Tea Talks With Tomeka

Last year at the beginning of the pandemic, I had the opportunity to chat with Director Bola Ogun. She shares her amazing journey and sacrifices to reach her dreams to be a filmmaker. Since our interview, Bola has gone on to direct on even more television shows.    After her episodic directorial debut on QUEEN SUGAR, Bola Ogun, directed episodes of LEGACIES, SIREN, LUCIFER, GOD FRIENDED ME, WALKER, RAISING DION and David E. Kelley’s new Disney + show BIG SHOT. Her short Are We Good Parents? premiered at SXSW. She’s also an alum of the Ryan Murphy Half Initiative, the WeForShe DirectHer Program, AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women and the WB Directors’ Workshop. Additionally, she was selected for Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew program, writing, directing, and producing the feature On the Run for $7,000.    Ogun honed her strong filmmaking skills and knowledge by working in the production department for 8 years on notable projects such as “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Neighbors,” “Battleship,” “True Detect

Nicci Freeman was born in Los Angeles and has lived all over the globe. She has worked as a Producer, Line Producer, DGA UPM, and Production Supervisor for the last 23 years in a number of mediums in the entertainment industry including feature films, commercials, tv, web series, awards shows, and gaming. In addition she recently Curated/Project Managed TI’s Trap Music Pop Up Museum in Atlanta. This episode was recorded last year shortly after the pandemic started. Nikki talked about how the pandemic was impacting the film industry at that time. Nicci and host Tomeka M. Winborne talked about the trauma that black people have been experiencing. We discuss the countless murders of unarmed black people including how the world experienced  the murder of George Floyd. Nicci shared her hope that things will change as she witnessed the world protest on his behalf.  Nicci is also one of the leaders and volunteers at Women of Color Unite. She shares her views on the lack of diversity in the  unions and in the industry

Em Cole speaks with Tomeka Winborne on this episode of Tea Talks with Tomeka. Em shares her journey in filmmaking. Additionally, Em shares a really personal story that led her to be a feminist.  Emerging director, photographer, and interactive artist Em Cole works at the intersection of art, technology, and feminism. In direct response to the ‘stiff upper lip’ mentality of her British background, her often satirical filmmaking is a collage of hyper-realistic production design, optical illusions, and narrative reveals -- all confidently assembled with a sure hand and a decidedly retro feel. Her most notable pieces include the live-action and animated short film / AR installation “I’m Your Venus,” a modern-day twist and critique on female objectification, as well as Instagram’s global #InstaGiftGuide campaign, which brought to life some of the most popular hashtags trending on social media. The latter was shot entirely in a vertical video format and featured on Good Morning America. www.1stavemachine.com emcole

Margari Aziza Hill shares the story of how the created the series  "East of La Brea."  They created a non-traditional writers room for non industry writers to a tell this story authentically. "East of La Brea" tracks the untold stories of LA through the lives of two very different Muslim women from working class backgrounds. Aisha, a Black Muslim, and her Bangladeshi-American roommate, Farha. "East of La Brea" can be seen on Powerkeg's Instagram. Additionally,  Margari is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of "Muslim ARC" (The Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative.  Margari is also an adjunct professor, blogger, editor, and freelance writer with articles published in How We Fight White Supremacy (2019) Time, Huffington Post, Al Jazeera English, Islamic Monthly, and MuslimMatters. She has five years full-time experience working full-time in community organizations, and five years experience in administration and technical writing in Silicon Valley small businesses and startups. She has over 15 years teaching exp

Rayana Chumthong is a first-generation Thai American cinematographer. She has shot a diverse range of content including narrative short films, music videos and most recently lensed video content for Harper's Bazaar, L'OREAL and the legendary music group, Earth, Wind & Fire. In 2018, Rayana was chosen as a participant for American Film Institute's inaugural Cinematography Intensive for Women (CIW) program and will be pursuing her MFA as a Cinematography Fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory in the Fall 2020. Prior to transitioning into the role of cinematographer, Rayana has worked as an AC and Camera Operator on narrative feature films, music videos and branded content. Other notable camera operating work include digital content for Disney+ and feature film LA LEYENDA NEGRA which premiered at Sundance 2020. Website: rayana.co https://www.facebook.com/rayanac https://www.instagram.com/rayana/    

