KUCI: Film School

Children of the Mist / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Diễm Hà Lệ

CHILDREN OF THE MIST focuses on a village hidden in the mist-shrouded mountains located in the Northwest Vietnamese region where an indigenous Hmong community resides. It is the home of a 12-year-old girl named Di, Di is part of the first generation of her people with access to formal education. A free spirit, Di happily recounts her experiences to Vietnamese filmmaker Diễm Hà Lệ, who planted herself within Di's family over the course of three years to document this unique coming of age. As Di grows older, her carefree childhood gives way to an impulsive and sensitive adolescence, a dangerous temperament for what will happen next; in this insular community, girls must still endure the controversial but accepted tradition of "bride kidnapping." One night, when the young girl's parents return home from celebrating the Lunar New Year, they are shocked to find their house is silent: Di has disappeared. Winner of the Best Directing award at I.D.F.A and Shortlisted for the 2023 Academy Awards for Best Feature Documentary, Diễm Hà Lệ’s documentary, CHILDREN OF THE MIST, is a tender portrait of a community on the cusp between tradition and modernity, and one girl tragically stuck in the middle.
For news & screenings go to: filmmovement.com/children-of-the-mist
* 2023 Academy Award for Documentary Best Feature - Shortlist
For more go to: purinpictures.org/children-of-the-mist
To watch itunes.apple.com/children-of-the-mist

Under God / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Paula Eiselt

Inspired by the lawsuits filed in Florida challenging the state's abortion ban on the basis of religious freedom, Director Paula Eiselt’s UNDER G-D is a documentary short film about the national Jewish response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization U.S. Supreme Court decision woven through the lived experiences of impacted Jewish women and the various lawsuits currently being launched by rabbis, Jewish organizations and interfaith leaders to challenge the overturning of Roe v. Wade, state by state. Through the lens of maintaining the separation between church and state, these nationwide efforts are predicated on ultimately protecting religious freedom – and democracy – for all. UNDER G-D weaves together the stories of a Jewish mother and activist in Indiana, a rabbi in Florida and lawyers throughout the country who are seeking to fight abortion bans in part by placing them in the legal and cultural context of religious freedom. In an ironic twist, the very laws that might support this work are the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs), which have thus far been used to allow faith believers to make an end-run around civil rights protections, as in the notorious Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. or gay wedding cake cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. UNDER G-D introduces us to characters that are now flipping the very script used so effectively by Christian nationalists. Director Paula Eiselt (Aftershock, 93Queen) joins us to talk about the gathering momentum that these recent public protests and cases, as well as the work of Jewish leaders around the country are taking to protect women, and protect democracy, by preserving the constitutionally enshrined separation of church and state. 
For more go to: paulaeiselt.com/under-g_d

Filmmakers for the Prosecution / Producer Sandra Schulberg

Adapted from Sandra Schulberg’s monograph, Filmmakers for the Prosecution retraces the thrilling hunt for film evidence used to convict the Nazis at the rst Nuremberg trial. The searchers were two sons of Hollywood – brothers Budd and Stuart Schulberg – serving under the command of OSS film chief John Ford. The motion pictures they presented in the courtroom became part of the social record and shape our understanding of the Holocaust to this day. Seventy-five years after the trial, French journalist and filmmaker Jean-Christophe Klotz returns to the German salt mines where films lay burning, uncovers never-before-seen footage, and interviews key figures to unravel why the resulting film about the trial – Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today by Stuart Schulberg – was intentionally buried by the U.S. Department of War. Klotz’s riveting lm also fills in the gaps of how these groundbreaking materials were sourced, and poses still-pertinent questions about the power of lm to write history. Producer Sandra Schulberg joins us for a conversation on the historic seminal importance of the film, the wide-ranging search for archival Nazi film, and the concerted effort by members of her family, Budd and Stuart Schulberg, and film icon John Ford to produce a film that would bring a measure of justice to war criminals and Holocaust perpetrators.
For more go to: kinolorber.com/filmmakers-for-the-prosecution

