Last week, I spoke to NYWIFT members about the state of the industry from my perspective as showrunner and director of a travel documentary series for Disney+. Production everywhere has “paused” for the time being. I talk about what that means for the immediate future and how we producers can approach the unknown. Read More
Thank you NYWIFT for profiling me in the new column “What’s in Your Toolkit?” Entertainment publicist Margarita Sophia Cortes asked me…
What is the one thing you can’t live without in production?
I LOVE a wipe board. Worlds are created on wipe boards. Recently I went to a meeting at Viacom, and the conference room had an entire wipe board wall. My fingers nearly tingled as we covered it in color-coded ideas by the end of the brainstorm session. Read More
2019 PitchNY- Sponsored by Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development, Tribeca Film Institute and NBCUniversal
Thank you to the Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development and NBCUniversal in collaboration with Tribeca Film Institute, for inviting me to participate in PitchNY, the most recent state initiative to promote the inclusion of diverse voices across the entertainment industry and to connect entertainment industry leaders with a rising generation of diverse content creators. Read More
Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Summer 2019. Photo by Busy K.
I can’t believe that we are approaching the end of the summer. Where did the time go??? My summer was filled with researching upcoming projects which took me to the countryside in California, the capes of Massachusetts, science archives of Florida, and back to both kitchens and writing rooms in NYC. I look forward to sharing more in the year ahead.
In the meantime, I enjoyed participating in NYWIFT’s podcast “Women Crush Wednesdays” this month talking about the 2019 Summit: Inclusion, Equality and Safety that was hosted at the Ford Foundation for Social Justice in June. It was a lot of fun to talk with co-hosts Margarita Cortes and Katie Chambers.
Sexual Harassment Panel: Jericka Duncan, Correspondent, CBS News; Amber Tamblyn, Author, Actress, Director, TIME’S UP founder; and Leslie Silva, Actress, Photographer, TIME’S UP founder. (Not pictured: Sharyn Tejani, Director, TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund)
For the past few months, I’ve been working with NYWIFT to organize our first annual Summit for Inclusion, Equality and Safety. Check out the press release about the June 27th event below! (all photos by John Dallas Phelps) Read More
Death Row Stories explores the fallibility of the ultimate criminal penalty, capital punishment. Told by current and former death row inmates, each episode of Death Row Stories seeks to unravel the truth behind a different capital murder case and poses tough questions about the U.S. capital punishment system. Sundays at 8pm, ET/PT on HLN. My episode “Body of Evidence” premieres June 30.
I directed two episodes of the series for Jigsaw Productions. This was my first foray into the true crime genre, which I’ve been following as a growing phenomenon over the past few years. Studies show that women consume the most media about true crime. There are many theories about why: whether it’s escapism or it’s a way to interact with our worst fears, many people are looking for reasons to why bad things happen. Death Row Stories premiered in 2014, and has since been at the forefront of true crime’s popularity exploring capital punishment in a way that’s more palatable for people who might not think they’re interested in social justice issues.
On the set of “Death Row Stories” for CNN.
Happy Women’s History Month!
Ai-Ling Lee. (Photo credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Ruth E. Carter. (Photo credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
“Women still have to fight to show people that we know what we’re doing. That change is still in the works, but at least there’s more of us.”
Rachel Morrison. (Photo Credit: rachelmorrison.com)
Rachel Morrison: first woman nominated for an Academy Award for cinematography.
“I try to see what is at the heart of the story and the character at a given moment, and let story and emotion be the factors that inform the technique.”
Jessie Maple.
And back by popular demand…
Jessie Maple: filmmaker, director, editor, producer, writer, cinematographer, and pioneer.
Maple is the first black woman to join the union of International Photographers of Motion Picture & Television (IATSE) in New York.
“You can’t stop progress. You can hold it up for a minute, but you can’t stop it.”
2018 Muse Honorees: Ellen Burstyn, Tricia Brock, Maysoon Zayid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lisa Nishimura. Photo by Flor Blake Photography
For 38 years, New York Women in Film and Television has organized the Muse Awards annual gala holiday luncheon to celebrate women of vision and achievement. And each year, remarkable and accomplished women are honored with this prestigious award.
Backstage lineup: NYWIFT Board Members Margarita Sophia Cortes, Rachel Watanabe-Batton, and KOK with honoree Lisa Nishimura of Netflix. Photo by Rowena Husbands
It was my great pleasure to accompany one of the honorees, Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary and Comedy. With the success of “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” on Netflix, this was a full circle moment for me. We hadn’t yet met when I greeted Lisa at the entrance, and her first words to me were “Congratulations on the show!” What a classy lady. Also attending on behalf of Netflix was Zana Lawrence, who played a big role in our series as an EP.
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UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who came out last month to hear Annetta Marion and me talk about show running and directing. We had a blast sharing our stories with you. Thank you New York Women in Film and Television for supporting women calling the shots! Special thanks to Roz Murphy and Duana Butler for organizing the event at such a lovely space.
KOK and Annetta Marion, October 25, 2018. Photo: Katrina Medoff
This Thursday, October 25, I’ll be speaking with my friend and colleague Annetta Marion about directing and show running for nonfiction television. For more information, see below. It’s nearly sold out!
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Photo by Bridgette Mathews
This summer Mellini Kantanyya and I returned to #SummerHours, a series about fun books, movies, and television shows by or about women. The series is running all summer long on the New York Women in Film and Television blog. Below are excerpts of my book picks, which are memoirs of NYWIFT Muse honorees. You can click on the links to read the full postings. Be sure to check out Mellini’s picks in her category “BingeWatch-Worthy Comedy Picks.”
This intimate conversation between director/showrunner Annetta Marion and director/producer Kathryn O’Kane will highlight the unique roles and creative inspirations of directors and showrunners who bring stories to life on screen. The discussion will give a behind the scenes look at the craft of filmmaking, explore culture and creativity in their body of work, as well as allow these producers to share their passions for the work, both on and off the screen. 