Conversations with Daron Jenkins

In this episode of Conversations with Daron Jenkins, Daron sits down with Gregory Q. Jenkins, Founder of Quentasia Studios, for an insightful deep dive into the evolving landscape of creative production, storytelling, and independent media.

Gregory shares his journey building Quentasia Studios, breaking down what it takes to launch a creative venture from the ground up and maintain artistic integrity in a fast-changing industry. Together, Daron and Gregory discuss the power of intentional narrative building, navigating the business side of production, and practical strategies for empowering the next generation of independent storytellers.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The origin story behind Quentasia Studios and its core mission.

• How independent creators can bridge the gap between vision and execution.

• Key insights on navigating creative production and media leadership today.

• Strategies for building long-term value and ownership in creative projects.

Whether you're an aspiring filmmaker, producer, or creative entrepreneur, this conversation offers an inspiring, behind-the-scenes look at how to build a lasting mark in media today.

Slovenian actress starring in global video game franchises and the indie film scene in the UK and the US. Loves stunts, swords, and horses!

Camilla Borghesani is a classically trained actress whose recent screen credits include "The Trek" and "Virginia Woolf’s Night & Day", in which she plays Cassandra Otway alongside Haley Bennett and Jack Whitehall. Following its UK premiere, "Virginia Woolf’s Night & Day" is set for U.S. release this fall. "The Trek", directed by Meekaaeel Adam, has also enjoyed a successful festival run, including a screening at the Raindance Film Festival.

This week, Daron sits down with Jonathan Nicholas, a Director of Photography based in Austin, TX, whose camera has taken him to more than 25 countries. Jonathan's work has appeared on Netflix, NatGeo, ABC, NBC, Paramount+, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Science Channel, and History Channel.

His recent credits include the Netflix series America's Sweetheart: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, WRESTLERS, and CHEER Season 2, plus national campaigns for Spectrum and Beef. It's What's For Dinner. His new feature film, DUE WEST, hits theaters this summer.

In this conversation, Jonathan breaks down what it takes to build a career behind the camera, encompassing narrative, documentary, and commercial work, and shares lessons learned from working with some of the industry's biggest names and brands.

I sat down with Colin McIvor, the Director & Co-Writer of "No Ordinary Heist" - and he shared some nuggets about his creative process, shared some of how he became a filmmaker, and the heart behind the film. All of it.

Rob Colletti joins Daron to talk about landing the role of Wapol — the tyrannical, chaos-fueled former king of Drum Kingdom — in Netflix's worldwide smash hit ONE PIECE. Rob gets real about the craft and what it means to land the role of a lifetime, finally.

Actor Gigi Burgdorf joins Daron Jenkins for a candid conversation about her breakout role in Paramount's new comedy film sPreschool, directed by and starring Josh Duhamel. Gigi opens up about her journey from Baltimore to NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, her time training in classical theater in London, and how those roots shaped her work in Hollywood. She also reflects on her experiences on HBO's The Rehearsal with Nathan Fielder, The Perfect Couple with Nicole Kidman on Netflix, and Apple's Family Plan 2 with Mark Wahlberg. Whether you're a fan of her work or an aspiring actor looking for real talk about the industry, this episode is one you don't want to miss.

Join Daron on this week's episode as he sits down with actress/director/writer Adlih Alvarado. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, as well as raised in Orlando Fl, and Madrid, Spain. Went to the New York Film Academy in Burbank, CA. Went to SFX makeup school in Spain. Love for video games, books, and films/TV. The middle child of 3 had to step up at a young age to help parents with the older sibling with epilepsy. First TV credit in 2022, "This is Us", most recent credit "All's Fair" (on Hulu). Catmom.

Multi-award-winning composer Ceiri Torjussen’s (pronounced Kay-Ree) music was described by the Los Angeles Times as a “sudden bolt of creative lightning”. Welsh-born, but based in Los Angeles, his credits run the gamut of independent films, documentaries, network TV, animation, and numerous large-budget studio films.

Veronica Long, the breakout Netflix star currently captivating audiences worldwide with two standout performances — one making people laugh, and the other leaving them breathless. Veronica has become an international name following her bold comedic turn as Heather in Netflix’s romantic comedy 'The Wrong Paris', which recently premiered and quickly soared to No. 1 globally on the platform. At the same time, she’s winning over drama fans in Season 3 of MGM+’s 'Billy the Kid' — now airing weekly every Sunday — where she plays Manuela Bowdre, a quietly powerful and emotionally layered role as the Lincoln County War reaches its most intense chapter.

Andrea is a British actress best known for her role as Burnheart in the epic live-action remake of ‘How To Train Your Dragon’. The recurring role of Tyson in TNT’s ‘Snowpiercer’ & Lucky in SYFY’s ‘Van Helsing’. Andrea also guest stars as the voice of Mrs. Jorgensen in ‘Monster Loving Maniacs’ & voiced the role of the check-out chimp in “Chip & Potato”.

What do you learn after five decades behind the camera?

In this episode of Conversations with Daron Jenkins, I sit down with Steven Bernstein - cinematographer, director, writer, and author - who’s worked on everything from the Oscar-winning Monster to Decoding Annie Parker and Last Call with John Malkovich. Steven opens up about the craft, the hustle, and what it takes to keep creating at the highest level. If you’re a filmmaker, storyteller, or just love movies, this one’s packed with wisdom (and some great industry insights).

In this episode of Conversations with Daron Jenkins, I sit down with Alec Puro—award-winning Composer (Black Summer, The Mighty Ones, Spin the Bottle) and founder of Viralnoise, a royalty-free music company for the next wave of creators.

We talk about Alec’s evolution from touring musician to in-demand composer, the behind-the-scenes of scoring for screen, and how Viralnoise is making high-quality music more accessible for filmmakers, podcasters, and digital creators.

Whether you're building a short film, a YouTube channel, or a podcast empire—this episode hits all the right notes.

From surf columns to silver screens, Dan DeFilippo's creative journey is anything but typical. On this episode, the Emmy-winning producer and founder of Pipeline Entertainment joins us to talk about his latest project, Montauk Dayz—a heartfelt new book inspired by his roots on Long Island’s East End. We explore Dan’s early days writing for Dan’s Papers, his Hollywood hustle at William Morris, and how he brought a Francis Ford Coppola classic back to life with Dementia 13 (2017).

A conversation packed with stories, strategy, and soul for anyone chasing the dream.

Sophia is a multi-award-winning British Cypriot actress working across film, television, stage, and voiceover. Her work spans several leading platforms, including Apple, Paramount, BBC, FOX, as well as major gaming studios, earning her multiple Best Actress awards internationally, including at The European Cinematography Awards.​Known for her diverse slate of roles, ​Sophia continues to carve out a space for bold, emotionally raw female leads.​Recent credits include: Dungeons & Dragons (Paramount), Call The Midwife (BBC), Tyrant (FOX), Casualty (BBC), Shamrock Spitfire (Apple +), Walking Against The Rain (Apple +), Assassin's Creed Mirage (Ubisoft).

Blake Horn is a Seattle-based cinematographer who has traveled the globe lensing both documentary and fictional narrative films.

His focus on creative projects allowed him to film multiple short films, dance films, documentaries, and music videos. Soon he was shooting for Vice, BBC, Special Olympics, NFL, NHL, NBC, Refinery29, and 23andMe.

In his most recently released film, “A Cursed Man,” filmmaker Liam Le Guillou embarks on a perilous journey into the occult to discover if magic truly exists, challenging his perceptions of reality and belief through a daring and unprecedented dark social experiment.

Special Guest Goh Nakamura is a singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. A fortuitous 2007 feature on YouTube's front page brought his music videos over a million views and earned him a new fanbase from all over the world.

As a session musician, his guitar and vocal work has been featured in films directed by Ridley Scott, such as A Good Year, American Gangster, and Body of Lies. His track Daylight Savings also appears in the film Feast of Love. Nakamura made his acting debut in Dave Boyle's award-winning film Surrogate Valentine, where he played a fictionalized version of himself. The film screened at a number of festivals, including the SXSW Film Festival, and Nakamura won a Special Jury Prize for Acting from the Dallas International Film Festival for his performance. Most recently, Goh was the composer for the documentaries Be Water and The Greatest Night in Pop

Guest Co-host Chris Saunders is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Manhattan. Coming from British and Jamaican roots, he had an innate love of music, which was nurtured by his family. Chris was raised on the music of icons, such as Jimmy Cliff, The Beatles, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Sting & The Police. He also co-hosts The Tracklist Podcast.

Ramfis Myrthil is a New York-based filmmaker who is committed to producing and championing POC and LGBTQ+ stories. Ramfis has produced over 20 films of varying lengths, some of which have been featured at top-tier film festivals such as Cannes and Sundance. In addition, Ramfis is a regular speaker at SXSW and the Cannes Film Festival

⁠Jason Gallagher⁠ is a composer and producer in Los Angeles, CA. He led the band Leroy Justice in NYC, and then moved west to score TV and film. He was the composer for the series Z Nation on Syfy/Netflix and also wrote and sang the theme song. He scored Comedy Central’s series Robbie starring Rory Scovel, the indie feature For Worse directed by Amy Landecker, and the Emmy-nominated docuseries Fresh Fried & Crispy for Netflix. His music can be heard in other films, such as Universal Soldier and All Square. He has a degree in film production from Boston University and has produced, edited, and scored award-winning television shows, films, and comedy specials.

Featured Guest: Maureen Isern, Founder/Producer/Director - MOPED Productions

Mo Isern is a longtime heart-led impact storyteller who is currently getting started on writing, directing and producing Erin's Law Documentary in partnership with i2i Productions, which is executive producing. She is Founder of MOPED Productions, which since 2007 has been delivering impactful digital content on behalf of organizations, creators, and institutions with a mission to mobilize. She is Cofounder of The Shift Productions, which is focused on mental health storytelling, series and online events. And currently she is Producer for the Heal with Kelly Podcast. She started off in TV journalism in Tallahassee, FL, before moving to New York City, San Francisco, and landing in Los Angeles in 2015.

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About Conversations with Daron Jenkins

Adam Schomer is a conscious filmmaker, president of i2i Productions, and is known for going to extreme lengths to follow stories that empower us. Feature documentaries include the award winning THE HIGHEST PASS (2012), THE POLYGON (2014), ONE LITTLE PILL (2015), and WOMEN OF THE WHITE BUFFALO (2022). He is well known for producing the #1 iTunes Best-Seller and NETFLIX hit, HEAL (2017). Adam created and directed the 10 episode docu-series THE ROAD TO DHARMA (2020), a heart pounding and spirit driven quest to find freedom on motorcycles in the Himalayas, and wrote its companion online course for Living a Life of Freedom. He just finished directing and producing the 4-part documentary SELLING SUPERMAN (2024) and writing/directing the feature documentary FINDING PEACE (2024) featuring the famed Tibetan Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard.

Follow on IG: @i2iproductions

Chris Thomas is a composer for films, theme parks, and video games. He has won the Hollywood Music in Media Award, the American Prize in Composition, written music for several Emmy-nominated films, and Woman Rebel, shortlisted for an Academy Award. In television, he works as a composer, orchestrator, and conductor for studios such as Sony, ABC, FOX, CBS, and HBO.

Chris's theme park music can be heard at Evermore Adventure Park, Knott's Berry Farm, Dreamland Theme Park (UK), Universal Studios, and many other locations worldwide.

Join Daron this week as he sits down to talk film with the brilliant and talented Actor-Director-Producer, Sarah Demeestere.Sarah is a dynamic French-American actor, creative producer.She is also the founder and creative producer at LuxidProds, where she is the showrunner for *The Chin Show*, a quirky children's program that aims to empower young viewers to think critically.Currently, Sarah can be seen in Pedro Almodovar's latest film, "The Room Next Door", alongside Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.

As a huge Tim Burton fan, Walles Hamonde was thrilled to be cast in the new "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" movie alongside stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. A former competitive figure skater, Walles is now a familiar face on screen, perhaps best known for his character Rich in Armando Iannucci's hit HBO show 'Avenue 5'. He also played Sheik Al Jamain in the ground-breaking Netflix animation 'Captain Fall'; Doctor Saed in the controversial 2023 New Year's episode of 'EastEnders'; and the lead Auror in the seminal Harry Potter spin-off 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. In addition, Walles has starred in dozens of high-profile audio dramas, video games, and animations.

Daron chops it up with Shihan Van Clief, the Writer/Director of the new feature "My First Horror Film" which stars Georgina Navarro (Fade), Chauntice Green (9-1-1: Lone Star), Justyn Franco (The Nexus), Stephan O’Shea, Joy Marie Thomas (Ballers), and Miles Crawford (Euphoria).

Join Daron Jenkins as he chats with Christian Vit, a renowned Italian-British actor known for his roles in "Game of Thrones," "Vikings: Valhalla," and more. Discover his journey from Venice to Hollywood and the challenges and triumphs of his international acting career.

Cameron Love is a Canadian-based actor whose most recent film “In a Violent Nature” premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It’s an arthouse horror film that has made a lot of headlines recently since its theatrical run.

Stanislava Ivy is a journalist, writer, TV personality, and filmmaker from Bulgaria. She has traveled the world to interview some of the biggest names in Hollywood and is a key part of the Cinelibri Film Festival, a unique event featuring film adaptations from around the world.

Join host Daron Jenkins for an exciting new episode of "Conversations with Daron Jenkins" as he sits down with the incredibly talented composer, Chris Bezold. Chris takes us behind the scenes of his latest project, the 2024 film "Day Labor."

Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review "Conversations with Daron Jenkins" to stay updated on future episodes with more amazing guests from the world of film, music, and beyond!

RoB sBaR is an accomplished, award-winning composer, guitarist, visual artist and writer, filmmaker, performance artist focusing on experimental, inventive approaches to multimedia and fusing musical genres, including contemporary chromatic and post-tonal solo, chamber and orchestral pieces, large-scale orchestral film scores, fully arranged jazz, rock, fusion and contemporary progressive guitar music.

Lee Thongkham is a director and producer from Ban Tha Kok Daeng, Nong Khai, Thailand. Lee's credits include his latest film "Kitty the Killer" as well as "We are Here", "The Lake", "The Maid" and "Box". He graduated from Full Sail University and he is the winner of the 2010 and 2011 "Best Director" award at the Florida Film Festival. His production company ThongkhamFilms specializes in high concept visual storytelling across both film and television .

Join me for an inspiring conversation on this week's episode of "Conversations with Daron Jenkins" with the talented actor Travis Lee Eller. You might know him as Joe Ellis from the new INSP series "Elkhorn." But Travis is more than just an actor; he's also the creative force behind Ugly Outlaw Hats, where he crafts unique, distressed, and tattered hats that are true works of art.

Samantha Coughlan is a Canadian born actor who lives in London. She has worked across the board for over 20 years in film, tv, commercials, voice over, and theatre on both sides of the Atlantic. She's also worked in the West End on many shows, and has produced my own theatre. She can currently be seen in both the upcoming Nicholas Cage film "Arcadian" and the latest Samuel L Jackson film "Damaged". Both films open April 12th, 2024.

Actress and producer, originally from Russia. Have been working in the UK for the last 3 years in a film production and finance company making films and commercials and performing as well. Her most recent film project "Dark Game" starring Ed Westwick, is available on streaming (Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, etc.)

Don't miss this episode of Drop the Mic! Host Daron Jenkins as he welcomes acclaimed film director Ian Hunt-Duffy to the show. Fresh off its release, Ian joins us to dissect his latest film "Double Blind" breaking down the film's twists, turns, and thought-provoking themes. Get ready for an in-depth discussion about the filmmaking process, the challenges of crafting a truly suspenseful narrative, and the hidden meanings lurking beneath the surface of "Double Blind."

Join Daron Jenkins as he sits down with Elizabeth Blake-Thomas, the acclaimed British director and philanthropist shaking up Hollywood. From her latest romcom sensation "Just Swipe" to directing stars like Jodie Sweetin and Mena Suvari, Elizabeth shares insights into her journey in the film industry and the creative process behind her diverse range of projects. Tune in to Drop the Mic for an inside look at the world of entertainment with this visionary director.

From Dubai to Monte Carlo, fashion designer Niloo Poodanehi drops the mic on her jet-setting life, design passions, and her upcoming fashion line.

Niloo Poodanehi is a Persian-Dutch designer who's lived in Dubai, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, and Santiago before finding her home in Monte Carlo. With a background in fashion, interior design, and architecture, Niloo is a creative force to be reckoned with. She's finally launching her own fashion line and sharing all the behind-the-scenes secrets on Drop the Mic with Daron Jenkins.

Tune in to hear Niloo talk about:

• Her globetrotting lifestyle and how it inspires her designs
• The challenges and rewards of starting your own fashion brand
• What's next for Niloo Monte Carlo Concept

This episode will inspire you to follow your dreams and never give up on your passions.

This week on Drop the Mic, host Daron Jenkins welcomes a multi-talented force of nature: Actor and AEW pro-wrestler Ryan Nemeth! Fresh off his electrifying portrayal of the legendary 1980s grappler Gino Hernandez in A24's highly anticipated "The Iron Claw," Nemeth drops the mic on his career as both Actor and AEW Wrestler.

Writer/Director KC Carthew’s award-winning debut feature, "The Sun at Midnight" (2017) starring Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), sold worldwide and was released theatrically in Canada, the USA, and Australia. Recognized for spectacular world-building in her visual storytelling, Carthew excels in bringing forth award-winning performances, cultivating innovation, and pushing both technical and narrative elements to new heights in her work. "Polaris", her latest feature film, is currently streaming.

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Tom has developed scalar light instruments that can fragment pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. All scalar light sessions are administered by way of a photograph of a person or animal.

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Emiko Ishii is a Japanese multidisciplinary Actress, Action Performer, choreographer, Dancer, and instructor. Born in London and now based in LA. She has 18 years of professional performance & teaching experience. Recent Credits include The Mistake written by Michael Mears, performed at Edfringe, and completed 2 runs at The Arcola Theatre by popular demand that received 4-star reviews from The Times, The Scotsman, and Scotsgay. Movement Consultant and Nichibu Choreographer for the launch of Nissan Formula E.

Emiko is the Founder, Creative Director, and Choreographer of the International Dance Troupe, Epika Dance, where she has performed on prestigious live stage shows, award ceremonies, feature films, and music videos. Alongside her acting and dance career, she also teaches dance intervention at SEN schools and conducts international workshops. She believes in never giving up on your goals and showing that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Dr. Apollo is a music producer based in Los Angeles signed to the biggest labels in Drum & Bass music like Ram Records/BMG, Bassrush, Play Me, Viper, Hospital, and Space Yacht Records.