Equity & Tech

05/16/22 • 63 min

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by curator-producer Nadia Denton and industry analyst Johanna Koljonen, it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

This episode, featuring guest speakers Mike Musante, Tiffany Lin and Mbali Ndhlovu, deals with the subject of equity and inclusion in the creative tech industries by exploring the intersections of marginalised professionals and creatives with tech platforms, organisations and communities. From algorithms to blockchain and from the giants of Silicone Valley to the start-up tech scenes of the Global South, this episode begs the important questions of how tech can be decolonised by removing its embedded biases, how it can be used to democratize access and how it can provide a platform for previously underserved and unheard communities.

Mike Musante is the head of Film Production and Acquisitions at American Zoetrope. He is an attorney, admitted to practice in New York. He practiced corporate law for 10 years before becoming a full-time creative film producer in 2013. He has collaborated closely with such film greats as Roman Coppola, Gia Coppola, Ted Kotcheff, Martha Coolidge, Fred Roos, Richard Chew, and Stellan Skarsgård. During his tenure at American Zoetrope, he has guided the team through the productions of Mainstream, On the Rocks, The Godfather 50th Anniversary, The Outsiders Musical, The Complete Novel of The Outsiders film, as well as several other films that are about to drop! And of course, co-founding Decentralized Pictures with Roman Coppola and Leo Matchett. Decentralized Pictures (DCP) is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization based on an idea that artistic talent may be discovered in innovative ways. Through user consensus we have set up a democratic film fund and online community of creatives, film-fans, and industry professionals who will decide which projects audiences most want to see and support. Submit your idea, and if the world is excited about your vision, we’ll help you make it. We’ll help finance it, and introduce you to the people who will help you execute your project in a professional way. We love to discover great talent and curate content. We hope you do too.

Tiffany Lin is a Taiwanese-American filmmaker born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. A 2020 graduate of USC’s film and television production program, Tiffany has worked extensively across live action, animation, and virtual reality. Her work has been recognized at festivals both domestically and abroad; a short film she wrote was also a semifinalist for the 2020 Student Academy Awards. Her most recent short POACHERSwas the winner of the 2021 Decentralized Pictures Alumni Beta Test, a new decentralized film funding platform backed by American Zoetrope. Through her films, Tiffany is interested in exploring unconventional and nuanced perspectives on the American Dream.

Mbali Ndhlovu is a certified digital and communications strategist based in Johannesburg with a passion for digital connection and community. Born and raised in the historically and culturally rich Soweto and currently residing in Rosebank, Johannesburg, she has been active in the digital space for more than 14 years. Mbali has worked with some of the largest tech companies, whilst at the same time working towards empowering others like her in the sector. As a social entrepreneur, data researcher and founder of the youth platform I Know A Guy, her milestones include winning Facebook’s Icon for Change award in 2019, her work as South Africa’s national equality and inclusion ambassador in the tech industries for the Startupgrind as well as founding RebuildSA to to coordinate over 69 000 volunteers and donors to dispatch aid and assistance during South Africa’s major civil unrest in July 2021. Alongside her passion for networking, pretending to understand code and creating strategic partnerships, she also co-heads the communities, the Startupgrind (Johannesburg chapter), She Said So (South Africa), TWAA, Adanian Labs, Media Plug and Cartel Thinktank. Mbali’s work has been profiled across Forbes Africa, SABC, BBC Radio, CNBCAfrica as well as the Sunday Times, and she has been a speaker at a plethora of events hosted by Facebook, TikTok, Google for Startups, Nestlé (All4Youth) and Uber (Tech4Safety).

This podcast episode has been curated in partnership with Goethe-Institut.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the ...

This podcast episode has been curated in partnership with Goethe-Institut.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the ...

Previous Episode

Accessibility Beyond and Behind the Screen

Featuring the insights of thought leaders, policymakers and activists, this episode will explore the multitude of barriers faced by Disabled professionals in the film industry as well as the numerous organisations, initiatives and movements created to attain universal accessibility and to highlight the invaluable contributions of Disabled creatives to film culture. In an industry that does not generally value Disabled talent nor employ them to tell or embody Disabled stories, this episode will beg the important question of which moral, mental and organisational shifts need to take place in order to address these issues meaningfully.

