In this episode, filmmaker Sophy Romvari talks about how she uses film to explore grief, the up and downsides of making a personal film, and the dangers of youth culture.
Guest Bio: Sophy Romvari (she/her) is a Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto, whose critically acclaimed short films premiered at festivals such as TIFF, True/False, Hot Docs, and Sheffield. Her short documentary Still Processing (2020) premiered at TIFF before touring festivals worldwide. Still Processing premiered online through MUBI and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. She is currently in development for her first feature film.
Time Codes:
1:00 - Sophy's First Film Memories and How Sophy Became a Filmmaker
7:00 - Exploring Film To Process Lived Experiences, How Style is Driven by Instincts and Limitations, and What It Means to Make Personal Films
13:23 - Inserting Performance in Documentary
17:00 - Sharing Haunting Experiences with Men, It's Unfortunate Timeliness and Not Viewing it as a Horror Film in Pumpkin Movie
28:50 - Centering Animals, Barbara Streisand, and Discovering Grief in Norman Norman
36:45 - Getting Into an Emotional State, Grasping Memory, The Family Traits Sophy Carries, and What is Considered to Be a Feature in Still Processing
47:50 - Seeking Desire and Connections, Interrogate Becca's Intentions with the movie, Sophy Entering the Story, and Deserving or Earning Companionship in It's What Each Person Needs
59:00 - Sophy's Recommendation: Allan King's A Married Couple
Show Notes:
Trailers for Norman Norman, Still Processing, and It's What Each Person Needs
In this episode, artist-scholar Jessica Bardsley speaks with Edward Frumkin about fictionalizing her lived experiences, working with archival materials, incorporating borrowed sources into a new story, critiquing Hollywood, and the composition of the human brain and the earth.
Guest Bio:
Jessica Bardsley (she/her) is an artist-scholar. Her interdisciplinary research takes an ecological approach to film and media within the global context of contemporary art. In addition to her work as a scholar, she is also an ecofeminist filmmaker. Her films have screened at top festivals like CPH:DOX, Visions du Réel, EMAF, Hot Docs, RIDM, True/False, and on the Criterion Channel. She is the recipient of various awards, including a Princess Grace Award, Grand Prize at 25FPS, the Eileen Maitland Award at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Best Short Film at Punto de Vista, and numerous Film Study Center fellowships. Her research and writing have been supported by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Terra Foundation for American Art, and the Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies.
Time Codes:
1:05 - Jessica's Path to Working in Video
3:55 - Balancing Written Scholarship with Creative Works and Making Autofiction Stories
13:00 - Stealing and Following Impulses in The Blazing World
29:50 - Exploring the Ecology of the Earth and Attachment in The Making and the Unmaking of the Earth
38:45 - Rewriting Endings and Searching for Solace in Goodbye Thelma
50:00 - Dissecting the Power of Sleep towards the Human Mind in Life Without Dreams
1:06:00 - Jessica's Recommendations: The Hunger by Tony Scott, Daughters of Darkness by Harry Kumel, and The Hole by Tsai Ming-liang
Show Notes:
Excerpts of The Blazing World, The Making and Unmaking of the Earth, and Goodbye Thelma
In this episode, filmmaker Lydia Cornett speaks with Edward about rhythmic choreography in her work, ethnographical and observational approaches to filmmaking, and making films without a specific agenda.
Guest Bio:
Lydia Cornett is a filmmaker based between Columbus, Ohio and Brooklyn, NY. As a former musician turned filmmaker, she makes work that unites the restraint of observational storytelling with the physicality and connective qualities she associates with music-making. Her work has screened at BAMCinemaFest, Sheffield DocFest, AFI Docs, AspenShortsFest, Hamptons International Film Festival, and DOC NYC, where she received a Special Jury Mention for her film Yves & Variation. She was awarded fellowships to the Jacob Burns Film Center’s Creative Culture program and the UnionDocs’ Collaborative Studio, and she has received support from the Tribeca Film Institute, IF/Then Shorts, the Princess Grace Foundation, and the NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre. Her work has been distributed and featured by The New Yorker, PBS (POV and Reel South) Nowness, and Vimeo Staff Picks.
