Welcome to Sista Brunch!
Episode Description:
Want to know how to break into Hollywood?
Anya Adams, the NAACP Image award-winning director, and Fanshen Cox, the co-author of the Hollywood Inclusion rider, are here to help you. Through honest and engaging conversations, they're addressing myths about breaking into the industry while showcasing black women+ who are making a difference in an industry that continues to struggle with inclusion.
Discover insider tips from our guests as they share their personal journeys, a few laughs and yes—their favorite brunch item. Hear Anya and Fanshen discuss how the concept came together, and what you can expect from the team.
Transcript:
Anya (00:14):
Hey everyone. Welcome to Sista Brunch. I'm Anya Adams.
Fanshen (00:16):
And I am Fanshen Cox. And on Sista Brunch, we talk to black women plus. And by that, we mean anybody who identifies as a woman, and a black woman at that, who are working in media and entertainment and the arts. And we want to talk to them about how they broke in and stay working in one of the world's most competitive industries. Am I right, Anya?
Anya (00:38):
For reals. And what's awesome is you get to hear some great stories about what it's really like to work in the industry. And if you want to work in the industry, too, hopefully you'll find some inspiration, some tips and tricks, ways to break in, some ideas on how to break in. And also learn about some different jobs and different people. Because there are not just three jobs in this industry. There are a ton, and there are a lot of black women plus working in them.
Fanshen (01:02):
So true. And we've really made sure that we're bringing you a variety of voices. And we want to hear from you. So we'll tell you a little bit about how you can reach out to us and tell us the people you want to hear from. Anya, I love sharing this story, but I think you're the person to do it. How did this all come together? What is this and how did it happen?
Anya (01:21):
So Sista Brunch originally started with women of color that were in the industry working behind the scenes, specifically assistant directors. It grew out of a mentorship group where assistant directors and their mentors have a brunch. And then that group started to grow as there were different women in different parts of the industry that wanted to join and have fellowship with other women of color and talk about their experiences and make connections and to support each other. So Fanshen, you remember when you came? We sat in a group of about 25, and Fanshen was like, "I have never seen this many women."
Fanshen (01:56):
It was so incredible. So here I was, I had a coauthored, the Inclusion Rider, and a big response we kept getting to the Inclusion Rider was, well, we just don't have enough people to hire. And I'm sitting in Anya's backyard with all these incredible women. And I'm like, this is some bullshit. Just in this space alone, there are so many people we can hire. And from there, we were like, let's share this with more people. And we started this podcast.
Fanshen (02:25):
We should mention quickly that this is not our usual sound. Ignore. One of the podcasts you'll hear, because we started off recording our first episodes in Anya's home. And then of course, now we're recording this on Zoom because, we probably don't have to say why, but what we do want to address is we decided to put these out now because we know you're hurting. This is unprecedented times for all of us. And we wanted to have something positive to put out in the world. And we've been so happy with the guests we've had, and the team. Christabel and Brittany, our producers extraordinaire. And you'll be hearing from them as well in some of these episodes.
Anya (03:11):
The other thing we should say is, you hit on it, all of us are sitting inside and can get a little stir crazy. And while these are great stories of women that are working behind the scenes, there are also women that some part of their job resonates with you. Now's the time to delve deep into what they do and see how you can navigate your way in there once we are all freed from this situation of quarantine. And I think you're going to find so many of these women interesting. It might be hard to choose.
Fanshen (03:41):
It's so true. How exciting you might end up being like, I could do five things in the industry. And we say, yes, go for it. We hear our guests saying that. One thing we have to mention, too, is that just as all of this was going down, Anya won an amazing award. She won an NAACP Image Award for directing.
Anya (04:02):
I did. I did. It was very, very, very awesome.
Fanshen (04:06):
Yes. Talk to us. Tell us about the episode, tell us about what it was like to go to the Image Awards, all of that.
Anya (04:13):
The NAACP is such an important organization and has so many fingers touching so many different elements of our society and bolstering people of color and their stories. I had directed an episode of Glow a couple years ago. It's called Outward Bound, it's from season three. And they gave me the Best Directing for Comedy award for that.
Fanshen (04:34):
Let me change that. You earned for your fabulous work.
Anya (04:40):
I got it.
Fanshen (04:40):
You earned.
Anya (04:43):
It was amazing. It was an amazing experience to be there with so many of my peers. And also to sit in a room where so many people deserved to be recognized, from literary, poetry, writing, directing, acting. So there's just a myriad of really incredibly talented people all in one room. And that was amazing to be a part of that group and to be a winner in that group.
Fanshen (05:04):
Yeah. Can you tell us what it was like to be there?
Anya (05:08):
Oh my gosh. It was super, super exciting. You're in this huge room with Matthew Cherry, who did Hair Love, amazing. Yvette Nicole Brown, Lizzo, all these amazing, amazing people. And they're all celebrating each other. You're among people that support and love you and have nothing but the best for you in their minds.
Fanshen (05:28):
I love it. I love that you said celebrating each other, because that is exactly what Sista Brunch is all about, is both loving up on each other, celebrating each other, and digging in and understanding what's a day in the life of what you do look like, what's a week in the life of what you look like. And really, yeah, pumping each other up. I'm so excited to do it and share it.
Anya (05:50):
I find every guest we have, I'm more and more excited about what women are doing in the industry, and how creative and steadfast we are in staying the course and grabbing what we want. And I think that's really inspiring. And I hope people find that from this podcast.
Fanshen (06:06):
We have. Kelly Edwards, who's an executive at HBO, and I'm an executive too, but hearing her speak, she just had this completely different trajectory and this completely different story. And so even within, I think, the jobs that we do individually, getting to hear someone else who also does that is, yeah, empowering, and then also plants seeds for us. Oh, I could try that. Right? We've got Redelia who hosted us in our studio and teaches at Santa Monica College. We've got Mallory Howard coming up, a writer.
Anya (06:41):
Bola Ogun, a great director as well. And like you said, it was so awesome to sit and talk with her, because her process and my process are so different. So yeah, I think you guys will find everything very exciting.
Fanshen (06:53):
We do. You can find us on Twitter, you can find us on Facebook, you can find us on Instagram. And send us your questions, and also send us suggestions for future shows. Let us know in you're interested in being on the show, having us interview you. The website is sistabrunch.com. Twitter, we're @sistabrunch, and Instagram, we're @sistabrunchpodcast.
Anya (07:16):
You can listen to it on your daily walk. It's compelling enough that I think you'll really want to come back for more. Thanks so much for listening, guys. I'm on Anya Adams.
Fanshen (07:28):
And I'm Fanshen Cox.
Anya (07:30):
Look out for our new episodes dropping every Tuesday.
Fanshen (07:34):
See you soon.