Filmwax Radio

In filmmaker Michael Kellman‘s “Say Less” a night of funny sibling warfare between Cassie and Max takes a sinister turn when Cassie stumbles on a shocking secret hidden in the house. What begins as ammunition to humiliate her brother soon morphs into something much darker. Now Cassie must decide how far she’s willing to go, because the weapon she’s holding doesn’t just threaten Max. It threatens everyone. The film can currently viewe on Amazon Prime Video and other streamers. https://youtu.be/yWZ1a7oy8iM

Told by operatives in the rooms where it happened, “White With Fear” is a deep dive into the decades-long quest by some of America’s conservative political machine to amass power by exploiting racial fault lines. The documentary will have its broadcast premiere on PBS on Tuesday, March 24, 10PM. https://youtu.be/7b7993E3Gx0 Andrew Goldberg is an Emmy-Award-winning investigative producer, Andrew has directed 14 prime-time documentary specials for PBS/public television, and both longand short-form segments for outlets like CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC News, Live From Lincoln Center, and National Public Radio. His work has appeared on major networks on every continent, and has been supported by more than 250 foundations, corporations and major donors around the world. Eric K. Ward is Executive Vice President of Race Forward, is a notable civil rights leader and philanthropist rooted in America’s punk rock scene. Ward is a sought-after project collaborator because of his innovative approaches to combating white nationalism, antisemitism and advancing racial justice. The only American recipient of the Civil Courage Prize, Ward’s work bridges grassroots activism and strategic leadership to advance inclusive democracy and social change. Eric is a Senior Fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center and serves on the boards of The Proteus Fund, The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and Auburn Theological Seminary. Eric is a founder of States At The Center (STAC); CultureGuard; and Momentum Magazine’s Wide River Project.

My guests on this episode are part of a pilot for a potential new series called “Woodstockers”. The show will have its world premiere at SxSW beginning today, Saturday, March 14. On this episode is the show runner and cast members Corbin Bernsen (“LA Law”, “My Friends and Neighbors), director Oliver Bernsen and cast member, and very recent podcast guest, Stephen Tobolowsky (“Groundhog Day”, “Memento”). https://youtu.be/eIH0MpklhHQ In the summer of ’69, Lenny Baker and his best friend Calvin Reddick went to Woodstock. What they witnessed there changed their lives, so much so that they decided to never go home again. Armed with a vision of a new path forward, they built a life in upstate New York alongside Rebecca and Lizzy, two women they met at the festival and married soon after. Decades of willful detachment followed, but every trip has its comedown. Now, more than half a century later and with his marriage up in smoke, Lenny is forced to face a hard truth: the better world they once envisioned never quite arrived… and if it ever does, he won’t be around to see it. Calvin’s sudden death makes that painfully clear.

“Beyond the Duplex Planet” is a feature documentary about artist David Greenberger and his unconventional work with senior citizens. In 1979, fresh out of art school, Greenberger took a job as activities director at the Duplex Nursing Home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. He began conducting quirky interviews with the home’s senior citizens, rejecting a pat oral history approach in favor of questions that would spark engagement: “Which do you prefer – coffee or meat?” “Why do people spit?” “What do you think George Washington’s voice sounded like?” and “What is embarrassment?” The result of this was The Duplex Planet, an early ‘zine, complete with excerpts from the interviews, as well as offbeat music reviews and poems, unorthodox illustrations and graphics, all by the residents themselves. Over time this material has become the basis for spoken word shows, podcasts, graphic novels and numerous albums, many of these projects featuring well-known artists. Champions and/or collaborators of Greenberger and his senior colleagues include people like magicians Penn & Teller, cartoonists Daniel Clowes and Lynda Barry, musicians Dave Alvin, Bill Frisell, Peter Buck (REM), David Hidalgo and Louie Perez (Los Lobos), artist Ed Ruscha, actors Lili Taylor and Martin Mull, and legions of other fans. Greenberger’s work interviewing seniors continues to this day. Beyond the Duplex Planet explores notions of aging and its intersection with art and community. It’s also a revealing look at the life of an artist devoted to documenting the elderly who is himself moving into his senior years. The film will have its world premiere at SxSW this month with a number of screenings. And it’s being distributed by Filmwax friend Jim Browne’s Argot Pictures. Beth Harrington is an Emmy-award winning independent producer, director and writer, whose fervor for American history, music and culture has led to a series of critically acclaimed films. Her independent production Welcome to the Club – The Women of Rockabilly, a music documentary about the pioneering women of rock ‘n’ roll, was honored with a 2003 Grammy nomination and has been seen on public television and at film festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Beth’s most recent work, The Winding Stream – The Carters, The Cashes and The Course of Country Music appeared at over 30 festivals worldwide including a SXSW premiere and has won many top festival awards. Earlier work with WGBH-Boston for the NOVA science series was honored with two national Emmy nominations while her local work with Oregon Public Broadcasting has resulted in six other regional Emmy nominations for historical and public affairs program producing and writing. A rock ‘n’ roll singer and guitarist, she is most noted for her years as a member of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers on Sire Records. https://youtu.be/nzgbOeFOFYk

Making his first appearance on the podcast, the Danish filmmaker Jeppe Rønde. His latest feature film is called “Acts of Love” and is currently available on various streamers. Hanna lives in a New Age Christian community in rural Denmark and longs to have a child. But her sheltered life starts to unravel as the unexpected arrival of her younger brother Jacob stirs up long-buried memories of their troubled past. Will his arrival threaten Hanna’s dream of becoming a mother? And will the members of the community be able to live up to their own rules and beliefs, when they are confronted with the question: who gets to decide over love? “Acts of Love” investigates the boundaries of love and what happens when we fall outside of society’s norms.

A conversation with the actor, author and storyteller Stephen Tobolowsky. Besides being in countless films and episodics over the past 4 decades, Stephen has done a podcast in which he tells stories. The Tobolowsky Files ran for 99 episodes. He has also made 2 films in which the core is his story telling: “Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party” and “The Primary Instinct”. He has also written several books including “The Dangerous Animals Club”, “My Adventures with God” and “A Good Day in Auschwitz”. Stephen has been in too many movies to mention though he might be best known for his supporting role in “Groundhog Day” as Ned Ryerson. He has also been in “Memento”, “Thelma and Louise”, and “Spaceballs” to name just a few. He has also had recurring roles in episodic television series such as “Silicon Valley”, “The Mindy Project” and “The Goldbergs”. https://youtu.be/KdOohkoAiow

The filmmaker John Sayles (“Eight Men Out”, “The Brother From Another Planet”) returns for his 3rd visit. In addition to the 18 feature films he has written and directed, he is also a longtime author of novels. His latest, “Crucible” is now available where books are sold. From the Oscar-nominated filmmaker comes a complex and sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford — the Elon Musk of his day — and his attempt to rule not only an automotive empire but the rambunctious city of Detroit. It is an epic tale ranging from the 1920s through the second World War, featuring violent labor disputes, misbegotten jungle expeditions, a tragic race riot, and the gestapo tactics of Ford’s private army . . . Already the gateway for illegal Canadian liquor during Prohibition, the Motor City becomes a crucible for American class conflict during the Great Depression, with an army of laid off Ford workers drifting into the ranks of the burgeoning union movement — Henry Ford’s worst nightmare. To keep the hundreds of thousands still employed by him in thrall, the man who was formerly ‘America’s favorite tycoon’ recruits black laborers migrating from the deep South to serve as ‘strike insurance’, and gives Harry Bennett, pugnacious as he is diminutive, free reign over the legion of barroom brawlers and ex-cons who make up the company’s ‘Security Department’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_cHq5UhYRI The Model T mogul has also bought a sizable chunk of Brazil’s Amazonian rainforest, vowing to grow his own rubber for tires, but stubbornly refusing to include a botanist in his troop of would-be jungle tamers. As a series of biological plagues descend on the Fordlandia plantation, the racial melting pot he has created in Detroit begins to boil over, and not even the Sage of Dearborn can control the forces that have been unleashed. The novel’s cast — Ford workers black and white and their families, young radicals, cynical newsmen, gangsters, Brazilian rubber tappers, cameos from boxer Joe Louis and muralist Diego Rivera — create the tapestry of differing points of view that John Sayles has become famous for, the events portrayed fundamental to the country we live in today.