Originally from Va, Lillian Jones moved to NY to pursue her dreams of making movies. She's worked with numerous corporate, celebrity clients and political clients. She prides herself in the details of a story. She has written multiple shorts and features, one of which was for a filmmaker to produced some time in the near future. Lillian is also a freelance filmmaker that writes, produces, does cinematography and edits. Lillian and Tomeka talk about their journey from working on the Obama Campaign in 2008 to becoming filmmakers. Lillian then shares how she merges her love for filmmaking to help politicians spread important messages.  Additionally, Lillian talks about how she is coping during in this pandemic. She offers positive advice to others that may be struggling during these challenging times.  

Kestrin Pantera is writer/director The New York Times called “a force.” Her new feature film, “Mother’s Little Helpers” World Premiered at SXSW 2019. Early reviews laud the film as a “wonderful, Big Chill-esque dramedy,” with “big screen chemistry from the ground up.” Her first feature, Let's Ruin It With Babies, was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as, “honest, convincing, and just plain adorable.” She created several TV series for AwesomenessTV and digital series for Facebook. Her commercial directing clients include WIRED, Technicolor, Johnson & Johnson, BeTheMatch, and she's created additional content for Google, Coca Cola, GE, Starwood, Intel, Best Buy, HBO, Starbucks and Stoli. Before directing, Kestrin was a classically trained musician-turned-rocker, playing cello in rock bands in Los Angeles and on tour across the world. Prior to LA, she lived in Taipei, Taiwan, where she became fluent in Mandarin and performed voice-overs for 100+ companies in the US and Southeast Asia. Kestrin lives in Los A

Formerly the Creative Director / Head of Art of agency powerhouses such as Grey, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Young & Rubicam along with boasting accolades across the Cannes Lions, Clio, and Diente Awards, Maureen Hufnagel is one of Argentina’s most renowned women directors. In addition to her illustrious agency background, she has also worked as a photographer on campaigns for leading brands - including Nike’s “Hoody On Moments” - and was named the “International Champion of the Absolut Lomo Competition” (from a pool of 27,000 photographers worldwide). These experiences curating talented teams and elevating narratives with stylized aesthetics and humor led her to the advertising landscape, where she’s currently represented by production company LANDIA for commercial directing. In her free time, she enjoys attending as many film festivals as possible. Although Maureen's based in Buenos Aires, she travels all year and shoot worldwide mostly in the US and Europe. https://www.landia.com/director/maureen-hufnag

An Award-winning Czech director, screenwriter, and producer Eva Doležalová (born May 5, 1991) speaks English, French, Czech, Italian and Polish. Eva is also an ambassador of the White Ribbon Foundation and speaks to encourage women to follow their dreams. At the age of 10, Eva Doležalová began acting in Czech films and theatrical productions as an actor and co-writer of plays. At 18, she moved to London to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Eva worked as well on films with well-known directors such as Shane Black or Mike Figgis with whom she co-wrote and camera-operated a film Kudelksi. After completing her studies, she moved to Paris where she began to find her own artistic voice and realized her longtime dream for filmmaking, and started pursuing her writing and directing skills. Eva moved to Los Angeles in January 2016, where she quickly completed her first film, SOUND OF SUN, starring Suki Waterhouse, Sean Penn, and herself, released by NOWNESS. The film was met with critical acclaim withi

Barbara Ann O'Leary invites the world to fall madly in love with films #DirectedbyWomen. Barbara galvanizes awareness and celebration of women film directors by actively weaving global community through social media interaction, a communal blogging initiative, interviews, filmmaker directory, and an annual worldwide film viewing party. Crucial 21st Century Cinema #DirectedbyWomen communal blogging initiative that is running all year. Film lovers are invited to contribute a short blog post (365 words or less) about one 21st century film, TV episode, etc. directed by a woman or women that they find crucial. Everyone's invited to share their perspectives. #DirectedbyWomen Global Directory: 12,678 women directors... and counting! There are MANY more women directors than most people are aware of. I invite people to turn their attention to exploring, sharing, and celebrating work by women directors. www.directedbywomen.com https://twitter.com/DirectedbyWomen https://www.facebook.com/directedbywomen https://www.inst

