Hooligan Sparrow, Director Nanfu Wang

Hooligan Sparrow film poster IThe danger is palpable as intrepid young filmmaker Nanfu Wang follows maverick activist Ye Haiyan (a.k.a Hooligan Sparrow) and her band of colleagues to Hainan Province in southern China to protest the case of six elementary school girls who were sexually abused by their principal. Marked as enemies of the state, the activists are under constant government surveillance and face interrogation, harassment, and imprisonment. Sparrow, who gained notoriety with her advocacy work for sex workers’ rights, continues to champion girls’ and women’s rights and arms herself with the power and reach of social media. Filmmaker Wang becomes a target along with Sparrow, as she faces destroyed cameras and intimidation. Yet she bravely and tenaciously keeps shooting, guerrilla-style, with secret recording devices and hidden-camera glasses, and in the process, she exposes a startling number of undercover security agents on the streets. Eventually, through smuggling footage out of the country, Wang is able tell the story of her journey with the extraordinary revolutionary Sparrow, her fellow activists, and their seemingly impossible battle for human rights. Director Nanfu Wang stops by for a conversation on her daunting journey to bring this story to light and Ye Haiyan’s bravery in the face of overwhelming obstacles. 

http://hooligansparrow.com/

LA Asian-Pacific Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize

Dallas Film Festival – Silver Heart Award

Sheffield Doc/Fest – Special Jury Prize

International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights – Youth Prize AND Jury Prize

Movies that Matter – Golden Butterfly AND Human Rights Award

Nashville Film Festival – Special Jury Prize for Badass Filmmaking

Ashland Independent – Best Documentary

Greenwich Film Festival – Best Documentary AND Best Social Impact Film

Human Rights Watch NY – Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking

Northwest Fest – Best International Feature

“A whistleblowing documentary made with fearless guerrilla cunning …” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“Other movies have more powerfully exposed the corruption of contemporary China, but few have so articulately confronted how women always seem to be the first citizens to have their wings clipped.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“[A] tremendous documentary …” – Diana Clark, Village Voice

“This is independent filmmaking at its most courageous. By keeping faith with her subjects, she put herself at risk, which is beyond admirable.” – Joe Bendel, Epoch Times

Don’t Think Twice, Co-Star Kate Micucci

Dont Think Twice film Poster IFor eleven years, an improv group called The Commune has reigned as the big fish in the small pond of their New York improv theater. Commune members Miles, Samantha, Jack, Allison, Bill and Lindsay invent comedy without a script and without a net. They’re ingenious, they’re fast, and they build on each others’ ideas like best friends – which they also are. Night after night they kill onstage and wait for their big break. Day after day day they work menial jobs to support themselves. Then they get news that their theater is shutting down, and scouts from a hit TV show come to a performance, looking for talent. Only two cast members get the nod, upsetting the dynamic of the group and leaving its future in doubt. Relationships begin to crack as six best friends face the truth that not all of them will make it, and for some, it may be time to give up on the dream and move on. Funny, insightful and honest, DON’T THINK TWICE looks at a common experience that’s an uncommon subject for a film: failure. As he did in his acclaimed debut about a stand-up comedian, SLEEPWALK WITH ME, writer/director/actor Mike Birbiglia captures universal human experiences that happen in the lives of professionally funny people. With a top-flight ensemble of comic actors including Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, KateKate-Micucci poster Micucci, Chris Gethard, Tami Sagher and Birbiglia, DON’T THINK TWICE tells a nuanced story of friendship, aspiration and the pain and promise of change. Co-star Kate Micucci joins us to talk about being a part of the summer’s breakout hit, doing improv, on stage and on screen. Kate Micucci, along with partner Riki Lindhome, make up the comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. The two met at Upright Citizens Brigade theatre in Los Angeles in 2007 and named their group after the “two famous rock-and-roll second bananas” Art Garfunkel and John Oates. The duo, which regularly performs and tours across the country, were named one of the Top 10 Comics to Watch by Variety.

For news and updates go to: dontthinktwicemovie.com

“Don’t Think Twice is hilarious, yes, but it’s also thoughtful and sad and sweet. Birbiglia knows how to communicate those things, too.” – Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com

“Don’t Think Twice,” which has a warm heart, could have been a much nastier movie. Yet its disappointed show-business hopefuls dreading their expiration dates make no bones about their insecurities.” – Stephen Holden, New York Times

“”Don’t Think Twice” really shines as an improv procedural, a film that celebrates, in illuminating detail, the skills and anxieties of this showbiz subgenre.” – Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

“Birbiglia continues to mine a scene he knows well, and even though he doesn’t strike you as a natural-born filmmaker (some of these scenes are as flatly lensed as the SNL sketches being spoofed), he’s evolving as a confrontational dramatist.” – Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out

