http://filmschoolradio.com Independent Film News and Interviews en-us Copyright 2005 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0800 http://www.stationware.com/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss info@nathancallahan.com Mike Kaspar filmschool Independent Film News and Interviews ( KUCI 88.9fm in Irvine ) info@nathancallahan.com TV & Film “Mud” is an adventure about two boys, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Mud describes fantastic scenarios—he killed a man in Texas and vengeful bounty hunters are coming to get him. He says he is planning to meet and escape with the love of his life, Juniper, who is waiting for him in town. Skeptical but intrigued, Ellis and Neckbone agree to help him. It isn’t long until Mud’s visions come true and their small town is besieged by a beautiful girl with a line of bounty hunters in tow. Director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter) joins us for a conversation about love and trust on the Mississippi River. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-26-13-Nichols-MUD.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-26-13-Nichols-MUD.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Winner of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary, A River Changes Course explores the damage rapid development has wrought in her native Cambodia on both a human and environmental level. Rural communities, used to reaping the bounty of their mountainous jungles and lush rivers, have witnessed their forests being cleared, land becoming scarce and costly, and fishing stocks rapidly depleting. No longer able to provide for their families, and often accruing massive debt as a result, many Cambodians have been forced to leave their rural lives behind to seek employment in the industrial factories of Phnom Penh. Director Kalyanee Mam stops by to ruminate on her award winning film and love of her native country’s disappearing culture. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-26-13-Mam-River%20Changes.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-26-13-Mam-River%20Changes.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:15:00 -0800 Unmade in China follows American director Gil Kofman as he travels to Xiamen, China to direct the Republic's first ever thriller, Case Sensitive. Once there he discovers that the old adage of making a film three times, once in the writing, once in the shooting and once in the editing, is in fact just the opposite in his host country, where his film is unmade three times. Undaunted by his inability to speak or understand the Mandarin language, Kofman directs his frequently recast actors through a translator as government censorship and constant cultural mishaps hijack his script and derail production. Like Man of la Mancha set in Communist China, there has never been a film quite like this. Director Gil Kofman (Case Sensitive) and director Tanner Barklow (Unmade in China) joins us for a conversation about the travails and triumphs of filmmaking in the People’s Republic. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-19-13-Kofman-Barklow.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-19-13-Kofman-Barklow.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Painstakingly created over the course of the last fifteen years, Chris Sullivan’s debut animated feature is an absolute marvel to behold. Employing multiplane cut-outs, drawings on paper and stop motion (all shot on 16mm), Sullivan weaves a psychologically dense chronicle of a crumbling Rust Belt town, and the intermingled lives of three lonely souls who work at its local newspaper. Unfolding like a vision quest from the mind of a memory-haunted insomniac, it tenderly navigates its ugly characters down twisted paths upon which their pasts, fears, and longings converge. This is a totally singular and eerie landscape, dotted with ghost-ridden farmhouses, midnight car accidents, late night radio broadcasts and the world’s oldest cat. Painted with frequent strokes of unexpected humor and rendered with a beautifully rough hewn craft emphasizing its characters’ fragility, it emerges as a quiet feature-length epic unlike anything you’ve ever seen: adult, complex and brimming with the irrepressible spirit of American independent filmmaking.. Director/ Writer/ Producer Chris Sullivan joins us for an extended conversation on this stunningly original animated film. Be sure to see Chris Sullivan for the 8:00 PM Friday and 7:00 PM Saturday screening at the Cinefamily - 611 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-12-13-Sullivan-Spirits.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-12-13-Sullivan-Spirits.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0800 In this doomsday comedy, four couples meet for Sunday brunch and find themselves stranded in a house together as the world may be about to end. When Tracy Scott (Julia Stiles) decides to introduce her new beau Glenn (David Cross) to her three friends Hedy (America Ferrera), Emma, and Lexi and their significant others, her biggest fear is whether or not her friends will approve of her new relationship, little does she realize that’s the least of her worries. Before long the couples find themselves in the midst of an apocalyptic disaster, catching them all off guard. One thing is clear; these four couples aren’t going to let the potential end of the world get in the way of the relationship issues they all need to work out. Director Todd Berger joins us to shed some light on how best to embrace the end times. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-12-13-Berger-Disaster.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-12-13-Berger-Disaster.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 12 Apr 2013 09:15:00 -0800 Mo is a young boy growing up in a traditional Egyptian household, but beyond the front door of the family's modest London flat is a completely different world - the streets of Hackney. The impressionable Mo idolizes his handsome older brother Rashid and wants to follow is his footsteps. However, Rashid, a charismatic and shrewd member of a local gang, wants a different life for his little brother and deals drugs hoping to put Mo through college. One eventful summer, Rashid's sexual awakening forces Mo to confront his own fears and phobias and threatens to tear the brothers apart. Director Sally El Hosaini stops by to talk about her beautifully rendered feature film debut. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-5-13-El%20Hosaini-My%20Brother.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-5-13-El%20Hosaini-My%20Brother.mp3 Podcasts Sun, 07 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0800 At the center of corruption is the Federal Reserve who has gained enormous amounts of control over America’s economy, with disastrous effects beginning to show. Standing opposite, is the band of Rebels who have vowed to take back the freedom they once knew…and they won’t go down without a fight. Monetary mayhem. Explosions. Romance. Silver Circle plans to take liberty filmmaking to a whole other level. Director Pasha Roberts joins us for a conversation on the challenges of making, marketing and distributing a political, 3-D animated film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-%24-5-13-Roberts.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-%24-5-13-Roberts.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0800 In 1980 Stanley Kubrick released his classic horror film, THE SHINING. Over 30 years later, viewers are still struggling to understand its hidden meanings. Loved and hated by equal numbers, the film is considered a genre standard by many loyalists, while other viewers dismiss it as the lazy result of a legendary director working far below his talent level. In between these two poles, however, live the theories of ardent fans who are convinced they have decoded THE SHINING’s secret messages regarding genocide, government conspiracy, and the nightmare that we call history. Ascher’s ROOM 237 fuses fact and fiction through interviews with the fans and scholars who espouse these theories. Ideas of five devotees of the film with wildly different ideas about its true meaning are braided together in a kaleidoscopic deconstruction of the horror classic. Director Rodney Ascher joins us for a conversation on the joy of interpretation and discovery, wherever you find it. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-5-13-Ascher-Room%20237.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-4-5-13-Ascher-Room%20237.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:15:00 -0800 FOURPLAY is four tales of sexual triumph and travail set in four American cities. In Skokie, a closeted lesbian woman's infatuation with her minister's wife is sublimated during a weekend of dog sitting; in Austin, a young couple struggle with opposing desires about conception and arrive at a startling compromise; in Tampa, a young gay Latino man plagued with self-doubt finds a surreal nirvana in a public mall restroom; and in San Francisco, a cross-dressing sex-worker faces a challenging assignment with a quadriplegic man, arranged by the man's wife. Director Kyle Henry stops by Film School to talk about the challenges of making four films in three years and the joy of sex. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-29-13-Fourplay-Henry.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-29-13-Fourplay-Henry.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:45:00 -0800 Malcolm and Sofia, two determined teens from the Bronx, are the ultimate graffiti-writers. When a rival gang buffs their latest masterpiece, they must hatch a plan to get revenge by tagging an iconic NYC landmark, but they need to raise $500 to pull off their spectacular scheme. Over the course of two whirlwind, sun-soaked summer days, Malcolm and Sofia travel on an epic urban adventure involving black market spray cans, illicit bodegas, stolen sneakers, a high wire heist, and a beautiful, rich girl’s necklace that is literally their key to becoming the biggest writers in the City. Director Adam Leon joins us for a conversation on his triumphant and touching look at youth in bloom. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-29-13-Leon-Gimme%20the%20Loot.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-29-13-Leon-Gimme%20the%20Loot.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Filmed during culminating months of the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s most rigorous year of touring, Andrew Bird crosses the December finish line in his hometown of Chicago – feverish and on crutches from an onstage injury. Is he suffering hazards of chasing the ghost of inspiration? Or merely transforming into a different kind of animal “perfectly adapted to the music hall?” FEVER YEAR is the first to capture Bird’s precarious multi-instrumental looping technique and features live performances at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater with collaborators Martin Dosh, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Michael Lewis and Annie Clark of St. Vincent. Director Xan Aranda will join us to talk about her beautiful film and the joys of collaborating with a gifted artist. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-29-13-Aranda-Andrew%20Bird.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-29-13-Aranda-Andrew%20Bird.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:15:00 -0800 THE HAPPY POET is an all-organic, mostly vegetarian comedy about Bill, a struggling poet who pours his heart, soul, and last few dollars into starting a healthy food stand, surprising friends and customers with his dry wit and offbeat passion. Motivated by help from a rag-tag group of supporters and a budding romance with a poetry-loving customer, Bill strives to make a difference in the world, until surprising complications jeopardize his new friendships and threaten Bill’s dreams for a hot dog-free future. THE HAPPY POET cleverly re-works the classic American film story of the underdog struggling against the system, adding a dose of deadpan humor and a fresh take on a young generation’s interest in the intersection of a social conscience and the food we eat. Director/ Writer/editor and lead actor Paul Gordon and Producer David Hartstein stop by to talk about their collaborative efforts on this entertaining film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-22-13-Gordon-Happy%20Poet.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-22-13-Gordon-Happy%20Poet.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Melting sea ice, glacier loss and rising sea levels. Severe droughts and wildfires. Increasingly severe tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding. Record heat waves. Climate change is no longer a prediction for the future, but a startling reality of today. Yet, as evidence of our changing climate mounts and the scientific consensus proves human causation, there continues to be little political action to thwart the warming of our planet. GREEDY LYING BASTARDS investigates the reason behind stalled efforts to tackle climate change despite consensus in the scientific community that it is not only a reality but also a growing problem placing us on the brink of disaster. The film details the people and organizations casting doubt on climate science and claims that greenhouse gases are not affected by human behavior. From the Koch Brothers to ExxonMobil, to oil industry front groups, to prominent politicians and justices, this provocative exposé unravels the layers of deceit threatening democracy and the ability for future generations to survive on planet earth. The director Craig Rosebraugh stops by Film School to talk about his compelling film and the unfolding horror show that threatens human survival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/3-15-13-%20Rosebraugh-Greedy%20.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/3-15-13-%20Rosebraugh-Greedy%20.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:15:00 -0800 A story of love and understanding set amidst the tensions and uncertainties of the days immediately following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II. On the staff of General Douglas MacArthur (Jones), the de facto ruler of Japan as Supreme Commander of the occupying forces, a leading Japanese expert, General Bonner Fellers (Fox) is charged with reaching a decision of historical importance: should Emperor Hirohito be tried and hanged as a war criminal? Interwoven is the story of Fellers' love affair with Aya, a Japanese exchange student he had met years previously in the U.S. Memories of Aya and his quest to find her in the ravaged post-war landscape help Fellers to discover both his wisdom and his humanity and enable him to come to the momentous decision that changed the course of history and the future of two nations. Director Peter Webber (Girl with the Pearl Earring) stops by to talk about his multi-layered film on this crucial chapter of World War II history. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-8-13-Webber-Emperor.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-8-13-Webber-Emperor.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Two women who meet by chance make a pact to fix their unhappy lives: they will each do what the other one says. But one of them has a secret. She knows her husband is sleeping with the younger woman. Madelyn's plan backfires when Lucy, an aspiring actress, orders her to play King Lear in a very amateur production, with Lucy playing the Fool. Madelyn's life is transformed in unexpected ways as, like Lear, she struggles with matters of mortality and betrayal, loyalty and love. Writer – Director Joan Carr-Wiggan joins us for a conversation on the complex twists and turns love and relationships take in her beguiling film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-8-13-Joan%20Carr-Wiggin-If%20I%20Were%20You.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-8-13-Joan%20Carr-Wiggin-If%20I%20Were%20You.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0800 Fifty million people in the U.S.—one in four children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the issue of hunger in America through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity. Ultimately, A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides — as they have in the past — that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all. The co-directors, Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson joins us for a conversation on the causes and solutions to this frustrating crisis. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-1-13-Jacobson%20%26%20Silverbush.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-1-13-Jacobson%20%26%20Silverbush.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:45:00 -0800 King: A Filmed Record...from Montgomery to Memphis is the landmark documentary that chronicles the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery, Alabama, and culminating with his assassination in Memphis in 1968. Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz and Sidney Lumet the film originally screened in theaters for only a single night in 1970, King: A Filmed Record combines dramatic readings by Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones and Paul Newman, among others, with newsreel and archival footage to create a powerful and comprehensive record of Dr. King's legacy and the American Civil Rights movement. The original Associate Producer Richard Kaplan stops by to talk about this pivotal chapter in the life of Dr. King and the story behind this remarkable documentary. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-1-13-Kaplan-King.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-3-1-13-Kaplan-King.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:15:00 -0800 Fascinating and beguiling, Bestiaire is Denis Côté’s mesmerizing meditation on the relationship between man and beast. This strikingly beautiful film about looking —starts with a group of art students attempting to sketch an animal — that blurs the line between observer and observed. There may be no traditional narrative, yet there is breathtaking dramatic tension in every exquisitely framed shot: the sight of a lion attacking the doors of its cage or the scurrying striped legs of zebras in a holding pen. Contemplative and enthralling, Bestiaire is cinema at its purest. Bestiaire producer, Sylvain Corbeil joins us for a lively discussion on context and perception regarding animals, humans and otherwise. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-22-13-Bestiaire-Corbeil.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-22-13-Bestiaire-Corbeil.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Mychael Danna recently landed his first two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, Pi’s Lullaby. Danna is considered to be a frontrunner for this year’s Oscar after winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Score. Danna has been scoring films since his 1987 feature debut for Atom Egoyan’s Family Viewing, a score which earned Danna the first of his thirteen Genie Award nominations, an award he has won five times. Danna is recognized as one of the pioneers of combining non-Western sound sources with orchestral and electronic minimalism in the world of film music. This reputation has led him to work with such directors as Terry Gilliam. Scott Hicks, Ang Lee, Deepa Mehta, Gillies MacKinnon, James Mangold, Mira Nair, Billy Ray, Joel Schumacher, and Denzel Washington. Mychael joins us for a conversation on the rewards that come with working on a eleven time nominated film and his work with many of the world best filmmakers. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-15-13-Danna-Life%20of%20Pi.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-15-13-Danna-Life%20of%20Pi.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Set in a war-torn fishing village in Somalia, an all Somali, refugee cast brings to life this coming of age fable of a Somali boy who is faced with falling into the pirate life, or rising above to choose the path of an honest fishing man. Director Bryan Buckley, a veteran commercial director and co-owner of Hungry Man Productions, has been directing since the mid-90s. Over the last decade he has directed more than 40 commercials for the Super Bowl and was dubbed “King of the Super Bowl” by the New York Times. Many pieces of Buckley’s work have been inducted into the Museum Of Modern Art’s permanent collection and he is an esteemed recipient of the DGA award, Emmy’s and many Cannes Lions. Bryan talks about his Oscar nominated Live-Action Short film and his journey from commercials to narrative filmmaking. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-1-13-Buckley-ASAD.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-1-13-Buckley-ASAD.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:45:00 -0800 Set in a stylized Los Angeles, ‘A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE MIND OF CHARLES SWAN III’ is a playful comedy of lost love, friendship, revenge fantasies, and Brandy Alexanders. Charles (Charlie Sheen) is a successful graphic designer whose fame, money and charm have provided him with a seemingly perfect life. When his true love, a perplexing beauty named Ivana, suddenly breaks off their relationship, Charles’ life falls apart and he swirls into a downward spiral of doubt, confusion and reflection. With the support of his loyal intimates— Kirby (Jason Schwartzman), Saul (Bill Murray), and his sister, Izzy (Patricia Arquette) -- he begins the hard road of self-evaluation to come to terms with a life without Ivana. The film begs the question: Is it possible to love and hate someone at the same time?. Writer / Director Roman Coppola, brother of Sophia and son of Francis, joins us for a conversation about his wild, cinematic ride through Hollywood. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-8-13-Roman%20Coppola-Swan.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-8-13-Roman%20Coppola-Swan.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:15:00 -0800 Their hearts ravaged by common strep throat turned deadly, eight Rwandan children leave their families behind to embark on a life-or-death journey to Sudan for high-risk surgery. Resilient cardiologist Dr. Emmanuel Rusingiza fights to save their lives, alongside larger-than-life Dr. Gino Strada who also must fight to save his hospital. Director Kief Davidson has had international success from the award-winning feature-length documentaries, KASSIM THE DREAM and THE DEVIL’S MINER. KASSIM THE DREAM, about a former child soldier turned boxing champion of the World, premiered at the Tribeca film festival and won over 10 international film festivals, including AFI, IDFA and Silver Docs. Keif joins us to talk about his Academy Award nominated Short Documentary film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-1-13-Davidson-Open%20Heart.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-2-1-13-Davidson-Open%20Heart.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:15:00 -0800 Filmmaker Magazine (filmmakermagazine.com) is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent, documentary and foreign films. Founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis, Filmmaker Magazine includes interviews, case studies, financing and distribution information, festival reports, technical and production updates, legal pointers, and filmmakers on filmmaking in their own words. Editor-in-Chief Scott Macaulay's experience as a working independent producer informs coverage of behind-the-scene aspects of the creative, technical and business realities facing today’s filmmakers. Scott Macaulay calls in to talk about the best and brightest films coming out of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-25-13-Scott%20Macaulay-Filmmaker%20Mag.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-25-13-Scott%20Macaulay-Filmmaker%20Mag.mp3 Podcasts Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800 It’s all about the Soy Sauce—a new street drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. Users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can't. Director Don Coscarelli joins us for a lively conversation about comedy, horror and sci-fi filmmaking in a rousing follow-up to his cult classic, Bubba Ho-Tep. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-25-13-Coscarelli-John%20Dies%20at%20the%20End.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-25-13-Coscarelli-John%20Dies%20at%20the%20End.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:15:00 -0800 On April 20th, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and spewing 200 million barrels of oil into the ocean. DIRTY ENERGY gets the inside story from Louisiana residents themselves—people whose jobs and health are directly impacted by one of history’s worst environmental disasters—and whose voice quickly faded from American television screens. The film explores the human cost of having millions of gallons of oil and toxic dispersant in the ecosystem, and exposes the management failure of BP and the U.S. Government in the clean up, which will affect the world’s oceans and rivers for generations. Director Bryan Hopkins will join us to talk about the aftermath and consequences of a slow-motion disaster that continues to this day. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-18-13-Hopkins-Dirty%20Energy.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-18-13-Hopkins-Dirty%20Energy.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:30:00 -0800 Acclaimed photographer Gregory Crewdson doesn’t just “take” his images, he creates them, through elaborate days and weeks of invention, design, and set-up. The epic production of these movie-like images is both intensely personal and highly public: they begin in Crewdson’s deepest desires and memories, but come to life on streets and soundstages in the hills towns of Western Massachusetts. Filmed over a decade, beginning in 2000, Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters provides an unparalleled view of the moment of creation of his images. It also reveals the life-story behind the work—through frank reflections on his life and career, including the formative influences of his psychologist father and his childhood fascination with the work of Diane Arbus. Childhood fears and ideals, adult anxieties and desires, the influences of pop-culture all combine to form who we are, and for Crewdson, motivate his work. Director Ben Shapiro stops by for a conversation on a remarkable artist and his insightful film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-18-13-Shapiro-Brief%20Encounters.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-18-13-Shapiro-Brief%20Encounters.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:30:00 -0800 ONLY THE YOUNG follows the story of three teenagers that live in a small desert town in Southern California – a town dominated by foreclosed homes and underpasses, unfilled swimming pools and skate parks. These kids must find things to do in a place that offers nothing – yet in the course of observing their day-to-day lives, we see them discover friendship, first love, heartbreak, and what it means to be young. Co-directors Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims’ delicate, ethereal filmmaking and ONLY THE YOUNG’s innocent yet rebellious subjects collectively embody the very essence of adolescence. Elizabeth Mims will join us for a conversation on the challenges of capturing youth in bloom. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-4-13-Mims-Only%20the%20Young.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-1-4-13-Mims-Only%20the%20Young.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 04 Jan 2013 09:30:00 -0800 "Tchoupitoulas" is a story of the New Orleans night. It is a visually exhilarating and aurally immersive record of one night in the many lives of a thriving nocturnal populace. Three young boys act as our wide-eyed conduits to a parade of entertainers and revelers as they dance through the lamp lit streets and doorways of the Crescent City. From dusk to dawn, from Rampart to the river, we explore the lives and locales of one of the world's most unique cities. In moments, vignettes, performances, and exchanges, "Tchoupitoulas" is a kaleidoscopic odyssey into another side of New Orleans. Bill Ross (45365) join us for a conversation on the joys of childhood, filmmaking and New Orleans nightlife. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-21-12-Ross-Tchoupitoulas.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-21-12-Ross-Tchoupitoulas.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0800 Winner of 10 Audience Awards at film festivals around the country and starring the amazing Alan Cumming, ANY DAY NOW is a powerful tale of love, acceptance and family. When a teenager with Down syndrome (Isaac Leyva) is abandoned by his mother, a gay couple (Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt) takes him in and becomes the loving family he's never had. But when their unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men are forced to fight a biased legal system to save the life of the child they have come to love as their own. Inspired by a true story from the late 1970s, ANY DAY NOW touches on legal and social issues that are as relevant today as they were 35 years ago. Director Travis Fine joins us for a conversation on the making of his “ripped from the headlines” story of courage and love. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-14-12-Fine-Any%20Day%20Now.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-14-12-Fine-Any%20Day%20Now.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:30:00 -0800 THE LAW IN THESE PARTS explores the four-decade-old Israeli military legal system in the Occupied Territories. Since Israel conquered the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 War, the military has imposed thousand of orders and laws, established military courts, sentenced hundreds of thousand of Palestinians, enabled half a million Israeli "settlers" to move to the Occupied Territories and developed a system of long-term jurisdiction by an occupying army that is unique in the world. The film explores the unprecedented and little-known story through testimonies of the military legal professionals who were the architects of the system and helped run it in its formative years. Director Ra'anan Alexandrovicz sits down for an interview on the challenges of bringing this layered and complex story to the screen. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-14-12-Alexandrowicz-The%20Law.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-14-12-Alexandrowicz-The%20Law.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0800 King Kelly (LOUISA KRAUSE) is an aspiring Internet star who performs webcam stripteases. When Kelly's car - filled with illegal narcotics that she must deliver - is stolen by her bitter ex-boyfriend Ryan (WILL BRILL) on the 4th of July, Kelly and her best friend Jordan (LIBBY WOODBRIDGE) embark on an epic whirlwind of drugs, sex, violence, and mischief-making as Kelly tries to reclaim what is hers. Kelly's biggest online fan, a wayward State Trooper (RODERICK HILL), joins the journey as the night spirals into chaos. Made entirely from camera-phone footage, King Kelly is a sensational journey through hedonistic American youth culture and the YouTube generation. Director Andrew Neel (Alice Neel, The Feature and New World Order) stops by to talk about this South by Southwest Film Festival favorite and wild ride through a changing American landscape. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-7-12-Neel-King%20Kelly.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-12-7-12-Neel-King%20Kelly.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0800 In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers were arrested and charged with brutally attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. News media swarmed the case, calling them a "wolfpack." The five would spend years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit before the truth about what really happened became clear. With THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, this story of injustice finally gets the attention it deserves. Based on Sarah Burns’ riveting book and co-directed by her husband David McMahon and father, the acclaimed doc filmmaker Ken Burns, this incendiary film tells the riveting tale of innocent young men scapegoated for a heinous crime, and serves as a mirror for our times. Co-director David McMahon stops by to talk the film’s exploration of crime, race and justice regarding one of the highest profile crimes in modern American history. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-30-12-McMahon-Central%20Park%205.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-30-12-McMahon-Central%20Park%205.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:00:00 -0800 In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk. Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers. Chasing Ice director Jeff Orlowski joins us to talk about his film’s siren call to meet the greatest challenge facing the planet. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-23-12-Orlowski-Chasing%20Ice.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-23-12-Orlowski-Chasing%20Ice.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 23 Nov 2012 09:30:00 -0800 What happens when love takes you places you never thought you would go? As Ruby (Emayatzy Corinealdi) rides a bus through the inner city streets, she wills herself to push away memories that crowd her. Four years earlier, she was a vibrant medical student married to the love of her life, Derek (Omari Hardwick). Now, she makes her way to the maximum security prison on the outskirts of town. This is where her love now resides. Behind coiled razor wire and forty foot concrete walls. As the couple stares into the hallow end of an eight-year prison sentence, Ruby must learn to live another life, one marked by shame and separation. But through a chance encounter with hard-working bus driver Brian (David Oyelowo) and a stunning betrayal that shakes her to the core, she is soon propelled in new and often frightening directions of self-discovery. As we chronicle her turbulent yet transformative journey, we witness the emergence of a broken woman made whole. Director Ava DuVernay joins us to talk about her remarkable film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-16-12-DuVernay-Middle%20of%20Nowhere.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-16-12-DuVernay-Middle%20of%20Nowhere.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:30:00 -0800 Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zoo keeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival. Writer David Magee talks about the challenges and rewards of adapting a sprawling, best seller into a powerful three-dimensional drama. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-16-12-Magee-Life%20of%20Pi.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-16-12-Magee-Life%20of%20Pi.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21 year-old aspiring actress Jane (Dree Hemingway) and elderly widow Sadie (Besedka Johnson) after their worlds collide in California's San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates and taking care of her chihuahua Starlet, while Sadie passes her days alone, tending to her garden. After a confrontation at a yard sale, Jane finds something unexpected in a relic from Sadie's past. Her curiosity piqued, she tries to befriend the caustic older woman. Secrets emerge as their relationship grows, revealing that nothing is ever as it seems. Featuring exceptional debut performances by Dree Hemingway (great granddaughter of Ernest and daughter of Mariel) and 85 year-old Besedka Johnson, who received a Special Jury Recognition at SxSW. Director Sean Baker stops by to talk about his provocative, haunting, unpredictable, and surprisingly sweet film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-9-12-Baker-Starlet.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-9-12-Baker-Starlet.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:30:00 -0800 The Flat – Arnon Goldfinger The flat on the third floor of a Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv was where filmmaker Arnon Goldfinger’s grandparents had lived since they immigrated to Palestine in the 1930's. Were it not for the view from the windows, one might have thought that the flat was in Berlin. When his grandmother passed away at the age of 98 his family were called to the flat to clear out what was left. Objects, pictures, letters and documents awaited them, revealing traces of a troubled and unknown past. The film, which begins with the emptying out of a flat, develops into a riveting adventure, involving unexpected national interests, a friendship that crosses enemy lines, and deeply repressed family emotions. And even reveals some secrets that should have probably remained untold. Arnon Goldfinger talks about the remarkable quest he took, with his mother at his side, to make sense of his grandparent’s life. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-2-12%20The%20Flat-Goldfinger.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-11-2-12%20The%20Flat-Goldfinger.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 02 Nov 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Alex and Nica are young, in love and engaged to be married. The summer before their wedding, they are backpacking in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. The couple hire a local guide to lead them on a camping trek, and the three set off into a stunning wilderness, a landscape that is both overwhelmingly open and frighteningly closed. Walking for hours, they trade anecdotes, play games to pass the time of moving through space. And then, a momentary misstep, a gesture that takes only two or three seconds, a gesture that’s over almost as soon as it begins. But once it is done, it can't be undone. Once it is done, it threatens to undo everything the couple believed about each other and about themselves. All the while, they are not alone. They are always with the guide, who witnesses their every move. The film plays off the relationship between young travelers and the places they travel to, between guide and guided. But at heart, it is a love story -- a tale about betrayal, both accidental and deliberate, about masculinity, failure and the ambiguities of forgiveness. Director Julia Loktev (Day Night Day Night) joins us to talk about her compelling and beautiful film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-26-12-Loktev-Loneliest%20Planet.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-26-12-Loktev-Loneliest%20Planet.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:30:00 -0800 BROOKLYN CASTLE tells the stories of five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school that has won more national championships than any other in the country. The film follows the challenges these kids face in their personal lives as well as on the chessboard, and is as much about the sting of their losses as it is about the anticipation of their victories. Ironically, the biggest obstacle thrust upon them arises not from other competitors but from recessionary budget cuts to all the extracurricular activities at their school. BROOKLYN CASTLE shows how these kids’ dedication to chess magnifies their belief in what is possible for their lives. After all, if they can master the world’s most difficult game, what can’t they do? Director Katie Dellamaggiore stops by to talk about this captivating documentary and the insight she gained working with a smart and dedicated group of middle school students. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-26-12-Dellamagiore-Brooklyn.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-26-12-Dellamagiore-Brooklyn.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Alongside MAD MAX and WALKABOUT, WAKE IN FRIGHT is widely acknowledged as one of the seminal films in the development of modern Australian cinema. Directed by Ted Kotcheff (FIRST BLOOD) and starring Donald Pleasence (HALLOWEEN, THE GREAT ESCAPE), WAKE IN FRIGHT tells the nightmarish story of a schoolteacher’s (Gary Bond) descent into personal demoralization at the hands of drunken, deranged derelicts while stranded in a small town in outback Australia. Believed to be lost for decades and virtually unseen in America until now, WAKE IN FRIGHT returns fully-restored in stunning HD in what the New York Observer says “may be the greatest Australian film ever made.” http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-19-12-Kotcheff-Wake%20in%20Fright.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-19-12-Kotcheff-Wake%20in%20Fright.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:30:00 -0800 LEAST AMONG SAINTS marks MARTIN PAPAZIAN’S (Writer/Director/Anthony) debut as a feature director and writer. Inspired by true events, the story centers on a man’s quest for redemption through his compassion and service to an orphaned boy. Previously, Papazian directed the award winning short film In The Wind, about a soldier’s return to Katrina-ravaged New Orleans only to discover the place he grew up in has collapsed in his absence. The film was awarded Best Picture at both the New Orleans and Vail Film Festivals as well as being the official selection of numerous other festivals. In the theater, Martin has directed a wide array of plays in Los Angeles. Notably, the Pulitzer Prize winning drama Topdog/Underdog, The Exonderated, Eric Bogosian's Pounding Nails Into The Floor With My Forehead, Neil Labute's Autobahn, and the one woman show You Can Eat Me. Martin joins us to talk about his gritty and moving first feature film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-19-12-Papazian-%20Least%20Saints.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-19-12-Papazian-%20Least%20Saints.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:15:00 -0800 As America remains embroiled in conflict overseas, a less visible war is taking place at home, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage upon future generations of Americans. In forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever before. Filmed in more than twenty states, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN captures heart-wrenching stories from individuals at all levels of America’s War on Drugs. From the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge, the film offers a penetrating look inside America’s longest war—a definitive portrait revealing its profound human rights implications. Beyond simple misguided policy, the film examines how political and economic corruption have fueled the war for 40 years, despite persistent evidence of its moral, economic, and practical failures. Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki joins us to talk about his remarkable documentary and the future of drug policy in America. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%20-%2010-12-12%20-%20Jarecki%20-%20The%20House%20I%20Live%20In.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%20-%2010-12-12%20-%20Jarecki%20-%20The%20House%20I%20Live%20In.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:30:00 -0800 Smashed - Kate and Charlie are a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter and drinking...especially the drinking. When Kate’s drinking leads her to dangerous places and her job as a school teacher is put into jeopardy, she decides to join AA and get sober. With the help of her friend and sponsor Jenny, and the vice principal at her school, the awkward, but well intentioned, Mr. Davies, Kate takes steps toward improving her health and life. Sobriety isn’t as easy as Kate had anticipated. Her new lifestyle brings to the surface a troubling relationship with her mother, facing the lies she’s told her employer and calls into question whether or not her relationship with Charlie is built on love or is just boozy diversion from adulthood. James Ponsoldt stops by to talk about a fly-on-the-wall look at alcoholism and the rippling effect it has on one person’s life. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-12-12-Ponsoldt-Smashed.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-12-12-Ponsoldt-Smashed.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:15:00 -0800 ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time: how can we save our badly broken healthcare system? American healthcare costs are rising so rapidly that they could reach $4.2 trillion annually, roughly 20% of our gross domestic product, within ten years. We spend $300 billion a year on pharmaceutical drugs – almost as much as the rest of the world combined. We pay more, yet our health outcomes are worse. About 65% of Americans are overweight and almost 75% of healthcare spending goes to preventable diseases that are the major causes of disability and death in our society. The current battle over cost and access does not ultimately address the root of the problem: we have a disease-care system, not a healthcare system. The film examines the powerful forces maintaining the status quo, a medical industry designed for quick fixes rather than prevention, for profit-driven care rather than patient-driven care. Director Matthew Heineman will stop by to talk about the powerful forces impacting real reform for our health care system on this week’s Film School. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-5-12-Heineman-Escape%20fire.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-10-5-12-Heineman-Escape%20fire.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 05 Oct 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Recently broken up with by his girlfriend, underachiever Alex (Ryan O’Nan) embarks on an impromptu road trip with his new bandmate, the eccentric Jim (Michael Weston). By channeling their inner children and giving a new meaning to the term “lo-fi musician,” Alex and Jim find their unique musical style by bringing the sound of children’s instruments to their unsuspecting fans. Playing a series of bizarre shows and experiencing multiple near-disasters, Alex and Jim’s persistence takes them on a true coming-of-age journey – one that may be their last shot at achieving their youthful dreams. Director Ryan O'Nan joins us for an engaging conversation on the challenges and joy of making his first feature film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-28-12-O%27Nan-Brooklyn%20Bros.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-28-12-O%27Nan-Brooklyn%20Bros.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 28 Sep 2012 09:30:00 -0800 “The Other Dream Team” documents the Lithuanians’ experiences behind the Iron Curtain for 50 years, where elite athletes were subjected to brutalities of Communist rule. As they hid from KGB agents and feared for their lives, Lithuania’s basketball stars always shared a common goal - to utilize their athletic gifts to help free their country. 
 
 The ’92 Lithuanian team won fans around the world for its hard-nosed play, its underdog story and its unusual connection with the Grateful Dead. Inspired by the Lithuanian's message of freedom, the Dead band provided financial assistance to the team and helped create their distinctive, tie-dye warm ups.
 “The Other Dream Team” is a story that will resonate for any viewer with an interest in world history, politics, pop culture, basketball or the triumph of the human spirit. It is global basketball's ultimate 'long, strange trip' -- with a very happy ending. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-28-12-Markejevus-Other%20Team.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-28-12-Markejevus-Other%20Team.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 28 Sep 2012 09:15:00 -0800 HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE is the story of two coalitions—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making. David joins us to talk about his fly-on-the-wall documentary. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-21-12-%20France%20-%20How%20to%20Survive.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-21-12-%20France%20-%20How%20to%20Survive.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Disturbing, powerful and emotionally devastating, TEARS OF GAZA is less a conventional documentary than a record–presented with minimal gloss – of the 2008 to 2009 bombing of Gaza by the Israeli military. Photographed by several Palestinian cameramen both during and after the offensive, this powerful film by director Vibeke Løkkeberg focuses on the impact of the attacks on the civilian population. Vibeke stops by to explain her own story on the making of this powerful film and the impact the Israeli attack continues to have the people of Gaza. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/9-21-12-Lokkeberg-Tears%20of%20Gaza%20.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/9-21-12-Lokkeberg-Tears%20of%20Gaza%20.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0800 In profiling Chinese adoptees in contemporary America, director Linda Goldstein Knowlton's deeply moving documentary illustrates that even the most specific of experiences can be universally relatable. Of the roughly 80,000 girls who have been adopted from China since 1989—a decade after China implemented its One Child Policy—the film intimately follows four teenagers: Haley, Jenna, Ann, and Fang. These four wise-beyond-their-years, yet typical American teens, reveal a heartbreaking sense of self-awareness as they attempt to answer the uniquely human question, “Who am I?” Director Linda Goldstein Knowlton stops by to explore the film’s richly textured perspective. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%20-%209-14-12%20-%20Knowlton%20-%20Somewhere.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%20-%209-14-12%20-%20Knowlton%20-%20Somewhere.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 14 Sep 2012 09:00:00 -0800 HIT AND RUN is a comedy about a young couple (Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard) that risks it all when they leave their small town life and embark on a road trip that may lead them towards the opportunity of a lifetime. Their fast-paced road trip grows awkwardly complicated and hilarious when they are chased by a friend from the past (Bradley Cooper), a federal marshal (Tom Arnold) and a band of misfits. Co-director David Palmer joins us to talk about the making of this fuel-injected comedy. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-14-12-Palmer-Hit%20and%20Run.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-14-12-Palmer-Hit%20and%20Run.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 14 Sep 2012 00:30:00 -0800 Beauty Is Embarrassing is a funny, irreverent, joyful and inspiring documentary featuring the life and current times of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White. Raised in the mountains of Tennessee, Wayne White started his career as a cartoonist in New York City. He quickly found success as one of the creators of the TV show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which led to more work designing some of the most arresting and iconic images in pop culture. Beauty Is Embarrassing chronicles the vaulted highs and the crushing lows of a commercial artist struggling to find peace and balance between his work and his art. Acting as his own narrator, Wayne guides us through his life using moments from his latest creation: a hilarious, biographical one-man show. The pieces are drawn from performances at venues in Tennessee, New York and Los Angeles including the famous Roseland Ballroom and the Largo Theater. At its core, Beauty Is Embarrassing is a reminder that we should all follow our passion. It is those creative impulses that will lead us to where we need to go. Director Neil Berkeley and artist and subject of Beauty is Embarrassing, Wayne White stop by to talk about this insightful and entertaining film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-7-12-%20Beauty%20is%20Embarrassing.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-7-12-%20Beauty%20is%20Embarrassing.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 07 Sep 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Selected as the opening night film for Sundance 2012, HELLO I MUST BE GOING features acclaimed actress Melanie Lynskey (WIN WIN, UP IN THE AIR) in her breakout role as Amy, a recent divorcée who seeks refuge in the suburban Connecticut home of her parents (Blythe Danner and John Rubinstein). Demoralized and uncertain of her future, Amy begins an affair with a 19-year-old actor (GIRLS’ Christopher Abbott) that jumpstarts her passion for life and helps her discover an independence and sense of purpose that she has missed for years. Coupling Danner’s subtly riveting performance as a frustrated empty nester with Lynskey’s endearing and nuanced depiction of both the comic and tragic avenues of an existential crossroads, HELLO I MUST BE GOING is a modern, unconventional love story infused with sex, humor, and emotional honesty – everything Amy will need to get on in life. Director Todd Louiso (Love, Lisa) and screenwriter Sarah Koskoff joins us to talk about his latest feature. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-7-12-Hello%20I%20must%20be%20Going.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-9-7-12-Hello%20I%20must%20be%20Going.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0800 Samsara - Expanding on the themes they developed in Baraka (1992) and Chronos (1985), Samsara explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Shot in spectacular 70 mm film, Samsara is neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, it takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation. Samsara was shot in about 100 locations in 25 countries, and took four years to make. Director Ron Fricke join us to talk about the motivation and challenges that went into the making of this powerful film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%208-31-12%20-%20Fricke%20and%20Magidson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%208-31-12%20-%20Fricke%20and%20Magidson.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:30:00 -0800 A strange, enigmatic and decadent white European, who looks like a mixture of Henry Stanley and Karl Lagerfeld, arrives in the former French colony the Central African Republic (CAR) with diplomatic credentials to spearhead a diplomatic mission representing Liberia. Working hand in hand with his charge d'affaires, a local man named Paul, our diplomat fights his way up the social ladder of this desperate and crumbling African country equipped only with a diplomatic passport and ‘envelopes of happiness’. The Ambassador is a genre-breaking, tragic comedy about the bizarre and hidden world of African diplomacy, where gin-tonics flow on a daily basis and diamond hustlers and corrupt politicians run free. It conveys revealing insights into how the elite of an archetypical corrupt and devastated African country really works and functions. It deals with racial tensions in a refreshing new way and it will cause a shift in the vast reserve of diamonds. Director Mads Brugger has been called the most dangerous filmmaker in the world. This Danish journalist, TV host, author and filmmaker will joins us to talk about his distinctive methods and this amazing undertaking on the August 31, 2012 edition of Film School. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-31-12-Brugger%20interview.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-31-12-Brugger%20interview.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? reveals how American corporations orchestrated the dismantling of middle-class prosperity through rampant deregulation, the outsourcing of jobs, and tax policies favoring businesses and the wealthy. The collapse of the U.S. economy is the result of conscious choices made over thirty five years by a small group: leaders of corporations and their elected allies, and the biggest lobbying interest in Washington, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. To these individuals, the collapse is not a catastrophe, but rather the planned outcome of their long, patient work. For the rest of the country, it is merely the biggest heist in American history. Heist co-director Donald Goldmacher joins us to talk about how it happened and what we can do in the pursuit of a more just society. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-24-12-%20Goldmacher%20-%20Heist.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-24-12-%20Goldmacher%20-%20Heist.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:30:00 -0800 When a police officer tells you to do something, you do it. Right? Based on true events, COMPLIANCE tells the chilling story of just how far one might go to obey a figure of authority. On a particularly busy day at a suburban Ohio fast food joint, high-strung manager Sandra (Ann Dowd (Garden State) receives a phone call from a police officer saying that an employee, a pretty young blonde named Becky (newcomer Dreama Walker) has stolen money from a customer. Convinced she's only doing what's right, Sandra commences the investigation, following step-by-step instructions from the officer at the other end of the line, no matter how invasive they become. As we watch, we ask ourselves two questions: “Why don’t they just say no?” and the more troubling, "Am I certain I wouldn't do the same?" COMPLIANCE recounts this riveting nightmare in which the line between legality and reason is hauntingly blurred. Director Craig Zobel joins us to talk about his thought provoking film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%20-%208-24-12-Zobel%20-%20Interview.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS%20-%208-24-12-Zobel%20-%20Interview.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Rodriguez was the greatest ’70s U.S. rock icon who never was. His albums were critically well-received, but sales bombed, and he faded away into obscurity among rumors of a gruesome death. However, as fate would have it, a bootleg copy of his record made its way to South Africa, where his music became a phenomenal success. In a country suppressed by apartheid, his antiestablishment message connected with the people. 

 When his second album finally gets released on CD in South Africa, two fans take it as a sign, deciding to look into the mystery of how Rodriguez died and what happened to all of the profits from his album sales. Since very little information about the singer exists, they meet many obstacles until they uncover a shocking revelation that sets off a wild chain of events that has to be seen to be believed. Winner of the 2012 Sundance Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize and the World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary, Searching for Sugar Man is a story of hope, inspiration, and the resonating power of music. Director Malik Bendjelloul talks his own search that led to the re-discovery of a remarkable artist. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-17-12%20-%20Bendjelloul%20-%20Sugar%20Man.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-17-12%20-%20Bendjelloul%20-%20Sugar%20Man.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:00:00 -0800 Danielle Gardner's 9/11 documentary “Out of the Clear Blue Sky,” is a behind-the-scenes, intimate story of the devastation of 9/11. The film delves into the untold story of Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm that occupied the top five floors of the World Trade Center and lost 658 of their employees (almost twice the casualties of the Fire Department of New York) in the 9/11 tragedy. Gardner's brother Doug was one of those employees, giving the documentary both a personal touch and unmatched insight through interviews with family members as well as Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick. Danielle will join us to talk her film and the ways that it has unfolded as a personal journey and as a very public tragedy. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-7-12-Gardner-%20Blue%20Sky.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-7-12-Gardner-%20Blue%20Sky.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:00:00 -0800 After Fredrik Gertten’s documentary on 12 Nicaraguan plantation workers, BANANAS, is pulled from competition at the LA Film Festival, Gertten receives a letter from Dole's attorneys threatening legal action if the film is shown at this festival and to cease and desist. What follows is an unparalleled story that Gertten captured on film. He filmed this entire process of corporate bullying and media spin - from DOLE attacking the producers with a defamation lawsuit, utilizing scare tactics, to media-control and PR-spin. BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!* can be seen as a thriller and a cautionary tale. But, mostly this is a personal story about what happened to Gertten, as a documentary filmmaker and to his company and how the livelihood of documentary filmmakers can be easily put into jeopardy. This powerful film reveals precisely how a multinational will stop at nothing to get its way even if freedom of speech is at stake. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-3-12-Gertten-Gone%20Bananas%20x.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-3-12-Gertten-Gone%20Bananas%20x.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:30:00 -0800 Ai Weiwei is China's most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention. AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-3-12-Klayman-Ai%20Weiwei.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-8-3-12-Klayman-Ai%20Weiwei.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:15:00 -0800 “Portrait of Wally”, Egon Schiele’s tender picture of his mistress, Walburga (“Wally”) Neuzil, is the pride of the Leopold Museum in Vienna. But for 13 years the painting was locked up in New York, caught in a legal battle between the Austrian museum and the Jewish family from whom the Nazis seized the painting in 1939. The documentary PORTRAIT OF WALLY traces the history of this iconic image – from Schiele’s gesture of affection toward his young lover, to the theft of the painting from Lea Bondi, a Jewish art dealer fleeing Vienna for her life, to the post-war confusion and subterfuge that evoke THE THIRD MAN, to the surprise resurfacing of “Wally” on loan to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan in 1997. PORTRAIT OF WALLY the documentary takes you on that journey. The 13-year war over “Wally” was more than a dispute over property stolen from Jews during the Holocaust. It was a battle over history and memory. This time, the truth won. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-7-20-12%20-Shea-POW.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-7-20-12%20-Shea-POW.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:30:00 -0800 Seinfeld mocked it. Letterman ranked it in his top ten list. And more than fifteen years later, its infamy continues. Everyone knows the McDonald’s coffee case. It has been routinely cited as an example of how citizens have taken advantage of America’s legal system, but is that a fair rendition of the facts? Hot Coffee reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, while exploring how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded the effort and to what end. After seeing this film, you will decide who really profited from spilling hot coffee. Director Susan Saladoff will be joining us to talk about her film, "tort deform" and the influence corporations have over our legal system. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-7-27-12-Saladoff-Hot%20Coffee.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-7-27-12-Saladoff-Hot%20Coffee.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:15:00 -0800 Director Pashrant Bhargava will be joining us to talk about his award winning first feature film, PATANG. A poetic journey into the old city of Ahmedabad, PATANG weaves together the stories of six people transformed by the energy of India's largest kite festival. Every year a million kites fill the skies above Ahmedabad–dueling, soaring, tumbling and flying high. When a successful Delhi businessman takes his daughter on a surprise trip back to his childhood home for the festival, an entire family has to confront its own fractured past and fragile dreams. Music and fireworks, food and laughter, a kaleidoscope of color and light, the magic of the kite flying high – a traditional recipe of healing and renewal. With naturalistic performances from actors and non-actors alike, bold, lyrical editing, vibrant cinematography and a kinetic score, Patang delights the senses and nourishes the spirit. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-7-20-12-Bhargava-Patang.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/FS-7-20-12-Bhargava-Patang.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with director Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated; Twist of Faith, the Oscar®- and Emmy®-nominated filmmaker). The Invisible War is a groundbreaking investigation about one of America’s most shameful and best kept secrets: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. The film paints a startling picture of the extent of the problem—today, a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The Department of Defense estimates there were a staggering 19,300 service members sexually assaulted in 2010 alone. Focusing on the powerfully emotional stories of rape victims, The Invisible War is a moving indictment of the systemic cover-up of military sex crimes, chronicling the women’s struggles to rebuild their lives and fight for justice. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Invisible%20War%20_%20Kirby%20Dick.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Invisible%20War%20_%20Kirby%20Dick.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:00:00 -0800 An Interview with Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow. When an unusual classified ad inspires three cynical Seattle magazine employees to look for the story behind it, they discover a mysterious eccentric named Kenneth, a likable but paranoid supermarket clerk, who believes he¹s solved the riddle of time travel and intends to depart again soon. 

