Filmmaking Conversations Podcast with Damien Swaby Damien Swaby

“I’m passionate about two things: creating activism centered films &demystifying the microbudget production process.”
- Zanah Thirus

Named one of Diversity in Cannes' Top 10 Filmmakers of the Decade, Zanah is a filmmaker (producer+ director+ writer) from Chicago, IL.

Since launching her brand, Zanah Thirus Productions, Zanah has shifted her focus to merging arts and activism through documentary and narrative storytelling. Her films explore subjects such as reproductive justice, local politics, intersectional feminism, and recovering from sexual trauma.

In 2020, Zanah’s documentary, ‘Unlearning Sex’, won Best Human Rights Film at the Toronto International Women's Film Festival and The Silver Award at the Spotlight Documentary Film Awards. Her documentary, ‘Black Feminist’, won Best Documentary at Coal City Film Festival (2021) in Nigeria, and the Jury Award for Best U.S. Documentary at the International Black & Diversity Film Festival (2021). Recently, Zanah branched into comedic storytelling with her romantic comedy short, ‘The Love You Want Exists’, which premiered at three Academy Award Qualifying Festivals in 2021 (Bronze Lens, Reel Sisters of the Diaspora, and St Louis International Film Fest).

Zanah’s current project ‘New Santa’ is slated to film in February 2022. The comedic short is set in the North Pole during a diversity, equity and inclusion overhaul, and a Black woman is appointed to the position of Santa Claus.

Outside of film festivals, Zanah’s projects have been distributed to over 20 academic libraries including Harvard University, and screened with various organizations including the American Public Health Association's national conference.

Zanah continues to write, produce, and direct projects that align with her overall mission of using film as a medium to drive social change.

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

Everyone remembers Daphne Maxwell Reid as an iconic TV mom of the 1990s, from her three seasons as Aunt Vivian on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." And Daphne couldn't be more excited when the cast of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" reunited 30 years later for an unscripted reunion special that aired on HBO Max last November.

These days Reid is a Renaissance woman, respected artist and designer, and education activist. Working from her home in Virginia, and still happily married to pioneering television actor/producer/writer/director Tim Reid ("WKRP in Cincinnati," "Frank's Place," "Sister, Sister"), Daphne Maxwell Reid is living proof that a passion for creativity and a dedication to hard work can ensure a lifetime's worth of success.

Breaking new barriers is nothing new to Reid, who decades ago became the first African-American homecoming queen at Northwestern University and shortly thereafter one of the first African-American women to appear on the cover of Glamour magazine. But many fans of her modeling and acting career probably don't know that Reid is a lifelong shutterbug, a hobby passed down by her father that has now become a focal point of her career. With five books and 5 annual calendars already published, Reid specializes in fine art photography that features doors and doorways from around the world, including Cuba, Venice, France, China, Germany, and Belgium. Now she's added to her publishing resume with her first cookbook, "Grace + Soul & Motherwit," which offers her favorite recipes spiced with personal memories and reflections from her life and travels.

Reid has also been a seamstress for much of her life, creating many of her own outfits and costumes as a young actress and model, and has now developed those skills into an exclusive, custom clothing line called Daphne Style, making Chinese silk brocade jackets that are wearable works of art. She also keeps busy as a spokesperson for Virginia State University, a historically black college/university (HBCU), doing outreach, public relations, and speaking engagements that allow her to preach the importance of education and career prep for students of color.

A thoughtful, inspiring, and fascinating professional with over five decades of experience, Daphne Maxwell Reid continues to demonstrate that mastering a new skill is always possible for an artist with a generous spirit and self-determination.

W: https://www.daphnemaxwellreid.com/

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

In her own words

"Hi! I'm Suzanne. I'm an actress and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. My first directorial effort, short film Christmas Eve Eve: Or The Things I Can’t Remember (which I also wrote and star in) recently played at a number of festivals including the 2021 Mill Valley Film Festival. You can watch it here on the platform Omeleto, one of the best hubs for high-quality short films on the internet. Currently, I'm producing my first feature film Every Man For Himself, directed by Gary Gardner and starring Daniel Sharman and Nicholas Logan, which is now in post production.

