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Tara Johnson-Medinger is a Film Director/Producer and the Executive Director of POW Film Fest, the Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival and the POWGirls Education Program.
After graduating from the University of Oregon with a BA in Telecommunications & Film and Visual Design in 1993, Johnson-Medinger started her career in media at a local television station. After holding positions in master control, station promotions and management she moved to Los Angeles to work for the FOX Broadcasting Company. Through her six years at FOX she worked as a Manager of Affiliate Promotions, representing stations all over the US and worked closely with the network's talent relations and publicity departments.
In 2002 Johnson-Medinger gave up the palm trees for the evergreens and relocated back to Portland and founded her production company, little miss anomaly, which provides production and consulting services for a variety of clients. In 2008 she took over and re-launched the Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival (POW Film Fest). Beginning in 2009 she served on the founding board of directors of the Women in Film Portland Chapter (WIF-PDX) and in 2013 was awarded the Service & Inspiration Award by the Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA).
Celebrating its 14th year in 2021, the mission of POW Film Fest is to provide a space where women can thrive as media makers. The goal is to put strong, women-directed films on screen, grow the next generation of women filmmakers and make it easier for women to make films. The youth education arm of POW Film Fest, POWGirls, launched in 2014 and in the past seven years has produced twenty workshops dedicated to teaching girls and non-binary youth all aspects of video production including: screenwriting, cinematography, audio recording, set lighting, digital editing and media literacy. The program has produced over 22 films and encourages participants to be creative, tech-savvy leaders who will help realize gender equity in media industries.
In addition to her work at POW Film Fest/POWGirls, Johnson-Medinger is also the Producer of two documentaries, The Winding Stream and Rock N Roll Mamas and the narrative features, City Baby, Mother of Color and her directorial debut, My Summer as a Goth as well as several short films including, Working Lunch and The Musicianer.
My Summer as a Goth (Directed by Tara Johnson-Medinger) is a coming-of-age story about the sometimes painful-often entertaining-search for identity and love in adolescence. After the sudden death of her father, 16-year-old, Joey Javitts is sent to stay with her eccentric grandparents while her author mother promotes her latest novel. Joey promptly falls for the beguiling Goth boy next door, Victor, and is transformed by him and his merry band of misfits in black. Set in present-day Portland, My Summer as a Goth navigates Joey's relationships with her new friends, her family and herself, and will resonate with anyone who survived the social alienation of adolescence-and that first summer heartbreak. Released in November 2020, this title is available on various digital VOD platforms.
The Winding Stream (Directed by Beth Harrington) is the tale of the dynasty at the very heart of country music. Starting with the seminal Original Carter Family, A.P., Sara and Maybelle, the film traces the ebb and flow of their influence, the transformation of that act into the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle, the marital alliance between June Carter and music legend Johnny Cash, and the efforts of the present-day family to keep this legacy alive. The film premiered at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival, released theatrically in the fall of 2015 and is available on a variety of VOD platforms.
City Baby (Directed by David F. Morgan) centers on twenty-something Cloey who is reluctantly plucked from her party girl reality to deal with her own set of dilemmas and accomplishments. Scattered with cameos from musicians like Stephen Malkmus (Pavement), live performances by Glass Candy and Starfucker and a soundtrack featuring all local bands, 'City Baby' documents the youth utopia of Portland Oregon, revolving through the lives of a few sexy, style-conscious kids surviving extreme love affairs and complicated friendships. The film premiered at the 2013 Cinequest Film Festival.
Rock N Roll Mamas (Directed by Jackie Weissman) explores what it means to be a mother determined to maintain a creative identity. The film documents the lives of several rock musician mothers and explores the unique challenges of two seemingly inconsistent passions: being an artist and being a mom. From well-known artists such as Zia McCabe, Kristen Hersh and Corin Tucker, to up and coming rocker moms, these women share the common challenge of remaining true to their identities while being the best parent they can be. The film is available via private screenings.
Through her production work as well as POW Film Fest, Tara wants to promote and create new opportunities for women filmmakers not only in Oregon but world-wide. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their two very busy teenagers.
For more information: https://www.littlemissanomaly.com/ https://vimeo.com/tarajohnsonmedinger https://powfilmfest.com/ http://www.powgirls.com/ https://www.mysummerasagoth.com/
