KUCI: Film School

How to Save a Dead Friend / Film School Radio interview with Director Marusya Syroechkovskaya

This intimate documentary, HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND, explores the turbulent story of Marusya Syroechkovskaya, a suicidal 16-year-old as she falls in love with a humorous grunge kid named Kimi Morev. Fueled by drugs and music, the inseparable couple films the euphoria, anxiety and misery of their precarious existence under the shadow of their oppressive government. In the “depression Federation” (Russia), governed by leaders keen to bring forth an authoritarian dream, millennial suicides have become omnipresent – a last act of self-will among a generation denied the chance to envision a better future. Their unbreakable love story takes hold in this destructive world, and Marusya uses her camera to chronicle it all – from the rise of hope as she and Kimi get married and begin their lives together, to the ever-increasing threat from their country’s internal weapons of isolation and division. Captured over 12 years, this raw, exuberant, and moving love story, provides insight into a silenced generation of rebellious youths struggling to survive in Putin’s Russia. Marusya’s camera now becomes her last chance to save something of the fragile Kimi. Director Marusya Syroechkovaya HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND speaks the language of a disenfranchised, silenced generation fluently, as it “saves” one voice from being lost forever.
For more go to: howtosaveadeadfriend.com

Hidden Letters / Film School Radio interview with Director Violet DuFeng

HIDDEN LETTERS explores the saga of women in China as it pertains to their history of being forced into oppressive marriages as well as forbidden to read or write by their households for thousands of years. To cope, they developed and shared a secret language among themselves called Nushu. Written in poems or songs with bamboo pens on paper-folded fans and handkerchiefs, these hidden letters bonded generations of Chinese women in a clandestine support system of sisterhood, hope and survival. Spanning between past and present, from sunken rice fields and rural villages to bustling metropolitan cities, HIDDEN LETTERS follows two millennial Chinese women who are connected by their fascination with Nushu and their desire to protect its legacy. In Jiangyong, Hu Xin works as a Nushu museum guide and aspires to master the ancient script following the breakup of her marriage. In Shanghai, Simu is passionate about music and Nushu, but marital expectations threaten to end her pursuit of both. Influenced by Nushu’s legacy of female solidarity, the two women struggle to find balance as they forge their own paths in a patriarchal culture steeped in female subservience to men. Director Violet DuFeng (Please Remember Me, Dear Mother) joins us for an enlightening conversation on the history of Nushu, the pressure that was and continues to be brought down on the women who have carried the torch of this specialized language and the unbreakable bonds its usage has forged, generation upon generation.
For more go to: cargofilm-releasing.com/hidden-letters
To watch go to: hiddenlettersfilm.com

The Almond and the Seahorse / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Celyn Jones & Tom Stern

Based on the play by Kaite O’Reilly, THE ALMOND AND THE SEAHORSE is the directorial debut of both notable actor and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Celyn Jones; and Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated cinematographer Tom Stern. Sarah (Rebel Wilson) is an archaeologist who loves her husband Joe (Celyn Jones) but after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) their love is trapped in the past. Toni (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is an architect and loves her partner Gwen (Trine Dyrholm) but after a TBI they have been imprisoned in a fifteen-year loop. Love is the only thing that keeps them all going but something has changed, and both Sarah and Toni are determined to not let it all unravel as they face their fears of being forgotten by the people they love most. Co-director, co-writer and co-star Celyn Jones (Six Minutes to Midnight, Born a King) joins us for a conversation working with his award winning, frequent Clint Eastwood collaborator, co-director and cinematographer Tom Stern, assembling a superb cast of actors and the challenge being in front of the camera and in the director’s chair for his debut feature film project.
For more go to: ifcfilms.com/the-almond-and-the-seahorse

Free Puppies / FIlm School Radio interview with Co-directors Samantha Wishman & Christina Thomas & Subject Monda Wooten

