KGFC Festival Talks Podcast

Host Craig Horsley interviews Alan Thompon, the director of the documentary 'This Land.' Synopsis: This land is our only home, yet due to our addiction to fossil fuels, a finite, non-renewable source of energy to sustain our lifestyles, we are putting our future at risk. This Land takes us from the Texas and Mexico border to the Dakotas, and then Northern Canada. We’ll meet native and local communities fighting against gas and oil pipelines and see what is at stake for our land, this land.

Host Craig Horsley Chasing Sunshine director Darren Coyle and star Trevor Penick. Synopsis: A buddy, odd couple comedy where we follow Darcy and Jack as they drive all over the San Fernando Valley following clues on a scavenger hunt.

Host Craig Horsley interviews 'Virginia Minnesota' director Daniel Stine and Rachel Hendrix. The film won the Best Feature Film award at Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema. Synopsis: Separated for fifteen years by a childhood tragedy that robbed them of their mysterious and inspirational little friend, Virginia, two young women—Lyle and Addison—are reunited at the place both vowed never to return. Together, they embark on an illuminating overnight journey where they revisit painful memories and discover long-forgotten gifts Virginia had bestowed on them so many years before.

Host Craig Horsley interviews James Douglas, the director of the independent feature film 'The Doctor's Case.' Synopsis: The Master of Horror meets the Master Detective. When a diabolical English lord is murdered, Sherlock Holmes and Watson must unexpectedly exchange roles in order to solve 'the perfect locked room mystery.' Based on the short story by Stephen King.

Host Craig Horsley interviews 'Awkward' producer Robert Scott. Synopsis: Lonely, just needing to feel something, James hesitantly visits a brothel for the first time, and finds himself in a room... with his best friend from primary school, Aimee.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Stephen Portland, the director of the independent film 'Something.' Synopsis: A man (Michael Gazin) and woman (Jane Rowen) are struggling to adjust to life with their new baby. But their situation begins to unravel further, when they start to suspect that a menacing stranger could be lurking, watching, even entering their home. This twisty and chilling single-location drama/horror/mystery will keep you guessing right up until the end, and even after that.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Kew Gardens Save the Bridge director Jonathan Oliveira. Synopsis: A series of mom and pop shops reside on the Kew Gardens bridge which bring a variety of uniqueness to the community; but after the MTA pleas for the bridge to be brought down, three teens take it upon themselves to give the people of Kew Gardens a voice to speak out against the corporate giant.

Host Craig Horsley interviews the creators of the Web Series After Oil, Shailyn Cotten and Jessica Naftaly. Synopsis: The last five years for Briar Dunlap have been buried under the weight of a global oil crisis. To keep her small Appalachian town afloat, Briar forms a bike gang of children to ferry food deliveries to the locals. But when one of her youngest Riders goes missing, Briar and her girlfriend Sarah’s fervent search for their friend uncovers a dark secret.

Host Craig Horsley interviews If Only director Sarah Wharton & Anna Frankl-Duval, writer/producer/actor. Synopsis: If Only is the story of three adult siblings each coming to grips with their mother’s imminent death, as they spend their last day together as a family. Inspired by the writer’s own experiences, If Only is an exploration of grief, catharsis, and what could have been.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Bizhan Tong, director of The Escort When Eric pays an escort, Veronica, for 60 minutes of her time he intends to convince her to quit this line of work. But Veronica is no damsel in distress and what ensues is a verbal battle of wits which peel away the layers of who they really are. What they find out about themselves and the secret Eric holds will ensure nothing remains the same again.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Melissa Center, the co-director of the short film R.V Synopsis: Stripped of her rights, a woman’s life changes when she ventures with her husband to remedy an impossible situation.

KGFC Festival Talks Podcast interviews Molly McGaughey. Synopsis: After auditioning for a drama high school, 13-year-old Sammy makes a crucial choice that splits the path of her life in two. Flash forward twelve years: in one world, Sammy’s grown into Sam, a confident up-and-coming actress in a turbulent relationship with her girlfriend. In another world, she’s Samantha, an eager assistant director living comfortably with her longtime boyfriend.

Host Craig Horsley interviews How to Grow Your Own director Milton Chassman. Synopsis: One part mockumentary, one part docu-drama, How to Grow Your Own could very well be cinema's first ever mocku-drama! It tells the story of a weed-growing agoraphobic and the directionless stoner who comes to stay.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Sisters director Charles Ancelle. Synopsis: A young woman's sister suddenly reappears in her life after vanishing in what appears to be mysterious but painful circumstances.

Host Craig Horsley interviews "Path of Dreams" director Tamara Ruppart. Synopsis: Set in a poetic age in Japan, a legendary poetess challenges her suitor to visit her unfailingly for 99 nights, with the promise of creating a love more beautiful than poetry. Vowing to take him as her lover on the 99th night, our mystical beauty reveals the passion behind Ono no Komachi’s most seductive and heartbreaking poetry.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Angel of Anywhere actor David A. Gregory. The short film is directed by James Kicklighter. Synopsis: Angel of Anywhere is the story of an empathetic stripper (Axel Roldos) who plays therapist to the many damaged clientele (Briana Evigan, “Step Up,” Ser’Darius Blain “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”) and co-workers who frequent the popular Anywhere Bar.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Us, Forever Ago director Irina Varina. Synopsis: In the near future, a narrator recalls in voiceover the doubts she faced between 2015 and 2017 while writing, directing, producing, and starring in her first feature film, an investigatory patchwork weaving together conversations with female artists and intimate scenes from her own personal life. Shot largely in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens, NY, “Us, Forever Ago” is a documentary/narrative hybrid that plays with our perceptions of intimacy, memory, belonging and what it means to be a creator.

Host Craig Horsley interviews E.ro.sion, noun director/writer Catriona Rubenis-Stevens and co-writer Tammy McNeill. Synopsis: E.ro.sion, noun follows the last days of a woman as she checks into the “Goodbye Clinic” to have her life deleted. We witness a person fade into a parallel reality where she observes the world she once felt connected to, continue on without her, and the physical being of her body and soul disappear before her very eyes.

Host Craig Horsley interviews JOE writer, producer and co-star Shara Ashley Zeiger. Synopsis: JOE is a Romantic Comedy Pilot about  a newly hired barista. Jillian meets the man of her dreams on the street and instinctively lies about what is paying the bills, but things turn awkward when she discovers his favorite coffee shop is also where she works.

Host Craig Horsley interviews All Eyes on You director Felix Maxim Eller. Synopsis: The silent loner Marco is dreaming about a girl ever since they met, but she seems to have disappeared. In a cold Halloween night, he searches for her in the streets once again. Chased by a mysterious man, he soon discovers the darkest secrets of the city, initiating a nightmarish race against time.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Darcy co-writer/co-director Jon Russel Cring. The film was co-directed/co-written by Heidi Philipsen. Synopsis: It's summer break, and fifteen-year-old Darcy is working in her family's motel, a seedy operation on the edge of town. Sustaining the motel is the practice of taking in occupants who have until only recently been incarcerated—an arrangement that Darcy’s parents have arranged with the Department of Corrections for a price.

Host Craig Horsley interviews Stamp Show director Michael Fishman. To learn more about Stamp Show, visit stampshowfilm.com. Synopsis: In 2016 the world’s largest stamp show, which takes place once every ten years, was held in NYC at the Javits Convention Center. The subject was intriguing though I knew it would be crowded and challenging (the official count for attendees was 23,017). With a small camera in hand, I set out to capture the experience of attending the sprawling show.

Listen to host Craig Horsley discuss the making the feature film Into the Valli with director Pat Bradley.

Listen to host Craig Horsley discuss the making the short film Dames in Cars director Jason Spagnuoli & Dmitry Gubin, DP/Editor. Synopsis: A naive teenager finds himself in a predicament when he attempts to help a pretty stranger.

Listen to host Craig Horsley discuss the making the short film The Invaders with director Mateo Marquez, DP Mike Gialloreto and star Isra Elsalihie.

Listen to host Craig Horsley discuss the challenges of making the short film The Root of Happiness with with director Andy Truschinski! Synopsis: A young man and woman, desperate to escape their family issues, serendipitously meet in a park in Queens where they discover a jazz trio. Coaxed by the band’s blind Brazilian drummer, the night gives way to a path of discovery, laying roots to a budding connection.

Listen to host Craig Horsley speak with the cast and crew of the feature film Sushi Tushi or How Asia Butted into American Pro Football with director Ziad Hamzeh, producer Bob Altman, editor Sam Adelman and stars Eddie Mekka and Claire Kennedy. Synopsis: What do you when you’re a pro football franchise, The Portland Lobsters and have lost 32 games in a row? Hard to believe since you’ve got Caleb O’Rourke, the finest QB in the league, an all American Football trophy winner from Princeton. So why the problem? The line defending O’Rourke consists of the most inept, bungling idiots ever to play football. In desperation, maybe you buy a school of Sumo Wrestlers, with all of their gargantuan Sumos, and turn them into linemen protecting your precious O’Rourke. Easier said than done, since Yama, the greatest of the sumo wrestlers demands that his girlfriends Fumiko and Yoko, members of the Japanese Purple Lotus Blossom Society of Lady Sumo Wrestlers, accompany him to Maine to be incorporated into the Lobsters’ lovely, graceful cheer-leading squad, The Lobsterettes. And what do you do on the very last play of the Big Game, when all seems lost and you’re losing by a point? Maybe, if you’re a sumo lineman, you strip off your stupid pro football uniform, take stock of your sumo heritage, and clad only in your loincloth, go for the win- the sumo way.

Host Craig Horsley interviews 88 Cents director Tyler Pina and star Matthew Weitz. Synopsis: After losing five years behind bars, a young man returns to San Francisco. But the system only gave him his freedom; it didn't prepare him to stand alone in a world stacked against returning citizens. With just the clothes on his back and the change in his pocket, he struggles to survive in a world even more cruel than the one he thought he'd left behind.

Listen to host Craig Horsley speak with "One Bedroom" director Darien Sills-Evans and Producer Devin Williams. Synopsis: Breaking up is easy.  Moving out is hard. After five years of ups and downs, an African American 30-something couple in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood spends their final afternoon together arguing and remember better days, as one of them moves out and hopefully on with her life.

Host Craig Horsley interviews "The Soothing System" director Erik Spink and actress/producer Sarah Cronk. Synopsis: A young woman who fears she has a mental illness takes a tour of an unconventional treatment facility, against her brother's wishes.

Listen to host Craig Horsley speak with actor Chistopher Soren Kelly about the film Murder Made Easy. Synopsis: Best pals Joan and Michael host an elaborate dinner party for their dearest friends to remember the passing of Joan’s husband Neil. But as each guest arrives they find that their very lives are on the menu to protect a secret that links them all.  Pop Horror.com calls Murder Made Easy: “A spectacular homage to the classic murder mysteries of Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock.”

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema presents the KGFC Festival Talks Podcast with host Craig Horsley and Randy Redroad's "Edge of the World" stars Noah Alford and Will Meyers. Synopsis: Mitch Davis has a long winning history as the Boys Ranch cross country coach. Admired for his leadership with at risk young men, he is well respected by his peers. But, since a devastating personal loss five years ago, Coach Davis has not been the same. Not the same coach, the same leader or the same man. In this weakened emotional state, Davis is wooed by a wealthy nearby school just as a new group of troubled kids join his team and need his mentorship. Coach Davis’ commitment to his team begins to wane as his fragile faith in the work he’s doing is put to the test by the attitudes of his new runners. The allure of a less complicated, more lucrative future begins to tempt him. At a crossroads in his work and in his life, Coach Davis must find the strength to heal and to once again find value in helping those that need him.

