Episode 30: Interview with Vesta Millard

On the thirtieth episode of ATFT, I talk with former broadcaster/ executive producer/ writer/ actress/ proud cat mom, Vesta Millard!  Vesta Millard has had an incredibly vast and impressive career in show business, so much so that those titles don’t cover every job she’s had! She was a radio DJ for thirty years in some of the biggest markets, including New York and New Jersey.  Vesta ranks among the top ten percent of voice actors worldwide and has lent her voice to a range of projects including, but not limited to, documentaries, animated television shows, and video games. Some of her most prominent clients have been Coca Cola, the A&E Network, and Sirius XM. Vesta has appeared in commercials as well as short films "Covington", "Fruit Cake", and most recently "Life is Torture" in which she won two awards at OIF last month. Off camera, Vesta led the charge behind creating an anti- stalking law that remains in effect today and has significantly helped many people. In recent years, aside from voice acting, Vesta has created her own independent fantasy short films. Vesta’s latest short film, "Time Will Tell", is the fourth installment of “The Witches Diaries” following Vesta’s character, heroine witch Tara Ward. In this thirty- minute short, Tara travels back to the time of the Salem Witch Trials in order to save her bloodline. She is aided by fellow witches and pirates as Tara becomes a part of history. "Time Will Tell" be soon be submitted to film festivals but the film will have a premiere at Epic Theaters in St. Augustine, Florida on November 10 at 2 pm. Vesta’s third installment, "On Blood Moon", will also be shown at the premiere. Tickets are $10 and there are raffle prizes will all proceeds going to Ayla’s Acres, a nonprofit no- kill animal rescue. Also be sure to check out Vesta's work through her website!: https://www.vestavox.com/ This is Vesta’s first appearance on ATFT! Thanks to the incredible Danielle Bowman for recruiting me to join the crew as a production assistant/ craft services/ film extra, I was able to meet Vesta on the set of her fourth and latest short film, "Time Will Tell", almost a year ago. The whole experience was such a joy, in large part due to the joyous and hard working environment set and led by Vesta. Since being on set is very much a work environment, there’s not often much time to get to know each other. I was lucky enough to sit and have a quick chat with Vesta not long after filming wrapped, which is when I asked if she would be a guest on ATFT sometime. In that conversation, I was stunned by Vesta’s stories from her career… some we didn’t even get to mention in this interview! In preparing for this interview, I learned those stories were just the tip of the iceberg. I was very nervous for this interview. I had so many questions that, even though this episode was originally around 140 minutes, many questions were never posed. Hopefully there will be a part two in the future! This episode was recorded on October 2, 2024.  In this episode, Vesta shares stories through the years from growing up in a show business to making independent fantasy short films today. Vesta also talks about the terrifying situation that drove her to create an important anti- stalking law. We also discuss the importance in portraying women over 40 in cinema, the making and reflection of her short films, and her appreciation for Martin Scorsese.  All this and much more on the latest episode of All the Film Things! Background music created and used with permission by the Copyright Free Music - Background Music for Videos channel on YouTube.