Episode 28 - Adam Benzine - “What's Happening Brother”
Photo Credit: Alison Boulier
[Image Description: Adam is pictured from the torso up. He wears a dark-colored long-sleeved sweater over a light-colored button-down shirt. He holds a white mug in his hands just beneath his chin. He gazes to the left. The photo is in B&W.]
n this episode, I speak with Oscar-Nominated, United Kingdom-born, and Canada-based filmmaker Adam Benzine. During the episode, we chat about his career in journalism, his move to Canada, his critically acclaimed work, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, and his latest documentary project, The Curve, which is about the first 90-days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Because in so many ways the battles we are facing now so closely resemble those are parents and grandparents fought in the past, this episode’s song is Marvin Gaye’s timeless classic, “What’s Happening Brother.” Adam specifically connects to the following lyrics from the song, “When will people start gettin' together again? Are things really gettin' better, like the newspaper said? What else is new my friend? Besides what I read. Can't find no work, can't find no job, my friend. Money is tighter than it's ever been. Say, man, I just don't understand What's going on across this land.” Our conversation was recorded in July 2021.
Episode 22 - Steven Eastwood & Elhum Shakerifar - “Cactus”
Photo Credit: Elhum Shakerifar
[image Description: Elhum is pictured from the neck up. She wears a teal blouse, a gold necklace, and glasses. She smiles at the camera. She is turned slightly to the side and black hair is swooped to the side.]
Photo Credit: Steven Eastwood
[Image Description: Steven is pictured from the chest up. He wears a teal flowered t-shirt. His head is turned slightly to the side.]
In this episode, I speak with UK-based artist-filmmaker Steven Eastwood and producer, Elhum Shakerifar about their collaborative work on the film ISLAND and how that work has shaped their thoughts on the exploration of death and dying in the time of COViD. We also chat about their current film and multiscreen installation the Neurocultures Project which not only centers on the neurodiverse experience but is being co-created with autistic artists. Because Steven, Elhum and the artists with whom they work center the diversity and complexity of the human experience, this week’s song is “Cactus” from the London-based neurodiverse funk band the Fish Police.