This seminar will involve the showing of the film, Queen Esther, and a discussion with the filmmaker Ira Mallory and two featured actresses—Erreol Robinson and Paige Wells, who will specifically discuss their specific roles. Ira Mallory is native to Indianapolis and in addition to responding to audience questions about the film, he will discuss how the intersections of his Jewish faith and his filmmaking work allows him to be more authentic.

Ira Mallory is an Indiana based film director and head of IRA FILMS, a division of BJYL Productions LLC. He is an alumni of the Fox Searchlight Director’s Labs in association with the American Black Film Festival. Hadassah: Queen Esther is Mallory’s premier project of recent release, which screened at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival in 2022 to much fanfare. Mallory was among over 40 Indiana artists awarded a fellowship with the On-Romp Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator, sponsored by the Indiana Art Commission in 2021.

 Paige Wells is a multi-talented artist hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana. With a passion for music and acting, Wells has made a name for herself as a songwriter and actress. Having studied vocal performance and songwriting, Wells has released her own original music in addition to taking on roles as an actress.