Our special guest today is Eleanor Church, a UK based award-winning filmmaker and photographer who has been making films and using photography to tell stories for the past 20 years. She has worked on a wide range of projects, both documentary and commercial, with a particular emphasis on stories that focus on society, environment, women, human rights, migration and supply chains. Among her accomplishments, Eleanor is pleased that her filmmaking work has led to policy change. Today we’ll...

This program is for creators of color in documentary filmmaking or nonfiction new media who identify as living with a disability. We seek to bring visibility to creators who are oftentimes overlooked through our 10 yearly grants of $5000.00 each.   To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com. 

Remi Kessler began documenting homelessness in Los Angeles in 2015. He produced and directed THE ADVOCATES, a full-length feature documentary providing a sweeping look at the history and causes of LA’s homeless crisis and an intimate view of the tireless work of advocates striving to create better lives for their homeless clients. The film premiered at the 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival, followed by a successful festival run, multiple community screenings frequently moderated by Remi, and...

Our special guest today is John Onderdonk, the Co-Founder and CEO of Flume TV, an innovative ad-supported streaming service dedicated to independent content. Prior to founding Flume TV, John accumulated five years of media strategy experience at Comcast NBCUniversal. During this tenure, he held roles in Corporate Development, Corporate Strategy, Cable FP&A, and NBCU Corporate Strategy and Business Development, with a focus on forming the company's direct-to-consumer streaming strategy....

Christie Marchese is the founder and CEO of Kinema. Kinema revolutionizes how films are distributed, opening new opportunities for filmmakers and studios to reach their audiences and maximizing revenue through screening tours, virtual events, and TVOD. Christie has won several industry recognitions, including being named one of Fortune’s Rising Female Founders in 2023 and Fast Company’s Most Creative People in 2021. Currently she is managing Kinema and has just released the Distribution...

Jonathon M. Smith, is an actor/writer/producer who has been involved in the film industry for over 15 years Recently he produced, starred, and wrote an independent feature that is part of the Amazon Prime catalog called "Broken City." At this time, Jonathon is currently producing and starring in a vertical series called "Collapse of America." He hopes to discover new trends with the series and show the industry a fresh way to deliver content and great stories to modern audiences. It will be...

The information that Largo provides is an invaluable tool for pitching your film to investors and distributors, hiring crew, and making casting decisions. A recent case study found that having a Largo report can improve salability of a project by up to 300%. We believe that major streaming platforms are increasingly prioritizing projects that have strong analysis based financial forecasts and other key metrics the system provides.  The information in the report lets a potential distributor...

Brynn Lucas is an award-winning producer with extensive expertise in post-production supervision, delivery, electronic press kit (EPK), and feature film development and production. She has led numerous successful projects to completion, leveraging her deep knowledge in music videos, film production, and documentaries. Her client list includes Independent Filmmakers, Studios such as WB, Universal, and Paramount, Major Streamers like Hulu, Netflix, and Apple, and Sales Teams/Distributors such...

Our special guest today is Sarah Moshman, an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker whose work has been featured on Netflix, PBS, Upworthy, Marie Claire, CNN, and Good Morning America. Sarah has directed and produced 3 feature-length documentaries: The Empowerment Project: Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things, Losing Sight of Shore, and Nevertheless. She has also directed several narrative shorts including Unbound and A Mother is Born. Sarah is dedicated to telling...

Meet filmmaker Gillian Greenfeld who holds a BA in anthropology from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in documentary from Ryerson University.  Currently, she is just finishing up co-directing "Phoolan," a feature documentary on the life of Phoolan Devi, India’s celebrated feminist “Bandit Queen.” The film is now in post-production and set to be released in the new year (https://phoolandevimovie.com/). Gillian is also the president of Cielo Films, a newly-launched independent film...

Fred Siegel is an indie film, tax, and business consultant and founder of Fred Siegel, CPA (1997, NYC), a premium, boutique consulting/CPA firm specializing in key tax and business issues for producers and dealing with the business of film, from development through distribution.  Primary practice areas are Consulting, Financing, Deal Structures, Film Tax Credits, Taxation, Accounting.  Working almost entirely with indie filmmakers and their production and development companies, and with a...

