Podcasts about British Film Institute

Tom and Alex wallow in the dregs of mid-00s pop culture with MICHAEL JACKSON AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, DARK KNIGHT INTERROGATION and SEX LINE, before treating themselves with THESE PANCAKES ARE TINY. Elsewhere, Mario movie chat, your music emails, news from the British Film Institute, and a devious quiz! Video links in the show notes. Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/flashinthepan

Movie of the Year: 1971Straw Dogs (feat. Erik from the Cradle to the Grave pod!)The Straw Dogs Podcast: Peckinpah's Most Dangerous FilmThe Straw Dogs podcast episode of Movie of the Year confronts one of 1971's most debated, disturbing, and relentlessly provocative films — Sam Peckinpah's psychological siege thriller starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George. Ryan, Mike, and Greg are joined by Erik Hanson of the Cradle to the Grave podcast. Together, they examine the film's violence, its contested rape scene, and the gender dynamics at the heart of Peckinpah's vision. Consequently, no other episode this season demands more from its hosts — or from its audience.Moreover, the 1971 film Straw Dogs arrived in remarkable company. A Clockwork Orange, Dirty Harry, and The French Connection all hit theaters the same year — forming a cluster of films that fundamentally altered what Hollywood was willing to show. Furthermore, Straw Dogs distinguished itself from all of them. Filmed entirely in a Cornish village, it replaced the city's noise with something quieter and more suffocating. Ultimately, it is a film that has never stopped demanding conversation — and that is exactly what the Taste Buds deliver.About the FilmSam Peckinpah directed Straw Dogs (1971), starring Dustin Hoffman as David Sumner, a mild-mannered American mathematician who relocates with his English wife Amy (Susan George) to her rural hometown in Cornwall. David hires local men to repair their farmhouse. Almost immediately, however, the couple faces escalating harassment, intimidation, and violence from the villagers — including Amy's former boyfriend Charlie (Del Henney).Peckinpah and screenwriter David Zelag Goodman adapted the film from Gordon M. Williams's 1969 novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm. Peckinpah famously dismissed the source material. The film builds to a harrowing siege in which David, pushed past every limit, defends his home with escalating brutality. Additionally, the title derives from the Tao Te Ching, which describes straw dogs as ceremonial objects — used briefly, then discarded without feeling. The Criterion Collection edition includes a discussion of this symbolism in its supplemental materials.Released theatrically in the UK in November 1971, the film earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. It was later issued as a Criterion Collection release featuring new critical scholarship. The British Film Institute also maintains an entry on the film. The British Board of Film Classification banned it for home video release for years after its UK theatrical run.Guest Panelist: Erik HansonJoining the Taste Buds for this Sam Peckinpah film discussion is Erik Hanson, the creator and host of Cradle to the Grave — a horror movie podcast built around a distinctive structural premise. Starting with 1971, his own birth year, Erik ranks and discusses his Top 10 horror films from every year of his life, covering each in depth with rotating guests. The show has developed a devoted following for Erik's knowledgeable, laid-back, and genuinely funny approach to the genre.In addition to podcasting, Erik is the author of Death Machine, a debut horror novel set in 1987 Northern California that reimagines the Zodiac Killer returning to terrorize a group of kids. Based in Sacramento, California, Erik is also a musician. His work across fiction and podcasting reflects a lifelong relationship with horror that goes well beyond fandom and into genuine craft. Notably, the fact that Cradle to the Grave begins precisely with 1971 makes Erik an especially fitting guest for a deep dive into one of that year's most unsettling films. You can pick up Death Machine on Amazon.Peckinpah and Violence: A Director Pushed to the EdgeBy 1971, Sam Peckinpah had already established himself as Hollywood's most uncompromising chronicler of violence. The Wild Bunch (1969) had rewritten the grammar of the Western, deploying slow-motion carnage in a way that made violence impossible to process cleanly. Straw Dogs, however, moved in a very different direction. Furthermore, Warner Bros. had effectively exiled Peckinpah from Hollywood following a chaotic falling out, which is why he filmed this Straw Dogs 1971 production entirely in England, far from his natural terrain.The violence in Straw Dogs is not operatic like The Wild Bunch. Instead, it is domestic, intimate, and deeply uncomfortable. Peckinpah builds menace through accumulation — small humiliations, loaded glances, minor intrusions — before releasing it all in the siege. Additionally, the film implicates the audience in David's rampage by making it feel, at least in the moment, cathartic. That troubling catharsis is entirely the point. As a result, the Straw Dogs podcast discussion centers on Peckinpah's central question: whether violence is ever truly civilized, or whether it simply waits beneath the surface of every man who believes he is better than it. Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1971, gave the film two stars and called it a film committed to the pornography of violence while laying on moral outrage with a shovel — a dissent worth hearing even for those who disagree.The Rape Scene: Context, Controversy, and CriticismNo discussion of Straw Dogs is complete without addressing its most contested sequence. Charlie, her former boyfriend, first assaults Amy — then a second attacker follows. What makes the scene so difficult to analyze is the way Peckinpah films the first assault. Many critics interpreted Amy's shifting emotional response during the rape as suggesting consent or complicity. That reading fueled decades of fierce feminist criticism of the Sam Peckinpah film.Moreover, the British Board of Film Classification rejected the film for home video release for years, specifically over this content. The studio cut the scene for the US release to secure an R rating. Susan George has spoken in interviews about her complex relationship to the role and the sequence. Notably, film scholar Linda Williams frames the film within the longer history of misogynistic representation in cinema. Her analysis appears in the Criterion Collection release. She argues that Straw Dogs belongs in conversation with works that are technically significant but ethically compromised. Consequently, the scene is not a matter of simple condemnation or simple defense. It is the central wound around which the entire film's meaning turns, and the Taste Buds treat it accordingly.David, Amy, and Gender in Straw Dogs 1971At its core, Straw Dogs is a film about masculinity in crisis. David Sumner is an intellectual — passive, avoidant, and seemingly incapable of the physical authority the Cornish village treats as natural male behavior. The film, however, refuses to position his bookishness as a virtue. Dustin Hoffman understood his character as a man who unconsciously provokes the violence around him — a pacifist whose repressed aggression the siege finally unlocks.Amy occupies an equally impossible position. The film's gaze codes her as provocative — bare feet, no bra, conspicuous in the village — while simultaneously punishing her for that very visibility. Nevertheless, Susan George's performance introduces ambiguity and depth that the script does not always earn on its own. The dynamic between David and Amy is as much a source of tension as the men gathering outside. They seem genuinely ill-suited and miscommunicate constantly. Above all, Straw Dogs asks what gender roles cost everyone involved. Specifically, the film suggests that masculinity, however dormant, will ultimately assert itself through violence. That is Peckinpah's most unsettling argument — and one that the A Clockwork Orange episode of Movie of the Year covers from a very different angle.Career Retrospective: Dustin HoffmanBy the time the Straw Dogs podcast era film was released in 1971, Dustin Hoffman had already fundamentally changed what a movie star could look like. His breakthrough in The Graduate (1967) — neurotic, unhandsome, deeply searching — made him a voice for a generation that distrusted certainty. Midnight Cowboy (1969) proved he could disappear entirely into character, earning his first Academy Award nomination. Little Big Man (1970) demonstrated his ability to age through an entire life on screen. Straw Dogs, therefore, marks something different in his catalog: not charm or pathos, but something colder and harder to forgive.Hoffman's Career After...

Das große Dr. Horror John Carpenter Special geht in die zweite Runde – und die Welt gleich dreimal unter. Diesmal geht's nämlich wirklich ans Eingemachte, oder besser: ansEndzeitliche! Am Programm: Alle Essentials zur großen Apocalpyse Trilogie, die mit The Thing, Prince of Darkness und In The Mouth of Madness gleich drei absolute Carpenter-Classics umfasst.Gemeinsam mit Carpenter-Connaisseur Christoph Huber geht Doktor Horror bis zum bitteren Ende und widmet sich den ganz großen Fragen rund um die Apokalypse: Was, wenn daswohl legendärste Monster seit es Filme gibt im Film selbst gar nicht zu sehenist? – Was, wenn der Teufel kein roter Bockfuss, sondern eine grüne Flüssigkeit aus dem Weltraum ist? – Was, wenn die Wirklichkeit selbst nur eine schnöde Fiktionen ist? – Und ja, klar: Lovecraft sowieso immer ganz vorne mit dabei.Eins ist jedenfalls klar, höchst unterhaltsam und kulturhistorisch einschlägig geht hier die Welt zugrunde. Die finale Folge für alle, die finstere Vorhersagen, düstere Prognosen und dicke Enden lieben! Hier geht's zum Filmmuseum, indem Christoph als Kuratoraktiv ist:https://www.filmmuseum.at/  

Childhood epilepsy, medical treatment, and the power of a mother and son working together. Filmmaker Emma Matthews and her son Louis Petit have created a new film, along with his father Chris Petit. D is for Distance focuses on Louis's own experience of severe, drug‑resistant epilepsy. He suffered hundreds of seizures, frightening drug withdrawals and years of uncertainty — until they travelled to the Netherlands to get medical cannabis. Their film opens today at the British Film Institute in London. Emma and Louis join Anita Rani, along with Professor Finbar O'Callaghan from the Epilepsy Research Institute.The sale of second hand clothing is forecast to rise this year to £217bn globally. Here in the UK it's estimated the market has grown to more than £7bn, and nearly one in four fashion transactions. So why are women turning to resale sites like Vinted and Depop? Consumer expert Kate Hardcastle, founder of Insight With Passion, tells us where this growth is coming from and discusses future trends. Composer Tansy Davies tells Anita about The Passion of Mary Magdelene, which has just premiered at The Barbican in London and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Saturday 4 April at 10.30pm. The piece tells the story of the crucifixion through Jesus's most important female follower and the first person to witness the resurrection. Tansy talks about why she wanted to focus on Mary and examines the conflicting views about Mary Magdalene.In her new book Herlands, BBC global reporter Megha Mohan explores the history of women-led communities both physically and virtually, from co-housing for older women in Paris to the controversial feminist online trolls of South Korea. Megha travelled around the globe to hear from the women who created and care for these communities, which offer refuge, resilience, and connection to the land. Producer: Melanie Abbott Editor: Sarah Crawley

Despite very little experience in feature filmmaking, director Isabel Daly teamed up with writer Issy Brett and actor/writer/producer, Carys Glynne, to make Washed Up, their debut feature film on a shoestring budget. The delightful story of a Cornish artist who accidentally falls in love with a selkie premieres at this year's BFI Flare, the British Film Institute's annual LGBTQIA+ film festival. Jen caught up with Isabel to talk about filmmaking, queer representation in film, Airbnb culture, and the joy of a 90-minute movie. Washed Up screens at BFI Flare on March 25 and 28 and tickets are available now. Want to support us and enjoy additional content? Of course you do. And you can: patreon.com/standardissue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Film Ireland Podcast, we're delighted to partner with the Foyle Film Festival, which takes place in the Nerve Centre in Derry each year. An Academy Awards® and BAFTA-qualifying festival, Foyle Film Festival is celebrating its 39th year this November. First, we chat to from Eavan King, Head of Film Programming at the Foyle Film Festival & Nerve centre, about how the festival began, how it has evolved and how much fun it is to visit.Then, at 10:08, we catch up with David Pope, an internationally renowned script consultant, who was working with screenwriters at the festival as part of their comprehensive industry programme. Finally at 17:12 we host a live discussion on presenting local stories to an international market, recorded live and featuring producer Dearbhla Regan from Wild Atlantic Pictures and Louise Gallagher from Hat Trick Productions and Gallagher Films.Submissions have just opened for the Foyle Film Festival, so get yours in.https://www.filmireland.net/podcast-david-pope-dearbhla-regan-louise-gallagher-at-foyle-film-festivalFoyle Film FestivalThis vibrant film festival takes place in venues across Derry each November to bring the best of international cinema and industry players to the city. The festival also delivers screenings, events and workshops throughout the year, including Reel Lives which has replaced the Intercultural and Anti-Racism Festival, as well as Educational and Community Outreach Screenings. The prestigious Light In Motion (LIM) competition is open to filmmakers and animators across the world, with winners qualifying for consideration in the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories of the Academy Awards® and BAFTA.Louise GallagherLouise has been working in the media industry for 30 years, with 23 of those years spent at the BBC in Belfast in various production roles across Radio, TV and Online services. In 2011 she flew the BBC nest and moved into the independent film and TV sector, working on independent shorts and features. Louise went on to found Gallagher Films in 2018. Major recent projects for Gallagher Films include BAFTA award-winning ‘Blue Lights', a BBC drama series set against the backdrop of policing in Northern Ireland, on which Louise is Co-Creator / Executive Producer. Her first feature film, ‘A Bump Along The Way', had a successful cinema release and won several awards at home and internationally. Written by Tess McGowan, directed by Shelly Love and produced by Louise, it starred Bronagh Gallagher and Lola Petticrew. ‘A Bump Along the Way' was developed with the assistance of Northern Ireland Screen through their New Talent Writers and New Talent Focus programmes. Louise recently received an IFTA for best short film ‘Rough' written and directed by Declan Lawn & Adam Patterson.David PopeDavid is a script consultant and screenwriter working internationally. Script consultation projects include Obraz, candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2026; Tiger Stripes, winner of the Jury Prize Critics' Week Cannes Film Festival 2023 and candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2024; Take It or Leave It, candidate for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award 2019; and Truth or Justice, candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2020. Other recent projects as script consultant include the feature films Natatorium; Last Sentinel; Splendid Isolation and the drama series Imperial Spy for Fremantle (American Gods, Deutschland 83). David was Creative Producer on feature film The Goat. In addition to designing and delivering for Stowe Story Labs, he is the long-standing annual advisor & facilitator for Rotterdam Lab at IFFRPro for producers. David has been a creative consultant on Rawi Screenwriting Lab for Royal Film Commission - Jordan, facilitated the Convergence programme funded by Screen Scotland & British Film Institute, and is the script consultant for Funny Features delivered by Glasgow Film Festival and funded by British Film Institute.Over the years, the podcast has featured acclaimed guests such as Phyllida Lloyd, Lenny Abrahamson, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell, Aisha Tyler, Colm Meaney, Paul Reiser, Niamh Algar, David Freyne, Ciarán Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Gene Stupnitsky, and Terence Davies, alongside many of the most influential voices working in film and television today.So make sure to subscribe and listen back! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jann checks in from Iceland, Caitlin shares her rollercoaster trying to buy a new home in Toronto, and Sarah announces she has joined a legion ahead of a very special guest! Prolific crime author Lynda La Plante shares her journey from childhood plays to becoming a legendary crime writer and television producer. She shares insights on writing, character development, her challenges in the industry as a woman, and her ongoing passion for storytelling. More About Lynda La Plante: Lynda La Plante was born in Liverpool. She is the author of over forty novels, all of which have been bestsellers. She trained for the stage at RADA and worked with the National theatre and RSC before becoming a television actress. She then turned to writing - and made her breakthrough with the phenomenally successful TV series Widows. Lynda's original script for the much-acclaimed Prime Suspect won awards from BAFTA, Emmys, British Broadcasting and Royal Television Society as well as the 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award. Lynda is an honorary fellow of the British Film Institute and was awarded the BAFTA Dennis Potter Best Writer's Award in 2000. In 2008, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to Literature, Drama and Charity. Lynda La Plante is the first layperson to be awarded an honorary fellowship to the Forensic Science Society. In 2020 she launched the acclaimed Listening to the Dead podcast with former CSI Cass Sutherland, exploring forensic science and its impact on solving crimes. https://lyndalaplante.com/books/ #ASKJANN - want some life advice from Jann? Send in a story with a DM or on our website. Leave us a voicenote! ⁠⁠www.jannardenpod.com/voicemail/⁠⁠⁠ Get access to bonus content and more on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/JannArdenPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.jannardenpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/jannardenpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/jannardenpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Notes Full descrptions from the Library of Congress “The Tramp and the Dog” (1896)                                                          "The Tramp and the Dog," a silent film from Chicago's Selig Polyscope Company, is considered director William Selig's most popular early work. Filmed in Rogers Park, it is recognized as the first commercial film made in Chicago. Previously a lost film, it was rediscovered in 2021 at the National Library of Norway. The film depicts a tramp who attempts to steal a pie from a backyard windowsill, only to be met by a broom-wielding housewife and her dog, who foils the crime. The film is one of the first known as “pants humor,” where a character loses (or almost loses) his pants during an altercation. This scene inspired future comedy gags showing drifters and tramps losing their pants to dogs chasing them. “The Oath of the Sword” (1914)                                                                        A three-reel silent drama, "The Oath of the Sword" depicts the tragic story of two young lovers separated by an ocean. Masao follows his ambitions, studying abroad at the University of California, Berkeley, while Hisa remains in Japan, caring for her ill father. This earliest known Asian American film production featured Japanese actors playing Japanese characters and was produced by the Los Angeles-based Japanese American Film Company. Made at a time when Hollywood studios were not yet the dominant storytellers of the American film industry, "The Oath of the Sword" highlights the significance of early independent film productions created by and for Asian American communities. James Card, the founding curator at the George Eastman Museum, acquired “The Oath of the Sword” in 1963. The museum made a black and white photochemical preservation in 1980. In 2023, a new preservation reproducing the original tinting was done in collaboration with the Japanese American National Museum, and the film has since become widely admired. “The Maid of McMillan” (1916)Known to be the first student film on record, this whimsical, silent romance film was shot on campus in 1916 by students in the Thyrsus Dramatic Club at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Club members Donald Stewart (Class of 1917) and George D. Bartlett (Class of 1920) wrote the screenplay. The original nitrate print of “The Maid of McMillan” was rediscovered in 1982, and two 16mm prints were made; the original nitrate was likely destroyed at this time. In 2021, with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation, one of those 16mm prints was scanned at 4k and reprinted onto 35mm helping to secure the film's survival and legacy. “The Lady” (1925)When “The Lady” debuted in theaters in 1925, the silent film era had hit its stride, and this movie represents a powerhouse of artists at their peak. Director Frank Borzage was a well-established expert in drawing out intense expressions of deep emotion and longing in his actors. He did just that with the film's lead actress, Norma Talmadge, also at the height of her career, both in front of and behind the camera. Talmadge produced “The Lady” through her production company and commissioned one of the most prolific screenwriters, Frances Marion, to deliver a heartfelt story of a woman seeking to find the son she had to give up, to protect him from his evil grandfather. “The Lady” was restored by the Library of Congress in 2022. “Sparrows” (1926)As a silent actress, producer and key founder in the creation of the American film industry, Mary Pickford's performance in “Sparrows” represents her ability to master the genre she helped nourish: sentimental melodramas full of adventure and thrills, with dashes of comedy and heartfelt endings. Pickford plays Molly, the eldest orphan held within the swampy squalor of the Deep South, who moves heaven and earth to save the other orphan children from a Dickensian world of forced labor. The film takes some departures from the visual styles found in Pickford's other films, invoking an unusual tone of despair while deploying camera angles and lighting akin to German Expressionist cinema. “Sparrows” was preserved by the Library of Congress in collaboration with the Mary Pickford Company in 2020. “Ten Nights in a Barroom” (1926)                                                                     Featuring an all-Black cast, “Ten Nights in a Barroom” was produced in 1926 by the Colored Players Film Corporation of Philadelphia and is the earliest of only two surviving films made by the company. This silent film is based on the stage melodrama adapted from the 1854 novel “Ten Nights in a Bar-Room and What I Saw There” by Timothy Shay Arthur. Released in 2015 by Kino Lorber as part of the five-disc set “Pioneers of African-American Cinema,” the compilation was produced by the Library of Congress, in association with the British Film Institute, George Eastman Museum, Museum of Modern Art, National Archives, Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Southern Methodist University and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Preserved by George Eastman Museum. “White Christmas” (1954)                                                           While the chart-topping song "White Christmas" was first performed by Bing Crosby for the 1942 film "Holiday Inn," its composer, Irving Berlin, was later inspired to center the song in the 1954 musical "White Christmas." Crosby, along with Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen Rohe and director Michael Curtiz, embedded "White Christmas" in American popular culture as a best-selling single and the top-grossing film of 1954, as well as regular holiday viewing throughout the decades. The story of two World War II veterans-turned-entertainers and a singing sister act preparing a show for a retired general, the film and its grand musical numbers were captured in VistaVision, a widescreen process developed by Paramount Pictures and first used for "White Christmas." “High Society” (1956)                                                                  Often referred to as the last great musical of the Golden Age of Hollywood, “High Society” features an all-star cast including Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong (and his band), along with a memorable score of Cole Porter classics. Set in Newport, Rhode Island, the film showcases the Newport Jazz Festival (established in 1954) and features a remarkable version of Cole Porter's “Now You Has Jazz.” It includes the first big-screen duet by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, singing “Well, Did You Evah?” This was Grace Kelly's last movie before she retired from acting and married the Prince of Monaco; she wore her Cartier engagement ring while filming. “Brooklyn Bridge” (1981)                                               With “Brooklyn Bridge,” Ken Burns introduced himself to the American public, telling the story of the New York landmark's construction. As with later subjects like the Civil War, jazz and baseball, Burns connects the building of the Brooklyn Bridge to American identity, values and aspirations. Released theatrically and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, “Brooklyn Bridge” marked the beginning of Burns' influential career in public media*.* More than just a filmmaker, Burns has become a trusted public historian. His storytelling presents facts, but maybe more importantly, invites reflection on what America is, where it's been, and where it's going. His influence is felt not only in classrooms and through public broadcasting, but across generations who see history as something alive and relevant. “Say Amen, Somebody” (1982)George Nierenberg's documentary is a celebration of the historical significance and spiritual power of gospel music. With inspirational music, joyful songs and brilliant singers, the movie focuses on the men and women who pioneered gospel music and strengthened its connections to African American community and religious life. Prior to production, Nierenberg, who is white, spent over a year in African American churches and communities, gaining the trust of the performers. Restored by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2020, the film features archival footage, photographs, stirring performances and reflections from the father of gospel Thomas A. Dorsey and its matron Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith. Nierenberg shows the struggles and sacrifices it takes to make a living in gospel, including criticism endured by women who sought to pursue careers as professional gospel singers while raising their families. “The Thing” (1982)Moody, stark, often funny and always chilling, this science fiction horror classic follows Antarctic scientists who uncover a long-dormant, malevolent extraterrestrial presence. “The Thing” revolutionized horror special effects and offers a brutally honest portrait of the results of paranoia and exhaustion when the unknown becomes inescapable. “The Thing” deftly adapts John W. Campbell's 1938 novella “Who Goes There?” and influenced “Stranger Things” and “Reservoir Dogs.” It remains a tense, thrilling and profoundly unsettling work of cinema. “The Big Chill” (1983)Lawrence Kasdan's best picture-nominated “The Big Chill” offers an intimate portrait of friends reunited after the suicide of one of their own and features actors who defined cinema in the 1980s – Glenn Close, William Hurt, Jo Beth Williams, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum and Meg Tilly. This powerful ensemble portrays American stereotypes of the time – the yuppie, the drug dealer, the TV star – and deftly humanizes them. Through humor, tenderness, honesty and an amazing soundtrack, it shows formerly idealistic Americans making and dealing with the constant compromises of adulthood, while buoying one another with uncompromising love and friendship. “The Karate Kid” (1984)An intimate story about family and friendship, “The Karate Kid” also succeeds as a hero's journey, a sports movie and a teen movie – a feel-good movie, but not without grit. The film offers clearly defined villains, romance and seemingly unachievable goals, but also an elegant character-driven drama that is relatable and touching. A father who has lost his son meets the displaced son of a single mother and teaches him about finding balance and avoiding the pitfalls of violence and revenge. Race and class issues are presented honestly and are dealt with reasonably. Our hero practices a lot, gets frustrated, gets hurt, but still succeeds. It's as American as they come, and it's a classic. “Glory” (1989)“Glory,” described by Leonard Maltin as “one of the finest historical dramas ever made,” portrays a historical account of the 54th Regiment, a unit of African American soldiers who fought for the North in the Civil War. Authorized by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the regiment consisted of an all-Black troop commanded by white officers. Matthew Broderick plays the young colonel who trains the troop, and Denzel Washington (in an Academy Award-winning performance) is among an impressive cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes and Andre Braugher. American Civil War historian James M. McPherson said the film "accomplishes a remarkable feat in sensitizing a lot of today's Black students to the role that their ancestors played in the Civil War in winning their own freedom.” “Philadelphia” (1993)                                                                  “Philadelphia” stars Tom Hanks in one of the first mainstream studio movies to confront the HIV/AIDS crisis. In the film, law partner Andrew Beckett (Hanks) is fired from his firm when they discover that he is gay and has AIDS. He hires personal attorney Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) to help him with litigation against his former employer. Director Jonathan Demme is quoted as saying, “The film is not necessarily just about AIDS, but rather everyone in this country is entitled to justice.” The film won two Oscars: one for Hanks and the other for Bruce Springsteen's original song, “The Streets of Philadelphia.” Through the song's mainstream radio and MTV airplay, it brought the film and its conversation around the HIV/AIDS pandemic to a wider audience. “Before Sunrise” (1995)                                                              Richard Linklater has explored a wide range of narrative storytelling styles while consistently capturing ordinary, everyday American life. However, his innovative use of time as a defining and recurring cinematic tool has become one of his most significant accomplishments. As the first film in his “Before” trilogy – three films, each shot nine years apart – “Before Sunrise” unfolds as one of cinema's most sustained explorations of love and the passage of time, highlighting the human experience through chance encounters and conversation. With his critically acclaimed 12-year production of the film “Boyhood” (2014) and a new 20-year planned production underway, his unique use of the medium of film to demonstrate time passing demonstrates an unprecedented investment in actors and narrative storytelling. “Clueless” (1995)                                                             A satire, comedy and loose Jane Austen literary adaptation dressed in teen movie designer clothing, “Clueless,” directed by Amy Heckerling, rewards both the casual and hyper-analytical viewer. It's impossible to miss its peak-1990s colorful, high-energy, soundtrack-focused on-screen dynamism, and repeated viewings reveal its unpretentiously presented and extraordinarily layered and biting social commentary about class, privilege and power structures. Heckerling and the incredible cast never talk down to the audience, creating main characters that viewers root for, despite the obvious digs at the ultrarich. The film centers on Cher (Alicia Silverstone) as a well-intentioned, fashion-obsessed high school student who is convinced she has life figured out. In the age of MTV, the film's popularity launched Paul Rudd's career and Silverstone's iconic-1990s status. The soundtrack, curated by Karyn Rachtman, helped solidify the film as a time capsule of clothing, music, dialogue and teenage life. “The Truman Show” (1998)Before social media and reality television, there was “The Truman Show.” Jim Carrey breaks from his usual comedic roles to star in this dramatic film about a man who, unbeknownst to him, is living his life on a soundstage filmed for a popular reality show. Adopted at birth by the television studio, Truman Burbank (Carrey) grew up in the (fictitious) town of Seahaven Island with his family and friends playing roles (paid actors). Cameras are all over the soundstage and follow his activities 24/7. Almost 30 years since its release, the film continues to be a study in sociology, philosophy and psychology, and has inspired university classes on media influence, the human condition and reality television. “Frida” (2002)Salma Hayek produced and starred in this biopic of Frida Kahlo, adapted from the book “Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo” by Hayden Herrera. The film explores Kahlo's rise as an artist in Mexico City and the impact disability and chronic pain from an accident as a young adult had on her life and work. The film centers around her tumultuous and passionate relationships, most significantly with her husband, painter Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). Directed by Julie Taymor, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actress. It won awards for Best Makeup and Best Original Score for Elliot Goldenthal, who also won a Golden Globe in the same category. “The Hours” (2002)Director Stephen Daldry's “The Hours” weaves the novel “Mrs. Dalloway” into three women's stories of loneliness, depression and suicide. Virginia Woolf, played by Nicole Kidman (who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance), is working on the novel while struggling with what is now known as bipolar disorder. Laura, played by Julianne Moore (nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role), is unfulfilled in her life as a 1950s housewife and mother. Clarissa (played by Meryl Streep) is – like Mrs. Dalloway – planning a party, but for her close friend who is dying of AIDS. The film is based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It earned nine Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won a Golden Globe for Best Picture. “The Incredibles” (2004)                                                 With an all-star cast and memorable soundtrack, this Academy Award-winning Pixar hit uses thrilling action sequences to tell the story of a family trying to live normal lives while hiding their superpowers. For the first time, Pixar hired an outside director, Brad Bird, who drew inspiration from spy films and comic books from the 1960s. The animation team developed a new design element to capture realistic human anatomy, hair, skin and clothing, which Pixar struggled with in early films like “Toy Story.” The film spawned merchandise, video games, Lego sets and more. The sequel, “Incredibles 2,” was also a huge hit, and together, both films generated almost $2 billion at the box office. “The Wrecking Crew” (2008)                                                     “The Wrecking Crew” is a documentary that showcases a group of Los Angeles studio musicians who played on many hit songs and albums of the 1960s and early 1970s, including “California Dreamin',” “The Beat Goes On,” “You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling” and “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.” Through interviews, music, footage and his own narration, director Denny Tedesco reveals how the Wrecking Crew members – including his father, guitarist Tommy Tedesco – were the unsung heroes of some of America's most famous songs. Production for the film began in 1996, and the film was completed in 2008. Due to the high cost of song licenses, the official release was delayed until 2015, when a successful Kickstarter campaign raised over $300,000 to pay for the music rights. “Inception” (2010)                                                                         Writer and director Christopher Nolan once again challenges audiences with multiple interconnected narrative layers while delivering thrilling action sequences and stunning visual effects. “Inception” asks the question, “Can you alter a person's thoughts by manipulating their dreams?” Taking almost 10 years to write, the film was praised for its aesthetic significance and Nolan's ability to create scenes using cameras rather than computer-generated imagery. A metaphysical heist film with an emotional core driven by grief and guilt, “Inception” offers a meditation on how dreams influence identity, and it resonates deeply in an age of digital simulation, blurred realities and uncertainty. The film earned $830 million at the box office and won four Academy Awards. “The Loving Story” (2011)Nancy Buirski's acclaimed documentary gives an in-depth and deeply personal look at the true story of Richard Loving (a white man) and Mildred Loving (a Black and Native American woman), who were forbidden by law to marry in the state of Virginia in the 1960s. Their Supreme Court case, Loving vs. Virginia, was one of the most significant in history, and paved the way for future multiracial couples to marry. The movie captures the immense challenges the Lovings faced to keep their family and marriage together, through a combination of 16mm footage, personal photographs, accounts from their lawyers and family members, and audio from the Supreme Court oral arguments. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014)“The Grand Budapest Hotel” stands as one of Wes Anderson's most successful films and demonstrates his own brand of unique craftsmanship, resulting in a visually striking and emotionally resonant story. As one of the most stylistically distinctive American filmmakers of the last half-century, Anderson uses historically accurate color and architecture to paint scenes to elicit nostalgia and longing from audiences, while at the same time weaving in political and social upheaval into the film. The film is an example of Anderson as a unique artist who uses whimsy, melancholy, innovative storytelling and a great deal of historical research, which is on display in this visually rich gem of a movie. Find out more at https://registry-a-podcast.pinecast.co

The Truman Show (1998) starring Jim Carrey is one of the most prophetic films ever made. In this episode of Mostly Superheroes, Logan Janis revisits the film for the 20+ time, breaks down why it still hits harder than ever in the age of reality TV and social media, and shares myth-busting insights from screenwriter Andrew Niccol via the British Film Institute. We start spoiler-free, then dive deep into themes, performances, production secrets, and why this movie feels even more relevant today.

