Making Media Now (Filmmakers Collaborative)

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo is joined by the makers of a new three-part documentary series called “Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine” which premiered on US Public Television stations in late July. Joining Michael are co-director Chun-Wei Yi and series producer Brian Skerry.

“Sea Change” explores a body of water that is warming 97 percent faster than the global ocean, and what that means for the Gulf of Maine – for the animals, for the jobs dependent upon it and the millions of people along its shores – and may serve as a preview of what could happen worldwide due to climate change.

“Sea Change” blends science, exploration, stunning natural history and stories of human experience to illuminate how what happens here could have profound global implications.

Viewers will encounter the spectacular wilderness and wildlife that still teems in these waters.

The series also documents the range of people including scientists, Native Americans, fishers and entrepreneurs working to reveal the Gulf’s complex history and helping to understand what role the ocean plays in all of our lives.

All 3 episodes are available via the PBS App and via NOVA on YouTube. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

On this episode host Michael Azevedo is joined by Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright, the creators of a hugely successful and highly entertaining and insightful YouTube series called Cinema Therapy.   Founded in 2020 by its hosts: Jonathan, a marriage and family therapist, and Alan, a filmmaker, the channel has built a following in part by holding faux therapy sessions for heroes, villains and onscreen couples, treating movie plots and characters as case studies for mental health topics.    Some typical titles: "7 Movie Marriages That Are Actually Healthy," “Psychology of a Hero: ‘Hulk’ and Anger Management,” and “Movie Couple Therapy: ‘Shrek.’”   The hosts and their team shoot the videos in the basement of Seawright’s Utah home. By YouTube’s count, many episodes have been viewed more than a million times each.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode of Making Media Now, host Michael Azevedo is joined by writer, filmmaker and professor Michele Meek. 

Michele recently published the book, Consent Culture and Teen Films , and she has published several other books including Independent Female Filmmakers (2019) and The Mastermind Failure Club(2020). She presented a TEDx talk “Why we’re confused about consent—rewriting our stories of seduction” and has written for Ms. Magazine, Script Magazine, Entrepreneur, The Good Men Project, Salon.com, among others.

Michele has also directed numerous award-winning short films, including Imagine Kolle 37 (2017) and Red Sneakers (2008), and she worked as associate producer on the documentary feature Salvage (2019), which premiered at SXSW Film Festival. She has several creative projects in the works—including a short film Bay Creek Tennis Camp, a feature screenplay Cruisin‘ and a documentary The Impermanence of Everything.

She is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies department at Bridgewater State University, where she teaches filmmaking, screenwriting, film studies, digital media, gender studies, and life design.

A few weeks the NewYork Times published an article, written by Emily Labor-Warren, that examined the practice of conducting something called a life review.    It was in the article that host Michael Azevedo learned about the life and work of Jodi Wellman, his guest on this episode of Making Media Now.   The Times’ article begins by laying out a bit of Jodi’s story: Jodi Wellman was devastated when her mother died of a heart attack at age 58. Cleaning out her apartment made her feel even worse. Drawers and closets overflowed with abandoned projects: unpublished manuscripts and business cards for ventures that had never gotten started.  

At the time, Jodi was in her early 30s, living in Chicago and working her way up the corporate rungs at a fitness club chain. But, over the course of five years, that work began to feel empty.

Determined not to stagnate like her mother, Jodi quit her job to become an executive coach, eventually entering a master’s degree program in positive psychology. There, she developed a strategy for living fully: Think about death, a lot.

Now also a speaker and the author of “You Only Die Once,” Jodi believes that focusing on how short life is makes you less likely to squander it. 

To help her clients figure out how to spend their limited time, she asks them dozens of questions, organized by life phase — things like what activities made them happiest as a child, and what they would change about their 40s and 50s.

Her approach is a twist on the practice of conducting a “life review,” where people systematically reflect on their past, through conversations or in writing, to identify character strengths and develop self-awareness and acceptance.

In addition to being a speaker, coach, and author, Jodi is the force behind the website Four Thousand Mondays which helps visitors vividly calculate approximately how many Mondays they have left and use that information as a catalyst to live life on purpose, inspired and totally alive.

Jodi joined Michael from her home in Palm Springs, CA. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is award-winning filmmaker Dan Habib. 

Dan is the Director and Producer of the nationally broadcast documentary films Intelligent Lives, Who Cares About Kelsey?, Mr. Connolly Has ALS and Including Samuel, as well as many other short, disability-related films. His films have been featured in dozens of film festivals, translated into 17 languages, and used worldwide to support inclusive education and disability rights. 

Dan’s most recent film, My Disability Roadmap, which was featured on The NY Times website in May, follows his son Samuel, a college student with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, as he seeks guidance from disability activists on everything from leaving home to dating.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Oscar-nominated director Elaine McMillion Sheldon. Elaine joins Michael to discuss her very personal--and mesmerizing--documentary "King Coal."   A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, "King Coal" meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a spectacularly beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life.   Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Director / Producer / Co-Editor) is an Academy Award-nominated, and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker. Sheldon is the director of two Netflix Original Documentaries - HEROIN(E) and RECOVERY BOYS- that explore America's opioid crisis.   She has been named a Creative Capital Awardee, Guggenheim Fellow, a USA Fellow by United States Artists, and one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film,” by Filmmaker Magazine. KING COAL, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and is currently enjoying a successful theatrical run. The film will be available for VOD and streaming in early 2024.   Elaine McMillion Sheldon was raised in West Virginia and lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead     

Joining Michael Azevedo on this episode is filmmaker Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, the director of a documentary called "For The Love of Rutland", which takes viewers to scenic New England where a battle rages over refugee resettlement.  As passions heat up nationally over race, economics and immigration in 2016, the film captures the fallout in the blue-collar town of Rutland, Vermont, where residents grapple with the resettlement of Syrian refugees while facing the devastation of a stagnating local economy and a growing opioid crisis.

An intimate, verité-style documentary, "For the Love of Rutland" explores issues affecting communities across the nation in the microcosm of one small Vermont town. As tensions over the attempt to relocate Syrian refugees to the predominantly white town of Rutland grow, cultural, racial and political divides deepen amongst the town’s citizens.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Mónica Guzmán is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America; host of A Braver Way, a podcast that equips people with the tools they need to bridge the political divide in their everyday lives; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world; and author of "I Never Thought Of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times."

​Monica is the inaugural McGurn Fellow at the University of Florida, working with researchers at the UF College of Journalism and Communications and beyond to better understand ways to employ techniques described in her book to boost understanding. She was a 2019 fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, where she studied social and political division, and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where she studied how journalists can better meet the needs of a participatory public. 

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, the Glenn Beck Podcast, Reader's Digest, BookTV, and EconTalk, and she is an advisor for Starts With Us and the Generations Over Dinner project.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by director Sky Bergman to talk about her film, "Lives Well Lived."   

“Be endlessly engaged in whatever your passion is.” “Work a little less, spend a little less, enjoy life a little more.” “Sit loosely in the saddle of life as you go down the long trail.” These are among the many words of advice imparted by the 40 interview subjects in Sky Bergman’s documentary examining the lives of people ages 75 to 100.

Sky Bergman was inspired to make the film by her grandmother Evelyn, whom she started filming at age 99. Evelyn lived to be 103, long enough to see herself projected on the big screen at a film festival just three weeks before she passed away. Evelyn and the documentary’s 39 other subjects, represent some 3,000 years of collective life experience.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo speaks with journalist and author Katie Hafner, and bioethicist Amy Scharf about the Lost Women of Science Initiative, a new educational nonprofit organization created to research and promote the stories of the forgotten women of science. The initiative's mission is to raise awareness of the pivotal role women have played in scientific discoveries and innovations, and to promote interest in STEM education and careers - especially among girls and young women. 

  The Lost Women of Science podcast launches on November 4, in partnership with public media organization PRX and the award-winning Scientific American magazine. Katie Hafner is the host and Amy Scharf is one of the co-executive producers. The podcast series will present deeply reported narratives of female scientists previously unrecognized by the general public for their accomplishments. The first season will include four in-depth episodes centered on Dr. Dorothy Andersen (1901-1963), a brilliant pathologist and pediatrician who discovered and named cystic fibrosis in the 1930s.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo welcomes back journalist Susan Zalkind. Susan joined us back in late 2022 to talk about the Hulu documentary series, "Murders Before the Marathon," which she created, wrote, and co-produced. The springboard for that documentary series was actually a book proposal about a triple murder that took place in Waltham mass on 9/11/11 and that horrific crime’s eventual connection to the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013.   

Susan has spent more than a decade investigating the September 2011 murder of Brendan Mess, Raphael Teken, and her friend Erik Weissman in Waltham, Massachusetts and the connection between the officially still-open homicide case and the Boston Marathon bombing. 

Her book The Waltham Murders: One Woman’s Pursuit to Expose the Truth Behind a Murder and a National Tragedy was published in March 2024.

Library Journal hailed the book as “a definitive resource” in a starred review. Publishers Weekly called the book “gripping” and predicted that “readers will be captivated.”

A true-crime memoir and the culmination of more than ten years of reporting, The Waltham Murders is an in-depth probe into a dark American underworld by a journalist coming to grips with both personal grief and the collective anguish of a nation in her tireless pursuit of the truth.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Does this sound familiar to you: you settle in for the night hoping to find something to watch on one of the half dozen streaming services you somehow subscribe to and can’t seem to find something that appeals to you?     Or you’re chatting with friends about what they’re watching but no one can seem to remember exactly what their new favorite program is on? Deciphering viewing options among various streaming services can certainly feel like a chore. And that’s a challenge for viewers and streaming companies alike.   

