Visual Intonation

What does it mean to make the invisible visible? For filmmaker and visual artist Xenia Matthews, the answer lives somewhere between memory, grief, the physical body, and the boundless possibilities of the imagination. 

On this episode of the Visual Intonation Podcast, host Vanté Gregory sits down with Xenia Matthews, an emerging voice in experimental cinema whose work transforms deeply personal experiences into vivid, sensory worlds. From the intimate exploration of grief in Stroke and the vulnerability of Good Blood to the surrealist, science-fiction landscape of OURIKA!, Matthews challenges conventional storytelling through saturated color, abstraction, sound, an...

This episode of the Visual Intonation Podcast captures the energy of Oscars 2026. Vanté Gregory sits down with film critic Erté Arnold to break it all down. Every category gets attention. Every winner gets questioned. They move with purpose through the night’s biggest moments while reflecting on what truly mattered. 

They spend time on Sinners. Its impact. Its weight. Its place in the culture. Not just whether it won, but what it changed. The conversation goes deeper than predictions and reactions. It becomes about meaning. About what film does when it hits right. 

But this is not...

This is a story about commitment. About choosing a path and refusing to step off it. Samuel Hicks is a cinematographer shaped by Mississippi roots and sharpened by experience in New York and Los Angeles. His work on Outgrown, Varnel, and Bid for Love 2 carries a clear signature. It feels lived in. It feels honest. He blends regional truth with a polished eye, building images that look cinematic but never lose their soul.

In this episode, we trace the moment everything shifted. Sam had twenty-five thousand dollars saved and a plan to enter real estate. Then clarity...

David Williams sees cinematography as more than craft. He sees it as a way of holding a moment that might otherwise disappear. Based in New York City and Los Angeles, he moves between coasts with a camera and a clear belief that images carry feeling. To him, every frame is a chance to capture a piece of someone’s soul on a strip of negative. 

David is also known for embracing the newest tools in filmmaking while honoring the discipline of film. As an owner of the Aaton XTR, he understands the texture and patience that analog dem...

Christian Saint does not simply make images. He builds worlds. Known to many as Christian Kaptin Saint, the Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist and film director creates work that moves between music, fashion, and cinema with a clear purpose. His visuals challenge tired stereotypes and replace them with something richer. Something rooted. Something undeniably African. 

In this episode of Visual Intonation, Saint speaks about the language behind his images. He calls it African Visual Language. It is a philosophy shaped by culture, memory, and storytelling traditions that stretch across the continent. His short film Sundiata stands as a reflection o...

Alexandria Collins does not look away from the dark. She walks straight into it, eyes open, camera steady. A filmmaker shaped by Tallahassee soil and Los Angeles light, she builds stories that breathe with heat, faith, doubt, and desire. From her early work in Emotional Intelligence and Goals N’ Shit to her newest chapters behind the lens, Alexandria has committed herself to character driven storytelling that asks harder questions. “We have to face our darkness and our light, not deny any part of ourselves,” she says. And she means it.

Her horror short Reborn emerged from a vision...

DeVonté M. Brown does not just point a camera. He listens. He studies the light. He waits for the truth to reveal itself in the frame. Known as THE MAN IN THE ARENA, this Detroit born cinematographer and director builds images with patience and purpose. Every project is a brick laid with intention. Every story is earned.

A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, DeVonté sharpened his eye in both narrative and commercial spaces. He worked as a freelancer for more than a decade, shaping stories through editing and cinematography. He stepped onto national sets with Qu...

On this episode of the Visual Intonation Podcast, filmmaker Shana L. Darabie joins the mic with a voice shaped by image, genre, and deep interior listening. Born in Long Beach, California and based in Brooklyn, Shana traces a path from fashion design to film, from texture and silhouette to shadow and story. Her early training at the Fashion Institute of Technology sharpened her eye. Her later studies at Brooklyn College gave language to the images she could already see. 

Shana speaks plainly about process. About doubt. About the courage i...