Gleason, Director Clay Tweel

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GLEASON is the powerful, inspiring story of Steve Gleason and his mission – after being diagnosed with ALS – to leave a legacy for his son and make the world a better place for all people with neurological disorders. At the age of 34, Gleason, a former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero, was diagnosed with ALS and given a life expectancy of two to five years. Weeks later, Steve and his wife Michel discovered that Michel was pregnant with their first child. Director Clay Tweel’s GLEASON masterfully assembles roughly four years of footage, including personal and surprisingly humorous video journals shot by Gleason himself for his then-unborn son Rivers, and the athlete’s globe-trotting adventures undertaken as part of his mission to live his life to the fullest. What emerges from this incredibly intimate portrait is not only a showcase of an astonishing assertion of the human spirit, but, more importantly, a powerful and inspirational look at life, love and family, and the intense bonds between husbands and wives and fathers and sons, in sickness and in health. GLEASON premiered to standing ovations and widespread critical acclaim at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival before garnering an audience award at the recent SXSW Film Festival. Director Clay Tweel (Finders Keepers, Print the Legend) joins us to talk about getting to know Steve and Michel, witnessing the day-to-day challenges that come with the devastating impacts of ALS and the process of editing down over 1,300 hours of video.

For news and updates go to gleasonmovie.com

To see Steve, Michel, Clay and others from Gleason at Q&A screenings on July 29 and 30 go to: gleasontickets.com theaters

“There are moments of such raw, intimate anguish in this film that you can’t help but turn away.” – Bilge Ebiri, Village Voice

“One of the most powerful, poignant documentaries of the past decade.” – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“Tweel’s approach is no-frills, with much of the footage having been shot by Gleason and his wife Michel. This is wise: The story itself is so wrenching that any attempt to gussy it up would run the risk of feeling overwrought, even manipulative.” – Mike Nordine, The Wrap

“Having followed [Gleason] from the start, we can’t help but see the active mind inside that body, one full of love for his family and determination to stay with them as long as he can.” – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

The Seventh Fire, Director Jack Pettibone Riccobono

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From executive producers Terrence Malick, Natalie Portman, and Chris Eyre comes this haunting and unflinching debut feature, THE SEVENTH FIRE, directed by Jack Pettibone Riccobono. When gang leader Rob Brown is sentenced to prison for a fifth time, he must confront his role in bringing violent drug culture into his beloved American Indian community in northern Minnesota. As Rob reckons with his past, his seventeen-year-old protégé, Kevin, dreams of the future: becoming the most powerful and feared Native gangster on the reservation. Director, Producer, Writer, and Director of Photography Jack Pettibone Riccobono has produced and directed a wide range of work across the five boroughs of his native New York City and around the world, from Moscow to Shanghai to Freetown. His narrative short KILLER premiered at New Directors / New Films and won Best Short at the Nantucket Film Festival. His short documentary THE SACRED FOOD, shot on the same reservation as THE SEVENTH FIRE, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Riccobono joins us for a conversation on the chronic unemployment and sense of desperation that permeates Native American reservations like Pine Point as well as the sliver of hope that may point to a brighter future.

For news and updates go to: theseventhfire.com

“The betrayal of Native Americans by larger forces looms over this powerful movie without ever being explicitly discussed.” – Glenn Kenny, New York Times

“Riccobono films it all with intelligence, sensitivity and a feel for offhand poetry; his camera captures moments of intimacy and tension without ever quite intruding.” – Bilge Ibiri, Village Voice

“This documentary, by the first-time director Jack Pettibone Riccobono, is a deep drink of bleak. But there are incidental moments of beauty or startling surreality to marvel at “ – Leslie Pelperin, Guardian

“Bracingly candid in both tone and image.” – Mathew Anderson, CineVue

The Netflix Effect, Technology and Entertainment in the 21st Century, Co-author and editor Kevin P. McDonald

The Netflix Effect- Technology and Entertainment in the 21st Century 

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Netflix is the definitive media company of the 21st century. It was among the first to parlay new Internet technologies into a successful business model, and in the process it changed how consumers access film and television. It is now one of the leading providers of digitally delivered media content and is continually expanding access across a host of platforms and mobile devices. Despite its transformative role, however, Netflix has drawn very little critical attention-far less than competitors such as YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Comcast, and HBO. The Netflix Effect, Technology and Entertainment in the 21st Century addresses this gap, as the essays are designed to critically explore the breadth and diversity of Netflix’s effect from a variety of different scholarly perspectives, a necessary approach considering the hybrid nature of Netflix; its inextricable links to new models of media production and distribution, to new modes of viewer engagement and consumer behavior, its relationship to existing media conglomerates and consumer electronics, to its capabilities as a web-based service provider and data network, and to its reliance on a broader technological infrastructure. Marking the first scholarly work to address its significance. Co-author and editor Kevin P. McDonald talks about how The Netflix Effect provides a critical framework for understanding the company’s specific strategies as well as its broader social, economic, and cultural impact. McDonald teaches at the Communication Studies Department at Cal State Northridge, USA. His research focuses on film theory, contemporary Hollywood, and media industries. His work has appeared in Jump-Cut, Velvet Light Trap, and Alphaville. 

