Tea Talks With Tomeka

Marlene Rhein was born into a dysfunctional family one spring in New York City.  Although she always felt socially awkward, comedy and creativity became her salvation and eventually her career.  After attending Ithaca College on a Rod Serling Screenwriting Scholarship, she went to LA with $40 in her pocket and wound up directing hip hop videos, including 2Pac’s last with a quarter of a million dollar budget at the age of 26.  She would go on to direct music videos for Amy Winehouse, an award-winning, self-starring comedy short film “Let Me Tell You A Story,” and eventually return to NYC where she shot her first feature, “The Big Shot-Caller,” which was theatrically released in ’09, reviewed by the New York Times and acclaimed by critic Kam Williams, who called it “an appealing little gem of an indie which marks the impressive debut of Marlene Rhein as a writer, director and actor.”  Marlene was chosen by Filmmaker Magazine as one of their “Top 25 New Faces of Independent Film.”  In addition to developing her