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson's compelling study Point Blank (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. He argues that Boorman revises traditional Hollywood crime films by probing a second connotation of “point blank.” On the one hand, it is a neo-noir that aptly depicts close range violence, but, it also points toward blankness, a nothingness that is the consequence of corporate America unchecked, where humans are reduced to commodities and stripped of agency and playfulness. He goes on to reimagine the film's experimental style as a representation of and possible remedy for trauma. Examining Boorman's formal innovations, including his favoring of gesture over language and blurring of boundaries between dream and reality, he also positions the film as a grimly comical exploration of toxic masculinity and gender fluidity. Wilson's close reading of Point Blank reveals it to be a film that innovatively inflects its own generation and speaks powerfully to our own, arguing that it is this amplitude, which encompasses the many major films it has influenced, that qualifies the film as a classic. Eric Wilson is Professor of English at Wake Forest University, USA. His publications include Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film (2006) and The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mulholland Dr (2007). His writing has featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

John Boorman's Point Blank (1967) has long been recognized as one of the seminal films of the sixties, with its revisionary mix of genres including neo-noir, New Wave, and spaghetti western. Its lasting influence can be traced throughout the decades in films like Mean Streets (1973), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Heat (1995), The Limey (1999) and Memento (2000). Eric Wilson's compelling study Point Blank (British Film Institute, 2023) examines its significance to New Hollywood cinema. He argues that Boorman revises traditional Hollywood crime films by probing a second connotation of “point blank.” On the one hand, it is a neo-noir that aptly depicts close range violence, but, it also points toward blankness, a nothingness that is the consequence of corporate America unchecked, where humans are reduced to commodities and stripped of agency and playfulness. He goes on to reimagine the film's experimental style as a representation of and possible remedy for trauma. Examining Boorman's formal innovations, including his favoring of gesture over language and blurring of boundaries between dream and reality, he also positions the film as a grimly comical exploration of toxic masculinity and gender fluidity. Wilson's close reading of Point Blank reveals it to be a film that innovatively inflects its own generation and speaks powerfully to our own, arguing that it is this amplitude, which encompasses the many major films it has influenced, that qualifies the film as a classic. Eric Wilson is Professor of English at Wake Forest University, USA. His publications include Secret Cinema: Gnostic Vision in Film (2006) and The Strange World of David Lynch: Transcendental Irony from Eraserhead to Mulholland Dr (2007). His writing has featured in Psychology Today, L.A. Times, The New York Times and Huffington Post. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

As part of the Radio 4 Fatherhood season, Clare McDonnell and her guests discuss the role of fatherhood in men's lives. Darren Harriott is a 37-year-old comedian and presenter of Father Figuring. Darren has now lived longer than his dad, who took his own life while in prison, and he is questioning would he be a good dad? What even makes a good dad? They are joined by Dr Robin Hadley who has written a book looking at why men, like himself, do not become fathers.In 2016 Natalie Queiroz was stabbed 24 times by her partner while she was eight months pregnant. He is currently nine years into an 18 year sentence for attempted murder and attempted child destruction. Natalie and her unborn daughter nearly died. Earlier this year she learned that changes by the Ministry of Justice meant that her attacker could be transferred to an open prison many years earlier than she had expected.  She's been campaigning against this but has recently learned his application for a transfer has been approved. Clare hears from Natalie and Ellie Butt from Refuge.Laura Mulvey, filmmaker and pioneering feminist theorist, first coined the term ‘the male gaze'. The British Film Institute's Fellowship is a pretty starry list – Bette Davis, Martin Scorsese, Judi Dench, Tilda Swinton, Christopher Nolan, Tom Cruise....to name a few and now Laura has been added to that prestigious list. Tomorrow Women's Super League Football will officially unveil Design Guidelines for the Delivery of Elite Women's Stadiums in England – a world first framework supporting clubs, local authorities, and architects in building or upgrading venues specifically for their women's teams. They say the rapid growth of the women's game has demonstrated that football venues, historically built and designed for male players and fans, need to be better equipped to cater towards the specific needs of female athletes and supporters. Hannah Buckley, Head of Infrastructure, Safety and Sustainability for WSL football and Suzy Wrack, women's football correspondent for the Guardian discuss. Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Ep. 358: Michael Leader of Ghibliotheque on The Animation Atlas Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. Michael Leader co-hosts The Ghibliotheque Podcast with Jake Cunningham, and we originally connected when my book The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki was published. And so I was delighted to learn of The Animation Atlas, the lovely new book he and Cunningham wrote, which was published this fall. The Animation Atlas spans six continents in exploring the animation traditions of different countries through selected films, and of course I was eager to pepper Leader with questions. Leader, who is also curator of archive platforms at the British Film Institute, discusses films including Yellow Fever (directed by Ng'endo Mukii), the stop-motion work of Ladislas Starevich, KPop Demon Hunters (Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans), Bubble Bath (György Kovásznai), Ne Zha 2 (Yu Yang), Boy and the World (Ale Abreu), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle (Haruo Sotozaki), and Time Masters (René Laloux). He also shares a few general thoughts on the global animation landscape today. The Animation Atlas is available for purchase now. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

There aren’t too many independent horror movies that make the British Film Institute’s 250 Best Films Ever Made list – AND – make an appearance in the teen comedy Summer School. That makes sense because there’s no other movie quite like The TCSM.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep #89: Danielle Scruggs: Curating the Future of Black FilmmakingThis conversation was recorded live in person on Saturday, September 27, 20205, at Lumpen Radio in Chicago.Summary of the episodeIn this episode of noseyAF, Stephanie talks with Danielle Scruggs—Chicago-based photo editor, photographer, writer, curator, and founder of Black Women Directors. Danielle recently curated File Under: Horror, a program spotlighting horror shorts by Black women and non-binary filmmakers. Together, they dive into why representation in film matters, how horror can be a powerful tool for storytelling, and the ways community sustains creative practice. Danielle also shares insights from organizing the Chicago Film Symposium, a celebration of Black filmmakers that fosters connection between artists and audiences.This conversation explores the intersection of art, activism, and community building, while honoring the unique voices shaping the future of cinema.What we talk aboutDanielle's journey founding Black Women DirectorsWhy horror is the perfect genre for telling underrepresented storiesBehind-the-scenes of curating File Under: HorrorBuilding community through the Chicago Film SymposiumThe challenges and joys of creating space for diverse filmmakersChapters00:01 – Introduction to the Show04:11 – Exploring the Impact of Black Women in Horror Film29:16 – The Chicago Film Symposium: A Celebration of Black Filmmakers36:46 – Exploring Creative Constraints in Filmmaking47:22 – Exploring the Aspirations of FilmmakingThings We MentionedBlack Women DirectorsChicago Film SymposiumAll about Danielle ScruggsYou're gonna love Danielle !—she's a visionary curator, photo editor, and community builder who founded Black Women Directors to archive and amplify the work of Black women and non-binary filmmakers.Danielle A. Scruggs (she/her) is a Chicago-based photo editor, photographer, writer, and curator with over 15 years of experience in photojournalism, curation, and film programming. She is the founder of Black Women Directors, a digital archive and curatorial platform celebrating the work of Black women and nonbinary filmmakers, featured in outlets like Marie Claire, The Cut, Blavity, and the British Film Institute. Danielle has worked as a photo editor at The Wall Street Journal, Getty Images, Vox Media, and ESPN.Sponsor Shoutout

Yes, Join Drew and James on the South Bank of the River Thames as they bring you a special version of the DWP! Yes, Drew has made the trip to the sunny shores of the United Kingdom - join him for a conversation with James just outside the spiritual home of Doctor Who in the UK - the British Film Institute. We'll be back with Episode 407 for a good ol' gossip about where Doctor Who is right now, and then Episode 408 will follow shortly after and and take a look at the next story in 13th Doctor and Yaz range from Big Finish Productions. Enjoy!

Daniel Craig told movie critic Mark Kermode at a British Film Institute event that the actor knew he was making a major change in the way James Bond was portrayed on film.

Kris Lefcoe! Filmmaker! Writer! Director! Musician! Friend! Delight! More! We have a great chat! You can have a great listen! About Kris, from her website: "Kris Lefcoe (DGA) is a Canadian-American director and writer based in New York City. Her work has screened at TIFF, SXSW, Tribeca, British Film Institute, Art Basel Miami, IFC and on the Sundance Channel. 

 Kris is co-creator, writer and EP of “Making Plans For Nigel,” a comedy series in network development with Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Mary Rohlich (“Atypical”). Lefcoe's half-hour comedy “Giving Up,” about a New York couple facing their own deadline to either ‘make it' or give up their dreams, won top prizes at Seriesfest and New York Television Festival, and just had a theatrical premiere at the Roxy Cinema in NYC. The series was executive produced by David Wain and developed with Imagine Television. In 2020, Kris made her network directing debut on the NBC comedy “Superstore.”

 Pitch-black comedy “Public Domain,” Kris' audacious audience-award-winning feature debut about a surveillance-based game show, was hailed as "creepy-funny and well-acted" (Variety), and "an assured debut" (Austin Chronicle). The film premiered at SXSW and was installed at Art Basel Miami.
 Lefcoe's stop motion short “Tiny Riot Project,” featuring a riot squad of corporate mascots in a violent face off with endearing anarchists, premiered at IFF Rotterdam, was installed at Galerie Tomas Schulte Berlin, Havana Biennale, and Art Basel Miami, then sold to the Sundance Channel. Her acclaimed Twilight Zone-esque short “Can I Get a Witness?” starring Scott Speedman, screened at TIFF, BFI and Anthology Film Archives.

 Kris' explosive music videos have garnered numerous nominations and awards, including the Peaches smash “Boys Wanna Be Her” which has over 3 million views on YouTube.
She recently won Best Director at New York Cinefest, and Best Director and Best Comedy at Deluxe Film Festival in Rome, for the sex-robot comedy “Technical Support” starring Aparna Nancherla and Courtney Pauroso, which quickly racked up almost million views on YouTube.  As a musician, Kris performs haunting original songs at live venues around NYC on a vintage keyboard she found in the garbage. Her first solo album will be released in Fall 2025. The advance single “Booked A Room” came out in 2024 with a hallucinatory stop motion video directed by Kris that premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival and just won Best Video and the Audience Award at San Luis Obispo Festival.  Kris is also a professor in the MFA Film and Television program at Stony Brook University, SUNY. In 2024 she created and launched the Post-MFA Pilot Incubator Lab to shepherd alumni into the industry. She lives with her husband and daughter in a long-forgotten borough called Manhattan." And this is just the first HALF of our conversation! For part two, subscribe via Apple Podcasts OR simply click on over here to Patreon! Enjoy!

In this week's Star Wars news, we discuss the BFI screening of the original print of Star Wars, Bryce Dallas Howard's attempt to bring back Mace Windu, and new comic announcements.   In this fully armed and operational episode of Podcast Stardust, we discuss: The screening of the original print of Star Wars by the British Film Institute, Kathleen Kennedy's comments on the future of Star Wars projects, Bryce Dallas Howard's attempt to revive Mace Windu, The release of Charles Soule's The High Republic: Trials of the Jedi, An upcoming Han Solo comic, and The announcement of Boba Fett: Black, White, and Red. Thanks for joining us for another episode! Subscribe to Podcast Stardust for all your Star Wars news, reviews, and discussion wherever you get your podcasts. And please leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts.   Find Jay and her cosplay adventures on J.Snips Cosplay on Instagram.   Join us for real time discussion on the RetroZap Discord Server here: RetroZap Discord. Follow us on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube. T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, masks, and posters are available on TeePublic. Find all episodes on RetroZap.com.

