KUCI: Film School

Mossville: When Great Trees Fall / Film School Radio interview with Director Alexander John Glustrom

Mossville, Louisiana is a shadow of its former self – a community rich in natural resources and history, founded by formerly enslaved people and free people of color – where neighbors lived in harmony, insulated from the horrors of Jim Crow. Today, Mossville is surrounded by 14 petrochemical plants and the future site of apartheid-born South African-based chemical company Sasol’s newest plant – proposed as a $21.2 billion project and the largest in the western hemisphere. The remaining family members of Mossville struggle to let go of their ancestral home - and at the center of it all is a man named Stacey Ryan. Stacey is 49 years old and a lifelong resident of Mossville. In the past ten years Stacey has lost much of his family to cancer and seen the neighborhood he grew up in demolished to make way for Sasol’s new multi-billion dollar project. Having promised his dying parents to fight the sprawling chemical companies, Stacey struggles to keep his word as his power, water, and sewage are all cut off, and his health continues to decline from ongoing chemical exposure. As Sasol encroaches on citizens’ property with buyout offers, Stacey and other community members have to decide whether to exist in a chemical war zone, or abandon land that has been in their families for generations.,MOSSVILLE: When Great Trees Fall Director and Editor Alexander John Glustrom joins us to talk about one man’s fight to hold on to the last patch of a historic community and the legacy of a shattered community.
For news and updates go to: mossvilleproject.com
About the filmmaker: Alexander John Glustrom - Director / Editor / Director of Photography
Alexander John Glustrom's first film was the award winning documentary, "Big Charity," winner of The Jury Award and Audience Award at New Orleans Film Festival and the 2015 Documentary of the Year by Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. He was awarded "Filmmaker of the Year" at the 2015 New Orleans Millennial Awards and one of New Orleans' "40 under 40" by Gambit Magazine. He has directed, shot, produced, and edited a wide variety of film and media projects that have reached hundreds of thousands online, played at film festivals internationally and aired on major networks including HBO, CNN, Fusion, NYtimes.com, Great Big Story and Democracy Now. Daniel Bennett, Katie Mathews and Catherine Rierson are Producers, while Linda Karn and Michelle Lanier serve as Executive Producers. Lyntoria Newton is Impact Producer.
For more about Alexander John Glustrom go to: ajgmedia.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/MossvilleProject
twitter.com/MossvilleDoc
instagram.com/mossvillefilm

The Infiltrators / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera

THE INFILTRATORS is a docu-thriller that tells the true story of young immigrants who are detained by Border Patrol and thrown into a shadowy for-profit detention center— on purpose. Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop unjust deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention. However, when Marco and Viri attempt a daring reverse ‘prison break,’ things don’t go according to plan. By weaving together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with re-enactments of the events inside the detention center, THE INFILTRATORS tells an incredible and thrilling true story in a genre-defying new cinematic language. Co-directors Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera joins for a conversation on dire conditions that wait detainees , the cruelty of a system designed to frustrate people with legitimate reasons for remaining in the United States and their respect for the people who willingly put their lives and futures on the line for the sake of others.
For news and updates go to: theinfiltrators.oscilloscope.net or infiltratorsfilm.com
About the filmmakers:
Alex Rivera is an award-winning filmmaker who tells visually adventurous stories. His first feature film, SLEEP DEALER, won the screenwriting award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, was screened at the Museum of Modern Art, and had a commercial release around the world. In 2015 Alex was awarded support from the Surdna Foundation and the Ford Foundation for The Infiltrators.
Cristina Ibarra has been making award-winning films that explore the U.S.-Mexico border for the past seventeen years. The New York Times calls her documentary LAS MARTHAS “a striking alternative portrait of border-town life.” Her PBS documentary collaboration, THE LAST CONQUISTADOR, The Last Conquistador, had a national broadcast on POV. In 2015 she became part of Women at Sundance.
Social Media
twitter.com/tinfiltrators
facebook.com/oscopelabs
twitter.com/Oscilloscope
instagram.com/oscopelabs

Himalayan Ice / Film School Radio interview with Co-directors Ari Novak and Austin Schmitz

In December 2018, alpinists Ari Novak and Karsten Delap set out for India to explore one of the most remote valleys in the Indian Himalaya with local climber Karn Kowshik. Their goal was to meet with the indigenous population of the Spiti Valley and try to support local ice climbing. What they found was perhaps the biggest treasure trove of unclimbed ice in all the Himalaya. HIMALAYAN ICE (Adventures in India’s Most Remote Valley) tells the history-making story of their journey to put up nine first ascents and start an ice climbing movement by the local population. From their journey to the valley along the most treacherous road on earth to walking amongst Snow Leopards, the expedition was anything but expected. Co-directors Austin Schmitz and Ari Novak join us to talk the challenges of getting to India’s Spiti Valley, connecting with the people, climbers and non-climbers, and the life lessons learned during their remarkable journey.
For news and updates go to: himalayanicefilm.com
Social Media
twitter.com/lasportivatwitt
twitter.com/hashtag/himalayanice

Bull / Film School Radio interview with Director Annie Silverstein

The quietly powerful new film from award-winning director Annie Silverstein BULL focuses on a 14-year-old Kris (Amber Havard), who, after trashing her neighbor's house in a fit of youthful defiance, seems destined to follow in her mother's footsteps to the state penitentiary. To make amends, she is forced to help Abe Turner (Rob Morgan), an ex-bull rider scraping by on the Texas rodeo circuit, with errands at home and at his work. While traveling with Abe, she discovers a passion for bull riding.  Yet, as Kris sets out to learn the dangerous sport, bad influences lure her back into delinquent ways. Meanwhile, Abe struggles with the aches and pains of growing older and aging out of the only life he has ever known. Together, Kris and Abe forge an unexpected connection, helping each other see new possibilities and hope for the future before it’s too late. Director and writer Annie Silverstein stops by to talk about the inspiration for BULL and how her experience as a social worker informs her instincts as a filmmaker.
About the filmmaker - Annie Silverstein is an award winning filmmaker and media educator based in Austin, Texas. Her films have screened at international festivals including Cannes, SXSW, Silverdocs and on PBS Independent Lens. Her latest film, SKUNK, won first prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival–Cinéfondation. Before attending film school, Annie spent ten years as a youth worker and community media educator. She co-founded and served as Artistic Director at Longhouse Media, an indigenous arts organization based in Seattle. For her work there, Annie received the National Association for Media Literacy Award for outstanding contributions made in the field of media education. Annie is a lecturer at the University of Texas-Austin, where she earned her MFA in Film Production. Annie was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine and was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs for Bull, her feature debut. Annie recently premiered Bull at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard.
For news, screenings and updates go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/bull/
For more on Annie Silverstein got to: anniesilverstein.com
Social Media
facebook.com/samuelgoldwynfilms
twitter.com/goldwynfilms
instagram.com/goldwynfilms

Planet of the Humans / Film School Radio interview with Director Jeff Gibbs

Released on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, PLANET OF THE HUMANS takes a harsh look at how the environmental movement has lost the battle through well-meaning but disastrous choices, including the belief that solar panels and windmills would save us, and by giving in to the corporate interests of Wall Street. PLANET OF THE HUMANS is the debut movie from director Jeff Gibbs, whom Executive Producer Michael Moore calls “a brave and brilliant filmmaker whose new voice must be heard.” Gibbs is a lifelong environmentalist and longtime collaborator of Moore’s with whom he co-produced Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Gibbs has dared to say what no one will -- that “we are losing the battle to stop climate change because we are following environmental leaders, many of whom are well-intentioned, but who’ve sold out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America.” This film is the wake-up call to the reality which we are afraid to face: that in the midst of a human-caused extinction event, the so-called “environmental movement’s” answer is to push for techno-fixes and band-aids. Moore and Gibbs decided that with the American public -- and much of the world – confined to their homes and suddenly having to consider the role humans and their behavior have played in our fragile ecosystem, the moment was too urgent to wait until later this year for the film’s planned release. Director / Producer / Writer / Editor and Cinematographer Jeff Gibbs joins us for a free-wheeling conversation on the hard truths we all face and the dawning realization that we have allowed ourselves to be lulled into believing the billionaire class is going to ensure a sustainable collective future.
For news and updates go to: planetofthehumans.com
Social Media
facebook.com/PlanetoftheHumans
twitter.com/jeffgibbs
twitter.com/MMFlint
twitter.com/OzzieZehner
#PlanetoftheHumans

Stray / Film School Radio interview with Director Dustin Feneley

Winner of numerous international film awards STRAY, director Dustin Feneley’s feature film debut takes place in a cold and remote landscape, two strangers, Jack (Kieran Charnock) and Grace (Arta Dobroshi) struggle to repair their broken pasts. A young man is on parole after serving time for attempting to murder the man who killed his girlfriend in a hit and run. A woman is released from a psychiatric facility far from her homeland. These two damaged strangers cross paths in the mountains in winter and fall into a complex intimate relationship, putting to the test their capacity to trust and heal. A stark, complex story of people confronting their past while struggling to find their own resolve to forge a better future. Director / Producer / Writer Dustin Feneley joins us for a conversation on his own journey getting Stray financed and completed as well as crafting a beautifully rendered tale of two lost, psychologically exhausted souls.
For news, screenings and updates go to: strayfilm.com
Social Media
facebook.com/strayfeaturefilm
instagram.com/strayfeaturefilm

Working Man / Film School Radio interview with Director Robert Jury

Somewhere in the Rust Belt of America another factory is closing down. After decades on the job, the reclusive Allery Parkes (Peter Gerety) finds himself out of work. Following his plant’s closure, Allery attempts to bide his time - same as his former, disgruntled, unemployed co-workers. However, despite the best efforts of his conciliatory wife Iola (Talia Shire), to get him to move on with his life. Allery keeps going back to his old workplace. A new morning presents a new opportunity. Allery gets dressed in his factory work clothes, he packs his lunch and, when asked by his perplexed wife where he’s off to, Allery responds, “I’m going to work.” WORKING MAN traces Allery as he sneaks into the closed factory. At first, he does this alone, but in time he gains an unexpected - and initially unwelcome ally. A charismatic neighbor, Walter Brewer (Billy Brown), soon joins Allery at the defunct factory. As their community rallies around them – and as their former corporate bosses strategize how to implode this unexpected movement – Allery learns that he might be something he never thought possible: a leader. Director and writer Robert Jury joins us to talk about his clear-eyed look at a man and a town, gave their job everything, now coming to grips with a haunting past and an uncertain future.
For news and updates go to: workingmanmovie.com
For updates on Working Man screenings go to: workingmanmovie.com/screenings
Social Media
facebook.com/workingmanmovie
twitter.com/workingmanmovie
instagram.com/workingmanmovie

Beyond the Visible - Hilma af Klint / Film School radio interview with Director Halina Dyrschka

Hilma af Klint was an abstract artist before the term existed, a visionary, trailblazing figure who, inspired by spiritualism, modern science, and the riches of the natural world around her, began in 1906 to reel out a series of huge, colorful, sensual, strange works without precedent in painting. The subject of a recent smash retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, af Klint was for years an all-but-forgotten figure in art historical discourse, before her long-delayed rediscovery. Halina Dryschka’s dazzling, course correcting documentary describes not only the life and craft of af Klint, but also the process of her erasure and mischaracterization by both a patriarchal narrative of artistic progress and capitalistic determination of artistic value. Director Halina Dyrschka joins us to talk about her own journey in making this compelling and powerful film and the importance of shattering the art world narrative of marginalizing woman artists.
About the filmmaker - Halina Dyrschka
Halina Dyrschka was born in Berlin, Germany and is active as a director and producer. After studying acting, classical singing and film production she founded the company AMBROSIA FILM in Berlin. Her first film as a director the short film “9andahalf’s Goodbye” was shown at over 40 film festivals worldwide and has won several awards. BEYOND THE VISIBLE – HILMA AF KLINT marks her directorial feature documentary debut and is the first and only film on the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint.
For news, screenings and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/beyondthevisiblehilmaafklint
Social Media
facebook.com/HilmaafKlintOfficial
twitter.com/hilma_af_klint
instagram.com/hilmaafklint_thefilm

The American Nurse / Film School Radio interview with Director Carolyn Jones

THE AMERICAN NURSE explores some of the biggest issues facing America — aging, war, poverty, prisons — through the work and lives of five nurses. It is an examination of real people that will change how we think about nurses and how we wrestle with the challenges of healing America. Jason Short drives up a creek to reach a homebound cancer patient in Appalachia. Tonia Faust runs a prison hospice program where inmates serving life sentences care for their fellow inmates as they’re dying. Naomi Cross coaches patient Becky, an ovarian cancer survivor, through the cesarean delivery of her son. Sister Stephen runs a nursing home where she uses goats, sheep, dogs and llamas for animal therapy and the entire nursing staff comes together to sing to a dying resident. And Brian McMillion, an Army veteran and former medic, rehabilitates wounded soldiers returning from war. Director and Executive Director Carolyn Jones (Defining Hope, joins us to talk about her own journey to the making of The American Nurse and how she came to know the remarkably compassionate and professional people who have provided comfort and care to all of us.
For news and updates got to: kinolorberedu.com/film/the-american-nurse
Watch The American Nurse: kinonow.com/american-nurse
Social Media
facebook.com/americannurseproject
twitter.com/amnurseproject
instagram.com/carolynjonesproductions

The Booksellers / Film School Radio interview with Director D.W. Young

D.W. Young’s elegant and absorbing documentary, THE BOOKSELLERS, is a lively tour of New York’s book world, populated by an assortment of obsessives, intellects, eccentrics and dreamers, past and present: from the Park Avenue Armory’s annual Antiquarian Book Fair, where original editions can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars; to the Strand and Argosy bookstores, still standing against all odds; to the beautifully crammed apartments of collectors and buyers. The film, executive produced by Parker Posey, features a range of commentators, including Fran Lebowitz, Susan Orlean, Gay Talese, and a community of dedicated book dealers and collectors who strongly believe in the wonder of the object and what it holds within. Director D.W. David Young joins us to talk about his endearing look into a vanishing institution, local bookstores, and the people who love them and the treasures they hold.
About the filmmaker - D.W. Young Director and Editor
D.W. Young’s films have screened at festivals around the world including SXSW, Vancouver International Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Provincetown Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival and many more. His features A HOLE IN A FENCE and THE HAPPY HOUSE were released by First Run Features. Most recently his short A FAVOR FOR JERRY, filmed on election night 2016, premiered at IFF Boston.
For news, screenings and updates go to: booksellersdocumentary.com
The Booksellers is being distributed through greenwichentertainment.com
Social Media
facebook.com/BooksellersMovie
twitter.com/BooksellersDoc
instagram.com/booksellersdocumentary
facebook.com/GreenwichEntertainment
twitter.com/GreenwichET
instagram.com/greenwichentertainment