Chat w/ Deon Taylor, director of 'Black And Blue'

Black and Blue is a 2019 American action thriller film directed by Deon Taylor from a screenplay by Peter A. Dowling. The film stars Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, Mike Colter, Reid Scott, and Beau Knapp, and follows a rookie police officer who goes on the run after she witnesses the murder of a criminal informant. The film had its world premiere at the Urbanworld Film Festival on September 21, 2019 and releasing in North America on October 25, 2019, by Screen Gems.

Deon Taylor is a man with many talents - a director, producer and screenwriter. He is the founder of Hidden Empire Film Group. He’s well known for his successful Nite Tale film and series, followed by Supremacy and Meet The Blacks amongst many. Art Shrian had a wonderful chat with the director Deon Tayor, you can hear it below.

Chat w/ Nafessa Williams - star of 'Black Lightning' and new film 'Black And Blue'

Nafessa Williams is well known for her 2011 role as Nicole Gordon in the Meek Mill film Streets, her 2011 role as Deanna Forbes on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, and her 2016 role as Dr. Charlotte Piel on the CBS drama Code Black. Since 2018, she plays Anissa Pierce in The CW's Black Lightning. She also stars in the new film Black And Blue directed by Deon Taylor, that releases Oct 25, 2019.

Art Shrian had a chat with Nafessa Williams, during recent press tour of ‘Black And Blue’. You can hear it below.

Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet and India - US Film Summit

Award-winning, Hollywood filmmakers, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, are inviting one Indian-based Bollywood filmmaker to learn about the process for creating Hollywood films with a global reach. As part of the India-US Film Initiative, the selected filmmaker will be set up with one-on-one meetings with key leaders in the film industry during one week in November in Los Angeles, California.

This year’s honored Indian filmmaker is Nikhil Taneja, a Mumbai- based film producer and screenwriter, who is working on a documentary to empower and engage youth in India.

This year, Gaudet and Pullapilly are directing their feature comedy, QUEENPINS, starring Kristen Bell, Leslie Jones, and Josh Gad.

Emmy-nominated filmmakers, Gaudet and Pullapilly, recognize the importance of sharing stories from India and the United States on a global scale. “As an Indian-American and having spent much of my childhood in India, I value the importance of incorporating Indian values and beliefs in the Hollywood system. And I believe there are tremendous opportunities for U.S. filmmakers to learn from working professionals in the largest film industry in the world,” said Pullapilly.

Uploaded by Post Production on 2019-04-29.

Gaudet and Pullapilly started their creative partnership in 2004 as a husband and wife filmmaking team. Together, their unique cultural perspectives allow them to create authenticity and truthfulness to their films. “It is important for us to expand this partnership to other filmmakers, working in the film industry in India and the U.S.”

Mentors to the program include top Hollywood casting agents, film producers, studios executives, financiers, and distributors as well as other high-profile filmmakers based in Los Angeles.

During the week, the invited filmmaker will learn about the inner workings of the Hollywood system as well as the independent system of making both documentary and narrative films for worldwide release. One-on-one time will be set aside with screenwriters and film directors, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, to help the invited filmmaker brainstorm the best ways to move their project forward as well as create an action plan and next steps.

NIKHIL TANEJA BIO:
Nikhil Taneja is a Mumbai-based writer, producer, storyteller, teacher, entrepreneur and mental health advocate. He is the co-founder and CEO of Yuvaa (www.instagram.com/weareyuvaa), a youth media company, that aims to curate and create socially conscious content to empower young Indians. With Yuvaa, Nikhil recently traveled across 25+ cities and 70+ colleges of India to record the mental health and identity issues faced by India's Gen Z through a docu-series, and to create safe spaces for young people to express themselves on ground and online. He won the Goalkeepers Youth Action Accelerator Award for his work on this documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QadlLTxFkAU&feature=youtu.be

He currently serves on the Global Advisory Board of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s community and international UNGA week event, Goalkeepers, that brings together change-makers from across the world who are working on United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Nikhil started out as an entertainment reporter for MTV India and a Senior Reporter for the Hindustan Times. Having been in the media and entertainment industry for a decade now, Nikhil has been responsible for the biggest hits in the digital space at Y-Films, the youth wing of Yash Raj Films, where he headed development and production. At Y-Films, his work on the 6 Pack Band, India’s first transgender pop group, won the Cannes Grand Prix Glass Lion Award, among a host of international accolades.

He has also consulted with Girl Effect, a Nike-Powered international non-profit that aims at empowering the girl child. He currently serves as the Festival Creative Director of the India Film Project for two years and is also a TV critic on 94.3 Radio One, where he has a weekly radio segment. He is a former host of a YouTube show for Film Companion called ‘The Awesome TV Show’ and hosts a podcast as well. He now works across film, digital, TV, advertising, print, radio and teaching in any capacity that gives him happiness and meaning, especially if it is about the youth.