In his nearly 35 years in the media, Tony has repped luminaries such as Stan Lee and William Shatner, written speeches for Bill Gates and various CEOs/public figures and worked on high profile national PR campaigns. He has produced documentaries, such as Marvel Then and Now: An Evening with Stan Lee and worked on numerous not-for-profit campaigns for The Hero Initiative and Consent Florida. He is a former award-winning journalist and currently a columnist on various pop culture and political...

Director So Yun Um, discusses her Sundance supported documentary, Liquor Store Dreams. The film is about two Korean American children of liquor store owners reconciling their dreams with those of their immigrant parents, against the backdrop of struggles for racial equity in Los Angeles.

Helen Hall’s music has been performed and broadcast internationally, in festivals such as New York’s Bang on a Can, the Subtropic Music Festival in Florida, and in prestigious venues such as Merkin Concert Hall in New York. Her writing and research has been published by Leonardo Magazine (MIT Press), and her music is published by Da Vinci Edition (Japan). She is currently in production with Pictures of Infinity. The film is based on more than 20 years of her original research and received...

Our special guest today is director and producer Nancy Svendsen. A passionate storyteller since her childhood in rural Iowa, Nancy recently turned from the healthcare field to filmmaking. Her first feature documentary, "Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest," tells the story of the indigenous trailblazer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who battled racism, gender discrimination, and political opposition in her quest to become the first Nepali woman to summit Mt. Everest. Nancy is related to Pasang by...

Filmmaker and Author Rona Edwards, shares tips from her book, The Complete Filmmaker’s Guide to Film Festivals: Your All Access Pass to Launching Your Film on the Festival Circuit, soon to be in its 2nd edition.

Breaking Boundaries: Diversity and Humor in Television with Hollis Rich. To contact Hollis send your email to [email protected].  To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Our guest, Rachel Elizabeth Seed, is a DIRECTOR/PRODUCERoriginally from London, and is a Los Angeles and Brooklyn-based nonfiction storyteller working in film, photography and writing. Join us as Rachel talks about her feature documentary Photographic Memory. She says this about the film ... "After a decade+ of shooting, editing, and producing, my debut feature documentary A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY, was launched this month at the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri to standing ovations...

For years, Steve Kaplan has been one of the industry's most respected and sought-after experts on comedy. His first book, The Hidden Tools of Comedy is a best-seller in its field, and his second book, The Comic Hero's Journey: Serious Story Structure for Fabulously Funny Films was recently released in an audio version. In addition to having taught at UCLA, NYU, Yale and other universities, Steve Kaplan created the HBO Workspace, the HBO New Writers Program and was co-founder and Artistic...

Join us as Christie Marchese shares about how Kinema helps audiences discover & watch great films in creative places, and in community with others. Kinema provides an operating system for filmmakers to manage their screening tours, and developing partnerships with mixed-use spaces in real life and community leaders & influencers online - all to reach audiences everywhere.  To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.

Introducing Mark Mori: Renowned Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker and Emmy Award-winning TV producer, Mark Mori is at the forefront of social justice storytelling. As the former chair of the Non-Fiction and Documentary Committee of the Producers Guild of America, East, and a seasoned union activist, Mark has consistently used his lens to capture powerful narratives. Currently, he is directing "The Baristas vs The Billionaire," a groundbreaking documentary showcasing the...

Chris White: Exploring the Rich Legacy of American Documentary To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com. 

Kelly Galindo has a passion for filmmaking and she has done some extraordinary work.  She has been in war torn countries documenting sex trafficking with the help of service men to protect her.  She has used some wonderful new ways of marketing her film.  She is making shorts and a feature and a multi-part series on sex trafficking.  Learn how to expand your film and use current footage to market and find your audience in this informative interview. To find the documentary visit Epoch...

Our special guests today are Sara Newens and Mina T. Son. Sara is an award-winning filmmaker and editor who received Primetime Emmy nominations for her work on Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields and Allen v. Farrow. She also served as editor and writer for On the Record. Mina is a Korean American filmmaker who is currently in post-production on a documentary about Japan's 2011 tsunami. Sara and Mina have co-directed two feature documentaries together through their company, Wild Pair Films.Their...