KUCI: Film School

Only in Theaters / Film School Radio interview with Director Raphael Sbarge & Subject Greg Laemmle

There has been a Laemmle in the movie business since there’s been a movie business. ONLY IN THEATERS shines a spotlight on the beloved Arthouse Cinema chain with an astonishing Hollywood legacy that includes four generations of Laemmle’s dedicated to elevating the art of filmmaking and the filmmakers who make them. Responsible for bringing foreign film to Los Angeles and popularizing countless foreign independent films and their filmmakers, the Laemmle Theatres’ impact on Hollywood and world cinema cannot be overstated. In a world of growing conglomeration, the Laemmle circuit of theatres has become even more of an anomaly: a family-owned and operated art house theatre chain.  Filmed over 2 1/2 years, ONLY IN THEATERS, chronicles a family business, and their determination to survive.  But in a changing world this is also a story about the future of Cinema. Interviews with Ava DuVernay, Cameron Crowe, James Ivory, Nicole Holofcener, and others.  ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor /director Raphael Sbarge who follows one of the most dedicated members of the Laemmle clan, Greg, the intimate and moving journey have been taken by the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs. Director Raphael Sbarge (Emmy Nominated for directing “LA FOODWAYS,”) and subject Greg Laemmle joins us for a conversation on the sheer joy of getting to know world class artists, writers, producers and director, connecting with a wildly diverse community of people who support them as well as a being the preferred platform for many of the world’s most influential and talented filmmakers.
For more go to: onlyintheaters.com 
For filmmakers: thefilmcollaborative.org/onlyintheaters

Beautiful Beings / Film School Radio interview with Director Guðmundur Arnar Gudmundsson

Guðmundur Arnar Gudmundsson searing drama, BEAUTIFUL BEINGS drops us into the tumultuous life of Addi, a boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys explore aggression and violence but also learn about loyalty and love. As their behavior escalates towards life–threatening situations, Addi begins to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Can his newfound intuition guide him and his friends back to a safer path, or will they dive irrevocably into further violence? The latest feature from Icelandic writer/director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson following his 2016 feature debut Heartstone, which premiered at the Venice Days Competition and went on to receive over 50 international awards. Director and writer Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson joins us for a conversation on his creative inspirations and personal recollections that brought him to tell a story about friendship, the importance of role models, self-acceptance and intuition.
For more go to: alteredinnocence.net/beautifulbeings
Beautiful Beings is Iceland’s submission for Best International Feature for the 2023 Academy Awards®

Is There Anybody Out There / Film School Radio interview with Director Ella Glendining

Born with a disability so rare that no reliable statistics for it existence, filmmaker Ella Glendining wonders if there is anyone who can share the experience of living in a body like hers. In her documentary feature debut, Ella poses this simple question, IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE. It’s a question which non-disabled people often take for granted. IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE leads to a journey to not only others who live like her, but to the realization that meeting them changes how she sees herself in the world. With intimate personal diaries, conversations with similarly bodied people and doctors treating her condition, and a searching and unique perspective, Is There Anybody Out There? invites the viewer to consider questions and assumptions they may have never encountered before. Are people born this way to be “fixed” by medicine? Is it ableist to see disabled people as living an undesired existence? With warmth and an infectious joy for her body and life as it is, Glendining takes you on an unforgettable experience that will change how you see others, like and unlike you. Director and writer Ella Glendining joins us to talk about her search for a similarly bodied person, traveling to America, meeting a well-known surgeon specializing in corrective surgery, her life affirming takeaway from the quest and the pride that comes with being an accomplished filmmaker.
For news and updates go to: hotpropertyfilms.com

Bad Press / FIlm School Radio interview with Co-directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker & Joe Peeler

