Filmwax Radio

[6 mins. 10 secs.] Filmwax Radio’s Sundance correspondent Ronald Wohlman is back reporting on his experience in Park City last week which includes having seen 18 films in 3  1/2 days.

[39 mins. 55 secs.] Film programmer Pawel Wieszczecinski returns to the podcast. He was last on Episode 332 back in January of 2016. Pawel is about to officially launch his indie film streaming service, Kinoscope, and fans of this podcast will not want to miss this. For the very negligible monthly cost of $5.00, you can watch countless hours of great American and international festival films.  Pawel is joined by Filmwax friend Betty Kaplan, on a brief visit from Berlin.

[1 hr. 22 mins. 53 secs.] Last up, filmmaker Matthew Lessner with his dramatically eerie feature Automatic at Sea. Joining us is the film’s producer & lead actor, David Henry Gerson. On a whim, Eve, a Swedish traveler, accepts an invitation from Peter (Gerson) to vacation on his family’s private island off the coast of New England. As a series of unexpected delays prevent other guests from arriving, Eve discovers that she has little in common with the increasingly erratic Peter. Gradually the idyllic natural beauty of the island gives way and Eve finds herself trapped in a state of surreality punctuated by bizarre visions, dimensional shifting and secret soda. The film is currently available for streaming on Vimeo, iTunes & Amazon.

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

A special bonus edition of the podcast today since it’s Henry Jaglom’s 80th birthday. Here’s an hour long conversation with one of the most independent filmmakers in the history of filmmaking.

Henry Jaglom has written & directed 20 feature films today as well as a number of plays. He began his by helping edit Easy Rider with Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper. He became part of the BBS group of filmmakers where he would go on to direct his first film, A Safe Place Tracks starring Nicholson, Tuesday Welles, and what would become a decades long friendship with his idol Orson Welles. After that he directed Tracks starring Dennis Hopper. After the BBS organization fell apart, Jaglom continued making his own films, independently financing them all to date. Among the many actors Henry has directed are David Duchovny, Vanessa Redgrave, Melissa Leo, Filmwax friend Zack Norman, and a couple of ex-wives.

Jaglom currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife the actor Tanna Fredericks and their dogs. He’s recently adapted his play Train to Zakapané for the screen, which will be his 21st feature to be released later this year. He shows no signs of slowing down.

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

[8 mins. 15 secs.] Filmwax Radio’s Sundance correspondent, Ronald Wohlman, is back again having just appeared on our Episode 455. We continue devising Ronald’s plan of attack in Park City. We’ll hear back about Ronald’s success upon his return… fingers crossed.

[27 mins. 55 secs.] Actor and filmmaker Mark Webber (Green Room, The End of Love) has a new film in which he once again appears, only this time along side his mother, anti-poverty activist & 2012 Green Party vice presidential candidate, Cheri Honkala. The two are also appearing together on this segment of Filmwax Radio to discuss Mark’s latest directorial effort, Flesh and Blood, now available for streaming on iTunes, Amazon, and on demand. The film is a hybrid narrative concerning the complex relationships in the Honkala/Webber family, and also stars Webber’s younger half-brother Guillermo. The film is being distributed by our good friends at Monument Releasing.

Last up, [53 mins.] The two subjects of David Heinz’ new film American Folk, singer-songwriter team of Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth. The film follows two musicians who meet on board a flight from L.A. to NYC which is suddenly canceled on the morning of September 11th, 2001. The strangers end up riding in a broken down van across country with not much more than a few guitars and the clothes on their backs. The two end up not only forming a bond with each other, but also with various Americans they meet along the way. Don’t miss this special musically lush dramatic character study. The film, which also features a supporting performance by Filmwax friend Krisha Fairchild, opens in a number of theaters across the country starting Friday, January 26th. For details visit the official website.

The music on this episode is contributed by Purdy & Rubarth who are just beginning a small national tour. For details check the film’s website. They will be at City Winery in NYC on Friday, February 2nd, 8PM. Tickets may be purchased here.

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

On Episode 456 of the podcast, filmmaker & actor Zefrey Throwell is the sole guest. Zefrey recently co-directed a hybrid doc called Flames which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2017. He appeared on Filmwax Radio Episode 406 back then along with his collaborator Filmwax friend Josephine Decker. Here we discuss our mutual affection for films as well as for each other.

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

[3 mins. 54 secs.] My Sundance correspondent Ronald Wohlman joins me in the first segment on Episode 455 to discuss his upcoming assignment in Park City. More from Ronald in the coming weeks.

Then, [24 mins. 13 secs.] filmmaker Sam Hoffman (Old Jews Telling Jokes) joins me for a conversation about his new movie, Humor Me, a comedy starring Jermaine Clement (Flight of the Concordes) and Elliott Gould. The film is about an emotionally and artistically stunted husband & father (Clement) who is forced to move into a retirement community apartment with his father (Gould). The film also stars singer songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, Priscilla Lopez & Annie Potts. The film opens Friday, January 12th at the Village East Cinema in NYC and then in Los Angeles on January 19th.

Lastly, [48 mins. 17 secs.] Filmwax Radio friend filmmaker Joel Fendelman returns for his third appearance on the podcast to discuss his latest documentary, Man on Fire, which will have two screenings at Slamdance, one on Saturday, January 20th, 11:00 AM at Ballroom, the other on Wednesday, January 24th, 1:30 PM at Gallery. The film concerns the elderly white preacher Charles Moore who set himself on fire to bring awareness to the unrepented racism in his birth town of Gran Saline, TX. Joel is joined by his film’s producer Chase Sanchez, himself a resident of Gran Saline.

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

The king of New York underground cinema, Abel Ferrara on the last episode of the year, Episode 453. We discuss his having transplanted to Rome and his enjoying a family life there. New projects include a new documentary, Piazza Vittorio, which recently premiered at the New York Film Festival.

Then documentary editor Matthew Hamachek makes an appearance to discuss his latest project, City of Ghosts, which is on the Oscar documentary shortlist. The film is about a group of Syrian rebels who call themselves Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, and who risk their lives to document the atrocities committed by ISIS in their homeland. The film is directed by Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land), distributed by Amazon Studios, and produced by Alex Gibney’s production company, Jigsaw Productions.

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

On this episode, two remote conversations from Los Angeles, first up filmmaker Jacob Kornbluth (Inequality For All) is back with another documentary about the economy, the result of another collaboration with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, called Saving Capitalism. The film is a Netflix original documentary and is exclusively streaming on the site.

Then the editor of the hit dark comedy, I, Tonya, Tatiana Riegel (Lars and the Real Girl), which is directed by Craig Gillespie, distributed by Neon, and currently in theaters.

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

First up, Carlye Rubin & Katie Green, co-directors of the new documentary The Family I Had which is to have its broadcast premiere on Investigation Discovery on Thursday, December 21, 9PM ET. What begins as a seemingly isolated incident of a 13-year-old boy killing his three-year-old sister slowly dissolves into the illuminating the anatomy of a broken family. Also joining our conversation, subject of the documentary, Charity Lee.

Then, filmmaker Jared Moshé and actor Bill Pullman for a conversation about their new film, a revenge western called The Ballad of Lefty Brown. The film had its premiere at SxSW, is currently screening in NYC at the Village East Cinema. It opens Friday, December 22nd at the Laemmle Noho in Los Angeles, and then wide in the coming weeks. The film also stars Jim Caviezel, Peter Fonda, Kathy Baker, Tommy Flanagan, and Joe Anderson in supporting roles.

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

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.