For more on Netflix Effect go to: bloomsbury.com/us/the-netflix-effect

Unlocking the Cage, Co-directors Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennabaker

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The latest documentary from the renowned filmmaking team of Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker (The War Room), UNLOCKING THE CAGE follows trailblazing animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans. UNLOCKING THE CAGE premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Given that the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are people, why not chimps? Attorney Steven Wise and his legal team, the Nonhuman Rights Project, are making history by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform an animal from a “thing” with no rights to a “person” with legal protections. Supported by affidavits from primatologists around the world, Wise maintains that, based on scientific evidence, cognitively complex animals such as chimpanzees, whales, dolphins and elephants have the capacity for limited personhood rights that would protect them from abuse. The filmmakers capture Wise’s progress: from the halls of academia to animal sanctuaries and zoos, and finally into the courtrooms where he makes a compelling case on behalf of four captive chimpanzees in New York State.  UNLOCKING THE CAGE captures a monumental shift in our culture, as the public and judicial system show increasing receptiveness to Wise’s impassioned arguments. It is a provocative and intimate look at a lawsuit that could forever transform our legal system, and one man’s lifelong quest to protect “nonhuman” animals. Among the most renowned and accomplished documentary filmmakers ever, co-directors Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker join us to talk about their latest groundbreaking film.

For news and updates go to: unlockingthecage

Get involved: nonhumanrightsproject.org and unlockingthecagethefilm.com/sanctuaries

“Thoughtful, Compelling and Heroic. The film made me proud to be a primate.” – Jon Stewart

“In their new documentary, D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus bring their relaxed, acute observational style of filmmaking to bear on a thorny tangle of legal and philosophical questions. Observant and absorbing.” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Engaging… makes a worthy case for reconsidering the sturdiness of laws that explicitly separate humans from animals. With legal-thriller pacing and emotional intelligence, it chronicles attorney Steven Wise’s gung-ho effort to get a U.S. court to recognize a chimpanzee as a legal person with protections, as opposed to a legal “thing” without rights.” – Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

“A smart, heroic act of film-making. This compassionate and distinctive work is a combination of single-minded legal drama and humane consciousness raising possibilities. It is a story about something that is often very near to our hearts.” – Isa Freeling and Deborah Kane, The Huffington Post

Making the American Man, Director Gregory Caruso

Making American Man film poster 

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Men’s style has changed dramatically over the past few years. MAKING THE AMERICAN MAN will grant viewers access into the creative minds of the artisans and entrepreneurs who are leading this movement. Some of these “makers” are tried-and-true, rediscovered heritage American brands, dedicated to an unwavering tradition of union-made quality. Others are young entrepreneurs who mourn the transition to disposable, imported clothing—and so were inspired to make menswear that equaled the artisanal quality products that their parents and grandparents took for granted. MAKING THE AMERICAN MAN draws its power from intimate conversations with over 35 cult-cool designers and tastemakers who have defined what classic masculinity looks like today, and how they feel it must be produced. From Los Angeles to New York and everywhere in between, these cultural trendsetters shed light on the modern age of American men’s style, the value of American-made goods—and how one cannot exist without the other. MAKING THE AMERICAN MAN Director Gregory Caruso joins us to talk about the present and future of American manufacturing, craftsmanship and modern masculinity.

Now available on Netflix

For news and updates go to: makingtheamericanman.com

Nuts! Director Penny Lane

Nuts! the film poster 

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Inventive and wildly fun, NUTS! recounts the unbelievable true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a Kansas doctor who in 1917 discovered that he could cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. From there, the story only gets more bizarre. Mixing hand-drawn animated reenactments, interviews, archival footage, and a very unreliable narrator, NUTS! traces Brinkley’s rise from poverty and obscurity to the heights of celebrity, wealth, and influence. Along the way, he transplants thousands of goat testicles, amasses an enormous fortune, is (sort of) elected Governor of Kansas, invents junk mail and the infomercial, builds the world’s most powerful radio station, and generally annoys the heck out of the establishment. Filmmaker Penny Lane has skillfully borrowed a page from her subject – charming viewers into believing the unbelievable, building their trust and excitement, until the final chapter bares the painful truth and reveals the doctor for what he truly was. NUTS! reminds us that our love of (and need for) compelling narratives is exactly what makes us so endlessly susceptible to being conned. Director Penny Lane stops by for a conversation on Brinkley, our collective need to believe in something and any contemporary parallels to be drawn from this bizarre story.

