Talk Doc To Me Leah de Leon

Ebony Gilbert & Adisa Septuri are Co-Directors of Ifine, a short documentary set in the Kono district of Sierra Leone, that captures the beauty of blackness through the lens of the youth coming of age amid a skin-bleaching epidemic.



Leah discusses with them their narrative backgrounds, how they prepared to capture everything in 6 days, and what goes into a successful Co-Directing relationship. 



Learn more about Ifine here:

https://www.ifinedocumentary.com/



Connect with Adisa:

http://adisasepturi.com/

https://www.instagram.com/adisafilms/



Connect with Ebony:

https://www.dirt-stainedroses.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ebony_gilbert_one/

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

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Leah chats with Monica Medellin, Executive Producer of Surf Girls Hawai'i, a four-part docuseries that follows the next generation of Native Hawaiian female surfers as they compete to earn a coveted spot on the professional surfing WSL Championship Tour. 



The series was produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine in partnership with TOGETHXR and follows rising stars Moana Jones Wong, Ewe Wong, Maluhia Kinimaka, Pua DeSoto, and Brianna Cope. 



Watch on Amazon Prime:

https://www.amazon.com/Surf-Girls-Hawaii-Season-1/dp/B0BZRSCZ1Y



In this episode you’ll learn how Monica transformed her original docuseries into her first TV Show,  her take on directing small indie doc sets vs. large TV sets, and tips for pitching your film to a major streaming platform.See Monica’s Work

Follow Monica on IG



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Leah chats with Emily Stoker, London-based Director and Producer. They discuss how Emily got her start making travel videos on YouTube, how she landed her first TV credits, and some insightful tips for how to set your ethical boundaries as a filmmaker.



Emily Stoker is a London-based director and communications consultant. After working abroad in digital communications, she built her production company. Today she has produced projects with clients, commissioners and funders including National Geographic, BBC, and the European Commission.

Emily’s documentary work spans into broadcast with Sheffield International Documentary Festival recognizing her as an “up and coming talent” in broadcast. Her credits include shooting and producing documentary films in several continents for National Geographic, BBC Studios, Channel 4, and more.

From films that help to raise six-figure project funding, to communication plans that gain national media coverage, to digital videos accumulatively totaling over 1 million views. Emily is experienced in producing films and communication plans that optimise her clients’ impact.

Emily’s work is featured in the Byline Times and she has been interviewed by the European Activism Incubator about her impact in documentary filmmaking. She is available to work in multiple language and speaks Italian, French, Portuguese and Spanish.



Connect with Emily:

Check Out Emily's Work

Subscribe to her YouTube channel



Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

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Leah sits down with Lucas Cardoso, Director and DP of Estorias Co. They discuss how Lucas transitioned from a corporate job into starting his own production company, his exact lighting setup for interviews, and the importance of sharing your work.



Follow Lucas on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lucasacardoso98/

Check out Estorias:

https://www.estorias.co/

Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

Follow on Instagram & TikTok

Watch on YouTube

Join our Doc Club? Apply here

Don’t miss out on this couple’s roundtable where we discuss what it takes to own a documentary production company. 

Matt, Leah, Mark & Carrie go in detail about how to set up different streams of income as a filmmaker - from community screenings, to landing sponsorships, to partnering with nonprofits. 



Follow Mark & Carrie’s work at Burning Torch Productions.



Guest Bios:

Mark Pedri is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and writer from Southwestern Wyoming. His character-driven style of storytelling is reminiscent of his equally unique upbringing in Wyoming.

Mark’s journey has been guided by the stories he tells. His thirst for truth and storytelling go hand in hand, which has given him the opportunity to make films in some of the furthest corners of the planet. In addition to his own writing and directing career, Mark also has a special interest in supporting new voices within the film and television industry. During his tenure at Sundance Institute in the Feature Film and Episodic Programs, he focused on ushering underrepresented artists into the industry by helping them hone their craft and develop their own personal stories. Mark holds an MA in Communication & Journalism from the University of Wyoming and an MFA in Producing for TV and Film from the University of Southern California. Mark splits his time between  Los Angeles and Wyoming.

Carrie McCarthy is a scientist turned producer. She got her start working as a scientific film consultant before going on to earn a PhD in Materials Chemistry from the University of Southern California. Funded by the National Science Foundation, her research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences worldwide.

​Carrie has produced two feature documentaries and several short films. ​She is driven by her endless curiosity to hunt down engaging stories with a unique perspective and has a critical eye for detail in the true-life stories she develops. Carrie is currently based in Los Angeles developing and producing documentary, feature, and episodic content.



Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

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Intro Summary:

Are you an aspiring DP? If so, this episode is for you 🎥🎬

Leah and Matt sit down with San Diego based Cinematographer Luis Lopez to discuss the role of a DP, how to find crew and projects that resonate with you, and how to capture emotion. 



Guest Bio:

Born and raised in San Diego, Luis Lopez is a Mexican-American Director of Photography for documentaries, narrative films, and commercials. His most recent work “Dear Philadelphia” was an official selection for Sundance Film Festival 2021 and won the 2021 Vimeo Staff Pick Award at BlackStar Film Festival. His artistic approach to cinematography is intimate and emotional, capturing the raw essence of each character poetically. Through his craft, he aims to give voice to the voiceless and tell coming-of-age stories from underrepresented communities.



Episode Resources & Links:

See Luis’s work:

https://www.luislopezdp.com/

Follow Luis on Instagram 
Luis Lopez (@theluislopez) • Instagram photos and videos



Talk Doc To Me is presented by Unreel Stories 

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Watch on YouTube

Join our Doc Club? Apply here