KUCI: Film School

Tomorrow’s Hope / Film School Radio interview with Director Thomas A. Morgan

Produced by The Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, TOMORROW’S HOPE brings us into the journey of passionate educators and tenacious kids and their families on the South Side of Chicago, determined to carve out the future despite a sea of incredible challenges. The film follows three present-day high school seniors who had started out in the Educare preschool’s first-ever class, exploring how they’ve navigated foreboding realities past and present, while also delving into the lingering ripple effects from their early childhood education. Through the eyes of audacious educators (originally from the community themselves) we also learn about the school’s harrowing yet remarkable early stages as "The Beethoven Project” located within "Forgotonia” – a name the film’s Portia Kennel uses to describe the environment. At the time, the school was located directly within the largest housing project in the country, in the nation's single poorest census tract. Yet despite a dangerous and discouraging external landscape – then and now – an entirely opposite message emerges from this educational community: “you matter.” Director Thomas Morgan (Waiting for Mamu, India’s Daughter) stops by to talk about how he became a part of this uplifting project, chronicling the successes of Educare’s students, and seeing former student of Educare paying it forward with their continuing support for the school.
For more go to: tomorrowshopefilm.com

Country Gold / Film School radio interview with Director Mickey Reece

Acclaimed indie filmmaker Mickey Reece (AGNES, CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER) presents a bizarre reimagining of musical icons, COUNTRY GOLD. George Jones (Ben Hall) invites an up and coming country music superstar out on the town in Nashville the night before George is to be cryogenically frozen in 1994. Featuring gut-busting gags and hilarious allusions to real-life events, this fantasy comedy becomes an emotionally stirring tribute to the legacies we leave behind. Reece stars as emerging Country music star Troyal Brux (Mickey Reece), who resembles '90s-era Garth Brooks. One wild night in Nashville, Brux has a chance meeting with fellow legend George Jones, hours before Jones is to be cryogenically frozen. Director, producer and writer Mickey Reece joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for the film, how it dove-tails with his previous work, his decision to play the lead, Troyal Brux, and working again with the great Ben Hall.
To watch go to: fandor.com/details/Country-Gold

The Worst Ones / Film School radio interview with Co-directors Lise Akoka & Romane Gueret

Set in the suburbs of Boulogne-Sur-Mer in northern France, THE WORST ONES  captures a film within a film as it follows the production of a feature whose director turns to the local Cité Picasso housing project for casting. Eager to capture performances of gritty authenticity, the director selects four working class teenagers to act in the film to the surprise and consternation of the local community, who question the director’s choice of “the worst ones.” As the director and crew audition, rehearse, film, and interact with their hand-picked cast, jealousies are stoked, lines are crossed, and ethical questions arise, with thought-provoking and at times darkly funny results.. Co-directors / co-screenwriters Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret join us for a conversation on the inspiration for their thought-provoking, compassionate drama, how their background as casting directors has helped them in the transition into directing and how their winning the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival has impacted their future plans.
For more go to: kinolorber.com/the-worst-ones

What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat and Tears / FIlm School Radio interview with Director John Scheinfeld

The story behind the latest documentary from award-winning and Oscar nominated director John Sheinfeld, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS has to be seen to be believed. Blood, Sweat & Tears, known for hits such as “Spinning Wheel”, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”, and “And When I Die”, headlined the legendary Woodstock Festival and won multiple Grammy Awards, most notably 1970’s win for Album of The Year, beating The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” and “Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin.” This is the incredible never-before-told story about a top rock band that was unknowingly embroiled in a political rat’s nest involving the U.S. State Department, the Nixon White House and a controversial concert tour of Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland, countries that were behind what was then known as the Iron Curtain.  As a result, they found themselves in the crosshairs of a polarized America -as divided then as it is now – and became an early victim of cancel culture. Written, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Chasing Trane, Who Is Harry Nilsson?, Herb Alpert Is...), and executive produced by James Sears Bryant, the film was created with the full cooperation of Blood, Sweat & Tears. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS features never-before-seen film and photos of the band, as well as present day interviews with five of the nine band members including distinctive lead singer David Clayton-Thomas, sax player and musical arranger Fred Lipsius, innovative bass player Jim Fielder, outspoken guitarist Steve Katz and drummer and band leader Bobby Colomby.
For more go to: bstdoc.com

Smoking Causes Coughing / Film School radio interview with Director Quentin Dupieux

SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING drops us into a devastating battle between a diabolical giant turtle and the elite defenders of civil society, Tobacco Force After the deadly encounter Tobacco Force is sent on a mandatory week-long retreat to strengthen their decaying group cohesion. Their sojourn goes wonderfully well until Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth. A wildly inventive new comedy from Quentin Dupieux follows the misadventures of a team of five superheroes known as the Tobacco Force - Benzene (Gilles Lellouche), Nicotine (Anaïs Demoustier), Methanol (Vincent Lacoste), Mercury (Jean-Pascal Zadi), and Ammonia (Oulaya Amamra). After a devastating battle against a diabolical giant turtle, the Tobacco Force is sent on a mandatory week-long retreat to strengthen their decaying group cohesion. Their sojourn goes wonderfully well until Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth. Director and writer Quentin Dupieux (Mandibles, Deerskin, Rubber) joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for a film that latches onto a dark and very twisted version Saturday morning children programming as a vehicle to deliver a powerful punch to self-absorbed complacency and climate denial in delivering a film that has a lot more on its mind that might first meet the eye.
For more go to: magnetreleasing.com/smokingcausescoughing

