FOLLOWING FILMS

  Elena Engel is an award winning filmmaker who has worked with Disney, Warner Brothers, Amblin, PBS, and the UN among others. Stories that instill a deeper understanding of the human condition are her passion. I had Elena on the show today to discuss her documentary short film JOHN LEGUIZAMO LIVE AT RIKERS. In the film actor, John Leguizamo performs his play Ghetto Klown at Rikers Island prison, inspiring justice-involved young men to reflect openly on their own lives and the serious challenges of incarceration. JOHN LEGUIZAMO LIVE AT RIKERS is screening three times at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, including at home!!! For more information click the link below https://tribecafilm.com/films/john-leguizamo-live-at-rikers-2022

  Reinvigoration and culinary exploration are what drive Chef Mauro, as well as this documentary about his life. Reinventing Mirazur documents Colagreco’s life and his cuisine, rooted in both the traditions of French gastronomy and deep connection to the natural world, for which he has received worldwide acclaim. Just as he’s established himself as the best working chef in the world, something unexpected happens – Mirazur is forced to shutter as the COVID-19 pandemic rattles the restaurant industry. With his culinary vision reinvigorated, Colagreco and his team of chefs and restaurant managers work to put Mirazur back on the map after its forced hiatus with an ambitious reinvention.  Restaurants all over the world have been significantly affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This documentary is a testament to the resilience and creativity of chefs, as well as the employees that ensure the best experience possible. Just make sure you’re not hungry before watching th...

  Director and liquor store baby, So Yun Um and her father have never seen eye to eye on anything, especially not her career choices. Although his liquor store has provided her financial stability to dream big, there’s tension between father and daughter, and how their Korean culture and store have had a complicated past within a Black community. So goes on a journey to unpack this tension as well as the generational divide between her and her father.  In contrast, in the wake of his father’s passing, Danny Park quits his dream job at Nike and returns home to help his mother run the family store on Skid Row. Unlike So, he’s inexplicably drawn towards home, with a dream of uniting the Black and Korean communities at his store. He’s immediately determined to create a path different from his father’s but soon realizes the insurmountable weight of being a small business owner.  LIQUOR STORE DREAMS is a portrait of two second-generation Korean Americans trying to create their ...

  It was the summer of 2016, an election year with unrest rumbling through America. There were countless triggers – the murder videos of Philando Castille and Alton Sterling, the counterpunch of Alt-Right and Fake News, Black Lives Matter, Russian meddling – a discordant national cauldron ready to boil over. It was the birth of Trumpism, but no knew it yet.    Then, Colin Kaepernick took a knee and America lost its mind. Kaep’s knee touched down on the divide between America’s Black and white tectonic plates, creating an earthquake in the eternal race debate. The aftershocks of his singular gesture have already rippled through our country for years.    Kaepernick himself answered any and all thoughtful questions for a time, then stopped talking. And the resulting quiet has allowed for a thoughtful examination of the man and his story. It reveals layer upon layer of surprises and contradictions.  Raised in a white family, he became a Black quarterb...

  Today I'm joined by director Josh Leong to discuss his live-action narrative short, CHICKEN. The film was inspired by the true stories of real children he first met while volunteering in NYC juvenile detention centers in the summer of 2021. This topical film will screen in competition at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival, featuring a real prison chick-hatching program, that the filmmakers partnered with. Screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival will be held on Sunday, June 12th at 5:45 pm and Monday, June 13th at 5:45 pm. The film is produced by Denyvi Rose, Nadera Herbert-Bey, Catherine Nguyen and Josh Leong – all NYU students. The stunning cinematography was created by Luc Ung. HERE  for tickets, for both in-person and virtual screenings 

  Directed by: Lee Sunday Evans Executive Produced by: Lee Sunday Evans, Arian Moayed, Ryan Chanatry, Gena Konstantinakos, Anne Carey Starring: Marsha Stephanie Blake, Michael Braun, Kathleen Chalfant, Hanna Cheek, Michael Chernus, Michael Bryan French, Mick Hilgers, Linda Powell, Kristin Villanueva, BD Wong In this powerful drama from director Lee Sunday Evans and writer (and Succession breakout star) Arian Moayed, the legal thriller is given a bold and innovative new twist. Adapted verbatim from court transcripts, The Courtroom follows the harrowing journey of Elizabeth Keathley (Kristin Villanueva) a Filipina immigrant who mistakenly registers to vote while on a K3 visa, a crime punishable by deportation. Married with a newborn baby, Elizabeth, with the support of her husband and the tireless efforts of their lawyer, struggles to navigate an increasingly convoluted and nightmarish legal system.  Originally presented as a critically-acclaimed off-Broadway play, The Courtroom...

DIRECTORS | Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman, Stuart Samuels PRODUCERS | Eve Brandstein, Richard Kaufman, Stuart Samuels CAST | May Pang, John Lennon, Julian Lennon "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story” explores the 18-month relationship (1973-1975) that John Lennon spent with May Pang, his Chinese American assistant turned lover (on Yoko Ono’s insistence). With May's help, Lennon reunited with his son Julian and had his most artistically and commercially productive period post-Beatles - with the albums "Mind Games", "Walls and Bridges" which included his only #1 Hit Single "Whatever Gets You Through the Night", "Rock and Roll" and collaborated with Elton John, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson, Mick Jagger, and Ringo to name a few.  Pang chronicles it all revisiting her younger self, a naïve 22-year old experiencing her first, unforgettable love. SCREENINGS:  Online, Friday, June 10, 2022, 8:00PM  Purchase your passes HERE

RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has acquired the North American rights to the dramatic film, TAURUS, ahead of its North American premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The film, written and directed by Tim Sutton (Donnybrook; Dark Night), stars Colson Baker (The Dirt, Good Mourning) and will be released in theaters later this year. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to share both the acting and musical talent of Colson Baker with his legion of fans with TAURUS,” says RLJE Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward. “This film is a labor of love for Tim and Colson and their passion for this project truly shows on screen.” Along with Baker, TAURUS stars Maddie Hasson (Malignant, We Summon The Darkness), Scoot McNairy (Argo, “Halt and Catch Fire”), Megan Fox (Transformers, Jennifer’s Body) Demetrius ‘Lil Meech’ Flenory Jr. (“BMF”), Naomi Wild, Ruby Rose (SAS: Red Notice, “Batwoman”) and Lil Tjay.  TAURUS was produced by Jib Polhemus alongside Rob Paris and Mike Witherill und...