Episode 36 - Emma Francis Snyder - “Pa’lante” & “Que Bonita Bandera”
Photo Credit: Brian Galderisi
[Image Description: Emma is pictured from the torso up against a black background. She has shoulder-length brownish, blonde hair and wears black glasses and red lipstick. She wears a black long-sleeved top.]
In the first full episode of 2022, I chat with the filmmaker and activist Emma Francis-Snyder about her Oscar-shortlisted short Takeover! We talk about her journey as a white person and the obligation to uncover and celebrate these hidden histories and all things Takeover! Including the history of the Young Lords, her many interactions with journalist and Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez. This week’s episode has not one but two songs! The first is the resistance anthem “Pa’lante” by Hurray for the Riff Raff. From 1948 to 1957, flying the Puerto Rican flag was illegal and so was singing patriotic tunes. The second song for this episode, “Que Bonita Bandera” by Pepe Y Flora, directly responded to that bigotry. Here is our conversation, which was recorded in January 2022.
Episode 33 - Raven Two Feathers - “Burn Your Village to the Ground”
Photo Credit: Adam Sings in The Timber
[Image Description: Raven wears a black and white patterned shirt as they smile into the camera. Their hair is short and they wear glasses. They are pictured from the chest up. They wear a small button that reads, “Be a good ancestor.”]
In this episode, I speak with friend and writer, director, co-producer, Raven Two Feathers. During our conversation, we chat about when we first met and my struggle with the Seattle hills, the 4th World Media Lab, their VR project, “A Drive to Top Surgery,” which screened at ImagiNative this year. their zine “Qualifications of Being,” and their new production company, Raven and Relatives. Raven is unapologetically Cherokee, Seneca, Cayuga, Comanche and because American Thanksgiving is just right around the corner, Raven selected the Halluci Nation’s (formerly known as A Tribe Called Red) “Burn Your Village to the Ground.” The band themselves delivered the following message about the holiday:On this fourth Thursday of November, you might ask yourself: do Indians celebrate Thanksgiving? Well… Thanksgiving is a complicated holiday for Native people. In a way, each day is a day of thanksgiving to the Creator for the original people of Turtle Island. This doesn't mean that we don't enjoy turkey, pie, and family as much as the next person, but at the same time, the Thanksgiving myth largely shared in mainstream culture perpetuates a one-sided view of a complicated history surrounding this holiday.
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 23 - Robert Y. Chang - “Tightrope”
Photo Credit: Kenneth Pizzo
[Image Description: Robert is pictured from the chest up against a white background. He wears a black suit jacket and a button-down white shirt. His hair is cut short.]
In this episode, I speak with Coordinating Producer at American Documentary/America Reframed, Robert Chang. During our conversation we chat about his Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, America ReFramed’s new season, navigating documentary in the soon-to-be post-COVID world, and get a lesson on how PBS works locally and nationally. Because keeping one’s balance in the documentary world and life is one of the keys to creativity, this week’s song is Janelle Monáe’s “Tightrope".”
Episode 6 - Lily Zepeda - “Waterfalls”
Photo Credit: Lily Zepeda
[Image description: Lily Zepeda pushes her hair back as she stands on a sidewalk. She wears a green top.]
In this week’s episode, I speak with Lily Zepeda, director, producer & writer of Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man. Because she is a self-proclaimed of the child of the nineties, this week’s song is TLC’s “Waterfalls.”
Episode 2 - Emily Cohen Ibañez & Ashley Solis Pavon - "It Takes Two"
Photo Credit: Andrew Kemmis Photography
[Image description: Ashley Solis Pavon sits in a chair. She wears a grey sweater and blue jeans. Emily Cohen-Ibañez sits next to her on the arm of the chair to Ashley’s right. She wears a beige sweater, a burgundy blouse, and blue jeans. The background is black.]
In this episode, I speak with director/writer, Emily Cohen Ibañez, and protagonist/writer Ashley Solis Pavon about their upcoming project Fruits of Labor and what it’s like to collaborate on the filmmaking process. Like Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock say, “It Takes Two.” I spoke with them at the 2020 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
Episode 1 - Tracy Rector - "I'm Every Woman"
Photo Credit: Petter Cohen
[Image Description: A black and white photo of Tracy Rector. Her head is turned slightly to the left and her hands are in her pockets. She wears a dark-colored coat and dress. The background is made up of gauzy materials of varying textures.]
In this episode, I speak with Choctaw/Seminole co-founder of Longhouse Media, Tracy Rector about her filmmaking, her new gig with Nia Tero and, her mentorship with the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab. With everything that she does, like Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston, Tracy’s informal mantra should be “I’m Everywoman.” I spoke with her at the 2020 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.