Filmwax Radio

Filmmaker Todd Berger appears on Filmwax Radio to discuss his new movie, IT'S A DISASTER, which stars Julia Stiles, David Cross & America Ferrera among its cast. The film opens in New York & L.A. on April 12th, then wide on April 19th.  It is currently on demand and is being distributed by Oscilloscope. SYNOPSIS: Eight friends meet for their monthly “couples brunch." But what starts as an impromptu therapy session / airing of domestic grievances takes a sudden, catastrophic turn when the city falls victim to a mysterious attack. Trapped in the house and unsure of their fates, these seemingly normal people become increasingly unhinged to hilarious, surprising, and revealing results. IT'S A DISASTER is a fast-paced ensemble comedy about the worst brunch ever: the eggs are cold, the tensions are high, and the end is near. Todd Berger hails from New Orleans, Louisiana and has been making movies since the age of eleven (Dick Tracy vs. Dr. Bubbles, in which he also starred.) His first feature, The Scenesters, played over 30 film festivals in 2010 and took home Most Interesting Film from The Slamdance Film Festival.  His feature-length documentary, Don’t Eat The Baby: Adventures at post-Katrina Mardi Gras, played on the final night of the 2007 New Orleans Film Festival. He works as a screenwriter and actor in Los Angeles, with scripts currently in development at MGM, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures, Jim Henson Productions, and The Disney Channel. He prefers waffles over pancakes. End track: The Milk Carton Kids' song, "Honey, Honey" from the album The Ash & Clay.

Married filmmaking couple Derek Cianfrance (BLUE VALENTINE) and Shannon Plumb are the latest guests on Filmwax Radio. Both of their new films are having New York premiers this week.  Derek's new film, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, distributed by Focus Features, and which stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes, will open Friday, March 29th.  Shannon's film, TOWHEADS, her first feature is having a couple of screenings at the New Directors/New Films festival.  The next screening is Saturday, March 30th at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center.  This episode was recorded at their home, where most of TOWHEADS was recorded. End track: Bon Iver's single "The Wolves (Act 1 & 2)" from THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES' original soundtrack. Shannon Plumb is an accomplished video artist whom has created, produced, and starred in over 200 of her own short films. Her work has been exhibited and screened in countless venues throughout the United States and abroad in England, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Japan, and China. Her work has been reviewed in such diverse publications as the New York Times, the SF Weekly, Trace, the Village Voice, the Los Angeles Times, V Magazine, the New Art Examiner, i-D, and Vogue. Derek Cianfrance attended the University of Colorado’s film school, where he studied under avant-garde film legends Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon. His first three student films each took the university’s top filmmaking prize, earning him the Special Dean’s Grant for Achievement in the Arts as well as the Independent Film Channel award for Excellence in Student Filmmaking. He went on to direct, shoot, and edit (with Joey Curtis) his first feature, Brother Tied, at age 23. The film, which he wrote with Joey Curtis and Mike Tillman, made its American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and received critical acclaim.  The film screened at over 30 festivals worldwide, winning several honors including the Special Jury Prize for Bold Original Expression at the Florida Film Festival. As director, Mr. Cianfrance ventured into extensive documentary work, including profiling such artists as Mos Def, Sean Combs, and Run-D.M.C.; exploring the ethos of Mixed-Martial Arts fighters, in Cagefighter; and riding with Vietnam veteran biker clubs for Rolling Thunder – Ride for Freedom. As director of photography, he followed Hispanic teens racing in Joey Curtis’ dramatic feature Streets of Legend for which he won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. He has directed numerous commercials and branded content, including the pioneering internet serial Meet the Lucky Ones, which was cited by Adweek as one of the Top Ten Ad Campaigns of 2004; the award-winning internet documentary Ford: Bold Moves, which Mr. Cianfrance co-directed with documentarians Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky; and spots for ESPN, Honda, the University of Phoenix, and Apple. His second narrative feature as director, Blue Valentine, which he wrote with Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne, had its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams received Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for their performances, and Ms. Williams earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. Mr. Cianfrance is at work, with Sam Fussell, on an adaptation of the latter’s memoir Muscle as a potential series for HBO. SYNOPSIS of TOWHEADS: The Brooklyn mother of two boys and the wife of a harried theater director, Penelope barely has time to stay sane, much less create art. She finds comic relief from domestic drudgery by inhabiting the world in guises—drag king, pole dancer, Santa Claus—managing to find moments of grace even on thankless days. Accomplished video and performance artist Shannon Plumb makes a wincingly funny feature debut that strikes awfully close to home. The writer-director stars opposite her real-life husband (Derek Cianfrance, director of BLUE VAL

Filmmaking due Ron Eyal & Eleanor Burke are the guests.  The two have directed the film STRANGER THINGS which will have a theatrical engagement at reRun beginning Friday, April 5th.  The engagement will be co-presented by IFP, Slamdance Film Festival and Filmwax. Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal are a writing and directing duo who use actor-centric methods to create a fresh style of dramatic filmmaking. They were recently featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Burke and Eyal started their collaboration with short film Ruth and Maggie, which premiered at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival. Their debut feature, Stranger Things, won the top prize at the IFP Independent Filmmaker Lab. It went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival and the Jury Prize for Best UK Feature at the Raindance Film Festival among other awards. It was an official selection of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and BAMcinemaFest. Burke and Eyal are currently developing their second feature BRIGHT AS DAY, which was a selection of the Hampton International Film Festival’s Screenwriting Lab and the Sundance Creative Producing Lab. SYNOPSIS: Oona (Bridget Collins), a young woman dealing with the loss of her mother, returns to her childhood home in the countryside to dispose of her mother’s belongings. There she encounters Mani (Adeel Ahktar), a mysterious homeless man whom she invites to stay in her garden shed. Despite the space between them, Oona and Mani gradually form an unusual bond.

SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM co-directors/co-writers/co-producers Ruben Amar & Lola Bessis are the guests on this Filmwax Radio dispatch from SxSW.  The end track is "Tower on The Hill" by Toys and Tiny Instruments. SYNOPSIS: SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM is a comedy-drama depicting three intertwined storylines. Maggie? Rainbow? Leeward and Mary cannot even agree on their three year old daughter’s name anymore. Mary is a hardworking nurse who dreams of only one thing : changing her life around. She resents her husband for being an irresponsible, overgrown adolescent incapable of holding down a job. Leeward is an atypical, idealistic musician who fancies himself a misunderstood artist and a New Age visionary. Enter Lilas, a 19 year old French artist and daughter of a world famous painter, who’s trying to make it in New York and get away from her overbearing mother. When the bubbly young woman moves into the couple’s tiny Chinatown apartment, their already fragile balance is upset even further.

I AM DIVINE filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz (VITO) is the guest on this special Filmwax Radio dispatch at the SxSW film festival. End track:  "You Think You're A Man" from the album, The Essential Divine. Jeffrey Schwarz is President & CEO of Automat Pictures, a leading producer of studio EPKs (electronic press kit), Blu-ray and DVD content, original television programming, and documentary feature films. Since the company’s founding in 2000, he has produced content for major studio releases for directors such as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard, Sam Mendes, Wes Craven, Rob Reiner, Joe Dante, Barry Sonnenfeld, Adam Shankman, Paul Verhoeven, John Carpenter, Chris Columbus, Sidney Lumet, and the Coen Brothers. Television productions include Starz’s Sex and the Cinema, In the Gutter, Hitchcocked! and Shooting the Police: Cops on Film, IFC’s Reservoir Dogs Revisited and Still Swingin’, and multiple episodes of HBO First Look. In 2010, Automat Pictures provided exclusive backstage content for the Academy Awards produced by Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic. In 2008, Jeffrey premiered the GayVN award winning feature documentary Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, a portrait of adult film star Jack Wrangler. It is distributed by TLA Releasing and had its television debut on the LOGO network. Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story, about the legendary Hollywood showman, won the 2007 AFI Fest Documentary Audience Award among many other festival honors. It was released in 2009 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and has aired on both Turner Classic Movies and The Documentary Channel. His latest documentary feature is HBO Documentary Films’ Vito, about the beloved gay activist and author of The Celluloid Closet. It premiered at the 2011 New York Film Festival, and made its television debut on HBO in July, 2012. He is currently in production on Tab Hunter Confidential, based on the 1950s screen heartthrob's New York Times bestseller. SYNOPSIS: Harris Glenn Milstead, aka DIVINE (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine succeeded in becoming an internationally recognized icon, recording artist, and character actor of stage and screen. Glenn went from the often-mocked, schoolyard fat kid to underdog royalty, standing up for millions of gay men and women, drag queens and punk rockers, and countless other socially ostracized misfits and freaks. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture.

Indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg visits Filmwax Radio recording from Austin, Texas in the last of these dispatches from the SxSW Film Festival. Joe discusses his latest film, a sort of romantic comedy called DRINKING BUDDIES which stars Jake Johnson, Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick & Ron Livingston. SYNOPSIS: Luke and Kate are co-workers at a Chicago brewery, where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They're perfect for each other, except that they're both in relationships. Luke is in the midst of marriage talks with his girlfriend of six years, Kate is playing it cool with her music producer boyfriend Chris. But you know what makes the line between "friends" and "more than friends" really blurry? Beer. [From Wikipedia] Joe Swanberg was born on August 31, 1981 in Detroit. He attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale as a film major, earning a Bachelor's Degree in 2003. Two years later, Swanberg directed his first feature, KISSING ON THE MOUTH. He followed it with LOL (2006), which marked Swanberg's first time working with actress Greta Gerwig. Gerwig and Swanberg collaborated on the director's next two features: HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS (2007), which also starred filmmakers Andrew Bujalski, Ry Russo-Young, and Mark Duplass and marked Swanberg's first collaboration with animator and actor Kent Osborne; and NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS (2008), on which Gerwig shared a directing credit. Swanberg's next feature, ALEXANDER THE LAST, was produced by Noah Baumbach, who would later cast Gerwig opposite Ben Stiller in his 2010 film GREENBERG. After spending all of 2009 working on Silver Bullets, Swanberg finished seven features in 2010: UNCLE KENT, Caitlin Plays Herself, THE ZONE, ART HISTORY, SILVER BULLETS, PRIVACE SETTING and AUTOEROTIC (co-directed with horror filmmaker Adam Wingard). UNCLE KENT premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and SILVER BULLETS and ART HISTORY premiered at the Berlinale in February. The rest of the 2010 films premiered theatrically in 2011 after screenings at film festivals. Four of these were later included in Joe Swanberg: Collected Films 2011, a DVD boxed set from the music and video label Factory 25.

Co-founders of the marketing & outreach company, Film Presence, Sarah Kiener &  Merrill Sterritt,  sit with Filmwax Radio host Kristin McCracken to discusse everything from social media to crowdsourcing to event-based screenings. Film Presence is a boutique marketing and outreach company co-founded by Sara Kiener and Merrill Sterritt. Film Presence combines event-based theatrical screenings with strong outreach partnerships to boost box office sales and maximize the word of mouth leading up to a theatrical engagement. Outreach projects previously managed by Film Presence include Frederick Wiseman’s LA DANSE, Nicole Opper’s “Off and Running,” Andrew Jacob’s FOUR SEASONS LODGE, Tamra Davis’ “JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT: THE RADIANT CHILD, Yael Hersonski’s “A FILM UNFINISHED, Lucy Walker’s WASTELAND, and HOWL by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.

Austin-based filmmaker Sean Gallagher and actor/filmmaker Jonny Mars discuss their new film, GOOD NIGHT, which also stars among its ensemble of actors, Filmwax Radio friend Alex Karpovsky. The film is having its world premiere at SxSW this year. SYNOPSIS: Leigh's 29th birthday party takes a sudden turn when she announces that the evening may be the last time her friends see her alive. A night of questions, coping and debauchery immediately follow.

A TEACHER filmmaker Hannah Fidell and two of its primary actors, Lindsay Burdge & Will Brittain, are the guests on this dispatch episode from the SxSW Film Festival in Austin. SYNOPSIS: Diana (Burdge), a young, attractive teacher at a suburban Texas high school, is well-liked by her students and colleagues. Her life seems to be following the status quo, but in reality she’s having a secret affair with her student Eric (Brittain). She confides in no one but him, reveling in the teenage terrain of sexting and backseat quickies. Even when the risk of discovery looms over their relationship, her investment in the fantasy remains stronger than reality. Unable to control herself, she heads down a reckless path of self-destruction. Picked up Oscilloscope Labs.

Filmmaker Judith Helfand, co-founder of Chicken & Egg Pictures, discusses the SWAMI program at True/False Fest. Judith Helfand is best known for her ability to take the dark and cynical worlds of chemical exposure, heedless corporate behavior and environmental injustice and them personal, resonant, and even entertaining. Her award-winning films, three of which had world premieres at Sundance, were all nationally broadcast on PBS, HBO, and The Sundance Channel and were linked to rigorous engagement. They include: The Uprising of ’34 (co-directed with veteran George Stoney, Blue Vinyl, and Everything’s Cool (co-directed with Daniel B. Gold), and the Peabody Award-winning A Healthy Baby Girl. An educated and committed field-builder, Judith also co-founded Working Films. She is currently in post-production on Cooked, a feature documentary about extreme heat, the politics of disaster, and survival by zip code. She serves on the board of Great Small Works and The Lower East Side Girls Club.

Filmmaker Ramona Diaz and her executive producers, Capella Fahoome Brogden & Josh Green, visit Filmwax Radio for a conversation about their new documentary, DON'T STOP BELIEVIN': EVERYMAN'S JOURNEY. DON'T STOP BELIEVIN': EVERYMAN'S JOURNEY follows the real life rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale of Filipino Arnel Pineda, who was plucked from YouTube to become the front man for iconic American rock band Journey. In this Cinderella story for the ages, Arnel, having overcome a lifetime’s worth of hardships, must now navigate the immense pressures of replacing a legendary singer and leading a world-renowned band on their most extensive world tour in years. The film is currently in theaters and on demand. End track: Journey's "Open Arms".

Another dispatch from Columbia, MO, the home of True/False Fest. In this interview, PUSSY RIOT - A PUNK PRAYER filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin, talks about his film which he co-produced & co-directed with Mike Lerner. SYNOPSIS: Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial in a case that has gripped the nation and the world beyond – three young artists or the society they live in? Filmed over the course of six months, this film tells the incredible story of three young women: Nadia, Masha and Katia. As members of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot, they performed a 40 second "punk prayer" inside Russia's main cathedral. This performance led to their arrest on charges of religious hatred and culminated in a trial that has reverberated around the world and transformed the face of Russian society forever. With unparalleled access and exclusive footage, this film looks at the real people behind their now famous colourful balaclavas. Following the bizarre and intricate twists of the trial, we observe three young women fight back against a justice system that seems impervious to logic. From their family and friends we learn what transformed these women from political activists in to modern day icons. As Nadia, Masha, and Katia defend their convictions from a cage inside the courtroom, those Pussy Riot members still at liberty plan new guerilla performances and cultivate a protest movement across the globe. Moving from farce to tragedy and back again, the film explores how political and religious forces contrived to make an example out of three young artists who stepped out of line. But with Nadia, Masha, and Katia, Russia's ruling powers got more than they bargained for. Are you a ready for a Pussy Riot?

Filmmakers Omar Mullick & Bassam Tariq discuss their new documentary, THESE BIRDS WALK , recently picked up Oscilloscope. In Karachi, Pak­istan, a run­away boy’s life hangs on one crit­i­cal ques­tion: where is home? The streets, an orphan­age, or with the fam­ily he fled in the first place? Simul­ta­ne­ously heart-wrenching and life-affirming, THESE BIRDS WALK doc­u­ments the strug­gles of these way­ward street chil­dren and the samar­i­tans look­ing out for them in this ethe­real and inspi­ra­tional story of resilience. OMAR MULLICK (co-Director/Cinematographer): Omar is a pho­tog­ra­pher, cin­e­matog­ra­pher, and film­maker. His work as a pho­tog­ra­pher has appeared in the New York Times and National Geo­graphic, and has received mul­ti­ple awards. His project ‘Can’t Take It With You’ was fea­tured in a solo show at the Gallery FCB in Chelsea, New York. Selected works have shown at the Safe-T gallery in Dumbo. Com­mer­cial works include skate videos and tele­vi­sion shows for MTV. These Birds Walk is his first fea­ture film. In 2012, Omar was selected as one of 25 New Faces of Inde­pen­dent Film by Film­maker Magazine. BASSAM TARIQ (co-Director): Bas­sam is an inde­pen­dent pro­ducer who has pro­duced fea­ture sto­ries for TIME mag­a­zine, Boing Boing, Atlas Obscura and Huff­in­g­ton Post.  He is also the co-creator of the viral travel blog30 Mosques in 30 Days in where him and a friend trav­eled across Amer­ica high­light­ing the lives of Amer­i­can Mus­lims. The project was high­lighted by NPR, BBC, Huff­in­g­ton Post and named CNN’s Top News­mak­ers of 2010. This is his first fea­ture film. In 2012, Bas­sam was selected as one of 25 New Faces of Inde­pen­dent Film by Film­maker Magazine.

True/False Film Fest co-founder, David Wilson is the first guest in this montage of conversations from the Columbia, MO film festival. David describes his & partner Paul Sturtz's philosophy behind True/False. David has also recently completed a documentary of his own, co-directed by AJ Schnack. That film is called WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS and its having its world premiere at SxSW this month. Also in this montage of conversations: (1) loyal festival-goers Earlene Baumunk-Cancilla, Diane Booth & Jeanne Sebaugh; (2) 10th season returning festival volunteer, local musician Steve Rager; and (3) 4th season returning festival projectionist Justin Dennis.

Head of Marketing at FilmBuff, Julie La'Bessiere, sits down with Filmwax Radio co-hosts Adam Schartoff & Kristin McCracken for a lively discussion about digital distribution and strategy. Since March 2012, Julie La’Bassiere has been the Head of Marketing for FilmBuff where she oversees strategic marketing and brand development for the Company through the exploitation of the film titles and special projects across multiple awareness and distribution channels that include, but are not limited to, PR, Marketing, Social Media, SEM/SEO, Brand Development, Sponsorship and Strategic Partners.  Prior to that, La’Bassiere was the Director of Marketing & Industry for Tribeca Enterprises. In addition to overseeing the Industry program at Tribeca Film Festival, La’Bassiere managed and developed strategic brand marketing initiatives for Tribeca. In addition, La’Bassiere was the senior project manager for the inaugural Tribeca Film Festival Virtual. Having joined the company in October 2007, La’Bassiere was director of industry relations where she enhanced Tribeca Film Festival’s industry program and nurtured industry relationships. Prior to Tribeca, La’Bassiere co-founded and worked as COO, Strategic Partnerships and Marketing for indieIN – a website dedicated to increasing the audience for independent film via film listings and editorial coverage of shorts, features and filmmakers screening in theaters and at festivals around the world.