Time Codes:
1:00 - Lydia's First Film Memory and Filmmaking Path
8:45 - Presenting Yves's multifaceted life and Collaborating With Yves in Yves & Variation
18:25 - Exploring Tenderness and Care in Bug Farm
28:15 - The Pleasures of Waiting, Humanizing Voting, and Witnessing the Absurdity in Party Line
41:30 - Tackling Labor, Rhythmic Choreography, and Connecting Meat Processing to Human Bodies in Fleshwork
51:55 - Lydia's Recommendation: Bombay Beach by Alma Har'el
Show Notes:
Party Line and Fleshwork Information
In this episode, filmmaker and dancer Sarah Friedland shares how dance choreography correlates with film directing, the status of people’s ideologies through body gesture and movement, and working with professional and non-professional performers. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward talks about lines.
Guest Bio:
Sarah Friedland (she/her) is a filmmaker and choreographer working at the intersection of moving images and moving bodies. Through hybrid, narrative, and experimental filmmaking, multi-channel video installation, and site-specific live dance performance, she stages and scripts bodies and cameras in concert with one another to elucidate and distill the undetected, embodied patterns of social life and the body politic. Facilitating a research process integrating found movements, gestures, and postures from cinema and archival footage, embodied memories, and contemporary dance languages, she choreographs through practices of interviewing, pre- and re-enactment, adaptation, and improvisational play, shaping dances with diverse communities of performers and movers—from professional dancers to cohorts of seniors and teenagers.
Her work has screened and been presented in numerous festivals and film spaces including New York Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, Ann Arbor Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, BAMcinématek, Mubi, and Anthology Film Archives, in art spaces such as Performa19 Biennial, La MaMa Galleria, MoMA, Sharjah Art Foundation, MAM Rio, Nasher Museum, Wassaic Project, and Manifattura delle Arti (Bologna), and in dance spaces including the American Dance Festival and Dixon Place, among others. Her work has been supported by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Film at Lincoln Center, Dance Films Association, Art Factory International, NYSCA/Wave Farm, Rhode Island State Council of the Arts/NEA, Berlinale Talents, where she was one of 10 selected screenwriter/directors for the 2017 Script Station/Project Lab, and most recently by the Bronx Museum, where she was an AIM Emerging Artist Fellow in 2020.
Time Codes:
1:10 - Sarah's Film and Dance Upbringings
14:00 - Political Discourse and Imagery of Groups in Crowds
31:40 - Experimenting the Home Workout Video and Embodied Interviews in Home Exercises
46:18 - Choreography as an Intervention, Tackling School Shootings and Youth Futures in Drills
55:10 - Critiques on Institutional Form and Corporate Management in Trust Exercises
1:06:20 - Concluding Thought: Lines
Show Notes:
Crowds Excerpt and Trailer, Home Exercises Excerpt, Drills Trailer, and Trust Exercises Excerpt
In this episode, filmmaker and DJ Alex Ramirez-Mallis discusses the differences between making films and music, the theme of seeking liberty, and how to make filmmaking sustainable with Meerkat Media Collective. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward shares some
Guest Bio:
Alex Ramirez-Mallis (he/him) is a Cuban-American, Jewish filmmaker raised in New Hampshire now living in Brooklyn, NY. His films have been selected for multiple festivals internationally. His work has been distributed by PBS, Criterion, Roku, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Pitchfork, The Huffington Post, and Vimeo Staff Picks. His short documentary SHUT UP AND PAINT (2022) was awarded Grand Jury Prize at IFF Boston and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and was broadcast nationally on POV. Alex received an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College (CUNY) and is an active member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and the Meerkat Media Collective.
Time Codes:
1:03 - Alex's path to being a DJ and filmmaker
4:30 - Alex's dissecting the differences between making music and differences
9:30 - Exposing the politics of food waste in Spoils: Extraordinary Harvest
20:00 - Working in Cuba and exploring family heritage in La Noche Buena
33:14 - Following Brockhampton and showing their camaraderie in American Boyband
42:56 - Unveiling NYC's criminalization of dollar van drivers and the drivers' significance to the people in Flatbush! Flatbush!
55:30 - Making filmmaking sustainable with Meerkat Media Collective
1:03:02 - Alex's recommendation: The Territory
1:03:07 - Concluding Thought: reel print updates
Show Notes:
Featured Works Available: American Boyband Series, La Noche Buena, and Spoils: Extraordinary Harvest
Flatbush! Flatbush! project page
Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and Meerkat Media Collective group pages
In this episode, filmmaker Reid Davenport talks with Edward Frumkin (he/him) about his love of baseball, how his interest in filmmaking isn't necessarily related to telling stories, and how the personal is political. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward talks about Q&As.
Guest Bio:
Reid Davenport (he/him) makes documentaries about disability from an overtly political perspective. His first feature film, I Didn't See You There, will be aired on PBS's POV on January 16, 2023, is nominated for Best Documentary at the Gotham Awards and won several awards at festivals such as Sundance, Full Frame, and SFFILM. Life After, produced by Multitude Films, will be released in early 2024. In 2020, Davenport was named to DOC NYC’s “40 Filmmakers Under 40.” His short film A Cerebral Game won the Artistic Vision Award at the 2016 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. It is distributed by New Day Films, along with his short documentaries Wheelchair Diaries and Ramped Up. Davenport’s work has been supported by Field of Vision, Catapult Film Fund, Ford Foundation, Sundance Institute, XTR, ITVS, NBCUniversal, CNN, and Points North Institute, among others.
Davenport was a 2017 TED fellow and his work has been featured by outlets like NPR, PBS, The Washington Post, MSNBC, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. He holds an MFA in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University and a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from The George Washington University. Currently, Reid is a visiting professor in the film department at Pratt Institute and a member of Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities (FWD-DOC).
Time Codes:
0:45 - Reid's path to being a filmmaker
5:50 - Demystifying Independence and first-time filmmaking experience in Wheelchair Diaries
16:30 - Sharing his love of baseball in A Cerebral Game
25:00 - Presenting Unconventionality and Congruent Aesthtics in I Didn't See You There
42:25 - Exploring Autonomy and Medically-Assisted Suicide in Life After
49:20 - Reid's recommendation: Koyaanisqatsi
50:05 - Concluding Thought: Q&As
Show Notes:
Trailers for Wheelchair Diaries, A Cerebral Game, I Didn't See You There (IDSYT) without Audio Description and IDSYT with Audio Description
In this episode, filmmaker Rajee Samarasinghe talks about how he shares his memories on screen, playing with audience expectations in his work, and finding purpose in using footage he shot years ago. Finally, in today's concluding thought, Edwards talks about social anxiety.
Guest Bio:
Rajee Samarasinghe {he/him) was born and raised amidst the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka. He later left for the United States where he is now based. He received his BFA from the University of California San Diego and his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. Much of his work examines sociopolitical conditions in Sri Lanka through the scope of deconstructing ethnographic practices and the colonial gaze in contemporary media. His practice was born out of a desire to understand the circumstances around his childhood and often navigates the terrain of memory, migration, and impermanence.
Samarasinghe is currently working on his debut feature film, Your Touch Makes Others Invisible, which explores post-civil war Sri Lanka—the project has received support from the Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Program, Berlinale Talents' Doc Station, Field of Vision, and True/False Film Festival’s PRISM program. Samarasinghe was also named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2020. He had solo shows at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, the San Diego Underground Film Festival in 2021, and the Los Angeles Filmforum in 2022. His works have been exhibited at many festivals and venues such as the Tiger Short Competition at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films presented by Film Society of Lincoln Center & MoMA, MoMA’s Doc Fortnight, BFI London Film Festival, Slamdance, SFFILM Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and BlackStar Film Festival, among others. He’s received the Tíos Award for Best International Film at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Film House Award for Visionary Filmmaking at the Athens International Film + Video Festival, and an Honorable Mention Award at the Thomas Edison Film Festival among others. He is also a member of Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc).
Time Codes:
1:05 - Rajee's film upbringings
8:05 - Discussing the overall aesthetics and themes in Rajee's shorts
18:15 - Presenting Family Portraits in If I Were Any Further Away I'd Be Closer to Home
26:20 - Working with sound, color, and memories in The Exile
33:28 - Discovering spirits and spectral ethnography in The Eyes of Summer
46:23 - Making art ambiguous, working with audience's expectations, how festivals play his films, and how all of his films are one film
54:30 - Exploring the many dimensions of the moving image and his positionally in Show Me Other Places
1:02:33 - Rajee's updates and working with dialogue in his debut feature Your Touch Makes Others Invisible
1:10:45 - Rajee's recommendations: In a Year with 13 Moons and Siddheshwari
1:12:16 - Concluding Thought: Edward dealing with his social anxiety
Show Notes:
Your Touch Makes Others Invisible project page
Trailers for The Exile, The Eyes of Summer, and Show Me Other Places
In this episode, filmmaker Travis Wood talks to Edward Frumkin (he/him) about his DIY approach to independent filmmaking, telling stories based on personal events, and how the program Indeed's Rising Voices help his short Black Santa. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward shares his experience volunteering at Gotham Week 2022.
Guest Bio:
Travis Wood (he/him) is a director from Minneapolis and is based in Brooklyn. His short films have been selected for multiple Vimeo Staff Picks, SXSW film festival, True/False, Tribeca, Sidewalk Film Festival, Rooftop films, an NY EMMY award, and featured on NoBudge, Booooooom and Directors Notes. He is a current member of the Meerkat Media Artist Collective and part of the commercial directing team at Farm League.
Time Codes:
1:14 - Travis's film upbringings
6:15 - Travis's endeavor in commercial filmmaking
11:24 - Putting personal experiences in the visual medium in One Peg Boss
16:30 - Recognizing economic divisions and animation in One Peg Boss
21:36 - Sharing real-life observations in Kayla in 1A
26:40 - Experimenting camera specifications and executing real stories in Kayla in 1A
32:50 - Calling out the absurdity and racism in Affurmative Action
38:00 - Breaking down the editing, score and representing an American reality in Affurmative Action
44:20 - Making a narrative script and experiences in Indeed's Rising Voices program in Black Santa
47:30 - Tackling people's aging and corporate claims to DEI in Black Santa
51:30 - Working on the cinematography and larger budget in Black Santa
55:30 - Exploring love and work in Black Santa, as well as screening his short with Nope
1:02:35 - Travis's recommendation: Under the Tree (2017)
1:03:30 - Concluding Thought: Edward's experience volunteering at Gotham Week 2022
Show Notes:
Travis's discussed films: Hello Nostrand, One Peg Boss, Kayla in 1A, Affurmative Action, and Black Santa
In this episode, filmmaker Robert Greene shares the limits of the auteur theory, performances in documentary and collaborating with participants and crew members. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward talks about being open.
Guest Bio:
Robert Greene (he/him)’s latest film PROCESSION premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival, is distributed by Netflix, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary and shortlisted for an Academy Award. His previous film BISBEE ’17 (2018) premiered at Sundance, aired on PBS’s P.O.V. and was nominated for Best Documentary at the Gotham Awards. His films include the Sundance award winning KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE (2016) and the Gotham Awards nominated ACTRESS (2014). Robert was an inaugural Sundance Art of Nonfiction fellow in 2015 and served on the U.S. Documentary Jury for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. He has edited many features, including HER SMELL (2018), GOLDEN EXITS (2017), QUEEN OF EARTH (2015) and LISTEN UP PHILIP (2014) by Alex Ross Perry. Robert has written for outlets such as Sight & Sound. He co-created the Murray Center for Documentary Journalism at the University of Missouri and serves as its Filmmaker-in-Chief.
Time Codes:
1:00 - Robert's Film Upbringings
7:50 - Robert's Film Beginnings
15:40 - Rebooting a Passion in Kati with an I
21:25 - How Owning the Weather Transformed Robert's 6 latter features
26:40 - Exploring Performance in Robert's Filmography
31:25 - Constructing and Presenting Realities in Fake It So Real
37:27 - Discovering the Next Film in Actress
47:40 - Visual Looks Within Robert's Earlier and Recent Works
50:30 - The Limits of the Auteur Theory and Collaborating with Participants and Crew Members
56:15 - Regaining Intimacy in Procession and Conceptual Gymnastics
1:01:30 - The Necessary Skepticism in Robert's Latter 3 Movies
1:04:45 - Robert's Family's Role in Robert's Work
1:11:03 - Robert's Recommendation: Edward Munch
1:12:29 - Concluding Thought: Being Open
Show Notes:
Trailers for Kati with an I, Fake It So Real, Actress, Kate Plays Christine, Bisbee '17, and Procession
In this episode, contributor Sean Naughton (he/him) and host Edward Frumkin (he/him) analyze the standing ovation headlines from Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, and the Hollywood Critics Association turmoil. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward talks about maintaining consistency.
Time Codes:
1:11 - Analyzing the Standing Ovation Reporting
6:15 - How Such Reporting Affects People Working in the Film World and Ties to Elitism
11:30 - How Festival Reviews Don't Reflect the Whole World
15:28 - Hollywood Critics Association Turmoil and Its History
21:23 - Voter Fraud Instances
26:00 - Recognizing Scott Menzel's Intentions
31:50 - Concluding Thought: Maintaining Consistency
Show Notes:
For the Love of God, Please Stop Timing Standing Ovations at Film Festivals by Chris Evangelista
HCA in Turmoil by Scott Feinberg
Stop Counting the Minutes of Film Festival Ovations by Eric Kohn
In this episode, contributor Sean Naughton (he/him) and host Edward Frumkin (he/him) spotlight the Primetime, Midnight Madness, Special Presentation, and Gala Programs at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Time Codes:
1:10 - Primetime Program
3:30 - Midnight Madness
8:35 - Special Presentations
19:10 - Gala Programs
Show Notes:
In this episode, contributor Jonah Desneux (he/him) and Edward Frumkin (he/him) spotlight the highlights in the Short Cuts, Contemporary World Cinema, TIFF Docs, Wavelengths, and Discovery programs in this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Time Codes:
0:38 - Contextualizing the analysis of Joseph Amenta's Soft and Intro
2:55 - Highlighting the Short Cuts Program
7:43 - Analyzing the Wavelengths Program
16:13 - Breaking down the Discovery Program
23:04 - TIFF Docs
29:00 - Contemporary World Cinema
Show Notes:
2022 TIFF Wavelengths, Discovery, and Midnight Madness Programs
In this episode, contributor Jonah Desneux (he/him) and host Edward Frumkin (he/him) predict the Golden Lion and analyze the films playing at this year's Venice Film Festival.
Time Codes:
0:33 - Housekeeping Information
2:40 - Out of Competition Films and Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
10:10 - White Noise, Saint Omer, The Whale, The Banshees of Inisherin
15:10 - Bones and All, The Son, Tar, Bardo, Eternal Daughter
20:02 - Predicting the Golden Lion and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Show Notes:
In this episode, contributor Sean Naughton (he/him) and host Edward Frumkin (he/him) break down the politics of viewing stories about and by BIPOC communities and the highly anticipated films playing at the 2022 BlackStar Film Festival. Finally, in today’s concluding thought, Edward shares his excitement about Comic Con.
Time Codes:
1:30 - Don't Categorize Festivals and Works that Serve BIPOC Audiences as an Anti-Racist Film List and Key Takeaways in Gates' Op-ed
9:43 - Key Takeaways in Oliveira's Politics of the Gaze
13:53 - Break and Special Shoutout to Aurora Brachman's Still Waters
15:15 - Our Anticipated Features Selections
21:50 - Our Anticipated Shorts Selections
30:10 - Concluding Thought: Edward's excitement about Comic Con.
Show Notes:
The Problem with Anti-Racist Film Lists by Racquel Gates
In this episode, filmmaker Aurora Brachman discusses how she uses documentaries to understand the people in her life and shares the meanings beyond the surface with host Edward Frumkin. Finally in today’s concluding thought, Edward talks about parking cars.
Guest Bio: Aurora Brachman (she/her) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker drawn to stories about intimate relationships within families and communities. Her film Club Quarantine, about a virtual queer dance party, premiered on the New York Times Op-Docs. Her short documentary, Joychild, about a young gender-expansive child, was acquired by The New Yorker, broadcast on POV, and shortlisted for an IDA Award. Her work has screened at numerous festivals including Sundance, True/False, Hot Docs, Outfest, NewFest, AFI Docs, and DOC NYC, and selected for Vimeo Staff Picks. Aurora primarily makes work about the experiences of Black, brown, and Queer people and is committed to collaborative and ethical storytelling. Aurora is a graduate of the MFA program in Documentary Film at Stanford University, a 2020 Sundance Ignite Fellow, and a 2022 SFFilm House Resident. She is also the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship in filmmaking. She currently works as a co-producer for Concordia Studios.
Time Codes:
1:08 - Aurora's Film Upbringings
5:20 - Aurora's Path to Being a Documentarian
11:43 - Exploring Coping within Queer Communities in Club Quarantine
16:00 - The Sounds of Club Quarantine and Avoiding the Doc as a Music Video
22:05 - The Real World's Presence in Club Quarantine
27:53 - The Role of Playground and Meeting Lou (ze/zir) in Joychild
31:30 - Shooting Joychild in 16mm and Benefts of In-Sync Sound
38:00 - Liberation of Showing Vulvas in The Gallery That Destroys All Shame
43:35 - The Gallery's Importance During This Current and Past Movements For the Fight of Reproductive Rights
46:45 - Exploring Family Histories in Still Waters
54:05 - The Therapeutic Process, Psychological Study and Nature in Still Waters
1:02:50 - Connecting Suzanne, Suzanne in Still Waters and Aurora's recommendation: Nalujuk Night
1:07:16 - Concluding Thought: Parked Cars
Show Notes:
Aurora's Completed Films: Club Quarantine (presented with its NY Times Op-Doc article), Joychild (presented with its New Yorker article), and The Gallery That Destroys All Shame
In this episode, contributor Jonah Desnaux (he/him) and host Edward Frumkin (he/him) dissect the ongoing evolution and exhibitions of visual storytelling in the realm of episodic television, and the complications of rewarding such programs. Then, Edward reviews The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, Daniel Hymanson’s recommendation. Finally in today’s concluding thought, Edward talks about his trip back home to the North Chicago suburbs.
Time Codes:
1:10 - Introducing the Evolution of Episodic Television Exhibitions
5:10 - How to Reward Anthology Programs (Small Axe and Twin Peaks: The Return)
7:20 - TV Shows at Festivals and Recognizing the International Catalog (Olivier Assayas's Carlos and Krzysztof Kieślowski's Dekalog)
9:55 - Edward's review: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
12:05 - Potential of Non-Traditional Exhibitions (such as The Eye-Slicer)
14:50 - Complications of Binge-Watching and Longer Runningtime Episodes
17:20 - The Future of Exhibitions and Awards Recognition of TV Shows
20:21 - Today's Concluding Thought: Edward's Homecoming trip.
In this episode, filmmaker Daniel Hymanson speaks with host Edward Frumkin about the making of his debut film So Late So Soon, as well as finding cohesive ways to tell a story and doing principal photography by himself. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward opens up about being neurodivergent.
Guest Bio:
Daniel Hymanson (he/him) is a documentary filmmaker from Chicago. His first feature SO LATE SO SOON premiered at the 2020 True/False Film Festival and was acquired for distribution by Oscilloscope Pictures. His work as a director has received support from IFP, the Illinois Arts Council, the True/False & Catapult Rough Cut Retreat, Kartemquin Labs, and the Sundance Documentary Film Institute.He was also an associate producer on Sara Dosa’s THE LAST SEASON (Independent Spirit Award nominee) and Bill and Turner Ross’s WESTERN (Sundance Special Jury Prize winner).In 2020, Filmmaker Magazine named him one of its "25 New Faces of Independent Film." In 2021, DOC NYC named him and 39 other documentary filmmakers on its 40 under 40 class.
Time Codes:
1:10 - Daniel's film upbringings
7:32 - Daniel'sExperience as an Associate Producer
12:10 - Daniel's Meeting Jackie and Don of So Late So Soon
17:09 - Origins of So Late So Soon through Queen of the Battling Butterfly Brigade
20:35 - Jackie and Don as Characters and Finding a Cohesive Way to Tell a Story
24:16 - Daniel's Influences for So Late So Soon
27:02 - Daniel Filming by Himself On Set and Getting Producers
29:48 - Using Archival Material in So Late So Soon
33:30 - The Correlations Between the House and the Characters
36:30 - Deciding Which Parts of Jackie's and Don's Lives Would Be in the Film
40:31 - Critiquing Critics Labeling Documentaries as Tributes
42:20 - Filming at Restaurants and Health Clinics
44:26 - Daniel's Process in Sharing the Film with Don and Jackie
48:58 - Sound Design in So Late So Soon
51:35 - Visual Effects and Daniel Not Including His Physical Self in So Late So Soon
54:44 - The Theme of Avoid Letting Go and Life After So Late So Soon
57:03 - Daniel Making a So Late So Soon follow-up Wind Up and His Involvement in Isidore Bethel's Acts of Love
1:01:43 - Daniel's recommendation: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
1:03:28 - Concluding Thought: Edward Being Neurodivergent
Show Notes:
Trailers for So Late So Soon, Western, and The Last Season
Hymanson's New Face Profile and 2022 Filmmaker Magazine Interview
In this episode, contributor Sean Naughton (he/him) and host Edward Frumkin (he/him) dissect the highly anticipated films playing at 2022 Outfest LA. Then Edward reviews Casting JonBenet, Alexandra Stergiou's recommendation. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward talks how his podcast is a career.
Time Codes:
1:00 - Outfest LA and 2022 Centerpieces/Gala Films (Anything's Possible, They/Them, Mama Bears)
5:30 - Legacy Film Programs (Nightbreed, Punks)
8:40 - Documentaries (Sirens, Framing Agnes)
10:26 - Edward's Review: Casting JonBenet
13:19 - Festival Favorites (Mars One, Dos Estaciones, Three Headed Beast, It Runs in the Family)
16:05 - Shorts (Colman Domingo's North Star and New Moon)
19:03 - Other Shout-Outs and Wrap-up Statements
24:38 - Concluding Thought: Edward's argument on how reelprint is a career for him
Show Notes:
In this episode filmmaker Alexandra Stergiou discusses their experience as a casting director, the themes of performance and coming of age present in her works, and the commodification of queerness. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward talks about sleeping.
Guest Bio:
Alexandra Stergiou (she/they) is a filmmaker whose work explores aesthetics that bridge fiction and nonfiction, queerness, coming-of-age, and pop culture. Her films have been recommended by The New York Times, The New Yorker, Independent Lens, and Filmmaker Magazine. This body of work has also screened in festivals and cultural institutions nationwide, including DOC NYC, Big Sky, IFFBoston, SXSW Edu, SF DocFest, the Athens International Film and Video Festival, the Columbus International Film & Video Festival, SF Shorts, the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian, and The Jewish Museum of New York City. Alexandra has received support from ITVS, If/Then Shorts, World of Wonder, and the Tribeca Film Institute and has streamed across S/VOD platforms and acquired by Independent Lens, Fuse TV, and The New Yorker.
Alexandra has balanced these award-winning independent films with work-for-hire as a producer, shooter, and editor for big brands, bold stories, and major talent. Right before the world shut down, she was a segment director and producer on the award-wnning British series Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King, which chronicles the comeback of the heavyweight champion of the world.
Time Codes:
1:18 - Alexandra's Film Upbringings
6:19 - Edward and Alexandra sharing their hometowns and connecting with their work
11:56 - The Making of Citizen Zero
17:50 - Showing the Present in Citizen Zero
24:13 - Differentiating Alexandra's "Normal High School" vs. Society's Normal High Schools" in The Candidates
31:43 - Showing Performance in The Candidates
38:50 - Marketing The Candidates to Multiple Audiences
46:36 - Behind the Scenes of Jewel's Hunt
50:45 - Maintaining Good Vibes with a Filmmaking Team and Its Relationship with the Film's Quality
57:50 - Alexandra Tackling "Coming Out" in The Act of Coming Out
1:04:33 - Bringing Expectations and Inserting Surprise Elements in The Act of Coming Out and Avoiding Posed Questions in the Film
1:13:40 - Making the Film as a Huge Relief for Alexandra and Alexandra Being a Stage Partner
1:21:58 - Alexandra recommendations: Kitty Green and Robert Greene Films
1:25:10 - Concluding Thought: Sleep
Show Notes:
In this episode, contributor Sean Naughton (he/him) and host Edward Frumkin share their highly anticipated films playing at 2022 Sheffield DocFest and predict the fest's competition winners. Then, Edward shares his experience at 2022 Tribeca Festival. Finally in today's concluding thought, Edward shares his experience living with a third roommate.
Time Codes:
1:37 - Sheffield's International Shorts Competition
6:10 - Sheffield's International First Feature Competition
12:10 - Sheffield's International Film Competition
19:26 - Edward's Tribeca Experience
23:05 - Honorable Mentions of Other Films at the Festival
31:36 - Concluding Thought: Edward living with a third roommate.
Show Notes: