Please consider donating to the Rooftop Films Kickstarter. These types of asks are awkward, we get it. We’re not professional fundraisers, we’re film lovers, just like you. But we depend on your support to create wild and innovative events like the ones pictured below. *** It a time when audiences have unlimited options available at their […]

[4 mins. 37 secs.] Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin return to the podcast after a 400 episode hiatus. They last appeared on Ep 64 with their previous feature Now, Forager. The Austin-based filmmaking couple are back with a new film called Barracuda which premiered earlier this year at South by Southwest. A young British woman named […]

Please consider donating to the Rooftop Films Kickstarter.  These types of asks are awkward, we get it. We’re not professional fundraisers, we’re film lovers, just like you. But the programs that support Rooftop grantees and alumni filmmakers, like those listed below, depend on your support.  *** The upcoming Sundance Film Festival lineup was just announced and there is a […]

Please consider donating to the Rooftop Films Kickstarter. Putting together topical and important film programs, like the one referenced below, takes hard work and financial resources. These types of asks are awkward, we get it, we’re not professional fundraisers, we’re film-lovers, just like you. We depend on your support to do this work. *** On […]

Ep 449 focuses on three new indie films. The first, [6 mins. 48 secs.] Fits and Starts, is directed by friend Laura Terruso who wrote the screenplay for Michael Showalter’s dramedy Hello, My Name is Doris and who was AD on Jonathan Lisecki’s comedy Gayby. The plot involves struggling writer (Wyatt Cenac) who can’t seem to escape his wife (Greta Lee)’s literary success. When a road trip to a publisher’s salon takes an unexpected turn, he has to face his own creative shortcomings and find a way to regain control of his life and work. The comedy is currently available for streaming on iTunes, Amazon Video and on demand.

[42 mins. 21 secs.] In the second segment, filmmaker Nancy Buirski returns. Nancy was last on Episode 346 where she discussed her last documentary By Sidney Lumet. Nancy is back with a new documentary, The Rape of Recy Taylor, which had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and its US premiere at the New York Film Festival.  Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, was gang raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama. Common in Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Not Recy Taylor, who bravely identified her rapists. The NAACP sent its chief rape investigator Rosa Parks, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice. The film is currently enjoying a theatrical role at the Laemmle Monica Center in Los Angeles and will be doing the same at the IFC Center in NYC beginning this Friday, December 15th.

[1 hr. 6 mins. 24 secs.] Last up, a great new documentary which is currently screening at the Quad in NYC, Quest. Filmed with vérité intimacy for over a decade, Quest —which world premiered at Sundance 2017— is the moving portrait of a family in North Philadelphia. Christopher “Quest” Rainey, along with his wife Christine, aka “Ma Quest,” who open the door to their home music studio, which serves as a creative sanctuary from the strife that grips their neighborhood. Over the years, the family evolves as everyday life brings a mix of joy and unexpected crisis. Set against the backdrop of a country now in turmoil, Quest is a tender depiction of an American family whose journey is a profound testament to love, healing and hope. The film will have a theatrical in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Monica Center beginning this Friday, December 15th. Check the website for other cities and dates. I’m joined in this segment by director Jonathan Olshefski, producer Sabrina Schmidt Gordon and Quest & Ma Quest Rainey.

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

Cinematographer Sam Levy (Lady Bird) is the sole guest on Episode 448. In addition to shooting for Greta Gerwig’s recent film —which is sweeping awards already— Sam has shot 3 films for Noah Baumbach including Frances Ha, Mistress America & While We’re Young. Sam and I chat about working for both these filmmakers in addition to his relationships with Rebecca Miller (Maggie’s Plan) and Eric Rohmer.

Please take a moment to check out my Kickstarter campaign. Watch the pitch video, read the description, and check out our outstanding rewards. Consider contributing and or supporting in the campaign’s final minutes. Thank you.

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

Episode 447’s sole guest is the filmmaker Eric Schaeffer. Talking with Eric was a walk in the park… literally. We recorded this in the late Summer of 2017 in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side. We talked about everything under the sun including the earlier years when Eric sold My Life’s In Turnaround which certainly turned around his life (he had been a taxi cab driver up until that point), and his ups and downs since then. Eric has been consistently generating work as a director, writer and actor through all available mediums including film (When Lucy Fell, Boy Meets Girl), TV (Gravity, I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single) and the internet (Eric Schaeffer: Life Coach). Talking with him was a complete pleasure.

If you want to find Eric’s body of work on Amazon Video: My Life’s in Turn Around; Mind the Gap; After Fall, Winter; Fall; Boy Meets Girl; If Lucy Fell; and Wirey Spindell. On iTunes: Boy Meets Girl; If Lucy Fell; and  After Fall, Winter. Eric Schaeffer: Life Coach and I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single are on Hulu.

Please take a moment to check out our Kickstarter campaign. Watch the pitch video, read the description, and check out our outstanding rewards. Consider contributing and or supporting the campaign. Thank you.

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