Four years running, the most-watched films on streaming have been led by Women of Color. So why is Hollywood still treating diverse stories as a risk?On this bonus episode of Sista Brunch, we sit down with Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón and Jade Abston, two of the researchers behind UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report, to break down what the 2026 data actually shows about who gets to lead, direct, write, and who's actually watching.Dr. Ramón runs UCLA's Entertainment and Media Research Initiative and has spent more than two decades studying equity in Hollywood. Jade Abston is a PhD candidate at UCLA and a co-author on the report, whose own dissertation research looks at Black women's innovation in music videos and visual albums.We talk through the history of the report and why it had to be built independently of the studios, the numbers behind this year's findings for Black women in lead roles, directing, and writing, and the audience data that keeps proving the same point: Women of Color aren't just watching, they're driving the ratings.This conversation also unpacks something the headline numbers don't always show: how streaming algorithms shape what gets seen in the first place, and why visibility and sustainability are two different problems.Read the full UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report at socialsciences.ucla.eduHosted by Fanshen Cox (she/they) Guests: Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón, Jade AbstonSista Brunch is brought to you by TruJuLo Productions. Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/trujulomedia Follow on Instagram: @SistaBrunchPodcast Support the show: patreon.com/sistabrunch GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch sistabrunch.com

Show NotesHow does an "army brat" with no Hollywood connections become an Emmy-winning documentarian whose work sits at the center of one of the most urgent conversations in America? In this bonus brunch, filmmaker Luchina Fisher pulls up a chair to talk about the long, unexpected road from journalism to the director's chair—and the craft, ethics, and relationships that carry a story from the page to the screen to the front lines.Luchina is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, educator, and 2026 North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame inductee. She's the director behind the new feature documentary The Dads—a follow-up to her Emmy-winning 2023 Netflix short of the same name, executive produced by Dwyane Wade—which follows fathers of trans and gender-expansive kids deciding whether to stay and fight or leave the country.If you make things, fund things, or care about stories that move people toward action, this one's for you. Luchina shares the three questions every filmmaker should ask before any project, why "everything starts with the word" no matter how the technology changes, how an 11-minute short sparked a movement and a foundation, and an honest look at the money—including why the starving-artist myth has to go and what it actually took to pay her team.Pull up a chair. Don't cry. Eat your chicken biscuit. (You'll understand by the end.)In This Episode[00:00] – Big news: Sista Brunch joins the 2026 AIR New Voices AMPLIFY cohort (supported by Apple Podcasts), plus shout-outs to cohort shows worth your follow[02:30] – Welcome to the brunch table: meet Luchina Fisher[04:00] – Her Journey: growing up an army brat, the '70s–'80s golden age of screen, and a big brother directing the neighborhood kids in backyard Star Trek[06:00] – Childhood in Germany, learning the language, and watching reel after reel on the military base[08:00] – UNC Chapel Hill, journalism, the Miami Herald, a lifelong friendship with Tananarive Due, and the leap to study film at the University of Bristol[12:00] – The three questions every filmmaker must ask: Why this? Why now? Why me? On bias, ethics, and "can I sleep at night?"[14:00] – Her brother's charge to "do something," her mother's story, and seeing firsthand the power and urgency of story[16:00] – Becoming a mother, parenting a trans child, and how Gloria Allen became Mama Gloria[18:00] – Why The Dads: the fathers who show up, and the narrative we don't hear enough[19:30] – Let's Talk Tech: from journalist to documentarian, shooting on everything from 16mm to digital, and why the story—not the gear—is the thing[24:30] – The short as poetry: getting it under 12 minutes, designing for middle America, and the Netflix call the day after the SXSW premiere[28:00] – Filmmaking is relationships: how the retreat itself grew out of Luchina's idea to film these dads[31:30] – Financials: paying your team a livable wage, the post–George Floyd commission wave, her 2024 Daytime Emmy, the lean stretch after, and teaching at Yale and Fairfield[36:30] – Building the feature: Stephen Chukumba's "let's keep filming," house-party fundraising, Dwyane Wade, and Elevate Studios[42:00] – Support Sista Brunch + a peek at this summer's Sista Sessions[42:50] – Where and how to see The Dads: festival run, Pride Month screenings, and community screenings you can bring to your own town[44:30] – Sista Brunch: Luchina sits down with her 19-year-old self in Chapel Hill—a chicken biscuit, and the words she needed to hear[46:30] – Closing love and gratitudeResource StackLuchina Fisher & her workDirector's site: luchinafisher.comProduction company: Little Light ProductionsThe Dads (feature): thedadsfilm.comThe Dads Foundation: thedadsfoundation.orgThe Dads (2023 Emmy-winning short) — on NetflixMama Gloria — Luchina's documentary on Black trans elder activist Gloria AllenTeam Dream — short documentaryPeople & partners mentionedDwyane Wade (executive producer) and Elevate StudiosStephen Chukumba, producer and Dads Foundation co-founderTananarive Due, novelist, screenwriter, and directorHuman Rights Campaign / Parents for Transgender Equality CouncilAIR New Voices AMPLIFY cohort shows mentioned (links in the episode description)Consider This For Comfort — Eteng EttahReality Blurred — Andy Dehnart (President, Television Critics Association)Femme and Furious — Julia Rose PortelaSuper Sorry — Amber JankeOut of the Ashes — Vince Comegys-DavisWith thanks to AIR (Association of Independents in Radio), Captain TK Dutes, and Lynn CasperSupport Sista BrunchDonate: givebutter.com/SistaBrunchPatreon (including this summer's Sista Sessions): patreon.com/SistaBrunch

What's Greeking? What's a Frankenbite? What does it mean to "package" a project? And why does a Hollywood producer call a sewing machine her most important piece of technology?In this Sista Brunch Season 7 bonus episode, every guest shares the tool, term, or technology from their craft that an outsider would never understand. From set dressing to composing, from location management to unscripted TV editing, from documentary law to the future of AI -- this is the insider language of the entertainment industry, decoded by the people who use it every day.Fourteen guests. Fourteen windows into how this industry actually works. Whether you're trying to break in or you've been in it for decades, you'll learn something you didn't know.Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia. Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram. Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

While working as one of Sista Brunch's season seven associate producers, Charlie T. Savage was quietly making a feature film. Voices the Musical is a 1967 period piece with nine original songs, shot in nine days in Inglewood, now nominated for Best US Narrative Feature and Best Screenplay at the 30th Annual ABFF. In this bonus episode, Charlie shares the full journey -- co-writing the script in one month, fighting against the musical format (and being wrong), shooting a period piece with stunts and a 1965 car on a shoestring budget, and why networking across rather than up is the advice she'd give her younger self over a bag of crawfish and a Pineapple Big Shot. Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.  

Effie T. Brown is an award-winning producer, CEO of Game Changer Films, and a Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her producing credits include Real Women Have Curves and Dear White People, and she made history when she challenged the lack of diversity on HBO's Project Greenlight -- a moment that helped spark the creation of the Inclusion Rider.In this season seven finale of Sista Brunch, Effie delivers one of the most transparent and unfiltered conversations we've ever had: -- Growing up as a latchkey kid in New Jersey and seeing Alien as a child -- the moment she realized women can save themselves and storytelling can bring everyone together -- Getting into the LMU film school on sheer audacity: "I'm gonna be bigger than Jerry Bruckheimer and Oprah Winfrey" -- The first class of Film Independent's Project Involve -- The full Project Greenlight story: what happened at the premiere, reading Matt Damon's microexpressions, and learning that she'd never hear from them again -- How that moment led directly to the Inclusion Rider and now state-level inclusion policy through the California Film Commission -- Real producer pay: $75K on Real Women Have Curves, underpaying herself on Dear White People, and doing Project Greenlight because her house was about to be foreclosed on -- Why producers should never defer their 5%: "You know who doesn't put their fee back? The director. The actors. The writers." -- Producers United and the fight for development fees and commencement fees -- Her quilting practice, Conjure Quilts: putting disparate pieces together to make something whole -- What verticals are and why they're the future: "Candy Crush with a narrative" -- Her vision for a collective fund where multiple companies pool resources and replenish the pot -- 18 years sober, gumbo, and the advice to her younger self: have a lot of sex and learn about distribution because they eat first and eat the most Effie was born at Fort Dix, New Jersey, attended Loyola Marymount University on a theater scholarship, and has spent her career making sure overlooked voices get heard, seen, paid, and credited.Keywords: Effie Brown, Sista Brunch Podcast, Game Changer Films, Project Greenlight, Inclusion Rider, Real Women Have Curves, Dear White People, producer salary, film producer, Academy Governor, micro drama, verticals, AKUNA, Idris Elba, Conjure Quilts, Film Independent, Project Involve, Producers United, independent film, Black women in Hollywood, distribution, entertainment business, HBO, diversity inclusion, California Film Commission, LMU, circular leadership

Diana Williams is the CEO and co-founder of Kinetic Energy Entertainment, a multi-platform venture studio building franchise IP across film, TV, video games, and immersive experiences. She is the former Creative Development and Franchise Producer for Star Wars at Lucasfilm, where she co-founded ILM Immersive -- the lab behind Vader Immortal and the Academy Award-winning Carne y Arena. In this conversation, Diana shares her path from a farm community in New Jersey to Georgetown to becoming the youngest person ever admitted to the DGA Assistant Directors Training Program, to building franchise worlds at Lucasfilm, to launching her own venture studio. She breaks down the difference between an idea and real IP, why every project should be run as a business, why the entertainment industry has fundamentally changed since 2019, and what collaboration, craft, and curiosity have to do with cheeseburgers. This episode also features co-host Shawn Pipkin-West, who shares an unexpected DGA Training Program connection with Diana. Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch. The Spotify description closes with "what collaboration, craft, and curiosity have to do with cheeseburgers" -- which is the kind of line that makes someone press play because they need to know the answer.

Ashlee Hypolite is the Executive Director of Hollywood CPR, the nonprofit workforce development program that provides free, union-track training for below-the-line careers in film, TV, and live events. In this conversation, Ashlee shares her journey from Trinidadian roots in Boston to Brandeis to CAA to leading one of the most impactful pipeline programs in the industry. She breaks down how Hollywood CPR works, what the union local numbers mean, the real cost of entry (free), and why below-the-line careers are one of the most viable and most overlooked paths into entertainment. She also talks about philanthropy, nonprofit finances, and what it takes to keep a program like this sustainable. Apply at hollywoodcpr.org. Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Aaliyah Williams is an Emmy Award-winning producer and founder of Just a Rebel. She produced Netflix's Black Barbie, which earned two Daytime Emmys and an NAACP Image Award through Shondaland.In this conversation, Aaliyah shares her full journey -- from Harvard to finance to moving to LA without a film degree, from assisting for Effie Brown to producing a first short on 35mm that ended at Sundance, from building digital platforms at All Def Digital and MACRO to the real story behind how Black Barbie got to Netflix. She breaks down what it took to negotiate a deal that properly compensated the Black women who made the film, why she went to UCLA Law mid-career, and what she's directing next.Full episode available on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia.Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram.Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch.

Kamala Avila-Salmon is a producer, studio executive, and inclusion strategist who has been at the center of how stories get developed and greenlit at major studios. She is the founder of Kas Kas Productions and previously led inclusive content strategy at Lionsgate, where she was embedded in creative development, marketing, and the greenlight committee. In this episode, Kamala breaks down the real mechanics of the entertainment industry with rare transparency: -- How "packaging" works and why studios expect producers to arrive with director, cast, and script already attached -- What studio salary bands actually look like from assistant to EVP, including how tech company titles like Netflix don't translate to traditional studio levels -- How she cold-emailed Clive Davis as a Harvard undergrad and landed her first music industry job -- The difference between buyers, sellers, and makers in the entertainment ecosystem -- Why inclusion work has to start at the development stage, not the marketing phase -- Her Story Spark tool for evaluating scripts beyond surface-level representation -- How a conversation with the Lionsgate chairman led to her production deal and the birth of Kas Kas Productions -- What she'd tell her 22-year-old self over a bacon egg and cheese and a Hugo Spritz Kamala was born in Jamaica and moved to New York as a child. She attended Harvard for undergrad and business school, worked in the music industry during the digital disruption era, transitioned to film and TV, and built a career defined by passion, curiosity, and a refusal to accept figurehead roles. Sista Brunch is the podcast building the largest archive anywhere of the stories of Black women and Black gender expansive people thriving in film, TV, and media. Hosted by Fanshen Cox and Shawn Pipkin-West. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch the full episode on YouTube @TruJuLoMedia. Follow @SistaBrunchPodcast on Instagram for clips, community, and resources. Support the show at Patreon.com/SistaBrunch or GiveButter.com/SistaBrunch. Keywords: Kamala Avila-Salmon, Sista Brunch Podcast, Kas Kas Productions, Lionsgate, studio executive, film producer, inclusive storytelling, greenlight process, packaging film, entertainment salary transparency, Black women in Hollywood, Harvard Business School, music industry, Netflix titles vs studio titles, Story Spark, inclusion strategy, creative development, independent producer, Jamaican heritage, media representation

Journalist and media innovator Georgia Fort joins Fanshen and Shawn for a powerful conversation about her journey from radio intern to Emmy-nominated independent journalist — and why she's dedicating her career to building the next generation of storytellers. Georgia takes us inside the Derek Chauvin trial courtroom, talks about her transition from radio to TV news, and shares the deeply personal story of being detained by federal agents while doing her job. She also breaks down the business challenges facing independent journalism and why she founded the Center for Broadcast Journalism to invest in young journalists of color in Minnesota. Plus: Georgia's Let's Talk Tech segment on B-roll, and her beautiful answer to the Sista Brunch signature question. Support Georgia's work: https://www.centerforbroadcastjournalism.org/ Support Sista Brunch:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SistaBrunchGiveButter: https://givebutter.com/SistaBrunchInstagram: @SistaBrunchPodcastYouTube: @TruJuLoMediaWebsite: www.sistabrunch.com #SistaBrunch #BlackWomenInMedia #BlackWomenThriving #Journalism #GeorgiaFort #IndependentMedia #BroadcastJournalism #DerekChauvinTrial #PressFredom #MinnesotaJournalist #BlackPodcasts #WomenInMedia #PodcastClips