Angel Ellis is just trying to do her job. She’s a reporter for Mvskoke Media in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and she wants to give her readers access to all the information relevant to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. But that’s not an easy task, given that Angel and her colleagues believe in truth and transparency and aren't afraid to challenge the integrity of some questionable tribal officials. Fast-forward to a confusing whirlwind of an emergency session at the National Council, where the 2015 Free Press Act is repealed, Mvskoke Media's independent editorial board is dissolved, and the newspaper is placed under the direction of the Secretary of the Nation and Commerce. Now the real fight begins. Co-directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler tell a nuanced, empowering tale of a modern Native community fighting for transparency and access to information in order to hold their government accountable. Bad Press is an energizing watch — full of humor, humanity, and numerous twists and turns.
Watch Bad Press at: festival.sundance.org/program/Bad Press

Chess Story / FIlm School Radio interview with Director Philipp Stölzl

Vienna, 1938: Austria is occupied by the Nazis. Dr. Josef Bartok (Oliver Masucci) is preparing to flee to America with his wife Anna when he is arrested by the Gestapo. As a former notary to the deposed Austrian aristocracy, he is told to help the local Gestapo leader gain access to their private bank accounts in order to fund the Nazi regime. Refusing to cooperate, Bartok is locked in solitary confinement. Just as his mind is beginning to crack, Bartok happens upon a book of famous chess games. To withstand the torture of isolation, Bartok disappears into the world of chess, maintaining his sanity only by memorizing every move. As the action flashes forward to a transatlantic crossing on which he is a passenger, it seems as though Bartok has finally found freedom. But recounting his story to his fellow travelers, it's clear that his encounters with both the Gestapo and with the royal game itself have not stopped haunting him. Adapted with opulent attention to period detail by filmmaker and opera director Philipp Stölzl, CHESS STORY brings Stefan Zweig's stirring final novella to life featuring an impressive ensemble cast featuring Oliver Masucci (When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Never Look Away), Albrecht Schuch (Berlin Alexanderplatz, System Crasher), Birgit Minichmayr (3 Days in Quiberon, The Goldfish) and Rolf Lassgård (A Man Called Ove).

Fantastic Machine / Film School Radio interview with Co-director Maximilien Van Aertryck (Axel Danielson)

And the king said, “what a FANTASTIC MACHINE” is a thought-provoking examination of humanity’s infatuation with itself, and with framing the world through the camera’s lens. In the process, the filmmakers also raise the question of societal consequences stemming from the image output of 45 billion* cameras on the planet (*total expected in 2022). Utilizing the best element of the archival genre, this often-comical documentary, FANTASTIC MACHINE, take us from the Camera Obscura to the early days of photography and the moving image, when the monetization and exploitation of image was first embraced. Moving past historical landmarks in image-creation, the Filmmakers land squarely on our modern times, when our 45 billion cameras worldwide will contribute to 500 hours of images uploaded onto the internet every minute. Award-winning Co-directors Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck bring their trademark humor, keen socio-anthropological eye, and penetrating point of view to our screens, allowing for a great deal of laughter amidst the thought provoking self-reflection and sometimes shocking self-assessment.
For more go to: plattformproduktion.se

Searching: Our Quest For Meaning In The Age Of Science / Film School Radio interview with Host Alan Lightman

In “SEARCHING: Our Quest For Meaning In The Age Of Science,” physicist and best-selling author Alan Lightman investigates how key findings of modern science help us find our bearings in the cosmos. What do these new discoveries tell us about ourselves, and how do we find meaning in them? Throughout the highly cinematic three-part series, Alan takes viewers along on his journey of exploration – from prehistoric paintings in a French cave to a giant subatomic particle accelerator in Switzerland; from a Harvard laboratory where biologists are attempting to create living cells from scratch to the laboratories that detected the first gravitational waves; and to the quiet of a Buddhist temple. We travel from the infinity of the small to the infinity of the large, meeting with the co-discoverer of one of the most distant galaxies yet known. Across the series, Alan also interviews brain scientists, physicists, astronomers, philosophers, ethicists and faith leaders who offer contrasting perspectives on the interplay between contemporary scientific research and the humanities. Adding to the diversity of perspectives is a dynamic conversation with Bina48, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot. Series producer and host Alan Lightman joins us to talk about his journey to explore many of the vexing and eternal questions with a wide array men and women
To watch: pbs.org/searching-our-quest-meaning-age-science
For more go to: searchingformeaning.org

