5/28/18 9:45am pst - Janeane spoke with the star of Diwa, Aina Dumlao, who also co-produced, co-wrote, co-directed and co-edited the film with her partner Bru Muller. Hear their inspiring conversation below!

LISTEN to today's conversation with Aina Dumlao and Bru Muller!

ABOUT THE FILM
“Diwa”, winner of the First Laurel Award of Chimaera Project’s 2018 “TO.GET.HER Program”, (written and directed by Aina Dumlao & Bru Muller), will screen at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 5PM.

The narrative short film takes an unforgiving look at the real plight of immigrants victimized by violent crimes, and the obstacles they face, all told through the eyes of one female victim: Diwa, an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines who risked everything to come to America to help support her family back home.

Like countless others, Diwa is exploited and assaulted by her employer, then victimized a second time by a broken immigration system. Sadly, this is a true story many times over…

Star Aina Dumlao co- produced, co-wrote, co-directed and co-edited the film with her partner Bru Muller. Based on actual events from her family history, Aina recalls, “My uncle barely saw his own family for over thirty years, spending endless days laboring on cargo ships all over the world. And when his wife, my Aunt, was diagnosed with cancer and died six months later, he was out at sea, far from home, working to pay the mounting medical bills. He never even made it back to say goodbye…”

Dumlao and Bru Muller hope that the impact of “Diwa” will shine a light on how it feels to be a marginalized human being in today’s world.

“DIWA”  TO COMPETE IN THIS YEAR’S  OSCAR-QUALIFYING, DANCES WITH FILMS FESTIVAL

Short film takes a hard, realistic look at undocumented immigrants

HOLLYWOOD, May 15, 2018 - “Diwa”, winner of the First Laurel Award of Chimaera Project’s 2018 “TO.GET.HER Program”, (written and directed by Aina Dumlao & Bru Muller), will screen at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 5PM.

The narrative short film takes an unforgiving look at the real plight of immigrants victimized by violent crimes, and the obstacles they face, all told through the eyes of one female victim: Diwa, an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines who risked everything to come to America to help support her family back home.

Like countless others, Diwa is exploited and assaulted by her employer, then victimized a second time by a broken immigration system. Sadly, this is a true story many times over…

Star Aina Dumlao co- produced, co-wrote, co-directed and co-edited the film with her partner Bru Muller. Based on actual events from her family history, Aina recalls, “My uncle barely saw his own family for over thirty years, spending endless days laboring on cargo ships all over the world. And when his wife, my Aunt, was diagnosed with cancer and died six months later, he was out at sea, far from home, working to pay the mounting medical bills. He never even made it back to say goodbye…”

Dumlao and Bru Muller hope that the impact of “Diwa” will shine a light on how it feels to be a marginalized human being in today’s world.

About DANCES WITH FILMS

This year’s final lineup will feature more than 200 titles, chosen from a record 2,200 submissions from all over the globe. The juried narrative competition section includes 16 features and more than three-dozen shorts. DWF also has a category for groundbreaking short and feature documentaries, provocative genre fare in the Midnight section, and the most exciting music videos and dance-themed films from the indie scene in the Downbeats section. The Fusion section brings together a multitude of additional features and shorts.

Notable Dances With Films alumni who first gained notice at the festival include Gina Rodriguez, Bryan Cranston, Jesse Eisenberg, and John Hawkes, among many others.

5/28/18 9:30am pst - Filmmaker R. H. Norman spoke with Janeane about his most recent narrative short film HAJJI at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood

LISTEN to today's conversation with Filmmaker R. H. Norman!

R. H. Norman will show his most recent narrative short film HAJJI at the 21st Annual Dances With Films at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood, Saturday, June 9th at 2:45PM. 

Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead) plays a soldier in a reality-based conflict zone in HAJJI, an inspired-by-true-events short which explores the cycle of violence caused by modern warfare in the Middle East.

Written and directed by R.H. Norman, the story follows two soldiers, played by Marquand and actor Dayo Okeniyi (Hunger Games, Shades of Blue), and their interaction with a local family, which culminates in an unfortunate act of unspeakable violence. The film is produced by David Lawson Jr., a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was drawn to the project by its unique perspective on war.

