Soleil Spotlight

Our next guest is someone who not only speaks to everything we champion at Soleil in his passion and ethos, but also literally speaks a little bit of Priya and Micha's language as someone who is British-Caribbean! Actor and director Aml Ameen walked us through his incredible career path, from riding the high of the success of British cult classic Kidulthood, to landing the role of D in Yardie after bumping into Idris Elba in an airport, to playing the fallible character of Simon in HBO's I May Destroy You to now, directing and starring the soon to be released first all-black British holiday film Boxing Day.  This is not an episode to miss!   Follow Ivan on IG @amlameenbabyDon't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Aml AmeenEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Ebo Taylor - Heaven 

Our first guest from the Dominican Republic is filmmaker Ivan Herrera, whose latest film Bantú Mama is making waves on the festival circuit having just closed this year's Third Horizon Film Festival.  Ivan spoke to us about the moment he realised he wanted to be a filmmaker, his transition from commercial to independent projects, and unpacked why Bantú Mama  is an ode to transculturalism. Follow Ivan on IG @ivanherrera and Bantú Mama @bantumama.film Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Ivan HerreraEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Fernando Villalona - Dominicana Soy 

Starting with her childhood in Guyana with its white sand and brown water and moving through her many careers from marine biologist and geologist to now lawyer, film producer, founder of the Caribbean Film Academy and festival director of Third Horizon Film Festival - Romola Lucas's story proved to us that you really can do it all.  And she also introduced us to our new favorite drink - swank!  Third Horizon Film Festival is an annual celebration of  the Caribbean, its diaspora and other marginalized and underrepresented spaces in the Global South - and is taking place right now, from June 24 to July 2021. Make sure to check it out at www.thirdhorizonfilmfestival.com Follow Romola on IG @romiiluke  and Third Horizon Film Festival @thrdhrzn Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Romola LucasEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Damian Marley - Speak Life

We're bringing you a truly beautiful and inspiring conversation with Emmy-nominated director, cinematographer and founder of Capital K Pictures, Sofian Khan. Sofian spoke to us about his desire to create multilayered diaspora stories, the incredible story of Afghan and Iraqi translators captured in his lauded documentary The Interpreters, and perhaps the most eclectic mix of Soleil Speaks we've had to date featuring both Lancashire and Pakistani slang!   Follow Sofian on IG @capitalkpictures & Twitter @capitalkpics Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Sofian Khan Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Arooj Aftab - Saans Lo 

Jamaica is our destination this week as we speak to Jamaican filmmaker and visual artist, Storm Saulter. Storm takes us on his creative journey, way back to picking up his first disposable camera as a kid in Negril, Jamaica, to being mentored by the legendary Director X, to creating concert visuals for Beyonce and Jay-Z, to the making of his award-winning feature films Better Mus’ Come and Sprinter.  Follow Storm on IG - @stormsaulter Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Storm SaulterEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Elephant Man - Equinoxx 

We're in New York this week speaking to Joseph Patel - a producer, writer, director and truly gifted storyteller as you'll learn from this episode! From changing his name to a 'white sounding' one at a young age, to hanging out in Questlove's apartment in Philly at 4am, to most recently serving as a producer on the Sundance award-winning documentary Summer of Soul, Joseph shared with us his ups, downs and everything in between.  Follow Joseph on IG and Twitter - @jazzbeezy  Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Joseph Patel Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Power Show - Fela Kuti 

To close Women's History Month (although we think every month should be Women's History Month!), we take you to Mumbai, India for a conversation with Indian film and TV producer Rucha Pathak. Now working at Excel Entertainment, Rucha walked us through her upbringing living everywhere from Nigeria to Ooty in South India, creating story-driven films like Paan Singh Tomar and Neerja and her desire to see more women in film across the seas.  Follow Rucha on IG @roo_cha to learn more about what she's doing. And check out the Indian Memory Project - www.indianmemoryproject.com  Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Rucha PathakEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Zingaat - Ajay-Atul, Ajay Gogavale, Atul Gogavale

We are taking you to Vancouver, Canada this week as we speak to  co-founder and President of global entertainment and media company, BRON Studios, Brenda Gilbert. We spoke to Brenda about BRON, the multifaceted company behind titles including Fences, Queen & Slim and the recently Oscar-nominated Judas & The Black Messiah,  her Fiji roots growing up immigrant in Canada, the importance of women in the industry uplifting themselves and each other and why we think she is #goals in all walks of life. Check out www.bronstudios.com to learn more about Brenda's work, and follow Brenda on IG @brendaagilbert.  Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Brenda GilbertEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: One Love - Bob Marley

Kicking things off as our first official guest of Season 2 is award-winning Kenyan documentary producer, Toni Kamau. We chatted with Toni about growing up in Nairobi and the Sheng slang she picked up there, her approach to uniquely telling the story of renowned Kenyan political activist Boniface Mwangi in festival favorite doc Softie, and our collective experiences realizing that the TV show Friends did not in fact reflect our real lives. Check out www.wearenothemachine.com to learn more about Toni's work. Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Toni Kamau Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Marathon Runner - Nyashinski

We are back! And what better way to give you a taste of what is to come in Season 2, than to give you an insight into the mind behind Soleil - your Soleil Spotlight co-host, Micha Cooper-Edwards. In this episode, we turn the spotlight on ourselves as Micha takes us through her journey from Trinidad to the US, her wide-spanning career at Nike, her career switch into the media industry exploring Nigerian film in London, and finally the reason she brought Soleil into the world. Follow Micha @michacooperedwards to learn more about the woman behind it all. Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Priya Shanmuganathan, Cora AtkinsonGuest: Micha Cooper-EdwardsEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Trini 2 De Bone - David Rudder

Closing Season 1 of Soleil Spotlight is Nigerian-South African-Bajan film director, writer and actor, Akin Omotoso! As well as a star of African cinema and creator of award-winning films such as Vaya and Tell Me Sweet Something, Akin is also a close friend of Soleil. Akin walked us through his experience emigrating to South Africa at a turning point in the country's history, the importance of depicting a variety of stories as a filmmaker, and his most recent venture being brought on to direct Greek Freak, a live action film for Disney+ inspired by the true life story of NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo.Vaya is available to stream on Netflix. And follow Akin @akinomotoso learn more about his work! Season 2 of Soleil Spotlight will be back in 2021! Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Akin Omotoso Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Joromi (Remix) - Simi

We are welcoming our first guest from Latin America this week, Venice Film Festival-winning Columbian writer-director, Mariana Saffon. Mariana spoke to us about the highs and lows of being a women in the film industry, the inspiration behind creating her Venice award-winning short, Entre Tú y Milagros, and meeting her idol Pedro Almodóvar whilst holding a handful of sandwiches. Follow the IG page @entretuymilagros to learn more about Mariana's Venice FF award-winning short. Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Mariana SaffonEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Here's To You - Quisiera- Juan Luis Guerra

We’re in Turkey this week, with Turkish film director, producer and screenwriter (and former surgeon!), Ahmet Boyacioglu. Best known for his first feature, ‘Black and White’, Ahmet now serves as the he Art Director for the Festival On Wheels and the director for the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, one of the few festivals to hold a physical edition this year and from where Ahmet had just returned! Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival just wrapped its 57th edition, learn more about the festival here. And learn more about the Close Up Initiative - an International Co-Production Training Program for Documentary Filmmakers from the Middle East and North Africa. Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Ahmet BoyaciogluEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Here's To You - Enio Morricone feat. Joan Baez

After a short hiatus, we're back with British-Nigerian actor, producer and activist Chiké Okonkwo! Once a member of the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in the UK, you may now know him as Lee Truitt from BET's Being Mary Jane or PC Clark in BBC One's New Tricks. Chiké spoke to us about growing up in a Nigerian household in South London, how his move to the US allowed him to tell the stories he truly wanted to tell and why him and Priya share a love of Beyoncé. Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Chiké OkonkwoEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Bigger - Beyoncé

LA-born & Philly-resident, Maori Karmael Holmes is a curator, filmmaker, writer and founder of BlackStar Film Festival: an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global communities of color, showcasing films by Black, Brown and Indigenous people from around the world. Maori spoke to us about how her creative journey through various touchpoints of visual artistry led her to where she is today, now serving as, among many other things, CEO and Artistic Director of the festival, dubbed by members of its community as 'the Black Sundance'. BlackStar Film Festival just wrapped its 9th edition, learn more on the website here! And follow Maori on IG - @maorikarmaelDon't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Maori Karmael Holmes Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Come Back as a Flower - Stevie Wonder

Introducing our next guest, award-winning Korean American independent producer, director & writer Grace Lee! Best known for directing documentaries such as The Grace Lee Project, and the Peabody award-winning American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, as well as features like Janeane from Des Moines and American Zombie, Grace's work and creative insight is needed now more than ever. Check out Grace's website to learn more about her work! American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs is free to stream here (US only), and K-Town92 is available to all here. And learn more about A-Doc here. Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Grace LeeEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Mic Drop (Steve Aoki Remix) - BTS

Introducing producer and poet, Jenni Trang Le! Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Jenni has always been a storyteller, and after discovering film during university, went on to work on a number of US-based independent projects. But after she was offered the position of First Assistant Director in 2005 in Charlie Nguyen's, The Rebel, American projects turned into American and Vietnamese co-productions, and in 2009 she made the move to Saigon official. 11 years later and a number of productions later, Jenni is a seasoned veteran of the Vietnamese film industry, who also serves as a bridge between Vietnamese and US cinema - most recently consulting on Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods. Follow Jenni on IG - @jennitrangle and on FacebookTo learn even more about the Vietnamese film industry, check out ACCENTED: Dialogues in Diaspora | Vietnamese Representation On Screen and Behind the Scenes - a panel Jenni participated in along with her colleagues, hosted by Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen. Watch the music video for N'Sao? by Suboi, producer by Jenni herself! Don't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Jenni Trang Le Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: N'Sao? - Suboi

Meet Moses Babatope - Group Executive Director of Film One Entertainment Group, which comprises of Film One Productions Film One Distribution and Filmhouse Cinemas, and is collectively the biggest film studio, aggregation and cinema exhibition conglomerate in Nigeria. As you'll learn, this is just one of the several hats that Moses wears! After moving to London to study, Moses entered the film world moving up the ranks working at Odeon Cinemas, soon becoming a pioneer for Nollywood cinema in the UK; an experience which he leveraged after moving back home to Nigeria to help him get where he is today. We're so excited for you to learn more about Moses journey, and the story of Nollywood. Check out Film One Entertainment's website to learn more about their titles, and follow them on IG - @filmonengFollow Filmhouse Cinemas on IG - @filmhousecinemasAnd follow Moses on IG - @mosesbabatopeDon't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.comCredits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Moses Babatope Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Street Credibility - 9ice

This week on Soleil Spotlight, we're taking you to Assam, India to hear from award-winning writer and director: Bhaskar Hazarika. Bhaskar made waves with his debut, KOTHANODI, which won the National Award for best Assamese film in 2016, and was also the first film in Assamese to be picked up by Netflix. His latest film AAMIS, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2019, where it was nominated in 5 categories - and left critics, audiences and us eager to hear more from the mind behind it. AAMIS is available to watch in certain regions at www.moviesaints.comWatch Joymati, the first Assamese language film by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala for free on YoutubeFollow Bhaskar on IG - @stranger.in.time and his production company, Metanormal - @metanormalizeCheck out Bhaskar's Facebook page -www.facebook.com/bhaskartalkiesDon't forget to rate and subscribe!Follow us on IG - @soleil.spaceCheck out our website to follow our work - www.soleilentertainment.com Credits -Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Bhaskar HazarikaEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner Outro Song: Tumar Morome Mur - Jayanta Hazarika

Meet Asha Lovelace, Trinidadian filmmaker, founder and festival director of Africa Film TT Festival - an annual film festival that showcases the best of contemporary and classic films from the African continent. Asha's journey takes us from growing up in a house full of Caribbean creative legends to studying filmmaking with peers from across the globe in Cuba. She made her debut with the short George and the Bicycle Pump (2000) at TIFF; an official selection for Planet Africa. Her upcoming film project is THE DRAGON adapted from the Caribbean classic (written by her father and longstanding collaborator, Earl Lovelace) The Dragon Can't Dance. Don't forget to rate and subscribe! Follow us on IG - @soleil.space Check out our website - www.soleilentertainment.com Follow Asha on IG - @ashalovelaceFind out more about AFTT Festival - www.africafilmtt.com Credits:Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Asha Lovelace Editor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner - fromforeign.co Outro Song: Poverty is Hell - Shadow

We're so excited to share our first episode of Soleil Spotlight - we were joined by actor/writer/director/producer (and model ;) Paul Pryce (@paulpryce). A native of Trinidad & Tobago, and Yale School of Drama alum, joined us from New York talk about his journey to the stage and screen, his upcoming feature film, THE DELIVERER, the confluence of culture and creativity and the future of Caribbean film. Oh, and winning a modeling contest hosted by Oprah. He's appeared in such ranging titles from Netflix's Jessica Jones and A&E's Unforgettable to Hamlet and Othello. His debut film, COME OUT, COME OUT premiered at the 2017 Cannes Short Film Corner, and his subsequent shorts project THE DELIVERER debuted at film festivals across the globe. We were delighted to speak to Paul and can't wait for everyone to hear his story. Don't forget to rate and subscribe! Follow us on IG - @soleil.space Check out our website - www.soleilentertainment.com Credits:Producer: Soleil EntertainmentHosts: Micha Cooper-Edwards, Priya ShanmuganathanGuest: Paul PryceEditor: Cooper Conley-CurrierMusic: Foreigner - fromforeign.co Outro Song: Big Truck - Machel Montano