How do you build an entire creative ecosystem? And what does it take to empower storytellers at scale?
In this episode, Alex speaks with Emmy-nominated producer, writer, doctor and serial entrepreneur Mehret Mandefro, a visionary voice at the intersection of storytelling, healing and creative innovation. As co-founder and MD of Realness Institute, Mehret has spent years strengthening Africa’s media landscape through training, mentorship and systemic infrastructure-building.
She shares her remarkable journey from medicine to media, the origins of her “audiovisual medicine” artistic practice, and the powerful lessons learned from pioneering television in Ethiopia and developing talent across the continent.
In a wide ranging conversation, Mehret also dives into:
• Why creative infrastructure is the missing piece in global storytelling
• How Realness Institute nurtures and de-risks new creative voices
• The urgent need for producers to think like entrepreneurs
• The role of technology and AI in elevating human stories
• Why Africa is central to the future of film
This is a conversation about creativity, systems change and the responsibility we all share in shaping the future of screen storytelling.
About Mehret Mandefro
Mehret Mandefro is an Emmy-nominated producer, writer, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of culture, commerce, and social impact. A former physician turned storyteller, she has dedicated her career to transforming how stories are made—and who gets to tell them. Born in Ethiopia and raised in America, Mehret is a transnational force in global media who has built several groundbreaking enterprises, including Truth Aid Media in New York, Kana TV in Addis Ababa, and the Realness Institute in Cape Town, a nonprofit dedicated to training and mentoring writers, producers, and directors across Africa and the diaspora. Her award-winning film and television work bridges documentary and fiction, revealing hidden truths across the human experience. Her credits include How It Feels to Be Free (American Masters), Sweetness in the Belly (Amazon), Difret (Netflix), The Cost of Inheritance (PBS), Little White Lie (PBS), and Ethiopia’s first teen drama, Yegna. Recognized on Variety’s list of the most impactful women in global entertainment, Mehret is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is currently building the African Film and Media Arts Collective with artist Julie Mehretu with the support of BMW. Mehret has a BA in Anthropology from Harvard University, an MD from Harvard Medical School, a MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Fulbright Scholar, and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Temple University.
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How do you build an entire creative ecosystem? And what does it take to empower storytellers at scale?
In this episode, Alex speaks with Emmy-nominated producer, writer, doctor and serial entrepreneur Mehret Mandefro, a visionary voice at the intersection of storytelling, healing and creative innovation. As co-founder and MD of Realness Institute, Mehret has spent years strengthening Africa’s media landscape through training, mentorship and systemic infrastructure-building.
She shares her remarkable journey from medicine to media, the origins of her “audiovisual medicine” artistic practice, and the powerful lessons learned from pioneering television in Ethiopia and developing talent across the continent.
In a wide ranging conversation, Mehret also dives into:
• Why creative infrastructure is the missing piece in global storytelling
• How Realness Institute nurtures and de-risks new creative voices
• The urgent need for producers to think like entrepreneurs
• The role of technology and AI in elevating human stories
• Why Africa is central to the future of film
This is a conversation about creativity, systems change and the responsibility we all share in shaping the future of screen storytelling.
About Mehret Mandefro
Mehret Mandefro is an Emmy-nominated producer, writer, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of culture, commerce, and social impact. A former physician turned storyteller, she has dedicated her career to transforming how stories are made—and who gets to tell them. Born in Ethiopia and raised in America, Mehret is a transnational force in global media who has built several groundbreaking enterprises, including Truth Aid Media in New York, Kana TV in Addis Ababa, and the Realness Institute in Cape Town, a nonprofit dedicated to training and mentoring writers, producers, and directors across Africa and the diaspora. Her award-winning film and television work bridges documentary and fiction, revealing hidden truths across the human experience. Her credits include How It Feels to Be Free (American Masters), Sweetness in the Belly (Amazon), Difret (Netflix), The Cost of Inheritance (PBS), Little White Lie (PBS), and Ethiopia’s first teen drama, Yegna. Recognized on Variety’s list of the most impactful women in global entertainment, Mehret is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is currently building the African Film and Media Arts Collective with artist Julie Mehretu with the support of BMW. Mehret has a BA in Anthropology from Harvard University, an MD from Harvard Medical School, a MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Fulbright Scholar, and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Temple University.
79. Davide Bianca: Shifting Tides - How AI is Transforming IP Development
Future of Film Podcast
55 minutes 18 seconds
1 year ago
79. Davide Bianca: Shifting Tides - How AI is Transforming IP Development
"We're on the verge of a paradigm shift, in terms of the stories that need to be told ... and how they need to be implemented." Davide Bianca
Emmy award-winning executive creative director, strategist and technologist, Davide Bianca joins Future of Film Podcast to discuss Generative AI, the future of the industry and his latest project, Shifting Tides; the next-generation creator-led studio and publisher pushing the boundaries of cinematic storytelling and development using advanced technologies.
Drawing from his experience working on some of entertainment's biggest properties, Davide reveals his new model for creator-led publishing and why the industry is on the brink of a major reset. Davide also shares his love of the latest AI tools and explains why they present an unprecedented opportunity for storytellers.
This episode was recorded as part of Future of Film Africa 2024 in partnership with Sèmè City, Republic of Benin.
More about Davide Bianca
Emmy award winning executive creative director, strategist, and technologist, currently serving as Chief Creative Officer at BCN Visuals, and founder of Shifting Tides.
For nearly two decades Davide Bianca has been at the forefront of innovation, telling stories across multiple mediums while helping Hollywood studios, tv networks, streaming platforms and gaming companies bring their properties to international audiences and shape pop culture.
Responsible for directing complex and extensive Hollywood theatrical and TV launches across film, experiential, digital and XR, Davide's body of work includes screen writing for television, ideating and executing original and ambitious large scale stunts, experiential activations and anamorphic 3D OOH campaigns for cult TV properties and franchises such as “Stranger Things”, "Game of Thrones", and theatrical smash hit franchises such as "Avatar - The Way of Water", "Jurassic World", and “John Wick”, delivering to clients such as Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Amazon, Netflix, Disney, and Sony Pictures consistent performance across the board.
Davide has directed shows, experiences, virtual events, commercials, animated shorts, and digital OOH campaigns with online view counts in the hundreds of millions, and generating billions of online earned media impressions. Davide has been actively involved in the gaming industry, helping studios like Riot, 2K, Activision, XBOX and Playstation create original content and consolidate existing IPs, bringing to the table expertise ranging from scripting to original character design, world building, all the way to directing cinematic launch trailers, working on successful properties such as "Marvel's Midnight Suns", "Marvel's Spider-Man2", “Call of Duty”, “Gears Of War”, and “Final Fantasy”.
With over 35 theatrical and TV launches under his belt, two original screen plays, and a plethora of awards that include twentytwo Cannes Lions, twenty nine Clios, five Webbys, one Emmy and two Emmy nominations, and with a background in Computer Science Engineering & AI, Davide believes in the emergence of a new form of immersive entertainment that delivers meaningful shared experiences, one that transcends cultural constraints or geographical boundaries, effectively blurring the line between storytelling and interaction, physical and digital. Davide is the founder of Shifting Tides, a next-generation creative studio and publisher pushing the boundaries of cinematic storytelling. With a focus on experimentation and exploration, Shifting Tides partners with top-tier writers and artists to reimagine how their unique voices and stories can break free from traditional storytelling. Constantly exploring new ways to push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of publishing, Shifting Tides embraces emerging technologies and tools to transform ideas into stories that are accessible in physical and digital, comics and books.
Future of Film Podcast
How do you build an entire creative ecosystem? And what does it take to empower storytellers at scale?
In this episode, Alex speaks with Emmy-nominated producer, writer, doctor and serial entrepreneur Mehret Mandefro, a visionary voice at the intersection of storytelling, healing and creative innovation. As co-founder and MD of Realness Institute, Mehret has spent years strengthening Africa’s media landscape through training, mentorship and systemic infrastructure-building.
She shares her remarkable journey from medicine to media, the origins of her “audiovisual medicine” artistic practice, and the powerful lessons learned from pioneering television in Ethiopia and developing talent across the continent.
In a wide ranging conversation, Mehret also dives into:
• Why creative infrastructure is the missing piece in global storytelling
• How Realness Institute nurtures and de-risks new creative voices
• The urgent need for producers to think like entrepreneurs
• The role of technology and AI in elevating human stories
• Why Africa is central to the future of film
This is a conversation about creativity, systems change and the responsibility we all share in shaping the future of screen storytelling.
About Mehret Mandefro
Mehret Mandefro is an Emmy-nominated producer, writer, and entrepreneur working at the intersection of culture, commerce, and social impact. A former physician turned storyteller, she has dedicated her career to transforming how stories are made—and who gets to tell them. Born in Ethiopia and raised in America, Mehret is a transnational force in global media who has built several groundbreaking enterprises, including Truth Aid Media in New York, Kana TV in Addis Ababa, and the Realness Institute in Cape Town, a nonprofit dedicated to training and mentoring writers, producers, and directors across Africa and the diaspora. Her award-winning film and television work bridges documentary and fiction, revealing hidden truths across the human experience. Her credits include How It Feels to Be Free (American Masters), Sweetness in the Belly (Amazon), Difret (Netflix), The Cost of Inheritance (PBS), Little White Lie (PBS), and Ethiopia’s first teen drama, Yegna. Recognized on Variety’s list of the most impactful women in global entertainment, Mehret is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is currently building the African Film and Media Arts Collective with artist Julie Mehretu with the support of BMW. Mehret has a BA in Anthropology from Harvard University, an MD from Harvard Medical School, a MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Fulbright Scholar, and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Temple University.
