Making Media Now

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is former Hollywood studio executive and serial entrepreneur Steven Puri.

 

After working as an executive at three film studios and a producer on films such as "Die Hard 5" and "The Wolverine," raising $21MM of venture capital, and running 3 start-ups, Steven has learned some vital lessons about high-performancers and how nurturing focus—particularly for creatives and entrepreneurs is more important than ever as AI presents challenges…and when approached correctly…presents opportunities.

 

Steven’s latest entrepreneurial pursuit is The Sukha Company, a website and app designed to help creatives tap into their deepest focus and extract their greatest potential. 

 

Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

We continue our 2-episode series of conversations with filmmakers who have documentaries playing at the 35th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival in scenic Woods Hole, MA which runs from July 25 to August 1 this year.

 

In this episode, I’m talking with award-winning cinematographer and director Cynthia Matty-Huber about her film "Hard Twist: Through The Lens of Barbara Van Cleve," which presents the life story of the famous western photographer, Barbara Van Cleve.

 

Barbara is a fifth-generation Montanan with a century of family history going back to the early 1900s. Upon their arrival in Montana, the Van Cleves began operating a guest ranch, where Barbara grew up and spent most of her summers as an adult.

 

Barbara's story offers insight into a hardy western ranching lifestyle many have not experienced, with striking archive footage of early Montana and stunning original cinematography shot by Cynthia Matty-Huber.

 

This film is not only about Barbara's life, but tells a story of how her family history was intertwined with the changing landscape of the West.

 

Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

The 35th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival in scenic Woods Hole, MA runs from July 25 to August 1 this year and we’re devoting a couple of episodes of Making Media Now to conversations with filmmakers who have documentaries playing at the festival.

 

First up is Michael Azevedo's conversation with 2-time Emmy winner Marilyn Ness, the director of The Endless Frontier an intimate, urgent portrait of three scientists working to solve some of the most pressing challenges of our time, from disease to climate change, while revealing the growing threat to the American research engine and what is at stake for us all if it falters.

 

Marilyn Ness is a two-time Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont Award-winning documentary director and producer. As director, Ness is interested in complex, social justice stories from multiple viewpoints. Marilyn also produced Kirsten Johnson’s groundbreaking films DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD and CAMERAPERSON, along with the Netflix film BECOMING, the hugely popular documentary about Michelle Obama.

 

Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by Nicholas Bruckman the co-director and producer of a fascinating documentary series currently airing on the Documentary+ platform called The Price of Milk, which dives into the untold story behind the '90s "Got Milk" campaign and leads a four-part investigative romp from the dairy farm to the White House, diving into Americans’ love/hate relationship with milk and the dairy industry's impact on pop culture.

Nicholas, who joined Michael on the podcast last year to talk about his film Minted, is an award-winning director and producer and the founder of People’s Television, a creative studio that produces independent films and commercial content for global brands.

Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by Sasha Waters, the director of “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” a biographical documentary about poet Mary Oliver that is now playing in a limited theatrical release and which will broadcast on the PBS series American Masters in August.

 

Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Mary Oliver was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world. 

 

From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver’s life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the long journey toward learning to love and to be loved. 

 

Her poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites, speaking directly to contemporary anxieties about attention, presence, and the human relationship with the natural world. 

 

Sasha Water’s film features interviews with Mary Oliver's close friends, including John Waters, never-before-seen personal photos, notebooks, and correspondence from her archive, and recitations of her work by Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Steve Buscemi, and Oprah Winfrey.

 

Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Award-winning documentary filmmaker and photojournalist Jessica Earnshaw joins host Michael Azevedo to discuss her latest film, "Baby Doe," which is currently playing in a limited theatrical release.

 

"Baby Doe" tells the story of Gail Ritchey who, 30 years ago, as a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods.

 

Now a mother of three, her quiet suburban life is shattered when DNA evidence links her to what came to be known as “Geauga’s Child,”and she is arrested for murder - despite saying the baby was stillborn. 

 

Facing a life sentence, Gail leans on her family for support as she confronts the weight of societal and religious pressures.

 

"Baby Doe" cuts through the headlines to uncover the human complexity of Gail’s case - examining the intersection of women’s health, justice, and the outside forces that continue to shape stories like hers.

 

Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

 

 

Director Alison Ellwood, whose latest music documentary is “Boy George & Culture Club”—which is now streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video, joins host Michael Azevedo on this episode.

 

Alison’s documentary serves up an intimate and unfiltered look at Boy George’s meteoric rise to fame, the cultural impact of Culture Club, and the personal and professional challenges that shaped one of the most distinctive voices and images in pop music history.

 

Through rare archival footage, candid interviews, and behind-the-scenes access, the film explores themes of identity, artistry, resilience, and reinvention.

 

Alison Ellwood is known for her similarly culture-focused music documentaries “The Go-Go’s,” “Laurel Canyon” and “Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing,” all of which premiered to critical acclaim, as well as her work as an executive producer on “Totally Under Control.”

 

Earlier in her career, she served as an editor and producer on landmark documentaries including “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Gonzo,” which explored the life and work of Hunter S. Thompson.

 

Making Media Now—which is available on all podcast platforms including YouTube--is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Steve Humble, the chief content officer for VPM—Virginia’s home for the public media. 

 

Steve is also the executive producer of “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War,” a new documentary that will premiere on PBS on June 29.

 

When the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago, the Founders – many of whom were slaveholders – declared: “all men are created equal.” 

 

As their aspirational words and ideals of freedom were signed into existence and spread throughout the colonies, Black people recognized that these ideas included them. 

 

"DECLARATIONS: BLACK AMERICANS AND THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR" examines how they fought for these tenets of democracy for themselves, their families, and their communities.

 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode are Paul Wagner and Ellen Casey Wagner, the filmmaking team behind “Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light," a feature length documentary that is now available on all VOD streaming services.

 

Narrated by Hugh Dancy and featuring Claire Danes as the voice of Georgia O’Keeffe, "The Brightness of Light" illuminates the extraordinary life and lasting influence of an artist who reshaped the American art landscape.

From her formative years in the Midwest to her groundbreaking rise in New York’s modernist movement, and finally to the vast, sun-drenched solitude of the New Mexico desert, the film traces O’Keeffe’s remarkable creative journey.

Blending letters, archival imagery, and the artist’s own words, Academy Award-winning director Paul Wagner paints a vivid portrait of a woman whose bold interpretations of nature and fearless independence blurred the boundaries between abstraction and realism. 

 

"Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light" is a meditative and visually stunning exploration of art, love, and the search for creative freedom. 

 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

The original promise of the internet—creating community and a world where people enduring solitary personal struggles might feel less alone—was in full bloom back in 2006 when one friend, Renee, told another friend, Jamie, about a mental health crisis she was going through. 

 

Jamie went on to write about the five days he spent with Renee before she entered a treatment center, and he sold T-shirts to help cover the cost.

 

When she entered treatment, he posted the story on MySpace to give it a home. The name of the story was “To Write Love on Her Arms.”

 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo speaks with director Owen Dubeck whose short film, “To Write Love: A Documentary on the Movement” (which will premiere globally on YouTube on May 31) details how what started as one person’s attempt to help a friend sparked a global movement that reshaped the conversation around mental health and launched the To Write Love on Her Arms initiative—now celebrating its 20th year—as a vital mental health resource and connector.

 

It’s a story of a growing chorus of hope that turned into a lifeline for millions.

 

Owen Dubeck is a documentary filmmaker, specializing in telling stories that drive tangible change. His films have raised $1 million+ for social causes, influenced legislation, and have been screened to audiences across the country.

 

Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.

 

About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/

 

Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead