I'm Jonathan K. Parton, welcome to K-Part.

When you hear the name Lena Weiss, you think of the Emmy award-winning writer, the actress

and producer behind the Netflix series Master of None and Showtime's The Shy.

But Lena Weiss' big passion is Hillman Grad, the production company she founded in 2015

to create a pipeline for marginalized storytellers in filmmaking.

In this conversation, first recorded on July 7th for Washington Post Live, Weiss and Hillman

Grad's CEO Rishi Rajani joined me when insider's view of and a rather nuanced conversation

about representation in Hollywood.

It's important as it is to change the face of who the creators are, it's also important

to change the face of who the executives are.

It's important that we don't assume that just because two people are black, they're going

to see something the same way, artistically.

It's really about ensuring that black artists aren't forced to change their vision

because, say, maybe another black exec sees it differently because they came from two

different walks of life.

Lena, let me start with you.

As we noted in the intro on this screen, you have said about Hillman Grad, quote,

our goal is to not only open doors for the next generation, but to also keep those doors

open for generations to come.

Talk more about your mission.

Um, I think it's really to ensure that, you know, the blood doesn't stop here.

You know, I think it's about ensuring that the business continues to grow, it continues

...