Bill Russell: Legend / FIlm SchoolRadio interview with Director Sam Pollard

The remarkable life and legacy of an NBA superstar and civil rights icon is captured in the documentary Bill Russell: Legend. This two-part film from award-winning director Sam Pollard features the last interview with Bill prior to his passing in 2022 as well as access to his sprawling personal archives. On the court, Russell went on to lead each and every one of his basketball teams to championships — two back-to-back NCAA titles, a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and 11 championship titles in his thirteen-year career as a Boston Celtic (his last two as the first Black head coach in NBA history). Off the court Russell was a force in the fight for human rights — marching with Martin Luther King Jr., leading boycotts in the NBA over racist practices and speaking out against segregation — efforts which earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Narrated by actors Jeffrey Wright and Corey Stoll and featuring exclusive interviews with the icon’s family and friends as well as Steph Curry, Chris Paul, “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, Jim Brown and more, Bill Russell: Legend illuminates the ways in which Russell stood tall in every sense of the word. Director Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power) joins us for a conversation on the player, the coach, the legend and the man who was one of the most influential figures in the history of sport and American civil society.
Available on netflix.com/Bill Russell Legend

Attachment / Film School Radio interview with Director Gabriel Bier Gislason

ATTACHMENT is a horror romance about Maja, a has-been actress in Denmark, who falls in love with Leah, a young, Jewish academic visiting from the UK. When Leah suffers a mysterious seizure, Maja fears their whirlwind romance might be cut short and decides to follow Leah back to her home in London. There, Maja meets her new downstairs neighbour Leah’s mother, Chana. An overbearing, seemingly religious and highly secretive woman, Chana seems resistant to all of Maja’s attempts to win her over. And as Maja notices strange occurrences in the building, she begins to suspect that Chana’s secrets could be much darker than first anticipated. Written for Josephine Park, Gislason's longtime friend, and loosely inspired by stories from her life. Set in the Hasidic area of North London, where Gislason lived for years, the film draws heavily on Yiddish folklore art and literature, portraying a highly fictionalized — but deeply affectionate — rendering of the culture that originated them. Award-winning actor David Dencik (No Time to Die, Men & Chicken) Josephine Park, Ellie Kendrick, and Sofie Gråbøl. Director Gabriel Bier Gislason joins us for a conversation on writing the script with a specific actor in mind, drawing upon his own religious background in creating this gripping folkloric Danish tale of demonic possession, Jewish tradition, a mother’s love and other intimate relationships.
For more go to: shudder.com

Pianoforte / Film School Radio interview with Director Jakub Piątek

In the feature documentary, PIANOFORTE director Jakub Piątek takes a deep dive into what is considered to be one of the most prestigious competitions in classical music, the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland. Held every five years since 1927, the event has been a career launchpad for such piano virtuosos as Krystian Zimerman, Mitsuko Uchida, Kevin Kenner, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. The competition itself is a real roller coaster of a classical ride, with extremely tough qualifying rules, multiple stages, legendary jurors (Arthur Rubinstein), and a whole lot of pressure. Jakub Piątek’s fly-on-the-philharmonic-wall documentary takes us behind the scenes of this fascinating contest. We meet some of the most talented young professional piano players from all over the world and watch them navigate this fever dream of a competition, along with its intense practices, new friendships, lots of drama, and even more nerves. “Sometimes I can only groan, and suffer, and pour out my despair at the piano!” said Chopin. Pianoforte is a testament to the power of remarkable music. Nearly two centuries later, it still inspires, excites, and, yes, causes some despair and suffering, too. Director Jakub Piątek (Prime Time, 2021) stops by to talk about the intensity and commitment each of the pianist brings to their craft, how he landed on following the wide variety musicians in the film and capturing the euphoria of an artist and music transcending the notes on a page.
For more go to: sundance.org/program/Pianoforte
Nominated, Grand Jury Prize / World Cinema - 2023 Sundance Film Festival

Life Upside Down / Film School Radio interview with Director Cecilia Miniucchi

In her latest film, Director Cecilia Miniucchi takes a sharp-eyed look at foibles and follies of people in flux. LIFE UPSIDE DOWN is a romantic comedy about time, distance, and the human condition. Three couples, connected by friendship, love and work, are each stuck in their respective homes in Los Angeles during the beginning of lockdown. Finally forced to face their spouses, friends, lovers, and eventually themselves head on, their lives turn slowly but surely upside-down. LIFE UPSIDE DOWN” was created and filmed at the very beginning of the Los Angeles lockdown. Written and directed entirely remotely, except for the opening and closing scenes, by Cecilia Miniucchi, shot entirely on iPads and iPhones, communicating through a computer or dual computers, and often shooting on multiple locations simultaneously. The focus is not on the pandemic, but rather the story is about human relationships. Writer / director Cecilia Miniucchi joins us to talk about her love for the characters showcased in the film, her outstanding cast, directing a superb cast of Bob Odenkirk, Radha Mitchell and Danny Huston, the precarious nature of making the film and how her work with film icons; Lina Wertmuller (her mentor), Federico Fellini, the Taviani Brothers, and Francis Ford Coppola has informed her own filmmaking.
For more go to: ifcfilms.com/life-upside-down

