Meeting Melinda Gates

In honor of Women’s History Month, I was invited to a roundtable conversation with Melinda French Gates alongside Tilane Jones and Amy Aniobi to discuss our efforts to tell more diverse stories, use our art to drive change, and help more women rise to positions of power within the industry.

Carolina is an Emmy nominated producer based in Los Angeles.

She was previously the Executive in Charge of Production at Issa Rae’s HOORAE Media and ColorCreative.

Carolina kicked off her producing career with the 2017 Emmy nominated feature documentary AUTISM IN LOVE, which explores how adults with autism find and navigate romantic relationships. The film world premiered to rave reviews at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival and aired on PBS' Independent Lens series. It was also the recipient of the Fifth Annual Peek Award for Disability in Film by the Utah Film Center, which pays tribute to artists who are positively impacting society’s perception of people with disabilities. 

Most recently, she was an Executive Producer on the feature documentary THE HONORABLE: SHYNE with ColorCreative and Andscape for Hulu. The film chronicles the former artist’s inspiring trajectory from rapper to politician. It will be on the platform fall of 2024. 

Passionate about supporting female filmmakers, some of her producing credits include:

  • Adamma Ebo’s 2022 Sundance hit HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL, starring Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown. The film was picked up by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw and released theatrically by Focus Films.

  • SYLVIE'S LOVE starring  Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha which premiered at Sundance 2020 and sold to Amazon.

  • MISS VIRGINIA starring Uzo Aduba

  • THE FEMALE BRAIN directed by and starring Whitney Cummings

  • CURATED, a short for Refinery 29's Shatterbox Anthology Series, directed by Gillian Jacobs which premiered at TIFF in 2018.

  • HYSTERICAL, the feature doc directed by Andrea Nevins (TINY SHOULDERS:RETHINKING BARBIE).  Featuring Iliza Shlesinger, Margaret Cho, Fortune Feimster, and Rachel Feinstein to name a few, the doc world premiered at SXSW 2021.

A swiss army knife, her experience includes branded, commercials, music videos, and digital series. Early film credits include being the Production Supervisor on the Netflix original films GIRLFRIEND'S DAY starring Bob Odenkirk and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY starring Ben Schwartz and Nöel Wells.

Somehow, she also still finds time to host and produce the insightful podcast ANGLE ON PRODUCERS which spotlights producers across entertainment to understand the realities of their journey. A love letter to our community, the show boasts over 90+ episodes and has helped many women navigate themselves in this challenging industry. Past guests include Eva Longoria, Stephanie Allain, Lynette Howell Taylor and Joy Gorman Wettels to name a few.

0C7A3185.JPG

I moved to the US at the tender age of nine from Brasil. Another immigrant coming up from the bottom, I’m on a mission to leave the world a tiny bit better than I found it.

People are often perplexed about my job title. And I get it. There are so many types of producers within entertainment that it can be tricky to comprehend what we do.

On a mission to demystify this question, I created the labor of love podcast, Angle on Producers. It’s the show I wish existed when I started out.

By chatting with my fellow producers, the invisible forces behind bringing your favorite stories to life, I hope to inform and inspire you along your path.

While the journey can often feel lonely, we are not alone.

Thanks for doing this life thing with me!