My guests are documentary filmmaker Robert Stone and NASA Scientist and Science Fiction author Gentry Lee. Lee is the central subject of Stone’s new documentary “Starman” which is in theaters as of Friday, February 6. In this intergalactic biopic, we follow Gentry Lee, Chief Engineer for Planetary Exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and sci-fi writer, on his journey to space and on Earth. From the Viking and Voyager missions to co-authoring the actual future with Arthur C. Clarke, Lee’s life has been spent with his head in the stars and his feet on the ground. In this visually stunning documentary, the octogenarian Starman reflects on decades of space exploration alongside friends like Carl Sagan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYjTbGLgyhk&t=5s

Filmmaker Ondi Timoner (“We Live in Public”, “Last Flight Home”) returns to the podcast to discuss her latest work of non-fiction, “All The Walls Came Down”. I also welcome back one of the film’s subjects, Heavenly Hughes, who is a founder of the organization My Tribe Rise. The film had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2025. It was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards. Timoner processes her shock and grief by picking up a camera after losing her family home in Los Angeles’ Eaton Fire in 2025. The result is “All The Walls Came Down”, a personal story of her community, ravaged by climate catastrophe, and the remarkable resilience that rallies in its wake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3gVzwiNW5E

The filmmaker Dan Mirvish (“18 1/2”, “Bernard & Huey”) is back on Filmwax to discuss his latest project, “Atomic Fondue”. He has launched a Kickstarter campaign which is currently raising initial funds to get the film off the ground and to begin spreading the word. An elevated Cold War thriller/comedy, https://youtu.be/JiDjZ0GjmI4?si=hs4QqgBOSl3538WO “Atomic Fondue” is an upcoming American independent fiction feature film from me – award-winning filmmaker Dan Mirvish – and my amazing team of experienced collaborators. It’s going to be a fun, thrilling, sexy movie that we’re going to film next summer, and we’re excited to have you join the team and get involved!

Author Joseph McBride returns once again to the podcast. He brings a new book, the result of a long interview by film critic and friend Danny Peary. The book, published by Sticking Place Books, is called “I Loved Movies, But…” which is a deep exploration into the life and career of McBride. Now available wherever books are sold. https://youtu.be/SZp7WGYdP0E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxMerqB0nrs Palestinian American actor and filmmaker Cherien Debis (“Amreka”, “May in the Summer”) returns to the podcast with her latest film, “All That’s Left of You” which is currently in theaters. A deeply moving, multigenerational drama, “All That’s Left of You” follows a Palestinian teenager who gets swept into a protest in the Occupied West Bank and experiences a moment of violence that rocks his family. The film unfolds as his mother recounts the political and emotional threads that led to that fateful moment. Spanning seven decades, the film traces the hopes and heartaches of one uprooted family, bearing witness to the scars of dispossession and the enduring legacy of survival. Jordan’s Official Selection for the 98th Academy Awards. Cherien’s prior visit to Filmwax Radio in August of 2022.

Marshall Curry (“Street Fight”, “Racing Dreams”) returns to the podcast after a number of years. Curry was one of Filmwax’s first guests.,having appeared on Episode 6 back in 2011 around the time his documentary “If a Tree Falls” came out. Curry’s latest work is “The New Yorker at 100” which is currently streaming exclusively on Netflix. The New Yorker’s centennial reveals behind-the-scenes access to editors, writers and archives of this culturally vital magazine, one of print’s last survivors. https://youtu.be/PPjNYmgJDZ4

Returning to the podcast after seven years, the filmmaker Gus Van Sant (“Drug Store Cowboy”, Good Will Hunting”) with a new film called “Dead Man’s Wire”. Based on a true story, the 1977 kidnapping of a prominent banker grips the nation and turns the abductor into an outlaw folk hero. As the media frenzy peaks, the standoff becomes a spectacle of desperation, defiance and blurred justice, which resonates even today. The film stars Bill Skarsgård in the main role as Tony Kiritsis, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Colman Domingo, and Al Pacino. “Dead Man’s Wire” opens Friday, January 9th in select theaters and then goes wide nationally on Friday, January 16th. https://youtu.be/42O-lJfP5Lw

The filmmaker Eugene Jarecki (“Why We Fight”, “The Trials of Henry Kissinger”) returns to the podcast with his latest, perhaps most controversial film. Too much of a hot button to get distribution? We’ll have to wait and see. Julian Assange. WikiLeaks. Truth on trial… Eugene Jarecki’s groundbreaking Cannes film “The Six Billion Dollar Man” confronts the cost of truth in a world where those in power attempt to control the flow of information itself. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange battled extradition to the U.S., where he could’ve faced a lengthy sentence for publishing classified documents. His case, centered on press freedom, took unexpected twists as it unfolded. Coming soon to theaters in the US and Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnNz66Hc-P0

The filmmaker Amos Poe was a guest on the podcast on two memorable occasions. The first time we sat was in a podcast studio in the East Village; Episode 385 in the Fall of 2016. For Amos’ second appearance, we sat in the downstairs lobby of the Roxy Hotel in Tribeca outside the screening room; that was Episode 520 in the Fall of 2018. Poe was a major influence in the underground filmmaking scene of Downtown NYC —aka the No Wave movement— beginning in the mid-1970’s. Of that community, which included folks like Jim Jarmusch, Bette Gordon and Eric Mitchell among others, Poe was often credited as being the first to pick up a camera. He would go on to make such films as “The Blank Generation” and “Unmade Beds”. I had heard he was ill for the past bunch of years and had reached out to him about returning, but he understandably had more important things to do with his time. He passed away on Christmas Day after a prolonged battle with cancer and is survived by his wife Claudia Summers and daughter Lisa Poe.

