JERRY CICCORITTI (DIRECTOR) A founder of the Buddies In Bad Times Theatre Company and long one of Canada’s most prolific and influential film and television directors, Jerry Ciccoritti is known for both his innovative and dynamic visual style, as well as being one of Canada’s best actor’s directors. His features have been invited to festivals throughout the world and, in television, his work has earned ten Gemini Awards and two Canadian Screen Awards. He has won six Directors Guild of Canada Awa...
Nov 30, 2020•40 min
Geoffrey D. Calhoun is the author of The Guide For Every Screenwriter. His screenwriting career began over ten years ago and was almost completely by accident. He initially studied photography but it wasn't until he was approached by a close friend that he dived into screenwriting. There he truly found his passion. As an autodidact, Geoffrey threw himself into the craft which has resulted in several nominations and awards including the coveted Louis Mitchell award for Excellence in Screenwriting...
Nov 24, 2020•47 min
COUNTERPOLE SYNOPSIS: A girl's perspective on life changes drastically in 24 hours. Director: Emily Steele DP: Christian Eaves 1st AC: David Piersal Grip: Thomas Marshall Sound: Keith Nolan Makeup: Draven Marie CAST: Cate Perschke, Brian Epperson, Tamara Scott, Ava Grace, Dave Deutschle, Katie Campassi, Andrew Cavett, Alex Powers, Tony Campbell Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=wZCPhcOO04w Like to have a ASC cinematographer as a mentor? Have you thought of upgrading y...
Nov 17, 2020•30 min
OPPRIME.tv "We Honor the Independent Filmmaker We believe that there are stories that must be told. We believe that people with creativity, passion, and the ability to overcome adversity must use their gift of storytelling to change the world. We honor the Independent Filmmaker. We are the home of award-winning film festival movies that you can’t find on Netflix or Hulu. Every film, series, and episode we stream is original. Enjoy OPPRIME.tv commercial free and with no interruptions." https://op...
Nov 17, 2020•1 hr
In this inspiring episode of Filmmaking Conversations, Damien Swaby sits down with a true modern-day Renaissance woman — an actress, writer, director, producer, and pitbull rescuer whose love of storytelling knows no bounds. From graduating Magna Cum Laude at USC to landing roles on Dexter and Days of Our Lives, she’s carved a unique path in the entertainment industry, all while championing animal advocacy and embracing the beauty of collaborative creativity.We explore her early roots in Califor...
Nov 11, 2020•41 min
Julie is the recent winner of 2 Best Actress Awards - Independent Shorts Awards and Mindfield Film Festival - and has received a Nomination for Best Actress from the Fort Myers Beach Film Festival- for her performance in "Tree Game," the film she wrote, directed, and starred in. "Tree Game" won Honorable Mention from the One-Reeler Short Film Competition and is also an official selection of the Sunscreen Film Festival, the Fort Myers Beach Film Festival, the Milledgeville-Eatonton Film Festival,...
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr
Hope Hall is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and photographer. Her short films have been selected for over 40 film festivals worldwide and have received numerous awards, including at Sundance. She has a BA from UC Berkeley and an MA from Stanford, and is a proud graduate of the Independent Studio Program at the Whitney Museum. From May 2011 to January 2017, she was President Obama's Principal Videographer at the White House in the Office of Digital Strategy, with both the position and ...
Oct 31, 2020•47 min
Catherine Eaton’s feature debut as a director and writer, The Sounding has won two-dozen awards on the festival circuit. She was chosen for Tribeca Film Festival’s ”Through Her Lens" Lab and Grant for emerging female directors, and was selected as a Shadowing Director for show runner Ryan Murphy's Half Program on the hit Fox show "9-1-1." Her pilot script "Breaking News" – based on her personal experience working with freelance news crews in conflict zones – was selected for IFP's Project Forum ...
Oct 26, 2020•1 hr 4 min
SO-FLO ROOTS Todd was born in Hollywood, Florida and, although he excelled in sports, the craft of acting came most naturally to him. When he wasn't playing baseball, football or studying martial arts, he and his friends would re-enact scenes from their favorite movies (Jaws and Willy Wonka were frequent choices). In his senior year of high school, Todd was drafted from the football team into the Theater program, starring in the school play and winning district improv competitions. He entered Va...
Oct 17, 2020•46 min
Recent Roles "2020 started off with a wonderful voiceover job for the podcast The Harvey Weinstein Trial: Unfiltered, which uses actors and transcripts of the actual trial. I read Tarale Wulff's moving testimony. Just before the new year, I had some fun on the set John Murlowski's feature thriller Birthmother's Betrayal now on Lifetime" Emilie Martz Check out her website here: https://emilieemartz.wixsite.com/actor If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at filmmakingconversations@mail.com...
Oct 17, 2020•41 min
Giona Jefferson is a producer and writer who has been a key player in the development and production of hundreds of hours of non-fiction television and audio series. Her work includes The Innocence Files (Netflix), The Wilderness, an audio doc hosted by former President Barack Obama's speech writer, Jon Favreau, Talking Dead, Ink Master, and Beat Bobby Flay. Among several projects in development she is producing her first short film, Constructs, which explores her own complexities growing up ami...
Oct 01, 2020•38 min
Carsten Kurpanek was born and raised in Germany, moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to pursue careers in film. He started as an assistant editor in reality TV, before moving into scripted television ("Make It Or Break It", "Covert Affairs"), and then transitioning into feature assisting on films such as "Burlesque", "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", and "World War Z" - all the while editing shorts on the side. He was very fortunate to have worked for and being mentored by incredibly talented and gene...
Sep 26, 2020•56 min
Oriane Pick: Award-Winning Actress & Producer Background: Oriane Pick, an award-winning French actress, has lived in various countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe before settling in London in 2013. Since then, she has built an impressive portfolio, starring in numerous short films, web series, and commercials. Breakthrough Performance: In 2019, Oriane starred in the multi-award-nominated short film Say Your Name, available on Amazon Prime. Her portrayal of the tormented lead character ea...
Sep 12, 2020•25 min
Evan Kidd is an award-winning filmmaker based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Raised in NC, he fell in love with film at early age, eventually turning his passion for storytelling into a career. Creating works screening globally for Rostrum Records, Cucalorus Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, XXL, Mass Appeal, BET, and MTV Jams. Evan currently hosts Convincing Creatives, a video podcast on intuitive creativity & hosted How We Human Podcast. In 2014, Kidd graduated from East Carolina Univ...
Sep 11, 2020•54 min
Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before finding fame as the regal Black Panther in the Marvel cinematic universe, died Friday of cancer, his representative said. He was 43. Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side, his publicist Nicki Fioravante told The Associated Press. Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, his family said in a statement. "A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it ...
Aug 29, 2020•36 min
JEFF JACKSON is a novelist, playwright, visual artist, and songwriter. His second novel Destroy All Monsters was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in Fall 2018. It received advanced praise from Don DeLillo, Janet Fitch, Dana Spiotta, Ben Marcus, and Dennis Cooper. His novella Novi Sad was published as a limited edition art book and selected for “Best of 2016” lists in Vice, Lit Reactor, and Entropy. His first novel Mira Corpora, published in 2013, was a Finalist for the Los Angeles Times ...
Aug 25, 2020•52 min
The Sleepless - Michael DiBiasio (Writer and Director) The Sleepless is Michael’s second feature film. His first, The Videoblogs, screened nationally in 2016 and is currently available on VOD in multiple countries. His best friends are his wife, his dog and whatever film he is working on at the time -- which he believes is an entirely normal, healthy, and appropriate way to live. Michael is a graduate of Columbia University. THE QUICK GIST… Chronic insomniacs Zach and Sophia wander the pre-dawn ...
Aug 20, 2020•1 hr 11 min
In this premiere episode, Sophie takes us behind the scenes of her reporting journey—from the Colombian Amazon to the Senegalese coast to the streets of Bristol. Her stories, featured by BBC, CNN, NPR, The Guardian, and more, spotlight the people at the heart of global headlines. In this episode, we cover: 🌍 Investigating Amazon deforestation and post-conflict Colombia for the BBC ⚽️ Filming a youth football academy in Senegal for CNN—with just an iPhone 🏛️ Producing a deeply researched NPR po...
Aug 17, 2020•33 min
Dillon is a film editor based in Los Angeles. He works in documentary, music videos, and commercials/branded content. He brings empathy, passion, and a collaborative attitude to every project. His influences vary across mediums and expressions -- music, literature, skateboarding, politics, and history among them. Dillon's work has been featured on the New York Times, Vimeo Staff Picks, Short of the Week, NOWNESS, The Guardian, and Stereogum. Clients include Amazon Music, YETI, Vans, Church’s, an...
Aug 12, 2020•40 min
In this episode of Legal Backstage, we sit down with seasoned Hollywood entertainment attorney Michael R. Blaha, whose 30+ years of experience have made him a trusted advocate for artists, creators, and industry professionals across film, TV, music, theater, and photography.Michael shares insights from his time as Vice President of Litigation at Columbia Pictures and how that experience shaped the personalized, client-first approach he brings to his practice today. From independent filmmakers to...
Jul 31, 2020•44 min
Michael Ferrell is the writer, director, and star of the feature films LAURA GETS A CAT and TWENTY MILLION PEOPLE, both independently produced by the team of Devin Sanchez, Chris Prine, and himself. His short films/web series include: STOOP SALE, HARD TIMES, HOT WATER, and BEFORE THE STORM. He has written numerous plays, mostly produced off-off-Broadway, including JERSEY SHORE HOUSE, THE BLUE MARTINI, SPRING AND JAKE, LIFE IS SHORT, and HOW BABIES ARE MADE. His play for high school actors, DELAY...
Jul 25, 2020•39 min
Becki Hayes is a Texas-born SAG-AFTRA actress known for both deaf and hearing roles. Born with a hereditary, progressive hearing loss, Becki's hearing rapidly declined, rendering her profoundly deaf by age 12. Becki made her network TV debut in ABC's "Gideons Crossing" opposite Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, portraying a deaf teen at odds with her parents over cochlear implants. Life imitated art for Becki, as shortly after the show aired, she underwent bilateral cochlear implant surgery. S...
Jul 24, 2020•31 min
Rosella Tursi is the editor of the feature documentary Willie, an official selection at Hot Docs 2019 and a runner up for the Rogers Audience Award. Originally from Montreal and now based in New York City, her recent credits include the documentary series Dirty Money (Netflix), Dark Net (Showtime), The Last Defense (ABC limited series executive produced by Viola Davis), Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle (SundanceTV limited series executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio) and The Vice Guide to Film ...
Jul 14, 2020•52 min
Gabe Mayhan - Bio Gabe Mayhan is a cinematographer. He approaches each project with innovative technique, excitement, and a collaborative spirit. Over the course of his career behind the camera, Gabe has created a diverse body of work in the genres of indie films, short films, documentary, commercial and TV programming. Notably, his work on the feature length films' Antiquities & Lazy Eye both of which were released theatrically. Both films have a visual style and dialogue unique to the resp...
Jul 14, 2020•48 min
Donald Sylvester is an American sound editor who has worked on over 100 films. He is best known for his work with James Mangold on the films Ford v Ferrari, Logan and Walk the Line. He won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing at the 92nd Academy Awards for the film Ford v Ferrari and the BAFTA Award for Best Sound at the 59th British Academy Film Awards for the film Walk the Line He has been a member of BAFTA since 2007. You can reach out to Donald via twitter @ripleyIII If you liked this po...
Jul 09, 2020•42 min
Adam Ridley is a documentary Producer, Director and Editor originally from Detroit, Michigan. His first documentary short was about the private-press musician Dane Sturgeon called The Wild 'n' Tender Dane Sturgeon (2012). He has since produced/directed the Netflix documentary Series Last Chance U (2016) and the short documentary about the first male stripper The Story of Sweet Pie (2014). He also edited the documentary episode for the Netflix show W/Bob and David: W/Bob and David: Behind the Mak...
Jul 04, 2020•56 min
Brooke Lewis Bellas (a.k.a. Brooke Lewis) is an award-winning actress and producer, known for the mystery, thriller “iMurders” (2008) opposite Billy Dee Williams, Gabrielle Anwar and Frank Grillo, the mobster movie “Sinatra Club” (2010) opposite Danny Nucci and Jason Gedrick, the horror, thriller “Kinky Killers” (2007) opposite Charles Durning and Michael Pare, and her comedic mobster Vampire “alter-ego” character and passion project “Ms. Vampy”. After growing up and beginning her creative dream...
Jul 01, 2020•1 hr
JAMIE PACHINO is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and television writer. Her work has been produced in four countries, commissioned, published and honored. Jamie currently writes for the series Charlotte Walsh Like to Win for Amazon. Previously she wrote on Sneaky Pete (Amazon), The Brave (NBC), Chicago PD (NBC), Halt and Catch Fire (AMC), Franklin & Bash (TNT) and Fairly Legal (USA). She has written teleplays for Amazon, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime Television ...
Jun 16, 2020•43 min
Topher Osborn is an LA based [local 600] cinematographer working domestically and abroad. While a large part of his work is in commercials, his most recent feature work includes Bad Hair (sundance 2020) directed by Justin Simien. Recent series work includes Flipped - season 1(Quibi), Dear White People - season 3 (Netflix) and A Black Lady Sketch Show - season 1 (HBO). Previous feature films include Dear White People (Lionsgate) which won the breakthrough talent award at Sundance 2014 and Netflix...
Jun 06, 2020•46 min
Brendan Uegama is a cinematographer, shooting feature films and series work. He resides in Los Angeles but is originally from Vancouver Canada. He is best known for his work on Child's Play (2019), Riverdale (2017 TV series) and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Brendan is also the cofounder of "Black Tree Pictures", a production company he runs with his partner Nicole G. Leier. "Henry's Glasses", the short film Brendan directed and wrote in 2010 was screened during the "Films of Remembrance" even...
Jun 01, 2020•41 min