That’s why host Michael Azevedo invited Brandon Katz, senior entertainment industry strategist at Parrot Analytics, on to the podcast to discuss this vexing issues for streaming channels and audiences alike: why do the services have such a difficult time helping people find more things on their services to watch? 

Michael's chat is based in part a recent column of his in the Observer, titled Steamers Have Figured Out How to Get Sign-Up—The Real Question is How to Keep Them. It was an informative and fun conversation.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Robert and Rachel Millman, the father/daughter producing team behind a documentary called "Line in the Street," which examines the extremely important but little-understood issue of gerrymandering. 

"Line in the Street" tells the story of citizens, activists, and legislators as they fight for redistricting reform in Pennsylvania, one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in the country. The film spotlights a groundbreaking redistricting lawsuit, arguing that state legislators have violated their own state constitution.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now is Steven Jenkins, the director of the just-opened Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK.

As the primary public venue for the Bob Dylan Archive® collection, the center offers curated exhibits pulled from the priceless collection of more than 100,000 items spanning Dylan’s career, including handwritten manuscripts, notebooks and correspondence; films, videos, photographs and artwork; memorabilia and ephemera; personal documents and effects; unreleased studio and concert recordings; musical instruments; and many other elements.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

With this episode we begin a short series of conversations with documentary filmmakers whose work will be featured at the upcoming New Hampshire Film Festival, which will take place in Portsmouth, NH from October 12-15. For more info about the festival, including its line-up of films, visit NHfilmfestival.com.   First up, host Michael Azevedo chats with Pete Davis, the co-director of a documentary called "Join or Die" which depicts the half-century story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking "Bowling Alone" research into America's decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis.   Pete Davis, who along with Rebecca Davis, co-directed the film, is also a writer and civic advocate. And, he just so happens to be a former student of Robert Putnam’s. He is the author of “Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in An Age of Infinite Browsing.” And he's the co-founder of the Democracy Policy Network, a organization focused on raising up ideas that deepen democracy.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo speaks with Ido Mizrahy, the director of "Space: The Longest Goodbye," which will be broadcast on PBS on May 6 as part of the Independent Lens series.    In 1994, with the building of the International Space Station under way, NASA formed a psychological unit. Now, NASA astronauts may soon embark on even longer trips into deep space. Long-distance relationships are hard enough on Earth. On a three-year, round trip trek to Mars, navigating the unparalleled separation from home could be one of the biggest challenges to a successful mission.    Space: The Longest Goodbye, follows the journey of mentally preparing astronauts for such an unprecedented trip and reflects on the history of the NASA psychological unit.   In addition to its May 6 PBS broadcast, the film is also currently available for streaming on demand.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode host Michael Azevedo navigates an insightful conversation on the creation of the Oscar-nominated documentary, "20 Days in Mariupol." The engrossing film, a co-production of PBS' Frontline and the Associated Press, unflinchingly captures the initial 20 days of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, seen through the eyes of Ukrainian filmmaker and AP video journalist, Mstyslav Chernov, who directed the film.

This episode features Raney Aronson-Rath, Frontline's executive producer, and Michelle Mizner, the film's editor and co-producer. They share the excruciating details behind the making of the film, which has been widely acclaimed for its courage and authenticity in showcasing the harsh realities of war. The film, later awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for reporting, is currently available for streaming online across various platforms including the PBS app, Frontline's YouTube channel, and Amazon Prime.

Michelle Mizner's insights into her journey of transforming raw footage into a compelling narrative offer interesting takeaways. The conversation provides a glimpse into the process of creating a powerful documentary amidst chaos, highlighting ethical considerations, creative dilemmas, and an emotional toll that comes with dealing with heart-wrenching war footage.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode of Making Media Now we revisit host Michael Azevedo's chat with composer and musician Tom Phillips. Tom composed the score for "Attica," which was recently nominated for a Best Documentary feature Oscar and is currently airing on Showtime.

Tom’s credits include well over 500 films for national broadcast networks such as PBS, ABC, CBS, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, A&E and HBO, and he’s amassed an impressive list of industry awards. His scores are regularly heard on national broadcast television, including the Antiques Roadshow theme, programs for American Experience, and for Nova. 

His resume includes four national Emmy winners as well as many other Emmy nominated films, including "Freedom Riders" which won 3 national primetime Emmys. He has scored many independent films which have won film festivals including multiple Sundance Film Festival winners such as "The Murder of Emmett Till".

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo welcomes back filmmaker and television producer Roberto Mighty to talk about the two programs of his currently airing on PBS: 'World’s Greatest Cemeteries' and 'Getting Dot Older.'   On 'World’s Greatest Cemeteries' Roberto travels to some of the world’s most renowned burial sites , touring masterpieces of landscape, gardens and culture. Each episode includes a stunning visual tour of one of the world’s greatest cemeteries.    'Getting Dot Older' features intimate revelations about aging from diverse baby boomers. The series premiered nationwide in January 2022   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is former Olympian and award-winning documentary filmmaker Mary Mazzio to talk about her latest film, "Bad River."   

"Bad River" chronicles the Wisconsin-based Bad River Band, which is a group within a tribe of native Americans, and their ongoing fight for sovereignty, which unfolds in a groundbreaking way through a series of shocking revelations, devastating losses, and a powerful legacy of defiance and resilience.

This inspiring project brings us through the epic sweep of history into the present, with a David and Goliath battle over a 70-year-old pipeline on the brink of rupture into Lake Superior, the largest freshwater resource in America. 

"Bad River" is currently enjoying a successful limited theatrical run and is available for streaming for Xfinity customers and is also available via Vimeo.

Mary Mazzio’s credits include A Hero for Daisy, I Am Jane Doe, A Most Beautiful Thing, Ten9Eight, and Underwater Dreams.

Her work “explores the concept of overcoming obstacles, whether it is a fight for social change… or issues of poverty and lack of opportunity...and sheds light on ordinary people doing extraordinary things – defying expectations and challenging assumptions of who and what they can achieve. Mazzio’s powerful new documentary Bad River is no exception.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode of Making Media Now, host Michael Azevedo catches up with multi-talented Filmmakers Collaborative member Mike Silva of Vessel Productions to learn about the path he took to becoming a filmmaker and editor. Mike brings us up to date on the making of his latest documentary, JUMP,  which tells the story of 26-year-old Maria Smirnova as she strives to high dive professionally for Cirque Du Soleil and Red Bull. The film will explore the sport of high diving as well as the recreational, and often dangerous, counterculture of freestyle cliff diving. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo is joined by two guests to discuss a new film called "Canary," a documentary about a climate scientist who has been referred to as “the closest living thing to Indiana Jones.”   Danny O’Malley, a producer on the Netflix series “Chef’s Table,” directed the film along with MIT-trained Neuroscientist Alex Rivest, PhD. It’s set to open in limited release on Sept. 15 followed by a one-night-only special nationwide screening on Sept. 20.    The subject of the film is Dr. Lonnie Thompson, an explorer “who went where no scientist had gone before and transformed our idea of what is possible.” Daring to seek Earth’s history contained in glaciers atop the tallest mountains in the world, Lonnie found himself on the frontlines of climate change—his life’s work evolving into a salvage mission to recover these priceless historical records before they disappear forever.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo is joined by Bill Lichtenstein and Brooke Lewitas, the team behind a documentary-in-process called "Broken," a film which intends to identify and expose the underlying systemic problems in the child welfare system, nationally, and more specifically in the state of MA. 

"Broken" follows Brooke as she investigates and exposes the fatally-flawed child protection, foster care and family court systems in Massachusetts – where despite a $1.3 billion annual budget, hundreds of children have died in the care of the state child welfare system in recent years.

Bill Lichtenstein previously worked for ABC News producing investigative reports for “20/20,” “World News Tonight” and “Nightline,” and has written extensively for the Huffington Post, Nation, New York Times, New York Daily News, Village Voice, and the Boston Globe on child welfare, health and media issues.   Bill's latest film, "WBCN and The American Revolution" and companion book on MIT Press/Penguin Random House, tells the untold story of the early days of the legendary Boston radio station to examine how media can create social change.  Both the film, which aired on PBS, and the book received multiple award.   Reporter Brooke Lewitas is a recent graduate of Boston University School of Journalism. Brooke’s master’s thesis involved identifying, interviewing, and forming journalistic relationships with families affected by the Massachusetts child welfare system, as well as experts in the field. Her thesis paper forms the approach and scope of the film. Brooke has worked in university, local, and national newsrooms, including a stint as a reporter and columnist for the Virginia-based Fairfax Times, and as the editor-in-chief of the Boston University News Service.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Unidentified Flying Objects have long captivated the imagination of the public, but for decades most scientists treated the subject as taboo. Now, these mysterious phenomena are moving out of the shadows and into the light, as NASA pledges to study them scientifically. So, what exactly does science have to say on the matter?   Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Terri Randall, the writer and director of a new science documentary called “What Are UFOs” which will premiere on the award-winning PBS science series NOVA on January 22. This new NOVA investigation looks at the evidence from every angle, marshaling expert opinions from physicists, engineers, cosmologists, and others who are bringing new technologies and heightened rigor to solving these mysteries.   “What Are UFOs?” features interviews with several of the distinguished scientists that NASA brought together to examine the UFO mystery and goes on to examine why the US government continued to be so elusive about rumored UFO sightings for many decades.  