A conversation with the Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti (“Ajami”). Copti’s new film “Happy Holidays” is currently having theatrical engagements in the U.S. including at Film Forum in NYC. From the Film Movement website: While celebrating Purim at her university in Jerusalem, Fifi, a young Palestinian woman is hospitalized following a car accident. Though her injuries are minor, she fears her newfound freedom at school will now come under the scrutiny of her conservative parents. Meanwhile, back in Haifa, Fifi’s older brother Rami panics as he faces his own personal crisis – Shirley, his Jewish girlfriend, reveals she is pregnant and plans to carry the baby to term. Behind closed doors, the family’s deep financial troubles come into focus while Hanan, Fifi and Rami’s mother, plans her eldest daughter’s wedding. Led by an incredible cast of mostly non-professional actors, “Happy Holidays” is a dynamic, sociopolitical family saga which thoughtfully considers the myriad intricacies of Israeli Arab life. Directed by Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti (“Ajami”), the family’s stories and everyday anxieties weave together a collective portrait of a pressurized society, and “speak to a larger culture of silence, shame, social pressure and rampant prejudice” (Variety). https://youtu.be/cyBoBQHiXEI

The Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan (“The Crying Game”, “Interview with The Vampire”) is also an author of several novels. Jordan has recently released an autobiographical work called “Amnesiac: A Memoir” (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024) which is currently available where books are sold. In this vivid, moving and strange memoir, Neil Jordan – the author of classic fiction like “The Past”, “Sunrise with Sea Monster” and “Night in Tunisia”, and the creator of celebrated movies like “Angel,” “Mona Lisa,” “The Crying Game” and “Interview with the Vampire” – reaches deep into his own past and that of his family. His mother was a painter, his father an inspector of schools who was visited by ghosts, and Jordan grew up on the edge of an abandoned aristocratic estate in north Dublin whose mysterious ruins fed his imagination. Passionate about music, he played in bands and theatre groups and met, at University College Dublin, a young radical called Jim Sheridan. Together they staged unforgettable dramatic productions that hinted at their future careers. His first collection of stories and first novel, “Night in Tunisia” and “The Past”, were met with acclaim, but Jordan was also drawn to the freedom and visual richness of film, and worked with the great English director John Boorman on his Arthurian epic “Excalibur”. His own first movie with Stephen Rea, “Angel”, was a brilliant angular take on the horrific violence of the Troubles, and in the years since then his films have combined in a unique way, intense supernatural elements with reflections on violence and sexuality. Jordan describes his work with Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, Bob Hoskins, Tom Cruise and many others, but this is not a conventional story of life in the movies. The book is an eerie meditation on loss, love and creativity, on inspiration and influence, by one of the most unusual artists Ireland has produced.

Jonah Feingold (“Dating and New York”) returns to the podcast to discuss his latest film “31 Candles” currently in theaters. When a Jewish film director who makes Christmas movies in New York City decides to have his Bar Mitzvah at the age of 31, he must navigate situationships, exes, and family to complete his Mitzvah project and impress his childhood camp crush. Inspired by Jonah Feingold’s life, 31 Candles is a heartwarming rom-com about love, identity, and growing up—eventually. https://youtu.be/hZ_8q3CSJH4

The non-fiction filmmaker Lynne Sachs returns to Filmwax for another memorable visit. Lynne has a new film, “Every Contract Leaves a Trace”, which is to have its world premiere at IDFA in Amsterdam on November 17th: Synopsis (from IDFA website): Since 1990, filmmaker Lynne Sachs has collected 600 business cards—from a hairdresser, a therapist, a textile artist. Together they form an archive of encounters. The title of this imaginative essay film, Every Contact Leaves a Trace, is a basic principle of forensic science, coined by Edmond Locard, a pioneer in the field. And any trace can link a person to a place, another person or an object. If that’s true, Sachs wonders, might every personal encounter not also leave a trace on your being? To find out, she tracks down some of the people behind the business cards. The thread connecting these hundreds of cards is Sachs herself, so the filmmaker naturally becomes the center of the film. Yet the focus is not on her; as in many of her works spanning more than three decades of film making, she merely provides the perspective—the point of departure. With her warm, contemplative voice-over and playful visual invention, Sachs weaves countless faces and voices into a patchwork of connections. These encounters—whether forgotten or remembered, faint or vivid—have become part of her being. https://youtu.be/1LV-r6VDUfM

