From award-winning filmmaker Edmond Stenson (Finding Fukue) and Academy Award winning director Daniel Roher (Navalny) comes the emotionally wrenching story of a family facing an existential question / crisis. It comes in the form of a devastating medical condition, three of their four children are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and incurable disease that leads to severe visual impairment.  Knowing that their family’s world is facing something that will  change their lives forever, the parents, Edith Lemay and Sébastien Pelletier organize, with  their children’s guidance, a journey that will take them around the world to experience all its beauty while they still can. As Mia, Leo, Colin and Laurent fill their memories with breathtaking destinations and once-in-a-lifetime encounters, the family’s love, resilience and unshakeable sense of wonder ensure that their uncertain future does not define their present. Co-directors Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher join us for a conversation on how they learned about the Pelletier family situation, approaching the Pelletier’s with the idea of documenting something so intimate without disrupting the delicate family balance, and how this emotionally charged project has impacted each of them.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/blink

About the filmmaker – Daniel Roher is a filmmaker from Toronto, Canada. His first film, “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,” was a music documentary executive produced by Martin Scorsese. His follow-up, “Navalny,” won Sundance’s 2022 Festival Favorite Award, the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, as well as the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature. His latest project, “BLINK,” will premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and will be released by National Geographic Documentary Films in the late fall. In addition to his work in film, he is an accomplished visual artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries around the world. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and dog, Moose.

About the filmmaker – Edmund Stenson’s work as director, producer and editor spans both documentary and fiction and focuses on social issues, loners and nomads. He recently directed “BLINK,” a National Geographic feature about the Lemay-Pelletier family, who dropped everything and traveled the world after learning three of their four children were losing their vision. Before that, he was an associate editor on BAFTA- and Oscar®-winner  “Navalny” (2022), a documentary-thriller about the Russian dissident’s poisoning.In 2018, he directed the award-winning “Finding Fukue,” the viral CBC success that has amassed over 14.5 million views online. He has also cut award-winning documentary features, shorts and television series in English, French and Japanese: most notably, Canadian Screen Award winner “Being Black in Toronto” (2020), “Ciao Plastique” (2020), “Ghosts of Our Forest” (2017), “Ma vie Made in Canada” (2017), “Sourtoe: The Story of the Sorry Cannibal” and “Retour aux sources” aka “The Roots Remain” (2015).Stenson is also somewhat obsessed with the Chilean filmmaker and magician Raúl Ruiz, as well as another kind of magician: Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy. For more go to: edmundstenson.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/natgeo

facebook.com/edmund.stenson

x.com/natgeo

instagram.com/edmund.stenson

instagram.com/disneystudios

instagram.com/natgeo

86% on RottenTomatoes

“A poignant and inspiring story told with exemplary restraint and skill…” – Peter Keough, Arts Fuse

“Directors Daniel Roher and Edmund Stinson wisely allow the innate drama of this journey to rise to the surface amid the recognizable rhythms of daily life” – Christy LemireRogerEbert.com

“More than anything, “Blink” succeeds as a film about the lengths that parents will go to give their children every possible ounce of joy in an indifferent world that too often has cruel other plans for them.” – Christian Zilko, indieWire

“Life comes at you fast, after all, and “Blink” reminds us to look at each day as if it might be the last.” – Nicolas Rapold. New York Times

Filmmakers Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller’s SWEETHEART DEAL tells the story of our sex workers caught in the spiral of addiction who turn to a self-proclaimed healer offering friendship and a path to salvation away from Seattle’s Aurora Avenue.  When the dangers of the streets close in on a group of sex workers battling addiction, they find refuge in the roadside motorhome of a man with a mysterious past. But just as they begin to rebuild their lives, a shocking betrayal comes to light that will change them all. Rather than fall victim to another cruel injustice, they discover the strength to stand up for themselves and for each other. SWEETHEART DEAL is heavily influenced by the Cinema Verité genre, the single largest  inspiration being the iconic work of the late Mary Ellen Mark. Mark’s stunning photography of unhoused Seattle street kids sparked the heartbreaking 1984 Academy Award nominated documentary Streetwise. Co-director Elisa Levine joins us for a conversation on the professional and personal commitment that went into making Sweetheart Deal, the loss of her friend and colleague, co-director Gabriel Miller, how getting to know the women in the film, Kristine, Tammy, Sara and Krista (Amy), has changed her own life, the constant danger that these women face and their resiliency in the face of trauma and daily hardship.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: sweetheartdealmovie.com

Premieres in Seattle on September 27, 2024

Premieres in Los Angeles on October 18, 2024

About the director – Director / Producer ELISA LEVINE is a Seattle-based filmmaker with a passion for exploring subcultures hidden in plain sight using verité storytelling. Sweetheart Deal, her directing debut, was hailed by RogerEbert.com as, “one of the most astonishing studies of a real-life predator ever committed to film”, and lauded as, “an astounding feat of documentary filmmaking” by Film Threat. Notably, Elisa served as lead researcher on Robinson Devor’s haunting documentary Zoo, featured at Sundance and Cannes. Elisa’s work has screened at numerous festivals, including Seattle International Film Festival, Slamdance, and BendFilm, garnering multiple jury and audience awards. She is a fellow of Film Independent, Points North Institute, Sundance Documentary Film Program, and Sundance Edit & Story Lab. Elisa has served on the BendFilm and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival programming teams, and recently served on BendFilm’s 2023 Documentary Shorts Jury. 

About the director – Director / Director of Photography Gabriel Miller (1972 – 2019) was an award-winning cinematographer and director. Miller worked with a number of Oscar-winning and Oscar- nominated filmmakers, including Cynthia Wade, Sari Gilman, and Liz Garbus. Productions he worked on have been broadcast on HBO, the BBC, the Sundance Channel, PBS, MTV, Discovery, A&E, and ARTE. Miller was a Points North, Garrett Scott, and Sundance Institute fellow. Miller’s cinematography credits include the 2019 Peabody award winning HBO documentary A Dangerous Son; the Oscar nominated King’s Point; and Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, which aired on PBS. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/sweetheartdealmovie

facebook.com/Abramorama

instagram.com/elisalevine99

instagram.com/sweetheartdealmovie

instagram.com/abramorama

100% on RottenTomatoes

“The footage of these four women is so intimate. They allow us into their lives, to see them at their worst. The film is handled so sensitively that it never feels exploitative.” – Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com

“Sweetheart Deal takes an unflinching look at four drug-addicted sex workers in Seattle, but what they experience can happen to anyone with the same struggles anywhere. This documentary is a cautionary tale that offers glimmers of hope.” – Carla Hay, Culture Mix

“…a staggering achievement in documentary filmmaking” – Michael Ward, Should I See It

“The documentary creates a complete story, never favoring the shame-heavy or the cliche inspirational versions of the steered-straight narrative; instead, Levine and Miller give us reality.” – Josiah Teal, Film Threat

“If you are a student of the human condition or studying psychology or criminology, this is a fantastically worthwhile film to seek out. It will show you and reinforce what tuned-in healthy people already know: The weak will always feed the strong.” – April Neale, AWFJ.org

In the documentary, AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CUDDLY, comedian Amy Hoggart (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) dives deep into the controversial world of cat declawing in the United States. On the surface, it appears as a simple, harmless surgery for the convenience of pet owners, but as Hoggart digs deeper, a disturbing nationwide conspiracy unfolds. Through interviews with veterinarians, activists, and pet owners, the documentary unveils a powerful industry lobby that not only promotes but profits from this inhumane procedure. As Hoggart navigates the maze of misinformation, she discovers the profound physical and psychological effects declawing has on our feline friends. AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CUDDLY is a thought-provoking exposé that challenges the ethical implications of our choices and calls for a nationwide reflection on our treatment of animals. And also lots of jokes and cute kittens. Director Todd Bieber and film subject Dr. Jennifer Conrad stop by to talk about the history of declawing, the enormous sums of money made from this procedure, the effort being made by Dr. Conrad’s PAWS project to end this cruelty, enlisting Amy Hoggart to be the charming and effective inquisitor, holding declawing advocates own paws to the fire.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: pawproject.org/americancatsmovie

About the filmmaker – Todd Bieber is a Peabody Winner and Emmy Nominee who has spent 20 years making documentaries. Recent highlights include being embedded with a militia in Georgia for the Comedy Central special, “Jordan Klepper Solves Guns”; directing the comedy improv tribute, “Thank You, Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon”; and following the adrenaline-fueled steps of bank robbers in Beirut for The New York Times. In addition to being a Producer/Director for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” and “The Opposition” with Jordan Klepper, Todd served as Creative Resident at Viceland when the network launched, Creative Director of UCB Comedy when it was still cool, and Writer/Footage Coordinator for The Onion when the footage was coordinated most impressively. 

About the Subject – Dr. Jennifer Conrad has cared for wildlife on six continents for over two decades. Dr. Conrad has participated in many programs to protect and improve the lives of wild animals. She has traveled to Namibia to de-horn rhinos, making them unattractive targets for slaughter by poachers who prize the horns for ornamental uses. While in Africa, she worked with the Cheetah Conservation Fund, collecting information to help fortify the dwindling numbers of this species. In Nepal, Dr. Conrad treated endangered Asian elephants, and in the Galapagos Islands, she joined government scientists treating a threatened population of sea lions. Dr. Conrad is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine and is a member of the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA), the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV), and the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV). Currently, Dr. Conrad’s professional responsibilities are divided between working with nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries for unwanted and abused animals in southern California and administering her own company, Vet to the (Real) Stars, which provides humane veterinary care to animals appearing in television and movies. Dr. Conrad founded the Paw Project, which rehabilitates big cats, such as lions, tigers, cougars and jaguars maimed by declawing. Actually an amputation of the last bone in the cat’s toe, declawing often cripples these magnificent creatures, both from the pain caused by the bone fragments left behind, and from the progressively debilitating arthritis produced by abnormal stress on other joints as the cats try to avoid walking on their painful, amputated toes.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/americancatsmovie

facebook.com/pawproject

instagram.com/pawproject

instagram.com/toddbieber

instagram.com/amyhoggart

instagram.com/realsambee

Director Michele Josue’s (Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine) latest feature documentary, NURSE UNSEEN, explores the little-known, but exceedingly powerful history and  humanity of the unsung Filipino nurses who tirelessly risked their lives on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, all while facing a resurgence of anti-Asian hate. NURSE UNSEEN looks back on the troubling history and unearths the colonial ties between  the Philippines and the United States that have led to Filipino-American nurses becoming the unknown backbone of the United States health industry. Director and Producer Michele Josue (Happy Jail) joins us for a conversation on a key segment of our nation’s immigrant population that was integral to keeping an over burdened healthcare system that from collapsing during the worst health emergency over a century as told by the people who lived through it.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: nurseunseen.com

About the filmmaker – Michele Josue is an Emmy award-winning Filipino filmmaker. Her debut MATT SHEPARD IS A FRIEND OF MINE is the winner of several film festivals worldwide and a 2016 Daytime Emmy Award. Michele directed HAPPY JAIL, the Netflix Original documentary series about the world-famous Filipino “Dancing Inmates” that won the 2021 Silver Telly Award for Series Documentary for Television. Michele’s films have screened at film festivals including IDFA, DOC NYC, Mill Valley, Cleveland International and at venues including the Washington National Cathedral and U.S. Department of State. Recent works include the multi award-winning feature documentary NURSE UNSEEN about our unsung Filipino American nurses, for which Michele was selected as a 2021 Film Independent Fast Track Fellow, and the upcoming FOOD ROOTS, premiering at the Nashville, Newport Beach, and Chicago International Film Festivals.  In 2022, Michele was selected by the Philippine Embassy and the Ayala Foundation as a delegate of the Filipino Young Leaders Program, a network of high-performing, next-generation leaders who advance the Philippines and the Filipino people through their advocacy and expertise in various industries. Michele has served as a juror at several film festivals and has participated as a speaker and guest on various film panels, podcasts, and shows including “The View.” Her essays have been featured in Indiewire, The Huffington Post, and The New York Times Upfront.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/nurseunseendoc

x.com/nurseunseendoc

instagram.com/nurseunseendoc

instagram.com/michelejosue

Reviews:

“Nurse Unseen is taking the brightest spotlight and shining it on people who rarely find themselves on the receiving end of acclaim and recognition.” – Tina Kakadelis, Beyond the Cinerama Dome

“Heartfelt, well-edited and illuminating.” – Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