Partner Charles Coorey and pro bono lawyer Jessie-Grace Stephenson read the fine print on consumer protection and product safety -- from quad bikes to button batteries and how businesses can support their vulnerable customers. Plus million-dollar (maybe) fees for complex mergers in the coming merger regime, Hungry Jack's and the existential terror of Garfield, toxophilites aquiver over price-fixing in archery supplies, and a Chatham House competition conference is compliantly discussed. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. The British Film Institute on punctuation in movie titles Variety on Thunderbolts* and *The New Avengers (spoilers) G+T Partner Andrew Low on digital platform reform and regulation at the Competition Law Conference The burping Garfield toy and Garfield's existential terror The ACCC's enforcement outcomes against Hungry Jack's and Thermomix Australia's original Burger King ft Humphrey B Bear The price-fixing class-action complaint against big archery Treasury's consultation on proposed fees for merger clearance Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Art is Awesome, the show where we talk with an artist or art worker with a connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. In this Episode, Emily chats with "The Button Man", Harlem artist Beau McCall, an artist renowned for his unique use of buttons in wearable and visual art. McCall's work is featured in prominent collections such as New York's Museum of Arts and Design and London's Victoria and Albert Museum. McCall recounts his upbringing in Philadelphia, his move to Harlem, and his early inspirations. He explains how his fascination with buttons began with his mother's collection and grew through various craft classes. McCall shares memories of his artistic evolution, his experiences with the Harlem community, and the personal significance of his work, including tributes to friends lost to AIDS. The episode concludes with McCall's advice to aspiring artists and a nod to his ongoing support from his mother.About Artist Beau McCall :Drawing inspiration from the vast button collection of his mother and family, Beau McCall creates wearable and visual art by applying clothing buttons onto mostly upcycled fabrics, materials, and objects. With deliberate focus the buttons are arranged to stimulate one's curiosity and imagination, while simultaneously drawing attention to the unique history of buttons. Thereby McCall's work generates a discussion surrounding many topics such as pop culture and social justice.McCall began his professional career in Harlem in the 1980s after arriving from his native, Philadelphia with nothing more than a few hundred dollars, a duffel bag, and buttons. Circa 1988 he made his critically acclaimed wearable art debut at The Harlem Institute of Fashion (HIF) show for HARLEM WEEK. McCall went on to become an established force within HIF's Black Fashion Museum collective presenting at their shows consecutively through circa 1995, as well being featured in their museum exhibitions and prestigious events. During this time, McCall's visually captivating work was featured in the fashion bible Women's Wear Daily, on the PBS version of George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum (1991), and in the award-winning film Quartier Mozart (1992), directed by Jean-Pierre Bekolo. The film won prizes at film festivals in Cannes, Locarno, and Montreal and was nominated, in 1993, for a British Film Institute award.McCall eventually applied his mastery of the button to visual art. Since then, he's been proclaimed by American Craft magazine as “The Button Man.” His visual and wearable art has been included in exhibitions at The Museum at FIT, Nordstrom, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Langston Hughes House in partnership with the inaugural Columbia University Wallach Art Gallery Uptown triennial and StoryCorps, and Rush Arts Gallery. McCall's work is held in the permanent collection of public institutions and by private individuals including the Museum of Arts and Design (New York), Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), The Museum at FIT (New York), Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York), Amistad Research Center (New Orleans), The Museum of Modern Art Library (New York), Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (New York), Stonewall National Museum & Archives (Fort Lauderdale), and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Library (San Francisco), Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Residence, Debbie Harry of Blondie, Jeffrey Gibson, and Cristina Grajales. McCall has also been commissioned by the Museum of Arts and Design, Columbia University, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. And his wearable art can be found in gift shops including the Newark Museum of Art. McCall has been featured in the NY Times, Associated Press, NPR, L.A. Times, and more. In addition, he has served as a teaching artist at the Newark Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Harlem Arts Alliance. McCall has also created a wearable art line called, Triple T-shirts. For these pieces, he upcycles three T-shirts by combining them into one flowing garment that can be worn in six different ways. Each style—from poncho to hoodie to shawl and beyond—brings dynamic versatility to traditional T-shirts. The shirts are curated to form a narrative about various socially-conscious and lighthearted themes.In 2021, McCall released his debut artists' book titled, REWIND: MEMORIES ON REPEAT, commissioned and published by SHINE Portrait Studio@ Express Newark, Rutgers University-Newark. The book honors the legacy of ten of McCall's deceased friends through collages composed of archival photos and images from his button artwork. The collages capture the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, from Philadelphia to New York, during the LGBTQ+ rights movement, the height of disco music and the AIDS crisis.In 2024, McCall debuted his first-ever retrospective and exhibition catalog titled, Beau McCall: Buttons On! at Fuller Craft Museum. The exhibition is currently on a nationwide tour.Through his work, McCall remains committed to channeling and contributing to the universal cultural legacy one button at a time.Visit Beau's Website:  BeauMcCall.ComFollow Beau on Instagram: @Beau_McCallFor more on Beau's exhibit "Buttons On!" CLICK HERE--About Podcast Host Emily Wilson:Emily a writer in San Francisco, with work in outlets including Hyperallergic, Artforum, 48 Hills, the Daily Beast, California Magazine, Latino USA, and Women's Media Center. She often writes about the arts. For years, she taught adults getting their high school diplomas at City College of San Francisco.Follow Emily on Instagram: @PureEWilFollow Art Is Awesome on Instagram: @ArtIsAwesome_Podcast--CREDITS:Art Is Awesome is Hosted, Created & Executive Produced by Emily Wilson. Theme Music "Loopster" Courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 LicenseThe Podcast is Co-Produced, Developed & Edited by Charlene Goto of @GoToProductions. For more info, visit Go-ToProductions.com

In the pantheon of great Van Damme action flicks from the 1980s and 90s, 'Hard Target' (1993) undoubtedly stands out as one of his best. As hunky Cajun ex-Marine, Chance Boudreaux, the mullet-wearing 'Muscles from Brussels' struts his more sensitive side while also exhibiting the sort of superhero antics that would put Schwarzenegger to shame, like firing a pistol while standing on a moving motorbike and - famously - punching a snake. He has his director to thank for one of his most iconic roles: John Woo, the 'heroic bloodshed' maestro fresh from his ballistic Hong Kong masterpiece, 'Hard Boiled' (1992), and determined to make an impact in his American directorial debut. The resulting concoction is pure Woo - a slow-motion bullet ballet of epic proportions which cemented his position as one of cinema's greatest directors of action. Joining me and 'Life of Action' author Mike Fury to discuss this milestone in movie mayhem is Christina Newland, lead film critic at the i Paper and a contributing editor to Empire Magazine. As three dedicated Jean-Claude Van Damme fans, we unpick the reasons why we think his appeal is more inclusive than that of his action contemporaries - people like Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal, and Chuck Norris - and the lasting legacy that John Woo has had on action cinema. This episode was recorded live at the Nova Cinema in Woking, UK, in November 2024 as part of the British Film Institute's Art of Action season. A huge thank you to the crew at the Nova Cinema and the people of Woking who attended the show, and the Independent Cinema Office and Film Hub South East for helping to organise the event.LINKSChristina Newland on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/christinalefou.bsky.socialChristina Newland's website: https://www.christinanewland.co.uk/Christina Newland on Substack: https://substack.com/@christinanewlandSubscribe to 'Sisters Under the Mink' on Substack: https://christinanewland.substack.com/Buy 'She Found It at the Movies: Women writers on sex, desire and cinema': https://www.waterstones.com/book/she-found-it-at-the-movies/christina-newland/9781912157181'Act Like a Man: Jean-Claude Van Damme' by Christina Newland: https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/act-like-a-man-jean-claude-van-dammeBuy 'Hard Target' on 4K UHD from Kino Lorber: https://kinolorber.com/product/hard-target-4k-uhd 'Hard Target' review on Kung Fu Movie Guide: https://bit.ly/HardTarget1993Jean-Claude Van Damme profile on Kung Fu Movie Guide: https://bit.ly/VanDammeKFMGJean-Claude Van Damme on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jcvd/John Woo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_woo_filmmaker/'John Woo's Next Film Is ‘A Half-Musical' With Sparks', Empire Magazine: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/john-woo-half-musical-sparks-exclusive/'Celebrate Renowned Hong Kong Action Classics, Storytellers, And Film Icons With Shout! Studios' New Home Entertainment Series Hong Kong CInema Classics': https://www.shoutstudios.com/press/celebrate-renowned-hong-kong-action-classics-storytellers-and-film-icons-with-shout-studios-new-homMike Fury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themikefury/Mike Fury's website: https://www.mikefury.net/Visit the Nova Cinema in Woking: https://www.novacinema.com/Learn more about the BFI's Art of Action season: https://www.bfi.org.uk/art-actionA huge thank you to Independent Cinema Office (https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/) and Film Hub South East (https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/film-hub-south-east/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join James and Ian for their take on today's 20th Anniversary celebration at the British Film Institute! Yes, The BFI and The Doctor Who Appreciation Society screened Dalek and Father's Day, two seminal episodes from the 2005 series. However Phil, Drew and Ian take the opportunity to have their say on Lucky Day first - too much Doctor Who to cover this week for an "A" episode! We'll be back at the weekend to talk about Episode 5 of the new series, The Story and the Engine. Can't wait! Enjoy the show.

