Events | Patty Jenkins in Conversation with Aida Baghernejad & Tom Zoellner: 55 Voices for Democracy Live at Thomas Mann House
Thomas Mann House | September 5, 2024
7:30 p.m. (PT) | Thomas Mann House Los Angeles
2024 Thomas Mann Fellow Aida Baghernejad and journalist Tom Zoellner, hosts of the 55 Voices for Democracy podcast, will engage in a conversation with award-winning director Patty Jenkins at the Thomas Mann House!
Patty Jenkins is a renowned writer and director best known for the films Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and her debut Oscar-winning feature Monster (2003). Jenkins also helmed the pilot and finale of AMC’s hit show The Killing, garnering her multiple awards. Wonder Woman smashed box office records and became the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman at the time. She was also the first woman to oversee a film budget over $200 million. The feminist journalist and activist Gloria Steinem remarked that the film made Wonder Woman’s "Amazon origin story clear; she was stopping war, not perpetuating it; her strength was communicating in 200 languages; and she was exploring and learning without giving up her uniqueness.” During her residency at the Thomas Mann House, Aida Baghernejad will explore the intersection between pop culture and politics in times of multiple crises. Together with New York Times bestselling author and journalist Tom Zoellner, co-host of the Thomas Mann House podcast 55 Voices for Democracy, they will discuss Patty Jenkins’ groundbreaking work for women in film, Wonder Woman’s critical role for feminist superhero films, and what the German entertainment industry can learn from Hollywood.
The conversation will take place at the Thomas Mann House in front of a live audience. A recording of the conversation will be released on the 55 Voices for Democracy podcast feed.
Attendance
By Invitation only
Participants
Patty Jenkins is an award-winning writer and director best known for Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and her debut Oscar-winning feature Monster (2003). Jenkins also helmed the pilot and finale of AMC’s hit show “The Killing,” garnering her multiple awards. WONDER WOMAN smashed box office records and became highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman at the time. She was the first woman to helm a budget over 100 million and over 200 million. Up next, Jenkins is set to developing several original projects and is producing a small slate of films.
Aida Baghernejad is a journalist who studied media studies in Berlin, Barcelona, and London. Her work focuses on how cultural products such as music, film, and social media content influence the socio-political state of the world. In addition to numerous contributions for Die Zeit, Der Tagesspiegel, Missy Magazine, and others, she also co-hosts the podcast 55 Voices for Democracy. During her residency in California, Aida Baghernejad will explore the intersection between pop culture and politics in times of multiple crises. She will engage with the history of the Thomas Mann House and of the émigrés in Southern California, and their lasting impact on German and American culture.
Tom Zoellner is a journalist and author. He is New York Times bestselling author of eight nonfiction books, including Uranium Train and The Heartless Stone. He teaches at Chapman University and Dartmouth College. A former reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, he is the politics editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books.
In collaboration with Los Angeles Review of Books
