Jackson Free Press

Anita Modak-Truran is the first to admit her insatiable curiosity lures her to seek new experiences and hobbies.

In addition to being an attorney at Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC, and film buff, Modak-Truran, 47, is a freelance writer. Last month, she wrote "One Mother's Love," a Jackson Free Press cover story honoring Minnie Spicer, a mother of 10 and grandmother of 16. The JFP named Modak-Truran April's Freelancer of the Month for her dedication to story-telling and hard work.

Modak-Truran said she got the idea for the story from Minnie's son Adam Spicer, who is one of her co-workers.

"He talks about his mother nonstop," she says.

Modak-Truran spent several days with Spicer family at their home in Flora, listening to family stories and sharing meals.

"She always fed me extremely well," she says. "We'd go over there, and a wonderful meal was waiting for us."

Modak Truran was born in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. She grew up in New York near Niagara Falls. After meeting her husband, Mark, at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota---where she received a bachelor's degree in history---she moved to Chicago.

In Chicago, Modak Truran attended Loyola University where she received her law degree. She also attended film school at Columbia University in New York.

She moved to Jackson in 1998 and brought her love for film with her. In addition to writing film reviews for local publications, Modak-Truran appears weekly on Mississippi Public Broadcasting's radio show "Morning Edition" and 16WAPT for "Anita's Picks" where she talks about newly released films. She has also blogged about her experiences visiting the Sundance Film Festival in Utah earlier this year for the JFP.

Modak Truran also co-produced and directed the short film "Crimes Against Pizza," which the Crossroads Film Festival screened in April. The film features her 16-year-old son Michael as one of the main characters. She is organizing a second public screening of the film May 20 at Sal and Mookies where the film will be screened at 7 p.m. and again at 8 p.m.

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