Join James, Michele and Brent for their instant(ish) reaction to episode four of the new series of Doctor Who, Lucky Day! But not before we go through the feedback you wonderful listeners have sent us about last week's episode, The Well. What did you think? Let us know by emailing the Campervan at feedback@thedoctorwhopodcast.com, Tweeting or Xing us, or jump on our Facebook Page or Group! No "more considered" episode this week, but Ian and James will be back on Sunday with a live recording from the bank of the River Thames after they've seen the 20th Anniversary screening of Dalek and Father's Day at The British Film Institute.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Host Miko Lee celebrates AAPINH Month by interviewing Filmmakers: Sara Kambe Holland, Alleluiah Panis, and Kyle Casey Chu, also known as Panda Dulce. We also cover a bunch of AAPINH month events happening throughout the Bay Area.   Calendar of Events Community Calendar May 3 2-6pm Daly City AAPI Fest celebrating local Asian American & Pacific Islander culture in Daly City and the Greater San Francisco Bay Area     May 10 10am-12pm PT Our Heritage 5K 2025  a FREE, family-friendly 5K fun walk/run honoring the rich history and contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in San Francisco. This scenic route winds through the heart of the city, passing by over 16+ historic AAPI landmarks—featuring goodies, resources, and fun facts about its cultural significance. Expect cheer stations, photo ops, sweet treats, and entertainment along the route to keep the energy high! May 10th is also AAPI Mental Health Day! The Our Wellness Festival, will celebrate mental health, community, and joy. The festival will feature family-friendly activities, carnival-style games, music, dancing, wellness resources, and more! May 23 at 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBTQ2S+ Mixer NJAHS Peace Gallery 1684 Post Street, San Francisco Children's Fairyland in Oakland, and Stanford's Asian American studies department host a series of events throughout the month that we will post in the show notes for you to check out.  Bay Area Public Libraries AAPI Month Oakland public libraries feature reading lists for all ages, a grab and grow seedling kit and events like watermelon kimchi making!San Francisco Public Libraries There will be events for all ages at Library locations throughout the City, including free author talks, book clubs, film screenings, crafts, food programs and musical and dance performances. San Jose Public libraries host a series of events with a highlights being Tapa Cloth making on May 6 and Vegan Filipino Cooking with Astig Vegan on May 7 Berkeley public libraries   CAAMFest 2025 United States of Asian America Through June 1    Transcript: Filmmakers Exploring Boundaries   Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:00:57] Welcome to Apex Express and happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Even though the Trump administration has eliminated recognizing cultural heritage months, we are still celebrating diversity and inclusion. Here at Apex Express and KPFA, we believe in lifting up people's voices. And tonight on Apex Express, we are focusing on Asian American filmmakers exploring boundaries. Host Mika Lee talks with filmmakers, creators, writers Sarah Kambe Holland, Alleluiah Panis, and Kyle Casey Chu, also known as Panda Dulce. Join us on Apex Express.    Miko Lee: [00:01:51] Welcome, Sarah Kambe Holland, the amazing young filmmaker, writer, director, here to talk about your very first film, egghead and Twinkie. Welcome to Apex Express.    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:02:04] Thanks so much for having me.   Miko Lee: [00:02:06] So first I'm gonna start with a personal question, which is an adaptation from the amazing poet Chinaka Hodges. And my first question is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:02:19] Oh wow. What a great question. , I think that I represent my family and my heritage. I'm mixed, so I'm half Japanese and half British. I grew up partially in Japan and partially in the States. I feel like those experiences, my family, they make up who I am and the stories that I wanna tell.   Miko Lee: [00:02:41] And what legacy do you carry with you?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:02:45] I think the legacy of my family, my grandparents on both sides have overcome so much, and, , they're a big inspiration to me. Funny enough, my grandparents play kind of a secret role in this film. My grandparents on my mom's side were incarcerated in the Japanese American camps. My grandmom, my British side overcame a lot of adversity as well in her life. , I think that's the legacy that I carry.    Miko Lee: [00:03:09] Thank you. Tell me a little more, what secret role do your grandparents play in the film?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:03:14] all my grandparents have always been very supportive of, my art and my filmmaking. But my grandparents on my mom's side, they passed away ahead of the making of this film. And I inherited my grandfather's car. And that car is the car in the movie that, Egghead Twinkie drive cross country. So I like to think that this is their way of supporting me. I think that they would get a kick out of the fact that their car is like a main character in the film,    Miko Lee: [00:03:41] literally carrying you on your journey. I had so much fun watching the film. Can you share with our audience a little bit about what the film is about and what inspired you to create this?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:03:52] So the film is called Egghead and Twinkie, and it's about this mixed Asian teenage lesbian named Twinkie who's coming out and her best friend Egghead, who unfortunately is in love with her and she does not feel the same. , and they end up going on this cross country road trip to meet Twinkie Online love interest IRL for the very first time. So it's kind of like a buddy comedy road trip movie. Coming of age queer story, , and it's one that's very personal to me, I think is a mixed Asian queer person. This was a story I was drawn to tell because it was a story that I didn't really see on screen when I was growing up.   Miko Lee: [00:04:30] Can you talk to me a little bit more about the use of the name Twinkie, which for many folks in the A API community is seen as a slur, and I know she talks about it a little in the film, but can you share more how you came up with that?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:04:44] Yes, it's a very nuanced thing and it's something I was kind of nervous to tackle, especially like in a comedy film. , but really with the creation of Twinkie's character, , I feel like she's going on this journey to embrace herself as a lesbian, as a gay woman, but then also I think that she's searching for herself as a mixed Asian person. I feel like within the Asian American community, if you're raised here in the US or if you're mixed or if you're adopted, I think that there can be this feeling of not feeling Asian enough. I think the word Twinkie was something that was kind of weaponized against her. Like, oh, you know, you're not Asian enough, you're a Twinkie. And her way of coping with that is to kind of reclaim that word and kind of own that. As her own name.    Miko Lee: [00:05:31] Thank you so much for sharing. I read online that this is the very first feature film to be crowdfunded on TikTok. Can you talk a little bit about, I know your background is in as a social media creator. Can you talk about that journey from social media creator to filmmaker?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:05:51] Yes. Yeah. TikTok and social media was such a big part of getting this film made. Uh, so for myself, yeah. I was a YouTuber before I was a filmmaker. I should be clear, I wasn't like PewDiePie or anything like that. I had like 40,000 followers. Um, but for me at that time when I was like 15, 16, that felt like the whole world. Um, and I think that YouTube was really my first introduction to. Storytelling, but also to making friends with people through the internet. And that ended up being a really big influence on this film because Twinkie is traveling cross country to meet a girl that she meets online. And I think that that is such a common story nowadays. Like people make friends online all the time. Um, and the ways that we find love and community has changed.Because of the internet. Um, so it felt very appropriate that we turned to TikTok turned to social media as a means to raise money for this film. Uh, we did a whole targeted crowdfunding campaign on TikTok and we raised over $20,000 from a lot of strangers that I will never meet, but I owe a lot of thanks to.   Miko Lee: [00:06:53] So now that the film has been going out to different festivals and being screened at different places, have any of those that participated in the crowdfund, have you met any of those kind of anonymous supporters?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:07:05] Yes. And that was crazy. it was awesome. We screened it over 40 festivals all around the world. Our international premiere was at the British Film Institute in London. And it was at that screening that someone raised their hand during the q and a and they were like, I just wanted you to know that I backed your movie, uh, and I found you on TikTok. And that just blew my mind that someone on the other side of the world, you know, had donated whatever, you know, 10, 20 bucks to making this thing a reality.   Miko Lee: [00:07:31] Oh, I love that when the anonymous becomes real like a person in front of you that you can actually meet. How fun. I'm wondering if your use of animation is, , been influenced by your social media background.    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:07:45] Not really. Actually. I think the animation part of this film is just because I'm a total nerd. I really love animation, I love comics. And so that kind of bled into Twinkies character. You know, she loves comics, she wants to be an animator. And, uh, I think I've always been interested in the idea of combining 2D animation with live action footage. I feel like that's something that we see a lot in like children's movies or, um.Music videos, but it's not something that you really see in like, feature films all that often. So I was kind of excited to explore that, and it was a really fun collaboration with myself and our lead animator, Dylan Ello, who did most of the animations in the movie.   Miko Lee: [00:08:28] Oh, thank you for that. I, I, it was very delightful. Um, I'm wondering, because we're, our world right now is incredibly complicated and so conflicted. How do you feel filmmaking can make a difference?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:08:44] I feel like art is more important now than ever because I see even in just this film's journey how art literature and movies, it can change people's minds and they don't even realize that their minds are changing.I think especially with this film, 'cause it's so lighthearted and funny and silly, you'd be like, oh, it's just, you know, a good laugh and that's it. But, but not really. I've seen this film. Open doors and open conversations. And I think that that's really my hope is that maybe, you know, parents who have a queer kid and they're not sure what to do about it, maybe they'll watch this film and they'll be able to talk to their kid about things that maybe they're afraid to talk about. I think that art really has the power to, to change people's minds.    Miko Lee: [00:09:29] Have you experienced that with somebody that has actually seen your film, that you've had a conversation with them where they walked away, changed from seeing it?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:09:38] Well, on a very personal level, um, my parents, uh, are conservative and I think when I first came out to them, it was an adjustment for sure. Um, I. When I initially kind of pitched the idea of Egghead and Twinkie to them years, years ago, uh, as a short film, they were confused. They were like, why do you wanna make this film about being gay? Like, why do you have to make everything about being gay? And that's not really what it was. I just wanted to tell this story.  And it's been such an amazing journey to see my parents like fully embrace this movie. Like they are egghead and Twinkie biggest fans. They might love this movie more than me. Uh, so that has been really amazing to be able to kind of talk to them about queer issues in my identity through the making of this movie.   Miko Lee: [00:10:24] I love that. So let our audience know how they can see your film, egghead and Twinkie.    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:10:31] So Egg and Twinkie is coming out on streaming platforms on April 29th. It'll be on Apple tv, Amazon Prime, uh, any video on demand streaming platform in North America.    Miko Lee: [00:10:43] Yay. And Sarah, what are you working on next?    Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:10:46] Oh boy, have a big question. Uh, I have a few screenplays in the works, one of which is a time traveling lesbian rom-com. So, uh, I'm waiting for when I get the big bucks so I can make my first period piece.    Miko Lee: [00:10:59] Love it. Sounds fun. , thank you so much for sharing with us. It was such a delight to see your film and I look forward to seeing more of your work.   Sarah Kambe Holland: [00:11:08] Thanks so much for having me, Miko. This was great.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:11:11] Listen to Kushimoto Bushi by Minyo crusaders, a Japanese cumbia band    MUSIC   Welcome back. This is the Powerleegirls on apex express, and that was Kushimoto Bushi by Minyo Crusaders    Miko Lee: [00:15:24] Welcome, Alleluia Panis, the Executive Director of Kularts to Apex Express.    Alleluia Panis: [00:15:30] Thank you. I'm so honored to be here.    Miko Lee: [00:15:34] I wanna talk with you about your film, but first I wanna start with a personal question, which is an adaptation from the amazing poet Chinaka Hodges. And that is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   Alleluia Panis: [00:15:49] Wow, that's deep who are my people? My people is my community. And so it is here in, in the diaspora, Filipino Americans, Asian Americans, and folks of color. And then of course the indigenous people in the Philippines. . What I carry with me and continues to inspire me on the daily is the knowing that we have been here for a long time. Our ancestors have survived eons of whether it's, good times and bad times. And so that keeps me going.   Miko Lee: [00:16:28] Thank you so much for sharing. you have been working in the field for a long time. You're really, , a trailblazer in terms of putting Filipino arts on the map and really lifting up the culture. Can you talk about your new film Memories of Mindanao, where that came from, what it's all about?   Alleluia Panis: [00:16:49] Is a leg of, , Tribo tour, which began in 2002. But actually inspired by my first trip to, , then the wild and being with in 1989 , and, , basically traveling and. Setting myself and my, my, my music and dance company at the time to just be with indigenous people. ,and how profoundly that particular experience really impacted me. For years I've been wanting to like, how can I bring this? Experience or share the experience with other diasporic folks. Fortunately I was able to connect with Carlo Abeo in the Philippines, who's been my tour manager, in 2001. And then in 2002 we embarked on the first, Tribo tour.   Miko Lee: [00:17:50] So this was an effort to really share this powerful kind of artistic travel journey with more folks. Is that right?    Alleluia Panis: [00:17:57] Yes. And it's actually beyond artistic. It's really about recognizing something deeper, right? Because our history of colonization is pretty intense. 500 years and or is it 400 years? Give or take, a century. And so there are a lot of things that had been co-opted. It has been erased, it has been gaslit. And fortunately, I feel like within the culture of the archipelago, there are, and even those. That are, of the, what is considered the colonized people or the Christianized people. there are practices that exist today that might have a different name, um, or but actually is indigenous and so, and only. Could I say that because I was able to really experience and be with folks and, uh, and it's years, you know, it's years of kind of like assessing and looking at you know, different, uh, practices. And so that is so I don't know. It's beyond gratifying. It's connecting. I mean, it seems so cliche. It's connecting with something so deep, you know, it's like connecting to, you know, to Mother Earth in, in that way our, our Mama Ocean. And recognizing yourself that, that you are bigger and have, and has agency, you know, in terms of just. What you are connected to, uh, what we are connected to. Um, and so it's, it's it, of course within the cultural practices, which is artistic practices that we see that connection.    Miko Lee: [00:19:40] You were looking at, the impact of colonization and how arts and culture has really spoke to that or fought back against that in the Philippines. Can you talk about bringing that over to our colonized United States and how you see that playing out?    Alleluia Panis: [00:19:58] Well, I think first of all as, um, as folks of color. And as former subjects of the United States, you know, 40 years of the US and still, still, um, you know, in some ways kind of soft power over the people of the Archipelago. It's, it's really, um, first and foremost knowing or getting that sense of connection and confidence and, um, self-identity. That leads, that would lead us to create, um, in the diaspora. And so what, what this pro with this project, this particular program does and, and I continue to prove it with so many folks, is that it's really. Kind of finding yourself, I mean, that, that seems so cliche and knowing your place in the world and how you are connected so deeply despite all the, you know, like all the brainwashing that you don't know anything. Everything is, uh, you know, everything that, that, that, um, that exists in terms of the cultural practices of the arch of the people of the archipelago are borrowed or, or, um. Basically borrowed or taken from another culture, um, really kind of diminishes that, that colonized thinking. And so I think the power of it is finding your stepping into your own power in this way. Um, and, and, um, you know, it is also not just the current, like in, in once lifetime do you get that abuse or trauma, but it's also all the. You know, the, the, the inheritance from our, you know, from our parents, from our grandparents, right? Great. Passed down the generation and, um, oftentimes construed as the real deal, unt true. And so, aside from the form. Aside from, um, the practices, because this trip is really a little, is is focused more on not learning or like, you know, we don't go to learn like dance music or. Weaving or, you know, design or anything like that. Yes, that happens. We do, we do have workshops, but you know, it's not like it's, it's more like opening the ice of each, you know, individual. I. To the, to the, the whole, the whole thing. What, what is the, the presence of nature is, are they water people? Well, how does the water impact the cultural practices and therefore the artistic practices, um, and understanding sort of like, oh, they, they do that kind of steps with the, you know, flat feet or whatever. Because the sound of the bamboo slats is just. Amazing, you know, uh, under their feet. And so it's not so much that I'm gonna learn, you know, x, y, Z dance or x, y, z music, music or gongs, or, but it's more like w. Through those practices, how do we see the people, how do they mirror our own existence? And what, what we can remember really is remembering, um, what my, what, what we have forgotten or what we know it's true, but we're not sure. So I dunno if I'm answering your question. It's a roundabout response.    Miko Lee:[00:23:26]  I feel like you're talking about how we step into our ancestral wisdom and power.    Alleluia Panis: [00:23:33] Correct.    Miko Lee: [00:23:33] And I'm wondering if you can expand on that,, to talk a little bit more about this time of oligarchy we are living in, which is really built in colonization. How do we both as artists use our superpowers to fight back against that and then encourage other people? How do we use our artist beings to encourage other people to fight back against the world that we're living in right now?  Alleluia Panis: [00:24:00] One of the most powerful impact on me , in experiencing, indigenous practices and culture is the practice of spirituality, the rituals, the ceremonies. There's one specific ceremony from Ana as a magana on ceremony, um, that really, It was just such a profound experience in opening up, my senses and my sense of connection to something larger than this. And, and the EPO and, um, there's several, um. Ritual practices with different names. It's basically similar, uh, practice, uh, is the connection to the five elements and the basic, um, um, and fundamental elements of life. You know, water, earth, wind, fire, and the darkness. The, there's a transcendence. Um. And that that discovery is a, or that connection, um, is something that's, it sounds really woo woo, right? I mean, um, but it really becomes kind of a, a, an experience, an embodiment experience, a belief in your own kind of intuition, your gut feeling. My, uh, my. Um, response, you know, to it, a physical response. And, um, that, that's become like a, a guide for, for everything that I do. And so, um, to me that that is the grounding that, um, has allowed me to continue the work that that. That I've been doing, continue living, period. And so it's really, I think the, a matter of really kind of like, knowing yourself, it just sounds all so cliche, you know? And, and, the power of, Really understanding that you have or I have a depth of connection, that I can draw from in terms of energy and spirit and love, that is beyond kind of the physical, but also the physical. And so for me, that sense of knowing. Is what is allowing me to continue doing what I do despite all the, you know, challenges and difficulties and, you know, the insanity of these times or any time. and having kind of that grounding, I mean, you, you, the, the, clarity, is everything. it allows me to. follow what seems to be the correct route to wherever I was going. it doesn't mean that it's, it's, I'm, I'm not working on it, you know, but I'm also not, not pushing in a way that, you know, I'm, I'm gonna make you believe in me and I'll, you know, like, sort of like, I will tell you what is the right thing and, and, and I will make you, um, agree with me. It, it's, it's not that. Um, I is, I dunno. Is that making any sense? Do you have any other,    Miko Lee: [00:27:24] you totally make sense to me. I'm wondering how people can find out how, how can people find out more about your film and about all of your work?    Alleluia Panis: [00:27:34] Oh, sure. people can find out about, my work and the film through, um, the website. It's, uh, KulArts SF dot org and, most of, if not all of my work, uh, and the work of others, are actually on there. There's a lot of information there. the, the film is gonna be shown at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific, film Festival May 3rd at, uh, a MC. Eight or 14 or is it in, Monterey Park and, folks can actually just find that information on our website as well.    Miko Lee: [00:28:13] And what would you like audience to walk away from your film with an understanding of?   Alleluia Panis: [00:28:21] I want the audience to feel the. Power of being there in TT T is the southernness most islands of, of the Philippines. And, not too many people actually go there. If you have seen the Sam Baja, um, you know, divers, uh, where they can dive for, I think they can stay from five to 15 minutes underwater without any, you know, oxygen or assistance. These are, these are the people who, who, uh, these islands belong to. and as usual, their, you know, their live livelihood is being challenged by everything that's happening in the world. And what the, the film itself, itself, is really trying to put, put the audience within the, you know, like the, I guess the, the shoe of the there and how, you know, their experiences. there's not a lot of explanation to it because we really want it to be a more visceral experience. for the audience,    Miko Lee: [00:29:22] is there anything else you'd like to share with us?    Alleluia Panis: [00:29:26] Let's keep on going. Let's, you know, we, we all, we all need to be in community to uplift each other and keep hope alive.    Miko Lee: [00:29:38] Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing a little bit more about your film and about your work and your connection to the ancestors and the need to move forward.   Alleluia Panis: [00:29:47] Appreciate you. Thank you, Miko.   Miko Lee: [00:29:51] Welcome Kyle Casey, Chu, also known as Panda Dulce to Apex Express.    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:29:57] Hi so much for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:29:59] We're so happy to have you back here, onto Apex Express Land and you have a bunch of new things happening, not just a new film, but also a new book. First off, I'm gonna just start with a personal question, which I ask everyone. Who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:30:16] Ooh, that's a juicy one. Um, my people, I would say my people are the weirdos and the art freaks of the world. Uh, queer and trans people, Asian Americans, queer and trans Asian Americans, people of color, people from the Bay Area. Um, people who have noticed the boxes that they're in and are pushing the walls and the boundaries of that. I feel like these are the people who really inspire me the most. In terms of the legacy I bring, I am a fourth generation Chinese American, uh, queer and trans femme person living in the San Francisco Bay area where I was born and raised.   Miko Lee: [00:30:56] Thanks so much for sharing. , first let's start with just finding out more about your film, which was based on a true story called After What Happened at the Library. This was a national story, I remember hearing about it, but for folks that don't know, can you describe the real incident that inspired the film?    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:31:14] So, I'm one of the founders of Drag Story Hour, which is exactly what it sounds like., drag queens reading stories to, , children and their families and libraries, bookstores and schools. In 2022, I took a gig in Pride Month at San Lorenzo Public Library, , where I was doing a drag story hour and the Proud Boys stormed in. They called me a tranny, a groomer and an it. They wore shirts saying, kill your local pedophile and I had to retreat to the back and lock myself in the back room. They scoured the premises looking for me. , the authorities showed up and didn't get any of their names or information, um, and just. Dispersed them. And after the incident, I came back to the reading room where the children and families were there, but shaken and I completed the reading.    Miko Lee: [00:32:05] Incredibly traumatic. What happened after that in real life?    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:32:10] It's funny that you, uh, because the short film is called After What Happened at the Library, uh, for a reason because I feel like it's natural as social creatures for humans to focus on the incident itself. We want to approach people with empathy and we want to, really put ourselves in their shoes, uh, to kind of be there as a support for them. What I wasn't prepared for was the gauntlet of media attention, how people would be coming out of the woodwork to ask me about the situation. They would send gushing praise, hate mail, death threats, love letters, care packages, and this wave of attention. Almost added to the overwhelm of the experience and the fact that I had suddenly become a figure and a lightning rod in a culture war when I just wanted to read a book in a library. 'cause that's what I was doing. Um, and not only this, but in the coverage of the event. Because the authorities were so slow to act on this and only started investigating it as a hate crime after it blew up on Instagram and they suddenly felt the heat of media attention. Um, I felt the, my only recourse was to go to the media and was to talk, and especially as a writer and a storyteller, I felt I needed to kind of sound the alarm because it was pride month.  This was the first, this was the inciting incident of a national, even international anti-D drag wave of right wing extremism. Um, it was a couple days later that the oath keepers were found planning some kind of resistance, like violent insurrection in before Ohio Pride. And so I would talk to these journalists and. I felt in the beginning I trusted them because, you know, I trusted that they wanted to get the word out, that they had the same intentions that I did in protecting my people. And what I found instead was that they kind of almost, they tried to elicit the most emotional response from me, which often involved asking me to relive the most excruciating aspects of that time and that experience. So I had to go back and revisit it over and over again. And when the stories actually came out, I'd found that my story was edited to suit another preconceived formula that they had already pitched a certain idea for how the story was would go. That painted me as this static monolithic victim. And they would just plug in one tearful soundbite and the rest of the story, they could just say whatever they wanted with.And there's a certain violence in that. There's a certain. Greater injustice to going through something like that, number one. But number two, telling your story and having that be distorted to suit other political aims or to, you know, buttress a call for public safety. And that specific dynamic of the direct aftermath of notoriety is what the short film gets at.   Miko Lee: [00:35:11] Oh so you're taking back your own story.    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:35:14] Absolutely. So after what happened at the library, the short film is a very much a radical reclamation of my own voice and my own story. Um, prying it back from the hands of the media and telling it on my own terms.    Miko Lee: [00:35:26] Thank you for that. And how has it been received   Kyle Casey Chu: [00:35:29] So far it's been received very well. The short film World premiered at Florida Film Festival in Orlando. Received a special jury prize for courageous voice in a time of great need, which is incredible. It's our first screening and we already got an award, which is so exciting. It just screened at SF Film on April 23rd as part of the shorts block. SF film is an Academy Award qualifying festival, and it is going to screen again at Can Fest, one of my favorite local festivals, the world's largest Asian and Asian American film showcase it's screening on Friday, May 9th at Kabuki and tickets are on sale.   Miko Lee: [00:36:11] Thank you for that. And can you tell us about your new book? This is very exciting. You have a coming of age story, the Queen Bees of Tybee County. Can you tell us about your book?   Kyle Casey Chu: [00:36:22] Absolutely. When it rains, it pours in creative worlds. I had a lot of irons on the fire and it just so happened that all of them were exhibiting or debuting or hitting shelves in the same week of April, which is last week. The Queen Bees of Tybee County is my debut novel. It's middle grade, so for ages eight through 12, though like a Pixar movie, it's for all ages really. Um, and it is a hopeful drag coming out story about a queer Chinese American seventh grade basketball star. Derek Chan, who is unceremoniously shipped off to his grandma Claudia's in rural Georgia, and she is volunteering for a local pageant. And so he. Explores his queer identity and his love for drag via Southern pageant culture.    Miko Lee: [00:37:09] Ooh, do we see a film of this in the future?    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:37:12] Actually, Queen Bees of Tybee County was optioned by Lambert Productions, which put on the Hardy Boys on Hulu. So it is on its way to becoming a TV show if every, if all the stars align, it'll be on TVs in the uk. Fingers and toes crossed for that.    Miko Lee: [00:37:27] Amazing. I'm looking forward to that. Can we pull ourselves out a little bit and talk about the times that we're living in right now and how artists use our super powers to fight back against the oligarchy that we're living in?    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:37:43] We all know, or perhaps should know that the beginnings of fascism involve suppressing intellectuals and artistic voices, increasing police presence and trying to maintain a stiff and consistent lid on the voices of the people. And so this type of suppression is happening right now. There are book bans across the country. , there are state and federal efforts legislatively to curtail the rights of trans kids and trans athletes, and Intellectuals, diplomats and scholars are all being expelled or suppressed, and I think something that I've learned is that, and it sounds really cheesy, but that quote is so real where it's like being brave isn't the absence of fear, but it's doing things in spite of it. I know it feels very scary to speak out right now, but now is the exact time to speak out because any. Ground that is seated cannot be taken back. And so holding of the line by way of protest, by way of publication, by way of dissenting is how we crack this. The armor of fascism.    Miko Lee: [00:38:55] And can you talk a little bit about the moment of joy or celebrating joy within the context of the strife that we're living in? I bring that up because , you've given me much joy as part of the rice rocketts and a lot of the work that you do. So I wonder if you could just talk about what does joy mean in the moment like this?    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:39:16] Yeah. I think. I have a background in social work and one of the first things that we learned is this is hard work. It is hard to always start on your back foot and to have to argue your own humanity and justify your existence as an artist or as a person. I found myself doing that when coverage of the library incident was happening and. One of the things that they tell you is the way that you do your best work and the way that you best serve your communities is by keeping your own self afloat. And what this means is maintaining a balance. When you have hard work, you also need to reward yourself. You also need to take care of yourself. And I don't think it's enough to just say self-care. You need to expose yourself, and you need to fully embrace the full spectrum of human emotion, which necessarily includes joy. And so. After completing such an intense project, like after what happened at the library, I knew that I needed to engage in something that was hopeful and that really struck the cord of why community is so vital and important, and why social support is integral to all of us thriving. And so the Queen Bees of Tubby County, I was told by a reviewer, and this is my favorite review, they said that it's like Chapel R'S Pink Pony Club. If it were a book. Um, and I'm going with that 'cause I love that. But this story is really just about hope. It's about friendship, it's about, it's about dancing towards the future we want. And I don't think it is enough for us to react. I don't think it's enough for us to strike down. Terrible and horrifying regimes. We also must have a vision for the future that includes ourselves thriving and enjoying ourselves. And I think a part of that practice for me is making art and scaffolding a vision for the future that is positive.    Miko Lee: [00:41:20] And what would you like people to walk away from after either reading your book or seeing your short film?   Kyle Casey Chu: [00:41:29] I think after seeing the short film. What this gets at is whenever there's a flashpoint of a culture war and it's localized on one person, whenever a culture war is personified in one singular person, like for example, ma Moon kil. There's only so much of his life that we get to see, and it's through the headlines and this viral moment of like a flash on the pan. And I want people to realize that the way that you interact with these people in that fleeting moment is going to stick with them long after this moment of notoriety passes. And. To be conscientious and aware of what impact you're bringing to that person because it may just be a moment or a blip in your feed, but the impact is enduring for the person who's living it. And I also want us to be critical of how we consume trauma and violence in the media, and to ask ourselves if. We really, truly need to get all the details if we really, truly need to be put, put that victim in the position of reliving their experience just so we can relive it for a moment. Whereas they will have to relive it for the rest of their lives. And I think survivor narratives and victim narratives are way more messy and complicated and sometimes funny than people give it credit for or realize. And to realize that when you are reading something. That is just one dimension in one shade. Uh, yeah. So that was a lot, sorry. But, um, the other thing is for the Queen Bees of Tybee County. And the reason why I wanted to end on that is because it's uplifting is as dark as the world can be. It can also be as dazzling and bright and hopeful, and that the future that we are fighting for is worth fighting for. And we need to remind ourselves of that. Especially in times like these, and I know it might seem counterintuitive for us to celebrate or to be around each other when it feels earth shatteringly bleak, but it is essential to our survival, and don't be afraid to embrace that.   Miko Lee: [00:44:00] Kyle, thank you so much. Kyle, Casey Chu, thank you so much for joining us on Apex Express. I encourage people to check the film out and the book out and we appreciate chatting with you.    Kyle Casey Chu: [00:44:11] Thanks so much.    Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:44:14] Kyle's film will be showcased at Cam Fest, the nation's largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films, which runs from May 8th to 11th in San Francisco at a time when it feels particularly fraught to express stories from communities of color. Cam is doing what we've done for over 40 years, sharing films from Asian America to a wide array of audiences. It says, Cam's, director of programs, Dawn Young. Watching these stories in a theater full of friends and neighbors is an opportunity to laugh and cry, and ultimately to celebrate human experiences that transcend bounds. This year's festival will return to the A MC Kabuki in San Francisco's Japan town for opening night, and a total of four days of screenings in the historic neighborhood that is undergoing its own resurgence with new restaurants, cafes, and boutiques, highlighting both traditional and youth oriented culture. The Roxy Theater will also host three days of screenings. Cam Fest continues to strengthen ties with other local arts institutions with the Asian Art Museum hosting the Cam Fest gala. Following the opening night film on Thursday May 8th and SF M Om a opening the Phyllis Wa Theater for Mother's Day programming on Sunday, May 10th. Turning a lens on history, whether it's the end of the Vietnam War or the trailblazing women in the Bay Area, offers a chance to reconsider the stories through which we come to understand ourselves. Says Cam Fest program Manager Del Holton, ranging from intimate narratives of family and memory to experimental work that bends the conventions of storytelling. These films illuminate the many perspectives of Asian America.    CAAM Fest 2025 wraps up on Mother's Day with dedicated events that highlight strength and visionary artistry of Asian American women. You can also catch my sister Jalena Keane-Lee's film Standing Above the Clouds at 5:00 PM at the Kabuki. Honoring Mothering also includes celebrating the nurturing of community and pioneering of aesthetics. Cam's final day reflects on the contributions of Asian American women's work while looking to the future of storytelling. Another major multimedia arts, dance and music festival to check out is the annual United States of Asian America which runs through June 1st at venues around the Bay Area. This year's theme Critical Refuge asks us to reflect on our journey as immigrants, refugees, and generations of descendants and or mixed raced people in the diaspora as we seek necessary sanctuary within ourselves and in our communities in times of unrest and uncertainty. The festival will honor a API Arts and Culture, reflecting on where we have been, where we are now, and what our collective future holds, while acknowledging our roots as immigrants, refugees, and mixed race descendants. Also check out the 42nd annual Himalayan Fair in Berkeley's Live Oak Park happening May 17th and 18th. There will be Himalayan Food, handicrafts, music, and Dance. There are so many events happening in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Check out our show notes for links to all the wheelchair accessible events In addition to the films we featured tonight, camp Fest and United States of Asian America, there is also May 3rd, two to 6:00 PM daily city AAPI fest celebrating local Asian American and Pacific Islander culture in daily city in the greater San Francisco Bay area.    May 10th, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Our heritage, 5K 2025. A free family friendly, 5K fun walk slash run. Honoring the rich history and contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in San Francisco. This scenic route winds through the heart of the city. Passing by over 16 plus historic A API Landmarks featuring goodies, resources, and fun facts about its cultural significance. Expect cheer stations, photo ops, sweet treats, and entertainment along the route to keep the energy high. May 10th is also a API Mental Health Day. The Our Wellness Festival will celebrate mental health, community and joy. The festival will feature family friendly activities, carnival style games, music, dancing, wellness resources, and more. May 23rd at 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM Asian American and Pacific Islander, LGBT Q2 s plus Mixer, NJAHS, peace Gallery 1684 Post Street in San Francisco. Children's Fairyland in Oakland and Stanford's Asian American Studies apartment will also host a series of events throughout the month that we will post in the show notes for you to check out in Bay Area Public Library News. Oakland Public Libraries feature reading lists for all ages, a grab and grow seedling kit and events like Watermelon Kimchi making. San Francisco Public Libraries will have events for all ages at library locations throughout the city, including free author talks, book clubs, film screenings, crafts, food programs, and musical and dance performances. Highlights for adults include the launch of Corky Lee's Asian America at the main library on May 23rd. The new book features over 200 breathtaking photos celebrating the history and cultural impact of the Asian American Social Justice movement. We've covered Corky Lee's work in multiple previous Apex episodes.    Additionally, four members of the Asian American Journalist Association, AAJA, who cover the Asian American and Pacific Islander News beat will discuss how authentic local reporting happens, important stories they've reported recently, and how having reporters dedicated to the BEAT impacts the A API community on May 8th, moderated by the interim president of the AAJA-SF Bay Area chapter Harry Mock. The panel features Ko Lyn Chang from the San Francisco Chronicle, Han Lee from the San Francisco Standard, and Ravi Kapoor, CEO of Dia, TV on May 25th. The library partners with the Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco to welcome Curtis Chin, author of everything I Learned, I learned in a Chinese restaurant for a book talk and library popup. For youth on May 25th, join June Jo Lee Food ethnographer and award-winning children's book author for a kimchi demo. Read aloud and krautchy making activity. Experience a read aloud of New Picture Storybooks for Children and participate in a drawing workshop on comics with illustrators mini fan and Sophie Dialo on May 23rd at Excelsior Branch Library. Katie Kwan, who has been featured on Apex dives into the world of comics and zines through the lens of an Asian American artist and educator, and teaches the community how to make their own comics and zines at multiple locations throughout May. San Jose Public Libraries host a series of events with highlights being top of cloth making on May 6th and vegan Filipino cooking with Aztec Vegan on May 7th. Once again, happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month from us at Apex Express. Please do checkout CAAM Fest. May 8th through 11th in San Francisco. If you get the chance and you'll be able to see Kyle's film. As well as many other incredible AAPI, histories and stories. You can check out all of that community calendar info in our show notes, as well as information on all of the guests you heard from tonight.   Miko Lee: [00:51:55] Please check out our website, kpfa.org to find out more about our show tonight. We think all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. APEX Express is created by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Swati Rayasam, Aisa Villarosa, Estella Owoimaha-Church, Gabriel Tangloao, Cheryl Truong and Ayame Keane-Lee.        The post APEX Express – 5.1.25 – Filmmakers Exploring Boundaries appeared first on KPFA.