When Hurricane Katrina left more than 250,000 pets stranded, the infrastructure of a nation-wide dog rescue effort was born. Since then, millions of Southern rescue dogs have been transported to new homes thanks to the tireless efforts of a grassroots network of dog rescuers. And while the media has popularized the image of dogs climbing out of transport trucks into the arms of eager adopters, little attention has been paid to the other side of the story. FREE PUPPIES! travels across the country's political divide to explore one of the many areas where no public animal services exist, and volunteers -- many of them women -- step in. The story follows rescuers Monda Wooten, Ann Brown, and Ruth Smith, and the network of independent “rescue ladies” who patrol vast rural counties in the Tennessee Valley caring for stray and surrendered dogs. Their grassroots efforts to start up a spay-and-neuter program, rescue countless dogs from euthanasia and neglect, and place them in loving "forever homes" will pluck at the heartstrings of any dog person. Co-director Samantha Wishman (Christina Thomas) and film subject Monda Wooten joins us to talk about the national crisis of lost, abused and shelterless animals, the reasons why the South has an epidemic of unrescued dogs and the volunteers and organizations that are stepping forward so that you can have your own free puppy / kitten.
For more go to: freepuppies.us
For more great films go to: firstrunfeatures.com/freepuppies
Support the organizations featured in Free Puppies and more!
Available on iTunes now!

Unveiled: Surviving La Luz Del Mundo - Director Jennifer Tiexiera

UNVEILED: SURVIVING LA LUZ DEL MUNDO explores the horrifying, yet relatively unknown story of the Christian church La Luz del Mundo (LLDM) and the sexual abuse that scores of members, many of them minors, say they have suffered at the hands of its successive leaders, known as the “Apostles.” Told from the point of view of the survivors who met on Reddit to share their stories of abuse, the series chronicles the history of one of the most powerful religious groups not only in Mexico where it was founded, but also in the United States, while giving voice to the men and women who were brave enough to stand up and call out the heinous crimes. Under the guise of the only true church offering eternal salvation, LLDM, which claims to have congregations in over 50 countries and over five million followers, was founded in 1926 by Aarón Joaquín Gonzalez. Joaquín Gonzalez was succeeded by his son and then grandson, all three Apostles said to be appointed by “divine revelation.” Now, scores of former members have come forward to describe how the Apostles built and maintained a system to procure and groom children for abuse. The series culminates in the events leading up to the 2019 arrest of the current Apostle, Naasón Joaquín García and his present-day trial, shedding light on a story that was all but ignored by mainstream media, and illustrating the positive power of social media to unite and provide agency to the survivors. Award-winner filmmaker Jennifer Tiexiera joins us to talk about the power and reach of the “Apostles”, the church followers and their work to intimidate and undermine the credibility of the abused, the kind of high powered legal protection that money can buy and the courage of, not only the abused, but their loved ones to bring some measure of justice to the church.
For more go to: hbo.com/unveiled-surviving-la-luz-del-mundo

The Killing of a Journalist / Film School Radio interview with Director Matt Sarnecki

On a cold night in February 2018, police enter a home in a Slovakian village and find a bloody crime scene. The body of Ján Kuciak, a 27-year-old investigative journalist, lies face-down near the front door. He has been shot twice in the chest. In the kitchen is his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, shot once in the head. The killings of the young couple — who had planned to soon marry — inspire the biggest protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism, and spark the fall of the Slovakian government. When a young police investigator pieces together the chain of events, he unearths a bizarre tale. The brutal murder ignited one of the biggest protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism. As colleagues and family search for answers, a source leaks a secret case file of the murder that reveals corruption at the highest level of government. Filmmaker Matt Sarnecki shapes a concise and thrilling reminder of the rising threat journalists around the world face to deliver the truth. Director Matt Sarnecki joins us for a conversation on the series of events that led him into documenting the unbelievable level of corruption in an Eastern European country, generally regarded as a major success, as well as the very real threat journalist are facing, not just in Slovakia, but around the world and how that will impact the health of teetering democracies everywhere.
For updates go to: finalcutforreal.dk/the-killing-of-a-journalist