Together, they embark on a hilarious, smart, and unexpectedly heartfelt journey that reveals how far believing can take you. The cast includes, Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni. Director Colin Trevorrow joins us for a freewheeling conversation on writing, cast and directing his first feature film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/6%3A29%3A12%20SNG%20-%20Trevorrow.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/6%3A29%3A12%20SNG%20-%20Trevorrow.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:00:00 -0800 Mike Kaspar interviews Patrick Wang about his new film In the Family on Film School Radio http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Patrick%20Wang%20-%20director%20-%20In%20the%20Family.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Patrick%20Wang%20-%20director%20-%20In%20the%20Family.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:00 -0800 Easily one of the best films of 2011, J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call charts the 24-hour unraveling of a high profile financial company in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. When an entry-level analyst unlocks the information that could be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster. What follows is a long night of panicked double checking and double dealing as the senior management prepare to do whatever it takes to mitigate the debacle to come even as the handful of conscientious comrades find themselves dragged along into the unethical abyss. The all-star cast includes, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore and Simon Baker. Director J.C. Chandor discusses the challenges and rewards associated with his remarkable first feature film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Margin%20Call%20_%20JC%20Chandor.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Margin%20Call%20_%20JC%20Chandor.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with NASH EDGERTON the director of THE SQUARE . Escaping the monotony of a loveless marriage, Raymond Yale becomes entangled in an affair with the beautiful and troubled Carla. Ray's moral limits are tested when Carla presents him with the proceeds of her controlling husband's latest crime. This is their chance: Take the money and run. . . If only it were that simple. Edgerton's filmmaking career began at the age of 18 as a stunt performer. Since that time he has earned over 100 film and television credits on productions including THE MATRIX TRILOGY, STAR WARS II and III, THIN RED LINE and SUPERMAN RETURNS. He also produced and edited the acclaimed film THE MAGICIAN. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/nash%20edgerton.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/nash%20edgerton.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:30:00 -0800 An interview with ROBERTA GROSSMAN the director of BLESSED IS THE MATCH the story of poet and diarist Hannah Senesh. She was only 22 years old when she parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe in an effort to save the Jews of Hungary. But when poet and diarist Senesh was executed by the Nazis a year later, the modern-day Joan of Arc had already left behind a body of work and a legacy of bravery that would inspire generations to come. Grossman is an award-winning filmmaker with a passion for history and social justice. She has written and produced more than 40 hours of documentary television. She was the series producer and co-writer of 500 Nations, the eight-hour CBS miniseries on Native Americans hosted by Kevin Costner. Grossman's feature documentary Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action, premiered in February 2005, and has screened and won awards at more than 40 festivals worldwide. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/rg.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/rg.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:30:00 -0800 An interview with TOMM MOORE the director of THE SECRET OF KELLS, the animated story of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is a stunningly beautiful manuscript containing the Four Gospels. It is Ireland's most precious medieval artifact, and is generally considered the finest surviving illuminated manuscript to have been produced in medieval Europe. Our hero, young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil? Moore is co-Founder and company director of Cartoon Saloon. He has worked on almost every Cartoon Saloon production in various capacities including directing and designing commercials for clients including Cadburys and the Irish Independent, illustrating graphic novels and children's books and working as animation artist on several tv series and feature film productions. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tomm-moore.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tomm-moore.mp3 Podcasts Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Academy Award-nominated screenwriter/director NOAH BAUMBACH about his latest feature GREENBERG the funny, touching and poignant story of two souls adrift in Los Angeles, trying to forge a connection. Baumbach's films as a writer and director include Kicking and Screaming, The Squid and the Whale, and Margot at the Wedding. Baumbach received an Academy Award nomination for his original screenplay The Squid and the Whale. The film was on over 150 Top Ten lists, including AFI's 10 Best of the Year. The Squid and the Whale received three Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Picture (Musical/Comedy); and six Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and for actors Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, and Jesse Eisenberg. Baumbach co-wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox (the latter adapted from the novel by Roald Dahl). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/baumbach2.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/baumbach2.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with NIELS ARDEN OPLEV the director of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - a mystery thriller based on Stieg Larsson's international best selling novel about a disgraced journalist and a troubled young female computer hacker who investigate the mysterious disappearance of an industrialist's niece. Oplev graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1989. His first feature film Portland (1996) was selected for the main competition in Berlin and his second feature Chop Chop (2001) received both National Danish Film Awards Bodil and Robert. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is the Winner of the Guldbagge Award (Sweden's Oscar Equivalent) for Best Film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/nielsarden.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/nielsarden.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:30:00 -0800 An interview with KIMBERLY REED the director of PRODIGAL SONS. Returning home to a small town in Montana for her high school reunion, filmmaker Kimberly Reed hopes for reconciliation with her long-estranged adopted brother, Marc. But along the way she uncovers stunning revelations, including a surprise relationship to Hollywood Royalty, intense sibling rivalries and unforeseeable twists of plot and gender that force them to face challenges no one could imagine. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, Best Documentary Jury Prize at NewFest, and Special Jury Prizes for Fearless Filmmaking at the Florida Film Festival and Bravery in Storytelling at the Nashville Film Festival, Prodigal Sons is a raw and provocative examination of one family's struggle to come to terms with its past and present. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kimberly-reed.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kimberly-reed.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with DON ARGOTT the director of THE ART OF THE STEAL, a documentary that chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of Post-Impressionist and early Modern art valued at more than $25 billion. In 1922, Dr. Albert C. Barnes formed a remarkable educational institution around his priceless collection of art, located just five miles outside of Philadelphia. Now, more than 50 years after Barnes' death, a powerful group of moneyed interests have gone to court for control of the art, and intend to bring it to a new museum in Philadelphia. Standing in their way is a group of Barnes' former students and his will, which contains strict instructions stating the Foundation should always be an educational institution, and that the paintings may never be removed. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/01%20argot-d.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/01%20argot-d.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with HENRIK RUBEN GENZ director of TERRIBLY HAPPY, a narrative that focuses on Robert, a Copenhagen police officer who, following a nervous breakdown, is transferred to a small provincial town to take on the mysteriously vacated Marshall position and is subsequently entangled with a married femme fatale. Robert's big city temperament makes it impossible for him to fit in, or understand the uncivilized, bizarre behavior displayed by the townspeople. Quickly spiraling downward into an intense fable reminiscent of the Coen Brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, TERRIBLY HAPPY displays a unique, often macabre vision of the darkest depths to which people will go to achieve a sense of security and belonging. Genz's short fiction film TEIS & NICO (1998), was a festival hit worldwide and received the Crystal Bear in Berlin and an Academy Award nomination. His feature film debut, SOMEONE LIKE HODDER (2003) received awards in Buenos Aires, Chicago, London, and Zlin, among others. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/genz2.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/genz2.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:30:00 -0800 An interview with PHILIPP STOLZL the director of NORTH FACE. Based on a true story, North Face is a suspenseful adventure film about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in 1936, as Nazi propaganda urges the nation's Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif - the Eiger - two reluctant German climbers begin their daring ascent. With NORTH FACE, director and scriptwriter Philipp Stolzl - a multi-talented and sought after opera, music video, commercial and feature-film director - has succeeded in redefining pre-WW II German Berg (mountain) Film and transposing it to the 21st century. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stolzl.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stolzl.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:30:00 -0800 An interview with DENNIS DOROS of MILESTONE FILMS and ROSS LIPMAN film preservationist at the UCLA FILM AND TELEVISION ARCHIVE. Milestone Films is an independent company, founded in 1990 in the United States by Dennis Doros and Amy Heller, dedicated to researching and distributing quality cinematographic material from around the world, including silent movies, films of the postwar foreign film renaissance, to contemporary American independent features, documentaries and foreign films. Some of the films that Milestone has distributed are by Alfred Hitchcock, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, F.W. Murnau, Orson Welles, Mikhail Kalatozov and Luis Bunuel. Among the modern day films are works by Takeshi Kitano, Jane Campion, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Alan Berliner and Philip Haas. Lipman has restored and preserved some landmark works of independent cinema including The Times of Harvey Milk, some of Kenneth Anger's most prominent titles, and Milestone's Killer of Sheep and The Exiles. He is the winner of the National Society of Film Critics Special Film Heritage Award. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/doros-lipman.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/doros-lipman.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with cinematographer ERIC DAARSTAD of THE EXILES - the groundbreaking film made between 1958 - 1961 that chronicles one night in the lives of young Native American men and women living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles. Based entirely on interviews with the participants and their friends, the film follows a group of exiles - transplants from Southwest reservations - as they flirt, drink, party, fight, and dance. Filmmaker Kent Mackenzie first conceived of The Exiles during the making of his short film Bunker Hill - 1956 while a student at the University of Southern California. The Exiles was photographed by Daarstad and a group of young filmmakers - Mackenzie's college mates, fellow employees, and friends holding down a variety of day-to-day jobs in the motion picture industry. Much of the picture was shot on "short ends," the leftovers of 1,000 - foot rolls (varying from 100 to 300 feet of stock) discarded by major film producers. Milestone, in cooperation with USC's film archivist Valarie Schwan, brought the film to preservationist Ross Lipman and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/eric-daarstadt2.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/eric-daarstadt2.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JESSICA ORECK the director of BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO‚ a documentary that delves into the ineffable mystery of Japan's age-old love affair with insects. A labyrinthine meditation on nature, beauty, philosophy and Japanese culture that might just make you question if your 'instinctive' repulsion to bugs is merely a trick of western conditioning. Sold live in vending machines and department stores, plastic replicas included as prizes in the equivalent of a McDonald's Happy Meal and the subject of the No. 1 videogame, MushiKing, from the smallest backyard to the top of Mt. Fuji, insects inspire an enthusiasm in Japan seen nowhere else in this world. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo discovers why Japan developed this rich and enriching social relationship with insects. Like a detective story, the film untangles the web of influences behind Japan's captivation with insects. It opens in modern-day Tokyo where a single beetle recently sold for $90,000 then slips back to the early 1800s, to the first cricket-selling business and the development of haiku and other forms of insect literature and art. Through history and adventure, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo travels all the way back in time to stories of the fabled first emperor who named Japan the "Isle of the Dragonflies." Along the way the film takes side trips to Zen temples and Buddhist Shrines, nature preserves and art museums in its quest for the inspirations that moved Japan into this fascination while other cultures hurtled off towards an almost universal and profound fear of insects. Interspersed with the philosophies of one of Japan's best-selling authors and anatomists, Dr. Takeshi Yoro, and laced with poetry and art from Japan's history, this film becomes about much more than insects. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo is set to the rhythm of traditional Japanese values in its attention to detail, harmony, and the appreciation of the seemingly mundane. It quietly challenges the viewer to observe the world from an uncommon perspective that will shift the familiar to the fantastic and just might change not only the way we think about bugs, but the way we think about life. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jessica-oreck.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jessica-oreck.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MICHAEL PALMIERI and DONAL MOSHER the directors of OCTOBER COUNTRY - a beautifully rendered portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse. A collaboration between filmmaker Michael Palmieri and photographer and family member Donal Mosher, this vibrant and penetrating documentary examines the forces that unsettle the working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life. Combining the access only available to a family member with an intimate visual style of a filmmaker encountering the family's dynamics for the first time, the film gives a deeply personal voice to the national issues of economic instability, domestic abuse, war trauma, and sexual molestation. As the Moshers do their best to confront their ghosts, we confront the broader issues that haunt us all in the continued struggle for the American Dream. October Country is the Winner of the Sterling Grand Jury Prize at 2009 SILVERDOCS, 2009 Starz/Denver Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary, an Independent Spirit Awards Nomination for Best Documentary and five Cinema Eye Honors nominations, including Best Documentary. Palmieri's previous work includes his music video collaborations with artists such as Beck, The Strokes, Belle and Sebastian and the New Pornographers. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/October%20Country.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/October%20Country.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JOSH GOLDIN the director of WONDERFUL WORLD - a bittersweet comedy about families, friends and a frivolous fight against corporate institutions. It stars Matthew Broderick, Michael Kenneth Williams, Sanaa Lathan, Jodelle Ferland, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ally Walker, and Philip Baker Hall and features original music, with a cameo performance, by acclaimed musician Dan Zanes, the noted father of the modern independent kids' music movement.Wonderful World is the story of Ben Singer, a failed children's folk singer, and an every-other-weekend dad to his young daughter (Jodelle Ferland) who is struggling with all aspects of his life. Ben's finds comforts in smoking marijuana alone and regular chess games with his smart and opinionated Senegalese roommate Ibou (Michael Kenneth Williams, "The Wire," THE ROAD). After Ibou is suddenly struck ill, Ben's life takes a turn with the arrival of Ibou's beautiful and sexy sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan, The Family That Preys). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Josh%20Goldin.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Josh%20Goldin.mp3 Podcasts Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with PETE McCORMACK the director of FACING ALI. Three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali defeated almost every top fighter of the golden age of boxing and symbolized the sport for generations of fans. Now, ten of his acclaimed rivals pay tribute to perhaps the world's most beloved and inspiring athlete in FACING ALI, a riveting documentary from director Pete McCormack (Uganda Rising) and producer Derik Murray (Legends of Hockey). From the moment he captured the gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics, the fighter who first came to prominence as Cassius Clay electrified the world and transformed the art of boxing. Articulate, handsome, charismatic and outspoken, he became an icon of the burgeoning civil rights movement and a hero to millions around the globe. A master showman and a brilliant strategist, Ali won as much by getting inside his opponents' heads as by his astounding physical talents. With exclusive interviews and vintage footage from the champ's unmatched career, FACING ALI recreates his most unforgettable rivalries, and recounts his triumphs, tragedies and unstoppable spirit. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Pete%20McCormack.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Pete%20McCormack.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SO YONG KIM the director of TREELESS MOUNTAIN. When their mother needs to leave in order to find their estranged father, seven-year-old Jin and her younger siste, Bin, are left to live with their Big Aunt for the summer. With only a small piggy bank and their mother's promise to return when it is full, the two young girls are forced to acclimate to changes in their family life. Counting the days, and the coins, the two bright-eyed young girls eagerly anticipate their mother's homecoming. But when the bank fills up, and with their mother still not back, Big Aunt decides that she can no longer tend to the children. Taken to live on their grandparent's farm, it is here that Jin comes to learn the importance of familybonds in this beautiful, meditative, and thought-provoking second feature from So Yong Kim, the acclaimed director of IN BETWEEN DAYS. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/soyongkim12-09.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/soyongkim12-09.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:30:00 -0800 An interview with OREN MOVERMAN director of THE MESSENGER — the story of a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (Ben Foster) who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband’s death, Will’s emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival. Moverman co-wrote the screenplay for JESUS' SON, co-wrote Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan biopic I'M NOT THERE, and penned two films currently in production: INTERRUPTED, about legendary director Nicholas Ray, and WILLIAM BURROUGHS' QUEER, for actor/director Steve Buscemi. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/oren-moverman.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/oren-moverman.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with KYLE PATRICK ALVAREZ the director of EASIER WITH PRACTICE — the story of Davy Mitchell who, in an effort to promote his unpublished novel, sets out on a road trip with his younger brother. However, the idealism of being on the road wears off and it quickly proves to be a lonely and unfulfilling experience for Davy. One night in a motel room he gets a random phone call from a mysterious woman named Nicole. They start a funny and intimate long distance relationship that leaves Davy happier than he has been in years. Hoping there is more to the relationship then a voice and a phone bill, Davy decides he wants to meet Nicole. Ultimately, he will have to face not only the truth about their relationship but also about himself. EASIER WITH PRACTICE won the Grand Jury Award at the 2009 CineVegas International Film Festival and has a Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature and the Someone to Watch Award. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kyle-alvarez.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kyle-alvarez.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with EMILY KUNSTLER the co-writer director (with her sister Sarah) of WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE — the story of the life of their father, the late radical civil rights lawyer. In the 1960s and 70s, Kunstler fought for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented the famed “Chicago 8” activists who protested the Vietnam War. When the inmates took over Attica prison, or when the American Indian Movement stood up to the federal government at Wounded Knee, they asked Kunstler to be their lawyer. To his daughters, it seemed that he was at the center of everything important that had ever happened. But when they were growing up, Kunstler represented some of the most reviled members of society, including rapists and assassins. This powerful film not only recounts the historic causes that Kunstler fought for; it also reveals a man that even his own daughters did not always understand, a man who risked public outrage and the safety of his family so that justice could serve all. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/emily-kunstler.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/emily-kunstler.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with PHILIPPE DIAZ the director of THE END OF POVERTY? — a documentary revealing that poverty is not an accident. Global poverty did not just happen. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, the problem persists because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies -- in other words, wealthy countries taking advantage of poor, developing countries. Renowned actor and activist, Martin Sheen, narrates The End of Poverty?, a feature-length documentary directed by award-winning director, Philippe Diaz, which explains how today's financial crisis is a direct consequence of these unchallenged policies that have lasted centuries. Consider that 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate. At this rate, to maintain our lifestyle means more and more people will sink below the poverty line.Filmed in the slums of Africa and the barrios of Latin America, The End of Poverty? features expert insights from: Nobel prize winners in Economics, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz; acclaimed authors Susan George, Eric Toussaint, John Perkins, Chalmers Johnson; university professors William Easterly and Michael Watts; government ministers such as Bolivia's Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and the leaders of social movements in Brazil, Venezuela, Kenya and Tanzania. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/philippe-diaz.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/philippe-diaz.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SCOTT TEEMS the director of THAT EVENING SUN — the story of Abner, an aging Tennessee farmer discarded to a nursing facility by his lawyer son, who flees the old folks' home and catches a ride back to his country farm to live out his days in peace. Upon his return, he discovers that his son has leased the farm to Abner's old enemy and his white trash family. Not one to suffer fools or go down easy, Abner moves into the old tenant shack on the property and declares that he won't leave until the farm is returned to his possession. But Lonzo Choat, the new tenant, has no intention to move out or give in to the old man's demands. This sets up a ruthless grudge match between Abner and Choat, each man right in his own eyes, each too stubborn to give an inch. Angered by his son's betrayal, and haunted by recurring dreams of his long_dead wife, Abner sets about his own path toward reclaiming his life. Lines are drawn, threats are made, and the simmering tension under the Southern sun erupts, inevitably, into savagery. Scott Teems is a writer-director born and raised in Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. His screenplay for That Evening Sun previously won the Emerging Narrative Screenplay Award at the IFP Market, and the film marks his feature directorial debut. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/scott-teems.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/scott-teems.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ANTHONY FABIAN the director of SKIN. Ten year-old Sandra is distinctly African looking. Her parents, Abraham and Sannie, are white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. They are shopkeepers in a remote area of the Eastern Transvaal and, despite Sandra’s mixed-race appearance, have lovingly brought her up as their ‘white’ little girl. By the time she is 17, Sandra realises she is never going to be accepted by the white community. She falls in love with Petrus — a black man, the local vegetable seller, and begins an illicit love affair. Abraham threatens to shoot Petrus and disown Sandra. Sannie is torn between her husband’s rage and her daughter’s predicament. Anthony Fabian has produced and directed five short films, four hour-long documentaries and over a dozen classical music programmes through his company, Elysian Films. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/anthony-fabian.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/anthony-fabian.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ANDY BICHLBAUM co-director and co-writer of THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD. Along with co-Yes Man Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum has an unusual hobby: posing as top executives of corporations he hates. Armed with nothing but thrift-store suits, the Yes Men lie their way into business conferences and parody their corporate targets in ever more extreme ways - basically doing everything that they can to wake up their audiences to the danger of letting greed run our world. At conference after conference, the Yes Men try to wake up their corporate audiences to this frightening prospect, in the process taking on some of the world's biggest and baddest corporations. Just one example: as Exxon, Andy and Mike demonstrate a new biofuel made from climate-change victims. It's a gut-busting laugh riot - one of several in the film - to see the unsuspecting audience learn that the lit candles they hold are made out of dead people. On their journey, the Yes Men act as gonzo journalists, delving deep into the question of why we have given the market more power than any other institution to determine our direction as a society. They visit the twisted (and accidentally hilarious) underworld of the free-market think tanks, where they figure out a way to defeat the logic that's destroying our planet. And as they appear on the BBC before 300 million viewers, or before 1000 New Orleans contractors alongside Mayor Ray Nagin, the layers of lies are peeled back to reveal the raw heart of truth - a truth that brings with it hope. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/yesmen.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/yesmen.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with DANIEL RAIM the director of SOMETHING’S GONNA LIVE — an intimate portrait of life, friendship and the movies, as recalled by some of Hollywood's greatest cinema artists. A follow-up by Daniel Raim to his Oscar-nominated documentary, THE MAN ON LINCOLN'S NOSE, the film profiles renowned art directors Robert Boyle (NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE BIRDS), Henry Bumstead (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THE STING), Harold Michelson (STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, CATCH-22) and Albert Nozaki (THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS), as well as master cinematographers Conrad Hall (IN COLD BLOOD, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) and Haskell Wexler (IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, MEDIUM COOL). From snapshots, sketches, and vintage footage, interwoven with interviews and new scenes of these octogenarian artists at work, we get a behind-the-scenes look at moviemaking in the golden age of cinema. As we watch iconic scenes of our collective imagination emerge from their drawings, models, matte paintings, and sets, we hear tales of Mae West, "Hitch", and DeMille, and experience their longing for the sense of community that made working on these films so great. Not a nostalgia piece, but an exploration of the artist's moral obligation to truthfully portray the human condition, SOMETHING'S GONNA LIVE is a deeply moving and thought-provoking celebration of the human stories behind the glamorous edifice of Hollywood. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/daniel-raim.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/daniel-raim.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with the head of Press & Public Relations for the American Film Institute JOHN WILDMAN and programmer LANE KNEEDLER about the AFI FEST in Los Angeles running from October 30 thru November 7. AFI FEST presents a survey of the year's most significant films each fall. Featuring international work from emerging filmmakers, global showcases of films from the great masters and red-carpet gala premieres, AFI FEST brings world cinema to the heart of Hollywood. Since 2000, the consumer audience at AFI FEST has tripled to over 65,000 attendees. In 2008, over 600 press representatives secured accreditation to the Festival, with combined media impressions in excess of 1.6 billion worldwide. AFI FEST is the only film festival in the United States to hold the prestigious FIAPF accreditation, assuring a high standard of quality and reliability for the international film community. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/afi09.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/afi09.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SEBASTIAN SILVA the director of THE MAID. The story of how a maid called Raquel, who has worked for over 20 years in one affluent Chilean household, rediscovers herself. The Maid is a microcosm of Latin social hierarchy while also focusing on one woman's journey to free herself from a mental servitude of her own making. Born in Santiago Chile in 1979, Sebastián Silva is a multifaceted artist whose body of work includes painting, illustration and popular music. Silva studied filmmaking at the Escuela de Cine de Chile for a year before leaving to study animation in Montreal. While eking out a living selling shoes, Silva mounted the first gallery exhibition of his illustrations and started his band CHC who have since gone on to record three albums. Silva’s second illustration show brought him in contact with Hollywood but a frustrating period in Los Angeles spent pitching to Steven Spielberg and others netted no tangible results. Fleeing Hollywood, Silva initiated two more musical projects, “Yaia” and “Los Mono”, both picked up for distribution by Sonic360 and released in the US and the UK, and exhibited his art work in New York while writing the script for what would become his first feature La Vida me Mata. Back in Chile, Silva recorded a solo album and directed La Vida me Mata. Released in 2007, La Vida me Mata was a critical success, garnering multiple awards including Best Film from the Chilean Critics Circle. Setting aside a script based on his disastrous trip to Hollywood, Silva wrote and directed The Maid in February of 2008. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sebastian-silva.