FOOD AND COUNTRY focuses on Ruth Reichl,—trailblazing NY Times food critic, groundbreaking Gourmet Magazine editor, best-selling memoirist, and for decades one of the most influential figures shaping American food culture—grows concerned about the fate of small farmers, ranchers, and chefs as they wrestle with both immediate and systemic challenges as the pandemic takes hold. Reichl reaches across political and social divides to discover innovators who are risking it all to survive on the front lines. As one person leads her to the next, she follows the unfolding stories of ranchers in Kansas and Georgia, farmers in Nebraska, Ohio, and the Bronx, a New England fisherman, and maverick chefs on both coasts. As she witnesses them navigate intractable circumstances, Reichl shares pieces of her own life, and in doing so, begins to take stock of the path she has traveled and the ideals she left behind. Through her eyes, we get to know the humanity and struggle behind  the food we eat. As Reichl says: “How we grow and make our food shows us our values – as a nation and as human beings.” FOOD AND COUNTRY director and co-producer Laura Gabbert joins us to talk about this informative and entertaining film and how she enlisted subject, co-producer and trailblazing food writer, Ruth Reichl, to be our guide into the precarious state of America’s food system. Through Reichl’s eyes we see the humanity and struggle behind the food we eat.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/food-and-country

About the filmmaker – Director/Producer Laura Gabbert’s critically-acclaimed films deploy humor and emotion to tell penetrating, character-driven stories about American culture and society. Her newest documentary, Food and Country is premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Her previous film, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles (IFC/Hulu 2020), explores chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. of Gold (Sundance 2015), the feature documentary about Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold, which was released theatrically by IFC Films in over 50 markets and named by Vogue Magazine among their “66 Best Documentaries of All Time.” Additional work includes feature documentaries No Impact Man (Sundance 2009, Oscilloscope) and Sunset Story (Tribeca 2005, Independent Lens), as well as the non-fiction short Monument / Monumento (Field of Vision 2017). Gabbert executive produced the Netflix Original Disclosure, and is currently completing a 6-part non-fiction series, The Power of Film, based on the work of legendary film scholar  She also directed City Howard Suber. Gabbert is a member of AMPAS. For more go to: lauragabbertfilms.com

About the subject – Producer / Participant Ruth Reichl is arguably one of the most influential figures shaping American food culture since the 1970s, Ruth Reichl served as restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and New York Times, editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine, and has written five bestselling memoirs: Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, Garlic and Sapphires, For You, Mom, Finally and Save Me the Plums. Her novel, Delicious! was published in 2014, and her cookbook, My Kitchen Year, 136 Recipes that Saved My Life in 2015. She edited Best American Food Writing 2018, and The Modern Library Food Series, which currently includes ten books. She was Executive Producer and host of the public television series, Adventures with Ruth and a judge on Top Chef Masters. She is the recipient of six James Beard Awards. Her newest novel is forthcoming and a documentary film she produced, Food and Country, is premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/GreenwichEntertainment

facebook.com/laura.gabbert.3

facebook.com/ruthreichlbooks

instagram.com/greenwichentertainment

instagram.com/lauragabbertfilms

instagram.com/ruth.reichl

Reviews:

“An invitation into caring about the truth of how we eat.” – Vox

“That sounds like too many things to pack into a movie, but Reichl is a winsome guide who uses some of her own history as an activist, a critic and an avid cook to guide us through the maze of questions.” – Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times

““A dynamic look at the precarious state of America’s food system.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Through this Herculean task of bringing so many voices and frontline food workers into the spotlight, Gabbert serves an audience who would like to know more and make a change for the better.” – Sabina Dana Plasse, Film Threat

“In introducing us to people who care deeply about the work they do, the animals they ranch, the people they employ and the food they bring to market or offer at their tables, the documentary stirs a sense of possibility.” – Lisa Kennedy, Variety

“Food and Country is a surprisingly comprehensive documentary that offers a spread of compelling perspectives and stories.” – Joel Copling, Spectrum Culture

Award-winning filmmaker Erik Nelson takes us back to one extraordinary week in American counter-culture. Beginning on February 14th, 1972, the revolution was televised. DAYTME REVOLUTION shines a bright and beautiful light on the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono descended upon a Philadelphia broadcasting studio to co-host the iconic Mike Douglas Show, at the time the most popular show on daytime television with an audience of 40 million viewers a week. What followed was five unforgettable episodes of television, with Lennon and Ono at the helm and Douglas bravely keeping the show on track. Acting as both producers and hosts, Lennon and Ono handpicked their guests, including controversial choices like Yippie founder Jerry Rubin and Black Panther Chairman Bobby Seale, as well as political activist Ralph Nader and comic truth teller George Carlin. Their version of daytime TV was a radical take on the traditional format, incorporating candid Q&A sessions with their transfixed audience, conversations about current issues like police violence and women’s liberation, conceptual art events, and one-of-a-kind musical performances, including a unique duet with Lennon and Chuck Berry and a poignant rendition of Lennon’s “Imagine.” A document of the past that speaks to our turbulent present, Daytime Revolution is a time capsule reminding us of art’s power to break down barriers, and the bravery of two artists who never took the easy way out as they fought for their vision of a better world. Directed by Emmy and IDA Award-winning filmmaker Erik Nelson (Encounters At The End Of The World, Apocalypse ’45) with creative consultation from Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, Daytime Revolution features archival footage from each of the five episodes as well as interviews with six of the original guests, all reconstructing the music, the magic, and the behind-the-scenes madness of this unprecedented and historic week of television.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: kinolorber.com/daytime-revolution

DAYTIME REVOLUTION opens on October 9th as a special cinema event timed to John Lennon’s 84th birthday, with screenings in over 50 cities nationwide, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Washington D.C., and many more. See the full list of cities here.

About the filmmaker – ERIK NELSON | Director Multiple Emmy and IDA award winning filmmaker Erik Nelson has produced and directed a wide range of feature documentaries for his company “Creative Differences”. These range from producing four films with Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”, “Cave Of Forgotten Dreams”, “Into The Abyss” and their Oscar nominated “Encounters At The End Of The World”), to directing “Dreams With Sharp Teeth” (2008) a biographical look at iconoclastic writer Harlan Ellison. Nelson’s three most recent films, “A Gray State” (2017), a harrowing true crime look at the madness inducing culture of conspiracy, and the immersive World War II documentaries “The Cold Blue” (2019) and “Apocalypse ’45” (2021) all demonstrate the director’s range and ability to weave a provocative story out of exquisitely restored archive footage. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/kinolorberinc

facebook.com/erik.nelson

instagram.com/kinolorber

100% on RottenTomatoes

“It is touching now to witness the faith with which so many in 1972 assumed war, poverty, sexism, consumerism and so forth must inevitably crumble before humanity’s newly evolved higher consciousness…” – Dennis Harvey, 48 Hills

“This recap of a unique and deeply sincere bid to demystify utopian ideals for the conservative masses using the platform of popular television offers a fascinating glimpse into a very different period in this country’s past.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

“What IS remarkable, and kind of awesome, is that these confabs were beamed directly into the living rooms of some 40 million Americans via a rather unlikely platform…” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

“There was a charming ordinariness to it, no big woo that a Beatle had landed, a vibe he orchestrated. enjoyable, a time capsule, a portrait of a beloved artist. The Richard Nixon White House went to war with the couple two weeks after the broadcasts.” – Anne Brodie, What She Said

Daniel Reisinger’s beguiling  dramedy AND MRS is an authentically independent, London-set and shot rom-com, born out of a collective feeling of grief shared by Daniel, the cast and crew – their message is very much one of using laughter as a coping mechanism to get a new perspective on the pain. When Gemma (Aisling Bea) suddenly loses her fiancé, Nathan (Colin Hanks) just days. before their wedding day. Never a true believer in modern marriage, Nathan’s death makes Gemma re-evaluate the promise of a life spent together. With some encouragement from Nathan’s chaotic and unconventional sister, Audrey (Billie Lourd), she decides to go ahead with the wedding anyway, needing to overcome public opinion, the law of the land, and even her own family’s objections for the right to finally say “I do.” Director Daniel Reisinger joins us for a conversation the making of his debut feature film, his collaboration with Screenwriter Melissa Bubnic, striking the right balance between broad comedy and poignant drama, and assembling an outstanding cast of young and veteran actors that includes; Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes 1 & 2, Cheaters), Harriet Walter (Succession), Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey), Omari Douglas (It’s A Sin), Peter Egan (After Life), Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones) and much loved comedian Nish Kumar.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

And Mrs. is currently streaming on the mubi

About the filmmaker – After studying and living in London for a number of years, Director Daniel Reisinger rose through the ranks in Sydney and LA directing commercials and music videos, before making the jump into series work, co-creating  SIDESWIPED in the US with Carly Craig, Jason Sudeikis and Rosanna Arquette; and the Aussie version of Drunk History with Rhys Darby. “AND MRS” marks his feature debut and Daniel Reisinger is a big advocate for speaking out about grief and mental health, particularly in places where people find it so societally difficult to openly talk about their struggles, and where dealing with grief is often left to ones own devices without much support. Netflix now has the rights to AND MRS.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/Dan Reisinger

facebook.com/aislingbeacomedy

instagram.com/danreiso

instagram.com/andmrs_themovie

instagram.com/colinhanks

instagram.com/praisethelourd

Reviews:

“Here, the humour is less raw, more calculated to deliver warm, fuzzy feelings. And director Daniel Reisinger can’t resist giving east London a bit of the old Richard Curtis treatment. Still, there’s a knockout supporting cast.” – Cath Clarke,Guardian

“The premise of And Mrs is a touch bizarre—a woman determined to marry her dead fiancé—but somehow the movie sidesteps anything too uncomfortable or schmaltzy, instead offering plenty of humor and some well-earned emotional moments.” – Kat Halstead, Common Sense Media

“The barreling tonal shifts hit some sense of truth about grief, with all of its wild swings… has more than enough talent behind it – and a tangy hint of weirdness – to see it through.” – Kevin Wight, The Wee Review

“An enjoyable experience that packs a surprising emotional punch, depicting a make-the-best-of-it situation that audiences will surely hope never to live for themselves but will likely very much enjoy watching.” – Abe Friedtanzer. Awards Buzz

Set in rural Hawai’i and featuring an entirely AANHPI cast, CHAPERONE follows Misha Miyamoto, an unambitious 29-year- old woman who finds a dangerous acceptance in a bright 18-year-old athlete who mistakes her for a fellow high school student. Misha lives alone in the house her grandmother left her, has held the same job since high school, and likes her life as is: simple. Unfortunately, her satisfaction disappoints everyone around her. Her boss can’t fathom why she won’t take a promotion, her lack of ambition dissuades potential love interests, and with no interest in starting a family, her parents push her to sell the house. Finding solace in Jake’s lack of expectation and teenage antics, their relationship grows… along with Misha’s reckless behavior. Director and writer Zoë Eisenberg joins us to talk about her directorial debut, pulling together an outstanding cast of locally connected actors that includes; Mitzi Akaha, Laird Akeo, Kanoa Goo, Jessica Jade Andres, Krista Alvarez, and Ioane Goodhue, and the current state of the Hawaiian filmmaking community. 