January 6th / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Jules Naudet & Gedeon Naudet

From Emmy and Peabody winning directors Gédéon and Jules Naudet comes an in-depth examination of JANUARY 6TH from the unique perspective of the heroes, first responders, and survivors of the attack. JANUARY 6TH is the complete story of the attack on the Capitol told by those who witnessed the chaos first-hand. The film succeeds in telling the story of this unprecedented moment in history as a human event and without political bias. In the moments where the worst of humanity is on display, there will always be heroes who step up as shining examples of courage and selflessness in the face of tragedy. Through JANUARY 6TH Naudet brothers reveal countless acts of bravery on display that day, both big and small. It’s an apolitical story of resilience and bravery that features Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the DC Police Chief, Chief Robert J. Contee III, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and over 50 Senators, Representatives, staffers from both sides of the aisle, and police officers as they reveal their first-hand experience of the attack. It is the only documentary for which the Capitol and Metropolitan Police Departments granted full access to their officers. Co-directors Gédéon and Jules Naudet (9/11, November 13: Attack on Paris, The Presidents ) join us for a conversation on their painstaking efforts to get the story of January 6th told from as many perspectives as possible and to take the viewer from the steps of the Capital to the House and Senate and ending with the men and women who fought to save the citadel of democracy from the seditious mob bent on unraveling our democracy.
JANUARY 6th premieres Thursday, January 5, 2023 on Discovery+
 
For more on JANUARY 6th go to: discovery+

AZOR / Film School Radio interview with Director Andreas Fontana

Andreas Fontana’s AZOR takes us to Argentina, the late 1970s as a private banker Yvan (Fabrizio Rongione) arrives from Geneva with his wife Ines (Stéphanie Cléau) to replace a colleague who has mysteriously disappeared in military-ruled Buenos Aires. Moving through the smoke-filled lounges and lush gardens of a society under intense surveillance, he finds himself untangling a sinister web of colonialism, high finance, and a nation's “Dirty War”. In his remarkably assured debut, Swiss director Andreas Fontana invites us into this seductive, moneyed world where political violence simmers just under the surface. Co-written by Argentinian filmmaker Mariano Llinás (La Flor), Azor is a riveting look at international intrigue worthy of John le Carré or Graham Greene.  Yvan De Wiel, a private banker from Geneva, is going to Argentina in the midst of a dictatorship to replace his partner, the object of the most worrying rumours, who disappeared overnight. Between hushed lounges, swimming pools and gardens under surveillance, a remote duel between two bankers who, despite different methods, are the accomplices of a discreet and merciless form of colonization. AZOR’s director Andreas Fontana joins us for a conversation on the ways in which he dissects this haunting, opaque, seductive world where are little about it is as it seems and where a misstep can cost those who choose to live in it their life.
For more go to: mubi.com/films/azor
To watch go to: alinafilm.com/azor
For more on the streaming service MUBI or mubi.com/youtube

Art & Krimes by Krimes / Film School Radio interview with Director Alysa Nahmias

ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES explores the world of art and confinement and how imprisonment often work against the greater social good. The engaging documentary on an artist, Jesse Krimes, locked up for six years in federal prison. He spends a good deal of his time secretly creating a monumental work of art—including an astonishing 30-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. Krimes smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As Jesse’s work captures the art world’s attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence. In addition to a focus on the stunning work of Jesse Krimes, ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES also features the work of formerly incarcerated artists Russell Craig, Jared Owens and Gilberto Rivera. Director, Writer, Producer and award-winning filmmaker Alysa Nahmias joins us for a conversation on confinement, loss, creativity and how her vérité filmmaking captured the jagged life of Jesse Krimes, from broken childhood through to his triumphant gallery show.
For updates and screenings go to: krimesfilm.com