The world premiere of Filmwax friend the filmmaker Alan Berliner‘s “Benita” will take place at DOC NYC. “Benita” is about experimental documentary filmmaker Benita Raphan who died by suicide during the loneliness of the COVID-19 shutdowns. DOC NYC 2024 Lifetime Achievement filmmaker Alan Berliner, who was her friend and creative advisor, creates a kind of posthumous collaboration with Benita on her final project, using as many of her images, sounds, and words as possible. BENITA is a deep dive into the many complexities of artists’ lives, from the whimsical to core existential questions, and lessons we can learn about the intersection of mental health and creativity. – Jaie Laplante of DOC NYC Screenings: Friday, 11/14 7PM at the IFC Center & Sunday, 11/16 11:30 AM at Village East. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk-lAX_947Q

The filmmaker Heidi Levitt returns to the podcast for her 2nd visit. She was on last October when her documentary “Walk With Me” was about to have its Hudson Valley premiere at the 2024 Woodstock Film Festival. Over four years of filming with Heidi as director and care partner, they crisscross the country, redefining how life will be lived to its fullest. Charlie’s charm, warmth, and appeal take center stage, illuminating a story of love and a reminder that life is really about our relationships. “Walk With Me” is currently enjoying a theatrical run at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles. It will also be having a theatrical at the Cinema Village in NYC beginning November 20th.

The actor Louis Cancelmi (“The Irishman”, “Killers of the Flower Moon”) returns to the podcast to discuss his craft and his recent role in the Sundance hit film “Sorry, Baby”. He’s also in the current episodic series “Government Cheese” on Apple TV+. https://youtu.be/vZ62V8CvslY

The 2nd Annual Borscht Belt Film Fest takes place Friday, October 31st through Sunday, November 2nd in Ellenville, NY. One of the main events will take place on the first evening when comedian Judy Gold will be honored with the first ever Mensch Award. Included is a seriously intimate and casual chat with Gold about her extensive career and how her Jewish identity and the Borscht Belt shaped it. Moderated by Alan Katz, Founder & CEO of The Mountains Media. After a Q&A, Gold will sign her book about freedom of speech, “Yes I Can Say That: When They Come for The Comedians We Are All in Trouble“. For the full schedule of screenings and special events visit the festival’s website. I also have the film festival’s director Melody Gilbert and programmer Jay Blotcher on this episode for a lively conversation about what you can expect to see later this month. Photo credit: Justine Ungaro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hPb5K_Qwj0&t=1403s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbwnxgUV8z0

The legendary composer, arranger, musician and penny whistle player, David Amram, will be in conversation with Academy Award documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple at the Woodstock Film Festival on Sunday, 10/19 12 noon. The venue is the Kleinert/James Art Center, 34 Tinker St, Woodstock. David Amram started his professional life in music as a French Hornist in the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.) in 1951. After serving in the US Army from 1952-54, he moved to New York City in 1955 and played French horn in the legendary jazz bands of Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton and Oscar Pettiford. In 1957, he created and performed in the first ever Jazz/Poetry readings in New York City with novelist Jack Kerouac, a close friend with whom Amram collaborated artistically for over 12 years. Since the early 1950s, he has traveled the world extensively, working as a musician and a conductor in over thirty-five countries including Cuba, Kenya, Egypt, Pakistan, Israel, Latvia and China. He also regularly crisscrosses the United States and Canada.He composed the scores for many films including Pull My Daisy (1959), Splendor In The Grass (1960) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He composed the scores for Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare In The Park from 1956-1967 and premiered his comic opera 12th Night with Papp’s libretto in 1968. He also wrote a second opera, The Final Ingredient, An Opera of the Holocaust, for ABC Television in 1965. From 1964-66, Amram was the Composer and Music Director for the Lincoln Center Theatre and wrote the scores for Arthur Miller´s plays After The Fall (1964) and Incident at Vichy (1966). Appointed by Leonard Bernstein as the first Composer In Residence for the New York Philharmonic in 1966, he is now one of the most performed and influential composers of our time. For tickets & details: https://woodstockfilmfestival.org/2025-all-events?eventId=68c4216f81b8e06c5bb8c1fc