I covered my first Toronto International Film Festival, IRL, on September 5-15,2024.

This podcast episode recaps my experience of this fantastic festival. It includes a roundtable interview with Enrique Miguel Baniqued, producer of my favorite TIFF film, Village Keeper, written and directed by Karen Chapman.

Subscribe to VisAbleBlackwoman on Patreon for an exclusive: The Piano Lesson world premiere panel discussion with the cast. Includes Denzel Washington and Danielle Deadwiler

Enjoy!

Day one of the Tribeca Film festival I met filmmakers Sharae Nikai and David Lassiter co directors of the feature film, The Other, Gold. Sharae co directed produced wrote and stars in the film which is about grief, pandemic isolation and friendship. Info on the film go to www.tribecafilm.com/films/other-gold-2024

DREAMING WHILST BLACK is a new dramedy coming to Paramount+ and Showtime this weekend.  This week my special guest Koby Adom directed Episode two, The Reality and my personal favorite episode of the series three, The Friends   Koby Adom is a Ghanaian-British director, writer, and executive producer. Best known for his work on Netflix’s British drama Top Boy and Knoughts and Crosses which is set in South Africa. Koby Adom has worked extensively across TV and film. In 2019, Koby founded London-based DBK Studios to quote the filmmaker, and make film and TV content for untold stories, especially for black and diverse narratives.  CLICK HERE to read my interview with Koby Adom on Black Girl Nerds. CLICK HERE for my review of Dreaming Whilst Black on VisAbleBlackwoman Blog CLICK HERE to subscribe to VisAbleBlackwoman on Patreon to view the extended interview video

This week, I spoke with one of my favorite thought leaders, Baratunde Thurston. His show America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston premiered last year and blew my mind.  I interviewed Baratunde for Black Girl Nerds last year and this year attended a press briefing PBS held about season two of this outstanding series. I reached out to his team to schedule a one-on-one, and they wholeheartedly said yes, so..here's our full edited conversation filmed for my podcast, VisAbleBlackwoman. CLICK HERE for info on the Ice Mermaids of Maine CLICK HERE for the book Baratunde Thurston recommended, Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists by Leah Penniman  CLICK HERE for TED talk - How to Deconstruct Racism One Headline at a Time - Baratunde Thurston Season two of America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston returns for a second season on Wednesdays, September 6-October 11, 2023, 10:00 pm EST on PBS (CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS), PBS.org and the PBS App. CLICK HERE and Become a sustaining member of VisAbleBlackwoman on Patreon for extended content.

I Wasn't Going to see Oppenheimer, but a press briefing and a conversation with an atomic scientist changed my mind. The briefing, hosted by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, and Win Without War, focused on giving journalists context on the history behind the film. The panelists Tina Cordova, Co-Founder of Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, Mari Faines, and Nuclear Disarmament Advocate Stephen Schwartz, Senior Fellow, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, shared the stories of the people we most likely won't see in the film. The Latinx men and women who cleaned nuclear waste without protection cooked and cleaned the scientist's homes in Los Alamos, Navaho uranium miners who are still fighting for the government to cover the costs of their cancer treatments. This podcast focus on my conversation with Stephen Schwartz about why The United States decided to bomb Japan instead of Germany.

This weeks guest is Shea William Vanderpoort director of 2 episodes of Prime Video’s Harlem and Disney + Saturdays. We chat about how he started off on the iconic Issa Rae web-series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and how important community and collaboration are to his creative process.

March is Women's History month, and this week I'm featuring an excellent book about the 19th Century abolitionist movement, The Agitators: Harriet Tubman, Martha Coffin Wright and Frances A. Seward: Three Friends who fought for Abolition and Women's Rights.  Then I have a wonderful conversation with wine educator Tanisha Townsend of The Wine School Dropout podcast. We chat about her love of wine and discover how she moved from Chicago to Paris and started a thriving business hosting wine tours all over France.    Follow Tanisha Townend on IG @girlmeetsglass.

This week we’re taking a culinary journey to Paris with my yum of the week, one of my favorite shows on HBO, Julia starring Sarah Lancashire. I have always loved Julia Child. Her story inspired my love of Paris and I realized my dream of taking cooking classes in Paris last fall. Which takes me to my interview this week with the co owner of the outstanding cooking school Cookn' With Class ,and cooking destination events company Let's Eat the World  Culinary Travel expert Yetunde Oshodi-Fraudeau.  CLICK HERE for more info on Cookn' With Class and Let's Eat the World.

This week I’m highlighting the most inspirational Tv series I’ve seen in the past two weeks. Netflix’s competition series Physical 100,  Apple TV+'s docuseries about World class surfers Make or Break, and HBO/Max’s competition series The Climb.  Then I’m chatting with director Julian Higgins of one of my favorite films of 2022, God’s Country, about the nuances of representation in The Last of Us.  It’s a fascinating conversation. Spoiler alerts for The Last Of Us episode 4. Click HERE to become a sustaining member of VisAbleBlackwoman on Patreon.

Reviews of AppleTV+'s Dear Edward and a review of the children's book You Will Do Great Things by Amerie. And coverage of the exclusive book launch dinner hosted by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, author, and book club founder Amerie and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, to celebrate her upcoming picture book debut.  And a special thanks to the Arlo SoHo hotel in NYC for taking such loving care of me. Enjoy

New year new focus, two Yummies and a Yuck-TV, films and Podcasts I'm digging right now.   Two yummies: The first from the UK starring one of my favorite actors, David Tennant: There She Goes The second straight from the brilliant folks at HBO The Last of Us The Yuck: AppleTV+'s Shrinking. Check out my Sundance 2023 film reviews on my Blog on medium VisAbleblackwoman Https://Medium.com/@visableblackwoman Follow me on IG @visableblackwomann

My recap of three weeks solo in the city of light. For Jeanine’s Guide to Paris and Healthy Thru the Holidays become a member of VisAbleBlackwoman here’s the link: https://www.patreon.com/visAbleblackwoman

I met pastry Chef Mathiew Teissier on my annual Fall visit to Paris.  He has a special way of looking at and living life that is connected to joy that is right up my alley. This is a special Thanksgiving edition to cook to. 

Chef Mathieu shares how he made a change to do what he loves and how that change made him live his life connected to joy. 

Please follow Chef Mathieu Teissier on IG @oconfeiteioviajante. 

Please CLICK HERE to Join me for Healthy Thru the Holidays 2022!

Stay safe!

The past three weeks I've been channeling my inner Julia Child taking cooking classes in Paris!  Here's a little tête-à-tête (private conversation) I had with one of my favorite instructors, Chef Antonin Simon of Cook'n with Class in Montmarte, Paris.

You can follow Chef Antonin on Instagram @bistro_bonhomme .  The cooking school you can follow @cookinwithclass.paris and @ _Letseattheworld on IG as well.

CLICK HERE to Book online cooking classes with Cook'n with Class. There's a FREE COOKING DEMO Saturday November 18th at Noon EST.

Click Here to become a sustaining member of VisAbleBlackwoman and  join us for Healthy thru the Holidays 2022.

God's Country is a modern-day western/thriller starring Thandiwe Newton (Westworld) as Sandra, a Black professor navigating her way through a majority white town in a flyover state.  She owns a large parcel of land, and the film's conflict heats up when Sandra says no to two white male hunters who want to hunt on her land. God's Country premieres in theaters nationwide on Friday, September 16th, and I speak with co-writers Shaye Ogbonna and Julian Higgins about their collaborative process in crafting this film. We also talk about storytelling when dealing with challenging subject matter, shooting during a global pandemic, and, of course, joy. Shaye Ogbonna is "a writer known for  God's Country (2022), The Chi (2018), and Lowlife (2017)." Julian Higgins is "a director and producer, known for God's Country (2022), Thief (2010), and House (2004)."  CLICK HERE to see the full video conversation for VisAbleBlackwoman subscribers only.

Welcome to VisAbleBlackwoman, the podcast I’m your host Jeanine T. Abraham.  This week I’m speaking with my favorite acting coaches, Lee Brock and Seth Barrish the co-artistic directors of The Barrow Group Theater Company in New york The Barrow Group was founded in 1986 by an ensemble of actors and directors who wanted to produce meaningful plays using a natural, intimate performance style that allows actors to be spontaneous and free. The Barrow Group has developed and/or produced over 150 shows, and actors like academy award winner Anne Hathaway, Emmy award winner Tony Hale from Veep, and working actor Allison wright from The Americans all studied at the Barrow Group. The Barrow Group offers acting classes in person and virtually from wherever you are in the world. CLICK HERE for more information. And The Barrow Group has moved to a new performance and rehearsal space at 520 8th Ave in midtown Manhattan! Check out information about the space in the link in the show notes.    If you’d like to see the extended video version of VisAbleblackwoman podcast, become a sustaining member of VisAbleBlackwoman on Patreon, starting at just $3.00 a month.  As always thanks so much for your support.

This week is a special audio moving meditation experience. RhythmTherapy Creative Arts Salons are my virtual space to spread joy. RhythmTherapy Creative Arts Salons are for anyone who loves to connect to joy through creativity. I lead virtual weekly sessions Thursdays at Noon on zoom exclusively for  my Subscribers. Folks can join live or watch the recording whenever they like. SUBSCRIBE HERE Experience transformative movement-based theater, creative writing and sketching and unleash your inner artist to relieve stress and connect to your natural state…Joy. 🎭RhythmTherapy grooves you out of your judging mind and into your loving body. My music sponsor is Nikolaj Hess. The music is from his album Mikroskop CLICK HERE to listen to the entire album which is an incredible journey. I just LOVE Nikolaj's music.   Nikolaj Hess is a Danish Jazz pianist, producer,composer and arranger and Associate Professor at the Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen as well as the Art Director of Summersession, an educational program for professional musicians organized by JazzDanmark. We were moving to the album Mikroskop. Check out my friend Susanna Barkataki on IG @susannabarkataki If you’re listening on Anchor.fm or Spotify, please leave me a voicemail or respond to the poll in the show notes asking if you’d like more RhythmTherapy moving meditations on the podcast. Everyone else, DM me on Instagram my handles @visableblackwomann or @Rhythmmtherapy.  Stay safe ❤️.

Saidah Arrika Ekulona is starring in the new dramedy series A League of Their Own on Prime Video. Jeanine spoke with Saidah via zoom about her process self-care and so much more.

In the interview Ms. Ekulona mentions  some resources that served her well on her artists journey. 

Regina Thomashauer's School of Womanly Arts 

Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism 

Jeanine's Review of A League of Their Own on Black Girl Nerds

Enjoy!

My guest this week is Powerlifting coach and personal trainer William Brothers of Train Primal virtual personal training.  I started doing weight training with  Will last year. Weight training is vital for all-around health. I feel the difference in my mind body and am so grateful.  In today’s conversation, Will and I talk about how he was inspired to become a coach, how eating disorders affect men, and why eating enough food to nourish your body is vital. You can find Will Brothers at his website www.gotrainprimal.com .  Follow Will on IG @willgotrainprimal for some awesome workout and nutrition tips.

Support VisAbleblackwoman on Patreon patreon.com/visableblackwoman Best series to binge watch in July The Bear FX The Summer I Turned Pretty. Prime Video Chloe. Prime Video Ms. Marvel. Disney Plus Physical Apple TV Plus For All Mankind. Apple TV Plus Stranger Things Netflix P Valley. Start Only Murders In the Building Hulu
Crime Noir & True Crime to Binge this Summer Under the Banner of Heaven FX/Hulu Candy. Hulu