Parkour pioneer Sébastien Foucan can be credited for bringing Parkour to the masses. His seminal UK documentary, 'Jump London' (2003) - and its follow up, 'Jump Britain' (2005) - sparked a cultural phenomenon which would see youngsters take to the streets in wild, acrobatic, hair-raising abandon; running, climbing and leaping across their urban environment in scenes we still see on our streets today. For Sébastien, a movie career followed, with stand-out roles in action films including 'Casino Royale' (2006) and 'The Tournament' (2009). Those perceptive enough to see the inspiration behind his incredible physical abilities and derring-do would be quick to reference the work of Jackie Chan, whose stunt-filled films would prove to be one of the early catalysts for Sébastien and his friends to take to the streets of Paris, recreating what they saw in his movies. Today, Sébastien is an inspirational speaker and CEO of the Foucan Academy, teaching kids the art of movement and self-expression. His motto: "we play".On this episode - recorded live at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre in Canterbury as part of the British Film Institute's Art of Action season - Sébastien explores his love of Hong Kong action cinema (especially the films of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee), his experiences working in Hollywood, current attitudes towards Parkour, and much more. This conversation was recorded after a screening of the 1978 Jackie Chan classic, 'Drunken Master', and is co-hosted by the 'Life of Action' author - and friend of the show - Mike Fury. A huge thank you to the crew at the Gulbenkian and the people of Canterbury who attended the show, and the Independent Cinema Office and Film Hub South East for helping to organise the event.LINKSSébastien Foucan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sebastienfoucan/Sébastien Foucan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Seb-Foucan/100010605671158/ Sébastien Foucan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastien-foucan/ Sébastien Foucan website: https://www.sebastienfoucan.com/ Foucan Academy: https://foucanacademy.com/ 'Jump Britain' on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2TJurAP9l-Q?si=Abborgj9sRKdOKMN Chase scene from 'Casino Royale': https://youtu.be/iZxNbAwY_rk?si=9RvrgPTeoUWGT0GZ Sébastien Foucan on 'Ninja Warrior UK': https://youtu.be/o7YFOF1oeag?si=hjKZ23vx9DT-6S-k Mike Fury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themikefury/Mike Fury's website: https://www.mikefury.net/'Drunken Master' review on Kung Fu Movie Guide: https://bit.ly/DrunkenMasterKFMG'Drunken Master' trailer: https://youtu.be/WSu-9X8NF9k?si=BNVVYygZ7Ke_VdYpBuy 'Drunken Master' on Blu-ray: https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/drunken-master/Visit the Gulbenkian Arts Centre in Canterbury: https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/Learn more about the BFI's Art of Action season: https://www.bfi.org.uk/art-actionA huge thank you to Independent Cinema Office (https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/) and Film Hub South East (https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/film-hub-south-east/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we educating young people as consumers? Have educational institutions become service providers in the consumer economy of educational products?  Or are we educating young people as citizens - of their local communities, nations and the planet? If so what does that mean for how we engage them in the  processes of living and working together, making meaningful contributions and learning important things as they go.  I'm not sure that that looks much like what we're currently doing in most schools around the world. Jon Alexander is on a mission to help a new story to emerge about how people all over the world are getting involved in 'citizening' - that is, thinking of citizen as a verb and a local participatory responsibility, rather than citizen as a noun that you claim rights to.Jon began his career with success in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year before making a dramatic change. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle. In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project, a strategy and innovation consultancy that aims to shift the dominant story of the individual in society from Consumer to Citizen. NCP's client list includes The Guardian, the European Central Bank, and the European Journalism Centre. They have partnered with the BBC, Amnesty International, National Trust, the British Film Institute, Tate galleries, the National Union of Students, YouGov, the Centre for Public Impact, the Food Standards Agency and the Food Ethics Council. Jon is author of Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us - a book that seeks to reframe the moment in time we're living in as one of huge civic opportunity, not just crisis and collapse, and in doing so opens up a world of possibility for organisations and leaders across sectors and across the world.Links to Jon's work:Citizens (Book): https://www.jonalexander.net/How to Citizen, with Baratunde Thurston: https://stories.howtocitizen.com/formNew Citizenship Project: https://www.newcitizenproject.com/Jon's Four Thought lecture, BBC Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04md5b0Jon's NCP article on Three Post Covid Futures: https://medium.com/new-citizenship-project/subject-consumer-or-citizen-three-post-covid-futures-8c3cc469a984Jon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-alexander-11b66345/Baratunde on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baratunde/

THIS WEEK, *takes deep breath* Matt Hudson and Luke Bligh interview, DIEGO LUNA (Cassian Andor), TONY GILROY (Tony Gilroy, obvs), DENISE GOUGH (Dedra Meero), BEN MENDELSOHN (Director Krennic), GENEVIEVE O'REILLY (Mon Mothma), STELLAN SKARSGÅRD (Luthen Rael), FAYE MARSAY (Vel Sartha), and ADRIA ARJONA (Bix Caleen) LIVE from a central London special screening event of Andor Season 2. Yes, this really happened. Yes, hugs were shared and Greggs-related questions were asked. Also in the episode, we play a snippet from our brief appearance on LBC Radio discussing the ORIGINAL Star Wars cut re-release at the British Film Institute this coming June. We end the show with a 30-second sneak-peak of BLUES HARVEST's upcoming single "One Way Out" - out on all digital platforms on Wednesday 16th April 2025.For all your Sessions needs, head to starwarssessions.co.uk // Find and support us on PATREON at patreon.com/starwarssessions // Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share! You can find us on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, X, TikTok, Facebook, so drop us a follow! // Send your voice messages and comments to hellothere@starwarssessions.co.uk and we'll get them on the show // Catch the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, and all good podcast platforms // Thanks again for listening – we so appreciate your continued support.MTFBWY. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An original cut of Star Wars is set to be screened by the British Film Institute, several new books were announced, and Oscar Isaac can't make it to celebration in this week's Star Wars news.   In this fully armed and operational episode of Podcast Stardust, we discuss: The British Film Institute's plans to screen an original version of Star Wars, A new “special edition” of the Revenge of the Sith novelization, The announcement of new Star Wars books coming in 2025, Oscar Isaac's schedule change and what that means for Star Wars Celebration Japan, and Star Wars: Outlaws coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. Thanks for joining us for another episode! Subscribe to Podcast Stardust for all your Star Wars news, reviews, and discussion wherever you get your podcasts. And please leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts.   Find Jay and her cosplay adventures on J.Snips Cosplay on Instagram.   Join us for real time discussion on the RetroZap Discord Server here: RetroZap Discord. Follow us on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube. T-shirts, hoodies, stickers, masks, and posters are available on TeePublic. Find all episodes on RetroZap.com.

An original cut of Star Wars is set to be screened by the British Film Institute, several new books were announced, and Oscar Isaac can't make it to celebration in this week's Star Wars news.

Amy returns to a book from Season One - Unwell Women - now joined by the author Dr. Elinor Cleghorn! This conversation unpacks the history of women's healthcare, looks at medical myths and women's pain, and explores the patriarchal shadow which still looms over our health outcomes.Listen to the original episode about Unwell Women here.Dr Elinor Cleghorn has a background in feminist visual culture and history, and her critical writing has been published in several academic journals including Screen. After receiving her PhD in in 2012, Elinor spent three years as a post-doctoral researcher at the Ruskin School, University of Oxford, working on an interdisciplinary medical humanities project. She has given talks and lectures at the British Film Institute, where she has been a regular contributor to their education programme, Tate Modern, and ICA London, and she has appeared on the BBC Radio 4 discussion show The Forum. In 2017, she was shortlisted for the Fitzcarraldo Editions essay prize. She now works as a freelance writer and researcher. Her non-fiction debut, Unwell Women, was published in June 2021. She is currently working on her next book on intersectional feminist history of women and mother-led knowledge around reproduction, pregnancy, birth and mothering.

Welcome to the third episode of Section F - our Spy Movie Podcast track on Spybrary. Our Section F handpicked hosts and guests discuss their favourite spy movies both the classics and the hidden gems of spy films. Today Spybrary's Section F delve into the 1963 movie adaptation of Ian Fleming's From Russia With Love starring Sean Connery and directed by Terence Young. Host Shane Whaley is joined by Section F's Dr Eric Newsom and Michael Huie, along with special guest film historian Dr. Llewella Chapman, author of the British Film Institute's book on From Russia With Love. https://geni.us/4Ppp  The team dives deep into the 1963 Bond classic, exploring everything from Red Grant's chilling villainy to Connery's evolving performance as 007, and why this film is often hailed as not just the best 007 movie but maybe the best spy movie ever made. The panel explores the film's darker, more espionage-driven tone compared to other James Bond entries and its legacy in the genre. Llewella brings rich insights from her research, offering fascinating production details and commentary on its visual and psychological depth. What did you think of From Russia With Love? Agree with our panel or have your own take? Drop a comment on YouTube or your favorite podcast app. Or better still, why not join 4,000+ spy fans in our community: https://www.spybrary.com/community    

Steve Nallon is a writer and actor best known for voicing Spitting Image's most iconic characters, including Margaret Thatcher, Alan Bennett and The Queen Mum. Steve's acting work now ranges from theatre, film and television, to video games, radio drama and audio books. As a playwright and comedy writer, Steve has a considerable body of credits to his name, including plays and series for BBC radio, three one-man theatre shows and the satirical book I, Margaret, which he co-wrote with Tom Holt. In 2022 Steve's novel The Time That Never Was, the first book in a new young adult book series called The Swidgers, was published by Luath Press, and the second in the series, The Time T hey Saved Tomorrow, came out in 2024. Destination Time Travel, an exploration of the story tropes of time travel tales written with British Film Institute archivist Dick Fiddy, was published in 2023. Over the years, Steve has contributed to numerous periodicals such as The New Statesman and Musical Stages. His latest book, Steve Nallon's Ghost Stories, is available now, here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steve-Nallons-Ghost-Stories-Supernatural/dp/1068618965Steve Nallon is our guest in episode 466 of My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he'd like to preserve and one he'd like to bury and never have to think about again .Buy Steve Nallon's Ghost Stories, here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steve-Nallons-Ghost-Stories-Supernatural/dp/1068618965For everything else Steve Nallon, visit - https://www.nallon.comFollow Steve Nallon on X & Instagram: @SteveNallonFollow My Time Capsule on Instagram: @mytimecapsulepodcast & Twitter/X & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter/X: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people . Get bonus episodes and ad-free listening by becoming a team member with Acast+! Your support will help us to keep making My Time Capsule. Join our team now! https://plus.acast.com/s/mytimecapsule. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the second of our four live podcasts - co-hosted by the 'Life of Action' author, Mike Fury - we welcome back the British stunt coordinator and former Hong Kong stuntman, Jude Poyer. Jude's first appearance was on Episode 48 back in 2019. Now, in 2025, he is the action director behind Xavier Gens' violent French brawler, 'Farang' (aka 'Mayhem!'), and Gareth Evans' lauded co-collaborator, having worked with 'The Raid' director on his landmark UK crime series, 'Gangs of London', and the eagerly-awaited Netflix production, 'Havoc', starring Tom Hardy. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jude unveils his secret to coordinating a great action sequence, what it feels like to be kicked in the face by Yuen Biao, the difference between working in Hong Kong and the UK, and why he thinks Gareth Evans might be one of the best action filmmakers working in the industry today.This episode was recorded live at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford, UK, on 12 November 2024, following a screening of the crazy Hong Kong superhero film, 'The Heroic Trio' (1993), directed by Johnnie To, produced by Tony Ching Siu-tung, and starring Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui and Maggie Cheung. Screening as part of the British Film Institute's Art of Action season - in association with the Independent Cinema Office and Film Hub South East - we also discuss the film and its impact, as well as sharing our thoughts on the lasting legacy of the 'golden age' of Hong Kong action cinema.LINKSJude Poyer on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reelpowerstunts/Jude Poyer on X: https://twitter.com/ReelPowerStuntsJude Poyer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReelPowerStuntsJude Poyer's website: http://www.reelpowerstunts.com/ Jude Poyer on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0694706/Jude Poyer on Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast, Episode 48: http://kungfumovieguide.com/kfmg-podcast-s04-episode-48-jude-poyer/ Mike Fury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themikefury/Mike Fury's website: https://www.mikefury.net/'The Heroic Trio' review on Kung Fu Movie Guide: http://kungfumovieguide.com/the-heroic-trio/ 'The Heroic Trio' trailer: https://youtu.be/zhrYrExHi2s Buy 'The Heroic Trio' on Blu-ray: https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/7155-the-heroic-trio-executionersVisit the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford: https://uppcinema.com/ Learn more about the BFI's Art of Action season: https://www.bfi.org.uk/art-actionA huge thank you to Independent Cinema Office (https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/) and Film Hub South East (https://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/film-hub-south-east/) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Brutalist's director Brady Corbet and star Adrien Brody talk about making the hotly anticipated film. With a season of Sidney Poitier's films underway at the British Film Institute and a play about a key moment in his early, Retrograde, transferring to London's West End in March we discuss the legacy of the great actor with - writer, Ryan Calais Cameron and programmer, Jonathan Ali. Natalie Andrews of the Wall Street Journal discusses the cultural elements of the 47th President's inauguration ceremony. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ruth Watts

The independent filmmaker based in Salt Lake City, Utah has created his own very distinct and unique style of filmmaking. In 2013, Indiewire proclaimed Harris "The Best Underground Filmmaker You Don't Know — But Should."[5] Harris' films have been featured at various festivals and museums worldwide, including renowned venues like Sundance, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the British Film Institute in London, the Edinburgh Film Festival, the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna Austria, Les Laboratories in Aubervilliers France, The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley.[6] Harris taught film and screenwriting classes at the University of Utah and worked as a documentarian and television journalist. He wrote and directed six feature films, many experimental movies, and more than one-hundred documentaries for PBS, National Geographic, NBC, and others.[6] In 1991, he wrote and directed the comedy Rubin and Ed, in which Crispin Glover and Howard Hesseman wander the desert looking for a suitable place to bury a frozen cat.  In 2001 he released The Beaver Trilogy,  The Movie he has received the most critical acclaim and world wide attention. Harris has  also written three books: The Wild Goose Chronicles, Fate Is A Hairy Rodent, and Mondo Utah.[10]

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic. Nostalgia, humour, and a tough resilience weave themselves through this movie, intertwining it with the fraught cultural moment of the end of World War II that saw its birth. It offers a still compelling merging of fantasy and realism that was utterly unique when it was first released, and has rarely been matched since. Michael Newton's study of the film, It's a Wonderful Life (British Film Institute, 2023), investigates the source of its extraordinary power and its long-lasting impact. He begins by introducing the key figures in the movie's production - notably director Frank Capra and star James Stewart - and traces the making of the film, and then provides a brief synopsis of the film, considering its aesthetic processes and procedures, touching on all those things that make it such an astonishing film. Newton's careful analysis explores all those aspects of the film that are fundamental to our understanding of it, particularly the way in which the film brings tragedy and comedy together. Finally, Newton tells the story of the film's reception and afterlife, accounting for its initial relative failure and its subsequent immense popularity. Michael Newton is Lecturer in English at Leiden University, Netherlands. He is the author of Savage Girls and Wild Boys: A History of Feral Children (2002), Age of Assassins: A History of Conspiracy and Political Violence, 1865-1981 (2012), and of Kind Hearts and Coronets (2003) and Rosemary's Baby (2020) in the BFI Film Classics series. Daniel Moran earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in History from Drew University. The author of Creating Flannery O'Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers and articles on G. K. Chesterton and John Ford, he teaches research and writing at Rutgers and co-hosts the podcast Fifteen-Minute Film Fanatics, found here on the New Books Network and on X. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

IT'S THE FINAL EPISODE OF THE YEAR! Having amassed more than 100 episodes in its run, PACCTS' sixth season will focus its sights on “the greatest films of all time” (both in the US and internationally), as assembled by the British Film Institute's 2022 Sight and Sound Poll of industry critics. Corey will be choosing American films from the list, and Paul will be choosing international ones.  Our goal is to examine the films that are considered great, and why that may be the case.   Corey closes out this year with number 54, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982). This is the first time this season that Paul and Corey both did not quite enjoy the film. They discuss Phillip K. Dick, the cast, the effects (which kinda left them cold), and why the hell we should care about Deckard at all! Thank you so much for joining us on this year's journey. We had a blast and can't wait for next year! Happy Holidays and see you in February 2025!