Tamara Shogaolu is the founder and creative director of Ado Ato Pictures and is a member of the XRBASE virtual and augmented reality incubator. She is an international director with a track record in featuring her work at film festivals, galleries, and museums worldwide, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Gallery of Indonesia. She is a 2018 Sundance Institute New Frontier Lab Programs Fellow. Shogaolu is an artist interested in pushing herself and others around her outside the boundaries of traditional storytelling. She strives to share stories across mediums, platforms, and virtual and physical spaces in order to promote cross-cultural understanding and challenge preconceptions. She was a Burton Lewis Endowed Scholar for Directing at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she graduated with an MFA. Shogaolu was also a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt, a Luce Scholar in Indonesia, and an Academy Nicholls Fellowship Semifinalist. In 2017, Shogaolu’s multi-a

Fortunately, we are experiencing a new kind of Golden Age in Hollywood. The movement for inclusion of all marginalized communities is changing the landscape of the industry before our eyes, and an influx of talent and fresh perspectives are energizing this powerful media. Since the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)’s Hollywood Bureau was launched in 2011, Sue Obeidi has blended the love of her faith with her love of film, television, and digital series to change and expand the narrative of Islam and Muslims in the entertainment industry. Obeidi and her team ensure that MPAC’s Hollywood Bureau is a partner with the entertainment industry. Behind the scenes, Obeidi engages decision makers and creatives to improve the quality and number of authentic, nuanced, and inclusive presentations of Islam and Muslims so that audiences can see Muslims as vital contributors to creating social and cultural change in America and around the world. She also enriches the pool of Muslim talent in Hollywood by nurturing and con

May is National Foster Care Awareness Month. This episode we talk about short film, "Aged Out." Writer / Director Tomeka M. Winborne talks with Filmmaker Brigette "B-Rock" Rock, Singer/Songwriter Tedra Goethe and Actress JaMara Smith about their journeys and roles in "Aged Out."   "Aged Out" is about a widow that grieves the loss of her husband until a desperate looking teenager knocks on her door to offer handyman services. After hiring him for odd jobs around her house, she connects with him and becomes compelled to help this young man after learning that he has AGED OUT, which in turn reignites her purpose to live. "Aged Out" has been screened at the Bronze Lens Film Festival and the CineOdysee Film Festival. The Department of Human Services in Newport News, Virginia also hosted a public screening to bring awareness ! The ladies all share how they learned about youth aging out of foster care. B Rock shares her personal account of aging out of the foster care system. We talk about the state of youth aging o

Melissa Blue is an actor/writer/director/DP/editor/colorist. As a co-founder of Bravemaker Productions, she co-created and showruns the comedy web series “Life Group” about an enthusiastically inept Life Coach, which has recently gotten into 5 film festivals, winning two so far. She was the director and DP for the award winning web series “Don’t Judge Me” and “The Making of Jane D. Smith.” Graduating from Ball State University with a degree in musical theatre, as an actor she has appeared in John Adams, A Haunting, Danny the Manny, Wicked Attraction, Happily Never After, and countless plays and musicals. With over 20 years of professional experience, she runs two successful businesses: Rock Your Reel (www.rockyourreel.com), which does custom demo reels and headshots for actors, and Bravemaker Productions (www.bravemakerproductions.com), a production company that focuses on narrative content. But most important, she is wife to writer Jonathan and dog mom to Lucy, and lives in Tarzana, CA.  

Alexxiss S. Jackson is a Director of Photography originally from Detroit, MI. From a very early age, she aspired to be a visual storyteller; she made her first film at 8 years old using the family camcorder (starring her collection of Transformers and Barbie dolls). Ten years later, she enrolled in film school at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film/Video Studies and English. For further formal training, she also completed the intensive Summer Film Program at the University of Southern California. Since then, Alexxiss has served as Director of Photography on numerous pieces, ranging from narrative films, commercials, promo spots, TV show segments, and music videos. Her work has been recognized at least 20 times by a number of international bodies, including film festivals across the United States, Canada, Australia, Kenya, Uganda, the Netherlands, and the UK. She was spotlighted on Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls in March 2018. Also in 2018, she was invited to speak publicl

