Filmmaking, Motherhood, Love, and Loss: "Vivien's Wild Ride" Covers It All
Thu Jan 22 2026
Host Michael Azevedo is joined on this episode by first-time director Vivien Hillgrove and producer Deann Borshay Liem to discuss a truly engaging and poignant personal documentary called “Vivien’s Wild Ride,” which will premiere on PBS on January 26.
Vivien Hillgrove has been a film and sound editor all her adult life.
She's worked with many filmmaking greats including: Francis Ford Coppola, Phillip Kaufman, Milos Forman, and Walter Murch, along with a who’s who of celebrated documentary filmmakers.
When Vivien’s eyesight starts to deteriorate, the shame and loneliness she felt in 1964, when she was forced to relinquish her baby as a teenage unwed mother, at at time when there were few choices for women, was a loss that resonated throughout her life.
Now she faces a new feeling of isolation and loss. Recalling her resilience as a young woman, Vivien summons it anew and reinvents herself as a person with a new way of being and seeing, an artist with a disability.
Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.
About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/
Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead
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Host Michael Azevedo is joined on this episode by first-time director Vivien Hillgrove and producer Deann Borshay Liem to discuss a truly engaging and poignant personal documentary called “Vivien’s Wild Ride,” which will premiere on PBS on January 26. Vivien Hillgrove has been a film and sound editor all her adult life. She's worked with many filmmaking greats including: Francis Ford Coppola, Phillip Kaufman, Milos Forman, and Walter Murch, along with a who’s who of celebrated documentary filmmakers. When Vivien’s eyesight starts to deteriorate, the shame and loneliness she felt in 1964, when she was forced to relinquish her baby as a teenage unwed mother, at at time when there were few choices for women, was a loss that resonated throughout her life. Now she faces a new feeling of isolation and loss. Recalling her resilience as a young woman, Vivien summons it anew and reinvents herself as a person with a new way of being and seeing, an artist with a disability. Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey. About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/ Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead