Montclair Film Festival

Ep 499: Amy Jenkins • Joe Tropea & Robert A. Emmons

[9 mins. 5 secs.] I caught up with Amy Jenkins and her extremely personal non-fiction film, Instructions on Parting, at the Montclair Film Festival this past Spring. Jenkins’ film weaves breathtaking artistic footage with cinema verite to tell an elegiac story about transformation, grief, and the essential nature of the collective human journey. Told in an unconventional visual style, the story evolves from the viewpoint of director Amy Jenkins, whose first child is born while she negotiates the cancer diagnoses and transits toward death of three of her closest family members. By chronicling with her camera to interrogate loss, the filmmaker leads us to a bold and daring acceptance of our inevitable end. The film is still in the festival circuit and we’ll keep listeners updated as it makes its way to you.

[34 mins. 30 secs.] Then, filmmaker Joe Tropea and editor Robert A. Emmons with their documentary Sickies Making Films. A love letter to the movies, the film looks at our urge to censor films and asks why? We find reasons both absurd and surprisingly understandable. Using the Maryland Board of Censors (1916-1981) as a lens, as well as archival materials, classic film segments, and interviews with filmmakers and exhibitors who were subjected to censorship, this documentary examines the recurring problem of censorship in America. Sickies Making Movies will screen at the Sidewalk Film Festival later this month.

The music on this episode is presented by The Jayhawks off their new album Back Roads and Abandoned Motels, available now for download and physical media.

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 351: Onur Tukel, Berndt Mader & Opal Hope Bennett

From the Montclair Film Festival in Montclair, NJ, an interview with Berndt Mader the Austin-based director of the new dramatic feature, Booger Red. Also returning to the podcast is the lead actor in the film, Onur Tukel (dir. of Summer of Blood & the upcoming Cat Fight). Sitting in for a portion of the interview is Montclair Film Festival programmer Opal Hope Bennett. Filmwax Radio is part of the ShowBriz Podcast Network and presented by Rooftop Films.