Podcast appearances and mentions of colin warner

My Story   Talk 24 Developing the curriculum and choosing the faculty Welcome to Talk 24 where I'm reflecting on God's goodness to me throughout my life. Last time I was talking about all the improvements we were able to make to the campus at Mattersey. We were, of course, grateful to the Lord for these improvements, especially for the provision of sufficient finances to build the new hall of residence and the beautiful new Chapel and classrooms. But these were never an end in themselves. They were the means to an end. Their purpose was to facilitate the training and education of men and women to understand the Bible and to become more effective servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.   But even more important than the erection of buildings was the development of the curriculum and the choosing of the faculty. And to do that it was first necessary to determine our aims and objectives. What follows is taken from one of our early college prospectuses. If the terminology sounds a little old-fashioned today, please remember that it's now almost half a century since I first wrote them. The NIV had only just been published and much of our preaching was based on the text of the Authorised Version (KJV) of the Bible.   But even if the language might need updating, I believe that these aims and objectives would still be highly appropriate for any pentecostal or charismatic Bible college today and would form an excellent basis for its curriculum. They should certainly be the goal of every local church!   Aims and Objectives The general purpose of the college is to train men and women for Christian service at home and overseas. This training involves not only the imparting of a comprehensive theological education but also emphasises the development of Christian character and spiritual growth.   Because the college takes a positive stand for the authority and inspiration of Holy Scripture, its aims are essentially biblical. They may be summarised as follows:   1.     That opportunity might be given to those who are called to the work of the ministry to fulfil the will of Christ that his servants should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach (Mark 3:14). 2.     That through their ministry the gospel might be preached to every creature (Mark 16:15) and that disciples might be made of all nations (Matthew 28:19). 3.     That the gospel might be preached with signs following (Mark 16:20) and the churches be established in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4). 4.     That God's servants might be able always to give a reason for the hope that is in them (1 Peter 3: 15) and to speak the things which become sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). 5.     That God's workmen might be approved unto God, being able rightly to divide the word of God (2 Timothy 2:15) and to contend earnestly for the faith once for all time delivered to the saints (Jude 3). 6.     That God's people might come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ and that each individual part of his body might so function in its proper order that the church will make edification of itself in love (Ephesians 4:13-16). 7.     That the word of God may be entrusted to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). 8.     That those who seek to love God with all their heart and soul might also love him with all their mind (Matthew 22:37). 9.     That the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit might be manifested in the lives of all God's people (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Galatians 5:22-23). 10.That the church which is the bride of Christ might be ready and prepared for his coming (Ephesians 5:25-27; 2 Corinthians 11: 2; Revelation 19:9, 21-22). Developing the curriculum In using the word curriculum, I am referring to the entire College programme, not just the academic timetable. This included worship in chapel five mornings a week, weekly student prayer groups, days of prayer at least once a term, and church on Sundays with opportunities for students to sing, testify or preach, as invited by the local pastors.   We experienced some wonderful times of blessing, particularly in our Wednesday morning Chapel services, which were longer than on the other days and where the resident faculty and staff were present as well as all the students. It was the spiritual life of the College that provided the inspiration and motivation for the academic discipline of study in the classroom.   But there was, of course, plenty of inspiration in the classroom too. That derived from the quality of our teaching staff – more of which in a moment – and the subject matter of the courses most of which were directly related to the Bible, the inspired word of God.  Of course, the structure of the timetable varied over the 27 years I was Principal, but the underlying principles remained the same. What follows is just an example of what we were offering towards the end of my time as Principal. Courses available included:               Certificate in Biblical Studies (One Year)             Diploma in Biblical Studies (Two Years)             BA in Biblical Theology (Three Years)   and for suitable candidates who completed all three years we also awarded our             Diploma in Christian Ministry.   In addition to all this we were also validated to award an             MA in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies which was a part-time two-year course. This was much appreciated by people already in church leadership some of whom had no formally recognised theological qualification. This was only possible because we had sufficient faculty members who had earned a Ph.D. But, without question, our most important course for people who wanted a thorough preparation for Christian ministry was our three-year B.A. in Biblical Theology combined with our Diploma in Christian Ministry. Over the three years these included teaching on the following   YEAR ONE Bible Survey, Hermeneutics and Homiletics, Evangelism, Care and Counselling, Christian Doctrine, Christian Leadership, Church History Survey, Children's and Youth Work, Other Faiths, and New Testament Greek. (For those who did not opt for Greek, there were special courses on the English Language, John's Gospel, and Luke/Acts).   YEAR TWO O.T. General, N.T. Christian Origins, Early Church History, The Holy Spirit, Mark in Greek, Christian Apologetics, Christian Ethics, 1 Corinthians in English, Romans in English, Anthropology, Hebrew, Media Work, Church Planting.   YEAR THREE O.T. Theology, N.T. Theology, Pentecostal Distinctives (The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Divine Healing), History of Revival, Philosophy of Religion, John in Greek, Hebrew Set Texts, Christian Missions, Ecclesiology, Youth Work, Pastoral Training.   But no matter what course we provided, our aims and objectives remained the same throughout. Any qualification gained was never intended as an end in itself. Personally, I saw my own academic qualifications rather like the apostle Paul saw his Roman citizenship. He certainly would not glory in it. It meant nothing compared with the excellency of knowing Christ, but he wasn't afraid to make use of it when appropriate (Acts 22:25-28).   I knew that the success of the curriculum could only be measured by the extent to which its aims and objectives were being fulfilled in the lives of the students. And that could certainly not be accomplished by academic learning alone. Our students were accepted on this understanding. Any academic achievement they might gain would be a bonus. Their primary motivation must be a sense of calling, a desire to serve Jesus.   Choosing the faculty And, of course, our biblical aims and objectives so important to the development of our curriculum were equally relevant to the choosing of those who would be teaching its courses. They must not only be in agreement with our AoG Statement of Faith but also be people of experience in the work of God and have a divine anointing to teach. Academic ability in itself was not enough. I had had enough experience at Oxford where some of those teaching no doubt had great academic ability, but whose communication skills left much to be desired!   But of course, however great your ability to communicate, you need to know what you're talking about! I have listened too often to people with great communication skills preaching absolute nonsense! Even in some national and international conferences! So our choice of faculty was influenced by the need to find people who believed the Bible, were filled with the Spirit, knew their subject, and had a God-given ability to teach it.   And that meant the ability, not to make simple things sound difficult, but to make difficult things easy to understand. I think the greatest compliment I was ever paid about my preaching came from old George Hurt when he said to me, The thing I like about your preaching, Pastor, is that you never say anything I can't understand.   And if Eileen were still with us, she would readily confirm that wherever we went people would say the same. I am so grateful to God for that ability. I did not learn it. It was just the way he made me. But not just me. It's the true evidence of the ministry of every teacher, and I'm so grateful for those the Lord sent to work alongside me endowed with a similar gifting.   I have already mentioned Ernest and Joan Anderson who moved back into pastoral ministry in 1980 and John Carter who died at Mattersey in 1981 and their significant contribution to the life of the College. After their departure I was so pleased that Colin Warner, who had started with us as a visiting lecturer, accepted the invitation to come to us in a full-time capacity as our Director of Studies in 1980 and saddened by his decision to leave us in 1983.   Colin, who is now with the Lord, was a gifted man with great academic ability and did much in those early years to steer us towards a more academic curriculum. His decision to leave arose from a difference of opinion between us and I am aware that I could probably have handled things better. However, I'm glad to record that he went on to a fruitful ministry in the Coventry assembly and as a lecturer at Birmingham Bible Institute. A few years later we also worked happily together on the AoG Executive Council.   David and Beryl Allen joined us in September 1983 and faithfully served the College throughout my principalship, retiring in 2005, a year after me. Beryl taught the first-year English course and as College Librarian did a great job in turning what had previously been little more than a collection of books into a well organised and properly classified library. Towards the end of her time she was assisted by Anne Dyer, who caried on the great work after Beryl retired.   Dave, as he preferred to be called, had, like Beryl, formerly been a schoolteacher before entering the AoG ministry. He taught a variety of subjects including Church History, his knowledge of which never ceased to amaze me. He later became the College Dean, taking the responsibility for matters of discipline. Dave is now with the Lord, but I, along with many generations of Mattersey students, have every reason to be grateful for the massive contribution he and Beryl made to the success of the College.   Colin Hurt also joined us in 1983. Colin and Julia had been AoG missionaries in Malaysia and, on hearing him preach, I instantly recognised a man with an outstanding teaching ministry. Colin had no formal theological qualifications, but, for that matter, neither had I! Julia had received a word from the Lord that I was going to invite him to teach in the College, so when I asked to see him he happily accepted and the served the College full-time from 1983-85 and again, after a few years back on the mission field, from 1988-93. He taught a wide variety of subjects and was greatly appreciated by students and both he and Julia, who assisted Eileen on the domestic side, were great assets to the life of the College.   William and Anthea Kay joined us in 1984. Eileen and I already had a strong relationship with William and Anthea because of the years we spent together in Basingstoke. My only reluctance in inviting them to come to Mattersey was that I wasn't sure if the Board of Governors would approve. Three things might count against William. He was a personal friend, and the appointment might look like favouritism. He was not an AoG minister, and he had a PhD which might be seen as a negative rather than a positive because of the anti-academic attitude of some of our ministers at the time.    But the Lord encouraged me with a verse in Isaiah which lit up for me as I was praying about William: I have called him, I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission. So I shared my concerns with the Board and was delighted to hear George Forrester, the chairman, say, Well brothers, I think that if David feels that we should appoint this brother, we should do so and the Board unanimously agreed.   Anthea ran the College's Correspondence Course Department for several years and William taught a variety of courses until his departure in 1994 to a post with the University of Wales. But his main contribution to the College was his firsthand knowledge of Higher Education, his personal encouragement to me to do an MTh and then a PhD, and his help in enabling us to get accreditation for our BA in Biblical Theology. He went on to help other Pentecostal colleges across Europe and beyond to gain similar accreditation and did indeed succeed in the mission to which God had called him.   The next member of faculty to join us full-time was Vernon Ralphs who served as Director of Studies from 1986 until his retirement in 2000. Along with those I have already mentioned, Vernon was a key player in helping the College upgrade its academic programme. He also had a clear prophetic edge prophesying in 1986 that within three years the Iron Curtain that divided Eastern Europe from the West would be removed, and it was of course in 1989 that the Berlin Wall was broken down.   Teaching staff who joined us full-time late on included Richard Davis, Glenn Balfour, Andrew Davies, Dave Garrard, and Robin Routledge.   Richard Davis replaced Brian Quar as Bursar but also taught some of our courses after he had completed our MA in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies. He served the College from 1994 until some time after I retired.   Glenn Balfour and Andrew Davies were both former students who had taken our London BD course back in the eighties. They had gone on to acquire Master's degrees and eventually PhDs in Theology. They started to lecture part-time in 1994 and in 2000 took up permanent posts with us. They continued to serve well beyond my principalship, Glenn becoming Principal for a short period and Andrew a Professor at Birmingham University.   Dave and Ruth Garrard were Canadians who served as missionaries in Africa. They came to Mattersey in 1996, Ruth working with Eileen on the domestic side, and Dave, who had a PhD relating to Missions, bringing fresh insights on the subject and teaching a variety of other courses too. He was still teaching at Mattersey when I left.   And finally, at about the same time, Robin Routledge joined the faculty. A local Baptist minister with a charismatic experience and a PhD in Old Testament Studies, Robin was a highly valued member of our team and eventually became full-time during Paul Alexander's time as principal.   But of course the full-time faculty, important as they were, were by no means the only reason for the success of the College. Over the years there were many visiting lecturers, as well as various chaplains, secretaries, cook supervisors, kitchen and domestic staff, gardeners, and maintenance engineers. These all got a mention in my final report to Conference in April 2004 the text of which I will include in a later talk. For now, it is enough to say that I will always be profoundly grateful to all concerned for their contribution, however great or small. As I have often said, We could not have done it without you.  

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Today on the show we have Sundance-winning producer Jonathan Baker. His new film Sylvie's Love is the talk of Sundance 2020. Sylvie's Love is an upcoming American drama film, written and directed by Eugene Ashe. It stars Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Regé-Jean Page, Aja Naomi King, and Eva Longoria. It will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020.Jonathan is a wealth of information. In the episode, I pick his brain on what it was like winning the audience award at Sundance, how the indie film market place is changing, and much more. His last Sundance-winning film was Crown Heights which was later sold to Amazon Studios.In 1980, police in Brooklyn, N.Y., wrongfully charge Trinidadian immigrant Colin Warner with murder. Convicted for a crime he didn't commit, Colin spends 20 years in prison while his friend Carl King fights for the young man's freedom.He made his directorial debut with the stoner comedy Manifest Destiny Down: Spacetime. Check out the trailer below.In this absurdist satire, an awkward OCD physics genius and a hot ex-Catholic sorority girl wake up after blacking out Halloween night to discover they missed the evacuation of Earth. A mysterious agent pursues the feuding couple as they figure out how to work together to solve the recently entangled multi-verse and ultimately try to save humanity from AI.Here's a bit more info on today's guest.Jonathan Baker (JB) is an independent filmmaker, adjunct professor, and artistic coach. His company JB Productions, Inc. has many partnerships with artists JB develops and produces. He is a member of the Producer's Guild of America.JB worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment, first in television research, then at Screen Gems and TriStar Pictures as Marketing Manager. He marketed over forty major theatrical releases, of which ten films achieved #1 at the box-office status. He Co-Producer the documentaries Fang vs. Fiction (airing on AMC), The Real Exorcist (A & E), and Real Premonitions (A & E). Films of note include Closer (dir. Mike Nichols), Adaptation (dir. Spike Jonze), Big Fish (dir. Tim Burton), Boogeyman (#1 at the box office), Underworld (#1 at the box office), In The Cut (dir. Jane Campion), You Got Served (#1 at the box office), the Resident Evil franchise, and Exorcism of Emily Rose. While at TriStar, Lords of Dogtown (dir. Catherine Hardwicke), Oliver Twist (dir. Roman Polanski), Running with Scissors (dir. Ryan Murphy) and Silent Hill.Johnathan's new film The Banker starring Sam Jackson and Anthony Mackie comes out March 2020 on Apple TV+.Two African American entrepreneurs in the 1950s hire a white man to pose as the head of their company while they posed as a janitor and a chauffeur and ran the business.Enjoy my conversation with Jonathan Baker.

Lois Reitzes talks with Rand Suffolk of the High Museum about their planned reopening in July; Colin Warner, Lakeith Stanfield and Nnamdi Asomgha about the film "Crown Heights"; and musician Billy Bragg about his books, music and more.

In 1980, police in Brooklyn, N.Y., charge teenage immigrant Colin Warner with murder. Convicted for a crime he didn't commit, Colin spends years in prison while his friend Carl King fights for the young man's freedom.The Cinema Scribe is a bi-weekly show hosted by Author Brent Marchant. Brent will focus on a specific movie each week and use its context for explaining what some call "law of attraction" and what Brent calls "conscious creation". This is a perfect show for those who enjoy going to the movies and learning how to create our realities.

Crown Heights is a 2017 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Matt Ruskin. Adapted from a This American Life podcast, the film tells the true story of Colin Warner who was wrongfully convicted of murder, and how his best friend Carl King devoted his life to proving Colin's innocence. The film stars Lakeith Stanfield as Colin Warner and Nnamdi Asomugha as Carl King.

This week the guys introduce the next film for episode 131, "Crown Heights." The film tells the true story of Colin Warner who was wrongfully convicted of murder, and how his best friend Carl King devoted his life to proving Colin's innocence. The random topic of the week is all about the newly returned show "Roseanne" being canceled after the lead, Roseanne Barr decided to go on a Twitter racist tirade against former Obama advisors, Valerie Jarrett.

A digital edition of Saturday Review presented by Antonia Quirke. Crown Heights is a new on-demand film based on an episode of NPR's This American Life, telling the true story of Trinidadian teenager Colin Warner's twenty year wrongful incarceration. The Miniaturists takes a long-running short play night and turns it into a podcast with five new short plays from up and coming British playwrights. The reviewers explore the world's greatest and strangest museums, galleries and monuments with Google Cultural Institute. The story of a refugee's journey across the sea is rendered in an interactive graphic novel format in Nam Le & Matt Huynh's The Boat. Antonia's guests are Inua Ellams, Andy Riley and Errollyn Wallen. The producer is Caitlin Benedict.

The strength to fight, for our name's sake. The post Colin Warner – Crown Heights #ZFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

The strength to fight, for our name's sake. The post Colin Warner – Crown Heights #ZFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

The strength to fight, for our name's sake. The post Colin Warner – Crown Heights #ZFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

The strength to fight, for our name's sake. The post Colin Warner – Crown Heights #ZFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

The strength to fight, for our name's sake. The post Colin Warner – Crown Heights #ZFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

The strength to fight, for our name's sake. The post Colin Warner – Crown Heights #ZFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Matt Ruskin is the writer and director behind "Crown Heights," a movie based on the true-life story of Colin Warner who was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for 20 years. Colin's best friend, Carl "KC" King, devoted two decades of his life to get the conviction overturned. The movie is adapted from a "This American Life" story by Anya Bourg. The film won an Audience Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Full show notes available at http://ktla.com/frankbuckleyinterviews.

This time around I talk to Colin Warner who was wrongly incarcerated for 21 years and is also the subject of a new film called "Crown Heights" with stars Lakeith Stanfield and Nnamdi Asomugha. Lakeith also joins us to talk social ills, Atlanta season 2, and why he'd be the illest Batman villain ever. The cherry on top is Lori Flowers who comes by to give the formerly incarcerated and free people tips on landing the job you want.

Director Matt Ruskin discusses his new film, Crown Heights, with fellow Director Gavin O'Connor. The film tells the true story of Colin Warner, a man wrongfully convicted of murder in 1980s Brooklyn. Convinced of his innocence, Colin's childhood friend, Carl King, spends the next two decades fighting for Colin's freedom and exposing the injustice of his incarceration.

Colin Warner, Nnamdi Asomugha and and Matt Ruskin from the film Crown Heights stop by the studio, and President Obama’s former Drug Czar, Michael Botticelli, joins to help listeners understand the opioid epidemic from a health and policy standpoint. DeRay processes the world after Charlottesville with Brittany, Sam and Clint. Birmingham mayoral candidate, Randall Woodfin, joins DeRay briefly to discuss the biggest issues facing his city.

The Ultimate Sundance London 2017 Lowdown! Sundance London 2017 is the Official "spin off" festival to The Sundance Festival that focuses on independent filmmakers and documentaries. The Sundance Film Festival was started by Robert Redford has been instrumental in igniting the success of then small filmmakers and their art. Directors that have achieved acclaim at The Sundance Sundance Film Festival include Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Damien Chazelle, Amma Asante for films such as Reservoir Dogs, Four Lions, Whiplash, American Psycho, Man on Wire, Moon, Four Lions and the Usual Suspects. Sundance London 2017 takes place between 1st to 4th June and brings with it a selection of the films and from the bigger sister event that takes place in Park City in Utah in the United States every January. The list below gives a brief lowdown on the films showing at Sundance London 2017 at the AMAZING Picturehouse Central and hopefully, you'll get to see them when they come out on general release. This is another big list of films, similar to our Review of 2016 Let us know what you think! Normal services will resume shortly with our Netflix reviews such as the What We Do In the Shadows Episode. Visit the Flixwatcher Podcast Website and for a list of our recent episodes. If you want to download this episode and/or even better subscribe to Flixwatcher Podcast and share with your friends please find us on iTunes at this link. The links listed below are for the official Twitter Accounts or Wikipedia pages for the films and filmmakers.     Beatriz at Dinner Dir: Miguel Arteta Written for Screen by: Mike White Starring: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Chloe Sevigny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSi62GeoKkA Salma Hayek stars as the titular character Beatriz who inadvertently is invited to stay for a dinner party that one of her clients is hosting after car breaks down.  That does sound like a placid setup for a film until you realise that it's the setup for a "head to head" where Beatriz and the main antagonist "Doug Strutt" as played by John Lithgow clash and lock horns time and again. The writer Mike White based the Doug's character on the dentist that shot and killed Cecil the lion back in 2015. Beatriz is an eternal empath and rallies hard against the consciousless Doug who has no trouble sleeping at night despite leaving destitution in his wake. Beatriz at Dinner is a sublime chamber piece that is superbly helmed by Miguel Arteta and brought to life by the flawless casting.   The Big Sick Dir: Michael Showalter Written for Screen by: Emily V Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Adeel Akhtar, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX3Regj6nAg   The Big Sick "dramadises" the real life story of Emily V Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. During their time of courtship Emily falls so ill that she had to be placed into a medically induced coma to help fight the infection and illness. The Big Sick focuses on their story during this difficult time as well as the trials and tribulations between Kumail and his own parents and getting to know and love Emily's parents. These three story threads are excellently played out and endearing. There is a lot of love for the writing of Kumail and Emily and the direction from Michael Showalter works perfectly with them. I cannot think of many comedies that should be longer than 90 minutes long and The Big Sick, with a running time of around two hours, is not one of them. That said it is a fantastic and heartfelt moden rom-com that you should make an effort to see.   Bitch Dir: Marianna Palka Written for Screen by: Marianna Palka Starring: Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter, Jaime King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZVA2f_jtxQ   When a film starts off with an attempted suicide, as "Bitch" does, you know you're not going to be in for a smooth ride. The suicide attempt made by Marianna Palka's character is a vain attempt to resolve the problems of living with a cheating husband. Her husband, played by Jason Ritter, is so pathetic that he doesn't know where his kids go to school or even know how to start the car to take them there. The suicide is unsuccessful, however, the drastic measures are taken that results in her separation from the family as we know it. What follows is the family coming to terms with the type of loss that has never been committed to screen.     Bushwick Dir: Cary Munion, Jonathon Milott Written for Screen by: Nick Damici, Graham Reznick Starring: Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddl6sHa48Zk A girlfriend, Lucy (Brittany Snow) and boyfriend couple arrive in Bushwick, an area of Brooklyn, with the intention of introducing him to her family. As they walk out of the underground and eerie silence is replaced by the sound of gunfire and the guy is soon firebombed. He dies but there is no time for tears as all hell has broken loose and she is soon having to dodge sniper fire and run for safety. Lucy finds assistance in Stupe (Dave Bautista), an ex-marine turned janitor, and they work together to find the scattered pieces of her family in the Bushwick neighbourhood and onto safety. Bushwick is all shot on Steadicam and in as real time as possible, trying to mimic film showing the passage of time in a single take. The concept is great and the film is a fun one with a few sections of improvised dialogue that are cringe inducing, but the fast pace and vicscera almost make that forgiveable!   Chasing Coral Dir: Jeff Orlowski Starring: Richard Vevers, Zack Rago, Chloe Sevigny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W4PfXCKBPc Chasing Coral depicts the drastic dying out of the coral reefs around the globe. We see over the space of 2 months or less the vibrant coral turning white and then dying out. This is a result of global warming that has caused the sea temperatures to increase by 2-3 degrees. This doesn't sound like much but is enough to cause the coral and the infrastructure they support to die out. The documentary works in three parts, the environmental, technological and the character driven. All three impress and combine into a beautiful tour-de-force that is as impressive as it is depressing... Chasing Coral is coming to Netflix if it isn't there by the time you read this lowdown. Please do try and see this on the big screen if you can. Some of the visuals are eye-popping!     Crown Heights Dir: Matt Ruskin Written for Screen by: Matt Ruskin Starring: Lakeith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomuhga, Natalie Paul The story behind Crown Heights is a true one and was initially popularised on in a Podcast episode "DIY" of This American Life. Lakeith Stanfield stars as Colin Warner, a man convicted of life imprisonment for a murder he did not commit. The ordeal that he goes through is heinous especially given the amount of evidence in his favour. It follows the story of Colin on "the inside" and his best friend Chris who keeps on rallying for him "on the outside" following setback after knockback after setback. It's great stuff and the story is beyond unfortunate, however, one has to wonder if would have been better served as a documentary. We have to concede that this story will receive a greater audience as a biopic and that can only be a great thing! Dina Dir: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini Starring: Dina Buno, Scott Levin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVqMydFvHg The documentary "Dina" follows Dina Buno and her fiance Scott as they prepare for their wedding and their life together. That concept is not typical fare for a documentary until you add the fact that both Dina and Scott both are both on the autistic spectrum and Dina's life has been traumatic including her previous marriage ended in tragedy. The pairing of Scott and Dina is endearing and fraught with intrinsic difficulties. It's clear that they love each other but the way that this manifests physically is often difficult to bear. Scott is whilst being affectionate finds physical contact difficult, whilst Dina, a "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" is forthright, honest and craves physical passion.   A Ghost Story Dir: David Lowery Written for Screen by: David Lowery Starring: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Will Oldham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxLHP2IpBXw "A Ghost Story" is beautiful, ethereal, thought provoking and haunting (pun intended) film that provoked a lot of discussion after the screening. The setup follows a young couple played by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara just before he is involved in a fatal car accident. Casey comes back as "Ghost Costume 101" in the form of a sheet with eye-holes cut out after referring to "Pac-man" as a guide for sewing pattern. We then follow the ghost as he is seemingly bound to the house where he used to live and experiences life carrying on around him. A Ghost Story is presented in a square image with a subdued filter, almost as if shot with a bespoke Instagram filter. This presentation when coupled with the sublime score and track "I Get Overwhelmed" by Dark Rooms makes for a film that will nest in your conciousness for a long time after you first watch it.   Icarus Dir: Bryan Fogel Starring: Bryan Fogel   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQNRm6NLTSI&t=60s   The setup for Icarus is a fascinating one. Bryan is an accomplished amateur cyclist who came 14th in the Alpine Haute Route in 2014, which is an amazing accomplishment. Bryan, who had been let down by his cycling hero Lance Armstrong, noted that in spite of the systematic doping program that Lance Armstrong had never failed a drugs test. Fogel set out to prove that it was relatively easy to evade the doping systems by participating in his own program with the intent of exposing the scams and methods to a wider audience. The program that Bryan undergoes is stringent and overseen by the Director of the Russian Anti-Doping Lab, Grigory Rodchenkov. We are initially disappointed that this promising premise is not fully realised, but what it makes way for is a mindblowing crime caper that involves KGB, Putin, The Olympics and death threats and leaves you paranoid as you leave the cinema. Icarus will be available on Netflix later this year and is must - see documentary.   The Incredible Jessica James Dir: Jim Strouse Written for Screen by: Jim Strouse Starring: Jessica Williams, Chris O'Dowd, Lakeith Stanfield, Noel Wells https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFKwg3V85Ng The Incredible Jessica James was written By Jim Strause specifically for Jessica Williams after he had worked with her on previous film projects. In the film, Jessica is a theatre playwright, performer, teacher and lover who is struggling to come to terms with her perception of success is whilst at the same time trying to deal with the break-up of a relationship and the start of a new one. Jessica Williams heads up the cast alongside Chris O'Dowd Lakeith Stanfield and Noel Wells in a film that has been expertly crafted for her. The Incredible Jessica James is endearing without being mawkish and comes sets up Jessica's character as outgoing without ever overstepping the mark. "The Incredible Jessica James" is a hilarious film that with is engaging all the way through.   Marjorie Prime Dir: Michael Almereyda Written for Screen by: Michael Almereyda Starring: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tim Robbins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMGm6A7XHjo Marjorie Prime is the film adaptation of a stage play of the same name. In this world a "Prime" is a holographic representation of a real-world person that has previously died. There are a few primes in this film the first being depicted by Jon Hamm who Is employed to keep Marjorie, the titular character, company as she descends into older age and increasing dementia. We've seen similarly themed films such as with "Robot and Frank", "Her" and themes are shown in TV series Black Mirror and represents the move toward the Technical Singularity where people's memories and personality live way beyond the constrains of their physical form. It is evident that Marjorie Prime is based on a stage play in the form that the film takes. This, however, Is the perfect setting for actors of the calibre of Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, Tim Robbins and of course Geena Davies.     Walking Out Dir: Alex Smith and Andrew Smith Written for Screen by: Alex Smith and Andrew Smith Starring: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins, Bill Pullman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic6A6ztJldA A shorthand to understanding the film "Walking Out" would be Refer to it as a more personalised version of The Revenant. In Walking Out we deal with threats from bears and cold weather, But that is where the parallels end. The story of walking out reunites a father and son, Cal and David, who are typically estranged by both distance and life experiences. The "city mouse" son joins his "Country mouse" father shortly after his 14th birthday with the aim of reconnecting and to kill a moose. The story starts with the initial disappointment from Cal's point of view as he sees David's reliance on modern technology turns into pride as his son strives to save them. Walking out is breathtakingly beautiful and benefits from the constraints of limited budget in the way you can see the epic beauty of real landscape and weather that would be staged larger scale films.   Wilson Dir: Craig Johnson Written for Screen by: Daniel Clowes Starring: Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Judy Greer   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKHFZumOS94 Wilson is adapted from the graphic novel and depicts Woody Harrelson playing the titular Wilson. We are initially introduced to a lonely but happily cranky Wilson who after a family bereavement seeks to modify life and re-connect with his estranged wife. In this process of reconnecting Wilson learns that he is actually a father and sets out to get to know his daughter and become part of her life. Wilson's grumpy demeanour is as entertaining for the viewer as it is irritating for the other characters in the film but this slowly ebbs away as his good nature breaks through. The episodic nature of the story might have been best suited to a series but this is an enjoyable film non the less!   Ten Meter Tower   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8-Oc_TOPDI   This was shown as a short at Sundance London and here is the full film for you to watch. What do you think you would do?