As an actress you might have seen me in HBO's Silicon Valley as Fiona, an AI robot who infiltrates the Pied Piper gang. Or maybe in the NBC TV show Blindspot, or the films Ricki and the Flash (dir. by Jonathan Demme), and Obvious Child (dir. by Gillian Robespierre). Recently, I starred in the hit web series, I AM YOU, which has nearly a million views and was produced by Rizzle Studios. I was honored with a best actress award for my work on the show by The International Academy of Web Television.

A Kentucky native, I received my BA in Theatre from Davidson College in North Carolina. I've spent time studying abroad with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the British American Drama Academy in London. In NYC, I've studied improv comedy and sketch writing with the Upright Citizens Brigade and scene study with renowned actress Maria Dizzia at The Freeman Studio.

I’m happy you’re here!"

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

Who's Afraid follows this phenomenon to a cathartic yet heart-pumping conclusion as it answers the question: what would happen if someone had to face a life-or-death situation as a result of jeopardizing someone else's life out of sheer racism? Our main character, Whitney King, commits such an act of racism then flees the city to forget and reset. Unfortunately for her, she runs from one problem and into another: a charming group of locals who require human flesh for their holiday feast.

As a justice narrative, and given how difficult it remains for marginalized storytellers to make their visions a reality, Who's Afraid represented an opportunity for co-producer/star Siobhan Lee and me to bet on ourselves. Refusing to live haunted by 'what if's and 'if only's, we used our day-job savings to take the bold step of financing the production phase of the film.

Seed & Spark Campaign: https://seedandspark.com/fund/whos-afraid#story

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

Erin has directed and produced documentary television for CNN, HBO, Showtime, National Geographic, PBS, YouTube Premium, OWN, MSNBC, and Investigation Discovery. She's interested in stories that explore social justice, women's rights, environment, health and horror - she loves a good genre film.


In 2011, she produced HOT COFFEE, an HBO feature documentary film that examines the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee case and its role in the decline of the civil justice system. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and won the grand jury prize at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival. It’s been called a “stunning debut” by the Washington Post as well as “entertaining, informative and vividly illuminating,” by the Hollywood Reporter.

​

She has worked with and directed several high-profile journalists such as CNN's Lisa Ling and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and actor Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jones.

​NEWSLETTER: https://www.erinlovettfilm.com/newsletter

Showreel: https://www.erinlovettfilm.com/work

CONTACT | elovett323@gmail.com

TWITTER | @erincrum

Seed & Spark Campaign: https://seedandspark.com/fund/theknowing#story

Website: http://www.erinlovettfilm.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/erincrum
Newsletter: http://erinlovett.substack.com

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

Emily Procter is an actress, entrepreneur, and activist.

In 2019 Emily shifted focus from entertainment to community by founding Ground Breakers Inc. Ground Breakers is a nonprofit working to create positive identity opportunities for children, and additionally for adults, in compromised circumstances. Working to support people, community and equitable infrastructure, Ground Breakers hopes to be a supporter for change and equity for all.
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Procter's nonprofit, The Ground, offers curriculum centered around making healthy life choices and steps for creating community. After becoming a parent in 2010 Procter realized the deep need for community support especially in single parent situations. She launched The Ground in Kern Vally State Prison in 2019 in order to assist with emotional language and conflict management skills for parents reentering from incarceration. After witnessing the high number of ACES within the class Procter added String Theory Club to Ground Breakers. STC curriculum offers each child support in developing their own individual positive identity. By having conversations around emotional wellbeing, Procter hopes to empower people to create new cultural norms on both the individual and community level.
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During Procter’s acting career she helped to make C.S.I: Miami a global staple for CBS. For ten seasons Procter dedicated herself to infusing Detective Calleigh Duquesne with spice, spunk and southern charm. On the award winning The West Wing Procter offered two more seasons of the same playing attorney Ainsley Hayes, minus the firearm.
For more information on Procter’s credits, please click the link to IMDB.com at the top left corner.

Emily Procter
Actress, Activist & Entrepreneur

E: asst2emily@gmail.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/officialemilyprocter/
T: https://twitter.com/emilyprocter

The Ground
W: https://emilyprocter.com/the-ground

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/