Carolyn Talks..., Podcast

For the TIFF23 World Premiere of their soon to be released dramatic series BAD BOY, co-creator Ron Lesham, and series director and co-creator Hagar Ben-Asher, joined me to talk about the importance on crafting a show where violence isn't the point in a story where violence and traumatic events shapes the life of its teenaged protagonist Dean (Menaster). #BadBoy is based on the true story of the li...

Director Chelsea McMullan and Executive Producer Sean O'Neil joined Carolyn Talks..., to share their thoughts and observations during the filming of SWAN SONG, their feature that is an intimate and painfully honest look and chaotic lives of the Core de Ballet, Principal Dancers, creative teams of the National Ballet of Canada during the making of 'Swan Lake', as envisioned by the company's former...

Director Hirokazu Kore-eda joined me for an episode of Carolyn Talks..., to share his persptives on what the monster is in his latest dramatic feature MONSTER (Kaibutsu), starring Hiiragi Hinata as Hoshiwaka Yori a young boy whom no one understands or seems to care for, Sōya Kurokawa as Mugino Minato a shy boy who believes he's become a monster, Sakura Andō as his mother whose actions to protect h...

For the TIFF 2023 World Premiere film of their film A ROAD TO A VILLAGE, Co-Writer and Director Nabin Subba, lead actors Dayahang Rai and Pashupati Rai, and Line Producer Minsho Limbu joined me to talk about the effects of westernization and globalization on a small village in the mountains of Nepal. #ARoadToAVillage also stars Presan Rai, and was Co-written by Mehash Rai, and Produced by Menchhya...

Director-writer Jayant Digambar Somalkar and Producer Shefali Bhushan joined me to talk about STHAL/A Match, their award-winning dramatic feature about a 19-year-old college student at a major crossroads in her life where her fate lies not in her hands as it should, and the destructive nature of patriarchy. Sthal / A Match won the NETPAC Award at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where...

In this episodes of Carolyn Talks..., Film Curator Goran Topalovic, joined me to talk about what makes the Korean films of the 1960s a defining era of Korean cinema, and curating one the world's largest retrospectives for the Lincoln Film Centre's celebration of Korean filmmakers, actors, and culture. The retrospective in collaboration with Subway Cinema founded by Goran, runs from September 1st -...

Director and co-writer Eldar Shibanov joined me to chat about his wonderfully weird and nuanced feature MOUNTAIN ONION, about a young brother and sister on a quest from their home in the mountains of Kazakhstan, to China to find a magic pill to help their father's relationship with their mother. #MountainOnion had its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival. To learn more about...

Taiwanese filmmaker Tseng Ying-ting, and producer David Tang joined me for an episode of Carolyn Talks..., to discuss their dramatic feature film THE ABANDONED, which had its North American premiere at the 2023 New York Asian Film Festival. #TheAbandoned stars Janine Chang, Chen Wei-min, Ethan Juan, and Chloe Xiang. To learn more about #NYAFF visit the official website at https://www.nyaff.org/ Li...

Director and writer Areel Abu Bakar and lead actor Megat Sharizal joined Carolyn Talks..., for the U.S. Premiere of their film WALID, in which Megat plays the title character Walid, a teacher who witnesses the abduction of one of his students and takes matters into his hands to find her, at all costs. #Walid is Areel's second film to feature the Malaysian martial art of Silat. The first was his de...

For the US Premiere of his award-winning dramatic debut feature film, ABANG ADIK, Malaysian producer Lay Jin Ong spoke to me OF centering his film around two orphaned brothers Abang (Kang Ren Wu), and Adi (Jack Tan), whose love and dedication to each other is threatened in a world where their undocumented status poses a threat to their lives. To learn more about NYAFF visit the official website at...

For the US Premiere of her film at the 2023 New York Asian Film Festival, writer and director Anastasia Tsang joined me for an episode of Carolyn Talks..., to chat about her debut feature A LIGHT NEVER GOES OUT, about the emotional connection the recently widowed Heung Kong has to her husband Bill's creations, the brilliant neon signs that once light up Hong Kong streets, but are being put out one...