He has given a talk on how stories can heal the world at TEDx Bandra 2018, on Kindness at TEDxSRCC 2015, and given lectures at over 100 colleges across India, including premier institutes like IIT Kanpur, IIT Mumbai, AIIMS, SIMC Pune, AIIMS Raipur, IIM Kozhikode, Sydenham Institute of Management Studies Mumbai, IP College for Women Delhi, Amity University Mumbai, Symbiosis College of Economics Pune, NIT Kurukshetra, DY Patil College of Engineering Pune, PIMR Indore, and many more. Most recently, he has been doing giving corporate talks and workshops on the art of storytelling, as well as on mental health and self-care at YouTube Space, Mumbai, The Startup Buddy Conference Delhi, Social Nation Festival Mumbai, Girl Effect, East India Comedy and more. He also does workshops on telling stories with kids in lesser-privileged and low-income areas. In 2019, he went to 70 colleges across 26 cities of India to give talks on how sharing stories can be empowering, as part of a Yuvaa campaign.

Nikhil graduated from NIT Kurukshetra as a B.Tech in Computer Engineering and currently resides in Mumbai.

Chat w/ Cynthia López, Executive Director of the New York Women in Film & Television

Cynthia López, is the Executive Director of the New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) which advocates for equality in the moving image industry and supports women in every stage of their careers by illuminating their achievements, presenting training and professional development programs, awarding scholarships and grants, and providing access to a supportive community of peers. López is an Emmy, Peabody and duPont-Columbia Award-winning media strategist, and former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.

NYWIFT is having their 20th anniversary of its Designing Women Awards, co-presented by Variety, on Tuesday, June 11th at the Directors Guild of America Theater. Designing Women celebrates the alchemy of design, character and story by honoring distinguished costume designers, makeup artists and hair stylists in moving image media, and is attended by designers, actors, producers, directors, writers, and fashion industry leaders. The 2019 ceremony, will feature costume displays from Game of Thrones and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

We had a conversation with Cynthia, here are the excerpts:

What are your thoughts on the current state of women in film and television?

We are making strides, but we still have a way to go. NYWIFT has always believed in the power of community and women supporting one another. As we continue to grow our advocacy efforts we look forward to engaging with women across all levels of the industry.

What has been your personal experience working with NYWIFT and what does it mean?

As a New Yorker that was born and raised here, New York City has always been my home. My career trajectory has not been traditional. I have worked in public and municipal access, worked as a library advocate raising money for the poorest libraries in the country, and spent the better part of 14 years at public television at American Documentary | POV collaborating with the country’s most distinguished documentary makers. Next,  I worked as commissioner of media and entertainment for the NYC Mayor’s Office assisting industry to do their best work in NYC. Now at NYWIFT my hopes are to use my skills to address the issues of our time – women need jobs, pay equity, and foster new pathways to the industry for diverse people.

What’s your message to young and upcoming women storytellers?

In order to survive in this industry – you need to have passion for the content (script or documentary) and tenacity – sheer will to survive. And be willing to accept a “no” and then move on to see where you can get a “yes.” I always say to myself when I don’t get the YES to grant or the opportunity: It is no for right now today not indefinitely. Never take decisions out that are out of your control personally.  

As a television executive, it was important for us at POV /PBS to take creative risks and to invest in women that had unique perspectives and were tenacious – many documentaries can take 5-8 Years to make. You need to have willpower to stick with the project no matter how long it takes to raise the money for it.

How can people support the organization?  

• Donate to NYWIFT scholarship money: Support scholarships for women to go to communications, business and film school

• Connect us to foundations and corporate partners

• Volunteer at NYWIFT

What is NYWIFT and what are your future plans?

New York Women in Film & Television is an association of professional women working in the moving image industry. Our members are producers, directors, independent filmmakers, gaffers, grips, lighting crew, editors, writers, actors, accountants, television and studio executives that work very diligently every day to produce, distribute and promote media that is made not only in New York but throughout the country.

The organization just had its 40th anniversary, and a big part of our mission is celebrating women’s accomplishments. We do this in three ways:

• Women Behind the Scenes Party – a certificate is given to a woman working in a behind the scenes crew position, sometimes to someone well-established, sometimes to someone on the rise. In partnership with Company 3, we recognize one woman per year and celebrate in New York style at the Company 3 rooftop at their headquarters location in Chelsea.  This year we gave the award to Evin Lowe, a gaffer.

• Designing Women celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year and we recognize individual costume designers, hair and makeup designers along with the Variety ensemble award, which is given to the full team from an NYC production. This year we are thrilled to host the awards at the Directors Guild of America Theater for the first time ever on June 11, 2019, and we encourage your audience to attend. Tickets are still available online on www.nywift.org/design.

• Muse Awards - In 2019 our Muse Awards honoring women of vision and achievement will be held at the Midtown Hilton on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. Last year we celebrated: Sarah Jessica Parker, director Tricia Brock, Ellen Burstyn, Netflix VP Lisa Nishimura, and comedian and activist Maysoon Zayid were among those that received awards.  

Who can Join NYWIFT: Anyone that has professional experience in the television and film industry. Please visit NYWIFT.org/join  for our guidelines.

NYWIFT is a professional association of women in the industry including cinematographers, directors, producers, writers, actors, indie filmmakers, television executives, gaffers, agents, attornies, accountants and editors.

NYWIFT is part of an extensive network of women in the industry globally. There are 50 chapters -- NYWIFT is the largest one with 2400 members.

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Additionally, you can also listen to full interview conversation at the link below