For news and updates go to: nutsthefilm.com

NUTS! had it’s World Premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing.



“Mixing droll animation, stock footage and a restrained number of talking head interviews, the director Penny Lane’s biography has all the whimsy of a tall tale, until a late change in tone surprises with genuine emotion.Nuts! is really a kick.” – The Guardian

“Don’t let the synopsis fool you, there’s much more here than a simple movie about a guy who likes to put goat balls in people…[Lane] explores the peculiar and undeniably fascinating story of Brinkley in what is easily an early contender doc of the year…Nuts! is a film you’ll definitely want to check out.” – Film Pulse

“Penny Lane is a documentarian who blends the archival with the personal in powerfully emotive ways… [she] is now firmly ensconced as a leading voice among her documentary filmmaking peers. “ – Vimeo

“What won’t spoil the film is my spewing praise for Lane’s craft… Lane is the answer to a question more people should be asking: who’s the great documentarian of this generation?” – The Verge

“In keeping with a recent trend in documentary filmmaking, nontraditional, sometimes controversial storytelling techniques will be on full display, Mr. Cooper said. The director Penny Lane, for instance, uses animated re-enactments and “one seriously  unreliable narrator” to trace the “mostly true” story of a man who found success selling a goat-testicle impotence cure..” – New York Times

How He Fell in Love, Director Marc Meyers

How He Fell in Love film poster 

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Travis (Matt McGorry), a young struggling musician, crosses paths with Ellen (Amy Hargreaves), an older married yoga teacher who is trying to adopt a child with her husband. Travis and Ellen begin an affair that slowly deepens into something more intimate and profound. As their encounters continue, Ellen is confronted with her failing marriage while Travis must face the consequences of his actions.  Written and directed by Marc Meyers (HARVEST) and stars Matt McGorry (Orange is the New Black)Amy Hargreaves (Homeland, BLUE RUIN), Britne Oldford (American Horror Story) and veteran film and theatre actor Mark Blum (Mozart in the Jungle). Director Marc Meyers joins us for a conversation on managing the responsibilities of writing, producing and directing his own unforgettably intimate film.

For news and updates go to: howhefellinlove.com

There will be Q&As opening weekend in Los Angeles on Friday, July 8th following the 7:00pm show with Marc Meyers, Matt McGorry and Amy Hargreaves; on Saturday July 9th following the 7:00pm show with Marc Meyers and Matt McGorry and on Sunday, July 10th following the 1:20pm show with Marc Meyers.

*** Official Selection – 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival***

“How He Fell in Love is truly adult moviemaking that respects both carnality and commitment. It’s the type of mature drama that’s rarely seen in American movies.”Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News

“…the subtly wrought interior life  (Amy)Hargreaves instills her in character holds your gaze throughout.”John Lopez, The Huffington Post

“… (Marc) Meyers has so grounded the narrative that it feels like a fresh unique take.”Terence Johnson, Award Circuit

“…the real standout of this story is the five-star turn by the wonderful and heartbreaking Amy Hargreaves who lays barren equal parts love and hate, joy and sorrow in a brave performance that isn’t afraid to show the emotional turbulence and confusion of a woman of age…” Star Pulse

Ovarian Psycos, Co-directors Joanna Sokolowski & Kate Trumbull-LaValle

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Riding at night through streets deemed dangerous in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single mother and poet M.C. dedicated to recruiting an unapologetic, misfit crew of women of color. The film intimately chronicles Xela as she struggles to strike a balance between her activism and nine year old daughter Yoli; street artist Andi who is estranged from her family and journeys to become a leader within the crew; and bright eyed recruit Evie, who despite poverty, and the concerns of her protective Salvadoran mother, discovers a Kate and Joanna Picnewfound confidence. Co-directors Joanna Sokolowski & Kate Trumbull-LaValle stop by to talk about the boldness of Ovas’ politics, their brazen approach to feminism, and unapologetic aesthetic: a hybrid mix of Chicana, Riot Grrrl, Zapatista and militant-punk cultural markers and the individual personalities that make Ovarian Psycos such a compelling watch.

For news and updates go to:sylviafrancesfilms.com/

WorldPremiere,SXSWFilmFestival2016

InternationalPremiere,HotDocsCanadianInternationalFilmFestival

OfficialSelection,SeattleInternationalFilmFestival(WestCoastPremiere)

OfficialSelection,HumanRightsWatchFilmFestival(NYPremiere)

OfficialSelection,FramelineLGBTQFilmFestival(SFPremiere)