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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.

My guest today is Alyscia Cunningham.  We are talking about her new film, "I Am More Thank My Hair".  It seems like a simple statement, but it is powerful one. Our conversation is a deep look at what society thinks of as beautiful.  We touch on the messages we receive in the media on what our hair should look like, and how it is intrinsically tied to our value.  Well, no more. Alysica's film, and her book by the same name, is a rebellion, and call to action, to love ourselves beyond what others think.  Alyscia is an entrepreneur, author, filmmaker and photographer who has contributed to the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and AOL. After the success of her first book, "Feminine Transitions", a photography book encompassed with portraits of raw feminine beauty, Cunningham published her second photography book and documentary film, "I Am More Than My Hair". It includes interviews of women who've experienced hair loss due to a health-related condition and dives into the connection of their emotions in relation to the media's portrayal of beauty standards. Her upcoming project, "Seeing", is a documentary that includes stories of girls and women who are visually impaired.   Alyscia co-organized the Reel Moms partnership with WIFV, a supportive community for working Moms and Caregivers in the film and TV industry.  She is also one of the FrontLine Voices for Stop the Beauty Madness. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Fox 5, ABC 7 and Proud2BMe.   Alyscia’s goal is to continue producing documentary films and photo books. With the completion and direction provided through the Horror/Psychological Thriller workshop with Sundance Collab Institute, Alyscia also plans to write and direct Horror films. Find out more about Alysicia's work on here website at: www.Alyscia.com Find her on Instagram: @alysciacunningham and on Facebook and on Twitter at: @alyscia_c You can also find Alyscia's book, I Am More Than My Hair on Amazon To help support Alyscia, you can make a tax-deductible donation to fund her exhibition in March 2021.

My conversation today with @sorayagiacarrdi was nothing short of revolutionary! THIS is a call to action: start supporting women in the media, for equal and authentic representation. Behind and in front of the camera. From studios promoting women to the executive level, to movie goers, and streaming service consumers (that's you and me). Women need to tell their own stories. The numbers are there, we can see the inequities. NOW let's change that. Soraya Giaccardi is a researcher, educator, consultant, and speaker working in the media/entertainment and non-profit circles. Previously, she served as Associate Director of Research at the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and has consulted for non-profits like The Representation Project.   Soraya’s work focuses on representations in media and how these representations contribute to real-world attitudes and behaviors, particularly during childhood and adolescence. Her work has been published in multiple peer-reviewed scientific journals. She holds a B.A. from the University of Texas and an M.S. from the University of Michigan. www.sorayagiaccardi.com Find Soraya on Instagram here.

Katsitsionni Fox is a warm, powerful and wise woman filmmaker. What a joy and privilege it was to interview Katsitsionni. Did you know that suffragettes like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony found the inspiration for the suffragette movement from Haudenosaunee women? For over 1,000 years before women had the vote in the United States-1920 for white women and 1965 for women of color- Huaudenosaunee women had equal rights in their tribes, in every aspect, including government. The Haudenosaunee were then and are now, matrilineal. In Katsitsionni's new film, Mohawk Clan Mother Louise Herne tells us, "I'm not a feminist, I'm the law."  Katsitsionni Fox has been making films since 2003 in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne, where she resides. Her most recent film is Without a Whisper Konnón:kwe, the untold story of how Haudenosaunee women influenced the early suffragists in their fight for freedom and equality. Katsitsionni also directed Ohero:kon - Under the Husk a 26-min documentary following the journey of two Mohawk girls as they take part in their traditional passage rites to becoming Mohawk Women. Katsitsionni received the Jane Glassco Award for Emerging Filmmaker at the imagineNATIVE Film Festival in 2016 as well as the Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking Award at LA Skins Fest in 2016. This film received funding from Vision Maker Media and has been broadcast on many PBS stations in 2017. She is currently producing a short - doc series for REMATRIATION - a Native American women's online, multi-media magazine.  It is focused on healing and empowerment of Native women through the sharing of their stories and successes. Katsitsionni teaches at the Salmon River School in upstate New York. Kitsatsionni has won several awards for Without a Whisper Konnón:kwe this year, including best short documentary at Female Voices Rock, and at the Red Nation Film Festival. Rush to see this groundbreaking film! It will change everything you know about the women's suffrage movement in the U.S. You can view Without A Whisper Konnón:kwe right now HERE! You can order Without A Whisper Konnón:kwe website for schools, or for your personal library here.

It's my last commentary of 2020, and my 50th episode!   Taking stock here, looking at what changed me this year, and how I changed. Hannah Gadsby's new show, Nanette, on Netflix, and Jingle Jangle! Follow me on Instagram: @dianne_wieler If you enjoy listening and like what I do, please support me on Patreon. For $3 a month you can become a patron, about the same as a cup of coffee. :)     

I am so grateful for Venida Rodman Jenkins, and the illuminating conversation we had about cultural humility and conscious consumption of the media. I have realized that white women have the power to change what we see on screen. We vote with our dollars. Which means, with every dollar we spend, we can choose to support films made by and about women of color, to ensure that their stories are told. Authenticity. There are so many ways we can seek out these films, and right now, film festivals are highly accessible online. Let’s celebrate; celebrate seeing women of color on screen, their voices, and their journeys.   Venida C. Rodman Jenkins is the Director of the Speicher-Rubin Women’s Center for Equity and Diversity at New Jersey City University bringing visibility to underrepresented groups.  In September of this year Venida was welcomed as the new Race, Gender, and the Media professor at Newhouse NYC at Syracuse University. She is also the Founder and Pastor of EMBRACE Church.   Venida, named to ROI’s Influencers List for People of Color 2019 has merged her unique experiences in publishing, higher education, and Christianity to facilitate discussions, and bring enlightenment in the areas of race, gender, cultural humility, and faith.

My guest today is Sujata Day. Sujata’s first feature film, Definition Please, spoke right to my heart. I have bipolar disorder, and I am so glad that it is being seen in a fuller scope. In popular films, we see the extreme side of bipolar disorder. In Sujata's film, the story of Monica and her family shows the much more nuanced side of this mental illness. Sujata’s film is down-to-earth, elegant, joyous and poignant all at the same time. And in our interview we talk about how life is just like that, and that our relationships play a big role in who we are as human beings. Sujata is known for her starring role as CeCe in Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl. She has also recurred for three seasons on HBO's Insecure. Sujata is a Sundance Lab fellow and 2019 HBO Visionaries Ambassador. Her short film, Cowboy and Indian, sold to a major studio for series development. Sujata's award-winning debut feature film, Definition Please, is currently on the film festival circuit.   You can connect with Sujata through Facebook and Instagram   Additionally can also watch her film, Definition Please at the following film festivals   Hawaii International Film Festival Three Rivers Film Festival 

Woo hoo!  I got the courage up to do a commentary. Good job, me.   I am going to do commentaries regularly from now on. Each episode will be about 20 minutes, and I’ll be talking about:   Something personal about me; funny family stories, and life experiences in general. A review of a film or tv show I’ve seen that week, with a female lead.  My take on current events that week.   This week I’m talking about where I’ve lived, the documentary film Miss Representation, The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Lovecraft Country and the impending exit of our current, crap president.     And that’s it in a nutshell! It was a little scary deciding to do this; interviewing other people just seems easier. But in fact, it was way better than a trip to the dentist.   Hope you are having a great week.    My love to you!   ~Dianne   www.diannewieler.com Find me on Instagram on Facebook  and on Linkedin