Sandi Klein's Conversations with Creative Women

Afia Nathaniel

Born and raised in Pakistan, Afia Nathaniel moved to New York City just weeks before 9-11 to begin an MFA fellowship at Columbia University's film program. After getting her degree in 2006 Afia began work on her first feature, Dukhtar, which tells the story of a  mother and her young daughter who escape from their home in the Pakistani mountains to save her child from an arranged marriage. Ten years in the making, Dukhtar (which mean daughter) premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Sarah Klein

Sarah Klein and her partner Tom Mason are the creative team behind Redglass Pictures - a full-service creative production studio committed to great story telling. Their work includes a number of projects with collaborator/mentor/friend Ken Burns. Recently, Sarah co-directed 18 short films for his series about Cancer aired on PBS. Listen in- Sarah has plenty to share.

Mehret Mandefro

What doesn't Dr. Mehret Mandefro do? She's a primary care physician, anthropologist, social activist, filmmaker. Mehret's also President of Truth Aid, the non-profit production company she co-founded with past guest Lacey Schwartz. You can't afford to miss our conversation with this amazing, committed 'force of nature.'

Elizabeth Van Meter

Elizabeth Van Meter's acting career includes live theater, independent films, comedy and video game voice overs - but it's her work as a documentary filmmaker and founder of The Purpose Project that drives her today. Its goal:  to find individuals here and abroad, who against all odds, are making positive changes in their corners of the world.  In Elizabeth's documentary Thaos' Library, we meet a young Vietnamese woman, who despite physical deformities caused by agent orange, wants nothing more than to bring books to the children of her village. Elizabeth says she didn't choose Thaos' story - it chose her and she had to tell it for her own sanity.  

Mary John Frank

Houston native and New York-based artist Mary John Frank's creativity has taken her in several different directions. The choreographer and director has worked in film, on stage, music videos, fashion, multi-media and installation art. Her latest project - Debutaunt, is an inter-active dance-based show that explores the age old tradition of being presented to society. In her adapation, the audience is invited to attend a debutante ball and gets to know 5 VERY different debs. In a time when 'coming out' has taken on an entirely new meaning, the concept of a young woman being formally introduced to society is jarring. Oh, by the way, Mary John is a former deb herself.

Lacey Schwartz - Revisited

This week we revisit our Conversation with Lacey Schwartz. Lacey is the director and subject of Little White Lie, a riveting, powerful, emotional documentary that traces her upbringing as an only child in a white, Jewish family in upstate New York. However, it was during her freshman year in college that she learned the truth.  When confronted, her mother finally acknowledged having had an extra-marital affair...and that her biological father was in fact, black. Lacey, who is also the CEO of Truth Aid, a company that makes movies, produces multi-media content and performs educational outreach on social issues, makes for a fascinating conversation.

Rachel Pasternak and Rachel Fisher - Documentary Directors and Producers

Meet Rachel Pasternak and Rachel Fisher, the women behind Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent. This powerful, riveting documentary tells the story of Rabbi Prinz. His impassioned sermons at synagogues in Berlin helped save many lives by encouraging Jews to leave Germany in the 1930s. Arrested numerous times and eventually expelled by the Nazis, Rabbi Prinz came to the U.S. where he wound up becoming a major player in the civil rights movement... helping to organize the 1963 March on Washington. This is a conversation you'll want to hear and a movie you must see.

Lacey Schwartz

Lacey Schwartz is the director and subject of Little White Lie, a riveting, powerful, emotional documentary that traces her upbringing as an only child in a white, Jewish family in upstate New York. However, it was during her freshman year in college that she learned the truth.  When confronted, her mother finally acknowledged having had an extra-marital affair...and that her biological father was in fact, black. Lacey, who is also the CEO of Truth Aid, a company that makes movies, produces multi-media content and performs educational outreach on social issues, makes for a fascinating conversation.

Rebecca Parrish

Rebecca Parrish uses film and video to share the stories of real people, their struggles and their successes. An award-winning film-maker, based in Chicago, Rebecca is the director of Radical Grace. The documentary follows three amazing, passionate and committed American nuns who risk their standing in the Church after being censured by the Vatican for 'radical feminism.'

Ginny Rohan

Virginia Rohan's byline is a very familiar one to readers of The Bergen Record, New Jersey's second largest daily newspaper. The award-winning journalist joined the paper as a feature writer in 1986. Virginia's been TV editor, TV critic and columnist...and today covers mostly television related stories. Hear her take on the state of TV in today's world.