In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by director Joelle Mae David to talk us through her journey into the industry and how she went about directing the middle block of the hit BBC and A24 show, Dreaming Whilst Black from creator Adjani Salmon. As ever this is a craft focused conversation which covers the following:

-Joelle's journey into the industry.

-The challenges of making her first narrative short film, Greasy Spoon.

-Setting up and running her own production company.

-How she got her first TV credits.

-How she works within a tough filming schedule.

-How to direct comedy.

-The difference between being a middle block and lead block director.

-Managing work/life balance as a working director.

Joelle Mae David started making her own short documentaries that shone a light on undiscovered talent from marginalised backgrounds which ultimately got featured on BBC3. She has since set up a company Bluebird Pictures with a focus on more narrative storytelling, that will further help give marginalised talent a chance and to tell stories that challenge the status quo.

She’s obviously a filmmaker on the rise, having success with her short films Greasy Spoon and Cycle, before most recently landing the role as second block director on the wonderful Dreaming Whilst Black created by Adjani Salmon who stars in it too, Max Evans and Natasha Jatania. She’s also currently working as Lead director on Queenie from Showrunner Candice Carty-Williams for Channel 4.

Nuggets of the week

Oz: Oppenheimer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Ludwig Göransson

Marcus: Documentary - The Phenomenon

Joelle: The Firm by Sydney Pollack

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast

Twitter: @DirectorsTake

Joelle's socials: Twitter & Instagram

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E122 - Directing Dreaming Whilst Black with Joelle Mae David

The Directors Take Podcast