KUCI: Film School

A Broken House / Film School Radio interview with Director Jimmy Goldblum

Jimmy Goldblum’s poignant documentary short A BROKEN HOUSE follows Mohamad Hafez from the time he received a single-entry visa to study architecture in the United States, and his life-altering realization that if he couldn't return home to Syria, he could make home. A skilled architectural model-maker, he spent his years in exile sculpting life-like renditions of his Damascus neighborhood. When the civil war broke out and his parents fled to the United States as refugees, Mohamad's bottled-up frustration erupted on his models. In a fit of mania, he broke his artworks, leaving them shattered, bombed-out replicas of the Syrian buildings he saw on the news. And yet, when word of his broken pieces spread, Mohamad became an inspiration to refugees and immigrants in the diaspora who dreamed of homes that only existed in memories. 'Hiraeth' is a film about loss and love, responsibility and identity -- about homesickness for the places to which we can no longer return. Director Jimmy Goldblum stops by to talk about the heartbreaking Hafez family saga as they navigate the shattering impact that the Syrian war has had on their country, community and their fracturing family.
For more go to: jimgoldblum.com/abrokenhouse
For news and screening go to: a broken.house
Also available at: pbs.org/pov/a-broken-house
Check out all of the shortlisted films at: oscars.org/94th-shortlisted

Explant / Film School Radio interview with Director Jeremy Simmons

The eye-opening documentary, EXPLANT, examines the #1 cosmetic surgery in the world today - breast enlargement. Iconic media personality Michelle Visage (RuPaul’s Drag Race), who has had breast implants most of her adult life, believe they are making her sick - and she's not alone. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of women have come forward with similar beliefs, clashing the the medical establishments claim's that implants are completely safe. The EXPLANT follows Michelle Visage on her personal journey to have her implants removed.  It also takes a deep dive into the stranger-than-fiction history of the breast implant. From interviews with the first-ever recipient of the modern-day implant to a confession from a whistleblower, the film shows how complications and auto-immue issues have shadowed implants for decades - and why the medical establishment is reluctant to warn patients of these risks. EXPLANT is produced by World of Wonder co-founders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Jeremy Simmons, with executive producers Michelle Visage and David Case. Director Jeremy Simmons joins us for a conversation on the history of implants, the benefits as well as the potential medical complications, the implant manufacturers resistance to honest inquiry and obfuscation of medical research by them and the determined courage of the film’s subject, Michelle Visage, to seek out her truth regarding the impact that implants have had on her life.
For news and updates go to: worldofwonder.com/explant
EXPLANT is now available at: Paramount+.com

Lead Me Home / Film School Radio interview with Director Jon Shenk and Pedro Kos

Collaborating as co-directors award winning filmmakers Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk bring us into the multi-faceted homelessness crisis in the documentary LEAD ME HOME. In this world tents become bedrooms; trucks become washrooms; parks become kitchens, love occurs, as does strife and violence. People make homes for themselves wherever they end up. The pair set out to depict the stories of people living on the street who, were it not for a vast set of unfortunate circumstances—addiction, mental illness, sexual abuse, homophobia, healthcare costs, disability—would be living no differently from those sleeping comfortably mere blocks or even just floors away. In the shadow of boundless real estate development proliferating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, Kos and Shenk filmed the daily lives of more than two dozen subjects over three years to provide a slice-of-life portrayal of what it’s like to experience homelessness in America today. Conceived as a two-part visual symphony shot in distinct production periods, the film opens a window into a parallel world hiding in plain sight and challenges the audience to feel the scale, scope and diversity of unsheltered America. Lead Me Home marks the first time Emmy winners Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk have co-directed together and is a co-production of Netflix and Actual Films, produced by Bonni Cohen, Serin Marshall and Richard Berge.
Available on Netflix
For news and updates go to: leadmehomefilm.com
To learn more aboout th issue go to: leadmehomefilm.com/learn
Turn knowledge into action: leadmehomefilm.com/community-resources

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Emily and Sarah Kunstler - Writer and Subject Jeffery Rob...