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sebastian-silva.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with RICK GOLDSMITH the director of THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS — the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "Imperial" Presidency, answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people-in order to help end the Vietnam War. In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg shook America to its foundations when he smuggled a top-secret Pentagon study to the New York Times that showed how five Presidents consistently lied to the American people about the Vietnam War that was killing millions and tearing America apart. President Nixon's National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger called Ellsberg "the most dangerous man in America," who "had to be stopped at all costs." But Ellsberg wasn't stopped. Facing 115 years in prison on espionage and conspiracy charges, he fought back. Ensuing events surrounding the so-called Pentagon Papers led directly to Watergate and the downfall of President Nixon, and hastened the end of the Vietnam War. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/rickgoldsmith.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/rickgoldsmith.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with CHARLES HAMBLETON the producer of THE COVE — a story that begins in Taiji, Japan, where former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. In the 1960s, it was O’Barry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins who played the title character in the international television sensation “Flipper.” But his close relationship with those dolphins – the very dolphins who sparked a global fascination with trained sea mammals that continues to this day -- led O’Barry to a radical change of heart. One fateful day, a heartbroken Barry came to realize that these deeply sensitive, highly intelligent and self-aware creatures so beautifully adapted to life in the open ocean must never be subjected to human captivity again. This mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonders and mysteries of the sleek, playful dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/charleshambleton.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/charleshambleton.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An Interview with JOE BERLINGER the director of CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL — the story of a lawsuit by tens of thousands of Ecuadorans against Chevron over contamination of the Ecuadorean Amazon. One of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet — an inside look at the infamous $27 billion "Amazon Chernobyl" case, CRUDE is a real-life high stakes legal drama set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures. Presenting a complex situation from multiple viewpoints, the film subverts the conventions of advocacy filmmaking as it examines a complicated situation from all angles while bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus. Joe Berlinger is an award-winning filmmaker, journalist and photographer, whose films include the celebrated documentaries Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost, and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/joe-berlinger.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/joe-berlinger.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JUSTIN SCHEIN the co-director of NO IMPACT MAN — a documentary about Colin Beavan who decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year. It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, busses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage. No problem – at least for Colin – but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film provides an intriguing inside look into the experiment that became a national fascination and media sensation, while examining the familial strains and strengthened bonds that result from Colin and Michelle’s struggle with their radical lifestyle change. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/justin-shein.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/justin-shein.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ROBERT STONE the director of EARTH DAYS — a documentary that traces the origins of the modern environmental movement through the eyes of nine Americans who propelled the movement from its beginnings in the 1950s to its moment of triumph in 1970 with the original Earth Day, and to its status as a major political force in America. Drawing heavily on eyewitness testimony and a wealth of never-before-seen archival footage, Stone examines the revolutionary achievements—and missed opportunities—of a decade of groundbreaking activism. The result is both a poetic meditation on man’s complex relationship with nature and a probing analysis of past responses to environmental crisis. Earth Days’ interviewees represent a diverse cross section of American life and politics. Stone is a multi-award-winning, Oscar®-nominated and Emmy®- nominated documentary filmmaker. He gained considerable recognition for his first film, Radio Bikini (1987) which premiered at Sundance and was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Feature Documentary. His work includes Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst (2004), which premiered at Sundance (under the title Neverland) and went on to become one of the most highly acclaimed theatrical documentaries of the year. His most recent film is the documentary feature Oswald’s Ghost (2007). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/robert-stone.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/robert-stone.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with OLIVER HIRSCHBIEGEL the director of FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN — a unique one off drama that explores aspects of Northern Ireland’s troubled past and the challenges the future holds in coming to terms with it. The film recently won two awards at Sundance, including the World Cinema Directing Award and World Cinema Screenwriting Award. The story begins in 1975 when 17-year-old Alistair Little, a member of the UVF murdered a 19-year-old Catholic, Jim Griffin, in Lurgan. He was arrested two weeks later, along with three others involved in the shooting, and convicted. Jim’s murder was witnessed by his 11-year-old brother, Joe Griffin. Five Minutes of Heaven, directed by Hirschbiegel (Downfall) and written by Guy Hibbert (Omagh) is a fiction inspired by real people. Working closely with both men, screenwriter Guy Hibbert creates a unique and compelling film that moves from a powerful re-enactment of these tragic events to a fictional interpretation of what might happen should these two men ever come face to face. The film explores the impact of the legacy of violence on both men. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/oliver-herschbiegel.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/oliver-herschbiegel.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ANDREW BUJALSKI the director of BEESWAX — a story that revolves primarily around a pair of twin sisters – Jeannie, who has been in a wheelchair since youth, and Lauren. (Same face, different bodies...) Jeannie co-owns a used & vintage clothing store with her semi-estranged friend Amanda, while Lauren is between jobs (picking up some days filling in with landscaper friends) and between boyfriends, considering going overseas to teach English. Tensions are mounting between Jeannie and Amanda, their management styles clashing and communication problems getting exacerbated. This is the third feature film directed by Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation). Like Bujalski’s previous films, the cast is made up of non-professional (but carefully cast) actors and filmed with a light, fast-moving crew. The goal is to tell an intimate, peculiar story the likes of which one could not achieve via a more traditional, large-scale mode of production. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/andrew-bujalski.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/andrew-bujalski.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MAI ISKANDER the director of GARBAGE DREAMS — a documentary that follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Egypt's 'garbage people.' When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of their trade, each boy is forced to make choices that will impact his life and the future of his community. Garbage Dreams is Iskander’s directorial debut. The documentary will screen at Docuweeks in Los Angeles from August 14 – 20. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mia-iskander.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mia-iskander.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ARMANDO IANNUCCI the director of IN THE LOOP — a foul-mouthed comedy that draws on non-specific events to create a world that is terrifyingly familiar. Britain and America; friends and allies as far back as anyone can remember. Both the US President and UK Prime Minister fancy a war but not everyone agrees including US Assistant Secretary for Diplomacy, US Army General (James Gandolfini) and a floundering British Minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander). When Foster accidentally announces on national TV that war is unforeseeable, the British government is sent into a spiral of chaos and spin propagated by verbosely aggressive Director of Communications, Malcom Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, writer, director, performer and radio producer. His work includes The Day Today, I’m Alan Partridge and the BAFTA award-winning The Thick Of It. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/armando-iannucci.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/armando-iannucci.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MARK WEBB the director of (500) DAYS OF SUMMER — an offbeat romantic comedy about a woman (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn't believe true love exists, and a neurotic young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls for her. Over a span of 500 days, the story moves in a non-linear style from the man’s perspective, who goes from ecstatic giddiness one moment to crippling depression the next. Marc Webb directs stuff: short films, videos, commercials, drinking games. Whatever. He's made videos with everyone from Santana to Hot Hot Heat, My Chemical Romance, and bands you've never heard of. His short film, Seascape, premiered at the Aspen Comedy Festival, which is weird because he didn't think it was funny. To ensure he wouldn't make another comedy, he went to Baghdad to direct a documentary on the first day of school in postwar Iraq, but people there laughed at him, too. He makes his directorial feature-film debut with 500 Days of Summer. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mark-webb.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mark-webb.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MARK HARTLEY the director of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD — the first detailed examination and celebration of Australian genre cinema of the 70s and 80s. In 1971, with the introduction of the R-certificate, Australia’s censorship regime went from repressive to progressive virtually overnight. This cultural explosion gave birth to arthouse classics, such as PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK and MY BRILLIANT CAREER, but also spawned a group of demon-children: maverick filmmakers who braved assault from all quarters to bring films like ALVIN PURPLE, THE MAN FROM HONG KONG, PATRICK, TURKEY SHOOT and MAD MAX to the big screen. As explicit, violent and energetic as their northern cousins, Aussie genre movies presented a unique take on established conventions. NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD won both the 2009 Filmink award and the Film Critics Circle Association award for Best Documentary . It will begin screening Friday, July 31 at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mark-hartley.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mark-hartley.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with TONY STONE the director of SEVERED WAYS. In the year 1007, an expedition of Vikings arrives on the shores of the New World and travels south in search of a fabled Vinland. When their party is attacked by "Skraelings" and must flee to safety, two men who had gone ahead to explore the interior are left behind, assumed dead. Very much alive but stranded on the rocky shore, the two move north in hopes of reuniting with their countrymen. Haunted by memories and visions of the Old World, the Norsemen face the challenges of an unfamiliar landscape in very different ways. And though the terrain seems dense and deserted, they are not the only people in the woods: both Indians and Irish Monks factor in their epic adventure in the Americas. SEVERED WAYS will screen at the Laemmle Sunset 5 beginning Friday, July 17. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tony-stone-09.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tony-stone-09.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ANDY ABRAHAMS WILSON the producer and director of the documentary UNDER OUR SKIN — a gripping tale of microbes, medicine & money. UNDER OUR SKIN investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic larger than AIDS. Each year thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, often told that their symptoms are "all in their head." Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting the disease, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of the health care system and a medical establishment all too willing to put profits ahead of patients. Founder of Open Eye Pictures, Andy Wilson is an Emmy-nominated producer, director and cinematographer. Past productions include the HBO special BUBBEH LEE & ME, and HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS, broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Andy was the Director of Photography for the PBS special TWISTED and the award-winning documentary TOUCHED, as well as cinematographer for the Sundance hit DADDY & PAPA. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/andywilson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/andywilson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with CYRUS NOWRASTEH the director of THE STONING OF SORAYA M. - a classic fable of good vs. evil and an inspiring tribute to courageous women fighting against violence all around the world. In a world of corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a story that changes everything. This is what lies at the heart of this emotionally charged film. Based on a true story, this tale of a village's persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a parable about how people react when someone in their community is turned into a scapegoat: who will join forces with the plot, who will surrender to the mob, and who will dare to stand up for what's right. THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is inspired by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's acclaimed international best-seller of the same name which first brought global attention to the real Soraya, who in 1986 was stoned to death by her fellow villagers, in the presence of her children. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/cyrusnowrasteh.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/cyrusnowrasteh.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with DEAN & BRITTA soundtrack artists for 13 MOST BEAUTIFUL…SONGS FOR ANDY WARHOL’S SCREEN TESTS. Between 1964 and 1966, Andy Warhol shot nearly 500 Screen Tests, beautiful and revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals, from the famous to the anonymous, all visitors to his studio, the Factory. Subjects were captured in stark relief by a strong keylight, and filmed by Warhol with his stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film. The resulting two-and-a-half-minute film reels were then screened in slow motion, resulting in a fascinating collection of four-minute masterpieces that startle and entrance, mesmerizing in the purest sense of the word. 13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests features 13 of Warhol's classic silent film portraits. Subjects include Nico, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Dennis Hopper, and more. Songwriters Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, formerly of the band Luna and currently recording as Dean & Britta, incorporated original compositions as well as cover songs to create new soundtracks for the 13 films. 13 Most Beautiful...Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests will screen at the Los Angeles Film Festival this Saturday, June 20 with Dean and Britta performing their soundtrack live. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/deanbritta.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/deanbritta.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with DUNCAN JONES the director of MOON — a science fiction thriller about a solitary lunar employee who finds that he may not be able to go home to Earth so easily. The film is the feature film debut of commercial director Duncan Jones. Sam Rockwell stars as the lunar employee. Kevin Spacey voices his robot companion. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. Bell is an employee contracted by the company Lunar to mine on the Moon the natural gas Helium 3, which could reverse Earth's energy crisis. Sam is stationed at the lunar base Sarang with only a robot named Gerty, but two weeks before completing his three-year assignment, he begins feeling out of place. An extraction goes wrong, and Sam suspects Lunar of trying to replace him as he realizes someone else is on the Moon. Jones co-wrote the script with Nathan Parker. The film was specifically written as a vehicle for actor Sam Rockwell and pays homage to the films of Jones' youth, such as Silent Running (1972), Alien (1979) and Outland (1981). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/duncan-jones.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/duncan-jones.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An Interview with SAM ANDERSON the screen writer of MUNYURANGABO. After stealing a machete from a market in Kigali, Munyurangabo and his friend, Sangwa, leave the city on a journey tied to their pasts. Munyurangabo wants justice for his parents who were killed in the genocide, and Sangwa wants to visit the home he deserted years ago. Though they plan to visit Sangwa's home for just a few hours, the boys stay for several days. From two separate tribes, their friendship is tested when Sangwa's wary parents disapprove of Munyurangabo, warning that "Hutus and Tutsis are supposed to be enemies." A son of Korean immigrants, Chung grew up on a small farm in rural Arkansas and then attended Yale University to study Biology. At Yale, with new exposure to art cinema in his senior year, Chung dropped his plans for medical school and turned to filmmaking. Munyurangabo, his first feature film, premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sam-anderson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sam-anderson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ROBERT BARRY PTOLEMY the director of TRANSCENDENT MAN — a documentary that chronicles the life and ideas of Ray Kurzweil, an inventor and futurist that presents his bold vision of the Singularity, a point in the near future when technology will be changing so rapidly, that we will have to enhance ourselves with artificial intelligence to keep up. Ray predicts this will be the dawning of a new civilization in which we will no longer be dependent on our physical bodies, we will be trillions of times more intelligent and there will be no clear distinction between human and machine, real reality and virtual reality. Human aging and illness will be reversed; world hunger and poverty will be solved and we will ultimately cure death. Critics accuse Ray of being too optimistic and argue that the dangers of the Singularity far outweigh the benefits, pointing out the apocalyptic implications that once machines achieve consciousness, we may not be able to control them. Whether Rays controversial ideas incite excitement or fear, dogma or disbelief this ambitious documentary will forever change the way you look at life, death, and your own future. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/barryptolemy.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/barryptolemy.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 19 May 2009 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Academy Award nominated filmmaker KIRBY DICK the director of OUTRAGE — a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to. OUTRAGE reveals the hidden lives of some of our nation’s most powerful policymakers, details the harm they've inflicted on millions of Americans, and examines the media's complicity in keeping their secrets. DICK’S highly-regarded film, DERRIDA, premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival. In 1997, he directed the internationally acclaimed SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film earned an IFP/West Spirit Award Nomination and an International Documentary Association Nomination for Best Feature Documentary of 1998. Dick's other projects include TWIST OF FAITH (2004) and THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED (2006), an exposé of the interior workings of the MPAA ratings system. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kirby-dick-09.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kirby-dick-09.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 05 May 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SHINAE YOON the Executive Director of Visual Communications which presents the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival running April 30 - May 7. Visual Communications (Southern California Asian American Studies Central Inc.) – known as "VC" – is a community-based non-profit media arts organization in Los Angeles, dedicated to creating, preserving and presenting Asian Pacific American history and culture through the media arts. Founded in 1970, the organization, through its numerous film, video and community multimedia productions and through its various screening activities, photographic exhibits and publications, has pioneered many vital developments in the national media arts arena. VC offers production and training in filmmaking, video and photography, for Asian Americans. In addition to maintaining a large archive of Asian Pacific photographs, VC annually presents the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/shinae-yoon.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/shinae-yoon.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with TZE CHUN the writer / director of CHILDREN OF INVENTION — a story of two young children living outside Boston who are left to fend for themselves when their mother gets embroiled in a pyramid scheme and disappears. Based on Tze Chun's own award-winning short film, WINDOWBREAKER, which screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, CHILDREN OF INVENTION is a drama about the influence of an adult world on children, the immigrant mentality, and shortcuts to the American dream. CHILDREN OF INVENTION made its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and won Special Jury Prizes at the 2009 San Francisco International Asian American and Sarasota Film Festivals. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tze-chun.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tze-chun.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SANDY SMOLAN the director of 12 STONES — a short documentary that captures the journey of a group of illiterate women in southern Nepal. In a country where running water and electricity are luxuries, most of the people in Nepal live below the poverty line. A group of women, with the help of Heifer International, an aid organization that promotes sustainable development, are helping hundreds of other women and their families rise from poverty to reclaim a future. Smolan's critically acclaimed debut feature RACHEL RIVER was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at The Sundance Film Festival and took awards for Best Cinematography. 12 STONES will screen at the Newport Film Festival April 29 and 30. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sandy-smolan.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sandy-smolan.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with RAMIN BAHRANI the director of GOODBYE SOLO. On the lonely roads of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, two men forge an improbable friendship that will change both of their lives forever. Solo is a Senegalese cab driver working to provide a better life for his young family. William is a tough Southern good ol‘ boy with a lifetime of regrets. One man‘s American dream is just beginning, while the other‘s is quickly winding down. But despite their differences, both men soon realize they need each other more than either is willing to admit. Through this unlikely but unforgettable friendship, GOODBYE SOLO deftly explores the passing of a generation as well as the rapidly changing face of America. Winner of the Venice Film Festival’s prestigious FIPRESCI International Critics Prize, ‘Goodbye Solo’ is the latest film from internationally-acclaimed filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (‘Chop Shop,’ ‘Man Push Cart’). 'Solo' has been hailed as “A force of nature!” by Roger Ebert. And The New York Times’ A.O. Scott says it has “an uncanny ability to enlarge your perception of the world.” http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ramin-solo.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ramin-solo.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An Interview with JON HART and MATTHEW KAUFMAN co-directors of AMERICAN SWING a documentary on the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat. In 1977, New York City was scorched by stifling heat waves, enervated by energy crunches and inflation and hurtling toward social unrest. But its citizens partied on. Nightlife flourished, disco and cocaine ruled at the exclusive Studio 54 and punks smashed guitars at CBGB. Meanwhile, a raging orgy was underway at Plato's Retreat. Chronicling the rise and fall of this notorious sex club and its quixotic owner Larry Levenson, American Swing captures the glorious last gasp of the (mostly hetero) sexual revolution that had been birthed in the sixties. AMERICAN SWING opens Friday April 3 in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Sunset 5. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/hart-kaufman.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/hart-kaufman.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with RYAN FLECK the writer / director of SUGAR — the story of Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Sugar, a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro De Macorís, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life’s ambition. Filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden burst onto the independent film scene in 2006 with their feature debut Half Nelson, a sensitively wrought drama that earned five Spirit Award nominations and brought its star, Ryan Gosling, an Academy Award ® nomination for best actor. A lifelong baseball fan, Fleck thought he knew everything there was to know about the game. He knew that for decades the small island nation of the Dominican Republic has been supplying American teams with some of their most talented players: home run hero Sammy Sosa, the Alou brothers, pitching greats Juan Marichal and Pedro Martínez, and many more. But until a couple of years ago, he had no idea why. When Fleck and his partner Anna Boden learned that the Dominican Republic is home to training academies for every major league team in America, they were immediately drawn to the human side of the phenomenon. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ryanfleck2.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ryanfleck2.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with DANIEL JUNGE the Director of THEY KILLED SISTER DOROTHY — a documentary on the killing of 73-year-old Catholic nun and activist Sister Dorothy Stang in February 2005, in the state of Pará (Brazilian rain forest), where she, for 30 years, fought along with environmentalists and the underprivileged local communities against the exploitation of powerful loggers and landowners. Junge’s first documentary CHIEFS, in the Wynoning Indian basketball team, won the best documentary at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival and broadcast nationally on PBS. His feature documentary IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA, on Africa’s first elected female resident, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival won two wards at the Banff Television Festival, THEY KILLED SISTER DOROTHY premieres on HBO Wednesday March 25th at 8 pm ET and PT. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/daniel-junge.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/daniel-junge.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MORGAN DEWS the director of MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH. Dews was very close to his grandmother Allis, but it wasnit until after her death in 2001 that he became aware of an astounding archive shed amassed throughout the 1960s. Filled with startlingly intimate and candid audio recordings detailing her family's increasingly turbulent lives, the collection also contained hundreds of silent home movies, photographs and written journals. Using only these found materials, Dews has fashioned a searing family portrait documentary that affords fly-on-the-wall access to one family's struggles amid an America on the verge of dramatic transformation. An accomplished writer, Dews has published numerous articles, stories and poetry. Dews' short film, Elke's Visit, was an official selection of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH is his first feature. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/morgan-dews.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/morgan-dews.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with BARRY JENKINS the director of MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY — a love story about a one-night stand told through two African-American twenty-something's dealing with issues of class, identity, and the evolving conundrum of being a minority in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco — a city with the smallest black population of any other major American City. When Micah (Wyatt Cenac) and Jo (Tracey Heggins) stumble into the brightness of a sunny San Francisco day after a hook-up, Jo' can't wait to escape the uncomfortable silence, but a shared cab ride and a lost wallet soon bring a well intentioned Micah to her front door. As caution turns to curiosity, the young couple sets off on a romantic ramble through eclectic neighborhoods and their own lives as they swap views on everything from the meaning of blackness to the letting go of heartbreak. Jenkins is the writer-director of the short films MY JOSEPHINE and LITTLE BROWN BOY. MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY is his first feature film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/barry-jenkins.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/barry-jenkins.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with RAHDI TAYLOR Associate Director of the SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY FILM PROGRAM. Taylor administers the Sundance Documentary Fund which nurtures courageous, independent artists worldwide who surface true stories of human rights, social justice, freedom of expression, civil liberties, and other pressing issues for global audiences. At the core of the Sundance Documentary Program is the Sundance Documentary Fund, which offers a continuum of support through the life of a project, from research to production and post-production, through to distribution and audience engagement. By supporting innovative nonfiction storytelling by both emerging and established documentary filmmakers, the fund promotes the diverse exchange of ideas by artists and audiences, and reflect Sundance Institute’s celebration of documentary as an increasingly important global art form and a critical cultural practice in the 21st century. At right is a video of the trailor to Ondi Timoner's "Be Like Others," a Sundance Documentary Film Program project. An award-winning filmmaker herself, Taylor's works as a writer and director have screened nationally and internationally and garnered her a nomination for the Rockefeller Fellowship for Media Arts. On Tuesday February 10, Taylor will present the film makers at a screening of WOMEN IN SHROUD at The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/rahdi-taylor.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/rahdi-taylor.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SCOTT HAMILTON KENNEDY the producer / director of THE GARDEN, a documentary that focuses on the fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles — the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis. THE GARDEN follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers. Scott’s debut documentary, OT: our town, was an official selection and won awards at some of the top film festivals in the world. In it’s theatrical release, OT garnered rave reviews, was selected for several ‘best of’ lists (including Kenneth Turan of the LA Times), and was nominated for Best Documentary by the IFP Independent Spirit Awards. THE GARDEN is nominated for a 2009 Academy Award for Best Documentary. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/scott-hamilton-kennedy.