In this first episode of Season 8 of 4 Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Katja Meier, writer and founder of Zenka Films.
Katja is on a mission to build a media world where not only female-driven content is the norm, but where female heroes above the age of 50 are no longer the exception. She and Avivah discuss the TV series Katja has developed about a 59-year-old woman who inherits a successful mining company and sets about challenging the less than ethical business practices she discovers there. Katja describes the experiences that led her to this theme, the inspirational women who influenced her thinking, and the negative reactions she received from potential producers and investors at the idea of having a woman in her late 50s as the lead character. She talks about how, determined to prove to industry sceptics the viability of stories centred around an older woman, she set up Zenka Films, and describes the innovative production approaches taken, focused on transparency, fair compensation and startup-like team structures. She and Avivah discuss initial positive audience responses, not only from 50+ audiences but from younger age groups also, as well as the lessons that Katja has learned in the course of this fascinating journey.
Katja Meier was an actor in Switzerland and Germany for several years before she swapped Shakespeare and Goethe for a backpack and settled in Italy, where she's lived since 1999. Her varied experiences include running a refugee home in Tuscany, which inspired her memoir "Across the Big Blue Sea: Good Intentions and Hard Lessons in an Italian Refugee Home" (a Guardian Best Summer Book). Today, she splits her time between Italy and a winter campsite in the Swiss Alps – the latter serving as $HARE’s film location. Through Zenka Films, she's pioneering sustainable production methods and fair wage practices in the film industry. Her Substack newsletter 'Startup with 50' follows her entrepreneurial quest to revolutionize storytelling in film and television (which is a TV show in its own right).
Some Useful Links:
$HARE pilot episode online
Katja’s substack newsletter.
Katja’s introductory blog.
Zenka films website
Zenka’s Instagram
Katja’s LinkedIn
Katja’s article on Noon
Article in The Guardian
Katja’s Book
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