Filmmakers Therapy Couch

In this episode of Filmmakers Therapy Couch, I interview Shola Lynch - Award-winning Documentary Filmmaker who is best known for the feature documentary FREE ANGELA & All Political Prisoners and the Peabody Award-winning documentary CHISHOLM ’72: Unbought & Unbossed.  

Join me, filmmaker Dami Rock as I caught up with Shola in New York, where she received an award at ‘Reel Sisters’ Film Festival. We discussed her approach to filmmaking and how to leverage your connections. We got in some #filmtherapy, sharing her tips and advice, sitting in the spotlight on 'Filmmakers Therapy Couch’. Best enjoyed with a cup of tea.

Watch the video below:

Her feature documentary FREE ANGELA & All Political Prisoners is a first-hand account of the events that thrust Angela Davis into the national spotlight from a young college professor to a fugitive on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. The film received critical acclaim and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the 2014 NAACP Image Award for Excellence for Best Documentary.

In 2013, she was named the Curator for Film, Moving Image and Recorded Sound at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Shola holds a Master’s in American History and Public History Management from the University of California, Riverside as well as a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University. She is also working on a book based on her film Free Angela.

 “Not that we want to be arrogant but we want to claim the space we inhabit... because we are excellent” says Shola Lynch, and this is reflected in her independent film body of work and her other collaborative projects; feeding her passion “to bring history alive with captivating stories of people, places and events.” 

Shola continued, "I created Filmmakers Therapy Couch as a ‘film therapy’ based discussion series, as well as highlighting the works of talented and experienced storytellers, out on the media landscape.  Like therapy, this series aims to inspire and empower; offering shared insight for those on their filmmaking journey.  (Disclaimer: dusty psychology degree under my bed so for real therapy please consult a physician..)"