Having amassed more than 100 episodes in its run, PACCTS' sixth season will focus its sights on “the greatest films of all time” (both in the US and internationally), as assembled by the British Film Institute's 2022 Sight and Sound Poll of industry critics. Corey will be choosing American films from the list, and Paul will be choosing international ones.  Our goal is to examine the films that are considered great, and why that may be the case.   Ranked 21, Carl Th. Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927) is a masterpiece (unless you're Corey). With over 1500 shots, whereas most American films of the time had 100-500; unrelenting close-ups throughout; and ahead-of-its-time naturalistic performances; the film feels completely alien if you've ever watched other silent films. Paul and Corey discuss what works for them and what doesn't; the history of Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years' War; and whether this story (and the story of the Passion of Jesus) is even interesting. Whether you watch this film at 20 or 24 fps, Paul thinks you're in for a treat. 

Bad Sisters, the brilliant black comedy by Sharon Horgan, is back for season two, so this week we're getting stuck into the Garvey girls' return with our review. First, though, some celeb news, from Romeo Beckham's new girlfriend Kim Turnbull, to Molly-Mae's Vogue feature. Plus, a debrief on Anora, the award-winning new film touted as the modern day answer to Pretty Woman (consider us Mikey Madison stans). And finally, a raving review of bonkbuster Rivals now that we've both finished the first season. We absolutely get the hype.  DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm! Huge thanks to our sponsor⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Yonder⁠⁠⁠, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you'll actually *want* to use, beloved by foodies like us. Find out more at https://www.yonder.com/straightup Yonder membership is subject to eligibility and you'll need to be over 18 and a UK resident to apply. If you sign up, only borrow what you can afford to pay back. The representative rate is 66.7% APR variable. Membership fees and other T&Cs may apply.  We're also over the moon to be partnered with the British Film Institute to tell you about our favourite films dropping on ⁠BFI Player. BFI Player offers a 14-day free trial for new users PLUS our hunnies get an extra month free with the code STRAIGHTUP. Head to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠player.bfi.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠to stream now! We're back working with our OG faves London Nootropics, the adaptogenic coffee brand that has literally changed our lives with its amazing blends. Get 20% off using our code straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Reccs discussed:  “People Find Me Quite Controversial”: Molly-Mae for British Vogue by Sirin Kale Nightbitch (out 6 December)  Wolf Like Me, Amazon Prime Anora, in cinemas now  A Night at Cannes With the Strippers of Sean Baker's Anora, Vulture Mikey Madison: from Tarantino bit part to hot tip for an Oscar playing a sex worker, Guardian  Better Things, BBC iPlayer The Oscar contender with a Russia problem, Telegraph Bad Sisters, Apple TV Sharon Horgan on Newsweek podcast   Sharon Horgan on Love Lives with Dolly Alderton podcast  Rivals, Disney + Memo to my family: Stop asking me when I'm going to make you grandparents, Independent  People Aren't Sure About Having Kids. She Helps Them Decide, Time

What would an 18-year-old you want to ask your 39-year-old future self if you met them during a hallucinogenic mushroom trip? That's the amazing conceit behind new Margot Robbie-produced rom-com My Old Ass. We review the film while chatting all about teen nostalgia and the passing of time. Plus, why on earth didn't Jamie Oliver hire a sensitivity reader for his cancelled new children's book? And Kathleen has only just recovered from watching the ever-divisive Demi Moore body-horror The Substance, which Ellie reviewed here last month, so we discuss! DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm! Huge thanks to our sponsor⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Yonder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you'll actually *want* to use, beloved by foodies like us. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠yonder.com/straightup⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Yonder membership is subject to eligibility and you'll need to be over 18 and a UK resident to apply. If you sign up, only borrow what you can afford to pay back. The representative rate is 66.7% APR variable. Membership fees and other T&Cs may apply.  We're also over the moon to be partnered with the British Film Institute to tell you about our favourite films dropping on ⁠BFI Player. BFI Player offers a 14-day free trial for new users PLUS our hunnies get an extra month free with the code STRAIGHTUP. Head to⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠player.bfi.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠to stream now! We're back working with our OG faves London Nootropics, the adaptogenic coffee brand that has literally changed our lives with its amazing blends. Get 20% off using our code straightup at⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Reccs discussed:  Barry Keoghan on the Louis Theroux podcast The Outrun, in cinemas A Different Man, Apple TV The Apprentice, in cinemas Trump spoke directly to young men online. Young men spoke back, The Face All Those A-List Celebs Couldn't Save Harris, But Joe Rogan Helped Trump, Hollywood Reporter So Good, Emily English My Old Ass, Amazon Prime  The Fall of My Teenage Self, Zadie Smith for New Yorker The Substance, streaming now Living with Myself, Netflix Anora, in cinemas now 

You asked and we have delivered hunnies: an investigation into why modern dating feels so broken. Is it just a case of dating app fatigue and chronic ghosting or are there bigger societal issues pegged to the widening gender gaps when it comes to education, pay and politics? And how helpful is this very modern idea of self love over romantic love? We address all your requests, from positive dating stories and top tips for the apps and offline dating, as well as cautionary tales and horror stories for a little much-needed camaraderie. Plus, how dating affects friendships for better or worse and pop culture's empty promises.  DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm! Huge thanks to our sponsor ⁠⁠⁠⁠Yonder⁠⁠⁠⁠, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you'll actually *want* to use, from points to use towards your bill at the trendiest restaurants and bars in the UK, to theatre, coffee and online shopping. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠yonder.com/straightup⁠⁠⁠⁠ Yonder membership is subject to eligibility and you'll need to be over 18 and a UK resident to apply. If you sign up, only borrow what you can afford to pay back. The representative rate is 66.7% APR variable. Membership fees and other T&Cs may apply.  We're also over the moon to be partnered with the British Film Institute to tell you about our favourite films dropping on ⁠BFI Player. BFI Player offers a 14-day free trial for new users PLUS our hunnies get an extra month free with the code STRAIGHTUP. Head to⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠player.bfi.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠to stream now! We're back working with our OG faves London Nootropics, the adaptogenic coffee brand that has literally changed our lives with its amazing blends. Get 20% off using our code straightup at⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Reccs discussed:  Martha, Netflix Kill List, Wondery  Young women are starting to leave men behind, Financial Times ‘Falling birth rate? It's difficult to imagine having kids when dating is this hard' Chanté Joseph for Women's Health  The Age of Abandonment, Girls by Freya India, Substack  Fear and Loathing on Feeld, Moya Lothian-McLean for The Londoner 

Matthew Bannister on Dick Pope, the cinematographer who worked closely with Director Mike Leigh on films like “Secrets and Lies” and “Mr Turner”. Mike pays tribute. Sister Sally Butler, the American nun who blew the whistle on historic child sex abuse in her New York parish. Professor Tim Darvill OBE, the archaeologist best known for his work on the history of Stonehenge. Patti McGee, the first woman professional skateboarder. We have a tribute from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk.Interviewee: Sir Roger Deakins Interviewee: Mike Leigh Interviewee: Fr Ron Lemmert Interviewee: Dr Miles Russell Interviewee: Hailey Villa Interviewee: Tony HawkProducer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesArchive used: Life is Sweet, 1991, Film4 Trailer, Director, Mike Leigh. Film4 Production, released date in the UK 22/03/1991; Dick Pope in conversation with Roger Deakins on NAKED (Mike Leigh, 1993), Cinematographers on cinematography, YouTube channel 10/02/2022; 'Naked' Q & A with Dick Pope, British Society of Cinematographers, YouTube, uploaded 05/08/2022; Naked film promo, Director Mike Leigh, British Film Institute, BFI YouTube channel 8 Oct 2021; Mr Turner, Film Promo, Director Mike Leigh, eOne UK , eOne UK YouTube channel, 15/05/2014; America's Catholic Church In Crisis, Reporting Religion, BBC World Service, 29/03/2002; Sister Sally Butler interview, The National Catholic Reporter (NCR), NCROnline YouTube Channel 14/07/2017; Sister Sally Butler interview, A Matter of Conscience: Confronting Clergy Abuse, Director: John Michalczyk, Producer: Susan A. Michalczyk, Vimeo upload, Editor Gautam Chopra, 01/02/2015; The Standing Stones perform Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry, Dir: Dr Miles Russell. Patti McGee interview, The Mike Douglas Show, KYW-TV, NBC, 1965;

Happy Halloween hunnies! Why does it feel like the once brilliant Louis Theroux has become our embarrassing uncle? His new Spotify podcast season has revealed him to be narcissistic and underprepared, so we assess potential causes. Plus, our thoughts on two viral celeb videos: Saoirse Ronan's mic-drop moment on Graham Norton, and Tom Holland 'saving' Zendaya. We also come armed with two excellent what to watch reccos: zombie drama Generation Z and a biopic about the most provocative rappers today. DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm! Huge thanks to our sponsor ⁠⁠⁠Yonder⁠⁠⁠, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you'll actually *want* to use, from points to use towards your bill at the trendiest restaurants and bars in the UK, to theatre, coffee and online shopping. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠yonder.com/straightup⁠⁠⁠ Yonder membership is subject to eligibility and you'll need to be over 18 and a UK resident to apply. If you sign up, only borrow what you can afford to pay back. The representative rate is 66.7% APR variable. Membership fees and other T&Cs may apply.  We're also absolutely over the moon to be partnered with the British Film Institute to tell you about our favourite films dropping on their incredible ⁠BFI Player ⁠every week. At the moment we're loving Evil Does Not Exist, Rare Beasts, Scrapper and The Assistant. BFI Player offers a 14-day free trial for new users PLUS our hunnies get an extra month free with the code STRAIGHTUP. Head to⁠⁠ ⁠⁠player.bfi.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠to stream now! We're back working with our OG faves London Nootropics, the adaptogenic coffee brand that has literally changed our lives with its amazing blends. Amazing health benefits plus no anxiety or jitters. Win! Get 20% off using our code straightup at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠londonnootropics.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Reccos/culture discussed Law Roach, the architect of Zendaya's red carpet style, The New Yorker  Generation Z, Channel 4  Sue Johnston is the greatest zombie to grace our screens in decades (Joel Golby) Guardian Kudu Grill  The Louis Theroux Podcast, Spotify  The Louis Theroux Podcast review — his worst interview yet, Times  Grounded with Louis Theroux BBC Sounds Kneecap, BFI Player  “She's Fascinating Eating Cornflakes”: The Endlessly Alluring Saoirse Ronan On Blitz, Kids And Marital Bliss The Outrun, in cinemas now Blitz, in cinemas now  Paul Mescal enters the arena, GQ  Big Boys, Channel 4

The boys head back to 1945 England, where not much was happening (just kidding), to watch David Lean's 'Brief Encounter' as part of our Random Year Generator series. David Lean's first three films, including this one, were all Noël Coward adaptations! Didn't expect that from the guy who gave us 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'. We're a drinking podcast trying to keep it positive, but somehow, Dave got buzzed over 25 times talking about this romantic drama rated the #2 Greatest British Film of all time by the British Film Institute! Grab a beer and listen along. Our phone number is 646-484-9298. It accepts texts or voice messages.  0:00 Intro; 6:38 Gripes; 12:23 1945 Year in Review; 24:14 Films of 1945: Brief Encounter; 1:03:44 What You Been Watching?; 1:13:16 Next Week's Movie Announcement Additional Cast/Crew: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey, Cyril Raymond, Everley Gregg, Marjorie Mars, Robert Krasker, Anthony Havelock-Allan Hosts: Dave Green, Jeff Ostermueller, John Say Edited & Produced by Dave Green. Beer Sponsor: Carlos Barrozo Music Sponsor: Dasein Dasein on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/77H3GPgYigeKNlZKGx11KZ 
Dasein on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dasein/1637517407 Additional Tags: Michigan kicking GM's ass, Michael Moore, Syrian Aramaic, Matilda, The Sopranos, Star Wars, Acolyte, Uncle Buck, Godzilla Minus One, Auckland, New Zealand, Wilhelm Yell, Wilhelm Scream, Prince Charles, King Charles, John Wayne, Charleton Heston, Preparation H, Hemmoroids, Harr yDean Stanton, CVS, Duane Reade, Walgreens, Road Rash, The Lion King, Pivot, Ross, Friends, Couch, NASA, Killers of the Flower Moon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorcese, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemmons, David Ellison, David Zazlav, Al Jolson, Oscars, Academy Awards, BFI, BAFTA, BAFTAS, British Cinema. England, Vienna, Leopoldstadt, The Golden Globes, Past Lives, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, The Holiday, The Crown: Season 6 part 2, Napoleon, Ferrari, Beer, Scotch, Travis Scott, U2, Apple, Apple Podcasts, 101 Dalmatians, The Parent Trap, Switzerland, West Side Story, Wikipedia, Adelaide, Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Melbourne, Indonesia, Java, Jakarta, Bali, Guinea, The British, England, The SEC, Ronald Reagan, Stock Buybacks, Marvel, MCU, DCEU, Film, Movies, Southeast Asia, The Phillippines, Vietnam, America, The US, Academy Awards, WGA Strike, SAG-AFTRA, SAG Strike, Peter Weir. 

For the 17th TMR Movie Roundtable we welcome back our good friends Frank Johnson, Antony Rotunno and Mark Campbell for another four-way discussion, this time on the cult British supernatural horror film The Appoinrment (1981/2) starring Edward Woodward and directed by Lindsey C Vickers. "An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror. Unable to attend his daughter's violin recital, suburban father Ian—played by Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man)—is haunted by a series of prophetic nightmares that seem to foresee a looming tragedy. Are dark forces gathering to be unleashed upon him?"—BFI.org.uk After initial screenings at film festivals in the early 1980s, The Appointment wasn't released in cinemas or on television (for various unfathomable reasons) but only on home media, although it did eventually get broadcast on UK regional television in the 1990s—a showing that, ironically enough, its director missed!. Ever since, many have searched for the film—religiously scanning TV schedules and hunting in second-hand shops in the hope tracking down one of those old VHS or Betamax video tapes—but it was not until 2022 that the film became widely available once again thanks to the British Film Institute and the film's director Lindsey Vickers (who was extensively involved in the project). The Appointment is now available on Blu-ray Disc as part of the BFI Flipside series (see show notes). Join us as we discuss the production and reflect theologically/philosophically on the themes and meanings of this almost-lost cult British movie. [For show notes please visit https://themindrenewed.com]

In this episode, we welcome Claire Dew, a dynamic professional in the film and entertainment industry. Claire's impressive career spans over a decade, starting with her roots in the creative world at the University of Greenwich. She has since worked with renowned organizations like the British Film Institute and the Royal Opera House, where she honed her skills in film production and arts management. Claire's journey is a testament to the power of passion and perseverance. She shares her experiences of leaving home to chase a creative career, navigating the challenges of the film and entertainment industry, and the lessons she has learned along the way. From working on independent films to managing large-scale productions, Claire's story is one of dedication, resilience, and creative fulfillment. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/noodiase/message