Enys Men / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Mark Jenkin

Shot on 16mm, ENYS MEN is a mind-bending Cornish folk horror story set in 1973 that unfolds on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast. A wildlife volunteer’s (Mary Woodvine) daily observations of a rare flower take a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing both her and viewers to question what is real and what is nightmare. Evoking the feeling of discovering a reel of never-before-seen celluloid unspooling in a haunted movie palace, this provocative and masterful vision of horror puts Mark Jenkin into the conversation as one of the Britain’s most exciting and singular filmmakers. ENYS MEN director, producer, writer and cinematographer Mark Jenkin (BAIT) joins us for a conversation on working with lead actor Mary Woodvine and how using his own lo-fi approach to filmmaking he was able to weave together a haunting sound design, discordant music, and a 1970’s style cinematography combined with a stark location that gives ENYS MEN a vaguely familiar folk tale its tormenting power.
For more go to: neonrated.com/enys-men

Acidman / Film School Radio interview with Director Alex Lehman

Maggie (Dianna Agron) arrives at a small, run-down house in the middle of nowhere to find it defaced by big orange letters reading ACIDMAN and learns that this is the locals' nickname for her reclusive father (Thomas Haden Church). After a decade apart, Maggie's offhand explanation for her visit is that she just wanted to check in on him, but this doesn't ring true considering how difficult he was to find. The two awkwardly want to get to know one another (Dad seems more comfortable talking through his dog Migo, or through Bobby, Maggie's childhood sock puppet friend), but are at the same time scared about what increasing familiarity will bring. After Dad reluctantly brings her on one of his nighttime outings, Maggie realizes that his obsession with UFOs and communicating with extraterrestrial beings has only intensified over the years. She struggles to understand him, his single-mindedness and deteriorating mental health, all the while with her own life-changing news to share. Letting their relationship ebb and flow through anger, silly jokes, tender gestures, and sadness, ACIDMAN is a beautiful meditation on the cyclical nature of parenthood and the longing for connection. Director Alex Lehman (Asperger’s Are Us, Paddleton, Blue Jay) drops by to talk about his follow up to Blue Jay, how working with gifted actors Dianna Agron and Thomas Haden Church opened up the filmmaking into a more creative and character driven story.
For more go to: brainmedia.com/acidman

In Viaggio, The Travels of Pope Francis / Film School Radio interview with Director Gianfranco Rosi

From Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi (FIRE AT SEA, NOTTURNO) comes IN VIAGGIO: THE TRAVELS OF POPE FRANCIS. Rosi chronicles the travels of the head of the Catholic church, Pope Francis, as he crisscrosses the globe to meet with political, secular and religious leaders. Composed mostly of archival footage, the film grants rare access to the public life of the pontiff, from the elevated security of his pulpit and traveling through large crowds to the personal interaction with impoverished, the frail and the incarcerated. In the first nine years of his pontificate, Pope Francis made 37 trips visiting 53 countries, focusing on his most important issues: poverty, migration, the environment, solidarity and war. Intrigued by the fact that two of Francis's trips - the first to the refugees landing in Lampedusa; the second in 2021 to the Middle East - so closely mirrored the itineraries of his films Fuocoammare (Fire At Sea, 2016) and Notturno (2020), Rosi follows the Pope's Stations of the Cross. He sees what he sees, hears what he says and creates a dialogue between archival footage of Francis' travels, images taken by Rosi himself, recent history and the state of the world today. Director Gianfranco Rosi joins us for a conversation on meeting Pope Francis, his affinity for connecting with people, the spiritual and metaphysical importance of the “journey” towards a greater understanding our own humanity.
For more go to: inviaggiodoc.com

Ithaka / Film School radio interview with Director Ben Lawrence

Director Ben Lawrence’s fly-on-the-wall documentary, ITHAKA, weaves together historic archive and intimate behind-the-scenes footage, as it tracks WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s father, John Shipton and Assange’s wife Stella Moris as they join forces to advocate for Julian’s freedom. We witness Shipton’s European odyssey to rally a global network of supporters, advocate to politicians and cautiously step into the media’s glare for his son. With Julian facing the possibility of extradition to the US, his family members are confronting the prospect of losing Julian forever to the abyss of the US justice system. The world’s most famous political prisoner, Julian Assange, has become an emblem of an international struggle over freedom of journalism, government corruption and unpunished war crimes. In light of Julian’s health declining in a British maximum-security prison and the American government pushing for him to face trial in the America, this David-and-Goliath struggle has become deeply personal for John and Stella. Director Ben Lawrence joins us to talk about ITHAKA’s timely reminder of the global issues at stake in this case, as well as an insight into the personal toll inflicted by the arduous, often lonely task of fighting for a cause bigger than oneself.
For more go to: ithaka.movie

The Movement and the Madman / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Stephen Talbot

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Stephen Talbot’s THE MOVEMENT AND THE MADMAN shows how two anti-war protests in the fall of 1969 — the largest the country had ever seen — pressured President Nixon to cancel what he called his “madman” plans for a massive escalation of the U.S. war in Vietnam, including a threat to use nuclear weapons. At the time, protestors had no idea how influential they could be and how many lives they may have saved. Told through remarkable archival footage and firsthand accounts from movement leaders, Nixon administration officials, historians, and others, the film explores how the leaders of the antiwar movement mobilized disparate groups from coast to coast to create two massive protests that changed history. Director and Producer Stephen Talbot (The Best Campaign Money Can Buy, Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders) joins us for a lively conversation on an untold, but very important chapter in American presidential history that, had it played out as the Nixon Administration wanted, would have doomed hundreds of thousands Vietnamese people to nuclear annihilation, dramatically lower the world’s threshold for the use of weapons of mass destruction and set off a catastrophic reaction in the US population, already veering towards a domestic civil war.
For more: pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience
For more on the filmmaker go to: movementandthemadman.com