Norman, who was mentored by Werner Herzog and whose other short films include “Gusano” and “Mulberry”, is also known as a producer, editor, storyboard artist and colorist. “Hajji” also stars Maddie Rien, Ray Haratian (Argo), Dajan Ahmad, Bahara Golestani, and Rajeev Chhibber. In addition to producers Okeniyi, Marquand, Lawson, and Norman, the film was produced by Micheline Pitt, Sean McDaniel, Christopher Ely, Damir Omic, and John Thomas Schrad of ReKon Productions.

5/28/18 9:15am pst - Actor, director, children's entertainer, voice-over artist, Improv teacher and now author

LISTEN to today's conversation with the multi-talented Gary Schwartz!

Gary Schwartz is an award-winning, TV and film actor, director, comedian and a master improvisational acting coach whose 30 years as a performer and improv teacher has helped transform the lives of thousands of people, both on- and off-screen.

It was Gary’s 18-year association with world-renowned theater educator and author, Viola Spolin – famous for training the very first improvisational theater troupe in the US which led to the creation of today’s well-known Second City improv troupe – that has provided the foundation for his work today. In 1988 Gary co-founded the Spolin Players improv troupe (www.spolinplayers.com), and is the only master teacher to have ever earned an endorsement from both Viola Spolin and her son, the legendary original director of Second City, Paul Sills.

Originally from New York State, Gary began his professional career as a mime at age 13, performing up and down the Hudson River with Pete Seegar, Arlo Guthrie and other great folk entertainers of the 60’s. In the 70’s and 80’s he appeared in numerous film and television projects including the Oscar-winning feature film Quest for Fire and 65 episodes of the Emmy-winning TV series Zoobilee Zoo, with Ben Vereen. Since then, as a voice actor, Gary has gone on to work with Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, Tim Burton, Kenneth Brannagh and many other well-known directors. Details of his extensive acting career are available at IMDB.com. (www.imdb.com/name/nm0777229).

Today, Gary is a passionate, dynamic improv coach and facilitator. He is the founder of Improv Odyssey, an exciting approach to changing the way people work and play, entirely based on Spolin’s techniques. He served on the counsel of the newly formed Actors Guild SAG-AFTRA, Seattle branch for 5 years.

Currently Gary resides in North Bend WA. He is founder of The Valley Center Stage, North Bend’s Community Theater. He teaches theater games locally and around the world. He also teaches acting for animation and writes on Spolin’s work.

His first novel, The King of Average has been selected at a “Best Book of 2016” by Kirkus Reviews and IndieReader.

www.gary-schwartz.com

5/28/18 9:00am pst - Elizabeth Partridge, author of Boots on the Ground, called in to the KUCI studios!

About Boots on the Ground 

LISTEN to today's conversation with Elizabeth Partridge!

★ “Partridge proves once again that nonfiction can be every bit as dramatic as the best fiction.”*

America’s war in Vietnam. In over a decade of bitter fighting, it claimed the lives of more than 58,000 American soldiers and beleaguered four US presidents. More than forty years after America left Vietnam in defeat in 1975, the war remains controversial and divisive both in the United States and abroad.

The history of this era is complex; the cultural impact extraordinary. But it’s the personal stories of eight people—six American soldiers, one American military nurse, and one Vietnamese refugee—that create the heartbeat of Boots on the Ground. From dense jungles and terrifying firefights to chaotic helicopter rescues and harrowing escapes, each individual experience reveals a different facet of the war and moves us forward in time. Alternating with these chapters are profiles of key American leaders and events, reminding us of all that was happening at home during the war, including peace protests, presidential scandals, and veterans’ struggles to acclimate to life after Vietnam.

With more than one hundred photographs, award-winning author Elizabeth Partridge’s unflinching book captures the intensity, frustration, and lasting impacts of one of the most tumultuous periods of American history.

*Kirkus Reviews, starred review of Marching for Freedom


About the Author

Elizabeth Partridge graduated with a degree in women’s studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and later studied traditional Chinese medicine. She was an acupuncturist for more than 20 years before closing her medical practice to write full time. Elizabeth is a National Book Award finalist, Prince Honor winner, and author of several nonfiction books for children, including Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange;This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie; John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth; and Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

TODAY 5/24/18 - Jennifer Dulski, Head of Facebook Groups and Community, called in to our KUCI studios to talk about how to start movements that matter!

LISTEN to today's conversation with Facebook's Head of Groups and Community, Jennifer Dulski!

Managers accept the world as it is; movement starters push the boundaries to make it more just, compassionate, and even joyful. We all need to decide: Are we managers or movement starters?

When Mark Zuckerberg changed the mission of Facebook this summer to be focused on community, he hired Jennifer Dulski to lead Groups, at the center of their new strategy, and used by more than one billion people to build meaningful communities around the world. With a career as a tech executive at Yahoo! and Google, a startup founder and CEO, and a social change leader as president of Change.org, Dulski is now combining her own experience with stories of other inspiring leaders to show how we all have the power to start movements that matter. In her new book, PURPOSEFUL, she walks through the steps to go from idea to impact and shares specific tips and stories from real movement starters -- from students to retirees -- whose movements have created everything from new laws to new companies.

Jennifer Dulski will discuss:

Movements and social change: From the Women’s March to the #MeToo movement to the recent resurgence in the fight for gun control in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, people are rallying others around common purpose to achieve their goals.

Women in leadership: Jennifer has long been a leading woman in tech, she led one of the six business units at Yahoo!, she co-founded and served as CEO at The Dealmap, a location-based deals service, which she sold to Google in 2011, making her the first female entrepreneur to sell a company to Google. Over 75% of the individuals featured in the book are women, including: Amanda Nguyen, the founder and president of Rise, a national civil rights nonprofit dedicated to fighting for the rights of sexual assault victims; and Kara Goldin, founder of Hint Water.

Facebook movements taken offline: Surviving Hijab is a community for women to support each other around the decision to wear the hijab. The group was initially just for friends. But just two weeks after creator Manal Rostom started it, there were 40,000 members in the group and it has now grown to nearly 500,000. The group's members encourage each other to be active and proud of their hijab. The group has influenced Nike to create its first Pro Hijab, which TIME recently named as one of the best inventions of 2017.

Business practices: The most effective leaders are those that see themselves as movement starters, not only activists, but also entrepreneurs and business people. Jennifer shares tips for leaders in business on how to respond to pressure from changemakers -- whether it be your consumers or public sentiment.

In a time when our world needs change more than ever, Dulski shows how each of us can learn the leadership skills necessary to rally people around common propose, whether we are activists or entrepreneurs.

About the author:
Jennifer Dulski is the head of Facebook Groups and Community. She also has more than 15 years' experience in successful startups and big-brand internet companies, including Yahoo! and The Dealmap, which was acquired by Google in 2011, and was most recently president and COO of Change.org. Dulski writes about leadership, management and entrepreneurship for LinkedIn Influencers, Fortune, Huffington Post and other media outlets.

facebook.com/jdulski
linked.com/in/jdulski/

5/24/18 - Calling in TODAY to our KUCI Studios! Bri Seeley, an Inspirational Woman who supports women around the world to bring their visions to life

LISTEN to today's conversation with Bri Seeley!

ABOUT BRI SEELEY

Bri Seeley is an Inspirational Woman who supports women around the world to bring their visions to life.

Bri is motivated by a deeply-held belief that every woman deserves to live a life that inspires her, and her work reflects this deep remembering of the possibility - nay, inevitability - that our desires hold.

Through her signature 6-month training Permission to Leap (plus book + podcast by the same name!) she will guide you through the process of leaping from the day you commit to your vision, all the way through each stage, up until the day you land softly on the other side of it all.

A catalyst, speaker, and author, she is a regular contributor for The Huffington Post and Influencive and is known by many for her compassionate, yet tell-it-like-it-is guidance that creates massive and epic changes in every woman she encounters.

Bri has been featured on NBC's The Today Show, Forbes, Inc., Medium, Free Enterprise, Kickstarter and PBS. In 2016, she received the 'Outstanding Small Business' award from the Los Angeles Mayor's Office.

ABOUT THE BOOK

You know that there is more available to you. Life is calling for you to be more in the world. And while you've taken a few baby steps to find out more, the thought of jumping without a parachute terrifies you. You can feel yourself torn between the comfort that you know and that invisible whisper inviting you into the expansive and vast unknown. The doubts and 'what if's are paralyzing you on the fence of indecision. You look left to the comfort and right to the possibility. And left. And right. Which side do you choose? 'Permission to Leap' will guide you through the process of leaping from the day you commit to the day you land softly on the other side. Because the world needs you to leap sooner than later.

Inside you'll learn:
1. How to move past your fears and out of your comfort zone to say YES to your vision.
2. Tools and techniques to strengthen the inner foundation upon which your vision will be built.
3. New mindset and beliefs to support you your vision creation.
4. The science and psychology behind comfort zones, leaps of faith, and manifestation.
5. Habit creation to support you in sustainable and lasting change.
Learn more about Bri and her work at www.briseeley.com


Catch 'But, HOW? A podcast to help visionaries bring their ideas to life' at podcast.briseeley.com and be sure to secure yourself a copy of Bri's best-selling book Permission to Leap on Amazon at bit.ly/readlp2l.

TODAY 5/23/18, Janeane spoke with Director Jon Kean. Jon Kean's film, After Auschwitz, is a "Post-Holocaust" documentary that follows six extraordinary women after their liberation from Nazi concentration camps, capturing what it means to move from tragedy and trauma towards life.

LISTEN to today's conversation with Director Jon Kean!

Directed by Jon Kean

Jon Kean's After Auschwitz, is a "Post-Holocaust" documentary that follows six extraordinary women after their liberation from Nazi concentration camps, capturing what it means to move from tragedy and trauma towards life. 

Screenings are taking place in Long Beach and Los Angeles.

The film is receiving extremely positive reviews and interest:

NY Times: link
Washington Post: link
Deadline: link

In After Auschwitz, filmmaker Jon Kean examines the question, "What happens after surviving an unspeakable horror?" with six stories of remarkable women who survived the Holocaust and went on to build lives in the United States, but never truly found a place to call home. For survivors of the Holocaust, liberation was both an incredible moment and a devastating one. It marked the beginning of a life-long struggle. Most wanted to go home, but there was no home left in devastated post-war Europe. Many came to America and wanted to tell people about their experiences, but were silenced. "You're in America now, put it behind you" is what they were told. The women Kean follows became mothers and wives with successful careers, but never fully healed from the scars of the past.


Their stories show the indelible role immigrants and women played in the history of America during the second half of the 20th century, and they serve as our guides on an unbelievable journey - sometimes celebratory, sometimes heart-breaking, but always inspiring.


According to a recent NY Times article (https://nyti.ms/2ERVI6b), the Holocaust is fast fading from memory. Many people lack both basic and detailed knowledge of what happened, including the actual number of people who perished. In addition, more than half Americans believe the Holocaust could happen again. With these troubling new findings, it’s more critical than ever to ensure that people remain aware and educated about the Holocaust - a lifework to which all the women inAfter Auschwitz dedicated their lives.
After Auschwitz is written, produced and directed by Jon Kean (Kill The Man; Swimming in Auschwitz) and executive produced by Oscar and Emmy-winning Michael Berenbaum (One Survivor Remembers; The Desperate Hours). David Charles and Marilyn Harran serve as co-producers.


For more information about the film, including dates, cities and theaters, visit
https://www.AfterAuschwitz.com

OPENING THIS FRIDAY IN THE FOLLOWING THEATERS
Laemmle Town Center, Encino
Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Art Theatre of Long Beach

Title: After Auschwitz
Genre: Documentary
Directed by: Jon Kean
RT: 82 minutes / Not Rated

Visit https://www.afterauschwitz.com for more info about the film.


Link to Downloadable Trailer

Link to YouTube Trailer

Link to Stills

Link to Official Website

Link to Official Facebook Page

Link to Instagram