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/scott-hamilton-kennedy.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with STEPHANE GAUGER the director of THE OWL AND THE SPARROW a film following the fictional story of three Vietnamese individuals over a period of five days as they meet in Vietnam. Owl and the Sparrow is a fairy tale about a little girl who searches for a family she can call her own. Pham Thi Han, who plays ten-year-old Thuy, describes her character as “down on her luck.” So she runs away from her uncle’s bamboo factory, where her work is never good enough. A flower girl on the streets of Saigon, she discovers two other castaway hearts, in a man who takes refuge as a zookeeper (Le The Lu) and a flight attendant (Cat Ly) who’s looking for love. Gauger's guerrilla-style camera and small-scale mode of production flows with the traffic of the city, but always in step with little Thuy and all that drives her dreams. Gauger was born in Saigon and raised in Orange County, California. The Owl and the Sparrow won Best Narrative Feature at the 2007 San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stephan-gauger.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stephan-gauger.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with AJ SCHNACK and THOM POWERS , co-chairs of CINEMA EYE HONORS — a new nonfiction filmmaking award, recognizing the wide breadth of documentary filmaking and also specific crafts such as cinematography and editing that are being created from within the documentary community. IndiePix, the internet based distributor of independent film is the presenting partner and sponsor for the awards. SHNACK is a filmmaker and writer (whose 2008 Sundance Video Blog is on the right) based in Los Angeles. He has directed two nonfiction feature films - Kurt Cobain About A Son(2007) which was nominated for a 2007 Independent Spirit Award and Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (2003) Since 2005, Schnack has written the highly-regarded film blog All These Wonderful Things, which focuses primarily on issues related to nonfiction filmmaking. POWERS is the documentary programmer of the Toronto International Film Festival where he has presented premieres by veteran directors such as Werner Herzog, Jonathan Demme, David Guggenheim and Kevin Rafferty; as well as the first feature length works of Adria Petty, Kristopher Belman and Jeffrey Levy-Hinte. His most recent documentaries are Loving & Cheating (Cinemax), about monogamy and infidelity; and Guns & Mothers (PBS), about women on both sides of the gun control debate. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/aj-thom.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/aj-thom.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MARGARET BROWN the writer and director of THE ORDER OF MYTHS a film that escorts us into the parallel hearts of Mobile, Alabama’s two racially segregated Mardi Gras carnivals. Brown traces the exotic world of secret mystic societies and centuries-old traditions and pageantry; diamond encrusted crowns; voluminous, hand sewn gowns, surreal masks and enormous paper mache floats. Against this backdrop, she uncovers a tangles web of historical violence and power dynamics, elusive forces that keep this hallowed tradition organized along enduring color lines. Brown is the producer and director of the acclaimed documentary Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt. Brown directed the music video “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” for Okkervil River. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/margaret-brown.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/margaret-brown.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with THAVISOUK PHRASAVATH co-director of THE BETRAYAL — the epic story of a family forced to emigrate from Laos after the chaos of the secret air war waged by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. A Lao prophecy says, "A time will come when the universe will break, piece by piece, the world will change beyond what we know." That time came for the small country of Laos with the clandestine involvement of the United States during the Vietnam War. By 1973, three million tons of bombs had been dropped on Laos in the fight to overcome the North Vietnamese, more than the total used during both world wars. With the rise of a Communist government in Laos, killings and arrests became common among those affiliated with the former government and the Americans. Families were torn apart-some finally emigrating to the U.S. In a collaboration spanning more than 20 years, Phrasavath the main subject of the film worked with co-director Ellen Kuras. Phrasavath takes us through his youth, his escape from persecution and arrest in Laos, his family's reunion and their journey as immigrants to America, and the second war they had to fight on the streets of New York City. Drawing on the techniques of experimental film and the traditions of Laotian culture, The Betrayal is a tale about a country, a family, and a young man who discovers the power and resilience of the human spirit. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/thavi.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/thavi.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with COURTNEY HUNT the director of FROZEN RIVER — the story of Ray Eddy, an upstate New York trailer mom who is lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling when she meets a Mohawk girl who lives on a reservation that straddles the US-Canadian border. Broke after her husband takes off with the down payment for their new doublewide, Ray reluctantly teams up with Lila, a smuggler, and the two begin making runs across the frozen St. Lawrence River carrying illegal Chinese and Pakistani immigrants in the trunk of Ray's Dodge Spirit. Hunt holds an MFA from Columbia University’s Film Division. Her thesis film, ALTHEA FAUGHT, a short about the American Civil War, which she wrote and directed, was purchased by PBS in 1996 and aired on American Playhouse. It screened in film festivals including the Tribeca First Look Series, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Montreal Festival des Film du Monde, and the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. The film also won Colombia’s first Prize in Directing from New Line Cinema. FROZEN RIVER was originally Hunt's second short film. It premiered in the New York Film Festival in September, 2004. The feature version won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/courtney-hunt.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/courtney-hunt.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JON ELSE the director of WONDERS ARE MANY: THE MAKING OF DOCTOR ATOMIC — the story of making a grand opera about the atomic bomb. This behind-the-scenes documentary follows composer John Adams and director Peter Sellars over the course of a year as they work to forge the tale of J. Robert Oppenheimer into a music drama like no other: the strange and beautiful “Doctor Atomic.” As creation of the opera unfolds, as Sellars and Adams struggle to make high art from the most savage weapon in history, the film also explores the unnerving 60 year history of nuclear weapons. It shows the real events behind the drama on stage, and the unintended consequences of actions (and inactions) of men working on the first nuclear device. Weaving together the intense and sometimes hilarious process of making an opera with striking newly declassified historical film, Wonders Are Many focuses on the 48 hours leading up to the Trinity atomic test in July of 1945. Else’s film The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb was described by Tom Shales in the Washington Post as “the best film ever made about living intimately with doom of our own design.” Winner of the first-ever documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1980, it has been broadcast repeatedly in virtually every developed country over the past 20 years. It is used widely in schools, universities, and institutions as varied as the Pentagon, the CIA, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Wonders are Many will premier on PBS Tuesday, December 16. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jon-else.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jon-else.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with PATRICK CREADON the director of I.O.U.S.A. — an examination of the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. Burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs, and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions. Creadon interweaves archival footage and economic data to paint a vivid and alarming profile of America's current economic situation. The ultimate power of I.O.U.S.A. is that the film moves beyond doomsday rhetoric to proffer potential financial scenarios and propose solutions about how we can recreate a fiscally sound nation for future generations. Creadon began his career as one of the youngest cameramen in the history of PBS, shooting and producing cinema-verite style stories for the critically acclaimed series "THE 90's". As a cameraman his work has appeared on every major network, including NBC, CBS, ABC, MTV, VH1, and ESPN. He has also done work for Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, Sony, Universal Studios, and Disney. Wordplay, Creadon’s feature-length directorial debut, is a documentary film about The New York Times crossword editor and National Public Radio personality Will Shortz. Wordplay became only the fourth documentary ever to be awarded the "Golden Tomato" from Rottentomatoes.com for "Best Reviewed Documentary of The Year." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/patrick-creadon.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/patrick-creadon.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with KURT KUENNE the director of DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER. On November 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered in a parking lot in western Pennsylvania; the prime suspect, his ex-girlfriend Dr. Shirley Turner, promptly fled the United States for St. John’s, Canada, where she announced that she was pregnant with Andrew’s child. She named the little boy Zachary. Kuenne, Andrew’s oldest friend, began making a film for little Zachary as a way for him to get to know the father he’d never meet. But when Shirley Turner was released on bail in Canada and was given custody of Zachary while awaiting extradition to the U.S., the film’s focus shifted to Zachary’s grandparents, David & Kathleen Bagby, and their desperate efforts to win custody of the boy from the woman they knew had murdered their son. What happened next, no one ever could have foresee. Kuenne is an award-winning filmmaker and composer of both fiction and documentary films. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kurt-kuenne.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kurt-kuenne.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ABIGAIL DISNEY the producer of PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL — a film chronicling the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Thousands of women - ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim - came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about a agreement during the stalled peace talks. Disney is is also the Founder and the President of the Daphne Foundation, a progressive, social change Foundation that makes grants to grassroots, community-based organizations working with low-income communities in New York City. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/abigail-disney.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/abigail-disney.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview GONZALO ARIJON the director of STRANDED: I HAVE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS — a documentary that details the October 12th, 1972 crash of a passenger airplane carrying a team of amateur rugby players in the Andes. For 10 days the search and rescue teams sent out by Argentina, Chile and Uruguay could find no trace of the plane and its passengers. Particularly heavy snow falls had all but buried the white-roofed wreck of the plane, making it almost invisible from the air. Nobody believed that there was any hope of finding any of the 45 crash victims. Ten weeks later, a shepherd herding his flock in a high Andean valley saw the outline of two men in the distance, waving their arms to attract his attention. After the rescue, at a noisy press conference, the survivors admitted that they had been obliged to eat "the bodies of our friends" in order to survive. The world’s media, gathered to hear their story, was stunned. How did they survive the appalling conditions at 4.000 metres? How did they organize their daily lives during the ordeal? How did two of them manage to get out of there on foot to fetch a rescue party? This is a story that transcends the personal, a philosophical tale about the importance of friendship and solidarity in extreme situations. Arijon was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and lives in France since 1979. He's both, uruguayan and French. He studied anthropology and film-making and for the past 15 years has directed numerous documentaries. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gonzalo-arijon.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gonzalo-arijon.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with LANCE HAMMER writer, director, editor, and producer of BALLAST the story of a single mother and her embattled son who struggle to subsist in a small Mississippi Delta township. An act of violence thrusts them into the world of an emotionally devastated highway store owner, awakening the fury of a bitter and longstanding conflict. With the boy's future hanging in the balance, the two adults must reckon with the past while together searching for a new way forward. Hammer was born in 1967 in Ventura, California. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Architecture and worked as an art director in the studio film system. He resides in Los Angeles. Hammer was awarded the Dramatic Directing Award at Sundance ’08 for BALLAST, his first feature as a writer and director. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lancehammer.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lancehammer.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with TOMAS ALFREDSON director of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - arguably one of the finest vampire films ever made. A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy's wish for a friend seems to come true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him with her father. A pale, serious young girl, she only comes out at night and doesn't seem affected by the freezing temperatures. Coinciding with Eli's arrival is a series of inexplicable disappearances and murders. One man is found tied to a tree, another frozen in the lake, a woman bitten in the neck. Blood seems to be the common denominator – and for an introverted boy like Oskar, who is fascinated by gruesome stories, it doesn't take long before he figures out that Eli is a vampire. Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a disturbing and darkly atmospheric, yet poetic and unexpectedly tender tableau of adolescence. The feature is based on the best-selling novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tomas-alfredson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tomas-alfredson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with PETER GALISON and ROBB MOSS co-directors of SECRECY — a film about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy. By focusing on classified secrets, the government's ability to put information out of sight if it would harm national security, Secrecy explores the tensions between our safety as a nation, and our ability to function as a democracy. From extraordinary rendition to warrant-less wiretaps and Abu Ghraib, we have learned that, under the veil of classification, even our leaders can give in to dangerous impulses. Secrecy increasingly hides national policy, impedes coordination among agencies, bloats budgets and obscures foreign accords; secrecy throws into the dark our system of justice and derails the balance of power between the executive branch and the rest of government. Moss's recent film, The Same River Twice, premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for a 2004 Independent Spirit award, and played theatrically in more than eighty cities across North America. As a cinematographer he has shot films in Ethiopia, Hungary, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Turkey-on such subjects as famine genocide and the large-scale structure of the universe-and many of these pieces were shown on Public Television. He was on the 2004 documentary jury at the Sundance Film Festival and has thrice served as a creative advisor for the Sundance Institute documentary labs. He is the past board chair and president of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers and has taught filmmaking at Harvard University for the past 20 years. Galison is Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard. His film on the moral-political debates over the H-bomb, "Ultimate Weapon: The H-bomb Dilemma" has been shown frequently on the History Channel. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/moss-galison.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/moss-galison.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview AZAZEL JACOBS writer and director of MOMMA'S MAN which chronicles the increasingly anxious dilemma of Mikey (Matt Boren), a young husband and father who stops off at his parents’ loft during a business trip to New York and finds himself emotionally unable to leave. One of the most acclaimed films of this year's Sundance Film Festival, Jacobs' third feature is both a tribute to his parents (avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs and painter Flo Jacobs, who play Mikey’s mother and father) and an acutely perceptive, slyly humorous take on a universal experience: the fear of growing up. Jacobs' theses film, Kirk and Kerry, won Best Short Film at the 1997 Slamdance Film Festival. Filmmaker Magazine named him among the "25 Directors to Watch." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/azazel-jacobs.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/azazel-jacobs.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with STEFAN FORBES writer and director of BOOGIE MAN: THE LEE ATWATER STORY - a gripping political thriller about Lee Atwater, a blues-playing rogue whose rambunctious rise from the South to Chairman of the GOP made him a political rock star. He mentored George W. Bush and Karl Rove while leading the Republican party to historic victories, helping make liberal a dirty word, and transforming the way America elects our Presidents. In eye-opening interviews with elite Republicans and friends of Atwater, Boogie Man sheds new light on his crucial role in America's shift to the right. To Democrats offended by the 1988 Willie Horton controversy, Atwater was a remorseless political assassin aptly dubbed by one Congresswoman "the most evil man in America." But he remains a hero to many Republicans for his irreverent sense of humor, his deep understanding of the American heartland, and his unapologetic vision of politics as war. This film builds to a moving portrait of a cynic's desperate deathbed search for meaning. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stefan-forbes.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stefan-forbes.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with CHRIS SMITH the director of 2007 Sundance Special Jury Prize THE POOL — the story of Venkatesh, a "room boy" working at a hotel in Panjim, Goa, who sees from his perch in a mango tree a luxuriant garden and shimmering pool hidden behind a wall. In making whatever efforts he can to better himself, Venkatesh offers his services to the wealthy owner of the home. Not content to simply dream about a different life, Venkatesh is inquisitive about the home's inhabitants-indeed about the world around him-and his curiosity changes the shape of his future. Working in Hindi with young actors and in a country obviously not his own, Smith has created an incisive portrait that will take a place on a global stage. Smith is an accomplished filmmaker whose previous films include American Job (1996, Sundance Film Festival), American Movie (1999, Grand Jury Prize-Sundance Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics), Home Movie (2001, Sundance Film Festival) and The Yes Men (2004, United Artists). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/chris-smith.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/chris-smith.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SEAN BAKER and SHIH-CHING TSOU co-directors of TAKE OUT — a day-in-the-life of an illegal Chinese immigrant working as a deliveryman for a Chinese take-out shop in New York City. Ming is behind with payments on his huge debt to the smugglers who brought him to the United States. The collectors have given him until the end of the day to deliver the money that is due. In a social-realist style, the camera follows Ming on his deliveries throughout the upper Manhattan neighborhood where social and economic extremes exist side by side. Baker is best known for co-creating the cult television show "Greg the Bunny." He co-wrote and co-directed for the IFC series. His first feature, "Four Letter Words," a study of adolescent males in Suburbia USA, premiered at South by Southwest 2001. It is currently being released on DVD by Vanguard Cinema. "Take Out," Sean completed his third feature film, "The Prince of Broadway" in May 2008. "Prince of Broadway" premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film is about a West African immigrant that sells counterfeit goods in NYC's wholesale district. It won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative. Shih-Ching’s credits include production design on three nationally aired commercials and post-production work on three short films. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/baker-tsou.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/baker-tsou.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with IRENA SALINA the director of FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER – an award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question "CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?" Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. Salina’s first film, Ghost Bird: The Life and Art of Judith Deim (2000) delves into the remarkable life of St. Louis-born artist Judith Deim. Ghost Bird won Best Documentary at the 15th Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, the Presidents' Award at Mexico's prestigious Ajijic Film Festival, and is an evergreen audience favorite on the Sundance Channel. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/irena-salina.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/irena-salina.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with RANDALL MILLER the director of BOTTLE SHOCK - the story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris". Shot on location in the Northern California wine country, Bottle Shock focuses on the contentious relationship between headstrong perfectionist Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), a former attorney, and his free-spirited son Bo (Chris Pine). For all their differences, the two share a dream of producing a great Chardonnay at the Chateau Montelena vineyard Jim founded in Calistoga in the early 1970s. Miller began his career at the American Film Institute with the short film Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. The film won numerous awards and began Miller's professional career as a director. Off the heat of the short, Randall directed numerous episodic series such as "thirtysomething," "Northern Exposure," "Popular" and "Jack & Jill." His feature career took off with the films Houseguest and The Sixth Man. Looking to get back to his roots in independent filmmaking, Miller and his wife, Jody Savin, set out to start anew. Ironically, their new start took them back to the short with which it all began. Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School is now realized as a full-length feature. The team subsequently completed another labor of love, Nobel Son (2007), starring Alan Rickman as a Nobel Prize winner you hate to love. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/randall-miller.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/randall-miller.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MAKOTO SASA, the producer and director of FIRE UNDER THE SNOW - a look at the life of Tibetan monk Palden Gyatso, who spent 33 years in prison as his nation was seized by China. Palden Gyatso, a Buddhist monk since childhood, was arrested by the Chinese Communist Army in 1959. He was tortured, starved and sentenced to hard labor. He watched his nation and culture destroyed, his teachers, friends and family displaced, jailed or killed under Chinese occupation. Fire Under the Snow reaches back to Palden's birth in 1933 and follows him through the Orwellian nightmare that began with the Chinese invasion. The film investigates the basis of Palden's resilience. He claims that faith in Buddhism helped him survive the 33 years of his imprisonment. While imprisoned, the mere existence of the Dalai Lama was a beacon of hope to Palden and fellow prisoners-of-conscience. They dreamed of being released from their torment and delivered into his open arms. Today, the Dalai Lama and his supporters advance the idea of a "mutually beneficial" autonomy within China, an idea generated from Buddhist philosophy. Makoto Sasa has made several short documentaries, worked as assistant editor for the 35mm features Going Under (2004) starring Roger Rees, and LOVE (2005). Recently, she has been directing and editing several documentaries for SONY Japan's broadband streaming video website World Event Village. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/makoto-sasa.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/makoto-sasa.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with TIA LESSIN and CARL DEAL producers and directors of TROUBLE THE WATER. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Trouble the Water tells the story of an aspiring rap artist and her streetwise husband, trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning. It’s a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes that takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. Sessin was a producer of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, winner of the Palme d’Or, and Academy Award-winning Bowling for Columbine. Her other film credits include line producer on Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home: Bob Dylan and coordinating producer on The Big One. Lessin’s work as producer of the series The Awful Truth, which the Los Angeles Times called “the smartest and funniest show on television,” earned her two Emmy nominations and one arrest. Deal was the Archival Producer for Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine, and has contributed to many other documentaries, including Sundance Festival favorites Murderball and God Grew Tired of Us, and John Pilger's recent The War on Democracy. He previously worked as an international news producer and has reported from natural disasters and conflict zones throughout the U.S., Latin America, and in Iraq. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lessin-deal.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lessin-deal.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with DOROTHY FADIMAN Producer / Director of STEALING AMERICA: VOTE BY VOTE. The last two presidential elections both came down to a relatively small number of votes, and in both elections the integrity of the voting process has been called into question. With the upcoming election looking to be similarly close, the time has come to ask the questions: what happened in 2000 and 2004; what has changed since; and what can be done to ensure a fair and honest tabulation of votes in 2008? STEALING AMERICA: Vote by Vote brings together behind-the-scenes perspectives from the U.S. presidential election of 2004 – plus startling stories from key races in 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2006. Fadiman has been producing media with a focus on social justice and human rights since 1976. Her film subjects have ranged from progressive education in WHY DO THESE KIDS LOVE SCHOOL? (produced with KTEH-TV) and progressive change for women in some of the least developed villages of India in WOMAN by WOMAN: New Hope for the Villages of India (produced with KQED-TV); to a three-film series on reproductive issues and a five-film series on AIDS in Ethiopia including From RISK to ACTION: Women and HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. Fadiman has won more than 50 major awards, including an Emmy for her 1995 production FROM DANGER to DIGNITY: The Fight for Safe Abortion, and an Oscar nomination for Best Short Subject, as well as the Gold Medal from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for her 1992 production WHEN ABORTION WAS ILLEGAL: Untold Stories. Her films have been broadcast on PBS, and have been screened in many international venues. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dorothy-fadiman.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dorothy-fadiman.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with EDDIE SCHMIDT Executive Director of the INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY ASSOCIATION about DocuWeek— a public theatrical exhibition of outstanding new documentary films at the Arclight Theatres in Hollywood and Sherman Oaks, August 22nd thru August 28th. This years program includes the documentaries Glass: a portrait of Philip in twelve parts (trailer is on the right), Baghdad Twist, Kick Like A Girl, The Wrecking Crew, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story and Fire Under the Snow. Schmidt has worked as a producer, director, writer and cinematographer. His projects include This Film is Not Yet Rated and Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/eddie-schmidt.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/eddie-schmidt.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with GUILLAUME CANET director of TELL NO ONE — a crime thriller and winner of the best director, best actor, best editing and best music at France's César Awards. France. The film focuses on Alexandre Beck a pediatrician who misses his beloved wife who was brutally murdered eight years ago when he was the prime suspect. When two bodies are found near where the corpse of Margot was dumped, the police reopen the case and Alex becomes suspect again. The mystery increases when Alex receives an e-mail showing Margot older and alive. After his critically-acclaimed directorial debut, Mon Idole (Whatever You Say), French actor Canet rounded up a stellar cast, which includes Marie-Josée Croze, Kristen Scott-Thomas, Nathalie Baye, André Dussollier, Jean Rochefort, Marina Hands and Canet himself in this film .based on American writer Harlan Coben’s bestselling novel. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gcanet.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gcanet.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JAMES MARSH director of MAN ON WIRE — a look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century. Petit committed one of the most astonishing performance stunts of the late 20th century: he strung a thin cable in-between the two towers of the World Trade Center and not only walked across, from one building to another, but did a nerve-wracking series of knee-bends and acrobatic movements on the cable, some 1,350 feet above the ground, before turning himself in. This occurred to the consternation and chagrin of Port Authority policemen, who immediately arrested Petit for the act. When Marsh decided he wanted to become a filmmaker, he "took the path of least resistance" and landed a job at the BBC, making documentaries for Arena. Specialising in American pop culture, notable docs included Trouble Man: The Last Years Of Marvin Gaye (1994) and The Burger And The King (1996), examining the dietary quirks of Elvis Presley. It was Marsh's work on acclaimed 1999 documentary Wisconsin Death Trip that provided his big screen breakout. He followed that with his first feature, The King. Man on Wire won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/james-marsh.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/james-marsh.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with MARINA ZENOVICH director of ROMAN PULANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED — a documentary that examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States. On March 11, 1977, Roman Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with the following counts: furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, committing a lewd or lascivious act on a child, unlawful sexual intercourse, rape by use of drugs, perversion and sodomy. Less than a year later, on February 1, 1978, Polanski drove to LAX, bought a one-way ticket to Europe, and never came back. Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired explores the implausible events that took place between these dates, along with details, before and after, that forever altered the life and career of Polanski, one of the world's most acclaimed directors. Polanski, whose life already read like the script of one of his most tragic, brutal films, lost both his Polish parents during WWII, but rose to become a star filmmaker in Poland, England and, later, the U.S. His storybook love affair with Sharon Tate ended with her 1969 murder at the hands of followers of Charles Manson; she was eight months pregnant. Surviving the tragedy and press firestorm accompanying it, Polanski rebuilt his career in the 1970s - until he made a fateful mistake during a 1977 photo shoot with a 13-year-old girl. Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/marina-zenovich.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/marina-zenovich.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JEFF STIMMEL director of THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE — the unusual story of the rise and fall of a major talent, along with Julian Schnabel and Jean-Michel Basquiat, from the 1980s art world. Though he was extremely talented with a profitable collection of work, Connelly ended up alienating every collector and gallery owner he worked with. This documentary follows the life of this brilliant yet enigmatic painter, who had great success as a young artist but who now sees his career fading. Driven by desperation, and left by his wife during the course of this documentary, Connelly hires an actor to pose as a young, upcoming artist to sell Chuck's work to galleries and art dealers. The film provides an intimate and often troubling character study of Connelly, a working-class guy from Pittsburgh who holds "traditional" beliefs that art is, above all, about personal expression and craftsmanship. These notions have proven to be less-than-fashionable in today's elite art world, the inner workings of which are also glimpsed in the film. Shot over six years, this documentary explores a painter's passion for his work, despite being his own worst enemy. Stimmel is a Los Angeles based filmmaker who has directed several short films. In 2001, he received the PEER award for the production of Ed Sherman's The State of the Artist. The Art of Failure will screen on HBO beginning July 7 and will be available thereafter on HBO On Demand. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stimmel.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/stimmel.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ALEX GIBNEY the director of GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF HUNTER S. THOMPSON — the definitive film biography of a mythic American figure, a man that Tom Wolfe called our “greatest comic writer,” whose suicide, by gunshot, led Rolling Stone Magazine, where Thompson began his career, to devote an entire issue (its best-selling ever) to the man that launched a thousand sips of bourbon, endless snorts of cocaine and a brash, irreverent, fearless style of journalism - named “gonzo” after an anarchic blues riff by James Booker. Gibney is the Academy Award nominated director of Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room and the director of the Academy Award winning documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side. While Gibney shaped the screen story, every narrated word in the film springs from the typewriters of Thompson himself. Those words are given life by Johnny Depp, the actor who once shadowed Thompson’s every move for the screen version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and who bankrolled Thompson’s spectacular funeral (photographed for this film) in which the good doctor’s ashes were fired from a rocket launcher mounted with a towering two-thumbed fist whose palm held a giant peyote button. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gibney-thompson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gibney-thompson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SEAN BAKER the director /writer of PRINCE OF BROADWAY — the story of Lucky and Levon, two men whose lives converge in the underbelly of New York's wholesale fashion district. Lucky, an illegal immigrant from Ghana, makes ends meet by soliciting shoppers on the street with knock-off brand merchandise. Levon, an Armenian-Lebanese immigrant, operates an illegal storefront with a concealed back room where counterfeit goods are showcased to interested shoppers. Lucky's world is suddenly turned upside down when a child is thrust into his life by a woman who insists the toddler is his son. Shot in a fast-paced guerilla style that is akin to the hustler lifestyle, the film reveals the lives of immigrants in America seeking ideals of family and love, while creating their own knock-off of the American Dream. Baker is best known for co-creating the cult television show "Greg the Bunny." His first feature, "Four Letter Words," a study of adolescent males in Suburbia USA, premiered at South by Southwest 2001. It is currently being released on DVD by Vanguard Cinema. "Take Out," Sean's second feature is slated for release by Cavu Cinema. Having premiered at Slamdance 2004, it won Best Feature at the Nashville Film Festival. Prince of Broadway will begin screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival Sunday, June 22, 7:00pm at The Regent in http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sean-baker.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sean-baker.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with SETH PACKARD writer / director / lead actor of HOTTIEBOOMBALOTTIE — a geektastic comedy full of hip tunes and embarrassing situations. Trapped in Utah with an overbearing mother and an older brother bent on sabotaging his entire life, teenage Ethan channels all his ambitions into a deluded obsession with uber-hottie Madison Sweet. Meanwhile, his cousin Cleo seems to want to be closer than just family. Commanding the screen with his Flock of Seagulls-meets-Wolverine hairdo, Ethan is an irresistable bundle of peculiar energy, both cheerfully clueless and unexpectedly charming. will began screening Saturday, June 21st 7:15pm at The Regent as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/seth-packard.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/seth-packard.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with MORGAN NEVILLE the director THE COOL SCHOOL - a documentary about the Ferus Gallery which from 1957 to 1966 was the catalyst of modern art in Los Angeles. Operating out of a small storefront, the gallery hosted debut exhibitions and served as a general launching point for Ed Kienholz, Ed Ruscha, Craig Kauffman, Wallace Berman, Ed Moses and Robert Irwin, among many other artists. By the time it closed in 1966, the gallery had also played a role in solidifying the careers of many of New York's brightest talents, including Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns building an art scene from scratch and transforming the cultural climate of the West Coast. Neville is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who specializes in history and cultural subjects. Through a series of films on important music subjects (including The Brill Building, Sam Phillips and Sun Records, Nat King Cole, Brian Wilson, Leiber & Stoller, The Highwaymen and Burt Bacharach), Neville has documented stories of songwriters and producers who helped shape 20th-century music, including the Grammy-nominated Muddy Waters Can't Be Satisfied and the Emmy-winning Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues, both of which aired on PBS's American Masters series as well as Channel 4/UK and the BBC's Arena series. The Cool School will air on KCET Independent Lens Wednesday, June 11, at 8:00pm. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/morgan-neville.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/morgan-neville.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with RAMIN BAHRANI the director of CHOP SHOP — winner of the Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award. CHOP SHOP follows Alejandro, a tough and ambitious Latino street orphan on the verge of adolescence, as he lives and works in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. In this chaotic world of adults, young Alejandro struggles to make a better life for himself and his 16-year-old sister, Isamar. Born and raised in America, Bahrani moved to his parents' homeland of Iran for three years where he made his student thesis film, Strangers (2000). Bahrani then lived in Paris before returning to the states to begin work on his first feature film, Man Push Cart (2005). Winning over ten international prizes, Man Push Cart was also nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards. CHOP SHOP, Bahrani’s second feature film premiered at The Cannes Film Festival where Le Monde declared it "The major revelation of the Director's Fortnight." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ramin-bahrani.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ramin-bahrani.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 May 2008 08:30:00 -0800 An interview with CHRISTOPHER ZALLA the director of SANGRE DE MI SANGRE — winner of the Best Film at the Sundance Film Festival (under its former title Padre Nuestro). SANGRE DE MI SANGRE is an exhilarating and provocative thriller exposing the dark side of the American dream. A young Mexican immigrant, Pedro (Jorge Adrian Espindola), journeys to New York City in search of the successful father he has never met only to have his belongings and identity stolen by a conniving thief, Juan (Armando Hernandez). As Pedro is left alone and unable to communicate in a country foreign to him, Juan cons his way into the home of Pedro's father, Diego (Jesus Ochoa), finding a man just as flawed as he is. While Juan attempts to reinvent himself, Pedro's only hope lies with a mysteriously complex prostitute, Magda (Paola Mendoza), as he frantically searches for his identity back. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/zalla.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/zalla.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 20 May 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JOACHIM TRIER the director of REPRISE — a lean and kinetic journey through friendship, love, madness and creativity. Trier viscerally captures the way life takes off at rocket-speed in the beginning of adulthood and the what-ifs and why-nots that both drive and haunt us as the unbridled hopes of youth come to a screeching halt. The story kicks off just as Phillip (ANDERS DANIELSON LIE) and Erik (ESPEN KLOUMAN-HOINER) stand at the mailbox, each about to ship off his first novel to publishers, each is hoping to become a wildly influential cult author, each has visions of a new life of non-stop intensity, brilliance, romance and nightclubbing. REPRISE explores not just what happens to Phillip and Erik as they pick up the pieces but what might have happened to them, what they imagine could happen, what they fear will possibly happen and what they cant see actually happening. REPRISE marks the feature film debut of Joachim Trier, who wrote the screenplay with Eskil Vogt. In its native Norway, the film won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay at the national film awards. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/joachim-trier.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/joachim-trier.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 May 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with HARMONY KORINE the director of MISTER LONELY the story of a young American in Paris who works as a Michael Jackson lookalike. Michael Jackson meets meets Marilyn Monroe, who invites him to her commune in Scotland, where she lives with Charlie Chaplin and her daughter, Shirley Temple. In 1995, at the age of 19, Korine wrote the critically acclaimed screenplay Kids for director Larry Clark. Following his fame with Kids, Korine directed the beautifully jarring unconventional films Gummo (1997) starring Werner Herzog followed by Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) which was based on the experiences of Korine's schizophrenic uncle. Christened "the future of American cinema" by Herzog, Korine is the son of documentary filmmaker Sol Korine. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/korine.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/korine.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 06 May 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with AMYN KADERALI, the director of KISSING COUSINS — a romantic comedy about a professional heartbreaker and cynical bachelor who teams up with his attractive cousin from the UK in order to fool his friends into believing he is capable of a relationship. KISSING COUSINS stars Samrat Chakrabarti (a rising Indian American star), Rebecca Hazlewood (from the UK hit series "Dog Eat Dog"), Zack Ward ("Transformers"), PJ Byrne ("Evan Almighty"), Gerry Bednob ("40 Year Old Virgin"), Jaleel White (aka "Urkel"), and David Alan Grier. AMYN KADERALI graduated cum laude with a degree in Communications Studies at UCLA in 1994, and pursued a Master’s Degree in Directing at the prestigious Graduate Film Department at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he received the Martin Scorsese Young Filmmaker Award in 1996 and the Perry Ellis Breakthrough Filmmaker Award in 1997. His second-year short film, Little Man, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Short at the 1998 Slamdance Film Festival, the prestigious Lew Wasserman Award and Best Short Awards in Melbourne, Bilbao, and Marin County. KISSING COUSINS screens Sunday May 4. 6:30 pm at the Directors Guild of America Theatre as part of the Asian Pacific Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kaderali.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kaderali.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JODI LONG the writer and narrator of LONG STORY SHORT — the fascinating documentary about her parents Larry and Trudie Long, a popular husband-and-wife nightclub act of the '40s and '50s. The film traces the couple's rise from the Chinatown nightclub circuit to a coveted appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and beyond. Known as "The Leungs," (a more Chinese-sounding name), they performed a mix of tap dancing, witty repartee and "Chinaman" caricatures that both played to and undermined the racist attitudes of the day. The limitations facing Asian American performers become even more obvious when Larry lost a rare opportunity to play a major role in the Broadway production of Flower Drum Song, the first musical with an all-Asian cast. Although he went on to perform in the show's traveling company, he never made it to Broadway, a failure from which his career never fully recovered. Redemption of a complicated sort comes when Jodi appears on Broadway in a revival of the same musical, re-written by Chinese American playwright David Henry Hwang. LONG STORY SHORT will screen at the Los Angeles Asian American Film Festival Sunday, May 4 at 2 pm. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/long.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/long.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with JOHN STEWART MULLER the director of LIE TO ME — a film that chronicles an attractive young couple’s open relationship as it is stretched to the breaking point when they find themselves falling in love with other people. This romance explores such universal issues as honesty, jealousy, commitment, maturity, understanding and ultimately our capacity for love. LIE TO ME stars Brandon Routh, best known as Superman/Clark Kent in the Superman Returns. A founding partner of Steele Films and a multi-talented director, MULLER began making films at the age of seven. Experimental, artistic and incredibly personal, his past work has helped hone his creative skills allowing him to pursue a career as a commercial director. LIE TO ME will premier at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 26. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/muller.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/muller.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with ALBERT MAYSLES who, along with his brother David (1932-1987), is recognized as a pioneer of "direct cinema," the distinctly American version of French "cinema verité." The Maysles Brothers earned their distinguished reputations by being the first to make non-fiction feature films — films in which the drama of human life unfolds as is, without scripts, sets, or narration. The brother’s landmark non-fiction feature film SALESMAN (1968), a portrait of four door-to-door Bible salesmen from Boston, won an award from the National Society of Film Critics and is regarded as the classic American documentary. Their next two films became cult classics. GIMME SHELTER (1970) is the portrait of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones on their American tour which culminated in a killing at the notorious concert at Altamont. GREY GARDENS (1976) captures on film the haunting relationship of the Beales, a mother and daughter living secluded in a decaying East Hampton mansion (clip above). Maysles Films Inc. has produced many films on art and artists, including a long-standing collaboration of celebrated artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose monumental environmental projects were documented in Academy Award-nominated CHRISTO'S VALLEY CURTAIN (1974), RUNNING FENCE (1978), ISLANDS (1986), CHRISTO IN PARIS (1990), and UMBRELLAS (1995) — which won the Grand Prize and People's Choice Award at the Montreal Festival of Films on Art. In 2001 Albert received the Sundance Film Festival 2001 Cinematography Award for Documentaries for LALEE'S KIN: THE LEGACY OF COTTON. Albert received exclusive access to the Dalai Lama and filmed his visit to New York in the summer of 2003 and is currently producing, along with Antonio Ferrara, THE GATES, a documentary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s latest art piece. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/albert-maysles.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/albert-maysles.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with John Sayles, one of America’s most distinguished independent filmmakers. Beginning with his first feature, Return of the Secaucus 7 (released in 1980), Sayles’ movies have helped define the 'other' that exists beyond Hollywood. Despite an unwillingness to tailor his subject matter and style to the dictates of the mainstream, he has managed to direct 15 feature films including The Brother from Another Planet, Matewan, Eight Men Out, The Secret of Roan Inish, Lone Star, and Silver City. Sayles began his career as a storyteller as a writer of fiction, authoring the novels Pride of the Bimbos (1975), Union Dues (1978, nominated for National Book Award and National Critics' Circle Award) and Los Gusanos (1990) and short story collections The Anarchists' Convention (1979) and Dillinger in Hollywood (2004). In this interview from June 14, 2005, we talk to Sayles about writing, politics, journalism and the business of film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sayles2.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sayles2.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with TOM STERN, director, co-writer, and producer of THIS IS A BUSINESS - an indie feature in the truest sense. Made on a modest budget and completely outside established studio channels, THIS IS A BUSINESS is an Ionesco-esque comedy about a shipping clerk named Turtletaub who starts his own business knowing only that he intends either to create a product or to provide a service, and whichever one it is, he pledges, it will be good... for everyone. Turtletaub hires an awkward, kind day laborer (Ernesto) as his assistant and a confident yet conflicted salesman (Baltimore) as his sales force. Now all that Turtletaub needs is to figure out what it is that his business will do. But there is constant noise streaming through the vent in the ceiling of Turtletaub's unit, and the landlord keeps giving Turtletaub the run around, and his salesman has somehow started bringing in investment money even though they do not know what it is that their business does, and Turtletaub is not sure what it is, exactly, that he owes these investors. As the pressure builds and things start to move, Turtletaub seems farther and farther away from having his idea. Until one night, it hits... and it's great... Stern has also directed, produced, and written six short films and a number of plays. His short films - BLUE ME and THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF TOM STERN, CHAPTER SIX: THE NEW SCIENCE - have been programmed in festivals on both coasts (Imagefest, LA Shorts, Independent Exposure 2007), and his stage production of FEIFFER'S PEOPLE was performed at The International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tom-stern.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tom-stern.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Neil Mandt the director and writer of Last Stop for Paul. Cliff and Charlie live boring lives in LA. In an effort to spice up their existence, Charlie suggests they go to the famous Full Moon Party in Thailand. Cliff agrees to go on the condition that they purchase around the world tickets and see the globe first. Along they way he wants to sprinkle the ashes of his recently deceased childhood friend, Paul. Together, Charlie, Cliff and the remains of Paul, embark on a trip of a lifetime as they travel to the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia. Shot in over 20 countries, Cliff and Charlie have unbelievable adventures in every location and their lives are changed forever. Winner of 45 film festival awards, Last Stop for Paul is the "Most Award Winning Independent Film of 2007." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mandt.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mandt.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Sara Lamm director / producer of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox. Dr. Emanuel Bronner was a master soapmaker, self-proclaimed rabbi, and, allegedly, Albert Einstein’s nephew. In 1947, after escaping from a mental institution, he invented the formula for “Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap,” a peppermint-infused, all-natural, multi-purpose liquid that can be found today in every American health food store. On each bottle of his soap, he printed an ever-evolving set of teachings he called “The Moral ABC,” designed, in his words, “To Unite All Mankind Free!” A human story about a socially responsible company, “Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soapbox” documents the complicated family legacy behind the counterculture’s favorite cleaning product — Bronner’s son, 68-year-old Ralph, endured over 15 orphanages and foster homes as a child, but despite difficult memories, is his father’s most ardent fan. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bronner.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bronner.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Brett Morgen director of Chicago 10 — an animated docudrama about the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention anti-war protests. Mixing animation with archival footage, Chicago 10 explores the build-up to and unraveling of the Chicago Conspiracy Trial of 8 activists set up as scapegoats by the US government. The mash-up film is a parable of hope, courage and ultimate victory, the story of young Americans speaking out and taking a stand in the face of armed oppression. Starring the voices of Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Nick Nolte, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber, and Jeffrey Wright, Chicago 10 premiered on opening night of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Morgen is an Academy Award nominated producer and director. His credits also include the Robert Evans biopic The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002), which he wrote, produced, and directed (with Nanette Burstein). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/morgen.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/morgen.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Dan Klores the director of Crazy Love a documentary about the obsessive roller-coaster relationship of Burt and Linda Pugach, which shocked the nation during the summer of 1959. Burt, a 32 year-old married attorney and Linda, a beautiful, single 20 year-old girl living in the Bronx had a whirlwind romance, which culminated in a violent and psychologically complex set of actions that landed the pair's saga on the cover of endless newspapers and magazines. With the cooperation of the principles, Burt, now 79, and Linda, 68, Klores examines the human psyche and the concepts of love, obsession, insanity, hope and forgiveness. Crazy Love had its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, earned the Best Documentary award at the 2007 Santa Barbara Film Festival and is a nominee for Best Documentary at this year's Independent Spirit Awards. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dan-klores.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dan-klores.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Jon Bloom, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Executive Committee Chair, regarding this year's Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short Film and Best Live Action Short Film. Bloom is an Oscar and Emmy nominated filmmaker with broad experience as a director, producer, writer, cinematographer and editor. With almost four decades in the motion picture industry, Bloom is a renowned specialist in entertainment marketing. His early work experience includes stints as an assistant director to Robert Wise and Robert Altman, and an assistant editor to Francis Ford Coppola on Godfather II. On Friday February 15th, Magnolia Pictures will release the 10 Oscar nominated live-action and animated short films to screen across the US and locally at the Landmark in West LA and Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 is Pasadena. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jon-bloom.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jon-bloom.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Marjane Satrapi writer and co-director of Persepolis — the Cannes film festival Jury Award-winning coming-of-age animated film about a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of Marjane that we see a people's hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power — forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the “social guardians” and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable. As she gets older, Marjane's boldness causes her parents to worry over her continued safety. Satrapi originally published Persepolis in 2001 as a graphic novel. She grew up in Tehran in a progressive family. Her family was involved with the communist and socialist movements in Iran, prior to the Islamic Iranian Revolution. She attended the Lycée Français there and witnessed, as a child, the growing oppression of civil liberties and the everyday-life consequences of Iranian politics, including the fall of the Shah, the early regime of Ayatollah Khomeini and the first years of the Iran-Iraq war. Persepolis is an Aacademy Award nominee for a Best Animated Film. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/satrapi.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/satrapi.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Diana Zahn-Storey the producer of the Film Independent Spirit Awards show which will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2008 telecasting uncut on IFC with an edited re-broadcast on AMC. The Awards are presented by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. Nominations for the 2008 Spirit Awards include Crazy Love, Manufactured Landscapes, Fire in the Lake, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I'm Not There, Juno, A Mighty Heart, Paranoid Park (trailer above) Ramin Bahrani, director of Chop Shop, Lee Isaac Chung, director of Munyurangabo and Ronnie Bronstein director of Frownland. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/zahn.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/zahn.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Bill Haney, director, producer and screenwriter of The Price of Sugar. In the Dominican Republic, a tropical island-nation, tourists flock to pristine beaches unaware that a few miles away thousands of dispossessed Haitians are toiling under armed-guard on plantations harvesting sugarcane, much of which ends up in U.S. kitchens. They work grueling hours and frequently lack decent housing, clean water, electricity, education or healthcare. Narrated by Paul Newman, "The Price of Sugar" follows Father Christopher Hartley, a charismatic Spanish priest, as he organizes some of this hemisphere's poorest people to fight for their basic human rights. This film raises key questions about where the products we consume originate and at what human cost they are produced. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bill-haney.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bill-haney.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Alex Gibney the director of Taxi to the Dark Side — an in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002. The documentary delves into the opposition to the use torture from its political and military opponents, as well as the defence of such methods; the attempts by Congress to uphold the standards of the Geneva Convention forbidding torture; and the popularisation of the use of torture techniques in shows such as 24. Gibney is the writer, producer and director of the 2006 Oscar-nominated film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, which also received the Independent Spirit Award and the WGA Award. In 2003, he served as the Series Producer for The Blues, an Emmy-nominated series of seven films in association with executive producer Martin Scorsese. Taxi to the Dark Side has won the Best Documentary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/alex-gibney.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/alex-gibney.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Dan Cox director of Running with Arnold — a documentary on Arnold Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial campaign in California. Running With Arnold is a politically-charged film that tells the fascinating and humorous story of one of the most famous men of our time. From his childhood in post World War II Austria, through his days as a weightlifting champion and action movie star, the film exposes Arnold Schwarzenegger's life in all of its sordid glory. We watch how Arnold's ambition for fame and power have led him on a 'take no prisoners' political career that resulted in his winning a circus campaign to become the leader of the world's fifth largest economy as Governor of California. Cox is an award-winning journalist who has worked for Reuters News Agency, Variety/Daily Variety, New York Post, CBS News, City News of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Business Journal. He has directed and produced theater in New York with the company Tyrannosaurus Rep. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dan-cox.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dan-cox.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Daniel Karslake the director of "For the Bible Tells Me So." Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Karslake's documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families — including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson — we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. For six years, Daniel Karslake has been an award-winning producer for the highly acclaimed newsmagazine, In the Life, which airs nationally on PBS in over 120 markets. Recognition for his outstanding work for the show, which has centered primarily on issues regarding religion and homosexuality, includes an Emmy nomination from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, as well as praise from GLAAD and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. For the Bible Tells Me So is on the Academy's short list of nominees for Best Documentary. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/karslake.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/karslake.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with John Turturro the director of Romance and Cigarettes — a down-and-dirty musical love story set in the world of the working class. Nick (James Gandolfini) is an ironworker who builds and repairs bridges. He's married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon), a dressmaker, a strong and gentle woman with whom he has three daughters. He is carrying on a torrid affair with a redheaded woman named Tula (Kate Winslet). Like Oedipus at Colonus, Nick is sent into exile and searches to find his way back through the damage he has done. This is Turturro's third film as a director. As an actor he has become a regular in the films of Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers. His performances include the highly agitated "Pino" in Do the Right Thing (1989), an intellectual playwright in Barton Fink (1991), a pedophile tenpin bowler in The Big Lebowski (1998), a confused boyfriend in Jungle Fever (1991) and as the voice of Harvey the dog in Summer of Sam (1999). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/turturro.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/turturro.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Academy Award Winning director Jessica Yu (Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien). Yu, who also directed In the Realms of the Unreal, returns with one of the boldest documentaries of the year. Protagonist weaves together the stories of 4 men: A German terrorist, a bank robber, a gay evangelist and a martial arts student. At first glance the characters appear disconnected. But as their stories unfold in riveting detail, one starts to see the parallels between the uncommon, common experience of these four men. To illustrate the timelessness of her subjects' dilemmas, Yu uses puppets and the work of Greek dramatist Euripides. Whether famous, infamous, or simply anonymous, each lives out the eternal drama of how we control — or don't control — our own destinies. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jessica-yu.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jessica-yu.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 11 Dec 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Paul Freedman the director of Sand and Sorrow. Offered exclusive and unparalleled access to the situation on the ground inside Darfur, Peabody award-winning filmmaker, Paul Freedman, joins a contingent of African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur while a tragic and disturbing chapter in human history unfolds. While analyzing the historical events that have given rise to an Arab-dominated government's willingness to kill and displace its own indigenous African people, “Sand and Sorrow” also examines the international community's “legacy of failure” to respond to such profound crimes against humanity in the past. But while immersed in the despairing crisis of our time, Freedman manages to give voice to the ever-growing and inspiring movement of those who wish to make “Never Again” finally mean something. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/paul-freedman.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/paul-freedman.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Peter Raymont director of A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman — an exploration of exile, memory, longing and democracy through the words and memories of playwright/author/activist Ariel Dorfman ('Death and the Maiden', 'How to Read Donald Duck', 'Other Septembers'). Born in Argentina, growing up in New York and Chile, Dorfman became cultural advisor to socialist president Salvador Allende in Chile. When the Allende government was toppled in the military coup of September 11, 1973, Dorfman was among a handful of Allende's inner circle to survive. A Promise to the Dead was filmed in the USA, Argentina and Chile in late 2006, coinciding with the death of former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/peter-raymont.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/peter-raymont.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 Nov 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Guy Moshe the director of Holly. Shot on location in Cambodia, including many scenes in actual brothels in the notorious red light district of Phnom Penh, Holly is a captivating, touching and emotional experience. Patrick (Ron Livingston), an American card shark and dealer of stolen artifacts, has been 'comfortably numb' in Cambodia for years, when he encounters Holly (Thuy Nguyen), a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl, in the K11 red light village. The girl has been sold by her impoverished family and smuggled across the border to work as a prostitute. Holly's virginity makes her a lucrative prize, and when she is sold to a child trafficker, Patrick embarks on a frantic search through both the beautiful and sordid faces of the country, in an attempt to bring her to safety. Harsh, yet poetic, this feature forms part of the K-11 Project, dedicated to raising awareness of the epidemic of child trafficking and the sex slavery trade through several film projects. The film's producers endured substantial hardships in order to be able to shoot in Cambodia and have also founded the RedLight Children Campaign, which is a worldwide grassroots initiative generating conscious concern and inspiring immediate action against child sexploitation. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/holly.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/holly.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Rob VanAlkemade the director of What Would Jesus Buy? and Savitri Durkee the Director of the Church of Stop Shopping (as well as the artist-wife of Reverend Billy. What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt. Bill Talen (aka Reverend Billy) was a lost idealist who hitchhiked to New York City only to find that Times Square was becoming a mall. Spurred on by the loss of his neighborhood and inspired by the sidewalk preachers around him, Bill bought a collar to match his white caterer's jacket, bleached his hair and became the Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping. Since 1999, Reverend Billy has gone from being a lone preacher with a portable pulpit preaching on subways, to the leader of a congregation and a movement whose numbers are well into the thousands. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/wwjb.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/wwjb.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Lynn Hershman Leeson about her documentary, Strange Culture — the surreal nightmare of internationally-acclaimed artist and professor Steve Kurtz which began when his wife Hope died in her sleep of heart failure. Police arrived, became suspicious of Kurtz's art, and called the FBI. Within hours the artist was detained as a suspected "bioterrorist" as dozens of agents in hazmat suits sifted through his work and impounded his computers, manuscripts, books, his cat, and even his wife's body. Today Kurtz awaits a trial date. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lynnleeson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lynnleeson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with John Wildman, Director of Press and Public Relations for the AFI FEST International Film Festival. November 1 –11, the American Film Institute presents AFI FEST, the longest-running film festival in Los Angeles and one of the most influential film festivals in North America. Featuring international competitions of new films from emerging filmmakers, as well as global showcases of the latest work from great film masters and nightly red-carpet gala premieres AFI FEST offers a crucial avenue of exposure to the entertainment community while providing appreciative audiences with a festive atmosphere and the very best of world film, right in the film capital of the world. Luminaries from around the globe have attended AFI FEST. Recent guests include: Pedro Almodovar, Alejandro Amenabar, Javier Bardem, Gael Garcia Bernal, Orlando Bloom, Kate Bosworth, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Kevin Costner, Marcia Cross, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp, Fergie (Black Eyed Peas), Joseph Fiennes, Flea, Jodie Foster, Andy Garcia, Cuba Gooding Jr., Teri Hatcher, Anthony Hopkins, Felicity Huffman, Wyclef Jean, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Scarlett Johansson, Tommy Lee Jones, Jude Law, David Lynch, Sienna Miller, Jack Nicholson, Pele, Robin Wright Penn, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Spacey, Audrey Tautou, Reese Witherspoon, Ziyi Zhang and many more. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/afi.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/afi.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 30 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Steven Sawalich the director of Music Within, the true story of Richard Pimentel, a brilliant public speaker with a troubled past, who returns from Vietnam severely hearing-impaired and finds a new purpose in his landmark efforts on the behalf of Americans With Disabilities. Guided through the journey by Pimentel's (Ron Livingston) acerbic sense of humor, we see a world that through other eyes would appear devastatingly tragic. Instead, Richard uses it to fuel his plight for the underdog. Music Within won the Audience Award for Narrative Feature Film (Steven Sawalich) at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sawalich.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sawalich.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Patrick Creadon the director of the documentary Wordplay. The film begins with the story of the New York Times crossword puzzle, and the current and historical creative forces behind it. But as it develops, Wordplay reveals the world behind the practice, creation, and history of crosswords — from the annual crossword convention in Stamford, CT to the breadth of individuals who enjoy wordplay daily. Wordplay also focuses on the man most associated with crossword puzzles, New York Times puzzle editor and NPR Puzzle Master Will Shortz. Along the way celebrity crossword puzzlers such as Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Mike Mussina, and the Indigo Girls, reveal their process, insight and the allure of the game. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/patrick-creadon.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/patrick-creadon.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with AJ Schnack director of Kurt Cobain About a Son — an intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25 hours of previously unheard audiotaped interviews conducted with Cobain by noted music journalist Michael Azerrad for his book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana. In the film, Cobain recounts his own life — from his childhood and adolescence to his days of musical discovery and later dealings with explosive fame — and offers often piercing insights into his life, music, and times. The conversations heard in the film have never before been made public and they reveal a highly personal portrait of an artist much discussed but not particularly well understood. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/aj-schnack.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/aj-schnack.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 09 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Stephen Duncombe author of "Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy." Duncombe will discuss his latest essay "Taking Celebrity Seriously" — a short exploration of how activists are using the banalities of celebrity culture strategically and an argument for why progressives need to fight on this new terrain instead of merely wishing it away with a sniff of disapproval. As Duncombe has said, "The topography on which we fight today is the ephemeral ground of fantasy and desire, celebrity and spectacle. To wish it were different is not an option; to learn how to use it is a political necessity." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/duncombe.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/duncombe.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 25 Sep 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Zach Niles the co-director and producer of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars. One of the most celebrated documentaries of the past year, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars tells the remarkable story of an inspiring group of musicians who form a band while living in a West African refugee camp. Set against the backdrop of a brutal civil war, the film details the group's heroic stories of survival and their daily struggle to keep hope and music alive. The war sent hundreds of thousands of ordinary Sierra Leoneans fleeing to refugee camps in the neighboring West African nation of the Republic of Guinea. That’s where the remarkable documentary Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars begins — a film chosen to receive the 2006 CDS Filmmaker Award for feature-length documentary. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/zach-niles.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/zach-niles.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 18 Sep 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Charles Burnett the director of the classic film Killer of Sheep — an examination of the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the mid-1970s through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse. The film was shot on location in Watts in a series of weekends on a budget of less than $10,000, most of which was grant money. Finished in 1977 and shown sporadically, its reputation grew and grew until it won a prize at the 1981 Berlin International Film Festival. Since then, the Library of Congress has declared it a national treasure as one of the first fifty on the National Film Registry and the National Society of Film Critics selected it as one of the "100 Essential Films" of all time. Burnett is also the director of My Brother’s Wedding. Shot in 1983, but never release due to unfortunate circumstances, My Brother’s Wedding is set to have its theatrical premiere this September at the IFC Center in New York. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/charles-burnett.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/charles-burnett.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 11 Sep 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Jason Kohn director of the documentary Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) — an examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm. Featuring interviews with kidnappers, victims of kidnapping, and the people who profit from both, the film portrays the "tragic domino effect that has reshaped the face of [Brazil] and created an entire industry built on corruption," according to Sundance. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jasonkohn.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jasonkohn.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 28 Aug 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Monty Lapica director of Self Medicated. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lapica moved to Los Angeles after his high school graduation to pursue a lifelong goal of becoming a filmmaker. During his time at Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and Television, Lapica began outlining what would later become his first feature film, Self Medicated, which he wrote, produced, directed and acted in. Based on true events, Self Medicated takes place on the edges of Las Vegas, where a 17-year-old's life is spiraling out of control, descending into a world of drugs and violence. It is the most award-winning independent film of the year, garnering 39 international film awards http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lapica.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lapica.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Joan Brooker-Marks director of "Larry Flynt: The Right To Be Left Alone" which will screen in Los Angeles at the International Documentary Association’s DocuWeek, August 17th - 23rd at the ArcLight Theater. Both hero and villain, tireless civil rights advocate and purveyor of pornography, the always controversial Larry Flynt is the subject of Brooker-Marks' documentary Larry Flynt: The Right To Be Left Alone. Delving beyond Flynt's political career, the film offers an intimate glimpse into the publisher's personal life, including the assassination attempt that left him paralyzed, and his first wife's battle with AIDS. Ultimately, Brooker-Marks delivers the full, unvarnished story of one of America's most unlikely defenders of civil liberties. TV writer Brooker-Marks, who directed two docu shorts (We Got Us, The Loud Ladies of South Fork) and Flynt and will do a Q&A on Tuesday, August 21st following the 7:20 p.m. screening at the ArcLight Theater. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/brooker-marks.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/brooker-marks.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Bruce Broder director of Chops, the story of a group of kids, born with extraordinary musical ability, who learn to make the most of their gifts in an acclaimed public school jazz program in Jacksonville, Florida. From their early, squeaky scales to their soaring improvisational solos, we have a front-row seat for their fascinating transformation. The film culminates at the Essentially Ellington Festival, the annual competition of high school jazz bands from across the country hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center and its artistic director Wynton Marsalis. Chops will screen at The International Documentary Association's DocuWeek in Los Angeles August 17-23. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/broder.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/broder.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 07 Aug 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky director of the documentary Hear and Now. In this deeply personal memoir, filmmaker Brodsky documents her deaf parents' complex decision to leave their world of silence and undergo a dangerous surgery to get cochlear implants — the only one of its kind that can restore a sense. At the age of 65, Paul and Sally Taylor decided they wanted to hear their first symphonies, hear their children's' voices, and talk on the phone. How will this operation transform them, their relationship with each other, and the deaf world they might leave behind? This is a story of two people taking a journey from silence to sound. The question is, what will they make of it, and what might they gain — or lose http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/brodsky.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/brodsky.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Charles Ferguson, writer, director and producer of No End In Sight — the first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy. Based on over 200 hours of footage, the documentary provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials such as former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Ambassador Barbara Bodine (in charge of Baghdad during the Spring of 2003), Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, and General Jay Garner (in charge of the occupation of Iraq through May 2003) as well as Iraqi civilians, American soldiers, and prominent analysts. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/charlesferguson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/charlesferguson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Jennifer Baichwal director of Manufactured Landscapes. Edward Burtynsky is internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of nature transformed by industry. Manufactured Landscapes – a stunning documentary by award winning director Baichwal – follows Burtynsky to China, as he captures the effects of the country’s massive industrial revolution. This remarkable film leads us to meditate on human endeavour and its impact on the planet. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/baichwall.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/baichwall.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with John Peterson, the subject of the documentary, The Real Dirt on Farmer John — a story that parallels the history of American farming. Against all odds, Peterson abandoned conventional chemical farming and fought local hysteria to build a thriving organic and progressive farm. But Peterson is no laconic, Grant Wood hayseed with a scowl and a pitchfork. Equal parts performance artist, writer and farmer, Farmer John has been known to switch out of his overalls into a leopard latex leotard with purple-feathered boa, hop on a tractor and plow. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/john-peterson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/john-peterson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with writer / director Mike Akel from the film Chalk. In the comedic style of The Office and the films of Christopher Guest, Chalk is a portrait of life in the trenches of that most honorable and frustrating profession... teaching. Akel provides a rare and realistic teacher's perspective into their absurd, provocative and occasionally volatile world, in a country where 50% of teachers quit within the first three years. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/akel.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/akel.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Vince DiPersio the director of the documentary Semper Fi: One Marine’s Journey the story of Jeff Key, a kid from Alabama, who set out for Hollywood where he found freedom, acceptance and deep friendships. At thirty-four Key decides to join the Marine Corps Reserve only to find his life again transformed in the wake of 9/11. Knowing he could get out of the service by telling his superiors who he really was, Key decided to go to war for the country he loved. Once in Iraq, Key’s heart was broken by what he saw. When he makes the decision to reveal his homosexuality, Key becomes true to himself. DiPersio is the recipient of three Academy Award nominations, three Emmys, prizes from film festivals around the world, and the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Journalism. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dipersio.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dipersio.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with director Tony Stone whose film Severed Ways will have its world premier June 22, 2007 at Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival. Shot independently at the site of actual Viking settlements in Newfoundland, Severed Ways follows Vikings, Indians and Irish monks as they collide on the shores of North America in the name of personal glory and religious dominance in the 11th century. Two stranded Vikings wade through a primeval landscape as they struggle for survival while still in the grip of their Norse ways. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tony-stone.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/tony-stone.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with director Guy Madden director of Brand Upon the Brain! Equal parts childhood reminiscence, Expressionist horror film, teen detectived serial, and Grand Guignol reverie, Brand upon the Brain! is a new cinematic spectacle. Inspired by the aesthetics and melodramatic flourishes of silent cinema, Central European literature and the desolation of his native Winnipeg, Maddin has fashioned a career like no other. A Super-8-cranking modern-day Eisenstein, filming plots that would make John Waters blush, Maddin embraces a cinema where expressionism, somnambulism and lurid sexual neuroses unite—and conquer. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/guy%20madden.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/guy%20madden.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 05 Jun 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Judy Irving the director / producer of the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and Mark Bittner, the subject of this film. In a celebration of urban wildness, Irving follows formerly homeless street musician Mark Bittner into San Francisco’s avian subculture, where a remarkable flock of wild green-and-red parrots live and work to survive. Dubbed the “Bohemian St. Francis,” Bittner falls in with the flock as he searches for his path through life, unaware that the wild parrots will do more for him than eat his sunflower seeds. Irving is a Sundance and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker whose previous credits include Dark Circle, a feature documentary about the nuclear industry, and Out of the Way Café, an hour-long drama. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/parrots.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/parrots.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 May 2007 09:45:00 -0800 An interview with co-director Ricki Stern whose documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback exposes the violence and tragedy of the genocide in Darfur as seen through the eyes of a lone American witness. Using thousands of uncompromising and exclusive photographs taken by former US Marine Captain Brian Steidle during his role as a military observer with the African Union,the film leads you through the tragic impact of an Arab government bent on destroying its black African citizens. Stern past documentaries include The Trials of Darryl Hunt, In My Corner, and Neglect Not The Children. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ricki-stern-devil.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ricki-stern-devil.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 May 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Socheata Poeuv the director and subject of the documentary "New Year Baby." Born on Cambodian New Year in a Thai refugee camp, Socheata never knew how she got there. After her birth, the family left the past behind and became American. Her parents hid the story of surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide. In the film, she journeys to Cambodia and discovers the truth about her family. "New Year Baby" won the highest human rights cinema honor, the Amnesty International 'Movies That Matter' Award, at its premiere at the 2006 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/socheata-poeuv.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/socheata-poeuv.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 22 May 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Julia Loktev, writer and director of the controversial film about a female suicide bomber, Day Night Day Night. The film won the Independent Spirit "Someone to Watch" Award, the Cannes Film Festival Prix Regards Jeune and Best Feature at the Montréal Festival of New Cinema. In it, a 19-year-old prepares to become a suicide bomber in Times Square. She speaks with no accent; it’s impossible to pinpoint her ethnicity. We never learn why she made her decision; she has made it already. We don’t know whom she represents or what she believes, only that she believes it absolutely. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/julia-loktev.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/julia-loktev.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 15 May 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with screenwriter Court Crandall of the film A Lobster Tale. A movie tinged with magical realism, A Lobster Tale won for its screenplay at the Austin Film Festival and was given the Sundance Channel Audience Award. Shot in Halifax, Canada, the film takes place in a small Maine fishing town, where a struggling lobster fisherman discovers a mysterious healing sea moss in one of his traps. Tension in his already fragile family erupts when the true supernatural quality of the moss is revealed and becomes sought after by everyone in town. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/court-crandall.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/court-crandall.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 08 May 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Sarah Polley director of "Away From Her," a screenplay adaptation of celebrated author Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain." Starring Julie Christie, "Away From Her" explores the dilemma of a man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease. Polley is a director, writer and actress renowned in her native Canada for her peace and justice political activism. From child star to director, her career ranges from the TV series "The Road to Avonlea" to Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter," from Terry Gilliiam's "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" to Isabel Coixet's "The Secret Life of Words." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sarah-polley.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sarah-polley.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 01 May 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Bruce Leddy, the director of "Sing Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" — winner of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Audience Award. A group of guys who sang together in a college a cappella group reunite 15 years later to perform at a friend's wedding and discover how their lives have progressed — and in some cases regressed — since their college heyday. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bruce-leddy.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bruce-leddy.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Paul Fox the director of "Everything’s Gone Green" — a film about a twentysomething uberslacker who is nonetheless willing to fall into accidental success. "Green" comically illustrates how hard it is to know what’s real in a world filled with fabrication and hidden agendas. In 2005 Fox’s first feature-length film, the psychological thriller "The Dark Hours" was released to critical acclaim and garnered numerous awards at international festivals. "Everything’s Gone Green" is his second feature. This film marks the first screenplay written by the acclaimed author Douglas Coupland ("Generation X"). http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/paul-fox.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/paul-fox.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Gregg Schwenk, executive director of the Newport Beach Film Festival. In 2007, the Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world including features, shorts, documentaries, and animation that will compete for a series of awards including Jury Awards and Audience Awards. In addition to film screenings, the Festival will host several premiere galas, yacht parties, and question and answer sessions with filmmakers. The Festival runs from April 19th through April 29th, 2007 and is expected to attract more than 35,000 film devotees. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/greg-schwenk2.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/greg-schwenk2.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Apr 2007 09:15:00 -0800 Filmmakers in the indie, experimental, foreign, avant-garde and documentary fields desperately need critics. Lacking money for a promotional campaign and forced to rely on word-of-mouth, these filmmakers have found no better friend over the past 40-plus years than Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times. Thomas, one of the few people in Hollywood to befriend the legendary Fritz Lang, will share his personal rememberances of the director who brought us Metropolis, M, Die Nibelungen, The Big Heat and The Blue Gardenia. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kevin-thomas-fritz-lang.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kevin-thomas-fritz-lang.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with co-directors and co-producers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein of the documentary The Prisoner Or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair. Baghdad, September 2003: In a middle class house on a quiet street in Baghdad, a family is fast asleep. Without warning, the front door is crashed and American soldiers storm the house looking for weapons and bomb-making material. Cameraman Michael Tucker documents the event as the men in the house are cuffed and forced to kneel in the garden. Combining Tucker's embedded footage, Yunis' home movies, testimony from former guard Benjamin Thompson and original comic book art, Tucker and Epperlein trace the moving story of an ordinary man trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/the-prisoner.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/the-prisoner.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 03 Apr 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Micha X. Peled director of China Blue. Like no other film before, China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don't want us to see: how the clothes we buy are actually made. Following a pair of denim jeans from birth to sale, China Blue links the power of the U.S. consumer market to the daily lives of a Chinese factory owner and two teenaged female factory workers. Filmed both in the factory and in the workers' faraway village, this documentary provides a rare, human glimpse at China's rapid transformation into a free market society. China Blue will air on PBS's Independent Lens Series on Tuesday, April 3 at 10:30 pm. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/china-blue.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/china-blue.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 03 Apr 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with director and screenwriter So Yong Kim and screenwriter Bradley Rust Gray directors of In Between Days. Winner of Los Angeles Film Critics Association Independent / Experimental Film and Video Award and Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award, In Between Days follows a Korean immigrant as she falls in love with her best friend while navigating her way through the challenges of living in a new country. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/soandbrad.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/soandbrad.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Rachel Lyon and Jim Lopes. Lyon’s documentary Race to Execution explores the deep and disturbing link between race and the death penalty in America. Following the stories of two Death Row inmates — Madison Hobley of Chicago, Illinois and Robert Tarver of Russell County, Alabama — that reveals that once a victim's body is discovered, the race-of-the-victim and the accused deeply influence the legal process: from how a crime scene is investigated, to the deployment of police resources, to the interrogation and arrest of major suspects, to how media portrays the crime, and ultimately, jury selection and sentencing. Lyon is against the death penalty. Lopes is the film’s pro-death penalty co-producer. He is an entertainment and media attorney. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lyon-lopes.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lyon-lopes.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with writer / director / editor Phil Mucci and production designer / special effects supervisor Michael Houk of the silent horror flick The Listening Dead. “In this gothic fable, an obsessed composer named Nigel, and his seamstress wife Karen, are haunted by the spirit of a mysterious young woman. One night, feeling ignored and rejected by her husband, Karen unknowingly inflicts him with a horrible curse. By doing so, she invokes the wrath of the unseen ghost, who takes matters into her own hands.” The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/listening-dead.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/listening-dead.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 20 Mar 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Perry Grebin and Michael Nigro directors of American Cannibal: The Road to Reality — a documentary about the train-wreck production and sudden shutdown of American Cannibal, the reality TV show produced by the promoter behind the Paris Hilton sex tape. The filmmakers began American Cannibal in 2004 as a social experiment with reality TV, and along the way found that wherever they pointed their camera reality changed. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/grebin-nigro.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/grebin-nigro.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Julie Lynn, the producer of 10 Items or Less. Starring Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega, 10 Items or Less follows a Hollywood icon who was once the center of attention. Now, he's forced to consider a role in a small independent movie. While researching for the role, he stumbles into Scarlet, a spitfire check out clerk at a Latino community market. The world famous actor must rely on Scarlet to lead him back to his side of the tracks. This trek through Los Angeles features richly unexpected situations, chance encounters, and personal revelation that neither character could ever have anticipated. Lynn was nominated for an Independent Spirit Axium Producers Award. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lynn.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lynn.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Adele Horne director of The Tailenders — a profile of Global Recordings Network, an organization that has recorded Bible stories in over 5,500 of the world's 8,000-plus languages and dialects, and made those recordings available in the most remote regions through inventive, ultra-low technology. The film raises questions about how people who receive the recordings understand them. Gospel Recording’s project is premised on a belief in the transparency of language to transmit a divinely inspired message. But because the missionaries don't speak the languages, they must enlist bilingual native speakers as translators. There is ample opportunity for mistakes, selectivity, and resistance in the translation. The film explores how meaning changes as it crosses language and culture. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/horne.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/horne.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Keven McAlester director of "You're Gonna Miss Me." "Crumb" meets "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" in "You're Gonna Miss Me," which tells the story of counter-culture icon Roky Erickson, whose struggles with LSD, schizophrenia, and the Texas police have made him one of music's legendary tragic figures. He now collects junk mail by the stack and is kept under lock and key by his mother, Evelyn, who refuses him any treatment beyond love, prayer, and a view of psychiatry gleaned from the television show Frasier. In "You're Gonna Miss Me," Erickson becomes the centerpiece of a surreal family struggle and the blank screen onto which those around him project their hopeful futures. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/keven-mcalester.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/keven-mcalester.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An Interview with director Ryan Fleck and screenwriter/ editor Anna Boden of the film "Half Nelson" — the story of an inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit who forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret. Relative newcomers, Fleck and Boden have received high praise along the festival circuit for Half Nelson, including a screenwriting award at the Nantucket Film Festival, Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson’s" star, has been nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Academy Award. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/half-nelson.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/half-nelson.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Greg MacGillivray, director of the film "Hurricane on the Bayou" which was in production when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Told mostly through teenage Cajun Fiddle Artist Amanda Shaw and Cajun guitarist Tab Benoit, this IMAX film tells the story of the environmental damage to the area created by the Mississippi river as it empties into the gulf. Greg MacGillivray began his film career by shooting 8mm black-and-white movies on the campus of Newport Harbor High School. That led to self-employment as the creator of some of the best surfing films of the 60s, includng "Five Summer Stories." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/MacGillivray.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/MacGillivray.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with Academy Award nominated screenwriter Michael Arendt of "Little Miss Sunshine." After 10 years in the film business as an assistant and script reader, with $25,000 in savings, Arendt decided to take a chance at writing his first professional screenplay in 1999. He quit his job and "Little Miss Sunshine was born" — the story of a family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant who take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/arendt.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/arendt.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 Feb 2007 09:45:00 -0800 An interview with Director Laura Poitras about her latest documentary, "My Country, My Country" — a film centered around Sunni political candidate, Dr. Riyadh, a medical doctor and father of six. Described by its distributor, Zeitgeist Films as "unfolding like a narrative drama," My Country, My Country follows the agonizing predicament of one man caught in the tragic contradictions of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and its effort to spread democracy in the Middle East. The film has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary category. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/poitras.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/poitras.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 13 Feb 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An Interview with Steve Skrovan, co-director of "An Unreasonable Man" — a documentary about the life of Ralph Nader. Without ever holding public office, Ralph Nader built a legislative record that is the rival of any contemporary president. Many things we take for granted including seat belts, airbags, product labeling, and no nukes are largely due to the efforts of Nader and his citizen groups. Yet today, when most people hear the name "Ralph Nader," they think of the man who gave the country to George W. Bush. In their new film "An Unreasonable Man" filmmakers Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan trace the life and career Nader. Skrovan worked as a stand-up comedian and TV comedy writer for twenty-five years. Most notably, he has written for "Seinfeld" and for the past nine years "Everybody Loves Raymond," where he was an executive producer. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/skrovan.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/skrovan.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 06 Feb 2007 09:15:00 -0800 Composer Philip Glass discusses his Academy Award-nominated score to Notes on a Scandal. Glass is considered one of the most influential composers of the late-20th century. In 1976, his landmark opera Einstein on the Beach was staged by Robert Wilson to a baffling variety of reviews. At the time, his compositions were so avant-garde that he had to form the Philip Glass Ensemble to give them a venue for performance. Although called a minimalist by the Western classical mainstream, he denies this categorization. His major works include opera, theater pieces, dance, and song. Notes on a Scandal is his latest of over 80 film scores. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/glass.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/glass.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0800 FILMMAKER MAGAZINE / JASON GUERRASIO / SUNDANCE Filmmaker Magazine Managing Editor Jason Guerrasio discusses the surprises at last week's Sundance Film Festival. Sundance ranks alongside the Cannes, Moscow, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto festivals as one of the most prestigious in the world. Held annually in Park City, Utah, it is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. and the premiere showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and independent dramatic and documentary films, and a group of non-competitive showcase sections, including the Sundance Online Film Festival. Controversially so, the festival has also become the premiere showcase for sponsors and "swag giveaways". http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/guerrasio.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/guerrasio.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0800 Mad Dash director Morgan Swift discusses this yearly campus film competition where, from concept to print, teams of 1-8 have 24-hours to make a short movie. The UCI Computerstore has the equipment donated by Apple, Canon, and the School of the Arts, and YOU have the talent. Bigger teams, MONSTROUS prizes, and a great opportunity to show your stuff. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/swift.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/swift.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0800 Filmmakers in the indie, experimental, foreign, avant-garde or, until very recently, documentary fields desperately need critics. Lacking money for a promotional campaign and forced to rely on word-of-mouth, these filmmakers have found no better friend over the past 40-plus years than Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times. For his second series of favorites films in conjunction with the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre, Thomas has chosen the theme of films by friends, which encompasses pictures made by people he knew well over many years — Budd Boetticher, George Cukor, Fritz Lang and Mae West — and those with whom he had warm acquaintances over the decades — Akira Kurosawa, Vincent Sherman, Billy Wilder. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kevin-thomas.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kevin-thomas.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:45:00 -0800 Maria Maggenti discusses her new film Puccini for Beginners. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Puccini for Beginners with Justin Kirk, Gretchen Mol and Julianne Nicholson is a screwball comedy romance set in New York City. Maggenti is best known for her 1995 indie hit The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love, starring Laurel Holloman and Nicole Ari Parker. She also wrote the screenplay for 1999 movie The Love Letter (co-starring Ellen Degeneres) and writes for the CBS drama Without a Trace. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/maggenti.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/maggenti.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Katharina Otto-Bernstein, director of the documentary Absolute Wilson. As a collaborator with America's underground icons, Philip Glass, Tom Waits and Williams S. Burroughs, Robert Wilson wowed the theater world with innovative spectacles that sometimes lasted as long as a week. His choreographic work and revolutionary approach to visual story-telling include the theatrical sensations Einstein on the Beach, Deafman Glance and The CIVIL WarS. Katharina Otto-Bernstein spent five years following Wilson around the world with her camera. She has a distinguished career as a filmaker with credits that include Coming Home, a documentary she made in Berlin about reuniting families, The Second Greatest Story Ever Told, a comedy with Miro Sorvino and Malcolm McDowell, The Need for Speed, the story of hard-core bicycle messengers in New York City, and When Night Falls Over Moscow, a German television production about the illegal arms trade. Otto-Bernstein's Beautopia: The Dark Side of Modeling was was the hit of the 1998 Chicago and Sundance Film Festivals. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bernstein.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/bernstein.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 09 Jan 2007 09:15:00 -0800 THE NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL An interview with Gregg Schwenk, executive director of the Newport Beach Film Festival. In 2007, the Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world including features, shorts, documentaries, and animation that will compete for a series of awards including Jury Awards and Audience Awards. In addition to film screenings, the Festival will host several premiere galas, yacht parties, and question and answer sessions with filmmakers. The Festival runs from April 19th through April 29th, 2007. The event is expected to attract more than 35,000 film devotees. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/schwenk.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/schwenk.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 26 Dec 2006 09:15:00 -0800 An interview with Frederick Wiseman — award-winning producer of thirty feature length films. One of the greatest living documentary filmmakers, Wiseman is noted for his ability to capture the nuances of life in American institutions. Wiseman, whose works include "High School," "Hospital" and "Public Housing," began making films while working as a law school professor in 1967. "Titicut Follies," his exposé of a hospital for the criminally insane, earned him much acclaim, as well as several lawsuits. Ever since, Wiseman has trained his camera, and his critical gaze, on the workings and practices of American institutions. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/wiseman.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/wiseman.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern producers and directors of The Trials of Darryl Hunt — a documentary about a brutal rape/murder in the American South, that offers a deeply personal story of a wrongfully convicted man, Darryl Hunt, who spent twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Base on an ID made by a former Klan member, a 19-year-old black man, Darryl Hunt, was charged. No physical evidence linked Hunt to the crime. Hunt was convicted by an all white jury, and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1994, DNA testing cleared Hunt, yet he would spend another ten years behind bars. Winner of more than a dozen Film Festival awards, The Trials of Darryl Hunt is among 15 films in the Documentary Feature category that will advance in the voting process for the 79th Academy Awards®. Eighty-one pictures had originally qualified in the category. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/hunt.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/hunt.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 12 Dec 2006 09:45:00 -0800 A conversation with Academy Award-winning cinematographer, Haskell Wexler. Judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild, Wexler has directed only a handful of movies, but among them was the influential Medium Cool, a film written by Wexler and shot in the cinéma vérité style. It incorporated riot footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Wexler's film credits include Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Bound for Glory, Matewan, In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair, Coming Home, Three Fugitives, The Secret of Roan Inish, and Silver City. His latest documentary, Who Needs Sleep, shows how sleep deprivation and long work hours are a lethal combination. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/wexler.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/wexler.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:45:00 -0800 A discussion with screenwriter Tim Albaugh M.F.A., the recipient of the Jack Nicholson and William Froug Screenwriting Awards, UCLA Graduate Program in Film and Television. Albaugh wrote the film Trading Favors, starring Rosanna Arquette, Devon Gummersall and Cuba Gooding, Jr. Along with his producing partner, Sean Sorensen, Albaugh has various projects in development under their Popular Films banner. His students have sold scripts to numerous producers and production companies including John Cusack’s New Crime Productions; The Coen Brothers, Michael Bay, Wendy Finerman, Nickelodeon Gough/Millar and all the major studios and television networks. The latest film written in one of Mr. Albaugh’s classes was The Machinist, written by Scott Kosar and starring Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Mr. Albaugh was awarded the 2005 Dean’s Outstanding Service Award at UC Irvine Extension. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/albaugh.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/albaugh.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 05 Dec 2006 09:15:00 -0800 Documentarian David Di Sabatino discusses his film Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Peacher. Lonnie Frisbee was a young hippie seeker fully immersed in the 1960s counter culture when he dropped acid, ran into God and became an itinerant Christian evangelist — a John the Baptist of Southern California who compelled thousands of fellow spiritual seekers to make a profession of faith in Jesus. Frisbee provided the charismatic spark that launched the Calvary Chapel church into a worldwide ministry and propelled many fledgling leaders into some of the most powerful movers and shakers of the evangelical movement. However, his call into the ministry came while deeply involved in the Laguna Beach homosexual scene. Treated with contempt by the ministers whom he helped establish, Lonnie has been written out of their collective histories . . . until now. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sabatino.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/sabatino.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:45:00 -0800 Bob Balaban talks about his work with Christopher Guest in the new film For Your Consideration, as well as his work with director Robert Altman. Playing a succession of bespectacled, soft-spoken, yet vaguely superior characters, Balaban starred in many films including Clockwatchers, Pie in the Sky, Best in Show, Altered States and Catch-22. In 2001. Balaban scored a major critical success helping create, produce and playing one of the main characters in Altman's murder-mystery Gosford Park. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/balaban.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/balaban.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:00:00 -0800 Director and writer Ali Selim discusses his new film Sweet Land — a film following the life of an American immigrant as she buries her husband Olaf on their Minnesota farm in 1968. We relive her life story as she tells her grown grandson about how she arrived from Norway in 1920 as Olaf's postal bride and of the epic obstacles they overcame in order to marry. Selim has been an advertising commercial director for the past fifteen years, during which time he has directed over 850 television commercials, five half-hour documentaries and several music videos. His script for the film Sweet Land was the only screenplay selected for the inaugural year of the Cyngus Emerging Filmmakers Institute and was produced in 2005 starring Alan Cumming, Ned Beatty, and John Heard. The film was the recipient of the 2005 Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film at the 13th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival. Ali is currently in production on a feature-length documentary titled “Trash Dawgs,” which focuses on the history and problem of garbage in America. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Selim.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Selim.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 21 Nov 2006 09:30:00 -0800 Director and writer Jeff Lipsky discusses his film Flannel Pajamas — a love story, a stunning courtship and, later, a reversal of fortunes where disparate family backgrounds and religious chasms inform selfishness, naiveté, and destiny. Lipsky is a 28 year veteran in the independent film world. Co-founder of both October Films and Lot 47 Films, Lipsky is prominently featured in books about Oscar nominated writer/director Mike Leigh and filmmaker Spike Lee. Among the more well-known of the 235 films he has shepherded into the marketplace are My Life as a Dog, which earned Lasse Hallstrom his first two Academy Award nominations, Jim Jarmusch’s first film Stranger Than Paradise, and the film that introduced actor Gary Oldman to the world, Sid & Nancy. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lipsky.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/lipsky.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 21 Nov 2006 09:00:00 -0800 Director James Longley discusses his new film Iraq in Fragments — a documentary of post-war Iraq in three acts, building a picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity. Filmed in verité style with no scripted narration, the film explores the lives of ordinary Iraqis to illustrate and give background to larger trends in Iraqi society. Winner of Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Editing awards in the 2006 Sundance Film Festival documentary competition, the film was also awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/longley.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/longley.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 14 Nov 2006 09:15:00 -0800 Paul Abeyta, Christopher Darga, Mary Scheer and John Cervenka of the hit Spike TV comedy series Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC) discuss their writing and voice over work. A combination of Jackass, What’s Up Tiger Lily? and Iron Chef, with a touch of Mystery Science Theater 3000, MXC uses actual footage from one of the most popular primetime Japanese reality game shows, Takeshi's Castle, to create an entirely new comedy storyline. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mxcf.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/mxcf.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:30:00 -0800 Korean-American Director Chris Chan Lee — who wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Yellow in 1998 — discusses his latest film, Undoing, a neo-noir set in Los Angeles’ Koreatown that explores the emotional, spiritual, and physical loneliness of disenfranchised beings, and the irony that such a diverse American city could lead to such solitary existence. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Chris_Chan_Lee.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Chris_Chan_Lee.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:00:00 -0800 It's Halloween and Kelly Kirshtner of UCI's Visual Studies Ph.D. Program discusses the sounds that creep you out — from Dracula to The Exorcist, from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to Eraserhead. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kelly.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kelly.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 31 Oct 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An Interview with writer Jeff Abelson and director Barbara Multer-Wellin of the documentary, Paul Conrad: Drawing Fire — part of PBS's Independent Lens series. Over the course of his remarkable 50-year career, political cartoonist Paul Conrad has drawn and quartered 11 American presidents (from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush) and fearlessly tackled every major social and political issue the nation has confronted. An extraordinary artist and journalist, Conrad epitomizes the fiercely independent voice that has been vanishing from American news media in recent years. Conrad has won three Pulitzer Prizes. His favorite distinction, however, is his 1973 inclusion on Richard Nixon's Enemies List. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/conrad.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/conrad.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Phillip Noyce, director of Catch A Fire — a political thriller about the real-life story of South African hero Patrick Chamusso's journey to freedom. Noyce achieved commercial and critical success in 1978 with Newsfront which won Australian awards for Best Film, Director, and Screenplay. In 1989, Noyce achieved his highest acclaim in the United States with the thriller Dead Calm. His greatest commercial success to date was the Tom Clancy spy thriller Clear and Present Danger. Noyce also directed Rabbit Proof Fence, which won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film in 2002. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/noyce.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/noyce.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:00:00 -0800 Professor Simon Leung discusses the series of six short videos he organized for UCI's Film and Video Center Fall Film Series under the title The Look of Law. Chosen from contemporary videos made mostly by visual artists who have a peripheral relationship with the current video/film world, these videos address the affective ramifications of state and political power using hybrid forms of verbal and textual narration that owe as much to the history of video art in galleries as they do to experimental cinema and video. Included among the contemporary works is a rarely-seen mid-70s work by Ron Clark, which eerily foreshadows the tone of the American psyche in a post 9-11 age of homeland (in)security. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/look_of%20law.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/look_of%20law.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Oct 2006 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with Eric Steel director of The Bridge — a documentary exploration of the mythic beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge—the most popular suicide destination in the world—and the troubled souls drawn by its allure. Inspired by the New Yorker story, Jumpers, Steel decided to film the Golden Gate Bridge during daylight hours from two separate locations for all of 2004, subsequently recording most of the two dozen deaths in that year (and preventing a number of others). Steel also captured nearly 100 hours of interviews with the families and friends of these suicides, with bystanders who witnessed them, and even a few failed attempters—all trying to make sense of something at once painfully and infinitely unknowable. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/the_bridge.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/the_bridge.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 17 Oct 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with Amy Berg, director of the documentary "Deliver Us From Evil." Moving from one parish to another in Northern California during the 1970s, Father Oliver O'Grady quickly won each congregation's trust and respect. Unbeknownst to them, O'Grady was a dangerously active pedophile that Church hierarchy, aware of his predilection, had harbored for over 30 years, allowing him to abuse countless children. In "Deliver Us From Evil," filmmaker Amy Berg exposes the deep corruption of the Catholic Church and the troubled mind of the man they sheltered. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/berg.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/berg.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:30:00 -0800 An interview with director Michael Kang and producer Gina Kwon of the film The Motel — a coming of age story about thirteen-year-old Ernest Chin, who lives and works at a sleazy hourly-rate motel on a strip of desolate suburban bi-way. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kang.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kang.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:00:00 -0800 Before he attained notoriety as Dean of the Hollywood Ten — the blacklisted screenwriters and directors persecuted because of their varying ties to the Communist Party — John Howard Lawson had become one of the most brilliant, successful, and intellectual screenwriters on the Hollywood scene in the 1930s and 1940s, with several hits to his credit including Blockade, Sahara, and Action in the North Atlantic. Gerald Horne, author of The Final Victim of the Blacklist: John Howard Lawson, Dean of the Hollywood Ten discusses this major figure's rightful place in history and recounts one of the most captivating episodes in twentieth century cinema and politics. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gerald_horne.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/gerald_horne.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:30:00 -0800 JESUS CAMP Co-Director Rachel Grady discusses her new documentary Jesus Camp which follows evangelical Christian children at a religious summer camp. The movie has split the Christian community and horrified those who fear the ascendance of the religious right on the national stage. Some web surfers have been so appalled by YouTube streams of the film that they bombarded the film's central subject, camp founder Pastor Becky Fischer with hateful e-mails — prompting her appearance on ABC's Good Morning America. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jesus_camp.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/jesus_camp.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:15:00 -0800 "Man Push Cart" director Ramin Bahrani discusses his film's look at a month in the life of a former Pakistani rock star who now sells coffee from his push cart on the streets of Manhattan. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Bahrani.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/Bahrani.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:30:00 -0800 Patricia Foulkrod discusses, "The Ground Truth," her documentary about patriotic young Americans who heeded the call for military service in Iraq. The conflict in Iraq, depicted with ferocious honesty in the film, is a prelude for the even more challenging battles fought by the soldiers returning home. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/foulkrod.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/foulkrod.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0800 Nick Francis co-director & producer of Black Gold discusses his documentary — a look into the 80 billion dollar global coffee industry, where the spoils of overpriced lattes and cappuccinos are sparsely shared with the farmers who make it all possible. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/francis.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/francis.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with Sandra Ruch, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ruch.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/ruch.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 12 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with with Kirby Dick, director of "This Film is Not Yet Rated." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dick2.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/dick2.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 05 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with Hans Canosa, director of "Conversations with Other Women." http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/conosa.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/conosa.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 29 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0800 Kelly Kirshtner of UCI's Visual Studies Ph.D. Program discusses Summer Delirium, the University's free Thursday night film series — that she programmed — featuring La Dolce Vita, Repo Man, Playtime and The Endless Summer. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kelly_summer.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/kelly_summer.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with director Michael Kang and producer Gina Kwon of the film "The Motel" sandwiched between Henry Miller, George W. Bush, Peppe Michael, Bromo Seltzer, William Burroughs, Billy Collins, Samuel Beckett, Adachi Tomomi and Arvo Part. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/theword7_25_06.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/theword7_25_06.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0800 Director Larry Clark, discusses "Wassup Rockers" his film about a group of skaters who, instead of adhering to the norms of their South Central neighborhood, opt to bus into Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where they attract local rich girls — and plenty of trouble with the police, jealous boyfriends, and nervous parents. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/clark.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/clark.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 11 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0800 An interview with Chris Paine director of Who Killed the Electric Car? — a documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future. http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/paine.mp3 http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/683/paine.mp3 Podcasts Tue, 27 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0800