Emelyn Stuart is the first Black Latino to own a movie theater in Brooklyn, "Stuart Cinema and Cafe." Emelyn’s a business woman that loves the arts. She has a background in real estate and business. A friend presented her with a script and she signed on as a producer. She caught the bug and gained a passion to help filmmakers to life. After going to many festivals, she started a film festival, “Ocktober Film Festival.” She want this festival to be about the filmmakers. That later inspired her to open a movie theater, “Stuart Cinema and Cafe.” The model and concept of the theater is to allow independent filmmakers to make money when they screen their movies. Despite her ambition, she faced several challenges in getting investors to buy into her concept for this movie theater. She refused to take no for an answer so she liquidated her assets and birthed her vision and built “Stuart Cinema & Cafe.” It worked out better than Emelyn envisioned because she has total creative control. In addition to screening mo

Jennifer Warren is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Women in Film, she is a founding member and present chair of The Alliance of Woman Directors, an organization which actively supports equality in the workplace. Jennifer shared her journey from being an actress to becoming a director. She attended AFI's Directing Workshop for Women yet still struggling to get directing work. Jennifer later founded and now chairs the Alliance of Women Directors.  We had a nice conversation about the state of the industry, past and present. Jennifer shares her passion for women directors. She talks all things AWD - Alliance of Women Directors. She shares information regarding AWD's amazing programs, workshops and partnerships.  In celebration of both our 22 years of advocacy and Women's History Month, AWD is running a one-day only social media fundraising campaign #AWD22for22.  On Friday, March 22, we will ask our followers to donate at least $22.00 to Alliance of Women Directors to celebrate our

Cheryl L. Bedford and I talk about her journey into the film industry. She shares shares has NYU made her a filmmaker and AFI taught her how to be a filmmaker in Los Angeles. Cheryl also shares how she met Bill Duke and became a line producer on the documentary, "Dark Girls." That led to us talking about colorism.  Joan Theresa Curtis, Cheryl's mother is her biggest role model. Joan  influenced Cheryl to use her gifts to make the world a better place for the next generation. In her honor, Cheryl started Women of Color Unite / The JTC List which creates a list of women of color to help get them hired, their work distributed and to create a community for Women of Color.  WOC UNITE is having it's first annual Gala on March 28, 2019.  Bio:  Cheryl L. Bedford, a NAACP Image Award Nominee for “Dark Girls” and Baltimore native, holds a BFA from NYU’s TSOA and MFA in Producing from AFI. She is currently based in Los Angeles, CA. As a Production Manager, Line Producer, and Producer, Cheryl has worked on countless film

Teresa Hollingsworth is the Program Director for Film and Traditional Arts at South Arts. She Coordinates and is the Director of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. She has a masters degree in ‘Folk Study’ from Western Kentucky University. She previously worked in Arts Administration as Folklorist and Traditional Arts South Arts was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. We offer a portfolio of activities designed to address the issues important to their region and to link the South with the nation and the world through the arts. They work in partnership with the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,  Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. South Arts is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, member states, foundations, businesses and individuals. Their mission is advancing S

I want to give a special thanks to Earnest Winborne, Amalie Jahn, Daresha Kyi, Desiree Sterling, Adrienne Ashby, Melody Centeno, Anthony Barrows, Shivawn Adrienne Mitchell, Tamika Lamison, Ronnikka "RJ" Williams, Melissa A. Dixon, Tivia Lynnell, Jan Reeseman, Amy Adrion, Rachel Goldberg, Marlene Rhein, Shanice Williamson, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Lou Simon, Tina Mabry, Toy Lei, Gladys Edeh and Diana Lesmez for sharing their stories on TEA TALKS WITH TOMEKA Podcast during Season One.  I especially thank each and everyone who subscribed and listened to Season 1.  Tomeka M. Winborne is a writer/director that passionately loves to create stories that will invoke conversations. “My mission as an African American female filmmaker is to bring stories to the screen that embody the experiences and voices of people of color that are devoid in television and film,” says Tomeka. In 2005, Tomeka published her first novel, "Where My Strength Comes From." She later desired to see that novel on the screen. Initially, she pl