Love in the Time of Fentanyl / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Colin Askey

In Colin Askey’s jarring, tough-minded documentary LOVE IN THE TIME PF FENTANYL Vancouver, Canada is ground zero of the opioid crisis in Canada with fentanyl overdose deaths at an all-time high. To save lives and support their disenfranchized community, a group of current and former drug users volunteer at the Overdose Prevention Society (OPS), a safe injection site. These renegades supervised a drug consumption site that employs active and former drug users, the crew do whatever it takes to save lives and give hope to a deeply marginalized population while demanding more radical responses to the devastation ravaging their community. LOVE IN THE TIME PF FENTANYL reaches beyond the stigma of drug use, revealing the courage and compassion of those on the frontlines of the crisis. Director Colin Askey’s debut feature documentary looks beyond the stigmatization of injection drug users and offers hope and empathic ways to approach the crisis ravaging too many communities.
For more go to: loveinthetimeoffentanyl.com
Love in the Time of Fentanyl’s will premiere on PBS’s Independent Lens February 13, 2023
Winner of the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director

A Perfect Day for Caribou / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Jeff Rutherford

A Perfect Day for Caribou tells the story of just one day in the life of Herman (Jeb Berrier), Nate (Charlie Plummer), and Ralph. Herman is an alcoholic with a depleted appetite for life. It’s early morning as Herman speaks into a tape recorder, dictating a final message to his estranged son, Nate. As he rambles on about the last Caribou herd in North America, his mobile phone rings – it’s Nate, all these years later. Nate is an anxious young father reckoning with his past so he might move further into the future. That afternoon, they meet up at a cemetery on the edge of an unknown town. Nate brings his own boy along, a six year old named Ralph, who carelessly plays and runs around in the distance as Herman and Nate stumble through ten years worth of conversation. They navigate hills and valleys, forests and open plains. All the while, in an uneven and awkward pattern, they attempt to connect with one another. A Perfect Day for Caribou tells the story of just one day in the life of Herman, Nate, and Ralph. Director, producer and writer Jeff Rutherford (My Mother is a Fish, Rainbow Pie) joins us to talk about the orgin story that inspired the film, working with the outstanding lead actors in the film, Charlie Plummer (King Jack, Lean on Pete) and Jeb Berrier (Documentary Now!, Portlandia) and choosing to go black and white.
For more go to: aperfectdayforcaribou.com
slamdancechannel.com/a-perfect-day-for-caribou
Find out more at: slamdance.com

The Quiet Epidemic / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Winslow Crane-Murdock & Lindsay Keys

After years of living with mysterious symptoms, a young girl from Brooklyn and a Duke University scientist are diagnosed with a disease said to not exist: Chronic Lyme disease. The Quiet Epidemic follows their search for answers, which lands them in the middle of a vicious medical debate. What begins as a patient story evolves into an investigation into the history of Lyme disease, dating back to its discovery in 1975. A paper trail of suppressed scientific research, and buried documents reveals why ticks-and the diseases they carry-have been allowed to quietly spread around the globe. According to a new CDC estimate, 476,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease yearly in the United States alone, yet our public health agencies and policymakers remain largely unresponsive. The same small group of doctors and public health officials have continued to control the science and the narrative of denial for decades. Co-directors and Lyme disease survivors, Winslow Crane-Murdock & Lindsay Keys join us for a conversation on how their personal travails with Lyme disease has fortified their resolve to raise a greater societal awareness of this insidious and treacherous disease. Nearly as daunting as their own battle with Lyme has been getting a callous, profit over people health care system’s failure to recognize the validity of the disease and take the long overdue steps to deliver appropriate care to the hundreds of thousands people struggling to survive it.
For more go to: thequietepidemic.com
Distributed by: firstrunfeatures.com/quietepidemic