence and a way to connect to others through rock music. details the trials of being the only girl rock musician in her conservative hometown and sheds light on the un-talked about issue of aggression in girls and the importance of providing outlets. It’s also a series of letters about everything we wish we could tell our young selves.

    The podcast was born from an idea many of us share – a desire to go back and tell your younger self a lot of things. Chelsea wanted to talk to not only her kid self but every kid out there who wants to be invisible, who feels strange in their growing body, who might imagine everyone hates them or that they hate everyone else and feel like no one on earth would ever get it.

    Chelsea chats with us about how the podcast pivoted from a traditional book memoir into an audio storytelling piece; what the feedback has been and her relationship to music and what she's noticed about herself since embarking on this cathartic journey. We even dive into a quick behind-the-scenes sneak peak at Season 2 which drops on August 26th from iHeartMedia and Double Elvis Productions.

    Follow Chelsea on Instagram @ch_ch_ch_ch_ch_chelsea

    Follow Dear Young Rocker @dearyoungrocker

    Listen to Dear Young Rocker wherever you get your podcasts!

    Follow Amy @amydepaolafilms

    Follow Pink Among Men @pinkamongmen

    And, rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts :)

    This episode features the song, "DOOMED" by Chelsea Ursin on behalf of BANANA, her rad band.

  • NEW EPISODE COME UP. Get ya tea, pens and thinking caps ready. This is a movement - not a moment.

    Brittany Gooden, recently featured in a Pink Among Men women crushing it segment, where we promoted her fundraising campaign for STRANGE BIRD, a documentary seeking #JusticeforIzellParrott, is back this week and this time we are talking with her directly!

    Ernest Media CEO Brittany Gooden is a filmmaker with 8+ years working in TV, media and advertising. For her directorial debut, she is raising a fund to continue shooting and pursuing experienced production partners to develop Strange Bird as as a series examining Izell Parrott’s death. The series will dive into the various elements surrounding Izzy’s death: physical evidence, circumstantial evidence, potential suspects and key players from the sheriff’s office, local news publications, Glens Fall, NY residents and Izzy’s family.

    She is the niece of Izell and grew up in Glens Falls, New York, where she has worked independently over two years to capture footage and interviews with Izzy’s family and key members of the community.

    From Brittany: "Strange Bird is personal. It is a story about America. It is a story about family. It is a story about truth. As an emerging filmmaker, I could not be more eager for this story to be my directorial debut. More than just an opportunity to serve my passion to make a documentary film, this is truly an opportunity to shed light and find answers about the tragic death of my uncle, Izell “Izzy” Parrott."

    Brittany chats with us about how she's balancing the brevity of emotions that come with undertaking a film like this, and what the response has been since releasing the trailer. It is a motivational and insightful hour.

    For more on Strange Bird visit: https://www.strange-bird.com/ and join Brittany on Instagram at @brittany_gooden

    ___

    And it is #WCW - Women Crushing It time!

    This week we salute and honor MOLLY FREDENBURG!!

    Molly is a makeup and visual artist, most recently featured by the Washington Post for her unique concept of creating fluid, abstract paintings out of recycled expired makeup. She also partners with brands as a creative consultant promoting initiatives on innovative ways to create with their products while reducing waste in the beauty industry. Molly's clientele includes Loreal, Nike and Em Cosmetics, and has been featured by Allure and Real Simple magazine. Additionally, Molly is a philanthropist co-founder of the nonprofit Me Us We with her brother, with the goal to raise awareness in unique ways you can support at-risk foster youth. Molly's motto is to "create over consume" and believes we all possess unique skills and gifts that we can utilize to thrive and give back in our own individual way. Learn more by visiting https://meuswe.org/ and following @meuswemovement For every 50 donations to their fundraiser with Together We Rise of $25 and over Me Us We will be doing a raffle give away of a selection Molly's makeup paintings.
  • This week on Pink Among Men we are pivoting our conversation, slightly, and are joined by our wonderful friend and fellow filmmaker, Hans Augustave. Hans recently released a short visual poem titled Before I Knew, which is a visceral poem on a young Black man's journey of developing in a white world. In this episode, Hans chats with us about micro-aggressions, how he left the pre-med world to pursue his art as well as what it means to be sober curious. Hans Augustave is an up and coming filmmaker who isn’t a stranger to the art of storytelling. His journey has taken him from the art of spoken word, to the stage with his one-man show The Lost and Found and now to the screen with his latest project Before I Knew; a visual poem depicting the subtle and not so subtle ways Black men come to the realization that they are seen as less than Human. Hans is also co-producer on a documentary feature film The Forgotten Occupation which examines the United States’ occupation of Haiti from 1915-1934 and its negative impacts on Haiti’s current politics. The documentary is told through the lens of Haitian-American director Alain Martin, and his complex relationship with his grandfather, a man who lived through the occupation but only spoke fondly of the country that fueled their motherland’s downfall. Hans bit his teeth as a digital video producer for BLUR a startup with an in-house production team. There he directed, shot, and edit dozens of ads for the digital space. He then moved to to the independent film world where he currently works an an Assistant Director. As DJ Hanzi, Hans is the founder of the popular and growing sober-curious dance party, Reprieve. It’s a pop-up Brooklyn party where people leave their souls on the dance floor instead of their puke! It’s part Funk, part House, part Pride, very Black and ALL Love! It’s defying the misconception that no booze & no drugs = no fun. As a DJ for the past 8 years, and sober for the last 2, Hanzi not only brings his knowledge of all music to the party, but he features a different NYC DJ at each uniquely-themed Reprieve. Hans' love for all Humans and for Life itself can be felt when he spreads it through his art, whether in his stories, on set, or while playing music.

  • We are back with another Female Voices Rock In Conversation presentation, this time with none other than Effie T. Brown! Host, Amy DePaola sat down with Effie during the Facebook LIVE! Virtual Filmmaking Summit hosted by Female Voices Rock!

    Effie T. Brown is an award winning film, television, and digital producer known for her highly acclaimed, multi-platform repertoire as well as championing inclusion and diversity in Hollywood, both behind and in front of the camera.

    Brown has produced several critically acclaimed films and award-winning projects including Real Women Have Curves (directed by Patricia Cardosa) Dear White People (2015 Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay), HBO’s Project Greenlight (Executive Produced by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck), among several others. Brown also served as an executive producer on Lee Daniels’ STAR on FOX and Disney Channel’s Zombies. Prior to Gamechanger, Brown founded Duly Noted Inc., a company dedicated to ground-breaking narratives that use genre to challenge and advance our culture in a disruptive way. Brown’s dream is to change the world through film and TV – celebrating our differences while bringing us all closer together.

    She is the CEO of Gamechanger Films, the first equity fund dedicated to financing feature films directed by women in order to address gender disparity in the film industry.

    ALSO in this week's episode: Women Crushing It:

    Kyara and Valeria Torres-Olivares are the co-founders of Code Equal, a non-profit with the mission to get underrepresented minorities in STEM, such as women and women of color, exposure to computer science, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Code Equal provides free computer science classes, workshops, hackathons, mentors, and the tools self-identifying girls and underrepresented minorities need to enter CS fields with the confidence and knowledge to succeed. Valeria Torres-Olivares is currently a rising Junior at Princeton University, studying Public Policy, International Relations, and Computer Science. She started her coding journey in High School and developed a passion for it and for empowering women to go into STEM through Kode With Klossy and Code Equal. Last summer she interned for Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and this summer she will be interning at Microsoft, she hopes in the future to go into tech policy. Kyara Torres-Olivares is currently a rising Junior at Princeton High School. She started coding when she attended Kode With Klossy a couple summers ago and fell in love with it. She also loves to combine all of her passions like singing, sports, and doing volunteer work in her community.

    ABOUT FEMALE VOICES ROCK:

    Female Voices Rock was founded in order to help promote, nurture and produce stories through the female perspective. They do so through their annual Film Festival as well as educational and networking opportunities.

  • Back from our isolated mini summer vacay and so excited for you to get to know this week's guest!

    This week we are joined by, RAIN VALDEZ, an actress, an award winning filmmaker and an out and proud transgender woman. Rain is also the founder of ActNOW, the first and only acting class in Los Angeles prioritizing a safe space for LGBTQIA actors and teaches beyond the binary.

    Rain got her start playing ‘Coco’ in season 2 of TV Land’s Lopez and doubling in Amazon's Transparent as Miss Van Nuys on screen and a producer behind the scenes. Valdez’s rom-com short Ryans, which she stars in, screened in over 15 film festivals worldwide after premiering at Outfest, winning the Jury Award for Best North American Short at the NCGLFF. Rain’s short film Hexed was nominated for Best Director, Best Comedy and Best Actress at the Madrid International Film Festival. Rain has been named one of Outfest LA's Next Generation of Filmmakers and is Inside Out Pitch Please! Contest 2019 winner. She recently starred in a Paul Feig directed, half-hour comedy pilot for Freeform TV, guest stars in Amazon’s Sneaky Pete and can be seen in the CBS All Access new show Why Women Kill. Rain also appears in the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary, Disclosure, where she shares her story and joins us to talk about her latest series, which she wrote and stars in, Razor Tongue.

    A 7-part web series Razor Tongue, had its international premiere in Toronto at InsideOut Film Festival, its US premiere in San Francisco at Frameline Film Festival of June 2019, as well as, premiering in LA at the Outfest Film Festival. All 7 episodes of Razor Tongue are now available for streaming and can be found here: https://www.noweverartists.com/razortongue.

    The team behind Razor Tongue is currently promoting a For Your Consideration Emmy nomination campaign and we chat with Rain about doing that on an indie scale, her break into the industry, call out culture and more.

    Also featured in this episode, this week's WCW - Women Crushing It is filmmaker, entrepreneur and Good Media founder, BRITTANY C. GOODEN!

    Brittany C. Gooden is a multidisciplinary producer who has worked with premier clients in TV, media and advertising including Discovery, Spike, Bustle, Vox and Under Armor. Brittany also takes great pleasure in mentorship and cultivating safe spaces for young girls and women in creative fields.

    We are honored to feature Brittany this week and her most recent endeavor, the documentary feature film STRANGE BIRD which is a personal story; one about justice; about family and about the truth. The film is currently raising funds to tell the story of Izell "Izzy" Parrott, Brittany's uncle, who was found hanging in from a thirty-foot tree in the woods of her hometown, Glen Falls, NY, after missing for fourteen months. The film will investigate the truth behind Izzy's death aimed at finding justice for Izzy and will do so by examining the complexities of his life.

    At a time where we as a country are faced with addressing the racial injustices that exists prevalently amongst us, and advocating to hear stories for Black men, women and transpeople, we believe that this film is a super important discourse and for that we are matching the next $500 in donations towards the campaign for STRANGE BIRD. We hope you will join us.

  • The producers behind the Female Voices Rock Film Festival bring you Female Voices The Virtual Filmmaking Summit and this podcast episode! This episode was a live-stream recording that took place in early May 2020, and is a conversation with Emily Best, founder and CEO of Seed&Spark moderated by Pink Among Men host, Amy DePaola.

    Emily Best is the founder and CEO of Seed&Spark, a platform that bridges online and offline experiences to make entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected and essential. Seed&Spark’s platform and national education program have helped thousands of bold storytellers raise millions to bring to life entirely new stories.

    An advocate for diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry, Best regularly speaks at conferences and events about leveraging entertainment to build equity and sustainability for everyone.

    In addition to her work at Seed&Spark, Best produces film, series, and VR that have premiered at Sundance, SXSW and other festivals. Best produced projects including “Like the Water,” a feature film starring Caitlin FitzGerald (“Masters of Sex,” “UnREAL”); “Fck Yes!,” a digital series about sexual consent which she also co-wrote and co-directed; Janicza Bravo’s virtual reality film “Hard World for Small Things” which premiered at Sundance; and James Kaelan’s “The Visitor,” which premiered at Slamdance and was featured at Tribeca.

    Best was named a 2013 Indiewire Influencer, a 2014 New York Business Journal “Woman of Influence”, a 2015 Upstart 100 entrepreneur (Business Journals), received the Ivy Film Innovator Award in 2015 and in 2016, graduated from Techstars Boston, an elite accelerator program for the country’s top entrepreneurs. Best has raised millions of dollars in traditional funding, equity crowdfunding, and rewards-based crowdfunding and has personally participated in more than 300 crowdfunding campaigns.

    ALSO in this episode our #WCW Women Crushing-It is a young woman from Newport Beach, CA, Chloe-Mei Espinosa!! Chloe is an 8th-grader and the founder of the Skip the Plastic Straw campaign, and she's ready to bring it to the next level.

    Chloe started the Skip the Plastic Straw campaign in the sixth grade, from a passion project that my class participated in. For her project she chose to campaign against the use of single-use plastic straws, and she built a website in April 2018 to start.

    From Chloe: "I know it may seem ridiculous to get rid of single-use plastic straws, but our oceans need our help NOW and nothing is impossible!"

    Her first goal was to get 500 people to take the pledge and stop using single-use plastic straws. (She reached that goal in May 2018!) Now, she will take on other projects that can help spread the Skip the Plastic Straw message. Check out her blog to see what else she is working on!

    All the research on this website was done by Chloe to further her mission, and you can help her by taking the pledge and by printing out the restaurant flyer (in Resources) to give to your favorite restaurants. Stop the use of single-use plastic straws. Let's save the ocean planet together! Click here to go to the Skip The Plastic Straw Website and join Chloe!

  • For teenage Nola (Sabrina Carpenter), home is the open road. Her self-reliant father (Steven Ogg) is her anchor in a life of transience. The pair crisscross the United States in a lovingly refurbished RV, relishing their independence and making ends meet by doing odd jobs. A shocking rupture, though, casts Nola out on her own. She makes her way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in search of a mother she never knew. When her motorhome unexpectedly breaks down, she forges a bond with an auto body shop owner (Danny Trejo), and senses the possibility of mooring her ship in this storm.

    On this episode, we are joined by writer/director Ani Kennedy-Simon, producer and DP, Cailin Yatsko and producer, Kishori Rajan to discuss the film's development from IFP Week to the Tribeca Film Festival, and now, to pivoting the launch of the film during times of quarantine. The film brings to light themes around consumption, spending and minimalism and is a beautiful portrait of a community that is growing in popularity here in the United States.

    Also in this episode, #WCW - Women Crushing It Wednesday features Boston based Nicky Bandera!! Nicky is a restaurant, food & beverage professional, who at time with so much worry and stress wanted to give her service industry communities one less thing to worry about— dinner. She wanted to spread a little bit of joy during a time that is not that joyful. So, she started cooking. Cooking the lasagna that she makes on Easter for her family— from scratch with homemade sauce. To date, her team of volunteers and her have made and delivered over 1,000 lasagna dinners to out of work Massachusetts and RI Waitstaff, bartenders, dishwashers, hosts, owners, undocumented workers, Djs and drag performer industry professionals.

    For the last 13 weeks they have been focused on putting dinner on the table for the out of work MA Boston service industry, but this week they are shifting our focus. For the first time, the famous Project Paulie lasagna will be available for purchase with 100% of the proceeds going to The Loveland Foundation and Color of Change.

    As always, rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. And remember! This is not a moment. It is a movement. Black Lives Matter.

  • Sista Brunch is a relaxed and fun interview-style podcast where Black women+ (cis-, transgender & non-binary) in the media reveal how they broke into—and now thrive in—one of the world’s toughest industries, with candor and humor.

    The show is hosted by NAACP Award-winning director Anya Adams (Blackish, Fresh Off the Boat, G.L.O.W.) and Fanshen Cox, award-winning playwright, and co-author of the Inclusion Rider, made famous by Frances McDormand in 2018. Our guests are Black women+ working in all areas of entertainment. It’s a blend of the casual, contemporary nature of BuzzFeed’s Another Round with the in-depth interviews on NPR’s Fresh Air with industry leaders and trailblazers.

    Sista Brunch’s mission is to share first-person stories of Black women+ across media / entertainment—building community around what can be an isolating experience—and inspire young people to reach for their dream careers.

    Hosts Anya Adams, Fanshen Cox and executive producer Christabel Nsiah-Buadi join us this week to talk about their own careers; how they got to thriving in media & entertainment. We also talk candidly about white fragility and the need for white people to educate themselves on systemic racism and be allies for Anti-Racism.

    Please know this episode was recorded on May 22, 2020, prior to the national and global Black Lives Matter protests, which we stand with.

    Included in this episode as well, audio excerpts from the Justice for George Queens march - hear directly from the young leaders and what actionable steps you can do to support legislation to keep police accountable and advocate for destructing the systems that support racism.

    Follow Sista Brunch: @sistabrunchpodcast

    Follow Justice for George Queens: @justiceforgeorgequeens

    Educate yourself! Check our website for Anti-Racism resources and how you can become a better ally.

    Love to you all.

  • Lynn Chen has a 3-decade career with credits in over 50 television shows (SHAMELESS, SILICON VALLEY), films (SAVING FACE, GO BACK TO CHINA) audio books (CRAZY RICH ASIANS) and video games (CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS III & IV). Now she adds filmmaker to her resume, with her directorial feature I WILL MAKE YOU MINE (SXSW 2020). In this episode, we chat about the film as an adaptation from its predecessor's, in which she also starred in, how her career as a blogger led her to being a savvy producer and how she's seen a change in representation for Asian-American stories and characters, but there is still a lot of work to do.

    I WILL MAKE YOU MINE features Lynn Chen, Yea-Ming Chen, Ayako Fujitani and Goh Nakamura and is available for streaming on all major VOD platforms. For more information, extras, behind the scenes and director notes, please visit:

    https://iwillmakeyoumine.com/

    This week we are also #WCWing on Citibin founder, Liz Picarazzi, who is helping keep cities clean with Citibin. Liz is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and the value of trade education! For more on Liz visit: www.citibin.com

  • In a desperate attempt to escape her post-college soul-destroying banking job, Bethany submitted her headshot and acting resume to her local radio station in Minneapolis. Even though she lacked any radio experience whatsoever, Bethany's extensive training in improv helped her land the job and she ended up co-hosting their morning show for four years. Bethany then got the incredible opportunity to co-host the nationally syndicated Elvis Duran & the Morning Show, which she did until February 2018. Currently, Bethany can be seen in "Labeled" - a web series that she co-produced and stars in - about a fictional record label in NYC, as well as "Pet Peeved," the web series from Writers Guild Award Winner Daryn Strauss. She also stars in the upcoming horror/comedy short film "Lonely Hearts," which will screen as apart of the Art of Brooklyn film festival and she is the co-Host of the "An Acquired Taste" podcast. Bethany is an actress and producer; she's as weird as you are and quite lovely as well. In this episode, we learn about her career, how she embraces creativity with her significant other and we chat about a topic dear to her: mental health.

    Follow Bethany on Instagram! @msbethanywatson.

    Rate and Review us wherever you get your podcasts! We