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: zoeeisenberg.com

About the filmmaker – A queer writer, filmmaker and circus producer, Zoë creates stories and spaces in and about her home on Hawai’i island. Her work has been supported by Tribeca Studios and Netflix, and has played on PBS, Hawaiian Airlines, and theatrically across Hawai’i. Her solo feature length directorial debut CHAPERONE premiered at Slamdance in 2024 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Breakouts. She co-founded and served as Executive Director of the Made in Hawai’i Film Festival from 2018 through 2022, and co-founded and presently serves as Creative Director for Aerial Arts Hawai’i, a queer and allied circus performance collective and community training space. For more go to: zoeeisenberg.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/chaperonefilmhawaii

instagram.com/zoeisenberg

instagram.com/slamdancegroup

instagram.com/chaperonefilmhawaii

100% on RottenTomatoes

“Everything about Chaperone is superb, from the cast, location, writing, and directing to the cinematography. Mitzi Akaha and Laird Akeo have instant chemistry onscreen, and everyone else plays their roles perfectly.” – Jason Delgado, Film Threat

“Rather than screwball comedy or anguished melodrama, the film allows its narrative to unfold in [a] languid, unfussy manner… It’s a lovely portrait of a particular milieu.” – Daniel Gorman, In Review Online

“This movie has spunk, heart and isn’t afraid to tackle some big issues with whatever it decides to talk about. It’s not the greatest movie on Earth, but it’s still worth a good look for people.” – Richard Schertzer, Battle Royale With Cheese

“Chaperone is not an easy watch and it does not shy away from the often uncomfortable ethical terrain its storyline demands it explore, but it is also thoughtful and humane.” – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ.org

“Chaperone is a worthy piece of cinematic exploration that sees a wonderful debut for Zoe Eisenberg!” – Carson Timar, Clapper

LEE, the directorial feature from award-winning Cinematographer Ellen Kuras, portrays a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller (Kate Winslet). Miller’s singular talent and unbridled tenacity resulted in some of the 20th century’s most indelible images of war, including an iconic photo of Miller herself, posing defiantly in Hitler’s private bathtub. Miller had a profound understanding and empathy for women and the voiceless victims of war. Her images display both the fragility and ferocity of the human experience. Above all, the film shows how Miller lived her life at full-throttle in pursuit of truth, for which she paid a huge personal price, forcing her to confront a traumatic and deeply buried secret from her childhood. Award-winning Cinematographer and director Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I Shot Andy Warhol, The Betrayal) joins us for a conversation on working with Kate Winslet as Executive Producer and lead actor, the impact  of Lee Miller’s career on her life and the opportunity to put Miller’s work and personal courage on full display.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: roadsideattractions.com/lee

About the filmmaker – Ellen Kuras, ASC is the first woman to join the elite ranks as the recipient of the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Kuras’  cinematography in such films as Swoon, I Shot Andy Warhol (AC April ’96), Summer of Sam (AC June ’99), Blow (AC March ’01), Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (AC April ’02) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(AC April ’04) sets her apart as a bold stylist with an uncanny ability to visualize characters’ emotional and psychological landscapes. Her commitment to nonfiction filmmaking, exemplified by her own Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated documentary, The Betrayal – Nerakhoon  (AC April ’08) — which she directed and shot — as well as 4 Little Girls  (AC Jan. ’98) and Pretend It’s a City, testifies to her anthropological curiosity and sense of artistic mission. Kuras’ nonfiction work, which includes Neil Young: Heart of Gold (AC March ‘06),  Berlin, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party and David Byrne’s American Utopia, dates back to her first cinematography credit, the Student Academy Award-winning short   Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia, and continues today, even as she also focuses on directing. In the weeks before the ASC Awards ceremony, she was in the midst of producing and editing the globe-spanning Covid-19 documentary anthology Chronicle (AC Oct./Nov. ’20), as well as prepping her scripted-feature directing debut, the biographical period drama LEE, about photographer Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, a fashion model who became a war correspondent for Vogue during World War II.

About the subject – Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, born in 1907 in Poughkeepsie, New York was, as Winslet explains, “An unstoppable force of nature with a tremendous lust for life.” She became a model for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines before moving to Paris to study photography with Man Ray. She set up her own photographic studios in Paris and New York before relocating to Cairo. It was then a chance meeting with Roland Penrose that led her to move to London at the outbreak of WWII. Her surrealist images, along with her pack shots, portraits and extraordinary WWII photographs rightly earned her a key place in history as challenges and traveled to Europe to report for British Vogue from the frontline. one of the most fascinating figures of 20th Century photography. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/RoadsideAttractionsFilms

facebook.com/EllenKuras

facebook.com/KateWinslet

instagram.com/roadsideattractionsfilms

instagram.com/realellenkuras

instagram.com/leemillerarchives

Reviews:

“What follows is an illuminating portrait of a woman of conviction and the hurdles she clears to do the job she is born to do…” – Lisa Trifone, Third Coast Review

“For all its sentimentality in the quiet moments, Kuras’ film captures the dangers of being a war journalist and the importance of documenting history so as to provide indisputable evidence of unthinkable crimes.” – Nadira Begum, Paste Magazine

“Winslet is…a one woman argument for why what Lee Miller documented and how she documented it mattered in a movie that honors her memory, and the memories that haunted her to the end of her days.” – Roger Moore, Movie Nation

““Lee,” based on Antony Penrose’s biography of his mother, “The Lives of Lee Miller,” is an interesting look at an artist whose true importance, unfortunately, became apparent only many years after her death.” – G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

:This is a penetrating biopic, and while it may take a familiar shape, the pioneering woman at the center was anything but traditional.” – Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

THE UNIVERSAL THEORY is set in 1962 at a quantum mechanics conference in an isolated lodge nestled amid the towering landscapes of the Swiss Alps, the film tells the fantastical tale of a gifted young physicist, his curmudgeonly mentor, and an enigmatic jazz pianist who knows things about our wunderkind scientist that he’s never told another living soul. German director Timm Kröger—himself also a cinematographer films his tale with an eye for the majestic natural beauty that surrounds our characters, effectively evoking the paranoid postwar era. Driven by astonishing twists and improbable coincidences, THE UNIVERSAL THEORY unravels a captivatingly complex chronicle with brain-tickling suspense. Is our hero, Johannes Leinert, an undiscovered genius, or are we observing the paranoid aberrations of an idiot chasing metaphysical shadows? Director Timm Kröger Joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on the connection between Universal Theory and Indiana Jones, his collaboration with co-screenwriter Roderick Warich “dream” evolved, the significance of “strange” music, assembling his exceptional cast, and why he’ll never do another black and white film.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: theuniversaltheory.oscilloscope.net

About the filmmaker – Director Timm Kröger was born 1985 in Itzehoe, Germany. Studied at the European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark, then at Filmakademie BW in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Timm’s first feature and graduation film (THE COUNCIL OF BIRDS) premiered in Venice in 2014 at the Settimana della Critica. Two collaborations as cinematographer with Sandra Wollner (THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN, THE IMPOSSIBLE PICTURE). Since 2018, he has been part of THE BARRICADES, a production company in Berlin together with Viktoria Stolpe. DIE THEORIE VON ALLEM is Timm’s debut feature as a writer and director.  Filmography (selection): 2023 THE UNIVERSAL THEORY (Venice International Film Festival 2023, in 2014 THE COUNCIL OF BIRDS, Venice International Film Festival 2014 / Settimana Internazionale della Critica FEST Belgrade 2015 / Best Director, First Steps Award / nominee for Best Full-Length Feature Film, 2013 16 X DEUTSCHLAND: RHEINLAND-PFALZ (documentary), 2011 THE SLIGHTLY UNNERVING ROCKING WHEN COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN (documentary) Sehsüchte – 41st International Student Film Festival, HFF Konrad Wolf, 2010 SHERIFF – FROM SWINEHERD TO SUPERSTATE(documentary), 53rd DOK Leipzig. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/oscopelabs

facebook.com/UniversalTheoryFilm

instagram.com/oscopelabs

Reviews:

“The first act of The Theory of Everything is straightforward enough, but as its story becomes less and less grounded in the laws of physics we know, Kroeger does an excellent job to keep us onboard.” – Adam Solomons, AwardsWatch

“A gradual, slow burn, The Theory of Everything is an alluring, resourceful piece of arthouse, sci-fi pulp.” – Nicholas Bell, IONCINEMA.com

“This wonderfully slippery Hitchcockian sci-fi is an elegant puzzle box full of ingenious ideas.” – Philip De Semlyen, Time Out

“The Theory of Everything earns the distinction that, despite the possible looseness of its title and concept, it is most definitely “something”. In the midst of a relativistic quantum universe, that in itself is a miracle.” – John Bleasdale, CineVue

“Within The Universal Theory’s two hour, black-and-white tale is stellar acting from Jan Bülow, a perfect score, and a tragic original story. […] a cinematic fever dream.” – Justin Bower, Loud and Clear Reviews

“Are black and white subtitled period pieces about alternate versions of people in jumbled-up differing realities are your thing?” – Roger Moore, Movie Nation

From the filmmakers of the critically-acclaimed blockbuster #UNFIT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DONALD TRUMP, which has been viewed by millions, and was nominated for the IDA Documentary Awards Video Source Award Director,  Writer and Producer Dan Partland and Producer Art Horan’s latest documentary #UNTRUTH: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DONALD TRUMP, is a searing indictment of the former president. The story is told by political conservatives, psychologists, and historians sharing an eye-opening analysis of how false narratives, online virality, and profit-driven news media lead to anger, conspiracism, and political violence. People from across the political spectrum lay bare the troubling implications of Trumpism for a free and open society. The subject experts include; Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Ph.D., Malcolm Nance, Peter Strzok, Joe Walsh, Anne Nelson, Imran Ahmed and Brittany Friedman, Ph.D. #UNTRUTH: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DONALD TRUMP, reveals how politicians in pursuit of power, foreign state actors, and international oligarchs are exploiting disinformation to promote an authoritarian future that threatens the very survival of American Democracy and democracies around the world. Director Dan Partland joins us for a conversation about how recent American  political / presidential norms have been perverted since Trump came down the escalator, what Trumpism says about our latent authoritarian tendencies and how Trump’s most fanatical followers are likely to attempt to manipulate the last six weeks of this monumentally important Presidential campaign.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: docshopproductions.com

Watch on:

Apple TV.com/#Untruth

Google Play.com/#Untruth

vudu.com/#Untruth

About the filmmaker – Dan Partland has been a director/producer/writer of both documentary films & television for over 20 years. His work has found success in theatrical, art-house, cable, and network outlets and includes some landmark films of the American Independent Cinema. In the 15 years that the Emmys have recognized primetime nonfiction series, Partland’s shows have been nominated for best in class 5 times, and in 3 different sub-genres; Reality, Nonfiction format, and Documentary. Partland has twice won nonfiction series Emmys and in 2011 and 2012 was nominated by the Producers Guild of America for Nonfiction Producer of the Year. In 2001, Partland won an Emmy (Best Non-Fiction Program) for his work on the ground-breaking 13-part doc series American High on Fox. Partland served as the Supervising Producer and a Director of the critically acclaimed show that is widely regarded as one of the progenitors of the current doc series genre. Partland’s work has spanned several nonfiction genres.  He produced and directed How To Raise An Olympian, a winter Olympics special for NBC and was Showrunner for the multi-award-winning CNN archival series The Sixties. Partland was the Executive Producer and Showrunner of A&E’s  Intervention for over 150 episodes, garnering countless awards and accolades including the Emmy for best reality series. Partland spent the early days of his career working under Albert Maysles, a founding filmmaker of the cinema verité movement. While on staff at Maysles Films, Partland worked on the dozens of documentary films and television commercials that the legendary company produced during his tenure. Dan’s work also includes landmark films of the independent cinema such as the feature documentary A Perfect Candidate along with Sundance winners Welcome to The Dollhouse and The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack.  This year Dan also released, working with Producer Rob Reiner, the critically acclaimed “GOD & COUNTRY” about the rise of Christian Nationalism in American politics. For more go to: docshopproductions.com

About the filmmaker – Producer Art Horan is a Creative & Business Executive, Executive Producer of Academy Award winner The Usual Suspects, and Executive Consultant on the Sundance Film Festival Winner The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack. He is also an Executive Producer of Ring Girls for ESPN directed by Oscar nominated Amy Berg, and Producer of the documentary film Hands of God.

About the organization – The Duty To Warn Coalition is an association of mental health professionals and other concerned citizens who conclude and advocate that Donald Trump is psychologically unfit. The coalition is comprised of professionals from psychiatry, psychology, medicine, public health, public policy, and social work.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/DarkStarPictures

facebook.com/dan.partland

instagram.com/darkstarpix

instagram.com/docshopproductions

Reviews:

“SHARP. COHESIVE. ILLUMINATING. ALARMING.” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

“THE YEAR’S BEST NON-FICTION OFFERING TO DATE.” – Harvey Karten

“#UNFIT: The Psychology of Donald Trump Dissects the President’s Malignant Narcissism.”
“Putting Donald Trump on the couch has become a national pastime, and this movie does it well.” – Variety.

“#UNTRUTH: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TRUMPISM is alarming, thorough, frightening, informative and in many ways powerful, all making it compulsive viewing.” – Gilbert Seah, AfroToronto

“THOUGHTFUL AND COMPELLING.”– Herbert Gambill, Mystery Catalog

“#UNFIT finds freshly perceptive nuances.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

The future of health care belongs to the next generation. From the Director of To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary (2018) comes a new documentary about the evolving role of technology in improving patient safety across medicine. Through expert interviews, real-world technology solutions, and one young innovator’s journey into the layered business of medicine, The Pitch showcases the immense effort required to break into the health care industry with new innovations and the importance of collaboration between those inside and out of the medical space. From immersive tech to AI machine learning, innovations are finally making waves in medicine with the goal of safer health care. The Pitch gives a unique look at the American health care system’s ongoing challenge to embrace the next generation of patient safety. Director Mike Eisenberg (To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety) stops by to talk about the sweeping changes around the ways in which our personal health care will be managed, massaged and implemented, as well as the ways health care professionals; doctors, nurses and therapists will have access to the kind of real-time information that may be the difference to life and death for their patients.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to : gravitasventures.com/the-pitch

Director’s Statement: As the son of patient safety pioneer, the late Dr. John M. Eisenberg, this topic holds great meaning to me personally. Before he passed away in 2002, my father’s work in this field led to a national discussion on medical mistakes and he was the driving force behind federal efforts to improve patient safety. After directing To Err Is Human I have continued to speak publicly as an advocate for patient safety and the desire to see continued improvement has not wavered. Through this film, we hope to carry on his legacy by providing a productive look at how national efforts to improve the quality of care in America can continue to evolve.

About the filmmaker – Director, Editor Mike Eisenberg is a Partner and Creative Director at Tall Tale Productions in Chicago, IL. This is Mike’s third feature documentary as Director/Editor, including the predecessor to this film, To Err Is Human.

SOCIAL MEDIA
facebook.com/GravitasMovies

facebook.com/eisentower30

instagram.com/gravitasventures/the pitch

instagram.com/thepitchdocumentary

While Houston may not come to most people’s minds as a major “music city” like Memphis, Chicago or New Orleans, it has a legacy that few other cities can match. Director Alan Swyer’s WHEN  HOUSTON HAD THE BLUES focuses on the years before Elvis Presley’s hit the charts with “Hound Dog,” by exploring the history of the song and its original recording and arguably the defining version by Houston’s Big Mama Thornton, Long before Motown, Houston was home to one of the most successful Black music empires in the country. Houston’s early and indelible mark on American music and the blues—often overlooked despite its rich history—is celebrated in the soulful, feature-length documentary,  Featuring an extensive collection of photos from the ’40s and ‘50s and vintage/contemporary performances by Bobby “Blue” Bland, Chi “Juke Boy” Bonner, Charles Brown, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Jewel Brown, C.J. Chenier, Arnett Cobb, Albert Collins, Diunna Greenleaf, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert King, Freddie King, Trudy Lynn, David “Guitar Shorty” Kearney, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, Katie Webster aka The Swamp Boogie Queen, Don Wilkerson and many  more. Director Alan Swyer and guest host Hobart Taylor explore the legendary artists, pioneers, innovators, torch-bearers and legacy musicians that made the city of Houston such a vital part of the music that continues to move us.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

To watch go to: amazon.com/When Houston Had the Blues

To watch go to: tv.apple.com/us/movie/when-houston-had-the-blues

WHEN HOUSTON HAD THE BLUES is now available on major streaming VOD platforms—including iTunes, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Tubi.

About the filmmaker – Alan Swyer is an award-winning director, producer, writer whose recent documentaries have dealt with Eastern spirituality in the Western world, the criminal justice system, diabetes, boxing, and singer Billy Vera. In the realm of music, among his productions is an album of Ray Charles love songs. His novel ‘The Beard’ was recently published by Harvard Square Editions. His recent films include; When Houston Had the Blues (2023), El Boxeo (20130, It’s More Expensive to do Nothing (2010) and Spiritual Revolution (2008).

SOCIAL MEDIA

instagram.com/twinfilmspodcast

instagram.com/realaswyer

instagram.com/alanswyer

Reviews:

“A powerful and crucial telling of one of the biggest untold stories in music. 9/10” – Michael Talbot-Haynes, Film Threat

Crystal balls, neon signs leading to candle-lit rooms, ladies in caftans: these images of psychics fill the popular imagination. But throughout New York City, in minimalist and homey settings, a community of sensitive individuals, with their own stories of loss and love, offer bridges to the beyond for sincere seekers. Acclaimed documentarian Lana Wilson (AFTER TILLER) turns her eye for intimacy and revelation on sessions between psychics and clients: a doctor wants assurance about the young girl who died in her care. An adopted young woman inquires about her birth parents. A pet medium (also a cinephile) channels an anxious dog’s concerns. Equally compelling are the questions the psychics ask themselves: Am I really helping? Do I have a true gift? Does it matter? “An exquisitely made documentary that puts compassion before cynicism. LOOK INTO MY EYES had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It’s the third film in Wilson’s trilogy of films about complicated healers – following the Emmy-winning AFTER TILLER, about the four most-targeted abortion doctors in America, and the Independent Spirit Award-nominated THE DEPARTURE, about a punk-turned-priest who helps suicidal people find reasons to live. Director Lana Wilson joins us a conversation on her approach to exploring an opaque world of psychics and mediums, how people gave themselves over to the psychic experience in ways that mimics a religious experience and getting to know the people in the film.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: lanawilson.net/look-into-my-eyes

About the filmmaker – Lana Wilson is an Emmy-winning and two-time Spirit Award-nominated director and writer. Her most recent film, Look Into My Eyes, premiered at Sundance 2024 to critical acclaim, named one of the best films of the festival by the New York Times, Washington Post, and Rolling Stone. It will be theatrically released by A24 this fall.  Wilson’s previous film, the two-part documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, premiered at Sundance 2023, was a New York Times Critic’s Pick, and broke viewership records when it launched globally on Hulu and Disney+. Pretty Baby was nominated for two Cinema Eye Honors, including Best Broadcast Film, a Critic’s Choice Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Documentary / Nonfiction Program. Wilson directed Miss Americana, a Netflix documentary about global icon Taylor Swift. Miss Americana was the opening night film of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, a New York Times Critics’ Pick, an IndieWire Critics’ Pick, and was named one of the five best documentaries of the year by the National Board of Review. Wilson’s 2017 film The Departure, about a punk-turned-priest in Japan, was critically acclaimed for being a poetic, profound, and moving exploration of what makes life worth living. The Departure premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for the 2018 Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary. Wilson’s first film, After Tiller (2013), goes inside the lives of the four most-targeted abortion providers in the country, taking a powerful and complex look at one of the most incendiary issues of our time. After Tiller premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and went on to win an Emmy Award for Best Documentary. It was also nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, four Cinema Eye Honors, a Satellite Award, and the Ridenhour Prize. After Tiller was theatrically released by Oscilloscope and nationally broadcast on the acclaimed PBS documentary series POV. Wilson created and directed A Cure for Fear, a four-episode series for Topic, which played SXSW and was nominated for the 2019 International Documentary Association Award for Best Short-Form Series. Wilson is currently in pre-production on her first fiction feature, Back Seat, for which she won the SFFILM Westridge Screenwriting Grant and the Melissa Mathison Fund Award at the Hamptons Film Screenwriters Lab. Wilson has been awarded artist fellowships from the Sundance Institute, MacDowell, Yaddo, and Film Independent, and has taught at Pratt Institute. She was named to DOC NYC’s inaugural “40 Under 40” list and is a recipient of the 2019 Chicken & Egg Award. Wilson is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Before becoming a director, Wilson was the Film and Dance Curator at Performa, the New York biennial of new visual art performance. She holds a BA in Film Studies and Dance from Wesleyan University. For more go to: lanawilson.net

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/a24

facebook.com/lana.wilson.374

x.com/a24

instagram.com/a24

instagram.com/lanawilson

91% on RottenTomatoes

“Funny, mesmeric, and infinitely memorable… Lana Wilson is a singularly perceptive filmmaker” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire 

“Marvelously nuanced and fascinating… Is this performance? Is it ‘real’?… does it matter?” – Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times 

“A compassionate documentary that asks viewers to keep an open mind about this oft-debated subject, even if it offers no easy answers…A celebration of human empathy and the power of shared connection.”

– Nikki Baughan, Screen International 

“Genius… an exquisitely made documentary that puts compassion before cynicism” – Nicolas Rapold, Sight and Sound 

“With a cozy but respectful camera, a considerate tone that never compromises the film’s idiosyncratic subject, and a profound understanding of urban alienation, Wilson puts forth something that will make every New Yorker—or anyone who’s ever sat with unprocessed grief and suffering—feel a little less alone, a little more seen.” – Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar 

Do you want to see the unseen? Dutch (Benedict Wall) may look like just another defeated and washed-up loser, but behind his pissed-off exterior lurks a hyper-dimensional being of exceptional promise. His wife left him, his career as a tennis coach is floundering, and he would give anything to find the driver of the silver Toyota Corolla who hit him and drove off a year ago–the event that initiated Dutch’s downward spiral. Enter Lyra (Florence Noble), a witchy disciplinarian who offers to help Dutch unleash his latent psychic powers and break free from the illusion of linear time. After a crash course in telelocation and astral projection, the unlikely psionic prodigy is ready for his quest of cosmic revenge, but Lyra has other plans: she needs Dutch’s help to find a mysterious crystal known as the Paragon before it falls into the hands of her evil brother Haxan (Jonny Brugh) and his mind slaves. Everything converges towards the singularity in Michael Duignan’s feature debut, a hilarious rift in space-time. Director / Producer / Writer Michael Duignan stops by to talk about his tongue-in-cheek, lo-fi project, working with a loose collection of friends and capturing the zeitgeist of B-movie / sci-fi adventure film.

For more go to: musicboxfilms.com/film/the-paragon

About the filmmaker – Michael Duignan is a film maker, writer and producer creating narrative imagery across multiple mediums.With a BA in Philosophy and an MA in directing from AFTRS, Michael’s short films have screened at the New York Film Festival, London BFI, Seattle Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand and many others. He has directed numerous episodes of television drama and comedy including THE CULT, THE BLUE ROSE and POWER RANGERS. He has made commercials, documentaries, installations, theatre and photography.His debut feature film THE PARAGON premiered at the NZIFF 2023 and has since screened at IFFR Rotterdam, OFF Camera Poland, SFF Sydney, Fantastic Fest Montreal and many others. It will be released later this year through Music Box Films in the U.S. and Vendetta Films in Australia and Aotearoa.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/musicboxfilms

facebook.com/michael.duignan.90

instagram.com/musicboxfilms

Reviews:

“It’s hard to find much fault with a film so sincere about being this silly, and Duignan’s earnest channeling of his ’80s influences is arguably closer to them in both spirit and sensibility than films made on far larger budgets.” – Isaac Feldberg, RogerEbert.com

“The Paragon leans hard into its campy, irreverent tone at every turn, making for a charming and surprisingly sincere fantasy comedy.” – Serena Seghedoni, Loud and Clear Reviews

“A micro-budget fantasy comedy with low-key charm” – C.J. Prince, The Film Stage

“A joyous Kiwi midnight-movie oddity that channels ’80s fantasy and DIY gumption in a cosmic quest for a hyper-dimensional crystal.” – Carmrn Gray, The FIlm Verdict

“A surreal, faux 80s ode to the likes of John Carpenter and Terry Gilliam” – Jonny Mahon-Heap – Stuff

“A small film capable of generating some big laughs.” – Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

Director Stephanie Johnes’ thrilling documentary film focuses on a trailblazing athlete, Brazilian big-wave surfer Maya Gabeira as  she pursues her dreams in the male-dominated sport as naysayers second-guess her every move. Stephanie Johnes debut feature film follows the world champion over several years as she perseveres through setbacks, injuries, and a near-death experience while navigating the choppy waters of the competitive sports business. In the film we see how Maya is able to draw strength from her mother, the fashion designer Yamê Reis, and her father, Fernando Gabeira, whose life in radical politics was depicted in the Oscar-nominated film Four Days in September. We watch Maya navigate the choppy waters of the sports business and the tensions that arise over sponsorship, press coverage, and judging. She endures constant undermining that reflects what happens in many fields where women need to work harder than men to get equal recognition. Director Stephanie Johnes stops by to talk about getting to know Maya Gabeira and her distinguished family, documenting the time after Maya’s quest to break a world record  for biggest wave ever surfed in the Portuguese town of Nazaré went badly, her comeback and triumph.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: mayaandthewave.com

Tuesday 9/24 Laemmle Monica Film Center screening

Wednesday 9/25 Laemmle Glendale screening

The limited release in Los Angeles with Q&As with Sara Dosa (Fire of Love), Amy Ziering (On the Record), Jen Tiexiera (Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo), and Alysa Nahmias (Wildcat)

