KUCI: Film School

Rose Plays Julie / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor

This gripping and beautifully rendered drama from filmmakers Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, Rose Plays Julie, tells the tale of Rose, a young veterinary student who has wanted to know who her biological parents are and the facts of her true identity for as long as she can remember. Rose (Ann Skelly) decides to contact Ellen (Orla Brady), the birth mother who gave her up for adoption. But Ellen, now a successful London-based actress, doesn't want to know her. Undeterred, Rose presses forward. And curiosity leads her to discoveries that shake the fragile identity she has built for herself. With Rose Plays Julie co-directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor have crafted a slow-burn thriller that builds a sense of dread inside an exquisite world of immaculate architecture, rendered through an icy performance style and enveloped by a claustrophobic soundtrack. Ann Skelly and Orla Brady are both exacting and measured in their delivery, as the film takes us through longing and revenge to arrive at the dark places of power and its abuses. Joining us to talk about their meticulous work of Rose Plays Julie are co-directors Christine Malloy and Joe Lawlor. The filmmaking duo work under the moniker of Desperate Optimists, having spent years making atmospheric cinema that often wades into the deep psychology of identity, personal trauma, as they dive into the complicated and the inherently elusive nature of truth.
For news and updates go to: filmmovement.com/rose-plays-julie
For more on the film go to: samsonfilms.com/rose-plays-julie

BIX: “Ain’t None of Them Play Like Him Yet” / Film School Radio interview with Director Brigette Berman

BIX: “Ain’t None of Them Play like Him Yet” chronicles the life and music of cornetist/pianist/composer Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke (1903-1931) regarded by many as jazz's man who got away. Born in Davenport, Iowa into an upper middle-class family, Beiderbecke became a legend even in his short lifetime, bringing an amazing new energy and unprecedented maturity to the music and influencing generations of musicians. After years of battling alcoholism, Bix died in Sunnyside, Queens on August 6, 1931. The cause of death was given as lobar pneumonia. He was 28. Using archival photographs and rare footage (including the three sole momentary fragments capturing Bix on film) and interviews with friends and colleagues (including jazz greats Hoagy Carmichael, Doc Cheatham, Artie Shaw, et al.), Berman’s acclaimed documentary paints a vivid portrait of a vanished era and brings to life the only trumpeter Louis Armstrong regarded as an equal (the quotation in the film’s title was once spoken by Armstrong). Long cherished by aficionados as the greatest film ever made about a jazz musician, BIX has also been one of the most difficult to see, with few theatrical screenings, a fleeting home video release and never available via streaming. Academy Award winning director Brigette Berman (Artie Shaw: Time is All You Got, River of My Dreams) joins us to talk about the blazing comet of a musician who was fundamental to the development of America’s most vital musical genre, jazz, as well as the impact his playing had on those who played with him and those who heard him.

CryptoZoo / Film School Radio interview with Director Dash Shaw and Producer Jane Samborski

Visionary comic book writer/artist/filmmaker Dash Shaw’s vibrant, fantastical animated feature follows cryptozookeepers through a richly-drawn hallucinatory world as they struggle to capture a baku (a legendary dream-eating hybrid creature) and begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a zoo, or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown. Featuring the voice talents of Lake Bell, Zoe Kazan, Michael Cera, Louisa Krause, Peter Stormare, Thomas Jay Ryan, Grace Zabriskie and Angeliki Papoulia, CRYPTOZOO is written and directed by Shaw, with Jane Samborski directing the stunning animation. Filmmakers Dash Shaw (director, screenwriter) and Jane Samborski (Animation Director, Producer) join us for a lively conversation on how the origin story was inspired by D&D / Pathfinder, the underground artists of the 1960s who influenced the animation style and the years of toiling with their passion project.
For screenings and updates go to: cryptozoofilm.com
Watch in theatre at: cryptozoofilm.com/tickets
Watch at home: cryptozoofilm.com/watch-at-home

Bigger Than Us / Film School Radio interview with Director Flore Vassuer - Subjects Melati Wijsen & Mary Finn

In her galvanizing debut feature documentary, BIGGER THAN US, Director Flore Vassuer follows an international collection young people working to bring long term solutions to seemingly intractable social, political and economic issues. For six years, Melati Wijsen, 18, has been fighting the plastic pollution that is ravaging her country, Indonesia. Like her, a generation is rising up to fix the world. Everywhere, teenagers and young adults are fighting for human rights, the climate, freedom of expression, social justice, access to education or food. Dignity. Alone against all odds, sometimes risking their lives and safety, they protect, denounce and care for others. The earth. And they change everything. Melati goes to meet them across the globe. She wants to understand how to hold on and continue her action. From the favelas of Rio to the remote villages of Malawi, from makeshift boats off the island of Lesbos to Native American ceremonies in the mountains of Colorado, Rene, Mary, Xiu, Memory, Mohamad and Winnie reveal a magnificent world, one of courage and joy, of commitment to something bigger than oneself. At a time when everything seems to be or has been falling apart, these young people show us how to live. And what it means to be in the world today. BIGGER THAN US was produced by Marion Cotillard and Denis Carot. Director Flore Vassuer as well as film subjects and activists Melati Wijsen and Mary Finn join us for an engaging conversation on how these inspiring young people are working to bring their passion, energy and desire to work across cultural, religious and political divides to find sustainable solutions.
For news and updates go to: biggerthanus.film
Cannes Official Selection - Special Screening 2021

Missing in Brooks County - Co-directors Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss

MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY follows two families as they arrive in Brooks County, Texas to look for their loved ones who went missing after crossing into the country from Mexico. On their search they meet vigilante ranchers, human smugglers, humanitarian activists, and Border Patrol agents, all of whom are locked in a proxy version of the national immigration debate. In order to build a portrait of everyday life in Falfurrias, Texas. In making MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY the filmmakers, co-directors Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemis immersed themselves into the heart of the story. They were present at many moments of discovery and revelation, documenting the missing as they were reported, rescued, recovered or exhumed. They rode with Sheriff's deputies and Border Patrol, with ranchers and vigilantes, filmed men and women wading across the Rio Grande at night, and filmed men and women as they surrendered to Brooks County law enforcement, dehydrated and exhausted. They documented the emotional testimony of a border crosser, his face shielded, as he described the moment he realized the teenage boy he was carrying—one of the missing individuals portrayed in the film—was no longer alive. Co-directors Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemis join us to talk about a sobering truth: the deadliest part of the journey was far from the border and their gripping portrait of a place that confronts the life-and-death consequences of a broken immigration system.
For news, screenings and updates go to: missinginbrookscounty.com

The Meaning of Hitler / Fim School Radio interview with Co-directors Petra Epplerein and Micheal Tucker

Using the eponymous 1978 best-selling book as its frame, THE MEANING OF HITLER is a provocative interrogation of our culture’s fascination with Hitler and Nazism set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of anti-semitism and the weaponization of history itself. Shot in nine countries, the film traces Hitler’s movements, his rise to power and the scenes of his crimes as historians and writers, including Deborah Lipstadt, Martin Amis, Sir Richard Evans, Saul Friedlander, Yehuda Bauer, and famed Nazi hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, weigh in on the lasting impact of his virulent ideology. THE MEANING OF HITLER is an intellectual inquiry with burning present-day resonance. It is also a road trip through some of the darkest chapters of European history. As fears of authoritarianism and fascism now abound, the film explores the myths and misconceptions of our understanding of the past and the difficult process of coming to terms with it at a time in our history when it seems more urgent than ever. Co-directors Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s dynamic documentary examines the ways we think about the Holocaust — and the ways we choose not to. As one of those interviewees, novelist Martin Amis, observes, “Our understanding of Hitler is central to our self-understanding. It’s a reckoning you have to make if you’re a serious person.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/the-meaning-of-hitler

The Lost Leonardo / Film School Radio interview with Director Andreas Koefoed

Andreas Koefoed’s THE LOST LEONARDO centers on the sale of Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), a portrait of Christ purportedly by Leonardo da Vinci, which in 2017 was auctioned by Christie’s for $450 million, a world record for any work of art. The bizarre story of its provenance, the intrigue surrounding its multi-year restoration, and the worldwide controversy regarding its authenticity are all recounted in a non-stop narrative conflating art world drama, international politics, and high-level financial shenanigans. Art dealers, curators, FBI and CIA agents, journalists, restorers, historians, a Russian oligarch, a Saudi prince, and the director of the Louvre are drawn into this exciting and revealing documentary that exposes the frictions inherent in the sale of great art. Unravelling the hidden agendas of the richest men and most powerful art institutions in the world, THE LOST LEONARDO reveals how vested interests in the Salvator Mundi are of such tremendous power that truth becomes secondary. As its price soars, so do questions about its authenticity: is this painting really by Leonardo da Vinci? Director Andreas Koefoed (Ballroom Dancer, The Arms Drop and At Home In The World) joins us to talk about tracking down the story behind this unbelievable story and if some of the remaining mysteries explored in the documentary will ever be fully revealed or understood.
For news and updates go to: thelostleonardodocumentary.com

Not Going Quietly / Film School Radio interview with Director Nicholas Bruckman

A rising star in progressive politics and a new father, 32-year-old Ady Barkan’s life is upended when he is diagnosed with ALS. But after a confrontation with powerful Senator Jeff Flake on an airplane goes viral, catapulting him to national fame, Ady and a motley crew of activists ignite a once-in-a-generation political movement called “Be a Hero.” Together, they barnstorm across the country and empower people to confront their elected officials with emotional, personal stories to demand healthcare justice and Ady holds groundbreaking interviews with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.  Through his journey, Ady discovers that collective action and speaking truth to power offers hope for his family and millions of others. Continuing today to motivate others to use the time they are given and speak truth to power, Barkan continues to fight for a more just world for his son to inherit. He was featured as one of TIME’s top 100 Most influential people of 2020 and has most recently been credited with pressuring President Biden to make the recent decision to waive the COVID-19 vaccine patent. Barkan is referred to as “The Most Powerful Activist in America,” because when he speaks, people listen. Director Nicholas Bruckman joins us for a conversation on the physically, emotionally and logistically demanding experience it was documenting Barkan’s life and work as well as the insider’s perspective on the power of grassroots political organizing he and his team are able to capture.
For news and updates go to: notgoingquietlyfilm.com
In the Los Angeles area: laemmle.com/film/not-going-quietly
In NYC go to: angelikafilmcenter.com/nyc/film/not-going-quietly

2nd annual rePRO Film Festival / Film School Radio interview with Founder Lela Meadow-Conner

The rePRO Film Festival is the only festival dedicated to exploring women's reproductive healthcare, awareness, advocacy and bodily integrity in America - that will be running this year from August 9-18. This year’s festival is comprised of 15 mission-aligned films (100% directed by individuals using she/her pronouns and 67% directed by BIPOC or AAPI individuals) that will be available across North America. 100% of the box office revenue will also be donated to our women-led 2021 Beneficiary Organizations: Black Women’s Health Imperative, The Lilith Fund and No More Secrets. The rePro festival has put together an incredible lineup this year and we wanted to share some details on how press will be able to access it all! rePro co-founder Lela Meadow Conner joins us for a lively and an informative update on a cutting edge film festival with a cutting edge approach to approach to serving their audience.
For news, screenings and updates go to: reprofilmfest.com
Special Events/Programming: The festival will also host rePRO’s Call-to-Action Conversations – a series of engaging discussions with filmmakers, activists, and experts around various reproductive justice topics. 

The Viewing Booth / Film School Radio interview with Director Ra’anan Alexandrowicz

Prior to World War I a friend writes to Virginia Woolf asking about how to prevent the coming war. She replies… by asking him about the definition of we. When we look at a series of photographs, do we see the same thing? THE VIEWING BOOTH recounts a unique encounter between a filmmaker and a viewer — exploring the way meaning is attributed to non-fiction images in today’s day and age. In a lab-like location, Maia Levy, a young Jewish American woman, watches videos portraying life in the occupied West Bank, while verbalizing her thoughts and feelings in real time. Maia is an enthusiastic supporter of Israel, and the images in the videos, depicting Palestinian life under Israeli military rule, contradict some of her deep-seated beliefs. Empathy, anger, embarrassment, innate biases, and healthy curiosity — all play out before our eyes as we watch her watch the images created by the Occupation. As Maia navigates and negotiates the images, which threaten her worldview, she also reflects on the way she sees them. Her candid and immediate reactions form a one-of-a-kind cinematic testimony to the psychology of the viewer in the digital era. THE VIEWING BOOTH is director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz (The Law In These Parts) joins us for a in-depth conversation regarding his inspiration and his motivation for creating a rigorous social / cultural / political evaluation of the way in which people take in, process and contextualize image-based information and how they see the world around them.
For news and updates go to: theviewingboothfilm.com/en/the-film
It will open at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) on Friday, August 6. The theatrical run will be preceded by a July 30 screening at MoMI’s First Look FF and followed by streaming access on the BBC REEL platform on August 18.