🎙️ Why filmmaker Rhym Guissé stepped behind a podcast mic

Presented by SiriusXM Media

🤖 Outsourcing Your Edge

Within the factory walls of AI’s one-click drafts and endless output lies a trap: personal creative atrophy.

If AI lifts the weight every time, our own grip weakens. Before long, we risk becoming the humans from WALL-E, disengaged and soft, while the machines handle the heavy lifting.

The antidote: Grab the weights with your own hands and put in the reps. Sweat through the messy draft. Struggle with the awkward silence in the edit. Feel the sting of the blank page.

Creative strength isn’t built by prompts. It’s built by persistence.

🎙️ Signal Flow: Rhym Guissé

Industry game changers and valiant minds share their wisdom, adversities, and paths to innovation.

Rhym Guissé is a Los Angeles-based director, actor, and screenwriter whose work bridges the worlds of performance and filmmaking with a distinct emotional and cultural lens. A multidisciplinary storyteller, she brings a uniquely layered perspective informed by her experience both in front of and behind the camera. Her directing credits include high-profile promotional campaigns for Disney/Hulu and Kerry Washington's series UnPrisoned, Vanderpump Villa, a series ‘Little Lens’ airing on Nickelodeon, and a nine-part branded series for the NBA. Rhym was a fellow in the DGA’s Commercial Directing Program in 2022. Her short film Cartes is on the film festival circuit and she is currently developing two narrative feature films and a pilot. Rhym’s screenwriting has been a semifinalist at the Atlanta Film Festival, and a Diverse Voices official Screenplay Selection.

Editor’s note: The following interview has been edited for flow and clarity.

I’ve quickly learned that listening, really listening, is a transferable skill. Directing actors or crafting an edit teaches you how to tune into nuance, and that same ear is essential behind the mic.

I’m a filmmaker and actress, but my path recently led me somewhere unexpected: hosting my very first podcast. Charlie’s Place tells the story of Charlie and Sarah Fitzgerald, who ran a legendary juke joint in the Jim Crow–era South. Their club was more than a nightlife spot. It became a sanctuary of music, joy, and resilience against the harsh backdrop of segregation.

The mystery of how Charlie built such success despite enormous barriers, and how he became a pillar of his community, was something I couldn’t let go. When the opportunity first came to me through my reps, I didn’t immediately say yes. As a director, I don’t take every job. A story has to resonate. And this one did.

I’ve always loved sound design and music. Even in film, I’d bring composers in before production so the score could shape the emotional backbone of a project. So in many ways, podcasting felt natural. But it also challenged me. Without visuals, it’s all on the voice, the texture, and the energy.

Recording Charlie’s Place was a crash course in self-direction.

My biggest lesson: Don’t record when you’re exhausted. Your voice carries your energy, and listeners can tell when you’re drained. Hydration, rest, and grounding, even something as simple as having bare feet planted firmly on the floor, made a huge difference.

I also had to get over my own hang-ups about my voice. Like a lot of performers, I used to hate listening back. I forced myself to play loops of my recordings until I got comfortable. And eventually I realized: perfection isn’t the goal. Presence is.

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Of course, burnout happens. When my creative bucket runs dry, I step outside of the work. I talk with family to reground myself. I go to galleries, film festivals, concerts…anywhere I can absorb art without producing it. And sometimes, I check out completely, like at the Korean spa. You can’t bring your phone inside, so you’re forced to be present. Those sensory resets are essential.

What struck me most about telling this story was the generosity of the Myrtle Beach community. The people of “the Hill,” especially the older generation, welcomed me, sat me down, and insisted that these stories be remembered. They wanted younger generations to know where they came from, to understand that Charlie and Sarah’s legacy wasn’t just about music. It was about resilience, joy, and empowerment.

That legacy continues. While we captured it in the podcast, I’m now developing a narrative feature film based on Charlie’s story. Because some legacies are too important for one medium alone.

When people finish listening to Charlie’s Place, my hope is simple: that they carry away a sense of hope. That they see how joy can exist even in the darkest times. That the Black community feels heard and seen through these stories. And that every listener, regardless of background, feels inspired to push forward, to create, and to leave behind legacies of their own.

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💡 The Quiet Spark

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