The Her Voice Podcast

Tara Miele

We are wrapping up the season with our 35th episode and some of our biggest and most favorite takeaways of episodes past. We’re also talking to the lovely writer and director, Tara Miele. We jump right in to learn about her process and how Miele has been navigating the industry since her early days in school and screening her first ever short film at Slamdance. We talk about the moment she started to feel seen as a female filmmaker, where she met her husband, and the balance she strikes between writing and directing her own feature films and directing episodic television. In her latest film Wander Darkly, starring Sienna Miller and Diego Luna, she depicts a couple that “felt like the best of times and the worst of times” and explains how through the lens of grief and loss she hopes to open people up to a shared sense of humanity and understanding. Miele leaves us with several apropos pieces of wisdom, and one that feels particularly fitting to close: “Time is short, your voice is essential, and you have to use it now.” Thank you to our listeners for your support and we hope you enjoyed these past 35 conversations as much as we did. Follow Tara Miele on Social Media: Instagram: @tara_miele Twitter: @taramiele Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfs Twitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomar Facebook: @hervoicemfs Email: hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org [hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org] The Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Tanner Beard & Tomik Mansoori

The Co-Founders of our very own Mammoth Film Festival™ make a special visit to the studio for episode 34 to discuss how we all got here in the first place! Tanner Beard and Tomik Mansoori are a dynamic duo to say the least, and in this conversation we learn about how their pasts have brought them together to converge at a uniquely complementary center point. Mansoori’s past in experiential marketing coupled with Beard’s success as a filmmaker on the festival scene around the world has provided them both with valuable perspective from which to build the base of their shared vision in Mammoth. They love a healthy challenge and this is abundantly clear in all of their ventures together! We discuss what they look for in film submissions, why it felt important to create a female filmmaker initiative in Her Voice, and where they’d like to see the festival in years to come. We also reflect upon how working together as a team has opened our minds as creatives in our industry and as humans who share the passion to create and showcase content that serves to both move and unite its audience. Follow Tanner, Tomik, and Mammoth Film Festival™ on Social Media: Instagram: @tannerbeard @tomikm @mammothfilmfestival Twitter: @tannerbeard @tomikmansoori @MammothFF Facebook: @mammothfilmfestival Website: https://www.mammothfilmfestival.org/ [https://www.mammothfilmfestival.org/] Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfs Twitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomar Facebook: @hervoicemfs Email: hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org [hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org] The Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Meaghan Oppenheimer

Episode 33 brings us the very gifted writer, producer, and showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer (Queen America, Fear the Walking Dead). She’s a true original when it comes to her voice and her work, and isn’t afraid to explore and portray things exactly as they are behind the curtain of the status quo. From script to screen, she is clear in her purpose and powerful in her ability to manifest the right people and circumstances to be able to develop female driven stories about mental health, relationships, and generational trauma. We talk about what it’s like to write sex scenes for your husband, the importance of having a disciplined approach to her craft, and how representation in the White House is related to representation in Hollywood. She is currently adapting the novel “Tell Me Lies” for Hulu, with Emma Roberts’ Belletrist and Her Voice alumna Laura Lewis at Rebelle Media producing. Oppenheimer’s intelligence is interwoven through just about everything she touches, as is evidenced by this interview, with equal parts sophistication and a wicked sense of humor layered throughout. Follow Meaghan on Social Media: Instagram: @moppyoppenheimer Twitter: @MoppyOpps Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfs Twitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomar Facebook: @hervoicemfs Email: hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org [hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org] The Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Theo Dumont

For episode 32, we sit down with the multitalented, Theo Dumont. Dumont is managing partner at Alta Global Media and the Co-Founder/Co-Director of the Oscar-Qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival and co-founder of the Mammoth Film Festival as well as the Hollywood Comedy Shorts Film Festival. He walks us through his transition to Los Angeles from his early years as a publicist in Miami Beach and explains what originally drew him into this profession. He also tells us about the impetus for starting Hollyshorts and how it’s changed since the dawning of the fully virtual festival experience. We discuss the necessary changes and pivots that continue to take place in the current political climate and get curious about Dumont’s plans to expand further into developing and producing future projects himself. From before and especially since the successful premiere of BlacKkKlansman at Cannes with his client and mentor, Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee, Dumont has been steadily walking on solid ground. Follow Theo on Social Media: Instagram: @iamtheodumont Twitter: @theodumont Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfs Twitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomar Facebook: @hervoicemfs Email: hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org [hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org] The Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Jennifer Morrison

Actress, director, and producer Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon a Time, This is Us) joins us for episode 31 and takes us behind the scenes of her television directorial debut for HBO’s Euphoria. Her work ethic, determination, and passion are just a few of the reasons she’s had the career path she has, and these qualities have made it easy for the people around her to bet on who she is as a person and an artist in lieu of a long track record as a director. This has clearly paid off in spades as she continues to find ways to overcome intimidation and move forward with every new challenge. She talks about finding the balance with acting and directing, how she navigates different kinds of energy on set, and how important it is to have a DP in your corner. She also speaks about the responsibility we have as artists to dream up possible positive futures and to imagine solutions on the other side of conflict as a culture and a society. She stresses the importance of community and love as integral to what we do. “There’s a different level of exceptional that you have to reach for if you’re going to tell a story with a happy ending,” says Morrison — and that’s a pretty accurate description of where she is living at the present in this conversation. Follow Jennifer on Social Media: Instagram & Twitter: @jennifermorrison Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfs Twitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomar Facebook: @hervoicemfs Email: hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org [hervoice@mammothfilmfestival.org] The Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.