About the filmmaker – Stephanie Johnes is a documentary filmmaker who gravitates towards stories of underdogs and dreamers. With a love of music and movement she crafts intimate films with a compassionate lens on the human experience. Ten years in the making, her most recent project, “Maya and the Wave”, was a people’s choice award- winner at the Toronto International Film Festival. Previously, she served as cinematographer for various projects, including “Venus & Serena”, the Magnolia Pictures and Showtime film about the iconic Williams sisters. “Doubletime”, her directorial debut, premiered at SXSW and Tribeca and was acquired by Discovery Films. Born and raised in New York City, Stephanie is a graduate of Phillips Academy Andover. She earned a B.A in Art History at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Park Fellowship and an M.A. in Journalism and Visual Communication at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and an MBA from Georgetown University. For more go to:stephaniejohnes.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/mayaandthewave

facebook.com/sjohnes

instagram.com/maya

instagram.com/stephjohnes

100% on RottenTomatoes

“The film more than succeeds in its primary goals of providing an inspirational role model plus lots of stupendous surfing footage, a combination that will enthrall most viewers.” – Dennis Harvey, Variety

“Beautiful and inspiring… magnificent.” – Deadline

“In focusing on Maya’s vulnerability and inner endurance, what follows is an uplifting image of Maya and her reverberating impact on a younger generation of girls who now believe in the dream of being a professional surfer.” – Nadia Dalimonte, Next Best Picture

“Graceful and elegant…9/10.” – Film Threat

“What makes Maya such a compelling subject and Johnes’s portrait of her so different from films about male surf legends, is Gabeira’s willingness to admit her fear.” – Marya E. Gates, RogerEbert.com

“Turning the tide doesn’t come easily for surfer Maya Gabiera in her bid to secure a Guinness World Record in Stephanie Johnes’ engaging doc.” – Stephen Saito, Moveable Fest

This remarkably observant documentary film, THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES, begins with the truism that every family has secrets, but when young Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir agrees to help her parents move out of the Casablanca house they’d lived in throughout her life, she realizes that her family’s mysteries are vast. Why do her parents have only one picture of Asmae during childhood? And why is she certain that the girl in the picture isn’t her at all? What other stories her family has told are untrue? To pry open the lies, El Moudir and her father build a handmade set that recreates their neighborhood. In an atmosphere that balances the surreal and the all-too-real, she brings the whole family to the soundstage where the miniature town is built and begins to ask questions, unraveling the story, letting her family members talk, asking probing questions. Slowly, she begins to interrogate the tales that her mother, father and grandmother have told all her life about their home and their country, starting to understand the layers of deception and intentional forgetting that have shaped her life. Director, writer, granddaughter, and daughter Asmae El Moudir (The Postcard) joins us for a conversation on the personal reasons for making a film about her family, her determination to continue the project for more than 10 years, utilizing the artistic and cinematic skills she was mastering over the course of making the film, the recognition the film has received and the impact that The Mother of All Lies has had on her family.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: outsiderpictures.us/the-mother-of-all-lies

WINNER OF BEST DIRECTOR, CANNES – UN CERTAIN REGARD

WINNER OF 11 INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

MOROCCO’S OFFICIAL ENTRY FOR ACADEMY AWARDS

About the filmmaker – Asmae El Moudir (born in 1990 in Salé) is a Moroccan film director, screenwriter and producer. She studied at La Fémis in Paris and holds a master’s degree in production from the Superior Institute of Information and Communication in Rabat and a bachelor’s degree in documentary cinema from the Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Tetouan. She also graduated in 2010 from the Moroccan Film Academy in Film studies (ISCA). Asmae has directed documentaries for SNRT, Al Jazeera Documentary, BBC and Al Araby TV. She has won important national and international awards and her films have been screened in festivals worldwide and presented in co-production markets. After making a number of short films, Asmae completed her first feature documentary, THE POSTCARD, in 2020. THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES is her second feature film. Select Filmography: THE COLORS OF SILENCE (2012, Nadacom Production, 25′) THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY (2013, La Fémis, 13’) (the director’s most awarded short film) ROUGH CUT (2015, Insightfilms, 25′) THE POSTCARD (2020, Aljazeera Production, 83’/53’ TV) THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES (2023, Insightfilms, 97’).

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/outsiderpictures

instagram.com/outsiderpictures

instagram.com/laemmletheatres

instagram.com/asmae_el_moudir

100% on RottenTomatoes

“The Mother of All Lies is an astonishing work whose maturity comes from El Moudir’s wide-eyed approach to her family history…” – Variety

“A staggering work of documentary filmmaking, Asmae El Moudir recreates
her personal history and a tragic chapter in Morocco’s history with her family as witness.” – Autostraddle

“Riveting, inventive!” – Indiewire

“This is an astounding film… A commitment of an extraordinary level.” – Wade Major, FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)

“Inventive and moving.” – Hollywood Reporter

“The delicate mix of handmade replicas and oral testimony brilliantly evokes the personal and collective trauma that stem from Morocco’s “Years of Lead” — a period of state brutality under Hassan II’s dictatorial rule.” – Phuong Le, Guardian

Director and writer Mary Dauterman’s off-kilter “horror” feature film debut begins with Anna coming to grips with  how and why her best friend, Izzy, has unexpectedly died in a bike accident. Anna struggles to put the pieces back together. Before she even has a chance to process, Booger, Izzy’s cat, escapes the Brooklyn apartment they used to share. As she turns her already unstable life upside down looking for him, a gnarly cat bite results in terrifying and surprising physical changes. Anna must face her grief head on before it consumes her completely. BOOGER is a film about losing your best friend and losing control. Eerie and strange, BOOGER toes the line between cringe-comedy and tragedy, taking viewers on a surprising, grossly sweet journey. Director / writer Mary Dauterman (Bette, Lucky Feet, Unfinished Business) stops by to talk about the origin story for BOOGER, the fine line between body-horror and humor, assembling an outstanding cast, particularly Grace Glowicki, Garrick Bernard and Marcia DeBonis and the creative flourishes provide by her dedicated crew.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: darkskyfilms.com/film/booger

About the filmmaker- BOOGER is Mary Dauterman’s debut feature. In 2022, she participated in the Tribeca Festival Creators Market. Her short films have been selected for multiple Vimeo Staff Picks and screened at 30+ festivals including Palm Springs, Maryland, Rooftop, Montclair, Fantasia, and Fantastic Fest. Her work has been featured on NoBudge, Vulture, and TEDWomen, as well as honored by the Webbys and covered by NPR, Vice, New York Magazine, and CNN. She’s written and directed projects for Adult Swim, won best director at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and was commissioned by 20th Century Digital Studios to write and direct a short in collaboration with Skittles, which premiered on Hulu. She was named part of SHOOT Magazine’s New Directors showcase in 2019 and was recognized as an ADC Young Gun in 2018 for her body of work. Her commercial work has been honored by the Cannes Lions, the One Show, and D&AD. She is originally from Texas, attended the University of Texas at Austin, and lives in Brooklyn with multiple cats. She is represented for film and TV by Lindsay Cohen at Rise. For more go to: marydauterman.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/DarkSkyFilms

x.com/darkskyfilms

instagram.com/darkskyfilms

instagram.com/whatsfordunch

100% on RottenTomatoes

“Insidiously well-crafted, Booger is a must-watch for cat owners, body horror fans, and those who like their horror with an added dollop of psychological trauma.” – Kat Hughes, THN

“Booger is captivating and incisive for its understanding of the prickliness of grief, and for its understanding of Glowicki. The film allows Glowicki to shine, and Glowicki handles this character with the utmost respect.” – Alisha Mughal, Film Daze

“Booger is a bold and refreshing journey into grief and the damaging effects of holding it in when it desperately wants to claw its way out.” – Maggie Lovitt,

“Booger feels like the indie body horror equivalent of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia, doing for grief what the latter did for depression” – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ.org

THE BECOMERS is the story of two body-snatching alien lovers who arrived separately on Earth after being forced to flee their dying planet. Determined to find each other, the aliens jump from body to body, but they quickly learn that it’s not easy to inhabit their new, fleshy hosts, and that life in modern-day America is more complicated than they could have ever imagined. The latest film from celebrated American indie filmmaker Zach Clark, THE BECOMERS is a visually striking homage to retro science fiction that reverberates with the pulse of politics and cultural trends of the last five years —drawing from COVID, Qanon, and constant states of anxiety— while exploring themes of confusion, isolation, and the deep need for human connection through the story of two body-snatching alien lovers. The cast includes Molly Plunk (LITTLE SISTER, SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY), Mike Lopez (MAY DECEMBER), Keith Kelly, Isabel Alamin, and Frank V. Ross (DRINKING BUDDIES), with narration by Russell Mael, lead singer of the renowned musical duo Sparks. Director Zach Clark joins us  for a lively conversation on how the original Star Trek series inspired him to write and direct The Becomers, finding the right tone for telling a modern sci-fi tale, making the most out of limited budget, and how he was able to involve Russell Mael into being a part of the film.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

THE BECOMERS was shot in Chicago and produced by Joe Swanberg, starring Molly Plunk, Mike Lopez, and Frank V. Ross, featuring narration from Sparks’ lead singer Russell Mael

THEATRICAL ENGAGEMENTS

9/11 — Roxy Cinema (New York, NY)

** Live Music from Composer Fritz Myers / Filmmaker Q&A **

9/13 – 9/19 — Music Box Theater (Chicago, IL) 

** Filmmaker Q&As 9/13 + 9/14 **

9/20 — Dairy Arts Center (Boulder, CO)

9/23 — Nitehawk Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY)  

** Live Music from Composer Fritz Myers / Filmmaker Q&A **

About the filmmaker – Director / Producer / Writer Zach Clark is best known for the critically acclaimed WHITE REINDEER, released by IFC Films, and LITTLE SISTER, featuring Addison Timlin and Ally Sheedy, THE BECOMERS is Clark’s fifth feature. Also a celebrated editor outside of his own films, his credits include Sophia Takal’s ALWAYS SHINE, Hannah Fidell’s THE LONG DUMB ROAD, Michael Tully’s DON’T LEAVE HOME, and Michael M. Bilandic’s indie cult film JOBE’Z WORLD. THE BECOMERS is the fourth collaboration between filmmaker Zach Clark and musician Fritz Myers, with the duo having previously worked together on the director’s acclaimed films VACATION! WHITE REINDEER, and LITTLE SISTER.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/DarkStarPictures

x.com/darkskyfilms

instagram.com/darkskyfilms

92% on RottenTomatoes

“Manages to be evocative for the paranoia of its genre peers of the 50s while also reflecting the particular anxieties of its time and having a dry wit that would make Jarmusch jealous — one of the great pandemic era American films” – Justin LaLiberty, Vinegar Syndrome

“The result is romantic, thought provoking, and even darkly funny, while remaining committed to showing the perils of completely unfettered love.” – Tyler Smith, Battleship Pretension

“An intriguing amalgamation of cringe love and Cronenbergian body horror” – Marco Vito Oddo, Collider

“Strangely touching… An arresting movie, and a great example of how to do a lot with a little” – Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

“Goes full GooAnon… A very human story about love and loss gets disguised as an alien invasion flick with grotesquery to spare” – Brock Wilbur, The Pitch

“A gender and genre defying adventure with the universal desire for connection at its heart, The Becomers is a sweet and much needed reminder that love conquers all” – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ.org

Les Blank’s BURDEN OF DREAMS is the riveting account of the near-disastrous production of director Werner Herzog’s FITZCARRALDO, starring Klaus Kinski in the titular role and Claudia Cardinale, which traces the story of one man’s attempt to build an opera house deep in the Amazon jungle. As cast members drop like flies (original lead Jason Robards Jr. became ill with dysentery and was forbidden by his doctors to return to Peru to finish filming; ship captain Mick Jagger had to leave to tour with the Rolling Stones), a prop ship is trapped in the rapids, and Herzog makes impossible demands, haranguing hundreds of native Campa, Machiguenga, and Aguaruna people to pull a full-size, 320-ton steamship over a small mountain. Anchored by an as-it-was-happening interview with Herzog himself, as Blank details his unflinching vision for a project that took nearly five years to pull off. BURDEN OF DREAMS has endured as a fascinating–and controversial–record of the filmmaking process and a unique look into the mind of one of cinema’s most idiosyncratic and fearless directors.  BURDEN OF DREAMS won the BAFTA award for Best Documentary and co- filmmaker, editor & sound recordist Maureen Gosling (whose 20- year long collaboration with Blank produced over twenty films) was nominated for Best Edited Documentary. Founder of Argot Pictures, Jim Browne joins us for a conversation on working with Les Blank’s son, Harrod, on the restoration, on his own history of promoting and distributing Les Blank’s films, his friendship with Les and Blank collaborator Margaret Gosling and why Blank deserves to be seen as one of cinema’s most accomplished documentary filmmakers.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: /argotpictures.com/film/burden-of-dreams

Saturday, September 7 at the Academy of Motion Pictures Museum Theatre BURDEN OF DREAMS (1982) in 4K, presented by Werner Herzog on September 7th at 7:30pm. In person: Harrod Blank, director Les Blank’s son.