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America - Co-directors Emily and Sarah Kunstler - Writer and Subject Jeffery Robinson
Interweaving lecture, personal anecdotes, interviews, and shocking revelations, in Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, criminal defense/civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson draws a stark timeline of anti-Black racism in the United States, from slavery to the modern myth of a post-racial America. In Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, Robinson faces his largest audience, asking all of us to examine who we are, where we come from, and who we want to be.  Anchored by Robinson’s Town Hall performance, the film interweaves historical and present-day archival footage, Robinson’s personal story, and vérité and interview footage capturing Robinson’s meetings with Black change-makers and eyewitnesses to history. From a hanging tree in Charleston, South Carolina, to a walking tour of the origins of slavery in colonial New York, to the site of a 1947 lynching in rural Alabama, the film brings history to life, exploring the enduring legacy of white supremacy and our collective responsibility to overcome it. Co-directors Emily and Sarah Kunstler and Producer / Subject Jeffery Robinson join us for a conversation on the why and how American social, political and economic “progress” is inextricably entangled with the 400 year long suppression of black people and the systemic racism supported by many of America’s institutions.
For in theatre and virtual go to: sonyclassics.com/film/whoweare
For news and updates go to: thewhoweareproject.org
More from the filmmakers at: off-center.com/who-we-are

ÁGUILAS / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre

The eye-opening documentary film from co-directors Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre, AGUILAS, tells the story of the Águilas del Desierto, a group of volunteers who look for migrants who go missing crossing the border—often finding only their remains. Once a month, along the scorching southern desert border in Arizona, one group of searchers, the Aguilas del Desierto, set out to recover missing loved ones. These volunteers comprised of construction workers, gardeners, domestic laborers by trade, carry out their solemn task. Águilas poetically lays bare the tragic reality of migrant death by venturing deep into the wilderness of the borderlands. Co-directors Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre join us for a conversation on this little known story of selfless service, the United States policy of deliberately funneling refugees into the most dangerous terrain along our shared border and thousand of people who’s remains are found and the thousands more who the desert will never give us back.
For more information go to: gonella-productions.com/aguilas
For news and updates go to: aguilasdocumentary.com 
Watch now at: youtube.com/ÁGUILAS
Watch now at: newyorker.com/watch/Aquilas 

Day of Rage / Film School Radio interview with Co-producer Malachy Browne (David Botti)

DAY OF RAGE chronicles the January 6, 2020 attack on the United States Capitol, arguably the most widely documented act of political violence in history. During a six-month investigation The New York Times obtained analyzed and mapped out thousands of hours of video to provide the most complete account of the Capitol riot to date. DAY OF RAGE charts in chilling detail how the peaceful transition of power was disrupted by rioters who stormed a seemingly impenetrable seat of government. Viewers gain critical insights into the character and motivation of the rioters by experiencing the day through their cellphone videos police body cameras surveillance footage inside the Capitol and the internal radio recordings detailing how the officers responded. Co-producer Malachy Browne (David Botti) joins us to talk about the methodical way in which a large team of reporters, social media experts and investigators, from the New York Times Visual Investigations Unit, pieced together this harrowing and eye-opening account of the attack on the our national Capital and it’s intended objective, to sabotage the will of the American people by negating the results of a freely decided election through violence and lend support to the efforts of a major political party’s plan of organized sedition.
Watch at: youtube.com/Day of Rage
The New York Times Visual Investigations site
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Takeover / Film School Radio interview with Director Emma Francis-Synder

The Oscar© shortlisted documentary TAKEOVER takes a long overdue look at the true history of a nearly forgotten event through the voices of the Young Lords, a collection of politically engaged young Puerto Rican men and women. On July 14, 1970, a group of Young Lords made history when they occupied Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx — known locally as the “Butcher Shop.” The activists barricaded themselves inside the facility, demanding safer and more accessible health care for the community. Originally a Chicago-based street gang, the Young Lords turned to community activism, inspired by the Black Panthers and by student movements in Puerto Rico. A Young Lords chapter in New York soon formed, agitating for community control of institutions and land, as well as self-determination for Puerto Rico. Their tactics included direct action and occupations that highlighted institutional failures. Through archival footage, re-enactments and contemporary interviews, the documentary above shines a light on the Young Lords’ resistance movement and their fight for human rights. The dramatic takeover of Lincoln Hospital produced one of the first Patient’s Bill of Rights, changing patients’ relationship with hospitals and doctors nationwide. Director Emma Francis-Synder joins us to talk her own discovery regarding the impact that the Black Panther Party had on the Young Lords, the impact that they had on New York City and the Puerto Rican community, reaching out to the surviving Young Lords and why grassroot action remains the most effective way to affect positive change.
For news and updates go to: marketroadfilms.com/takeover
Watch at: nytimes.com/TAKEOVER

Audible / Film School Radio interview with Director Matt Ogens

AUDIBLE is a cinematic and immersive coming of age documentary following Maryland School for the Deaf high school athlete Amaree McKenstry and his close friends as they face the pressures of senior year and grappling with the realities of venturing off into the hearing world. Amaree and his teammates take out their frustrations on the football field as they battle to protect an unprecedented winning streak, while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend. This is a story about kids who stand up to adversity. They face conflict, but approach the future with hope – shouting to the world that they exist and they matter. Director Matt Ogens joins us for a conversation on the project he re-visited over the course of a decade, why it was important that the film me made for the deaf as much as the hearing and the importance that sound played in the making of Audible
To watch go to: netflix.com/Audible
For more go to: mattogens.com

Unapologetic / Film School Radio interview with Director Ashley O’Shay

After two police killings, Black millennial organizers challenge a Chicago administration complicit in state violence against its Black residents. Told through the lens of Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionist leaders, UNAPOLOGETIC is a deep and insightful look into the Movement for Black Lives, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The release of UNAPOLOGETIC serves as a nod to Black August, an annual commemoration to remember Black freedom fights and political prisoners, highlighting Black resistance against racial oppression. Notable historical moments include the March on Washington (1963), the Haitian Revolution (1791), and Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831). The film captures tensions between a police board led by Lori Lightfoot (now Chicago Mayor) and abolitionist organizers at Chicago Police Department Headquarters. Director Ashley O’Shay joins us for a conversation on why she chose to follow Janae and Bella, her abiding commitment to a historically crucial moment in the American experiment and why the voice of Black women are uniquely qualified to play a critical role in our collective future.
For news, screenings and updates go to: unapologeticfilm.com

The Queen of Basketball / Film School Radio interview with Director Ben Proudfoot

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ben Proudfoot’s, QUEEN OF BASKETBALL, unravels the story behind one of the all-time greatest women’s basketball players. Born to African American sharecropper parents, one of eleven children, living in poverty, in the Deep South, picking cotton with her siblings in order to keep her family afloat. She learns how to play basketball in high school and less than two years after graduating she carries a little known Mississippi college, Delta State, to three consecutive Women’s national basketball championships. She is picked to play on America’s Women’s Olympic basketball team to play in the first ever Olympic basketball tournament for women. She scores the first and second basket in women's Olympic history. Soon after she becomes the first woman drafted (Utah Jazz) to play in the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lusia (Lucy) May Harris? Director Ben Proudfoot (Concerto is a Conversation) joins us to talk about one of the most accomplished and under-appreciated athletes who’s legacy off the court as a mother, daughter, wife and activist for equality rival her amazing athletic career, enlisting Shaquille O’Neal to be the Executive Producer, as well as the happenstance that spurred Proudfoot into making this beguiling documentary.
Watch at: nytimes.com/video/the-queen-of-basketball
* Latest News - 2022 Oscar Shortlist for Best Short Documentary
World Premiere – 2021 Tribeca Film Festival
For more news and updates go to: breakwaterstudios.com
2022 Oscar© Shortlist for Best Short Documentary