Ademola Falomo did not arrive suddenly. He arrived steadily. From music to photography to filmmaking, his path was shaped by curiosity and instinct, not shortcuts. Born in Nigeria and trained across continents, he brings business sense and artistic hunger into the same frame. In this episode of Visual Intonation Podcast, Ademola talks about finding cinematography by refusing to choose between sound and image, and how a borrowed camera turned a light bulb moment into a life’s work.

Before the spotlight found artists like Tems, Ademola was already there, working alongside the pioneers of Nigeria’s alté movem...

Marcus Guider sees with intention. He frames stories the way others frame thoughts, clean, deliberate, alive. As a Director of Photography and Cinematographer based in Lawrence, Kansas, Marcus brings a grounded eye shaped by his time at the University of Kansas and sharpened by years in the field. His work lives where craft meets instinct, where light does more than illuminate. It speaks. 

In this episode of Visual Intonation Podcast, Marcus talks about the quiet power of mentorship and timing. A single recommendation opened the door to a lasting creative bond with seasoned cinematographer Jeremy Osbern, a r...

Ella Chikezie steps into the director’s chair with In Her Shoes, a short film shaped by urgency and care. Known for her work on Christmas in Lagos and in the production trenches of Choke and Tokunbo, Chikezie makes her directorial debut. The project was awarded under the initiative Using Entertainment Media to Combat Gender Based Violence in Nigeria. For Chikezie, this film is personal. It is also political. It is a quiet declaration of intent. 

The story follows Halima, a young autistic Muslim girl who finds freedom on a football pitch. At home and at school, she...

Learenna A. Reynolds walks into a room carrying history, spirit, and heat. An interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker from the South Side, she has been described as the walking embodiment of God’s consciousness, and the work earns that description. Her practice pulls from culture, folklore, and lived experience, shaping images that feel remembered rather than invented. On Visual Intonation Podcast, Reynolds speaks with the clarity of someone who knows where she comes from and why it matters.

Reynolds is deeply connected to The New Art School Modality, a learning space where currency is not degrees or credits bu...

 Elijah Negasi joins Visual Intonation Podcast with the quiet intensity of someone who has lived inside his stories. Born and raised in the Bronx and shaped by New York City grit, Elijah is an actor, director, and filmmaker whose work pulses with emotional honesty. From early documentaries to award-winning shorts and upcoming features, his path reveals a young artist listening closely to his inner voice and trusting it enough to create. 

We talk about Sudden, his directorial debut, and the emotional weight it carries. The film follows two lifelong friends after an unexpected tragedy, where grief becomes bo...

Visual Intonation Podcast welcomes Liliane Laborde-Edozien, a Miami-based director, writer, and creative producer whose cinematic work spans continents and genres. With a unique trajectory from UC Berkeley’s Microbiology program to the world of filmmaking, Liliane offers a fresh perspective on storytelling. She shares her transition from aspiring medical professional to director, shedding light on her journey through documentary filmmaking in Africa and Latin America. 

As a creative producer, Liliane’s credits include directing global campaigns and narrative projects, working with international teams across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. She reflects on the chall...

This episode of Visual Intonation Podcast sits with Haitian American filmmaker and DJ Hans Augustave and listens closely to what happens in the quiet. Best known for shorts like I Held Him, Before I Knew, and the recent Nwa (Black), Augustave makes work that slows the room down and asks you to stay. His films are short, but they linger, circling tenderness, masculinity, and the complicated inheritance of Black identity.

Nwa, which means Black in Haitian Creole, grounds the conversation. Set largely in a Brooklyn barbershop, the film explores cultural conflict, father and son dynamics, and the...

Paris Silver is a photographer and director born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, whose work is grounded in visual storytelling and disciplined craft. With a measured approach to image making, he creates narratives that are intentional, precise, and emotionally resonant. His perspective reflects both technical fluency and a deep respect for story.

His professional experience includes directing projects for internationally recognized brands such as On and Adidas. In addition to his work as a director, Paris has served as a first assistant camera for organizations including Apple, ESPN, and ACC Network. These roles have strengthened his understanding of...

Terry Dawson tells stories the way a musician plays chords. He starts with something familiar, then adds a note that surprises you, then another that opens a door you didn’t expect. On this episode of the Visual Intonation Podcast, he talks about the path that led him from Washington, DC to Los Angeles and from childhood acting to becoming a filmmaker whose work spans both narrative and documentary worlds. His films The Mason Ring, The ReWrite, and A Whole New Irving show a creator who listens closely to the world and follows the stories that rise from it. 

Dante Ollivierre sees stories everywhere. On the streets of Kingstown, in the quiet corners of St Vincent and the Grenadines, in the faces of people who carry their histories with pride. He is a director and creative director who listens closely, then shapes what he hears into images that breathe. His early training at Saint Vincent Community College helped sharpen his eye, but his instinct for truth is entirely his own. 

As a multidisciplinary storyteller, Dante pursues the kind of honesty that cannot be staged. He works to draw out raw performances, the kind that linger long a...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit with Jamar Silva, a director and photographer shaped by the rhythm of Jamaica. He grew up in a place that teaches you who you are by showing you both sides of life. Beauty and struggle. Stillness and pressure. That duality trained his eye to find light where others see only shadow and to honor the raw truth that lives in every frame. Jamar brings that sensibility into projects like Yung Bredda with Chloe Bailey, Big Chat with DJ Puffy, and his short film 1816, each one a step toward a future he...

This episode of Visual Intonation features Joshua Ighodaro whose career in the camera department reflects a steady progression from Trainee to Loader. Over the past eight years, he has developed a strong command of on-set practice across high-end film television commercials, and music videos. His work demonstrates a consistent commitment to precision reliability and an awareness of how technical decisions support the broader creative vision.

Joshua Ighodaro outlines the foundation of his professional path beginning with his academic training and his early experience in a rental environment. He then describes his transition to major sets, where he...

The Visual Intonation Podcast welcomes filmmaker Alicia K. Harris, a storyteller who turns quiet moments into vivid emotional landscapes. She joins us from Scarborough, the community that shaped her artistry and continues to pulse beneath every frame she creates. Alicia talks about the lessons that carried her from student sets to national stages, and how early affirmations like the Best Director award at Ryerson helped her believe that her voice belonged in the world. 

In this episode she traces the path from her first short film Fatherhood to her breakout success with Pick, the film that earned h...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with Emmy®-nominated documentary filmmaker and editor Jessica Jones, whose storytelling brings voice and visibility to communities often left in the margins. Her films move with rhythm and empathy, weaving portraits of resilience, joy, and justice into narratives that stay with you long after the credits roll.

Jessica’s work has appeared on Netflix, Disney+, and PBS, with recent editing credits on Born for This and the forthcoming feature Coach Emily. Her short documentaries for The New York Times, BBC, and KQED ref...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we step into the world of East London–based director and senior producer Effie Theos, a creative force whose work flows between commercials, branded films, docudramas, and emotionally charged short stories. Effie brings a cinematic sensibility to every frame she touches, shaping narratives that feel both intimate and epic. Her approach celebrates human connection while exploring the layered intersections of culture, identity, and memory.

Effie calls herself a “griot director,” a modern storyteller carrying traditions of spoken history into the visual age. Through her camera, the past and present intertwine, as seen i...

Welcome to the Visual Intonation Podcast, where storytelling and creative expression collide. Hosted by Pascale Williams, this podcast explores the intersectionality of culture, identity, and the art of communication. With a passion for embracing diverse voices and perspectives, Pascale shares her experiences and insights, offering listeners a unique lens through which to understand the world. Her work—shaped by a multicultural upbringing—reminds us that storytelling is not just a tool, but a responsibility, one that holds the power to foster connection and inspire change.

Each episode of Visual Intonation invites guests from a variety of artistic fiel...