About our guest – Argot Pictures founder and president Jim Browne brings three decades of film industry experience to Argot Pictures. His innovative, hands-on approach to distribution emphasizes innovation and collaboration, helping independent filmmakers navigate a highly competitive marketplace while elevating the profile of their projects.Jim is an experienced international film festival programmer, working for the Tribeca Film Festival (2005-2010), the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (2010-2014), and the Shanghai International Film Festival (2016-2018). Argot Pictures has distributed dozens of films, including Marshall Curry’s Academy Award®-nominated Street Fight, John Pirozzi’s  Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll, Throw Down Your Heart, a documentary about legendary banjo player Béla Fleck, Stacy Peralta’s Crips and Bloods: Made in America, and Leah Warshawski & Todd Soliday’s Big Sonia.

About the restoration – The 2024 breath-taking 6.5K frame by frame restoration and remastering of Burden of Dreams which features 5.1 sound, and involved replacing all pre-recorded and live music, spanned 2 years of meticulous work. The restoration was executive produced by Harrod Blank, Les Blank’s son, and financed by Les Blank Films, Inc. a non-profit that the director created before his death. The picture was conformed by Anthony Matt, color corrected by Paul Cope and then cleaned and restored using Diamant software by Anthony Matt. Maureen Gosling, who recorded and edited the original film also worked on quality control and assisted in the mix and audio tweaks. All of the audio restoration work was done by Nick Bergh.

About the filmmaker – Director, Producer Les Blank is an internationally renowned, independent filmmaker, whose poetic work offers intimate, idiosyncratic glimpses into the lives, culture, and music of the passionate people at the periphery of American society. His film topics have included Cajun, Mexican, Polish, Hawaiian, and Serbian-American music and food traditions, Afro-Cuban drummers, Texas blues men, Applachian fiddles, “flower children”, gap-toothed women, and the garlic plant.  Blanks is best known for Burden of Dreams (1982/2024), documenting the chaotic production of fellow director, and friend, Werner Herzog’s 1982 film, Fitzcarraldo in the jungles of South America. Honored with a Criterion DVD edition, and a British Academy Award, Roger Ebert called Burden of dreams, “…one of the most remarkable documentaries ever made about the making of a movie.” Another of Blank’s best-loved works is Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers (1980), a seminal film featuring culinary pioneer Alice Waters, and the Gilroy Garlic Festival. This film, notorious for its mouthwateringness, was initially shown in “Aromaround” with garlic simultaneously roasted in-theater. Les Blank enlisted a handful of talented people to help with his films, beginning with Skip Gerson, followed by Maureen Gosling, Chris Simon, Susan Kell, Marianne Yusavage, David Silberberg, son, Harrod Blank and Gina Leibrecht.

About the filmmaker – Co-Filmmaker, Editor & Sound Recordist Maureen Gosling has been a documentary filmmaker since 1972, Gosling has served as a director, producer, editor, sound recordist, distributor. She is best known for her 20-year collaboration with the late Les Blank on over twenty films, including the British Academy Award-winning Burden of Dreams, I Went to the Dance, Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers and Gap-Toothed Women. She directed, produced, and edited the feature documentary, The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane on jazz/blues/folk singer activist Barbara Dane; This Ain’t No Mouse Music!, with Chris Simon, on the legacy of American roots music record producer, Chris Strachwitz; and the short Bamako Chic, with Maxine Downs PhD. She directed, edited, and produced Blossoms of Fire, on the Zapotecs of southern Oaxaca, Mexico.  For the last 16 years she has worked with producer, Jed Riffe, on nine films, including Leistocene Park, now streaming on VICE-TV; and The Long Shadow, broadcast on PBS. Her films have been broadcast nationally and internationally, shown theatrically, and distributed educationally. In April 2023, Gosling was honored at the Centre Pompidou’s cycle “Americana: Les Blank & the Ross Brothers” and in 2024, at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley’s Les Blank Retrospective. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/argotpictures

instagram.com/argotpictures

89% on RottenTomatoes

“One of the most remarkable documentaries ever made about the making of a movie.” – Roger Ebert

“A monument to Herzog’s almost masochistic desire to do the impossible.” – Derek Malcolm, The Guardian

“Extraordinary…one of the most exquisitely detailed, dramatically compelling films ever made about the creative process.” – Michael Blown, Boston Globe

“BURDEN OF DREAMS is overflowing with quotable lines about the romance of giving everything you have to the art of filmmaking… Catnip for film students pushing their own Sisyphean ambitions up the proverbial hill and seasoned cinephiles taking time to appreciate the insurmountable challenges that their heroes faced to make their favorite movies.” – Christian Zilko, IndieWire 

“The beauty of BURDEN OF DREAMS rests greatly in how Blank and his editor/sound recorder Maureen Gosling capture not just Herzog’s dogged psyche but also the singular ecosystem surrounding it. The making of FITZCARRALDO may be its subject, yet BURDEN OF DREAMS endures as an autonomous beast, a vision of the arduous nature of quixotic filmmaking set against a beguilingly uncooperative world.” – Fernando Croce, Reverse Shot

Director Emily Packer’s HOLDING BACK THE TIDE A woman swallows a pearl. A subway car falls to the ocean floor. A deluge bursts through the cracks of New York City. In every borough, oyster shells are pried apart and carefully returned to sea. A chorus of farmers, diners, sous chefs, fishmongers, activists, and landscape architects colloquializes the oyster’s many lifecycles. These educational snapshots about the bivalve’s ecological role, mating habits, communal living, and historical presence take on new meaning and flirt with the mythic. Underwater dances and poetic addresses blend the human and nonhuman worlds. The oyster as a water filter, carbon capturer, storm barrier, and habitat maker transcends its environmental promise and becomes a queer icon of New York City’s unlikely survival story. Retracing cyclical ecologies for the largest metropolitan area in the United States calls upon an existential re-imaging of a sustainable future. Out with the narratives of bootstraps and capitalist urban individualism; in with the water-bound, the intergenerational, the queer collectivity. Once New York City was built by the oysters. Now, it is built anew.  HOLDING BACK THE TIDE is an impressionist hybrid documentary traces the oyster through its many life cycles in New York, once the world’s oyster capital. Now their specter haunts the city through queer characters embodying ancient myth, discovering the overlooked history and biology of the bivalve that built the city. As environmentalists restore them to the harbor, Holding Back The Tide looks to the oyster as a queer icon, entangled with nature, with much to teach about our continued survival. Director Emily Packer joins us for a conversation on her own journey into the world of oysters, why she decided to embark on a documentary about oysters and how that turned into an immersive and empowering enterprise.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: holdingbackthetidefilm.com

DCTV will host the environmental documentary, Holding Back the Tide, first theatrical run in here New York City beginning Sept. 6-12 at DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema

Holding Back the Tide opens October 4th in LA at Laemmle Theatres

About the filmmaker – Emily Packer (she/they) is an experimental filmmaker and editor with an interest in geography and hybrid formats. Their directorial work has been screened at film festivals and theaters across the country, including at Anthology Film Archives, BlackStar, DOCNYC, and others. Emily’s short film By Way of Canarsie, which she co-directed with Lesley Steele, is streaming on the Criterion Channel and was a part of POV Shorts Season 6. Her archival film Too Long Here, which Criterioncast called “a fascinating, important work” about the inauguration of an international park, has been used as an advocacy tool for its preservation. As an editor, Emily’s work has been featured in the New Yorker (The Victorias by Ethan Fuirst), on PBS (When I’m Her by Emily Schuman), and on Vimeo Staff Picks. Her feature film editorial experience spans indie narrative (Newfest darling Summer Solstice by Noah Schamus), experimental nonfiction (Catalina Jordan Alvarez’s forthcoming Sound Spring), historical arthouse fiction (Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich’s The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire), and personal essay film (a hybrid feature by Lynne Sachs currently in development). In addition to her editing and directing work, Emily serves on programming committees for film festivals in New York City and guest-curated the Coastal Knowledge series for the Rockaway Film Festival in 2021. They were a fellow in the 2018 Collaborative Studio at UnionDocs in Brooklyn, and are a proud alumna of the anomalous Hampshire College. Emily collects voicemails for future use; consider yourself notified. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

instagram.com/holdingbackthetide

instagram.com/marginalgapgirl

Reviews:

“A quirky, lyrical love letter to oysters in NYC, this engaging documentary plumbs the history of the bivalves, their pollution-fueled decline, and their inspiring revival, finding poetry and charm in an unlikely subject” – Indiewire

“Poetic filming of familiar city scenes combine with fascinating archival photos for a watery love letter to the city. Lovingly crafted and scored with flair, the film both embraces humor and nods to the gender-fluid nature of oysters.”– Karen McMullen

“A treatise on how oysters might save us environmentally and socially” – Boulder Weekly.

PARADISE IS BURNING is an emotional drama that navigates the complexities of society and family in the working-class Swedish suburbia. Three sisters – sixteen-year-old Laura (Bianca Delbravo), twelve-year-old Mira (Dilvin Asaad), and seven-year-old Steffi (Safira Mossberg) – are left to their own devices by their absent mother. As summer approaches, the trio revels in the excitement of freedom, letting their days unfold without the constraints of adult supervision. However, when Laura receives a call that threatens to place them in foster care, she frantically searches for a substitute mother to avoid this fate. Keeping the truth hidden from her younger sisters, Laura navigates the blurred lines between the thrill of independence and the harsh realities of growing up, as the sisters’ relationships with each other are put to the test. Director and co-writer Mika Gustafson joins us for a conversation on her inspiration for making Paradise is Burning, how she went about assembling an amazing array of talented young actors and how the amazing array of talented young actors and how the international success of the film has impacted her career opportunities as a filmmaker.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: roomeightfilms.com/paradise-is-burning

About the director – Mika Gustafson was born in 1988 in Linköping, Sweden. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in film directing from Valand Academy, Gothenburg. In her short films, she proposes hazy tales of youth, in which reality and fiction are confused by way of partially scripted stories, montage, and handheld camerawork, as the director throws herself with absolute immediacy into the medium. Working with both fiction and documentary, her first feature film was the documentary Silvana (2017), about the Swedish rapper Silvana Imam, which earned her the Swedish Golden Guldbagge for Best Documentary. Her first feature-length fiction film, Paradise is Burning (2023), was awarded the Orizzonti Award for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/ParadiseisBurning

facebook.com/mikamoe.gustafson

x.com/Room8Films

instagram.com/room8films

instagram.com/mikagustafson

#paradiseisburning

100% on RottenTomatoes

“The movie is at its best when focussing on the bonding and banter between the siblings, who live an almost feral life on their scruffy housing estate. Delbrava is excellent in her role, being both pugnaciously resourceful and painfully vulnerable.” – David Parkinson, Radio Times

“There’s a rawness here, and an authenticity in filmmaking and performances, that bolsters the occasional narrative weaknesses to create a film of quiet power.” – Nikki BaughanScreen International

“A luminous social drama that aspires to become a summer cult classic film.” – Andrea G. Bermejo. Cinemanía 

“Not many films can make you simultaneously think of Sean Baker, Andrei Tarkovsky, and David Lynch. Yet those are the filmmakers that come to mind when watching Paradise is Burning, the spectacular debut feature from Mika Gustafson.” – Joshua Stevens, Loud and Clear Reviews

“Full of personality and heart without sacrificing its inherent seriousness, Gustafson’s film is a sure portrait of adolescence that packs a punch.” – Emily Maskell, A Good Movie To Watch

Director Monica Sorelle’s award winning film takes into the world of Miami’s Little Haiti, where Xavier (Atibon Nazaire) makes a living as a demolition worker while his wife Esperance (Sheila Anozier) holds down two jobs to sustain their cozy household. Their routine is tested when their son Junior (Chris Renois) returns home after dropping out of college. Xavier and Esperance struggle to relate with Junior, who is no longer interested in speaking Creole with them and harbors ambitions of an artistic career path they do not understand. Xavier aspires to buy a more spacious house for his family, but still wakes up every morning, goes to work, and dismantles his neighborhood brick by brick. Yet even as construction vehicles rumble down the block, Little Haiti remains a vibrant community with traditions and rhythms distinctly its own. Monica Sorelle’s tender feature debut is a multigenerational drama that deftly explores the relationships between immigrants and their children, the looming threat of gentrification, and the pursuit of the American dream. Director Monica Sorelle stops by to talk about her beautifully calibrated story of a family and a community in transition, nurturing a host of powerful performances, including Atibon Nazaire as Xavier, Sheila Anozier as his wife Esperance and Chris Renois as their only son, on the verge of adulthood. We also talk about the personal and professional impact seeing her debut feature film garner numerous awards from around the world.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: musicboxfilms.com/mountains