Nelly & Nadine / Film School Radio interview with Director Magnus Gertten

Magnus Gertten’s powerful new documentary NELLY & NADINE is the unlikely love story between two women falling in love on Christmas Eve 1944, in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. A Belgian prisoner and opera singer Nelly Mousset-Vos had been asked to sing Christmas carols in one of the French populated Ravensbrück barracks. After a couple of songs, a Chinese born woman and fellow prisoner, Nadine Hwang, calls out from the dark: ”Sing something from Madame Butterfly!”. Despite the two being separated in the last months of the war, Nelly and Nadine manage to later reunite and spend the rest of their lives together. For many years their love story was kept a secret, even to some of their closest family. Now Nelly’s granddaughter, Sylvie, has decided to open Nelly and Nadine’s unseen personal archives and uncover their remarkable story. Director Magnus Gertten (Every Face Has a Name, Harbour of Hope) stops by to talk about his enthralling exploration of Nelly & Nadine and their remarkable stories, their wartime suffering, the shared mysteries, love against all odds, the healing power of music, well kept secrets, and the complicated family stories of concentration camp survivors, and dealing with the ghosts of the past.
For more go to: autoimages.se/nelly_nadine
Available at: wolfereleasing.com/Nelly & Nadine

EO / Film School Radio interview with Director Jerzy Skolimowski and Writer Ewa Piaskowska

In his first film in seven years, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a nomadic gray donkey named EO. After being removed from the traveling circus, which is the only life he’s ever known, EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure, all the while observing the follies and triumphs of humankind. During his travels, EO is both helped and hindered by a cast of characters including a young Italian priest (Lorenzo Zurzolo), a Countess (Isabelle Huppert), and a rowdy Polish soccer team. Loosely inspired by Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, and featuring immersive, stunning cinematography by Michal Dymek coupled with Pawel Mykietyn’s resonant score, Skolimowski’s film puts the viewer in the perspective of its four-legged protagonist. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us, an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills, and serving as warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom. Director Jerzy Skolimowski and Writer Ewa Piaskowska join us for a conversation on EO’s jolting and sublime trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, as well as his collaboration with his filmmaking team, including cinematographer Michal Dymek, composer Pawel Mykietyn and writer / partner Ewa Piaskowska to burnish this heartfelt cinematic masterpiece.
For more go to: eo.official.film
To watch in a theatre go to: eo.official.film/buy-tickets

Deconstructing Karen / Film School Radio interview with Director Patty Ivins Specht

In Patty Ivins Specht’s latest documentary film, DECONSTRUCTING KAREN, follows the work of Regina Jackson and Saira Rao as they continue to challenge the pall of racism through their RACE2DINNER — a movement to inspire white women to confront themselves and to acknowledge their own racism and complicity in white supremacy. The dinners will remind you of your favorite childhood memory of playing the game Clue. The most dangerous person in the room is never the obvious suspect. What if the bible-thumping, conservative Trump voter isn’t any more racist than the liberal yoga teacher who screams “love is love” What if well-intentioned liberal white women actively play a role in upholding racism and white supremacy? In this provocative documentary, white women experience RADICAL HONESTY ABOUT RACISM…their daily role in upholding it, their conditioning to ignore it and the essential part they can play in tearing down the systems that are killing black and brown people every single day. Director, producer and writer Patty Ivins Specht joins us for a conversation on the why confronting white women is vital to breaking the stranglehold that latent and overt racism has on America, connecting with the organizers of RACE2DINNER, Regina Jackson and Saira Rao and her reaction to the spirited conversations showcased in her insightful new film, Deconstructing Karen.
For more go to: deconstructingkaren.com

ONODA : 10,000 Nights in the Jungle / FIlm School Radio interview with Arthur Harari

ONODA: 10,000 NIGHTS in the JUNGLE is based on the true story of Hiroo Onoda, the legendary Japanese soldier who spent 30 years in the Philippine jungle, refusing to surrender because he was convinced World War II had not ended. Camouflaged by leaves and bark, shooting water buffalo for sustenance, Onoda will not believe even the recordings of his brother’s voice, imploring him to give up, or the magazine articles left for him in the jungle, meant to enlighten him about a world that had changed dramatically since 1944. (His response: paranoid conspiracy theories about the enemy concocting fake news.) Was Onoda a self-deluded fanatic or a paragon of patriotism? Harari’s poignant, epic drama reveals the complexities of the man who became a modern myth – and the inspiration for Werner Herzog’s recently published novel, The Twilight World. Director Arthur Harari (Dark Illusions) joins us to talk about the first time he heard this far-fetched tale, the importance of striking a balance heroic commitment and delusional denial, and the reaction to the film in Japan.
For more go to: darkstarpics.com