A community of resilient, deep thinkers eager to live purposefully and make a positive impact.
Our podcast allows intentional listening, thoughtful reflection, and genuine connection. We aim to inspire meaningful dialogue through in-depth conversations with guests from diverse fields, including creativity, social impact, innovation, and community building.
We invite our deep-thinking audience to embrace slow, intentional living and savor the art of long-form storytelling. By exploring candid, heartfelt discussions, we illuminate the profound interconnectedness of our global human family, encouraging empathy, awareness, and shared growth.
executive producer and Host
Farida Rafique is an Oscar®-shortlisted Impact Producer, Filmmaker, and the Host & Executive Producer of The Slow Dive Podcast (now in Season 2). Based in Los Angeles, she believes that storytelling can build empathy, strengthen community, and inspire meaningful social change.
With over 15 years of experience across entertainment, nonprofits, and social impact campaigns, Farida brings a deep commitment to first-person, character-driven stories that elevate underrepresented voices. Early in her career, she interned in film development, focusing on horror and thriller screenplays, before transitioning to television development and, ultimately, social impact storytelling.
Farida holds a Bachelor of Arts in Media Management from California State University, and her passion for storytelling is deeply intertwined with her dedication to human rights advocacy and community building. Her portfolio includes impactful videos and art installations such as Love Letters to an Addict—centered on recovery and hope for those affected by opioid addiction—as well as micro-documentaries for the Human Rights Initiative and the co-production of a documentary addressing the Family Separation Crisis on the Texas–Mexico border.
Her impact film projects include Bienvenidos a Los Angeles (Oscar®-shortlisted, Cannes Diversity Award winner), Moon, Hatchlings, The Magic Ticket, and Almost Home. She also directed and developed Ojo, a powerful short dramatic film exploring a son’s reckoning with his family’s concealed history of white supremacy following his mother’s passing in 1990s Texas.
Farida is an alum of the Women in Media Camaraderie Accelerator and Film North’s Socially Conscious & Inclusive Filmmaking Lab, and previously served on the Board of the Dallas Film Alliance. She also works closely with IP production companies in development, supporting the research, shaping, and adaptation of socially relevant stories for the screen.
Through The Slow Dive Podcast, Farida creates space for thoughtful conversations on creativity, identity, community, and social impact—inviting listeners to slow down, reflect, and connect with stories that foster understanding and collective care.
A SPEC-certified Sustainable Producer, Farida integrates mindful, eco-conscious practices into every stage of her work and collaborates with filmmakers, creatives, and mission-driven partners who believe in storytelling for good.
Inspired by stories of resilience, Farida’s work is deeply rooted in empathy and human interconnectedness. Always with a book or screenplay close by, she is a hopeful romantic, a lifelong student of life, an older sister, and a loving pet parent to Annie and Joey. She is excited to continue developing socially relevant, fascinating stories that inspire empathy, connection, and positive change.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM
DREW FRANZBLAU
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in San Diego, California, Drew Franzblau is an audio engineer with 10 years of industry experience spanning film, television, podcasts, music, and live entertainment.
His passion for audio began when he was ten years old, and he would stay up late to listen to Imagination Theater, an anthology radio drama series syndicated on his hometown's talk radio station. He was fascinated by how the audio dramatists used sound and voice to create "movies for your mind."
His career in entertainment began in 2014 when he was hired as a production assistant on The Bachelor, where he worked for three seasons. His first sound mixer credit came later that year, when he worked on the indie horror film Middle of the Night. Since then, he has brought his passion for telling stories through sound to over 30 films, television shows, and podcasts.
SAMANTHA K HENDERSON
A highly skilled Freelance Producer and the vibrant host of the Creative Seat podcast, known for her exceptional talent in creating captivating visual and auditory experiences. With a lifelong passion for storytelling and over a decade of experience in the film and TV industry, Samantha has carved a niche for herself in editing and producing high-quality content across various mediums.