She Has The Mic Dianne Wieler

My guest today is director Laura Seay, and we are talking about her new short film, The Coupon.
"A woman finds herself embroiled in a legal nightmare when her husband gives away the cutesy romantic coupon she made for him, to a stranger.  Now the stranger is on her doorstep, demanding his prize."
Laura is a writer, director, actor, and stand up based in Brooklyn, NY. Her films have garnered selections from Oscar qualifying and top tier festivals, as well as online platforms including FilmShortage.com and Film Threat. Having worked as a performer in the industry for over fifteen years, Laura is truly an actor’s director. Across genres, her work conveys an unerring sense of authenticity. Particularly, Laura explores the subject of trauma through intimate storytelling and evocative visuals. She believes art about hurt, heals.
Also, watch Laura's film The Baldwin Archives screening this week at OUTFEST! Find out more about Laura's work, including her award winning film, SPEAK on her website at: www.lauraseay.com.  Follow Laura on Instagram at @thelauraseay

Today my guest is director Crystal Kwok, and we are talking about her new film, Blurring the Color Line.  
BLURRING THE COLOR LINE follows director Crystal Kwok as she unpacks the history behind her grandmother’s family, who were neighborhood grocery store owners in the Black community of Augusta, Georgia during the Jim Crow era.
Crystal Kwok is an award winning filmmaker who established her career in Hong Kong as an actress, writer, director, and talk show host. She won the audience choice awards at the 2000 Deauville Asian Film Festival for her daring debut feature, The Mistress, which explored female eroticism. As a strong women’s advocate, her talk show, “Kwoktalk” broke boundaries in Hong Kong with conversations about women and sexuality. Having moved back to American soil after being overseas for a couple of decades, Kwok now embraces issues closer to home -- that of her Asian-American heritage. Kwok is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Hawaii in Performance Studies and a and also hosts a radio talk show and podcast, “Kwoktalk” on KTUH 90.1fm, addressing racial and gender issues with a multicultural perspective.

Can a mom be an astronaut? 
Sarah Moshman's latest film is a narrative short based on a true story about the 1st mother in space entitled UNBOUND.  UNBOUND stars Lauren Lapkus (Jurasic World, Good Girls, Orange Is The New Black) as Dr. Anna Fisher. Our conversation is funny, real, and hopeful for a more equitable perspective on women and career.
Sarah is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker whose work has been featured on Netflix, PBS, Good Morning America, Upworthy, Marie Claire, and CNN. Sarah has directed and produced 3 feature-length documentaries: The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things (2014), Losing Sight of Shore (2017) and Nevertheless (2020). Sarah is dedicated to telling stories that uplift, inform and inspire as well as showcase strong female role models on screen.
Prior to focusing on documentaries Sarah worked as a field producer on the hit ABC show Dancing with the Stars for 10 seasons as well as shows on NBC, MTV, Lifetime, Bravo and the Food Network. She also directs branded content for EllenTube, Tastemade, Mattel, AT&T and more. Sarah is an inspiring public speaker, author, and an adjunct professor in documentary film, passionate about empowering the next generation of storytellers.

My guest today is acclaimed author, Robyn Gigl. Robyn's debut novel, "By Way of Sorrow", is thoroughly engrossing; a must-read legal thriller.  This is the story of Erin McCabe, a trans women attorney who is defending Sharise, also a trans women, who is accused of murder. 
This is an intricate plot, with a strong emotional charge. Through Erin McCabe's personal and courtroom battles, we come face to face with prejudice, and injury towards trans people. Robyn's characters are thoughtfully created and compelling. I felt like I got to know Erin McCabe as a friend, and cheered for her every step of the way. She is a dauntless, sensitive, and complex protagonist.
I can't wait for you to read Robyn's new book.  Listen in and hear Robyn introduce you to the indomitable Erin McCabe.  
Read Sara Weinman's NYT review of "By Way of Sorrow" here: 
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/books/review/crime-fiction-alma-katsu-red-widow.html 
Robyn Gigl is an attorney, activist and author who has practiced law for more than 40 years. She is a partner in the law firm of Gluck Walrath in Freehold, NJ. Robyn has been appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to the Court’s Committee on Diversity Inclusion and Community Engagement. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Garden State Equality, NJ’s largest LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Organization, and lectures frequently on diversity issues, particularly on LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace and schools.
Find out more about Robyn on her website: https://robyngigl.com/
And follow Robyn on Twitter: @robyngigl
 

Venezuelan born, Miami raised actress Maria Corina Ramirez earned her B.F.A in Acting from New World School of the Arts. Shortly upon graduating, she took on several leading and supporting roles in theatres all across Miami in both English and Spanish. She has most recently starred in, written, and directed her debut feature film, Bridges. She previously starred in and co-wrote the Complex Network's first-ever scripted series, Grown. She has starred in two NBC-Telemundo TV series, two Cine Latino films, and over a dozen national campaigns and commercials. Combining her classical training with her voice as a Latina, she is constantly creating original content for the stage, film, television, and new media platforms. Her original work has been seen in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, the Cannes Film Festival 2012 "Shorts Corner" and the 2015 American Black Film Festival, among others. Her latest theatre piece, Supa'Nova, won an artist residencies at Miami Theatre Center and a producer's scholarship for the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival in L.A., where performances were sold out. When she is not acting or writing, she is doing yoga, making her family laugh, or traveling.
Watch Maria's debut film at the upcoming Miami Film Festival! 
https://miamifilmfestival.eventive.org/films/5fff796a4fceae0096ef6ad4
Find out more about Maria on her website at: 
mariacorinaramirez.com
Follow Maria on Instagram:
@mariacorinaramirez
And on Twitter:
@mariacorinarami

Jennifer Reeder is the original Riot Grrrl, and created the films to prove it!  Jennifer is one of the most fun, intellectual, intense and passionate filmmakers I have had the pleasure of interviewing. Her films are true reflections of the inner lives of teen girls. 
Jennifer Reeder constructs personal fiction films about relationships, trauma and coping. Her award-winning narratives are innovative and borrow from a range of forms including after school specials, amateur music videos and magical realism.
 
The Oscar-winning director of Parasite, Bong Joon Ho, has named Jennifer one of the top 20 directors to watch in 2020, in this article by Indiewire. Her awards include several that have qualified her films for Oscar nomination.
 
Jennifer's films have shown consistently around the world, including the Sundance Film Festival, The Berlin Film Festival, The Tribeca Film Festival, and the The London Film Festival.
 
Her most recent film, Knives and Skin, is a mystical teen noir that follows a young girl's disappearance in the rural Midwest and its effect on teens and parents. Knives and Skin is now streaming on Amazon and on Hulu. You can also find Jennifer's short films on Vimeo. 
 
She is currently in preproduction with a new feature length film called PERPETRATOR which is being produced by WTFilms, 30West and Divide & Conquer.