Timothy Savage-Finch is a director who doesn’t just frame a shot. He listens for its heartbeat. Based in Brooklyn with his wife and their dog, Timothy brings a documentarian’s ear to the commercial world, finding the pulse beneath polished surfaces. His work, whether for Champion or Square, feels less like an ad and more like a quiet confession caught on camera. 

In this episode, Timothy talks about the rhythm of honesty in visual storytelling. From branded campaigns to music videos, he shares how emotion guides his lens more than any storyboard ever could. We dig into...

Hannelore Williams doesn’t just sit in the edit bay. She listens to the heartbeat of a story. Whether she’s cutting scenes from a CNN docuseries or capturing the quiet power of a Hulu campaign, Hannelore uses rhythm and instinct to bring truth forward. Her hands shape images, but it’s her ear that makes the story sing. She understands where a beat belongs and where silence says more than sound. 

In this episode, we step inside Hannelore’s creative mind. We talk about what it means to work on stories like The People v The Klan, and...

Some filmmakers chase trends. Eddie Musa chases truth. Born to Sierra Leonean parents and raised on the beats of hip hop, the grit of 90s Black cinema, and the shadows of Italian neorealism, Eddie doesn’t just capture stories — he conjures them. This episode of Visual Intonation Podcast brings you deep into the mind of a filmmaker who sees the world in frames, colors, and feeling.

He built his own lane. From student activist to CEO of Musa Majic TV, Eddie turned vision into vocation. You’ll hear how he went from college classrooms to directing shorts like S...

In this episode, we sit down with London-based cinematographer Jerry Amadi-Pradon, whose eye for visual storytelling was shaped on the sunlit sets of Guadeloupe and sharpened through years behind the camera across Europe and beyond. From painting and photography to the world of moving images, Jerry’s path has always followed the light. He began with TV dramas for France Télévisions and has since grown into a bold visual artist with a unique signature.

We explore Jerry’s transition from assistant to auteur, capturing everything from high-profile commercials for Adidas and Volkswagen to fashion films for de...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with Rickey Larke, a filmmaker whose work pulses with heart, hustle, and an unshakable sense of purpose. From a childhood of sneaking candy into the AMC Showplace 12 in Bolingbrook, Illinois, to helming his most ambitious short film The Black Bart of Taco King #17, Rickey’s journey is a testament to the power of perseverance and community. This is a conversation about the grind behind the glamour, the ten-year climb from unpaid PA gigs to producing a union-waivered short film during a historic industry shutdown. 

Rickey shares the full arc...

This week on Visual Intonation, we sit down with Max-Arthur Mantle, a Jamaican-born artist whose lens, pen, and voice challenge silence. As a writer, photographer, and filmmaker, Mantle builds bridges between the Caribbean and the diaspora, between queerness and culture, between pain and power. His debut novel Batty Bwoy didn’t just tell a story. It reclaimed one. 

In this conversation, Mantle takes us behind the scenes of his boldest work yet: BATTY BWOY!, the feature film adaptation that will become the first LGBTQ-themed narrative ever filmed on Jamaican soil. We talk about reclaiming slurs, confronting polite hom...

Visual Intonation Podcast steps into the world of Raj Debah, a New York-born artist whose work tells stories others have left untold. Raised in the Bronx by first-generation West Indian parents, Raj uses the lens of mixed media to illuminate the silenced voices of indentured and indigenous peoples connected to the Caribbean. His images speak in layers—photos, found footage, artifacts—woven into a visual language that bridges memory, migration, and resistance.

Debah's journey is not just artistic, it's personal. His work reflects a lifelong reckoning with identity, rooted in the tension between belonging and eras...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with writer-director Kennard Blackwell, a DC-based filmmaker whose work glides between narrative, commercial, and music video. His films are shaped by contrast, beauty, and the unflinching search for emotional truth. Whether crafting campaigns for nonprofits or framing fashion on film, Kennard brings a sharp eye and a quiet confidence to every project he touches. 

From his years as Creative Director at 522 Productions to his freelance directing across eight years, Kennard has led crews, pitched bold ideas, and built visuals that resonate. His approach is hands-on and d...

