American exceptionalism is killing America

Russell T Davies’s British (by way of HBO Max) series It’s a Sin is as well-written, fun and campy as his late 90s Queer as Folk. Though QaF as a psychological horror film, with AIDS as the ticking time bomb under the table. Both rocked me to the core and inspired this latest pandemic reflection.

Doc Star of the Month: Ollie Lucks, ‘There Is No "I" in Threesome'

There Is No "I" in Threesome is certainly a doc I would not have predicted to have world-premiered at the WarnerMedia Lodge at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Set for a pre-Valentine’s Day streaming debut on February 11 (as an HBO Max Original), the project is directed by and stars New Zealand-based filmmaker Jan Oliver “Ollie” Lucks. Lucks is the son of an Iranian-Indian mother and a German father, and only moved to New Zealand a decade and a half ago to pursue his craft. Once there, however, he met an actress named Zoe. Boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love and plan a wedding. And then boy and girl hatch another plan: open their sexual relationship to other boys and girls. And, most consequentially, record their entire polyamorous journey. What were they thinking? Well, that was just one of a multitude of questions Documentary had. Which is why we hatched our own plan to spotlight the sexually intrepid Lucks as our February Doc Star of the Month.

To read my probing interview visit Documentary magazine.

"...Liz was Isolated as a Felon on the Run, Transitioning Alone”: Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker on Their HBO Docuseries The Lady and the Dale

Binge-worthy doesn’t even begin to describe The Lady and the Dale, Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker’s four-part, one-of-a-kind docuseries, premiering January 31 on HBO. Produced by the Duplass brothers, this twist-and-turning saga stars a three-wheeled car called the Dale (that may or may not have been viable) and its marketer extraordinaire, a visionary female entrepreneur (and longtime serial con artist) named Elizabeth Carmichael. With a promise of 70 miles to the gallon at a time when the 70s oil crisis was leaving Americans to linger at gas stations in Soviet-long lines, the Dale seemed to many a dream come true. And to others, too good to be true.

To read my interview with the filmmakers, who describe a head spinning journey back in time and down the rabbit hole, visit Filmmaker magazine.

DOK LEIPZIG 2020: NAKED TRUTHS – INTIMACY IN DOCUMENTARY FILM

If there’s one panel that really catalyzed my mind this virtual festival year it was DOK Leipzig’s “Naked Truths – Intimacy in Documentary Film” discussion. Expertly led by moderators Djamila Grandits (who seemed to be posing questions straight from my head) and Carolin Weidner, both members of the fest’s selections committee, the participants ranged from sex-on-film veterans to those who defined intimacy in completely clothed terms. There was longtime producer and Berlinale programmer Jürgen Brüning, founder of Pornfilmfestival Berlin, and his co-organizer and curator at the fest, Paulita Pappel, who is also the cofounder of Lustery. And Pia Hellenthal, director of 2019’s exquisite Searching Eva (which Brüning had selected to premiere at last year’s Berlinale). And rounding out the lineup was Julia Palmieri Mattison, whose short Play Me, I’m Yours was playing DOK Leipzig.

To read Part 2 of my panel coverage visit Hammer to Nail.

“Women of Blumhouse: Shaping Genre Storytelling at the Iconic House of Horror” at the 2020 SCAD Savannah Film Festival

Appropriately presented the day before Halloween, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s “Women of Blumhouse: Shaping Genre Storytelling at the Iconic House of Horror” provided an intriguing peek inside the multifaceted production house from a female POV. Moderated by Variety’s Deputy Awards and Features Editor Jenelle Riley, the three executives Zooming in included Blumhouse Television’s head of physical production, Lisa Niedenthal; Blumhouse Productions’ executive vice president of development for feature films, Bea Sequeira; and Blumhouse Productions’ head of casting, Terri Taylor.

To learn how these ladies are leading the way to a more inclusive scary movie future read my coverage at Filmmaker magazine.

DOK Leipzig 2020: Naked Truths – Intimacy in Documentary Film

DOK LEIPZIG: DOK Leipzig provided the informative panel discussion Naked Truths - Intimacy in Documentary Film. Safe to say that in all my years covering nonfiction fests around the globe, Naked Truths – Intimacy in Documentary Film is a panel title I’d never seen listed in any program. Until now. Presented at this year’s hybrid DOK Leipzig, this thrillingly enlightening (virtual) talk posed a lightning rod question rarely wrestled with: Namely, what is the place of sexually explicit imagery in the nonfiction, non-porn world? (And since we’re getting all philosophical, what is, in fact, intimacy itself?)

To hear all about the philosophical discussion visit Modern Times Review.

Wonder Women: Producers Zoom In at the 2020 SCAD Savannah Film Festival

Moderated by Megan Lombardo, a professor in the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Film & Television department, this year’s Wonder Women: Producers panel was an all-Zoom affair. And taking to the computer screen were six diverse (albeit all white) women with a variety of career stories to tell. There was Jayme Lemons, whose Dawn Porter-directed doc The Way I See It had played the virtual fest earlier in the day, and who runs Jaywalker Pictures (with another wonder woman Laura Dern). Also Julie Christeas, founder and CEO of Tandem Pictures, who most recently produced Lawrence Michael Levine’s Black Bear; and Libby Geist, Vice President and Executive Producer, ESPN Films and Original Content (and one of the forces behind Jason Hehir’s epic Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls series The Last Dance). Geist was also behind Bao Nguyen’s Bruce Lee doc Be Water, from British producer Julia Nottingham, who likewise participated on the panel. As did Nottingham’s countrywoman Alison Owen, perhaps the most veteran of the producers, and whose long list of credits includes everything from 1998’s Cate Blanchett vehicle Elizabeth to last year’s coming-of-age-in-the-90s comedy How to Build a Girl. And rounding out the lineup was Cate Blanchett’s American business partner Coco Francini, their Dirty Films having most recently produced Mrs. America for FX Networks.

To read all of my coverage visit Filmmaker magazine.