Filmwax Radio

Ep 490: Father’s Day Special Edition — Bob Schartoff

In this Father’s Day special edition I interview my Dad, Bob Schartoff. Bob is 81 years old and currently resides in Queens, NY. He was greatly responsible, along with my mother, for introducing me to the arthouse film.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 489: Wendell Pierce & Tim Rouhana • Arya Ghavamian

[8 mins. 8 secs.] In the first segment, actor Wendell Pierce (The Wire) and filmmaker Tim Rouhana discuss their new feature film, One Last Thing. The film is about a lonely Florida dentist (Pierce) who is confronted by a figure from the past bringing news that sends him on an eventful journey of discovery. One Last Thing also stars Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) and Jurnee Smollett-Bell in supporting roles. The film hits theaters Wednesday, June 20th, so check your local listings as there is a very wide national release here.

[39 mins. 50 secs.] Then I’m joined by filmmaker Arya Ghamanian who is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds & awareness about his project, The Candy Store. The film tells the tale of a miraculous friendship between a young Iranian artist (Ghavamian) & the proprietor of the last all-night candy store in NYC. The film is being produced by FIlmwax friend —and upcoming guest— Ari Gold.

The music on this episode is by the musical artist Harper Nilson with tracks from his album The Years.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 488: Julie Bridgeham & Jason Stefaniak • Michael Galinsky & David Beilinson

First up, the programming team behind the 2018 Brooklyn Film Festival, documentary programmer Julie Bridgeham and narrative programmer Jason Stefaniak. The festival, now in its 21st season, runs from June 1st through the 10th. Check out the website for remaining screenings, this weekend’s BFF Exchange and more.

Then we welcome back to the podcast Rumur Films’ filmmaker Michael Galinsky back for his 4th visit to the podcast. This time he’s joined by David Beilinson, who along with Michael and co-director —and wife— Suki Hawley, made their current documentary, Working in Protest, which had two screenings at the Brooklyn Film Festival earlier this week. We’ll keep listeners apprised on how they can keep up with the film going forward.

This episode of the podcast also celebrates the Northside Festival which takes place through this Sunday, June 10th. The interstitial music on this episode is entirely by musical artists performing at the festival including Soccer Mommy with her song Your Dog, Parquet Courts with their song Wide Awake, and Katie von Schleicher with her songs Midsummer and Paranoia. For specific details about these performances and more, check out the full schedule on the Northside website.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 487: Hal Hartley

Filmmaker Hal Hartley (Ned Rifle, Meanwhile) returns to the podcast to discuss his current Kickstarter campaign to create awareness and funds for the production of The Long Island Trilogy boxset. That trilogy includes The Unbelievable Truth (1989), Trust (1990), and Simple Men (1992). The films will be re-mastered in HD and subtitled in 5 languages, and be available on DVD and blu-ray. Visit the campaign today and consider getting involved with this exciting project. The campaign ends on June 13th.

Fans of Hartley, should listen to his past visit on Filmwax Radio including Episode 191, and two separate conversations on Episode 463.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 486: Silas Howard • Lorenzo Fiuzzi Returns

[4 mins. 50 secs.] In this first segment, filmmaker Silas Howard appears to discuss his new feature, A Kid Like Jake, which premiered at Sundance 2018 to great acclaim. The film, edited by Filmwax friend Michael Taylor, is about the Wheelers, a couple who are trying to find the right primary school for their 4-year-old son, Jake. Described as gender-expansive by his adviser (Octavia Spencer), Jake’s increasingly erratic behavior starts to cause a rift between the couple. Alex (Claire Danes) worries that the adults in her son’s life are labeling him prematurely, while Greg (Jim Parsons) wonders if Jake’s fondness for dressing up might be more than just a phase. The film which was adapted by the playwright Dan Pearle from his own play, also stars Ann Dowd, Priyanka Chopra,and Asif Mandvi, and opens at the IFC Center on Friday, June 1st.

[29 mins. 23 secs.] Film producer and entrepreneur Lorenzo Fiuzzi returns to the podcast for a second visit. Lorenzo was on the podcast almost a year  ago to the day on Episode 408. Lorenzo is back to discuss the latest news with his streaming platform, Filmatique, which is more robust with great international arthouse fare than ever. Listeners of Filmwax Radio will get an additional 20% off the already low subscription price of $4.95 a month when they use the coupon code ‘FILMWAX’ (in caps) at checkout. The first month is also gratis, by the way. Lorenzo also fills us in on the news of a new feature film he produced, Noble Earth, which will have its US festival premiere next week at the Seattle International Film Festival. If you are planning on attending, there are two screenings of the film. Details are available on the website’s schedule.

Music on this episode is by the musical artist MIRS (led by recent Filmwax guest Amir Motlagh) from their new EP, Meat on Your Lonely Bonez, available on iTunes.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 485: Joe Swanberg • Skizz Cyzyk • Eugene Kotlyarenko

[6 mins. 55 secs.] Joe Swanberg returns for his 5th visit to the podcast. Other than a mention of some previous films and the upcoming 3rd season of his Netflix series, Easy, the conversation was about independent film festivals like the one where we were located, The Maryland Film Festival. This episode is the second from that festival in the city of Baltimore.

[24 mins. 33 secs.] Then a freewheeling conversation with Baltimore native and filmmaker/musician, as Skizz Cyzyk returns. Skizz was on Episode 411 back at the Maryland Film Festival 2017. We catch up with Skizz despite the interruption of New Yorker film critique and indie film advocate, Richard Brody.

[44 mins. 43 secs.] Filmmaker Eugene Kotlyarenko was last heard on Episode 285 discussing his 2nd feature, A Wonderful Cloud. Well, he’s back on the podcast and he’s back with a new film called Wobble Palace which premiered at SxSW 2018 and has found its way to the Maryland Film Festival. Shot by Sean Price Williams (Listen Up Philip, Good Time) and takes place a week before the 2016 election, when a couple (Dasha Nekrasova & Eugene) who on the verge of breaking up, decide to split their home over the weekend and test the waters of independence. Wobble Palace is currently in the festival circuit and we’ll keep you abreast of where you can see it.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 484: Jed Dietz • Nathan Silver Returns

[2 mins. 35 secs.] Founding Director of the Maryland Film Festival and President of the Producer’s Club of Maryland, Jed Dietz is the first guest on this special edition of the podcast devoted to that festival. 2018 was the 20th season of the festival.

Filmmaker Nathan Silver returns to the podcast for his 4th visit. Nathan has made appearances on Episodes 148, 189 and 298, and we welcome him back with his latest film, The Great Pretender. The film is his 8th feature, and concerns the lives of a French theater director (Esther Garrel), her ex-boyfriend (Linas Phillips), and the two actors playing them (Maëlle Poesy-Guichard & Keith Poulson) whose lives intersect dramatically in a tangled and darkly funny roundelay set in the New York theater world. The film is currently playing in the festival circuit.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 483: Paul Schrader • Matt Porterfield

The legendary screenwriter & director Paul Schrader (Hardcore, Light Sleeper) is on this episode to discuss his new film, First Reformed. The film, which opens in NYC and LA on Friday, May 18th, stars Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried & Cedric Kyles (aka Cedric the Entertainer) and is being distributed by A24. Reverend Ernst Toller (Hawke) is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner (Seyfried) asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence.

Then Baltimore-based filmmaker Matt Porterfield (Putty Hill, I Used to Be Darker) makes his first appearance on the podcast. His new film, Sollers Point, was shot entirely in the Baltimore county titular neighborhood and stars McCaul Lombardi, Zazie Beetz, Jim Belushi, Lynne Cohen & Marin Ireland. Keith (Lombardi) is a 24-year-old drug dealer who is newly released from prison and living with his father (Belushi) under house arrest in Baltimore. He struggles to re-establish himself in a community scarred by unemployment, neglect and segregation. The film is opened this past week in Baltimore and opens in NYC and LA on Friday, May 18th thanks to Oscilloscope Laboratories.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 482: Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck Return • Ben Niles

[10 mins.] This episode of the podcast celebrates the Montclair Film Festival where these two films screened to appreciative audiences. First up, returning to the podcast for their second appearance (they first appeared in 2015 on Episode 291 with their feature God Bless The Child), filmmakers Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck. Their new film, When She Runs, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018 where we conducted part of this interview. We recorded part of it at the Montclair Film Festival a few days later as well. Unable to shake her dreams of competing in the Olympic Games, 20-something runner Kristin (played by Kristin Anderson) sacrifices everything—including precious time with her husband and their young son—to pursue her passion. This minimalist drama follows Kristin as she embarks on a strict daily routine of intense exercise, ice baths, training sessions, and low-calorie meals and moonlights at a snow-cone stand to make ends meet. It’s all in the service of the ultimate goal: a spot on the training team of a world-renowned Olympic coach—and a chance out of this dead-end town. When She Runs is largely the result of a collaboration between the two co-directors along with Kristin and producer Laura Heberton.

[40 mins. 16 secs.] Then I welcome for the first time on the podcast, filmmaker Ben Niles, with a documentary that had its world premiere at the Montclair Film Festival, The 5 Browns: Digging Through The Darkness. Siblings and Juilliard-trained pianists, The 5 Browns were on top of the world after three #1 records and appearances on 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and more. But beneath the surface of their success loomed a terrible secret: their father, who managed their careers, was responsible for years of sexual abuse against the three sisters. Long before #MeToo, and well aware that their story would devastate their family and possibly the group, the young women bravely spoke out. The 5 Browns documentary follows the siblings’ search for healing through the transformative power of music.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Ep 481: John Carroll Lynch Returns • Daniel Kremer

[5 mins.] Actor John Carroll Lynch returns to the podcast for his second visit (he was last on Episode 430), This time he’s joined by filmmaker Timothy McNeil who directed a new film he stars in called Anything. Deeply depressed after his wife’s death, Early Landry (Lynch) moves from Mississippi to Los Angeles to live with this sister. While there, he forms a complicated and enriching relationship with a transgender sex worker. The movie opens tomorrow, Friday, May 11th in NYC at the AMC Empire 25 and at the Laemmle Monica Center in LA.

[38 mins. 15 secs.] Then I’m joined by San Francisco based filmmaker Daniel Kremer. Kremer is a screenwriter and director of several films, including A Trip to Swadades (2008) and Yarns to be Spun on the Way to the Happy Home (2007). He has also written books on Sidney J. Furie and is busy working on one about Filmwax Radio friend Henry Jaglom. You can find a number of Kremer’s films on the movie streaming site Fandor.

Filmwax Radio is presented by Rooftop Films. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Stitcher & Youtube.

Archives