FOLLOWING FILMS

Today I’m joined by Mario Rivera director and co-subject of NEVER ENDING, ITS BETTER THIS WAY, The film explores DIY punk band Left Unsaid's rise from Albuquerque's thriving music scene in the early 2000s. Despite adversity, they became hometown heroes with a devoted following and mainstream radio airplay. Their journey embodies the resilience of blue-collar bands striving for recognition and success, showcasing the passion it takes to chase dreams in the music industry. NEVER ENDING ITS BETTER THIS WAY is currently on Amazon Prime in the US.

Breaking Olympia: The Phil Heath Story is the definitive, never-before-told told story of Phil Heath – perhaps the greatest bodybuilder of all time. Featuring interviews with Dwayne Johnson, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Kai Greene, Brandon Curry, Dexter Jackson, and many more, Breaking Olympia tracks the pivotal point in Heath’s career when, despite being plagued by injuries that come with 18 years of physical and mental sacrifice, Heath stands on the edge of altering the face of bodybuilding history. AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL TO RENT AND OWN FROM MARCH 26, 2024

The Art of a Cowboy is part documentary and part reality show that captures cowboy artist Steve Boaldin’s vision of preserving the legacy of cowboys and ranchers on film and on canvas. Each 30-minute episode, which is co-created by Steve Boaldin and Saraa Kami, is jam-packed with real-life action as cattle are herded on horseback, branded, vaccinated, and prepared for market. Although the show is filmed on present-day working ranches, many of the methods these cowboys use for working cattle have not changed in over 100 years. The work is hard but immensely satisfying according to the ranchers and their families. A life-long cowboy and third-generation rancher himself, Steve Boaldin has all of the abilities necessary to join the ranchers as they work their cattle. He is as proficient at cutting steers and roping calves as he is mixing colors and stretching canvas for his next oil painting. It takes highly developed skills both as an artist and as a cowboy to achieve his mission of authe...

From below the earth to the stars, The Great Basin is a documentary feature that builds a complex panorama of rural Nevada, in the Western United States, through a tapestry of characters who work, live, and play there. The Great Basin is the location of the "Loneliest Road in America" and can be seen as a microcosm of the economic, social, and ecological marginalization of 21st-century rural communities.  The Great Basin invites viewers on a road of discovery through rural Nevada. Milieus, places and people are intertwined in a collage with the subterranean water from which everything seems to grow and for which everyone strives at its core. What looks like an arid desert landscape turns out to be so much more.  The Great Basin is a DialogueTalk production directed and produced by Chivas DeVinck, with cinematography by Yoshio Kitagawa, original music by Felicia Atkinson, and editing by Matthieu Laclau and Yann-Shan Tsai. The theatrical release tour is being spearheaded by Cir...

8-year-old Aaron Averhart was just a year shy of being able to move up from Cub Scout to Boy Scout when he received a special request from an admired Boy Scout leader, William (Bill) Sheehan. As Aaron rose up the Boy Scout ranks, he slowly became aware of Sheehan’s grooming techniques and began to realize he had much more sinister intentions in store for him. If Aaron’s parents had known that since the 1920s the Boy Scouts of America had been keeping hidden files on dangerous pedophiles in their ranks while failing to warn the public, the police, the scouts, their parents, or even fully removing them from the Boy Scouts program, they would have never allowed young Aaron to be part of such a complicit and corrupt organization. Boy Scout's Honor will be available on demand on Tuesday December 13th

  Directed by Rachel Lears (Knock Down The House) Produced by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon  Written and Produced by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick Featuring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rhiana Gunn-Wright (Director of Climate Policy, Roosevelt Institute), Varshini Prakash (Executive Director, Sunrise Movement), Alexandra Rojas (Executive Director, Justice Democrats) Filmed over four years of hope and crisis, TO THE END captures the emergence of a new generation of leaders and the movement behind the most sweeping climate change legislation in U.S. history. Award-winning director Rachel Lears (Knock Down The House) follows four exceptional young women— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, activist Varshini Prakash, climate policy writer Rhiana Gunn-Wright, and political strategist Alexandra Rojas— as they grapple with new challenges of leadership and power and work together to defend their generation’s right to a future. From street protests to the halls of Congress, these bold leade...

Global Digital Releasing will release the award-winning documentary Clean Slate, the latest from Emmy-Nominated filmmaker Jared Callahan (Janey Makes A Play), on digital December 2.   Pic, which played to raves at over fifteen international film festivals, tells of two friends in a Southern drug recovery program struggling to cope with their addiction and mental illness by making a short film about the pain they’ve caused their families.   The film, equal parts topical and captivating, was produced by Callahan and Jonathan Pickett. Jennifer Pelling was an executive producer, along with Alex Lehmann (Paddleton, Blue Jay, Meet Cute).   “Clean Slate is a feature-length documentary that provides an immersive, verité look into the world of recovery amid the biggest drug epidemic in American history”, says Callahan, whose work has been released through PBS, The New York Times, GQ Magazine, The Atlantic, Sundance, Tribeca, and other world-class festivals. “Everyone knows someone...

In BORN FREE, filmmaker Paula James Martinez, travels across the US to understand what makes it the most dangerous and most expensive nation in the developed world to give birth in. From heartbreaking personal stories to harrowing facts and the words of experts both in the medical and legal fields, BORN FREE shines a light on the true cost of giving birth in the US.   Featured in the documentary are maternal health advocates including Christy Turlington, Chanel Porchia-Albert, Charles Johnson, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Senator Joe Kennedy and more who discuss the impact of current medical system standards and ultimate failure for those who experience traumatic pregnancies.  Shot with an all-female crew, the documentary raises an important discussion to guide improvement in maternal health care and reincorporating traditional maternal support such as midwives and doulas that have proven effective in improving pregnancy and childbirth outcomes.   It was produced by...

Directed by Oscar nominee Dror Moreh (The Gatekeepers, The Human Factor), THE CORRIDORS OF POWER is a riveting examination of how American leaders have responded to reports of genocide, war crimes and mass atrocities after the fall of the Soviet Union, when America stood as the only global superpower. By combining in-depth interviews with rare archival footage and state-of-the-art CGI animations, Moreh gives viewers the unique opportunity to peek behind the scenes and behind the headlines to better understand not the “what,” but the “why.” Featuring interviews with esteemed luminaires, including Madeleine Albright, James Baker, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton, the film reveals how our past mistakes can dictate our future. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER made its world premiere at the 2022 Telluride Film Festival and has gone on to play at AFI Fest, before showcasing at the upcoming DOC NYC. Feature Documentary Will Release Theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, N...

  In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a Bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes. Launching Globally on Netflix August 3rd

Ah, it's been one whole year since  The Last New Wave   started and even though I'm a few days late, I wanted to celebrate that milestone with an interview that I absolutely loved doing. This interview is with the director of the documentary It's Not Just Me  Jonathan Messer, a documentary about four transgender men in Perth and their journey transitioning from female to male. It's a fantastic documentary that is making up 50% of Jonathan's PhD. It had a couple of packed screenings at this years  Revelation Film Festival , which is where I thankfully caught it. It's definitely one of the best documentaries of the year. Even if you didn't manage to catch the film, this interview is still worth listening to. When I started  The Last New Wave , I had wanted to cover Australian cinema with all its different genres. I'd hoped I'd eventually be able to interview people along the way and talk about their films, and sure enough, I've been lucky eno...

The  Melbourne Documentary Film Festival   kicks off on July 9th and carries through to the 16th of July. Screening as part of the festival is The Gateway Bug , a documentary about the future - and that future is entomophagy... aka... eating bugs! Andrew interviewed director Johanna B. Kelly and producer Cameron Marshad about what went in to making a documentary about bugs, and what inspired them do cover this subject.  The Gateway Bug  was funded through Kickstarter, which Cameron discusses the ways he navigated through crowdfunding. This is a truly fascinating documentary in the line of  That Sugar Film  and  The End of the Line - it'll make you look at the way you consume food in a different light, while also making you consider just how beneficial our insect friends are.  The Gateway Bug  screens on July 16th at 3:00pm. Tickets can be purchased here . Follow  The Last New Wave  on Facebook and Twitter ....

On  this episode we jump inside a pop culture bubble by living with Jim Carrey in THE TRUMAN SHOW and (unfortunately) Tobey Maguire in PLEASANTVILLE. Non from the great podcast  Joy Sandwich   joins us for that excursion, but first we take a look at a Sundance hit just now making its way to DVD with THE WOLFPACK.

Peter is joined by  Albie  of the  Quantum Leap Podcast  and the new  Back to the Future: The Animated Series Podcast  to discuss the new Back to the Future documentary Back In Time, directed by previous guest Jason Aron.

Peter had the opportunity to interview Jason Aron, director of the brand new documentary film Back In Time. Jason talks a little about his journey in making the movie and his love for Back to the Future. Peter also quizzes Jason on his knowledge of the trilogy and also find out Jason's five favorite things from Back to the Future II! Visit www.backintimefilm.com for more information about Back In Time!

 I AM CHRIS FARLEY. Courtesy of Virgil Films I think Jay Mohr best summed up the experience of watching I AM CHRIS FARLEY with a quote early in the film where he says "I'm great, we get to talk about Chris today." Chris Farley is a rare figure in that his work has transcended his untimely death and when we look back its with reverence and appreciation. The tabloid aspects of his life are overshadowed by the hilarity he left behind. The team behind A Brony Tale, I Am Evel Knievel, and the upcoming Johnny Cash - American Rebel have taken on the life of one of the most gifted comedic actors of his generation with I AM CHRIS FARLEY. The film tells Chris Farley's story, from his formative years in school to his rapid assent to stardom with SNL and films like TOMMY BOY and BLACK SHEEP. The film is comprised of interviews from people involved with Chris on both a professional and personal level. Christina Applegate, Lorne Michaels, Jay Mohr, Mike Myers, Bob Ode...

On this episode we look at documentaries about a country's ties to their respective sports teams with a 30 for 30 film ONCE BROTHERS, which is about an Olympic basketball team that is broken up once the nation breaks out into civil war. This is very similar in premise to the other documentary we will review (except much different in tone) with THE OTHER DREAM TEAM. Hopefully that's not too much sportsing for our film nerd listeners, because first, we have an interview with Gabe Polsky, director of the new film RED ARMY.

We struggle to put on a podcast production every week, so we have great sympathy for a group of films about putting on a production. On this episode we try to set aside bitter feelings about SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE winning the 1998 Academy Award for Best Picture in its battle with Richard Linklater's ME AND ORSON WELLES. These two films have been inspired by the great new documentary BALLET 422, and director Jody Lee Lipes was kind enough to join us to talk about his new film.

On this episode we predict The Future of Film. To do this, + Michael Denniston and + Christopher Maynard  look back at the 1982 film ROOM 666, and scoff at the failed predictions made by industry titans such as Steven Spielberg. Then we see if Keanu Reeves is the one, with his dangerous investigative journalism in 2012's SIDE BY SIDE where he attempts to find out... just how much of a pompous asshole is Christopher Nolan? But first, Julia Marchese joins us to talk about her new documentary #outofprintfilm . GUEST: Julia Marchese also talks time travel with us, and allows the podcast version of that by correcting our pronunciation mistakes.