Marteene G. Diaz
I’m Josette’s granddaughter. After my grandfather passed in 2019, my Nonna, for the first time since she was 17, was experiencing life on her own terms. She moved into an independent living community where she blossomed. Blossomed, honestly, might be too conservative of a word. Let’s just say Josette’s first years of independent living were akin to an 18 year old moving away to college. She experienced life all over again and I was the gal pal she’d call to spill the tea. It was during these calls and visits to my Nonna, where I quickly realized that this setting, this story, these people, had more legs than they knew what to do with. I was inspired by the people who live there and their complete and utter determination to live life as fast as they could with what time was left. The advice some of these women gave to me during this visit was beautiful, however problematic. Ya know, some of the advice about my “mummy tummy” I didn’t quite take with me, but the parts about freedom, living without hesitation, and how important community is – that’s the stuff of wise women who have been through a lot. In my research for this project I came upon the iconic Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast “Wiser Than Me” and she very unapologetically states “FUCKING LISTEN TO OLDER WOMEN” and honestly, I couldn’t fucking agree more. Golden Groves is for the older women who lived under the weight of patriarchy in ways I’ll never fully understand (and, hopefully, never will). It’s for those who sacrificed every ounce of their own desires for their husbands, children, and the transactional roles society imposed on them. This story is for them, for me, and for every woman who’s ever been seen as a commodity. Golden Groves is about living life in its fullest, most uninhibited form — no matter your age.
About
Marteene is a director, editor and producer (by necessity) from Hollywood, FL… there’s a pun there somewhere. She grew up with a father in music, and a mom with a penchant for concert-going, and later attended the University of Denver where she received her MA in Film & Media Studies. Her creative voice oscillates between idealized comedic sparkly worlds that bring real world issues sneakily to the surface (think, The Birdcage) in contrast to directly addressing highly sensitive social issues through impactful mediums; two sides of the same foundational coin if you will. Frequently sought as an editor, she has worked on a number of series and promotional spots for major networks like Starz and NBCUniversal. Marteene’s wife and daughter are quite literally the foundation of her life's work, but more on that later.
Eric Todd Patton
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About
Eric Patton is a writer-director-producer-cinephile from Denver, Colorado. He grew up obsessed with movies, an obsession which led to an MFA in the Directing program at Chapman University. Eric is most attracted to material that oscillates between comedy and tragedy, much like real life. He has since worked in all areas of production, most recently in Post Production on Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, FX’s Snowfall and Mercy Street at Scott Free. All the while, Eric continued to write, direct and produce, including the award-winning short comedies “Kosher Pig” and “Loaf of Bread.” His feature comedy script, “Mildred’s Cherokee,” reached the top 20% in the Nicholl Fellowship and his one-hour dramatic pilot, “Saint-Michel,” is a finalist in the ScreenCraft TV Pilot Competition. He also has two kids, Boston and Rhys, who were given a thorough film education starting at a young age. Eric was very pleased when his daughter told her class “the best MacBeth is ‘Throne of Blood.’”