About the filmmaker – Monica Sorelle is a Haitian-American filmmaker and artist born & based in Miami. Her work explores alienation and displacement, and preserves cultural traditions within Miami & the Caribbean with a focus on the African & Latin diasporas that reside there. Monica’s feature directorial debut, Mountains, had its world premiere at Tribeca Festival, where it was awarded a Special Jury Mention in the U.S. Narrative Feature competition. Mountains later had its international premiere at TIFF, received awards from Miami Film Festival, BlackStar, and Indie Memphis, and screened at festivals around the world, including Glasgow Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, and AFI Fest. Mountains was nominated for two Film Independent Spirit Awards, with Monica receiving the Someone to Watch Award. As a creative producer, Monica’s short films have won top prizes at Berlinale, BlackStar, and Miami Film Festival, been selected at Sundance,  New Orleans Film Festival, and New Directors/New Films, and acquired by Criterion Channel and  Indiana University Black Film Center & Archive. Her photo and video work has been shown in group exhibitions at various institutions including Oolite Arts, Art and Culture Center/Hollywood,  Augusta Savage Gallery, and on PAMM TV, and supported by Pérez Art Museum Miami’s  Caribbean Cultural Institute Artist Fellowship, Locust Project’s  Wavemaker Grant, and Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. In 2023, she received an Ellies Creator Award and was selected as a recipient of the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship. She is a current studio resident at Bakehouse Art Complex. For more go to: monicasorelle.com

Winner: “Someone to Watch” Independent Spirit Award – Monica Sorelle

Nominated: “Best Breakthrough Performance” –  Atibon Nazaire

Official Selection:

Tribeca Film Festival

Special Jury Mention: Best Narrative Feature & Winner: Best Cinematography

BlackStar Film Festival

Winner: Audience Award

Charlotte Film Festival

Best Narrative Feature Jury Award

New Hampshire Film Festival

Grand Jury Award

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/musicboxfilms

facebook.com/Mountainsfilm

instagram.com/monicugh

instagram.com/mountains.film

instagram.com/twafey

instagram.com/kreyolwoman

instagram.com/chrisrenois

instagram.com/robertcolom

instagram.com/joncuartas

100% on RottenTomatoes

“[An] affecting and meditative debut.” – Pete Hammond, Deadline

“A tender directorial debut… Bears the aesthetic mark of Barry Jenkins’ meditative feature [MOONLIGHT].” – Lovia Gyarke, The Hollywood Reporter

“Mountains is the kind of movie that reminds us why we love to sit in the dark and peek at other people’s lives.” – Erick Massoto, Collider

“This is a movie that will lead to serious discussions about gentrification in immigrant heavy neighborhoods while also being a great showcase of what it means to sacrifice for the betterment of your family.” – Lucas Moore, JVS Media & Productions/Team JVS

“[An] immersive look at modern Haitian life from the inside out… one of the finer discoveries out of this year’s [Tribeca] festival.”- Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“Frames the disappearance of Miami’s Little Haiti with a warm, compassionate gaze recalling the masters of social realism––akin to Roberto Rossellini with the touch of Ousmane Sembène’s lighter films.” – John Fink, The Film Stage

“Striking… [a] debut from a filmmaker to watch.” – Christian Gallichio, The Playlist

Director Jacqueline Joseph fascinating documentary tells a sweeping story about the professional tennis players that came from all over the world to New York City to compete at the 2020 US Open. Told from a captivating players’ eye view, living and competing, inside the “secure bubble” of the first live international sporting event held during some of the darkest days of the COVID pandemic. This groundbreaking event helped “changed the game” both on, and off the court. Focusing on players from the US, Europe and Asia, competing at the most activist tennis tournament ever held in New York, In August of 2020 the New York City quickly became the epicenter of the global Pandemic and where some of the biggest protests in the world took place. A unique global lens through which to explore the role and power of sports to lead, inspire, unite and spark change in society. A moment in tennis, sports and world history unlike any other. A once-in-a-lifetime story set in New York, but international in spirit and impact. Director Jacqueline Joseph joins us for a conversation on what makes the U.S. Open tennis tournament special in any given year, let alone 2020, how she was able to engage so many luminaries from the tennis world including; United States’s Frances Tiafoe (2022 US Open semifinalist), Great Britain’s Jamie Murray (career high #1 doubles player), Netherland’s Diede de Groot, (#1 wheelchair tennis player), Japan’s Yui Kamiji, (#2 wheelchair tennis player), France’s Stephane Houdet, ( career high #1 wheelchair tennis player), and Stacey Allaster, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis & US Open Tournament Director.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: love2020film.com

AVAILABLE ON DEMAND ON

AMAZON’S PRIME VIDEO

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23

Featuring:

Frances Tiafoe (USA), career high #10, 2022 US Open semifinalist – upsetting Rafael Nadal en route to becoming the first Black American to reach the semis since Arthur Ashe, 2019 Australian Open quarterfinalist and 2020 ATP Tour Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award recipient, established Frances Tiafoe Fund through the USTA Foundation to use tennis to change the lives of under-resourced youth and be a force for positive social change

Jamie Murray (Great Britain), career high #1 doubles player, 7-time doubles/mixed Grand Slam Champion, 2020 ATP Tour Fan Favorite Doubles team

Rohan Bopanna (India), career high #1 doubles player, 26 titles, 2024 Australian Open Men’s Doubles Champion and 2017 French Open Mixed Doubles Champion and was awarded the Padma Shri honor by the President of India in 2024

Kristie Ahn (USA), career high #87 and WTA Tour Board member who reached the round of 16 at the 2019 US Open

Bradley Klahn (USA), career high #63 and 2010 NCAA Champion

Diede de Groot (Netherlands), #1 wheelchair tennis player, 41 Grand Slam titles, winner of a singles Grand Slam in 2021/2022/2023 and a “Golden Grand Slam” in 2021 (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and Tokyo Paralympic Gold Medal)

Yui Kamiji (Japan), #2 wheelchair tennis player, 28 Grand Slam titles and Tokyo Paralympic Silver Medalist

Stephane Houdet (France), career high #1 wheelchair tennis player, 24 Grand Slam titles, 3-time Paralympic Gold Medalist and recipient of La Légion d’Honneur and L’Ordre National du Mérite from French President Macron.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/Love2020Film

x.com/love2020film

instagram.com/love2020film

#Love2020Film

Director Shane D. Stanger’s impassioned film, GOOD BAD THINGS, tells the story of Danny, young man with  muscular dystrophy, has been disillusioned  by too many failed  relationships. He decides he wants to shake things up, step out  of his comfort zone and into  the world of online dating. An unexpected match with Madi (Jessica Parker Kennedy), an enigmatic photographer, challenges  him to be vulnerable and sparks a  profound journey  of self-acceptance and discovering the extraordinary beauty of his unique  body. Director and co-writer Shane D. Stanger and co-writer and lead actor Danny Kurtzman join us for a conversation on how their life-long friendship sparked the decision to write the script for Good Bad Things, pulling together family and friends to work on the film, Danny’s own growth as a writer and now as an accomplished actor, winning the Audience Award at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival and now seeing the film get a well-deserved theatrical distribution.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to goodbadthings.com

Director’s Statement – When I set out to make GOOD BAD THINGS, I had quite a simple goal: direct my first feature film with  my childhood best friend Danny Kurtzman as the lead actor. Our relationship is unique enough that we knew we had a story to tell in a way only we could. Through Danny’s perspective, we explore love, friendship finding the courage to take risks, and the impact of perception on our realities. We saw an opportunity to shed light on an aspect of living with a disability that is too seldom portrayed in the media: ordinary life. Danny’s journey speaks to the heart of what it means to be human, and I know all audiences will see themselves in him.

We are honor to earn the GAMUT Seal of ApprovalTM! This means that we have  done the work in an authentic way to bring entertainment to life with and for people with disabilities. Good Bad Things has met the high standards of the Seal. Our production believes in inclusion inside and out. And we have created something that has the power to change lives.

SOCIAL MEDIA

instagram.com/goodbadthingsfilm

instagram.com/shanestanger

instagram.com/dannykurtzman

instagram.com/allwehaveisnowfoundation

hinstagram.com/jparkerk3

instagram.com/brettdier

amctheatres.com/movies/good-bad-things

80% on Rottentomatoes

“Kurtzman, who never acted or saw a movie set before Stanger invited him to collaborate, has a thoughtful screen presence” – Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com

“Rather than entirely dwell on or define a man by debilitations, Good Bad Things pleasingly creates a narrative where success and vivacity are not only desirable, but deservedly attainable.” – Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson

“Let’s be frank: we are all disabled, to one extent or another. In Good Bad Things, Danny Kurtzman stands up, opens his heart, calls for change, and gives a wonderful performance as an imperfect man who wants love in his life. As do we all.” – Peter Martin, DallasFilmNow.com

“Good Bad Things is a warm hug of a movie, the kind you’d seek out when you’re home sick from school.” – Tina Kakadelis, Beyond the Cinerama Dome

A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, SUGARCANE, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities. Set amidst a groundbreaking investigation, SUGARCANE illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere. Co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie join us for a conversation on how their focus changed during the filming of SUGARCANE, getting to know the dedicated people like Whitney Spearing and Charlene Belleau who devoted themselves to uncovering the repugnant history of St. Joseph’s Residential School and the “Indian Problem”, capturing the unfolding relationship between Julian and his father, Ed Archie NoiseCat and filming the disturbing conversation between Former First Nation Chief Rick Gilbert and the Vatican’s Superior General Louis Lougen concerning san acknowledgment or apology from the Catholic Church regarding their administration of Residential Schools in North America. 

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/sugarcane

About the filmmaker – Julian Brave NoiseCat is a writer, filmmaker and student of Salish art and history. His first documentary, Sugarcane, directed alongside Emily Kassie, follows an investigation into abuse and missing children at the Indian residential school NoiseCat’s family was sent to near Williams Lake, British Columbia. Sugarcane premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where NoiseCat and Kassie won the Directing Award in the U.S. Documentary Competition. A proud member of the Canim Lake Band Tsescen and descendant of the LilWat Nation of Mount Currie, he is concurrently finishing his first book, We Survived the Night, which will be published by Alfred A. Knopf in North America, Profile Books in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Albin Michel in France and Aufbau Verlag in Germany. NoiseCat’s journalism has appeared in dozens of publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The New Yorker and has been recognized with many awards including the 2022 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, which honors excellence in long-form, narrative or deep reporting on stories about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the present American landscape. In 2021, NoiseCat was named to the TIME100 Next list of emerging leaders alongside the starting point guard of his fantasy basketball team, Luka Doncic. For more go to: julianbravenoisecat.com

About the filmmaker – Emily Kassie is an Emmy® and Peabody®-nominated investigative journalist and filmmaker. Kassie shoots, directs and reports stories on geopolitical conflict, humanitarian crises, corruption and the people caught in the crossfire. Her work for The New York Times, PBS Frontline, Netflix, and others ranges from drug and weapons trafficking in the Saharan desert, to immigrant detention in the United States. In 2021, she smuggled into Taliban territory with PBS Newshour correspondent Jane Ferguson to report on their imminent siege of Kabul and targeted killing of female leaders. Her work has been honored with multiple Edward R. Murrow, World Press Photo and National Press Photographers awards. Her multimedia feature on the economic exploitation of the Syrian and West African refugee crises won the Overseas Press Club Award and made her the youngest person to win a National Magazine award. She previously oversaw visual journalism at Highline, Huffington Post’s investigative magazine, and at The Marshall Project. Kassie was named to Forbes 30 under 30 in 2020 and is a 2023 New America fellow. Her first documentary, I Married My Family’s Killer, following couples in post-genocide Rwanda, won a Student Academy Award in 2015.  For more go to: emilykassie.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/natgeodocs

facebook.com/kellen.quinn.7

x.com/natgeodocs

x.com/emilykassie

x.com/jnoisecat

instagram.com/jnoisecat

instagram.com/natgeodocs

instagram.com/emilykassie

100% on RottenTomatoes

“The product of humane and insightful filmmakers who are determined to never let anyone forget” – Variety

“A powerful reckoning” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Beautiful and compassionate” – PASTE