Andrew Miller MBE is a cultural consultant and broadcaster, recognized as one of the most influential Disability advocates in the UK who has transformed perceptions throughout his 30 year career. He belongs to the first generation of Disabled presenters of British television, becoming the first wheelchair user to run a major UK arts venue.

Amanda Upson is an independent producer who focuses on the advocacy of the underrepresented in front of and behind the camera via producing and consulting. She is interim director and a contributing member of Filmmakers With Disabilities: FWD-Doc. Within this episode Amanda mentions a private Facebook Group: Deaf & Disabled People in TV.

Kyla Harris is a filmmaker, writer and activist who applies an intersectional approach to all of her work. She is a member of the Disability Screen Advisory Group for the British Film Institute (BFI). Kyla advocates for people who share her own identities as a queer, Disabled, woman of color. Along with Filmmakers With Disabilities (FWD-Doc) she co-wrote a Toolkit for Inclusion & Accessibility: Changing the Narrative of Disability in Documentary Film in association with Doc Society and Netflix as well as The FWD-Doc Engagement Pack in association with Doc Society and the BFI. Towards the end of this podcast episode, Kyla quotes her favorite statement by Mia Mungus, which for her sums up everything discussed in this episode and can be applied not only to filmmaking but to life in general.

Dr Grishma Shah is an artist and psychologist who consults with filmmakers, film festivals and production companies at various stages of the creative process. Her objective is to champion stories of diversity in inaccessible spaces to introduce new narratives of beauty and worth into the global market. As a visual artist, Grishma infuses heritage and components of mixed media into her artistry to create 3D paintings. She furthermore published Dissertations told through podcast miniseries. Currently, she works as a consultant for the 1in4coalition and as mass media consultant for the ReelAbilities Film Festival Chicago

During the conversation the Jack Thorne’s James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture from summer 2021 at The Edinburgh International Television Festival is mentioned.

This podcast episode has been developed in partnership with the British Film Institute in connection with their Press Reset campaign to inspire authority figures in film and TV to reset practices involving Disabled people and establish a new, more inclusive normal. The BFI also recently presented a series of screenings, talks and presentations showcasing Disabled practitioners’ work with their

Next Episode

Imagining a Sustainable Industry - Nostradamus 2022

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by industry analyst Johanna Koljonen, it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

The 2022 Nostradamus Report: Imagining a Sustainable Industry - published this May - is looking at the near future of the screen industries in the industry's broader macroeconomic, social and cultural context. In this episode, host and author Johanna Koljonen gives a brief recap of the report’s key findings discussing where we are on sustainable business models and unsustainable labour practices. With guest speaker Louise Vesth, the conversation dives into the current market situation and the challenges it poses for arthouse films. Facing those challenges, this episode is also addressing the question what a film needs to be theatrical. As the report also highlights the urgent issue of the industry’s state of mental health, the Danish producer shares how working environment issues in the film industry could be handled in a different way.

Louise Vesth is considered one of Denmark’s leading film producers. She graduated from The National Film School of Denmark in 2001, the same year she started working for Zentropa. Vesth has been the producer of Lars von Trier’s films from Melancholia (2011) onwards, including Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 and 2 (2013), The House that Jack Built (2018), and the upcoming third and final installment of the legendary tv-series, The Kingdom – The Kingdom Exodus (2022). She also produced the first four movies in the massively successful series of Department Q movies from 2013 to 2018. As she was also behind the Danish blockbuster comedy Klown in 2010, she is the producer behind five of the biggest Danish box office hits of the last decade. Among her other notable producer credits are Nikolaj Arcel’s Oscarnominated A Royal Affair (2012) with Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander in the leading roles, Arcel’s Truth About Men (2010), Peter Schønau Fog’s You Disappear (2016), and most recently Christoffer Boe’s romantic drama A Taste of Hunger (2021).

Johanna Koljonen is a media analyst, broadcaster, and experience designer based in Sweden. She is co-founder of boutique consulting firm Participation Design Agency, and the author of the Göteborg Film Festival’s annual Nostradamus Report.

This podcast episode has been developed in partnership with Göteborg Film Festival where the Nostradamus report is commissioned by the Nordic Film Market and supported by Film i Väst.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the first international film market of the year, where the film industry starts its business. Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast puts a spotlight on highly topical and trendsetting industry issues, thereby creating a compass for the forthcoming film year. The year-round podcast is produced in cooperation with Goethe-Institut.