Author: Kaytra Parkman

Let me be perfectly clear… if you’re like me and were born in the mid-90’s, you’re a (z)illennial. This is what I lovingly call the generational cusp between being the youngest millennials and the oldest Gen Z’s. Don’t let any Buzzfeed article or old grumpy comedian tell you otherwise! I guarantee that most of us mid-90’s kids don’t feel like we fit in entirely with either generation, especially with all the sweeping generalizations and sensational buzzwords the media loves to make up about both groups. (Z)illennials have been given a unique perspective in history; born just before the turn of…

“ODD BRODSKY is a quirky comedy that follows the adventures of 30-something Audrey Brodsky, who’ll do almost anything to find her big break in Hollywood. Fueled by a graveside promise to become an actress,  Audrey moves to Hollywood and finds great success… working 40 hours a week at an office job she hates. Ten years pass in the blink of an eye when Audrey finally decides to reclaim her childhood dream.” Cindy Baer is the quintessential multi-hyphenate. Director, producer, actor, co-writer, and editor of her latest female-centric film Odd Brodsky, Baer is no stranger to creative success. Her debut film…

“ODD BRODSKY is a quirky comedy following the adventures of 30-something Audrey Brodsky, who’ll do almost anything to find her big break in Hollywood. Fueled by a graveside promise to become an actress,  Audrey moves to Hollywood and finds great success… working 40 hours a week at an office job she hates. Ten years pass in the blink of an eye when Audrey finally decides to reclaim her childhood dream.” – oddbrodsky.com Odd Brodsky by Cindy Baer is an absolute gem of an indie film. Allow me to explain: I’ve attended many film festivals and seen countless independent movies, but…

“Little Miss Perfect is a feature-length drama that chronicles the life of BELLE (14) an overambitious straight-A freshman. Her newest accomplishment? Class President. Belle seems to have it altogether but as family trouble and daily social academic pressures grow, she seeks a way to control an otherwise chaotic world. Triggered by a blog promoting anorexia and other eating disorders, Belle drops down to an unhealthy weight, a number that wouldn’t even make for a good grade.” -littlemissperfectmovie.com Little Miss Perfect is not your typical directorial debut. Already taking the festival circuit by storm (also winning the Grand Jury award for…

“ALTAMAR is an independent production company specialising in multimedia documentary films focusing on stories that impact humanity. We are a dedicated team with years of experience working throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Our passion is to share powerful stories of humanity.” – altamar.tv While at the Evolution Mallorca Film Festival screening, I watched one of the most moving documentaries I’ve seen in a long time… a gorgeous piece of filmmaking called Forced: Child Labour and Exploitation. This film focused on the young girls and boys of Bangladesh, and shed light on the gruesome jobs they’re forced into everyday…

“Moonfaze Films is a collective of artists whose lives are dedicated to telling stories via the film art form. We are rebel magic makers telling surreal truths. We are determined to unmask the masked and invoke the light in darkness. We are willing to take risks and unwilling to wait for permission to do so.” – moonfazefilms.com What makes progressive filmmaking effective? Visibility. So what better way to expose artistic activism than a film festival? That’s where Moonfaze Films comes in! This production company-turned-film festival aims to elevate marginalized voices across the entire spectrum in our society, in a peaceful…

“Les Femmes Underground International is a film festival centered on the subversive, unique, and innovative. LEFUFF, showcases artists from all walks of life creating work which redefines the manner in which women are represented in mainstream cinema.   As feminists, we believe it is our responsibility to empower new generations of young women to generate work which breaks away from society’s gendered roles. Les Femmes Underground seeks to premier first time under-represented emerging feminist film-makers and artists.” – www.lesfemmesinternational.org Now that I have your attention, here’s a fun fact for you: Did you know that we are in the midst…

“PALISADE is a short film about a man named Lloyd who robs a convenience store to help his girlfriend out of debt. To escape the cops, Lloyd breaks into a woman’s home, locks himself in her bedroom and holds her cat hostage. The pair develops an odd friendship through the locked bedroom door. This film is a comedy of errors that explores the polarities of compatibility, and demonstrates the power of attraction over circumstance.” Recently I attended the Los Angeles screening of the winners of the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival… “one of the fastest growing, most respected and exciting…

PART 2 of my interview with artist and activist Allison Santos. Please check out PART 1 to get the full story! Have you always leaned towards advocacy & outreach, or was this something you gained interest for over time? The conscious decision to do all this stuff was through Barangay, but I have always been involved in some form. The webseries was my first instance, on a larger scale, of using art for activism. Pearl Girls Production, your production company dedicated to developing media surrounding queer Asian-Americans, is shining light on one of the many diversity issues that Hollywood has.…

With each passing year, it becomes clearer that using art as activism is an incredibly powerful way of combining strengths to evoke change. In my search of those who actively pursue both, I had the honor of connecting with Allison Santos; a proud genderqueer Asian-American with a background in creativity and a passion for the LGBTQ+ community and minorities. As a staff member at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, co-creator of Pearl Girls Productions, and co-founder of 2100 Photography, Allison is the perfect person to start this series with. How do you think growing up in a Filipino family helped…

“I Dream Too Much is a heartwarming coming-of-age film that illustrates the challenges that women and families experience from the perspective of three different generations…” – idreamtoomuch.com Last month I wrote an in-depth review of a new indie feature film called I Dream Too Much. If you missed it, click here to catch up on the buzz before diving into the mind of writer/director Katie Cokinos below! How did your journey as a filmmaker begin? My journey began as a moviegoer back in the 1970’s and 80’s seeing Reds, All That Jazz, Play it Again Sam, Star Wars, and ET.…

If you haven’t seen The Magicians on SyFy, I highly suggest you drop everything and go binge it ASAP. (Click here to watch the entire first season online for free! Legally!) For those of you who aren’t familiar with the latest book-turned-series to hit the airwaves, here’s the breakdown: “Based upon Lev Grossman’s best-selling books, The Magicians centers around Brakebills University, a secret institution specializing in magic. There, amidst an unorthodox education of spellcasting, a group of twenty-something friends soon discover that a magical fantasy world they read about as children is all too real— and poses grave danger to…

“I Dream Too Much is a heartwarming coming-of-age film that illustrates the challenges that women and families experience from the perspective of three different generations…” – idreamtoomuch.com “You’re never too old to dream!”, is the through-line in this film from writer/director Katie Cokinos. The topic of dreams, goals & aspirations is a common one for coming-of-age films, but I Dream Too Much feels unique in the genre. Where other films tend to sweep you up in out-of-the-ordinary circumstances, huge transformations and inevitable romance, I Dream Too Much is grounded securely in reality; which in turn is all the more effective.…

PART 2/2 of my interview with Heidi Cox (creator) and Stephanie Pressman from Stalking LeVar; a comedic series about a woman in search of a very important person. CLICK HERE to read PART 1 before continuing! Have you produced projects prior to this? H: I did! I had started a short project before this, but I sort of allowed a friend of mine to take it over, and it ended up cute but it wasn’t “mine”. But it just makes Stalking LeVar all the more special to me. S: I was producing a couple of other projects at the time,…