Courtney Hoffman

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_mieleTwitter: @taramiele Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

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 @MammothFFFacebook: @mammothfilmfestival Website: https://www.mammothfilmfestival.org/ Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

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 @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

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: @iamtheodumontTwitter: @theodumont Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

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 @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

We're ringing in episode 30 with the multi-talented Director/Producer (along with actor, violinist, dancer), Milena Govich. Since taking a one way ticket from Oklahoma to NYC, and landing on Broadway very shortly thereafter, she has taken a number of impressive pivots in her career. From getting her break in Broadway's Cabaret to starring as the only female detective on the original Law and Order series AKA "the only chick with a gun", Govich made her mark as an actor. She also knew she had a desire to direct, and has since pivoted full time after gaining acceptance into AFI's Directing Workshop for Women, where she continued on to build a body of work as a professional director on shows like Chicago Med and FBI (where she served as it's Producing Director). Govich expresses never falling out of love with anything and instead becoming more curious and clear about additional pursuits--the importance of surrounding herself with people who encourage this type of expansion and collaboration is crucial in her opinion. For the romantics out there, she originally met her composer husband while singing his music and she shares how they work together to bolster one other and push past their comfort zones. At the end of the day, Govich believes that limiting beliefs are just that, and she hopes her journey encourages other people to take big risks and lead with love. Follow Milena on Social Media: Instagram & Twitter: @milenagovich Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Veteran executive and producer, Erica Huggins, sits down with us for episode 29 to discuss her successive rise in the entertainment industry, what her time was like as President of Imagine Entertainment, and her current role as President of Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door Productions. Starting with the dream of making documentaries that quickly led to her debut as a young film editor, Huggins soon expanded into producing. Growing up in LA and raised by two shrinks, the groundwork had already been laid for the development of her distinct voice and poignant point of view. She shares with us the types of changes she has implemented in the culture both at work and on screen, and reveals the key attributes she looks for when scouting emerging talent. Huggins believes in fostering an undercurrent of trust in the people she surrounds herself with more than anything else, which has proven to create an ever expanding bubble of possibility and open-mindedness. Make no doubt, she is at the forefront of making positive change in these unprecedented times. To top it off, she also happens to make a damn good cup of coffee. Follow Erica on Social Media: Instagram: @ericashuggins @fuzzydoor Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Carina Adly MacKenzie, former journalist turned scribe for the television screen, stands firm in her integrity as a female pushing boundaries in our industry and in her ability to defend anything that has her name on it. As the creator and previous showrunner of the reboot, Roswell, New Mexico, she sits down with us to have her first public conversation since exiting the CW series. She shares why learning to pick your battles is a crucial skill in this political climate, how to "kill your darlings", and the challenge in maintaining personal boundaries when you pour your heart and soul into writing a character. MacKenzie goes into further depth about how there were certain things she felt she just could not budge on, such as the importance of accurately portraying casual racism and always ensuring that her writers room was filled with as many diverse voices as possible to tell life as it is from the minds of those living it. She opens up about her own personal marginalization, acknowledges the inherent privilege in her ability to walk away, and why she doesn't feel guilty about any of her pleasures. The only regret she does have about leaving Roswell is that any part of her positive experience may have been twisted into something negative, which is something she would never sign off on. Follow Carina on Social Media:Instagram and Twitter: @cadlymack Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Sujata Day (The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, Insecure) is here with us for episode 27 and brings with her no shortage of knowledge and inspiration. Fresh from directing her first feature (Definition Please), Day explains to us the perks of writing for, directing, and finding a way to fund and raise money for her own projects. She's had several doors open from the film festival circuit, Sundance in particular, now serving as a Sundance Collab advisor. Showcasing more than a few perks that come along with having her own skin in the game as a filmmaker, she makes it a point to banish any belief in possible missteps. She's had several projects lead her in directions she never saw coming and is now an HBO visionary ambassador for Asian American filmmakers. You can even find her on the stage as part of the Asian AF improv group at UCB in her spare time. She may not look Indian enough to book Indian roles according to Hollywood's standard (a ridiculous notion), but she's certainly not letting that deter her in any way from utilizing her voice and effecting change in a lasting way. Follow Sujata on Social Media: Instagram: @sujatadayWebsite: https://www.SujataDay.com/ Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] The Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.

Episode 26 drops in with very lauded former costume designer turned burgeoning director, Courtney Hoffman. We listen as she explains how she worked her way up from the bottom of the costume department to eventually lead the department on sets such as The Hateful Eight, Captain Fantastic, and Baby Driver. We discuss her directorial debut short, The Good Time Girls, the grueling process of actually getting a film made, and empathize around her process of realizing she wanted to be a director (especially after working on 40 films, 38 of which were directed by men). We ask about the new database for female filmmakers, Free The Bid, what it's been like for her to witness the legend that is Alma Har'el in action, and the disparity between talking about pushing gender parity forward and actually making it a reality. At last, Hoffman makes it clear she doesn't classify herself as someone who just makes art for art's sake. By "creating characters with a cultural pervasiveness that really penetrate society" there is a unique opportunity to further familiarize herself with this intersection of art and commerce - a place where female filmmakers will undoubtedly continue to make themselves quite at home. Follow Courtney on Social Media: Instagram: @courtneydirectsTwitter: @courtneydirects Follow Alex & Blair & #TheHerVoicePodcast on Social Media: Instagram: @achando @blairbomar @hervoicemfsTwitter: @alexandrachando @blairbomarFacebook: @hervoicemfsEmail: [email protected] The Her Voice Podcast is in association with Mammoth Media Institute and produced by ActionPark Media.