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now is Donna Loughlin. Donna is  the Founder of the public relations firm, LMGPR, and is known for her work with futurists and innovators. She has launched more than 500 companies taking them from stealth to market leaders since forming her agency in 2002.

 

She is also the host of "Before It Happened," a leading narrative podcast featuring visionaries and the moments, events, and realizations that inspired them to change our lives for the better.

Donna and I talk about her roots in journalism and how knowing how to research thoroughly and ask questions intelligently played a huge role in creating a successful PR firm, we also discussed the difference between PR and advertising and what draws her to tell the stories of what she calls "acorns."

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Filmmaker and social activist Owen Dubeck joins host Michael Azevedo to discuss an organization called Farmlink and his documentary about Farmlink’s origins and mission.    During the largest food crisis in a century, a group of college students stepped up to help those facing hunger. Their small local effort, called Farmlink, inspired hope nationally and motivated 600+ students to drop everything to help feed millions of families. Within months, the project scaled larger than anyone could have imagined and the students found themselves on the front lines of fighting hunger and ending food waste on a national level.   In addition to being a founding member of Farmlink, Owen Dubeck is also a documentary film director, specializing in telling stories that catalyze lasting social change. His films follow character-driven storylines and often amplify the messages of young people leading disruptive movements. His short documentary about Farmlink is called "Abundance."   You can now view Abundance on the Farmlink website at Farmlinkproject.org and on YouTube.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining Michael Azevedo on this episode is writer and journalist Tom Roston, whose latest article for IndieWire examines the unspoken traumas of the filmmaking community. In the article, Tom provides a comprehensive look at how documentary filmmakers are speaking out about the toll the filmmaking process—especially when covering particularly traumatic subjects-can take on their mental.   Tom Roston has been writing about film, culture, and ideas for more than 2 decades. In addition to IndieWire, his byline has appeared in The Nation, Vanity Fair, Salon, Fast Company, and the NYT.   Tom is also the author of several non-fiction books including his most recent, 2021’s The Writer’s Crusade: Kurt Vonnegut & The Many Lives of Slaughterhouse Five.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Dominic López, the director and co-writer of the independent feature film "Little Jar."  The movie was filmed in the height of the Covid pandemic with a five-person crew at a single location in just two weeks on a budget of what Dominic refers to as "hail-mary favors and pennies from locked-down pockets.”    "Little Jar" debuted at the Austin Film Festival in 2022 and won over audiences and critics alike. The film has since gone on to have a successful festival run--including winning big at the Paris Film Festival--before finding its home at Good Deed Entertainment to be released for VOD streaming on September 12th.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is documentary filmmaker Sonia Kennebeck to discuss her latest film, "Reality Winner", a documentary that presents the incredible true story of Reality Winner in her own words. Filmed over five years, this is the only documentary about the young NSA whistleblower who exposed Russian interference in U.S. elections - and went to jail for it.    With exclusive access to Reality Winner and the media outlet involved in her arrest, this film also reveals FBI evidence never before released. Pointedly, the film poses the question: Would you risk your freedom to protect democracy?   Sonia Kennebeck is an independent documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist with more than 15 years of directing and producing experience. She has directed eight television documentaries and more than 50 investigative reports.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Sarah Perkins and Josh Sabey, the co-directors of "The Basement Talks," a riveting documentary series now available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV  that tells the story of two murders, secret meetings, and impossible friendships.

On December 30, 1994, a man carrying a black duffel bag entered an abortion clinic in Brookline, Massachusetts. By the day’s end, two women were dead, a manhunt was underway, a traumatized community was in mourning, and leaders on both sides of a divide wondered what they could have done to prevent it. It was at that juncture that a six year clandestine dialogue between enemies began.

Set against the backdrop of the Salvi murders and the contentious court case that followed, "The Basement Talks," follows six women—leaders on opposing sides of the abortion debate—who meet secretly and under threat of violence in an effort to replace dangerous and divisive stereotypes, strategies, and rhetoric with empathy, tolerance, and genuine friendship. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are documentary filmmakers Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes. Tom and Kathleen join Michael to discuss their latest film for PBS’s Frontline series called "Two American Families, 1991-2024." The film follows two Milwaukee families, one black, one white, over the last thirty-odd years. 

Two American Families 1991-2024 premiered on Frontline on July 23 but is still available for streaming via the Frontline website, the PBS App and on YouTube, where at the time of this recording, it has received more than 360k views.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Brian Raftery, the writer and host of a fascinating narrative podcast on the Ringer podcast network called ‘Do We Get to Win This Time?’ an 8 episode podcast series that examines how Vietnam movies have shaped the way we think about the Vietnam War.   ‘The Deer Hunter.’ ‘Apocalypse Now.’ ‘First Blood.’ ‘Platoon.’ They’re among the hit films dealing with the Vietnam War—a conflict that divided moviegoers and inspired filmmakers. For decades, Hollywood released countless films about the war and its fallout—from action flicks to combat tales to sweeping dramas.    Through exclusive new interviews, ‘Do We Get to Win This Time?’ chronicles the making of Hollywood’s most ambitious and controversial Vietnam movies. Along the way, we also learn how these films reflected and shaped moviegoers’ feelings toward the war—and toward each other.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

We’re using this episode of the podcast to promote a special event sponsored by the Boston International Kids Film Festival taking place on December 27, 2024 at 1pm at the Capitol Theatre in Arlington, MA with a FREE screening of a delightful and entertaining feature film called Magnetosphere, written and directed by our guest Nicola Rose.    In Magnetosphere, Maggie Campion, a shy and imaginative 12-year-old, discovers that her unique ability to see sounds and hear colors is called synesthesia. As she navigates her new life, Maggie finds friends, love, and self-acceptance — all while her quirky family gets involved in a local theatre production. This charming, feel-good film explores what makes us different and how those differences are what make us special.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/    

 

A talented trio join host Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now.

Nick Hudson, the Executive Director of E2AC, and Chayne Gregg and Glenn Holsten, the producer and director of "Hell or High Seas," a powerful and personal documentary that tells the true story of life-long friends embarking on the adventure of a lifetime, as they brave the treacherous waters around Cape Horn, Chile. One of them is US Navy veteran who uses the expedition to share his own story, begin healing from his trauma and raise awareness about the millions of other veterans who need support returning to civilian life and battling PTSD.

Entertainment 2 Affect Change (E2AC) connects award-winning content creators, mission-based organizations, and passionate funders who want to share their impact through the power of story. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo continues a short series of conversations with documentary filmmakers whose films will be featured at the New Hampshire Film Festival, which takes places in Portsmouth NH from 10/12-15.   Both of films discussed on this episode explore life for women in worlds usually dominated by men. First up is a chat with Olivia Kuan, the director of a documentary called "The Herricanes," which tells the story of the Houston Herricanes, one of the teams that, in the 1970s, made up the first-ever women's full tackle football league known as the National Women's Football League. And it just so happens that Olivia’s mother played safety on the Herricanes for four seasons!    Later in the episode, Michael speaks with director Maggie Contreras, whose documentary, "Maestra," follows five internationally-based women as they prepare for and perform in La Maestra, the only competition in the world for female orchestra conductors.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.     About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Kathy Waugh, award-winning writer of an array of well-known children’s television programs and films.    Kathy has written for such PBS children’s television mainstays as "Arthur" and "Curious George." She was head writer for "Peep in the Big Wide World." And she was co-creator, creative director, and executive story editor of the PBS Kids show, "Molly of Denali."   Kathy also wrote the screenplay for the 2011 feature film "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer."    Kathy’s latest creative achievement is a new 3-episode Netflix series called "Ivy & Bean," based on the books by Annie Barrows and chronicling the adventures of two fiercely imaginative and inquisitive 7 year-olds.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now is feature-film director & producer Chaysen Beacham to talk about his film  "Polara." "Polara" tells the story of TJ, who on this 18th birthday, receives a key from a father he’d last seen as he was hauled off to prison 8 years previously.   With the key is the address for a proposed meeting - 3000 miles away and in two weeks.  The key unlocks a timeworn 1968 Polaaara convertible, with a coffin welded to its floor.  With each decision that follows, TJ plunges deeper into the mysterious and beautiful landscapes we all navigate – on our own, with our tribe, through the shifting turns of the road ahead. Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey. About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by director Denny Tedesco to talk about his enthralling music documentary "Immediate Family," which is a follow-up to his acclaimed 2008 documentary “The Wrecking Crew.” 

That earlier film followed the first wave of studio musicians in the 1960s, including Denny’s father, guitar virtuoso Tommy Tedesco. “Immediate Family” takes up the story where “The Wrecking Crew” ended, taking a deep dive through some of the most famous and influential session musicians from the 1970s. 

To that end, the new documentary includes commentary from the likes of Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, Keith Richards, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, and Phil Collins. 