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema presents the KGFC Festival Talks Podcast with host Craig Horsley and special guest 

Host Craig Horsley interiews Carlotta Summers, the creator of the independent short film Butterflies. Synopsis: Melanie and her best friend play together as children, marveling at swarms of butterflies. Later, the life cycle of butterflies becomes the metaphor of how Melanie negotiates her freshman year of high school during a difficult period when her best friend has abandoned her, becoming one of several mean girls who torment her. Feeling isolated, bullied for her race and her appearance and starting to participate in self-abuse at home, Melanie is drawn to her science teacher’s lectures about butterflies. Finally able to confide in her mother, she goes through her own metamorphosis, understanding the need to adapt like a butterfly, and returns to school, determined to stand up for herself.

Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema presents the KGFC Festival Talks Podcast with Host Craig Horsley. In this episode Craig speaks candidly with director Austin Kase, whose film ANOTHER GIRL plays at KGFC this year. Synopsis: Sam’s ex-lovers aren’t so “ex” to him. In fact, they always seem to re-appear at the worst possible moment, sabotaging his hopes of finding new love. Can Sam banish them from his life before they ruin his chances with the newfound girl of his dreams? Swaying delicately between dry wit and wistful vulnerability, Another Girl playfully explores the way our relationships shape who we are, and offers a fresh perspective on sex, love, and self-acceptance

Director Kathrina Miccio discusses her challenges and journey of making her film St. Joseph. Synopsis: St. Joseph is a short comedy set in the suburbs of New Jersey involving two very different Italian families that live across the street from each other. Donna Adamo’s house is immaculately kept house inside and out. Elaine and Doug are more interested in going camping then caring about the appearance of their house. Donna obsesses on the hopes they would move out, when her mother in law Virginia tells a story about a certain superstition that gives her an idea, that changes everything.

Director Michael Goldburg sits down with John Fallon at the KGFC Filmmakers Lounge - hosted by Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea - to talk about his film “Sure Fire" “Sure Fire" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.  

Director Louie Cortes sits down with John Fallon at the KGFC Filmmakers Lounge - hosted by Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea - to talk about his film “Good Day" “Good Day" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Writer/Director Brett Meyer sits down with John Fallon and Craig Horsley at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea to talk about his film “Lost & Found; Road To Our Fathers” “Lost & Found; Road To Our Fathers” was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Director Francesco Calogero sits down with John Fallon and Craig Horsley at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea to talk about his film “Second Spring” “Second Spring” was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Director Rodrigo Ayres sits down with John Fallon and Craig Hursley at the KGFC Filmmakers Lounge hosted by Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea to talk about his film “Happy Here In New York” “Happy Here In New York” was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Director Vagabond Beaumont sits down with John Fallon and Craig Hursley at the KGFC Filmmakers Lounge hosted by Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea to talk about his film “Coney Island Dreaming”   “Coney Island Dreaming” was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Director Edwin DeJesus sits down with John Fallon and Craig Hursley at the KGFC Filmmakers Lounge hosted by Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea to talk about his film “The Great Griffen” “The Great Griffen” was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Director Utsab Giri sits down with John Fallon and Craig Hursley at the KGFC Filmmakers Lounge hosted by Ateaz Organic Coffee & Tea to talk about his film “Life, Death & Maple Grove” “Life, Death & Maple Grove” was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Writer/Director Bryan Fitzgerald sits down with John Fallon at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz to talk about his film "Under Water" "Under Water" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.  

Director Robert Vornkahl sits down with John Fallon at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz to talk about his film "Nowhere, Michigan" "Nowhere, Michigan" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.

Jeana Reilly sits down with John Fallon at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz to talk about their film "Danni" "Danni" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.  

Scot Bellis sits down with John Fallon at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz to talk about his acting role in the film "Grand Unified Theory" "Grand Unified Theory" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.  

Writer/Director Chris Goodwin sits down with John Fallon at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz to talk about his film "On The 7th Date" "On The 7th Date" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.  

Alex Gutterman & Aboubacar Camara it down with John Fallon at the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Filmmakers Lounge at Ateaz to talk about their film "In Winter" "In Winter" was selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.  

Luiza Parvu & Toma Peiu had 2 films accepted to the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema and sit down with John Fallon at the Fiilmmakers Lounge at Ateaz to talk about both "Sisyphus 2.0" & "Start Anew World" "Sisyphus 2.0" & "Start Anew World" were selected to screen during the Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema in 2017.