Interviews with Female and GNC Filmmakers
In our interviews, we’re able to share the success stories and celebrate the work of established female and GNC filmmakers. These filmmakers are sharing their knowledge with the TLL community to expand educational equity in Hollywood and also provide insight into the steps they’ve taken in their lives.
Project Spotlight: 'The Takeover', Exploring Relationships, Cannabis, and Creative Growth
K$K is a writer, director and advocate for women working at the intersections of filmmaking and cannabis who explores her real life experiences through short experimental essay films. The Takeover is a look into K$K’s creative consciousness as she navigates her identity as a woman, relationships - platonic and romantic, money, and all life has to bring.
Project Spotlight: 'Motherland', How One Creator Captures Her Culture
Ariana Martinez is a first generation hispanic filmmaker and student with her lens focused on representing women of color. Motherland is a short documentary that acts as a love letter to Ariana’s mom, to her culture, and to where her roots are.
Project Spotlight: ‘A Cure for All Things’, a Sci-fi short about Immigrant Stories
Katherine Chou is a Taiwanese-American writer and director whose work explores themes of identity and personhood through a magical realist lens. She’s the creative force behind A Cure for All Things, a sci-fi short about an immigrant family and their struggles finding a sense of belonging in the past, present, and future.
Actualizing Your Art with Isabel Sandoval
Isabel Sandoval is a trans Filipina filmmaker and the director behind critically acclaimed Lingua Franca. She spoke to the Light Leaks about her start in film, where her career has taken her so far with recognition by GLAAD, Film Independent Spirit Awards, ARRAY, and the Criterion Channel to name a few. Read how she’s manifested her success through visualization and hard work.
Director Dylan Mars Greenberg on Queering Horror and Making Your Film No Matter What
Dylan Mars Greenberg is a queer, trans filmmaker, video artist, musician, and performer from New York City. Greenberg has directed six feature films, going on seven. Her work has been featured in Vice, PAPER, New York Times, and more.
Project Spotlight: ‘Pathetic Woman', the Queer Comedy Exploring Codependency with a Laugh
Kz Elizabeth is a queer, award-winning filmmaker and performer from Chicago. She’s the director and producer of ‘Pathetic Woman,’ a surreal LGBTQ+ short film that follows Andy and Kathryn, two office co-workers, who find themselves in a sudden and absurd codependent relationship.
Disrupting the Lens: How River Gallo Created Their Own Representation
River Gallo is a multifaceted creative whose made waves in Hollywood as a filmmaker but also as an actor and model. In 2019, River premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival ‘Ponyboi’: a dreamy yet haunting short film about an intersex runaway turned sex worker that encounters the man of their dreams in real life-- or so it seems. Ponyboi is the first narrative ever to star an intersex actor playing an intersex character with River playing the title character. River has been recognized by GLAAD as a Media Rising Star (2019) and selected for the Ryan Murphy HALF Initiative for Television Directing (2020) as well as the Berlinale Talent Fellowship (2021).
Project Spotlight: ‘Christmas Lights', Finding Hope After Loss
Angie Loveday is a Costa Rican filmmaker and Seton Hall University grad with a degree in Broadcasting and Film program. She’s the director and writer behind, ‘Christmas Lights’, our latest project spotlight that explores grief, coping, and comfort. We’re so excited to share this short and Angie’s talent.
Project Spotlight: 'LoverGirl', A Rom-Com About Baby Queers
Shawna Khorasani is a San Jose, California-based writer, producer, and director and creator behind ‘LoverGirl’, TLL’s next project spotlight. ‘LoverGirl’ is an LGBTQ+ romantic comedy about the awkward, anticipatory, and magical moments that can happen in young love.