In addition to talking to those music legends, “Immediate Family” tracks the rise and collaborations of session musicians Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, and Waddy Wachtel as they help craft some of the decade’s most enduring hits. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo chats with Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, an award-winning historian of American political rhetoric. She is Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Texas A&M University. Jennifer writes about American political discourse, especially as it relates to citizenship, democracy, and the presidency. Jennifer has published three books about political rhetoric: Founding Fictions, The Rhetoric of Heroic Expectations: Establishing the Obama Presidency, and Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump.    She has written about rhetoric and politics for The Conversation, USA Today, the Washington Post, and many other major media outlets.  ​ ​She has been interviewed about rhetoric and politics by the BBC World News, NPR's All Things Considered, NPR's 1A, Diane Rehm, The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, Vice News, Australia's ABC Radio, Slate, USA Today, and many other outlets throughout the United States and worldwide.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

If you’re a college football fan here’s something you already know: the 2024 NCAA College Football season kicked off this past weekend! The college football season goes from now until the end of the regular season on Dec. 14, with the national championship game slated to be played in late January. And Michael Azevedo's  guest on this episode of Making Media Now is 6-time Emmy winning live sports producer and director Jerry Weinstein (aka Dubber or JDub), the president and CEO of JDUB Productions, will be deploying a small army of TV production crews throughout the land to cover every acrobatic catch, crushing sack, and hard-fought touchdown!   JDUB Productions has been packaging—and we discuss fully what exactly packaging entails—since 1998 for clients such as ESPN, CBS, ABC, and Fox Sports. They currently produce more than 180 live events annually.   In addition to heading up all those broadcasting efforts, Dubber is also the Director for the NBA's LA Lakers. Dubber spoke to meet from his home in Manhattan Beach, CA. We discussed a whole range of live sports production issues and even managed to sneak a discussion of the upcoming NFL season.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

 

In recognition of Veterans Day, host Michael Azevedo chats with retired Marine Captain Dale Dye about his two-decade long military career and his pivot to helping add realism and accuracy to Hollywood war movies such as Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, Courage Under Fire, Thin Red Line, Forrest Gump, and Band of Brothers. 

A veteran of three tours in Vietnam, Dale Dye was a Marine correspondent awarded the Bronze Star for heroism in action. He’s equal parts storyteller, military historian and psychologist, and his performance prep goes where others fail to tread: into actors’ heads.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode of Making Media Now, host Michael Azevedo speaks with documentary filmmaker Peter Yost, whose film, "Nazi Town, USA" uncovers the unsettling story of Nazi sympathizers on American soil. 

The discussion navigates through America's history in the '20s and '30s - the polarized political climate, the dominant ideologies, and prominent American figures like Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh, whose influence kindled such anti-Semitic movements. Around this era, the terrifyingly real German-American Bund fearlessly demonstrated a blend of American ideals with swastikas, exemplifying a racially divided America.

A dive into the profoundly extraordinary acts of the Bund includes running Nazi camps and parades in front of Jewish homes, casting a shadow over the interpretation of patriotism. This gripping exploration of an almost forgotten part of American history unveils its lasting influences and the issues our society continues to grapple with today.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

 

 

 

 

On this episode of Making Media Now, host Michael Azevedo speaks with director Christi Cooper about her film "Youth V. Gov," which tells the story of twenty-one young Americans taking on the world’s most powerful government in a revolutionary lawsuit that claims that for more than six decades, US presidential administrations of both parties have continued to actively abuse their most vulnerable citizens by willingly contributing to the climate crisis. "Youth V. Gov" is now available on Netflix.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Joining Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now are three representatives from a unique and inspiriting organization called Smooth Feather Youth. Smooth Feather Youth is a non-profit that was founded in 2017 by one of my guests, Silas Hagerty. Recently, members of Smooth Feathers’ Youth Film School completed a short film called, "The Queen of Hearts”. The film premiered at a sold out showing at the Nickelodeon Cinema in Portland Maine as part of the Maine Film Assocations's 72 Hour Winter Film Challenge! Two students—James Wing, who directed the film and Cassidy Shea, one of the film’s stars—joined Silas Hagerty to speak me about the film making program and what it took to write, cast, shoot and edit a film in 72 hours! Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey. About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo welcomes back director Josh Seftel. Josh and his team at Smarty Pants films have received an Oscar nomination in the category of best documentary short for their film "Stranger at the Gate," (for which Filmmakers Collaborative was the fiscal sponsor) a riveting story of redemption about Richard “Mac” McKinney, a former U.S. Marine, suffering from PTSD, who had fought in Afghanistan after 9/11.

Following his discharge from the military, McKinney returned home to Muncie, IN where he began to construct a plot to blow up the local mosque. "Stranger at the Gate" tells the remarkable story of what happened when McKinney set out to put his plan into motion.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Sarah T. Schwab and Brian Long, the co-founders of Cardinal Flix, an independent film production company, seeking to change the film industry for the better by creating authentic & personal narrative films, while also maintaining a determined commitment to social responsibility in the filmmaking industry.   Cardinal Flix produces films in a variety of genres, ranging from family dramas to psychological thrillers and tell stories about love, fear, sexuality and death. Their most recent film, “A Stage of Twilight” was written and directed by Sarah Schwab and stars Karen Allen ("Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Animal House," “Indiana Jones and “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) and William Sadler (“Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey,” “The Comey Rule,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” Iron Man 3,” “Die Hard 2”).   Sarah and Brian are currently in post production on a psychological thriller called "Crybaby Bridge," which Sarah co-wrote and directed. The film stars two-time Emmy-nominated actress Sydney Mikayla and Erik King from the long-running Showtime series Dexter.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

It's episode number 51 of Making Media Now and host Michael Azevedo is talking with journalist Dan Kennedy.

Dan is a professor at Northeastern University’s School of Journalism and writes a weekly column on media and politics for the GBH News website. From 1991 through 2005  he worked at The Boston Phoenix, mostly as the alt-weekly’s media columnist. Dan has also contributed articles to a number of other publications, including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and Nieman Lab. From 2007-2011 he  wrote a weekly online column for The Guardian.

His book on a new breed of wealthy newspaper owners, “The Return of the Moguls: How Jeff Bezos and John Henry Are Remaking Newspapers for the Twenty-First Century,” was published in 2018. “The Return of the Moguls” has been critically praised by the academic publication Journalism, the trade magazine Editor & Publisher, The Boston Globe and other publications.

And from 1998 to just this year he was regular panelist on “Beat the Press,” a weekly roundtable program on media issues broadcast on GBH-TV. Most recently, Dan entered the world of podcasting with "What Works," a podcast about the future of local news. Dan’s collaborator in that effort is former Boston Globe editor Ellen Clegg.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is writer, producer and director Christine Yoo. Christine joins Michael to talk about her documentary "26.2 to Life," which brings viewers to San Quentin State Prison to watch prisoners train for a marathon that’s run inside the prison walls.

The film has been enthusiastically received at numerous film festivals across the country, winning the Audience Award at the Santa Barbara Int'l Film Festival and the Seattle Int'l Film Festival.

It will be featured at the Woods Hole Film Festival, held in Falmouth, MA, from July 29 to August 13. Additionally, the film will be opening in theaters in LA NY SF and Seattle on 9/22, followed by a 48-hour nationwide virtual premiere at Sept 29-Oct 1. Ticket information here.

In addition to directing "26.2 to Life," Christine is the Co-Executive Producer of "The Winning Spirit," from Executive Producer Michael Strahan and The Story Lab, a 6-part docu-series that follows the Ka-Who-Ku High School football team on the North Shore of Oahu through their 2021 championship season. She has produced non-fiction series on National Geographic, The History Channel, and Oxygen. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are filmmaker Fax Bahr and activist and fisherwoman Diane Wilson who discuss their documentary "Waterkeeper," which is now in production

"Waterkeeper" explores the astonishing and uplifting life of environmental activist Diane Wilson, Waterkeeper for the San Antonio Bay Estuarine system.

As writer, director, and producer, Fax Bahr won a Directing Emmy for Hearts Of Darkness, A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. That film also won Best Documentary from the National Board of Review. Fax has also served as a Community Organizer in the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. He currently volunteers for InsideOUT Writers, teaching creative writing to incarcerated youth in Los Angeles.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Sara Terry, director of a documentary called "A Decent Home," which addresses urgent issues of class and economic inequity through the lives of mobile home park residents who can’t afford housing anywhere else.   The film asks, "Who are we becoming as Americans?" — as private equity firms and wealthy investors buy up parks, making sky-high returns on their investments while squeezing every last penny out of the mobile home owners who lack rights and protections under local and state laws, and must pay rent for the land they live on.   "A Decent Home" will be broadcast starting 3/16/23 on PBS as part of the "America Reframed" series.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

A talented trio join host Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now.

Nick Hudson, the Executive Director of E2AC, and Chayne Gregg and Glenn Holsten, the producer and director of "Hell or High Seas," a powerful and personal documentary that tells the true story of life-long friends embarking on the adventure of a lifetime, as they brave the treacherous waters around Cape Horn, Chile. One of them is US Navy veteran who uses the expedition to share his own story, begin healing from his trauma and raise awareness about the millions of other veterans who need support returning to civilian life and battling PTSD.

Entertainment 2 Affect Change (E2AC) connects award-winning content creators, mission-based organizations, and passionate funders who want to share their impact through the power of story. And on April 1-2, 2022, E2AC will be hosting the Social Impact Film Festival. "Hell or High Seas" will be among the dozens of films featured free of charge as part of the festival line up. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Molly Beck the founder and CEO of Messy. fm, whose business software empowers organizations to create podcasts in minutes. Leaders and teams from top enterprise, government, and university sectors, plus thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs, trust Messy.fm to power their podcasting content.    Molly Beck was recently profiled by Forbes magazine and I reached out to her to ask if she’d share her thoughts with me on the current podcasting landscape and what she sees in podcasting’s immediate future.    Molly is also the author of Reach Out (McGraw-Hill), a member of the National Small Business Association’s Leadership Council, and a 2022 Tory Burch Fellow.   And as an added bonus to this episode, we check in with friend-of-the podcast and friend of FC, Roberto Mighty. Season two of Roberto’s public television series, "World’s Greatest Cemeteries" premieres on February 19.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by Stephen Ujlaki, the director of "Bad Faith," a new documentary exploring the roots and the growing reach of Christian Nationalism. It’s a film that Ken Burns has called  “a great and powerful and timely film," filled with the dread this moment engenders; the cynical misuse of religion to advance aims diametrically the opposite of Christianity’s mission.    BAD FAITH endeavors to reveal how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, Christian Nationalists have succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. The film traces the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening democracy.   "Bad Faith" is now available to stream on demand.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Documentary filmmaker and engineer Arthur Musah joins host Michael Azevedo on this episode. Arthur is director of "Brief Tender Light," which will be broadcast as part of the POV series on PBS on January 15. Check your local listings for times.   "Brief Tender Light" follows the lives of five African-born MIT students, including the director himself, who were driven to study in the U.S. and create change at home.   Even as their dreams are anchored in the societies they left, their daily realities are defined by America. Each must refine their ideas about the world and about themselves, and ultimately, how to transform youthful ideals into action as adults.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Josh Levin the writer and host of "Slow Burn: The Rise of Fox News", a 6-episode series that takes listeners back to a crucial inflection point in American history: the moment between 2000 and 2004 when Fox News first surged to power.   When the Fox News Channel launched in 1996, critics called it disorganized, incompetent, and laughably inept. But it wouldn’t be a joke for long. During the 2000 election, Fox News would captivate the nation – and just maybe change the fate of American democracy.  

In the podcast series, which debuted in mid-September, Josh and his fellow producers talk to the hosts, reporters, and producers who built Fox News, many of whom have never spoken publicly.

Josh Levine is the editorial director of the Slow Burn podcast. He was also the host of the Slow Burn seasons on David Duke and co-hosts the sports podcast Hang Up and Listen. He is the author of The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode by Anne Zeiser. Anne is a critically acclaimed social impact producer and media strategist.

Her background as a broadcast journalist, marketing executive, and social advocate uniquely positions her as the architect of successful media-driven productions and social impact campaigns. She has stewarded iconic documentary, drama, lifestyle and children’s series and specials for PBS. She’s also produced news for CBS, managed consumer brands for national marketing firms, and has served in government and on political campaigns. Integrating all of these perspectives, Anne founded Azure Media, which develops high profile projects for broadcast and digital platforms that fuel social impact in communities, schools, and capitols.

  Most recently, Anne served as EP for "Muraling Austin," a 3-part documentary series that explores the art and artists behind the vibrant public murals found in Austin TX.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode we explore the world of ghostwriting!   If you were to scan the top 50 or so best-sellers on the non-fiction list, you’d likely find that memoirs & autobiographies make up a fair portion of that list. And here’s one of publishings inside secrets—many, if not most, of those books were actually written by someone whose name appears no where on the cover.   Welcome to the life of a ghostwriter!   Joining Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now is Sherry Granader, a successful and sought-after ghostwriter with more than twenty years experience in ghostwriting and publishing. Sherry has ghostwritten and edited over 150 books including 5 that made Amazons best seller list.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

On this episode we welcome back Dan Kennedy, long-time Boston area journalist and professor of journalism at Northeastern University. Dan’t  blog, Media Nation, is a nationally recognized source of news and commentary. And he co-hosts, along with Ellen Clegg, a podcast called What Works: The Future of Local News.   Dan and Making Media Now host, Michael Azevedo, had a wide ranging chat about the media landscape as 2022 comes to a close.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead     

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is documentary filmmaker Cob Carlson. Cob recently completed production on a documentary called “The Greatest Radio Station in the World” The film provides a rich and entertaining history of radio station WPKN, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. WPKN began as the University of Bridgeport’s college radio station in 1963. It has been operating as a listener-supported, community-based radio station since 1989. In addition to featuring lot of great music, The Greatest Radio Station in the World, the film features a diverse cast of characters, sharing their personal, idiosyncratic stories, speaking passionately about their love of music, news, politics, health, cars, organic gardening, space exploration, and culture.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are John Donvan and Clea Conner of Intelligence Squared US, a podcast and public radio series that provides a welcome respite from polarized discussions, and brings together the smartest minds to debate and dissect issues in depth, restoring civility and bringing intelligence to the public square in the process.

John Donvan is the series host and moderator. Clea Conner is CEO of Intelligence Squared US. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo welcomes back Dr. Paul Heinzelmann to the podcast to talk about his debut documentary, "Safe Sets: Dying to Work in the Film Industry," which will premiere at the New Hampshire Festival on October 19.     Over the past few years, Paul, who is a physician and former clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School has taken his interest in on-set safety and turned it into a compelling and important documentary. The film is a feature length exploration of systemic issues impacting the health and wellbeing of film workers, was shot in Boston, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Vancouver.

 

The documentary weaves together candid interviews with technicians, union representatives, public health experts, and notable performers including Jon Hamm and John Malkovich, with the story of Dr. Paul's effort to conduct research into health and safety in the film industry.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

 

Michael Azevedo's guests on this episode—Eamon Little, Joan Pratt, and Christopher Lydon—are part of the team behind a documentary-in-progress call "Born That Way," for which Filmmakers Collaborative is the fiscal sponsor. 

"Born That Way" documents the final year in the life of Patrick Lydon, in which he looks back on a fascinating life, lays the ground for posthumous, ‘green-shoot’ projects and prepares for death. Director Eamon Little promises that the film will be an unflinching journey to the end of an exemplary life, probing ‘otherness’ in our society and asking searching questions about the future we want to create.

Joining Eamon to talk about the life and work of Patrick Lydon are, Joan Pratt, his friend from his days at Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and Patrick’s brother, Christopher Lydon, who covered politics for The New York Times from its Washington bureau in the 1970s, hosted The Ten O’Clock News on WGBH TV in Boston through the 1980s, and co-founded and hosted The Connection on WBUR in the ’90s, and is currently the host of Open Source, the world’s longest running podcast, having been established in 2003. 

For more information about the "Born That Way" film project, please check out its page in the projects section of the Filmmakers Collaborative website at www.filmmakerscoll.org.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Sean Claffey and Dave Peterson, the director and co-writer of a documentary called "Americonned".   

The film examines how the past few generations of workers in the US have experienced income inequality and how once-powerful unions have been crushed by big business and its government influence. Wages aren’t keeping up, yet productivity has skyrocketed, largely on the backs of the American middle class. 

The rich are getting richer, the middle class is seeing the bottom drop out. Why? "Americonned" explores what seismic shifts in wealth mean for the future of members of the middle class as consumers and citizens. The documentary is available to stream on Amazon Prime and on YouTube. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo speaks with Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, the co-producers and directors of “Girls State,” a revealing and inspiring documentary follow up to their award-winning 2020 film "Boys State."

"Girls State" poses the question: What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? A political coming-of-age story and a stirring re-imagination of what it means to govern, “Girls State" follows young female leaders — from wildly different backgrounds across Missouri — as they navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up, form a Supreme Court, and debate the divisive issues of the day.

Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine have collaborated on several high profile film projects in addition to "Girls State" and "Boys State," including "The Mission," "The Overnighters," "Mayor Pete" and "The Bandit," among others. And they just so happen to be husband and wife. 

"Girls State" is currently available on Apple TV+.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

This episode is the second of two conversations where host Michael Azevedo speaks with the visionaries behind the venerable science documentary series NOVA.   Michael's first conversation was with NOVA series creator Michael Ambrosino and on this episode Michael speaks with Paula Apsell, who served as NOVA executive producer for 33 years, retiring in 2019 when she was named Senior Executive Producer Emerita.   Paula Apsell began her broadcasting career right out of college at Boston's WGBH public television station when she was hired to type and distribute the stations daily program logs. Within a year she was hired at WGBH radio where she developed the award-winning children's series "The Spiders Web.”   In 1975, Apsell switched over to WGBH-TV as a production assistant for NOVA's second season. One of Apsell's first productions was NOVA "Death of a Disease" which was the first long-form documentary on the eradication of smallpox. In the late 1970s Apsell was producing documentaries on artificial intelligence and genetic engineering; topics that rarely existed in the mainstream prior to the 21st century.   Apsell was asked to take over the top post at NOVA in 1985 where she remained for the three-and-a-half decades.    Among her most notable NOVA films are "The Miracle of Life" sequel "Life's Greatest Miracle," "The Fabric of the Cosmos" with Brian Greene, and "Making North America" with Dr. Kirk Johnson. Other of Apsell's acclaimed productions are the large-screen IMAX films "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure" and "Special Effects" which was nominated for an Academy Award®.   In addition to overseeing the NOVA franchise, Apsell taught science communication at the University of California Santa Barbara.   In October 2018, Paula Apsell received the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences. She was the first science journalist to receive this award.   Following her departure from NOVA, Apsell became CEO of Leading Edge Productions and started producing The Resistance Project, a documentary about Jewish resistance to the Holocaust.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

For the first episode of 2024, host Michael Azevedo is joined by filmmaker Michael Maglaras to talk about his latest film “Ralph Waldo Emerson: Give All to Love,” An impassioned and endearing documentary about one of America’s greatest thinkers. 2023 marked the 220th anniversary of Emerson’s birth, and Maglaras' film will introduce him to an entirely new audience.”    Trained as an opera singer in the United States and Europe, Michael Maglaras has performed widely as a singer and opera director. He also has founded a well-respected international business-consulting firm headquartered in Stamford, Conn., one of several businesses he has formed.   He has directed and acted in two films, produced three albums of rock and alternative jazz, lectured in art museums across the country. In 2003, he and his wife, Terri Templeton, formed 217 Films with the mission to celebrate the unique character of our nation’s cultural heritage. Their “essays in film” explore the impact of American art and cultural life and its unique place on the world stage.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Amy Schatz the Emmy and Peabody award-winning director of a soul-stirring musical documentary called "Stand Up & Shout: Songs from a Philly High School."

The film, which is now streaming on Max, tells the tale of an annual music program in the city’s Hill-Freedman World Academy. The 54-minute documentary, which was executive produced by the award-winning team at Get Lifted Film Co. and the music superstar John Legend features 10th-grade students learning to write, compose, produce, and perform original songs.

Together with local musicians, the students pitch concepts, work out arrangements, and eventually create an album that captures the challenges they are living through and the joy music brings to their respective lives.

Folks in the Greater Boston area have the chance to see this infectiously joyful film on the big screen, with big sound at the kick-off of the 2024 Boston International Kids Film Festival on November 22 at 7pm at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. For more information about the full line-up of films and activities at this year’s BIKFF, visit bikff.org.   Amy Schatz is an award-winning director and producer of children's shows and documentaries. Her work -- a mix of animation, documentary, performances, music videos, and heartfelt interviews with kids -- has earned 8 Emmy Awards, 8 Directors Guild of America Awards, 3 Peabody Awards, Parents' Choice Awards, and others.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Host Michael Azevedo is joined on this episode by video producer and content strategist Fei Wu. Fei is the very embodiment of a modern media maker! She was a podcasting pioneer, launching her Feisworld podcast in 2014, which has gone on the have well over 200k downloads. Shortly thereafter she established herself on YouTube with a monetized channel that has nearly 25k subscribers and more than 100k views per month. In 2019, she produced and hosted a 10 episode documentary series, available on Prime video, called Feisworld: an intimate look into the lives of a diverse group of business leaders and creative professionals.    Having come to America from China as a teenager, Fei has carved out a life as a successful entrepreneur and mentor. Most recently, Fay has been putting to use her skills and experiences to help inform and guide other media creators in the area of AI integration.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead   

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo welcomes back filmmaker Paula Apsell to discuss her new documentary, "Resistance: They Fought Back".   Paula’s film is a vivid refutation of the inaccurate idea that during the Holocaust, the Jews of Europe meekly submitted to Nazi atrocities, like so-called lambs to the slaughter.    Told by survivors, their children, and scholars from the U.S. Israel, and Europe, the film reveals how the Jews fought back, uncovering evidence of non-violent methods which served as crucial tools of resistance and evolved into Jewish armed revolts in ghettos, forests and death camps.    Today, almost eighty years after the Holocaust, this story remains largely unknown to the general public. Without it, Paula believes, our understanding of this genocide, which wiped out two-thirds of European Jewry, remains incomplete, giving rise to renewed antisemitism, hatred, and denial of the Holocaust itself.   Paula Apsell spent 35 years as the Senior Executive Producer of the PBS NOVA science series responsible for more than 650 documentaries about the sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine and which won every major broadcasting award including the Emmy; the Peabody; and an Academy Award nomination for Special Effects. She has been recognized with numerous individual awards including the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Emmy of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Currently she is CEO of Leading Edge Productions.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Charlie Sadoff, the director of a documentary called "Against All Enemies," which explores the critical role of military veterans in domestic violent extremist groups.   Through gripping personal perspectives from all sides of this ongoing crisis, "Against All Enemies" goes deep inside the violent extremist movement in America, alongside the Proud Boys, 3 Percenters, and with never-before-seen footage of the Oath Keepers. These groups, organized and led by highly trained military veterans, pose one of the greatest threats to the United States today.   The film explores the historical roots of the insurrectionist cause, its conspiracy-fueled draw for today’s veterans, and the ways that coming powerful politicians, like Donald Trump, and highly decorated former military officers, like former general Michael Flynn employ disinformation to manipulate these former vets.  

Charlie Sadoff is a producer, director and editor. Documentaries he has produced include The Mind of Mark Defriest which aired on Showtime, Dream Riders for Discovery, and the 10-part series The Rites of Autumn for ESPN.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo  is Mark Cronin, one of Hollywood’s most successful and prolific reality television producers. He is widely credited with co-creating the celeb-reality sub-genre with the breakout hit of “The Surreal Life” (The WB) in 2003.

As one of the most innovative creators and producers of reality television, Mark has founded three successful production companies, and served as show-runner on 44 separate TV series on 13 different networks. He created or co-created 46 series more than half of which went to multiple seasons and 23 of which were spin-offs due to the successes of their original flagship series.   After co-founding the reality production company, Mindless Entertainment, Cronin joined forces with 51 Pictures, to form the reality powerhouse 51 Minds Entertainment in 2004. Under that banner, Cronin created and co-created some of the most popular content in reality television serving as show-runner on such hits as “Flavor of Love,” “Rock of Love,” and “Charm School.”    Cronin continued to develop new programming, including Bravo’s highest rated series premiere, “Below Deck,” now in post-production for it’s ninth season as well as the successful spin-offs “Below Deck Mediterranean” currently airing its sixth season, “Below Deck Down Under” which just wrapped production in Australia, and “Below Deck Adventure” now in production in Norway.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Nick Hudson, Executive Director of an organization called Entertainment to Affect Change, or E2AC.   Entertainment 2 Affect Change (E2AC) is a non-profit organization committed to producing high quality digital, cinematic, and live entertainment for the express purpose of bringing positive change to underserved health and social communities.   E2AC's vision is to revolutionize the way that organizations, content creators, and funders collaborate to tell meaningful and powerful stories that entertain, engage, educate, and inspire.   In their conversation, Nick and Michael discuss E2AC’s origins, its mission and how he came to be involved with the organization.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on episode 43 of Making Media Now is Rob Apse, the director of a new documentary chronicling the preservation of New England lighthouses and profiling some of those who have taken on the responsibility of caring for and occupying them. Rob’s film is called The Last Lightkeepers and it will be featured among the films screened at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival, beginning September 17.  The film is also available through Amazon Prime video where a portion of each rental goes toward the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, to assist with preservation costs of Whaleback Lighthouse.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo chats with Noam Osband & Sebastián Díaz, the co-directors and co-producers of a documentary called "A Thousand Pines."

Wood and wood products are the biggest natural resources used and produced in America. Every year, hundreds of crews travel the country to plant pine trees. A considerable amount of those crews are made up of Latino workers, here on temporary visas. "A Thousand Pines" documents the stories of one of these Latino crews.   The film, which will be broadcast on the PBS series Independent Lens on April 1, documents the lives of migrants who depend on the controversial guest worker visa program. The film follows a crew of workers from Mexico over the course of a season planting trees throughout the United States. The crew struggles to balance the job’s physical demands and its extreme isolation while remaining connected to their families back home. As the season progresses, they become a small family, cooking and caring for each other in order to endure the punishing work.   The film centers on the crew foreman, Raymundo Morales, who is in his 19th season working for the largest reforestation company in the US. When he began, he was single and had few responsibilities. Now, however, he must balance his obligations to his wife, his children, and his elderly mother with a heart condition, while also tending to the needs and emergencies of the planting crew. Spending only three months at home during the off-season, Raymundo’s job is both the family’s salvation and its heartbreak.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Michelle Ferrari, an award winning documentary filmmaker whose latest film “The American Vice-President” will debut on PBS’ American Experience series on October 1.    The film explores the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolution from a constitutional afterthought to its current position of enormous political consequence. Focusing on the fraught period between 1963 and 1974, when a grief-stricken and then scandal-plagued America was forced to clarify the role of the vice president, the film examines the passage and first uses of the 25th Amendment and offers a fresh and surprising perspective on succession in the executive branch.    Michelle Ferrari (Director/Writer/Producer) has been creating innovative, critically acclaimed documentary narratives for more than two decades. Her work as a screenwriter and story editor has been seen on PBS, HBO, and at film festivals nationwide, and has garnered honors from the Writers Guild of America, the Western Writers Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.   The writer of numerous AMERICAN EXPERIENCE films –– among them The Perfect Crime, Silicon Valley, Roads to Memphis, and Kit Carson –– Ferrari is perhaps best known for the highly rated Seabiscuit, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Joining host Michael Azevedo on episode #52 of Making Media Now is Mark Cronin, one of Hollywood’s most successful and prolific reality television producers. He is widely credited with co-creating the celeb-reality sub-genre with the breakout hit of “The Surreal Life” (The WB) in 2003.

As one of the most innovative creators and producers of reality television, Mark has founded three successful production companies, and served as show-runner on 44 separate TV series on 13 different networks. He created or co-created 46 series more than half of which went to multiple seasons and 23 of which were spin-offs due to the successes of their original flagship series.   After co-founding the reality production company, Mindless Entertainment, Cronin joined forces with 51 Pictures, to form the reality powerhouse 51 Minds Entertainment in 2004. Under that banner, Cronin created and co-created some of the most popular content in reality television serving as show-runner on such hits as “Flavor of Love,” “Rock of Love,” and “Charm School.”    Cronin continued to develop new programming, including Bravo’s highest rated series premiere, “Below Deck,” now in post-production for it’s ninth season as well as the successful spin-offs “Below Deck Mediterranean” currently airing its sixth season, “Below Deck Down Under” which just wrapped production in Australia, and “Below Deck Adventure” now in production in Norway.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by director Beth Murphy to discuss the documentary film and podcast "Our Turn to Talk," which will kick off the 11th annual Boston International Kids Film Festival on November 10. 

The "Our Turn to Talk" multi-media initiative focuses on teenagers who say they’re the generation to put an end to mental health stigma. To do it, they’re telling their own stories – raw and unfiltered. From skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression to the impacts of racial and intergenerational trauma, these teens share their struggles and triumphs and carry a powerful message: Storytelling saves lives.

A little later in the episode, Michael chats with Laura Azevedo, the director of the BIKFF--and his sister--about what attendees can expect to see and experience at this year’s festival.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

This episode is the first of two conversations paying tribute to the legendary science series NOVA, the longest running documentary series on television.    As NOVA approaches its 50th season on PBS, host Michael Azevedo spoke with Michael Ambrosino, the series creator, and with Paula Apsell, who served as the series’ Executive Producer for more than 3 decades.   First up is the conversation with Michael Ambrosino.    In 1971 television producer Michael Ambrosino was in London taking part in a year-long fellowship program with the BBC and happened to see some episodes of a science-based British TV show. Ambrosino worked at Boston’s legendary public television station WGBH, and he’d been there since 1956 -just a year after it went on the air.   In 1970 the station had become part of the brand-new, government-backed Public Broadcasting Service aka PBS, with new funding that allowed WGBH to begin thinking bigger.    That’s why Ambrosino was in London: While there he observed the making of several episodes of Horizon, an educational science-based series that, to the surprise of BBC officials, was actually pretty popular with viewers.   Ambrosino felt there was a disappointing lack of educational science programming in the U.S., and seeing the success of Horizon spurred him to do something about it.    In May 1971, shortly before returning home to Boston, Ambrosino wrote a five-page letter to Michael Rice, then vice president of WGBH, outlining in detail a science show for PBS. His idea: to air a series of shows on a wide variety of science-based subjects.    That letter has essentially remained the blueprint for NOVA ever since.   On March 4, 1974, NOVA made its debut with the tagline “Science adventures for curious grownups.”    Michael Ambrosino, now 92 years old, spoke to Making Media Now from his home in Florida.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

It's episode number 50 of Making Media Now and host Michael Azevedo is talking with the director and the star of an engaging film called Duty Free.    Duty Free is a fascinating and very personal documentary about a man who set out to take his 75-mom on an epic quest to fulfill her bucket list. Director Sian-Pierre Regis' mother Rebecca was 75 years-old when she was fired without cause from her lifelong job as a hotel housekeeper. That’s when Sian decided to take her on a bucket-list adventure to reclaim her life. As she struggles to find work, he documents a journey that uncovers the economic insecurity shaping not only her future, but that of an entire generation.   Duty Free examines ageism, the care crisis, and economic insecurity in America.    Duty Free will be shown on PBS’ Independent Lens beginning on November 22. Check your local listings for exact time.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo is joined by filmmaker Stebs Schinnerer to discuss his career as a director, cinematographer, and editor as well as his work as one of the founding members of a group called Crews for a Cause.   Crews for a Cause is a 100% volunteer run nonprofit production group made up of production assistants, producers, makeup artists, directors, cinematographers and everyone in between.   The organization specializes in creating short form video content for great causes in need of telling their story. Their goal is to support and bring together passionate and empowered entertainment professionals to produce, film & edit videos benefiting good causes and people in need—at little or no cost to them.   You can learn more about Crews for a Cause at crewsforacause.org   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

On episode 49 of Making Media Now, Michael Azevedo speaks with Elizabeth Deane and Judith Vecchione, co-executive producers of American Veteran, a multi-tiered project that traces the veteran experience through a four-part broadcast series, a nine-part podcast, and a ten-part series of digital shorts. 

From the citizen-soldiers returning from the Revolution to today’s warrior class, it is a deeply moving story, highlighting personal remembrances, drawing civilian viewers into an unfamiliar culture, and showcasing the evolving relationships between Americans who have served in the military and those who have not. 

Elizabeth Deane’s best-known work includes films she wrote and produced over two decades for PBS’s American Experience, notably Nixon; The Kennedys; Ulysses S. Grant; and Reconstruction: The Second Civil War.

Judith Vecchione is an executive producer at GBH Boston, where her most recent project was Blood Sugar Rising, an award-winning PBS special that explored the history and personal stories of America’s devastating diabetes epidemic. In her long career, Vecchione has contributed to major PBS documentary series including Vietnam: A Television History, Nova, American Experience, and Frontline.     Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemis, the co-directors and co-producers of an award-winning documentary called "Missing in Brooks County." The film follows two American families coming to Brooks County, Texas, in search of loved ones lost while attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico. According to the film, the area of Brooks County sees the highest quantity of migrant deaths in the country. Describing the area, the sheriff of Brooks County calls it “the largest cemetery in the United States.”    The film also introduces us to Eddie Canales, the founder of the South Texas Human Rights Center, a bootstrap operation whose mission is to help reunite family members with their missing loved ones. Every week, between taking nonstop calls from concerned families, Canales drives around the area, refilling and checking in on water stations that he’s left throughout the brush to help dehydrated migrants stay alive.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Amanda Pollak and Gene Tempest, the team behind another new American Experience documentary. This one premieres on PBS on March 26 and is called "The Cancer Detectives."    "The Cancer Detectives" tells the story of how one of the most impactful, lifesaving tests for women was created and popularized by a Greek immigrant and his wife, a famous Japanese-American illustrator who was detained in a WW2 internment camp, and a groundbreaking Black female surgeon.    This dramatic story of the fight against cervical cancer revolves around three main characters who worked relentlessly and overcame numerous setbacks in order to save the lives of thousands of women. The work of these three Life Savers slashed death rates of this previously unfightable cancer by more than 60 percent.    Co-Director Amanda Pollak has been making highly acclaimed documentaries for public television for more than two decades. As a partner at Insignia Films, she began her tenure by producing the series Reporting America At War, and then moved on to create several American Experience films including The Sun Queen, Citizen Hearst, Las Vegas, Custer’s Last Stand, and The Great War among others.    She recently produced Into the Grand Canyon, an environmental adventure story that premiered on National Geographic and is now streaming worldwide on Disney+.   Co-Director Gene Tempest is an award-winning American filmmaker and historian. Her writing has appeared in The Boston Globe and The New York Times, and her screenwriting has been recognized by the Writers Guild of America. She has taught at SUNY Cortland and Boston University, and from 2016-2017 served as the first ever Historian in Residence for American Experience at GBH-Boston where she helped fund and develop new history programming for public television.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead     

Host Michael Azevedo speaks with journalist Susan Zalkind about the Hulu docuseries "Murders Before The Marathon." Susan is the driving force behind the 3-part series. "Murders Before The Marathon" follows the investigation of the 2011 murder of three men in Waltham, MA, one of whom was a friend of Susan’s, and the murders’ connection to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Making Media Now host Michael Azevedo speaks with documentary filmmakers Anna Moot-Levin and Laura Green about the second in their 3-film Matter of Mind series. Their first film looked at ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Their latest film, which debuts on PBS’s Independent Lens on April 8, tell the story of  Three people—a political cartoonist, a mother turned boxing coach, and an optician—as they navigate their lives with resourcefulness and determination in the face of a different degenerative illness, Parkinson’s disease.

Anna Moot-Levin is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, producer, and editor with a passion for stories about health and healthcare. Her debut documentary, The Providers, aired on PBS’s Independent Lens in 2019. She is also an associate producer of the Academy Award-winning documentary Inside Job (2010). She is based in Brooklyn.   Laura Green is an award-winning documentary director and editor based in San Francisco. She collaborated with Anna on The Providers and is an assistant professor at San Francisco State University.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode host Michael Azevedo welcomes back Boston Globe film critic Odie Henderson to talk about labor unrest among Hollywood writers and actors.   Both the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA (the actors union) are officially on strike. The writers began walking the picket line in early May and the 160,000 SAG-AFTRA members voted to go on strike on July 13. Both guilds are very concerned about how they’re being compensated for streaming content and about how the use of Artificial Intelligence in movie making will impact their livelihoods.   Odie also shares with us his fave movies so far of 2023 and we chat about two big releases that open this week: Barbie and Oppenheimer. Or, as Odie refers to them BarbieHeimer!   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined on this episode by Nicholas Bruckman the writer, producer, and director of a new documentary called Minted, which provides an insider’s look at the rise and fall of the NFT (non-fungible token) phenomenon and how technology transformed the traditional art world, for better and worse.

Featuring verité footage and candid interviews with groundbreaking artists at the center of this phenomenon, Minted delves into the complex world of the $40 billion NFT digital art market.

Minted will have its broadcast premiere as part of the PBS Independent Lens series on January 6 and will be available to stream via the PBS app for 90 days thereafter.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

On this episode, filmmaker Cynthia McKeown joins Michael Azevedo to talk about her short documentary "Unacceptable Risk: Dr. Margaret Kripke on Cancer and the Environment”, which has been selected for screening at the 2021 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo (October 23 – 27).   Cynthia is a writer, producer, and director of award-winning documentary and educational films for digital and television broadcast platforms. She has also been a managing editor & creator of numerous health, medical, and educational websites. And her background  includes college-level teaching, non-profit fundraising and community organizing.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

The underpinnings of maneuvers and machinations by aggrieved white citizens and business owners of the south reached a boiling point in North Carolina in 1898 and culminated in the events depicted in "American Coup: Wilmington 1898," an American Experience film that will be broadcast on November 12.

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are the film’s co-directors Yoruba Richen and Brad Lichtenstein. Their film tells the story of how “self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington's democratically-elected, multi-racial, Reconstruction era government.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is filmmaker Rob Apse. Rob was on the podcast way back in 2021 to talk about his beautifully made documentary The Last Lightkeepers, which chronicles the preservation of New England lighthouses and profiles some of those who have taken on the responsibility of caring for and occupying them. You can still check out that documentary on Amazon Prime.    Rob and Michael discuss a new venture that he launched earlier this year: a substack newsletter called "The Freelancers." Rob launched the substack with the goal of profiling and interviewing creatives of all sorts and helping fellow creative freelancers connect and learn through shared stories and experiences.   Since its inception earlier this year, The Freelancers has featured stories about animators, voice-over artists, and cinematographers and offered practical and useful advice for those embarking on the freelancing route.    You can check it out at the freelancers.substack.com.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

On the eve of Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, host Michael Azevedo is joined by Nic Stacey and Flora Bagenal, the filmmakers behind a new Netflix documentary called Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy.   The film explores how targeted advertising, one-click purchase options, and mass production from some of the world’s largest companies are driving a new era of overconsumption, rapidly leading to a world choked in waste of all sorts.   The documentary, which was directed by Nic Stacey, unveils the behind-the-scenes world of influential big brands, with insider sources exposing the manipulative tactics that keep consumers constantly buying. The documentary explores the environmental and human impact of the insidious practices of fast fashion, big tech, and the planned obsolescence of items like cell phones and laptops.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

On this episode of Making Media Now, we are proud to introduce to the world a new filmmaking and multi-platform initiative for which Filmmakers Collaborative is the fiscal sponsor. The initiative is called Brainstorm The Film and host Michael Azevedo is joined by Bonnie Waltch and Sara Schley, the producing team behind this comprehensive and far-reaching project.    Currently in the development phase, Brainstorm The Film is an unprecedented initiative that combines inspiring stories of people with lived experience of being on the bipolar spectrum, cutting-edge science, and breakthrough treatments in one coherent narrative. To learn more: https://brainstormthefilm.com/   On Wednesday, Feb 8, 2023—from 8 to 9pm ET—Filmmakers Collaborative will be hosting a FREE Zoom event featuring members of the producing team along with key advisors and participants. This event will serve as a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the goals of the film and its outreach efforts, while also giving attendees an opportunity to pose questions about the project and about life on the bipolar spectrum. And, as importantly, the event will serve an invitation to attendees contribute what they can to ensure the project’s success. For more information about the Feb 8 Zoom event, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-team-brainstorm-the-film-tickets-523070968347?fbclid=IwAR1aa8PM7IXedyPXtaGUIM3fACezRAp0m6c3Zx8s5vp2_ry9xbTNpPCCBhs   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Lise Pearlman, producer of the 2023 Oscar short-listed documentary: American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton which tells the story of the death penalty case that put racism on trial in a U.S. courtroom in the fall of 1968. Huey P. Newton, Black Panther Party co-founder, was accused of killing a white policeman and wounding another after a pre-dawn car stop in Oakland.   At his trial, Newton and his maverick defense team led by Charles Garry and his then rare female co-counsel Fay Stender, defended the Panthers as a response to 400 years of racism and accused the policemen of racial profiling, insisting Newton had only acted in self-defense. Their unprecedented challenges to structural racism in the jury selection process were revolutionary and risky.   A retired judge, Lise Pearlman wrote three prize-winning books related to the documentary: The Sky’s The Limit: People v. Newton; the 2016 companion book for the film that incorporates the perspectives of key film interviewees, American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton; and a 2018 biography of Newton’s pioneering woman lawyer, Call Me Phaedra: The Life and Times of Movement Lawyer Fay Stender. LISA is also the President of Arc of Justice Productions, Inc., the nonprofit that initiated this film project.   The final list of 2023 Oscar nominated documentaries will be announced on January 24.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode of Making Media Now is Marcy Kaye, Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Storybooth, a digital storytelling platform that invites teens to record and submit their own stories and share them with the world engaging and entertaining animations via YouTube, IG, Snapchat, and TickTok. There is also a daily Storybooth podcast on Spotify. 

Storybooth got its start on YouTube in 2015, and to date has animated close to 300 audio clips chronicling teens’ and young adults’ struggles with everything from racism to toxic friend groups to realizing your parents aren’t that great to pregnancy scares to the full gamut of high school faux pas.

The company’s channel counts 4.55 million subscribers and currently nets around 4 million views per month.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode of Making Media Now, the Filmmakers Collaborative podcast, host Michael Azevedo is joined by filmmaker Eric Stange to discuss his latest film, Pony Boys, which is now streaming online as part of the New York Times OpDoc film series. 

About a dozen years ago, Eric had a conversation with his neighbor in Arlington, MA. The neighbor told him that another neighbor, Jeff Whittemore, had related a story that seemed impossible to believe. In 1967, when Jeff was 9, he and his 11-year-old brother Tony, left their home in Needham, MA in a homemade two-wheeled horse cart being towed by a tiny 10-year-old Shetland pony named King, and made their way alone on a 27-day, 350-mile journey to Montreal to attend Expo 67.

This was a story Eric Stange just had to tell.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

On this episode of Making Media Now, host Michael Azevedo welcomes back filmmaker Tim O’Donnell to talk about his latest documentary, The House We Lived In. Joining Tim, is the film’s protagonist—his Dad—Todd O'Donnell.   

A decade in the making, "The House We Lived In," documents Tim’s efforts as a young filmmaker confronting addiction, family, and memory as he chronicled his father‘s journey to recover lost memories following a traumatic brain injury.

"The House We Lived In" will be featured at the Newburyport Documentary Film Fest on Sunday, Sept 18.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is MovieMaker magazine editor-in-chief Tim Molloy.    MovieMaker is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking, with a special emphasis on independent film. The publication, in all its forms, offers profiles, advice, insider tips, and product reviews that readers can use to make informed decisions about what they watch..and create!  

The magazine has featured pretty much every prominent moviemaker you can think of on its cover. Its print edition is published quarterly, while its digital home, MovieMaker.com is continually updating its features and late-breaking content.

Tim and Michael discussed this year’s Oscar nominations, revisited the Barbie and Oppenheimer phenomenons, pondered what constitutes cinematic television and Tim laid out how MovieMaker magazine distinguishes itself among other publications covering the entertainment industry.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is writer/director Nicola Rose. Nicola is an award-winning, New York City-based filmmaker whose work is gathering acclaim on the festival circuit. In 2021, Nicola directed her first feature-length film, Goodbye, Petrushka, a coming-of-age comedy about a starry-eyed, awkward young woman with a big heart who meets a down-on-his-luck figure skater in Paris.

Nicola also directed, produced and/or wrote the shorts Creative Block (2017), In the Land of Moonstones (2018), Gabrielle (2019), and Biff & Me (2020), all of which have won numerous awards on the indie film festival circuit. 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

 

On this episode, we delve into the oldest forms of so-called media known to man: storytelling and writing as host Michael Azevedo welcomes first-time guest and award-winning actor and audiobook narrator Eduardo Ballerini and welcomes back best-selling author Jane Healey.

Edoardo Ballerini is a two-time winner (and five time nominee) of the Best Male Narrator "Audie" Award from the Audio Publishers Association, the industry's highest prize.

In a 2020 profile, The New York Times called Edoardo “a master in his field… at the forefront of a new kind of celebrity.” 

In 2019, Edoardo was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile Magazine, an honorific bestowed to only 40 narrators in the magazine’s 22 year history.

Jane Healey is the author of The Beantown Girls, a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller, The Secret Stealers, which was an Amazon First Reads Editor’s Pick and a Historical Novel Society’s Editors’ Choice, and her debut, The Saturday Evening Girls Club. 

Jane joined us to talk about Goodnight from Paris, her newly released novel from Lake Union Publishing. Jane is also the host of Historical Happy Hour, a monthly webinar and podcast featuring interviews with premier historical fiction authors and their latest novels.

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Boston Globe film critic Odie Henderson loves, as he puts it, "...film noir, musicals, Blaxploitation, bad art, and good trash.” We had fun chatting about his journey writing film reviews, his 2022 Best Movies list, what he'd do if he ran the Oscars, and his 30+ years writing computer code!    A longtime critic for rogerebert.com, Odie got his start writing movie reviews for the legendary and much loved film critic Roger Ebert himself.   In addition to being a member of the National Society of Film Critics Odie has written about film for Slate, Vulture, the Village Voice, Slant magazine, and the Criterion Collection and has appeared on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour.    Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, FC supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.mrazvo.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead