#20: Catriona McKenzie (Film/TV Writer/Director) & Kristen Carthew (Filmmaker & Writer)

Catriona McKenzie is only one part of this interview. The filmmaker, of Australian-Aboriginal descent, has directed Freeform/ABC Family's “Shadowhunters", the Emmy-winning "Dance Academy", worked alongside Ridley Scott on "Alien: Covenant" and was awarded prizes at the Berlin Film Festival for her feature film "Satellite Boy." Luckily Catriona invited her friend to join our conversation at the last minute: emerging Canadian director Kirsten Carthew, who was recently handed Best Narrative Film by Meg Ryan at the Bentonville Film Festival for "The Sun at Midnight” starring "The Revenant"s Duane Howard and award-winning actress Devery Jacobs. Each filmmaker provides an understanding for what type of actor they respond to, along with Kirsten's insights into authenticty and Catriona's belief that people function within systems designed to "push and pull.” Both multi-hyphenates also discuss their experience making decisions while being judges at film festivals, and you'll hear about working on the "Alien" franchise, creative empathy, an example of a great litmus test for making big life decisions and some awesome practical tips for budding filmmakers and actors (so listen past the halfway mark). Oh, and you'll find out how the best insights can sometimes come from a 7 year old girl.