Making Merry On Screen and Off
About this Event

Join Film Fatales for a discussion about Directing Holiday Films with Emily Moss Wilson (Rescuing Christmas, My Southern Family Christmas), Rhonda Baraka (Christmas of Yes, A Christmas Spark) and Terri J Vaughn (So Fly Christmas, Soul Santa). Moderated by Angela Tucker (A New Orleans Noel).

Journey behind the scenes this holiday season to learn about the ins and outs of directing made for TV movies. Join this online panel and immerse yourself in the world of Lifetime, Hallmark, BET, MarVista, and more! You'll gain insights on how to land directing gigs, navigate on-set dynamics, manage tight schedules to your advantage, adapt with creative solutions, and build a lasting career in directing. Let’s spread the joy and the knowledge on screen and off.

Accessibility Notes: This online webinar will be accessible with self descriptions, auto captions and ASL upon request. The recording will be available for an additional 48 hours after the live event ends. Please contact [email protected] to request an accommodation. See you soon!

Emily Moss Wilson has written and directed 11 films across various networks such as Hallmark, Discovery+ and Lifetime, including CHRISTMAS IN TUNE starring Reba McEntire that was nominated for a Hollywood Critics Association Award for best TV Movie. Her most recent movie, the holiday rom-com RESCUING CHRISTMAS starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Sam Page, is streaming on Hallmark Movies Now. Emily is currently in post on an independent drama called INHERITANCE set to premiere in 2024. Originally from Louisiana, Emily moved to LA with a film degree from TCU. After working for 20th Century Fox and ABC in development/production, Emily had the opportunity to work with legendary writer/director Garry Marshall as his on-set script coordinator. Garry became one of Emily's first directing mentors. She also served as Creative Executive of the ATX Television Festival where she was involved in programming and directing content with some of the biggest names in TV. Her directorial debut, the Twilight Zone-inspired short DRINK, premiered at the Dances With Films Festival to rave reviews. The film has over five million views online. In addition to shadowing veteran TV directors like Norman Buckley and Allison Liddi-Brown, Emily was selected as an "Emerging Female Director" for the WeForShe DirectHer Program (paired with Christine Gernon) and as a fellow for Ryan Murphy's Half Foundation Directing Program (paired with Jamie Lee Curtis). Emily is a proud member of the WGA, SAG, and Film Fatales.

is an NAACP-nominated writer/director/producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has written twenty-two produced television movies including PASTOR BROWN (Lifetime), BOBBI KRISTINA, FOR THE LOVE OF RUTH, COINS FOR CHRISTMAS and THE SECRET SHE KEPT (TV One), and all five installments of the popular Chandler Family Christmas series for UP TV. She also directed three of the Chandler films as well as DOWNSIZED for TV One and two episodes of UNCENSORED, also for TV One. Most recently, she directed Lifetime’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: ATLANTA, an all-black, updated version of the Jane Austen classic.

has over 20 years experience in the entertainment industry. She exploded on to the scene with her lovable and memorable character Lovita Alize' Jenkins, on The Steve Harvey Show. Out of a need to create more acting opportunities for herself and others, Terri went on to form her independent production company, Nina Holiday Entertainment. Terri’s directing debut was the hilarious ‘Friday-isque’ independent movie comedy, #DigitalLivesMatter, starring social media comedic influencers, DC Young Fly, Emmanuel Hudson and B. Simone. She followed that up with directing an episode of the multi-camera comedy Mann & Wife for BounceTV. In 2018, Terri directed and executive produced Merry Wishmas, a holiday movie starring David and Tamela Mann and one of her childhood favorite’s Kim Fields. She’s gone on to direct the television movies Angrily Ever After, Hip Hop Holiday, Christmas Belles, starring veteran actors Janet Hubert and John Amos, ‘Twas The Chaos Before Christmas, starring the comedic duo Sherri Shepherd and Cynthia McWilliams and Dear Santa I Need A Date. During the unprecedented year of 2020 Terri directed two Viacom family Christmas comedies; MarVista Entertainment’s A Christmas Surprise and Reuben Cannon Production’s Soul Santa. Her latest directing project is the first comedic episode of TALES, now in their third season on BET. Terri has become a sought-after director, who continues to be a trailblazer in front of the camera and behind it.

is an Emmy and Webby winning filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist based in New Orleans, LA. She has crafted a career full of deeply humanistic, bold, and varied social-issue based projects specializing in highlighting the nuanced interiority of Black women. Her work has screened at Tribeca Film Festival, BlackStar Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New Orleans Film Festival, amongst others and has been broadcast on NBC, Showtime, PBS, Netflix and Lifetime. Recent work includes "A New Orleans Noel'', a Lifetime holiday film starring Patti LaBelle and "The Trees Remember", a Webby winning branded series in collaboration with REI Co-Op Studios. She has completed her first solo exhibition at The Diboll Gallery and her most recent documentary, The Inquisitor, about political icon Barbara Jordan will broadcast on PBS in 2025. But she is proudest that her film spotlighting forced sterilizations in California prisons, prompted $7.5 million in reparations from the Governor. She is a Sundance Institute Women's Fellow, a recipient of Firelight's William Greaves Fund, an Amplifier Fellow with Film Independent and a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Founder of TuckerGurl Inc, a boutique production company, Angela received an MFA in Film from Columbia University. She also co-hosts a podcast, "For The Love of Tinsel" about Christmas movies with her childhood best friend.