“As much a piece of art about the sins of the past as it is about living with the memory of those sins in the present.” – Indiewire

“Sugarcane is essential viewing. Emily Kassie and Julian Brave Noise Cat’s documentary film is a haunting and overwhelmingly powerful examination of religious assimilation.” – M.N. Miller, Geek Vibes Nation

“DEVASTATING…This is no superficial recounting of yet another injustice against native people. It goes bone deep. An important record and an artistic reckoning.” – Finn Halligan, SCREEN DAILY

“This is documentary filmmaking at its best. A credit to the genre. Compelling, spiritual and enlightening.” – Dwight Brown, DwightBrownInk.com

Now, 43 years after the 1980 release of historical epic CALIGULA, producer and re-constructionist Thomas Negovan has realized the creators’ original vision with CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT, a version comprised of entirely never-before-seen footage shot in 1976. Shadowed by the murder of his entire family, the young, wary Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather (Peter O’Toole) and seizes control of the declining Roman Empire, descending into a spiral of depravity, destruction, and madness. A treatise on the corrupting influence of power, this extensive reconstruction of the notorious 1980 spectacle, CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT restores the complete performances of Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren, as the promiscuous ‘Caesonia’, from an unprecedented amount of never before seen footage. Sumptuous set designs by two-time Oscar winner Danilo Donati. CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT aligns closely to Vidal’s original script, especially with the addition of a prologue that illustrates one of Vidal’s missing scenes, created by noted graphic artist Dave McKean (Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman). Nearly 100 hours of original footage was discovered by the film’s re-constructionist, film historian Thomas Negovan, in the Penthouse archive, which showcases astounding performances from the film’s cast, fully realizing  McDowell’s complex, charismatic ‘Caligula’ and resurrecting Mirren’s layered character arc, which now cements the film’s final hour. Producer & Re-constructionist Thomas Negovan joins us to talk about his own daunting journey of reviewing the hundreds of hours of footage, his decision to use an enormous amount of never before seen footage in this final cut, seeking out many the surviving cast and crew, provide an artistic context to McDowell’s performance and to give the film a chance to be seen as flawed, but wildly ambitious cinematic journey into the heart of a darkness at the rotting core of the Roman Empire. 

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: drafthousefilms.com/caligula

The notorious history of CALIGULA: Initially Released in 1980, CALIGULA was the most expensive independent film in cinema history but had a tumultuous journey to the screen. Written by the esteemed Gore Vidal and headed by the stellar cast of Malcolm McDowell, Dame Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole and Sir John Gielgud, CALIGULA was meant to be an epic showcase of the generation’s finest talent, addressing the corrupting influence of power amid the rampant sexuality of the Roman court.However, Penthouse founder (and the film’s financier) Bob Guccione seized control of the negative, randomly inserting graphic scenes of unsimulated sex and gratuitous violence. The cast and film team disavowed what had become a blatant desecration of Vidal’s themes, who sued to have his name removed from the project. The extensive coverage of behind-the-scenes notoriety also had an unexpected effect: the film was a box office success.

About the filmmaker – Thomas Negovan was born in Chicago and is the author of numerous art history books documenting rare work from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He has curated exhibitions and collections of rare and important Art Nouveau, Symbolist, and Expressionist artworks, lectured on the Vienna Secession and German cabaret during the Weimar Republic, and written the definitive monographs on artists Gail Potocki, Clive Barker, David Mack, and Michael Hussar. As a photographer, his work has been published in Condé Nast travel publications, and in the field of music worked as orchestra director for R. Kelly and recorded an entirely analog album on wax cylinder in 2011. In that year, Negovan gave a TEDx talk “By Popular Demand” on his experience in creating the first music recorded and released without the use of electricity in over a century. Aurora (2018) was his first film.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/drafthousefilms

facebook.com/thomasnegovan

x.com/drafthousefilms

x.com/ThomasNegovan

instagram.com/drafthousefilms

instagram.com/nuarttheatre

instagram.com/thomasnegovan

instagram.com/caligulaultimatecut

86% on RottenTomatoes

“A surprisingly spellbinding reimagining of one of cinema’s most infamous disasters, “Caligula – The Ultimate Cut” is a stunning achievement.” – Stephanie Malone, Morbidly Beautiful

“It belongs on the big screen, to a world of cinematic sensation beyond lightweight blockbusters and under-financed independents.” – Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

“…this restored version of Caligula is the only one that counts, popping the rating from a one star to a five overnight, and The Ultimate Cut is a remarkable vindication for Malcolm McDowell that finally reveals arguably his best performance…” – Eddie Harrison, film-authority.com

“This is three hours I’ll never get back and nor would I wish to. A masterpiece, no, but as the most crackpot piece of filmmaking you ever did see? This rocks.” – Deborah Ross, The Spectator

“Caligula: The Ultimate Cut is an imposing, masterful restoration that breathes new life into what is known as the most notorious film of the 1970s.” – Hector A. Gonzalez, Loud and Clear Reviews

HAPPY CAMPERS chronicles the final days of a working-class summer colony in a scrappy trailer park that just happens to hold the secret to a rich life. In a waterfront  campground off the coast of Virginia, residents spend their summers living spitting distance apart in rust-bitten RVs. They chuckle about the modest rent they pay for a million-dollar location, but what makes them the luckiest people in the world is more than just stunning sunsets, it’s the community they’ve created. Beneath cliched trailer park stereotypes lies an unlikely utopia where all are welcome. Neighbors help each other out, and share everything from power tools to simple pleasures. Loneliness and isolation are inconceivable. When their affordable paradise is sold to developers, the residents brace for eviction and the loss of friendships that span generations. They hold tight to their final days in the sun. The well-heeled crowd that takes their place will never be as wealthy. Director Amy Nicholson (Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride) stops by to talk about how she discovered this magical community, gaining the confidence of the denizens, her own history vacationing there and why the loss of places like Inlet Park is undermining our connection with one another.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: happycampers.film

Opening theatrically in Los Angeles on August 21 at the Laemmle Monica and on August 22 at the Laemmle NoHo with a VOD Release to follow

About the filmmaker – Amy Nicholson is a New York-based filmmaker and commercial director whose projects often explore the essence of Americana with a humorous eye and a warm respect for her subjects. Nicholson’s most recent documentary, a short titled Pickle, won multiple audience awards, was selected for The New York Times’ Op Docs, and was featured on the Criterion Collection alongside Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven. Pickle was also nominated for an IDA Award and Cinema Eye Honors. Nicholson has produced and directed several features. Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride won the Special Jury Prize at DOCNYC and was held over twice at the IFC Center. Muskrat Lovely premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival and was broadcast on Independent Lens. Nicholson’s films have screened at Hot Docs, Sheffield, Full Frame, DOK Leipzig, BFI London, Camden, Traverse City, Rooftop Films, and the MoMA. They have been reviewed by Variety, Indiewire, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/happycampersdoc

facebook.com/amybnicholson

x.com/happycampersdoc

x.com/filmsbyAmy

instagram.com/happycampersdoc

instagram.com/filmsbyamy

100% RottenTomatoes

“Amy Nicholson’s empathy for her subjects is undeniable.” – Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

“Ultimately, Happy Campers is the kind of film that functions as a testament to the power of place and the resilience of the human spirit, but without any of the maudlin sentimentality such a description implies.” – Emily DuGranrut, In Review Online

“Made up entirely of beautiful shots, the kind that tells stories on their own, define the people that are featured, and move our hearts to beat at their fullest capacity.” – Bill Arceneaux, Moviegoing with Bill

“Happy Campers sometimes feels like a lark, only glancing at the cycles of capitalism that erase these communities. But it’s nevertheless an emotional exploration of a group on the fringes and how anyone can find a welcoming community.” – Christian Gallichio, The Playlist

“Rather than have the audience relive the summers of the Inlet, we experience it right now in its last gasp. Yet the footage collection feels so timeless, Happy Campers becomes a portrait of a place of hope, love, and melancholy.” – Alan French, Sunshine State Cineplex

WATER BROTHER: THE SID ABBRUZZI STORY follows the life of surf and skate core legend and cultural icon Sid Abbruzzi, and his commitment to protecting the sports’ history and culture. Through a mix of never-before-seen archival film, large format cinematic footage, and personal interviews from culture giants like Tony Hawk, Shepard Fairey, Selema Masekela and more; we are taken on a journey through surfing and skating history – from 1960s Newport to Santa Cruz, Cocoa Beach, South Africa’s Jeffrey’s Bay, and beyond. As Sid approaches the age of 72, the film captures the final days of his famous Water Brothers Surf & Skate shop as it is set to be demolished and the impact it had on the surf and skate community. WATER BROTHER emphasizes the importance of memory, personal history, and living in the moment, reminding us to cherish our past and preserve cultural heritage. The film is a poignant reflection on a life well-lived and a heartfelt tribute to the enduring spirit of surf culture. It celebrates the individuals and places that transcend surfing and skating from mere hobbies, showing how one man’s dedication can inspire an entire community. Co-directors Charles Kinnane & Daniel Kinnane join us to talk about the impact that Sid, his family and Water Brothers Surf & Skate shop has had on them, what was it about the surf and skate lifestyle that inspired them to pick up a camera and tell this story, and the love for Sid that permeates Water Brother: The Sid Abruzzi Story.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: waterbrotherfilm.com

About the filmmakers – Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane have been filming home movies together since they were kids. They got their first big break making short films for Kevin James’ Youtube channel in 2020. Their first movie, ‘Home Team’, produced by Adam Sandler and starring Kevin James was the #1 movie on Netflix for two weeks in a row and Top 10 in 90 countries worldwide. For more go to: kinnanebrothers.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/WaterBrothers

facebook.com/KinnaneBrothers

x.com/kinnanebrothers

x.com/AbbruzziSid

instagram.com/kinnanebrothers

instagram.com/waterbrothers

#WaterBrotherFilm

Reviews:

“Heartfelt, well-edited and illuminating.” – Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

“Rhode Island natives Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane direct in a loose, rollicking style that suits the one-of-a-kind Abbruzzi and his Water Bros. legend.” – Loren King, Newport This Week

Academy-award winning director David Marsh (Man on Wire) takes viewers on cinematic journey through the life of literary genius Samuel Beckett. DANCE FIRST highlights his lived life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his, way he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett’s famous ethos “Dance first, think later,” The film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon. It focuses on his relationships with the people he loved and who loved him back, but who he felt that he had wronged. Director David Marsh (The Theory of Everything) joins us for a conversation on why he chose to dive into the life of a notoriously private man, working with screenwriter Neil Forsyth, their decision to frame the various chapters of Beckett’s life from the perspective of his”mistakes”, using a black and white format in filming the story and finally assembling a terrific cast includes; Fionn O’Shea, Sandrine Bonnaire, Leonie Lojkine, Bronagh Gallagher, Grainne Good, Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, and Aidan Gillen as James Joyce.

Download MP3 Podcast | Open Player in New Window

For more go to: magpictures.com/dancefirst

To watch go to: magpictures.com/dancefirst/watch-at-home

August 9^th theatrical opening in NYC at the Angelika Film Center and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Monica Film Center

About the filmmaker – James Marsh is a celebrated writer and director of narrative feature films and documentaries. His global Box Office hit The Theory of Everything won the best British film BAFTA, and Best Actor at the Academy Awards for Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of Stephen Hawking. His acclaimed documentary Man on Wire won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, a BAFTA for Best British Film, and an Independent Spirit award. James Marsh is a writer and director of documentary, narrative feature films, scripted TV and commercials. His work has won major film and TV awards including Academy Awards, Emmys and BAFTAs. James is currently in pre-production on ‘Night Boat to Tangier’ based on Kevin Barry’s book, starring Michael Fassbender and Domnhall Gleeson. James has previously worked in Ireland, directing the critically acclaimed, low budget psychological thriller Shadow Dancer. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/MagnoliaPictures

x.com/MagnoliaPics

x.com/mrneilforsyth

instagram.com/magnoliapics

#dancefirstfilm

Reviews:

“The film can be a treat to look at, shot mostly in glowing, milky black and white. And performances range from sturdy to superlative.” – Danny Leigh, Financial Times

“Byrne gives a thoughtful performance as a successful writer clinging desperately to his own imperative of failure.” – Hugh Barnes, The Arts Desk

“Dance First still takes a profound look across Beckett’s life, but the film takes artistic risks and a fascinating route into his mind. – Stefan Pape, Common Sense Media

“ … A polished black and white film, curious and well-acted although of impossible intent to capture the life of the author of Waiting for Godot.” – Elsa Fernández-Santos