Rohan Blair-Mangat brings a sharp, painter’s eye to filmmaking, shaped by his roots in Jamaica, India, and London. With a degree in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, his work vibrates with bold visuals and layered storytelling. This episode of Visual Intonation dives into the early influences that shaped his creative voice and the moments that first sparked his passion behind the lens.

From award-winning music videos to global commercial campaigns, Rohan’s portfolio reads like a cultural mixtape. He has collaborated with icons including JAY-Z, Lionel Messi, Maya Rudolph and Nas, crafting visual narratives that are...

Kabelo Thathe didn’t set out to become a cinematographer. Raised in South Africa, he felt the pressure so many young creatives do—to pursue a "real" career. But behind closed doors, his walls were a riot of movie posters and cinematic dreams. A high school year in Minnesota cracked the world open for him. When he returned home, he knew he had a calling: to tell stories with light, movement, and meaning. 

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with Kabelo to trace the journey from Canon 5D experiments to global film sets. He share...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with cinematographer Allysa Lisbon, a compelling visual storyteller whose work is grounded in both intellectual rigor and emotional depth. Based in Los Angeles and originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Allysa holds degrees from Georgetown University and the American Film Institute, where she earned her MFA in cinematography. Her visual language is thoughtful and precise, shaped by a commitment to telling nuanced stories across film, media, and commercial spaces.

Allysa’s work explores themes of heritage, memory, diaspora, and gender/sexuality, often through a lens that prioritizes empathy and co...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with filmmaker Abdul Kassamali, a Seattle-based director and producer whose path into film was anything but traditional. Born in the U.S. and raised in Kenya, Abdul originally trained as an electrical engineer before making a bold leap into filmmaking during the pandemic. Since then, he’s built a career rooted in intentional storytelling and high-stakes production, collaborating with major clients like REI, HOKA, and The North Face. His work spans branded documentaries, music videos, and commercial campaigns, all driven by a deep connection to story and community. 

Abd...

In this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with director and cultural provocateur Giselle Bailey, a Jamaican-American filmmaker whose boundary-pushing work blends documentary, narrative, and contemporary art. Giselle’s artistry isn’t just about creating films—it’s about sparking cultural transformation. Her lens explores the power of Black imagination, reshaping narratives and championing revolutionary perspectives. From directing the HBO documentary The Legend of the Underground to her ongoing project Seen & Heard—an in-depth exploration of Black creatives in television, executive produced by Issa Rae—Giselle is on the front lines of reshaping how Black stories are told on screen. <...

Jabari Canada brings an architect’s eye and a documentarian’s heart to the Visual Intonation Podcast. Studying at MIT by day and telling human stories through a lens by night, Canada traces his path from interning for Congressman Elijah Cummings to filming JPEGMAFIA for MoMA PS1. His work spans political campaigns, Les Blank, experimental art, and commercial sets, but always returns to one core principle: people over policy, and the stories they carry.

In this conversation, Canada talks about burning out in the commercial industry, reigniting his creative drive on the campaign trail, and the intimacy that...

On this episode of Visual Intonation, we sit down with Jamaican-American filmmaker Justice Silvera, a director whose eye is as grounded in real life as it is pulled toward the surreal. Raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Justice has forged a voice that is uniquely his own, shaped by experience, heritage, and a gift for weaving dreamlike tension into everyday moments. 

Justice’s work has lit up screens in videos for artists like Polo G, Mustard, and 808 Mafia. But behind the lens is a man who once chased touchdowns before chasing frames, a storyteller who traded cleats for cameras and...

Alex Ashe’s story doesn’t begin behind a camera. It begins with a battered lighting technician’s manual clutched between takes, with sweat on his brow and questions on his tongue. From long nights rigging lights to quiet hours studying lenses, Ashe’s climb through the grip and electric department shaped the sensibility he brings to the frame today. Now a cinematographer and director, his images carry that hard-earned precision and a belief that light is never neutral. 

In this episode, Ashe discusses the layered politics of light and shadow, from his work on Nosferasta, an anti-colo...