KUCI: Film School

Swan Song / Film School Radio interview with Director Todd Stephens

SWAN SONG follows retired hairdresser and local bar performer icon Pat Pitsenbarger (Udo Kier) who has given up on life from the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing home. But when Pat gets word that a former client's dying wish was for him to style her final hairdo, he sets out on an epic journey across Sandusky to confront the ghosts of his past - and collect the beauty supplies necessary for the job. SWAN SONG is a comical and bittersweet journey about rediscovering oneself, and looking gorgeous while doing so. Director Todd Stephens joins us for a conversation on the personally inspired origin story of Swan Song, how the casting of Udo Kier sharpened the film’s focus and the revelatory performance of Kier’s (Pitsenbarger) rival Best in Show’s Jennifer Coolidge’s (Dee Dee Dale).
For news and updated go to: swansongfilm.com
Watch in a theatre starting 8/6: swansongfilm.com/tickets

Last Call: The Shutdown of NYC Bars / Film School Radio interview with Director Johnny Sweet

What happens when an entire industry, of which you are a part, is laid off in a single day? Filmed during the height of the pandemic, Last Call : The Shutdown of NYC Bars explores the social and economic impact COVID-19 had on New York City’s hospitality industry. The film follows Jena Ellenwood, a bartender in Queens, NY, as she and her co-works and friends recount their experiences in the dawning realization that they are going to lose their jobs to a deadly new virus.
Jena has just moved to New York and recently been brought on as a bartender at the Sparrow Tavern, a local Astoria watering hole. In March 2020, business-as-usual comes to a grinding halt as COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, quickly establishing Queens as the epicenter of the pandemic, not only the state of New York, but throughout the entire country. Bars and restaurants are ordered to close, leaving thousands of hospitality workers stranded without work and an uncertain future. Jena and her friends vent their frustrations and anxieties, not only surrounding the seemingly hopeless economic uncertainty, but also the deadly virus that threatens their very lives. Throughout the process of finding a foothold in this “new normal”, the anxiety and uncertainty of New York’s hospitality industry looms, as 2020 ends with COVID hospitalizations in New York continuing to rise once again. Director, producer and writer Johnny Sweet (Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story) joins us to talk about his own journey over the last 16 months, the serious challenges of making a film under the cloud brought on by the pandemic and why showcasing the undervalued work and contributions of the service workers is so important to a healthy community.
 
 For news, updates and screenings go to: lastcalldocumentary.com
In Los Angeles watch at: laemmle.com/film/last-call-shutdown-nyc-bars
 
Last Call : The Shutdown of NYC Bars kicks off a virtual theatrical release on 7/16 via Laemmle theaters ahead of a wide digital release 8/13 from Global Digital Releasing.

Fireboys / Film School Radio interview with Co-Directors Jake Hochendoner and Drew Dickler

FIREBOYS is the untold story of young men incarcerated in California who are offered a way out: by fighting wildfires. Immersive and personal, this coming-of-age story examines a correctional path that is both hopeful and destructive. As these seasonal blazes rage across California, over 3,000 professional firefighters and 3,000 volunteer inmates battle the fires for many months on end, sometimes into the winter. Pine Grove firefighters have fought in all of the deadliest and largest fires in California’s recent history, including the Camp and Mendocino Complex fires of 2018. Without incarcerated firefighters, California would not be able to manage the growing intensity of fire season. The employment of inmate firefighters-- and the opportunities and challenges that await them upon their release from prison-- are at the heart of Fireboys. Co-Directors Jake Hochendoner and Drew Dickler join us for a conversation on the challenges of tracking the lives of the incarcerated in the CalFire program over a 5-year span, gaining the confidence of the prison and Pine Grove facility and how the intersection of incarceration, the personal history of the incarcerated and criminal justice reform plays out in the telling of the Fireboys.
To find out more go to: 1091.tv/fireboys
For news and updates go to: fireboysdoc.com

Whirlybird / Film School Radio interview with Director Matt Yoka

In Matt Yoka’s sprawling debut feature, WHIRLYBIRD, he deftly mirrors the peaks and valleys of one unique American family to the city of Los Angeles, showcasing their parallel growing pains and their search for a sense of self. Flying high above Los Angeles in a whirling news helicopter, Marika Gerrard and Zoey Tur (known then as Bob) captured some of the city’s most epic breaking news stories. The two recount the salacious details of their career as a husband-and-wife journalist team doing whatever it took to catch an unfolding story. Their camera captured the extreme adrenaline of the culture of live news and, as a result, the strain it took on their relationship—and, ultimately, a major life transition for Zoey. A wholly unique take on the story of Los Angeles told through stunning aerial footage and remarkable home videos, WHIRLYBIRD reframes many of the city’s pivotal moments of the 1990s, including the O. J. Simpson pursuit and the 1992 riots. Zoey Tur revolutionized news media with her aerial reporting of Los Angeles – and in doing so, defined our recorded memory of the city. Tur's unmatched eye-in-the-sky video archive captures the spectacle of 1990s L.A. while revealing her own personal complexities. WHIRLYBIRD weaves intimate interviews with a stunning archive, illustrating a person as fascinating as the city she flew above. WHIRLYBIRD is a completely original and intricately woven tapestry that reveals the agony and the ecstasy of breaking news. Director Matt Yoka joins is for an illuminating conversation on Tur’s complex personal landscape and his search to uncover a person as fascinating as the city she flew above.
For news and updates go to: whirlybirdfilm.com

Fully Realized Humans / Film School Radio interview with Director Joshua Leonard & Writer Jess Weixler

Director Joshua Leonard (Elliott) and Screenwriter Jess Weixler’s (Jackie) raucous and raw comedy FULLY REALIZED HUMANS they set out to blow-up the accepted wisdom that there is never a perfect time to have a baby. Jackie (Jess Weixler) and Elliott (Joshua Leonard) beg to differ. There will be a perfect time — just as soon as they've fixed all of their own issues and become the kind of people who won't screw up their own kids the way their parents screwed them up. Realizing that if they want to break their cycles of dysfunction once and for all, they'll have to confront their deepest fears and greatest shortcomings head-on. With less than a month until their due date, they embark on a madcap mission to become FULLY REALIZED HUMANS. This crusade will push them to the edge of sanity, forcing them to battle with themselves, each other, their friends, and even their families. When the smoke clears, they'll either be the world's greatest parents... or they'll be institutionalized. Director, co-writer and lead actor Joshua Leonard and co-writer and lead actor Jess Weixler join us to talk about the lightning quick turnaround for filming, working while pregnant and bringing together a talented supporting cast that includes Beth Grant, Tom Bower, Janizca Bravo, and Jennifer Lafleur.
Opens July 30 via Gravitas Ventures on VOD
For news and updates go to: fullyrealizedhumans.com

Pray Away / Film School Radio interview with Director Kristine Stolakis & Producer Anya Rous

Director Kristine Stolakis’ intimate and moving documentary, Pray Away, starts with the words “I lived transgender, but I left it all to follow Jesus.” So explains self-identified ‘ex-trans’ Jeffrey, whose belief that change is possible reflects the core message of the conversion therapy movement today. Former leaders of the "pray the gay away" movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma From there, PRAY AWAY takes us back to the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. Julie is one of hundreds of thousands of people caught in Exodus’ wake. Former leaders of the "pray the gay away" movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, Julie and many have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. PRAY AWAY chronicles that movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the harm it causes. Director Kristine Stokalis and Producer Jessica Devaney join us to talk about the politicalization of gay rights in the 1980s by the Far Right led by Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Newt Gingrich and James Dobson, as well as the psychological, religious, cultural, and economic pressure brought to bear on people who live a non-conforming sexuality.
For news, screenings and update go to: prayawayfilm.com
Watch Pray Away on Netflix beginning on August 3

Sabaya / Film School Radio interview with Director Hogir Hirori & Producer Antonio Merenda

Guarded by Kurdish forces, 73,000 Daesh (ISIS) supporters are locked up in the Al-Hol Camp in northeastern Syria. Considered the most dangerous camp in the Middle East, it is situated amidst a volatile political and military reality where Daesh is still omnipresent. Five years ago, Daesh killed thousands of Yazidis in the Sinjar province of Iraq and abducted thousands of Yazidi women and girls to be held and sold as sex slaves – called sabaya. In SABAYA, Mahmud, Ziyad and other volunteers from the Yazidi Home Center rescue the sabaya, who are still being held by Daesh in the camp. Continuously phoning, smoking and sometimes bickering, Mahmud and Ziyad systematically prepare their missions and know exactly who to look for, and where. Often accompanied by female infiltrators – some of them former sabaya – and armed with nothing but an old mobile phone and a small gun, they travel to the camp in an inconspicuous van. Once there, mostly by night, they must act extremely quickly to avoid potential violence. Under the loving care of Mahmud’s wife, Siham, and his mother, Zahra, it might take a long time for the young women to heal, but perhaps one day the traumatized girls will also be strong enough to become brave female infiltrators themselves, helping to rescue even more Yazidi Sabaya from the claws of an ideology that tolerates nothing but itself. Through this observational film, directed, shot and edited by acclaimed Swedish/Kurdish director Hogir Hirori, we experience first-hand the strong contrast between the tense situation in the camp and the comfort of daily life at home. Director Hogir Hirori and Producer Antonio Merenda joins us for a conversation on the risks that all of the project’s participants, including Mahmud and Siyad, took on in order to tell the story of unfathomable cruelty and deadly violence aimed at the Yazidi people in general and the Yazidi women specifically.
For more go to: sabayathefilm.com
It opens on Friday, July 30 in New York (Film Forum) and Los Angeles (Laemmle Royal and Laemmle Pasadena Playhouse), with an expansion to theaters and virtual cinemas nationwide beginning August 6.

Bring Your Own Brigade / Film School Radio interview with Director Lucy Walker

In early November 2018, raging wildfires killed 88 residents and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in the cities of Malibu and Paradise, two very different California communities. In her new verité documentary, two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker captures the heroism and horror of that unfathomable disaster. Her character-driven exposé, BRING YOUR ON BRIGADE, also answers a question humanity can no longer afford to ignore: Why are catastrophic wildfires increasing in number and severity around the world, and can anything be done to lessen the staggering death and destruction they cause? Drawing on hundreds of hours of astonishing wildfire footage and featuring interviews with survivors, firefighters and scientists, the film reveals that short of solving global warming there are numerous, often simple steps that can be taken to not only mitigate the catastrophic devastation caused by wildfires, but restore health and balance to woodlands that have been mismanaged for far too long. But does society have what it takes to put aside short-term interests and outmoded thinking to confront a crisis that’s quite literally burning our world to the ground? Director and Producer Lucy Walker (The Crash Reel, Waste Land, Countdown to Zero) to talk about her investigation into the reasons that social, political, climate, encroachment, logging, land management are just the beginning of why we should all be concerned about the coming Age of Fire.
Bring You Own Brigade opens in theaters on August 6 and streaming on CBSN and Paramount+ beginning August 20

Ailey / Film School Radio interview with Director Jamila Wignot

Alvin Ailey was a trailblazing pioneer who found salvation through dance. AILEY traces the full contours of this brilliant and enigmatic man whose search for the truth in movement resulted in enduring choreography that centers on the Black American experience with grace, strength, and unparalleled beauty. Told through Ailey’s own words and featuring evocative archival footage and interviews with those who intimately knew him, director Jamila Wignot weaves together a resonant biography of an elusive visionary. Many know the name Alvin Ailey, but how many know the man? Ailey’s commitment to searching for truth in movement resulted in pioneering and enduring choreography that centers on African American experiences. Director Jamila Wignot’s resonant biography grants artful access to the elusive visionary who founded one of the world’s most renowned dance companies, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Director Jamila Wignot joins us to talk about the remarkably creative choreographer who never stopped searching for the truth and clarity of dance and how his desire to mentor and nurture others will insure an artistic legacy matched by few others.
For news, screenings and updates go to: neonrated.com/films/ailey
AILEY opens exclusively in New York and expands nationwide August 6

6:45 / Film School Radio interview with Director Craig Singer

What if one of the best days of your life suddenly turned into one of your worst nightmares?And what if you were forced to relive that same day again and again? From Director Craig Singer comes a pulse-pounding, time-looping psychological thriller about a dream vacation gone very, very bad. Bobby Patterson (Michael Reed) is taking one last romantic shot at saving his rocky relationship with his girlfriend, Jules Rables (Augie Duke) on a weekend getaway to the picturesque island resort of Bog Grove. To their bewilderment, the sleepy beach town is curiously deserted, but they soon learn about its notorious and bloody history – one that's about to repeat itself again and again… The pair’s relationship issues are quickly cast aside in order to overcome a demented cycle of terror in which they’re seemingly trapped. And no matter what great lengths they take to avoid it, Bobby and Jules awake at 6:45 each morning to a nightmarish chain of events with no escape. Written by Robert Dean Klein (Little Fish, Strange Pond, A Good Night To Die), 6:45 stars Michael Reed (Missing William), Augie Duke (Amazon’s Red Oaks, 6 Years, 4 Months & 23 Days) and Thomas G. Waites (Savant, The Thing, The Warriors), Armen Garo (The Departed, The Sopranos) rappers Remy Ma (Queen of the South) and The 45 King (Hancock), boxing Hall of Famer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini (The Plot Against America). Director Craig Singer (Dark Ride, Perkins 14, Animal Room) joins us for a conversation on the challenges of pulling together a film project during a pandemic, working with a talented cast and crew and how taking the time loop theme into the realm of psychological thriller / horror opened up 6:45 to the exploration of a twisted love story.
For news and updates go to: 645movie.com
* Winner of the Paris Independent Film Festival