ABOUT

Tara Johnson-Medinger (she/her) is a film director, producer, parent and champion of gender equality in the entertainment industry. With over 25 years in the television and film industries, her producing credits include: MOTHER OF COLOR, THE WINDING STREAM, CITY BABY, ROCK N ROLL MAMAS and several short films. Her feature film directorial debut, MY SUMMER AS A GOTH was released in 2020 and she is currently in development with her latest feature, US - YOU = ME. An advocate for women in film, Johnson-Medinger honors groundbreaking female and non-binary filmmakers as Executive Director of the international Power of Women in Film Festival (POW Film Fest), while developing the next generation of media makers through the youth education forum she founded, POWGirls.

Johnson-Medinger is an active member of the Producers Guild of America, Film Fatales National, Film Independent, WIF-PDX and the Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA). She served on the founding board of directors of Women in Film Portland and was awarded the 2013 Service & Inspiration Award by the OMPA. She is an avid speaker and has been invited to present to many organizations including: KC Women in Film and Media, WIF-PDX, KCFilm Fest, DTLA Film Festival, Pacific University and several high school classrooms. Before moving to Portland, she was a manager of affiliate promotion at the FOX Broadcasting Company in Los Angeles. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two very busy teenagers.

HOW I GOT HERE

I am a Writer, Director and Producer based in Portland, Oregon. I graduated with a film degree from the University of Oregon and started my career at a small independent TV station in Eugene. Over the past 25 plus years my career has taken me from Oregon to LA and back again. I have had the opportunity to work on both the affiliate and network side of television and traveled the United States as a network marketing executive in the Affiliate Promotion Department of the FOX Broadcasting Company. During my time in LA, I found my excitement for producing films. I cut my teeth by helping out friends on their short independent films on the weekends and found that I had quite the knack for producing. When I relocated to Portland, I turned my sites completely to producing. Over the past several years I have produced several short films, feature narratives and documentary films. As my confidence grew as a producer, I knew that I wanted to take the next step into directing. I took on the director’s chair on a feature film co-written by myself and my best-friend from high school.

My directorial debut feature film, MY SUMMER AS A GOTH released in November of 2020. Directing this film was one of the most terrifying and satisfying experiences of my life. I had no idea that I would enjoy directing as much as I did. Having a strong foundation as a producer gave me the opportunity to be successful. I have taken that experience of delivering a feature film into my current work on MOTHER OF COLOR, THE NECESSITY SERIES and upcoming projects SHE FLIES WITH HER OWN WINGS, THIS IS FINE and my new feature film, US - YOU = ME.

My work is centered around elevating and giving visibility to underrepresented communities. As a woman director/producer it is important to me to create an equitable environment in the kind stories I tell, and who is part of my team, on-screen and behind the scenes.