In this episode of Carolyn Talks..., actress Bai Ling and I share our thoughts on her latest performance as the character of Wai-Lan, in BACK HOME, the feature fil debut by Hong Kong filmmaker Nate Ki. Also starring Anson Kong, the film an atmospheric horror about the ways the past and those who've passed on haunts those still around. #BackHome had it's world premiere at the 2023 New York Asian Fi...

For the North American premiere of their action thriller GEYLANG, named after a district in their native Singapore, director Boi Kwong and actor Jason Ho joined me for an episode of Carolyn Talks..., during the 2023 season of the New York Asian Film Festival. To learn more about NYAFF visit the official website at www.nyaff.org Links to all of my published writing, and podcasts; authory.com/Caroly...

In this episode of Carolyn Talks...I speak with Japanese filmmaker Okita Shuichi about his 2022 feature film THE FISH TALE, based on the life of Marine Biologist, educator, and YouTuber Sakana-Kun, played by charmingly by Non. Director Okita and I spoke at the 2023 Toronto Japanese Film Festival , where I also spoke to film distributor Aki Takabatake who did the interpretation for this interview,...

In this episode of Carolyn Talks..., I speak with South Korean writer and director Kwak Eun-mi about A TOUR GUIDE, her dramatic feature film which had it's US premier at the 2023 New York Asian Film Festival. The film stars Lee Seol as a North Korean defector trying to adjust to her new life in a country of people so similar but different to her, work is challenging, and every decision is a risk....

In this episode of Carolyn Talk..., I speak with Toronto-based film distributor Aki Takabatake about what it took to build her boutique film acquisition and distribution company MOMO Films, and promoting independent Japanese films to Toronto and Canadian audiences. Visit Momo Films' official website at https://momofilms.com/about, and follow on social media @Momo_Films for updates and screening lo...

In this episode of Carolyn Talk..., I speak with writer and director Bomani J. Story about finding inspiration in Frankenstein's Monster, death being a disease, and creating complex Black characters that are both right and wrong, in his debut feature film and horror, THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER. #TheAngryBlackGirlAndHerMonster is currently showing in theaters, and will be on Demand and Di...

In this special episode, LaNeysha and Carolyn shared their thoughts about the 2023 live-action remake of Disney's 1989 animated film classic, The Little Mermaid . Directed by Rob Marshall, and starring singer Hallee Bailey in her first lead role as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as the dashing Prince Eric, and Daveed Diggs as the hilarious crab Sebastian, this new film with a familiar story gets some new...

In this episode of Carolyn Talk..., I speak about independent documentary In the Shed , with young musician and martial artist Tyler Ransom about how he uses his two passions to learn more about himself and living with Nephrotic Syndrome, a disorder of the kidneys that he was diagnosed with at 2-years-old. Joining us was his father Marlon, who's documented Tyler's struggles and struggles and trium...

For the premiere of their documentary FREE CHOL SOO LEE on PBS, filmmakers Julie Ha, Eugene Yi, and activist Ranko Yamada, joined me to speak about the life and legacy of Korean American immigrant Chol Soo Lee, who was wrongly incarcerated for murder in 1970s San Francisco. #FreeCholSooLee premieres on #PBS on April 24, 2023. To learn more about Julie, Eugene and Ranko, visit the official PBS webs...

In this episode of Carolyn Talk..., I speak with writer and director Mike Oxford about his narrative short film NON-NEGOTIABLE, which screened at the 2023 Cleveland International Film Festival. In our discussion we talk about how the film shows the fears of 9-year-old Dev who's anxious about the impending birth of her new sibling. Visit Mike's official website to learn more about his work and upco...

In this episode of So Here's What Happened! LaNeysha and Carolyn share the webtoon, TV show and Film recs for the month of March, including the intense sports film CREED III , the feature directorial debut of actor Michael B. Jourdan, and the new intense 10 episode Netflix drama BEEF , starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, as two people with the most intense and dangerous grudge against each other, a...

For Carolyn Talks..., I spoke with filmmaker A.V. Rockwell about her film A THOUSAND AND ONE which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars singer Teyana Taylor in her debut acting role as Inez, an mother who does any and everything to raise her son in a city and world that does it's best to strip everything away from her. Follow A.V. on Twitter @AVRockwell, and visit the film...

In this episode of Carolyn Talk..., writer and director Musaab Mustafa chats with me about his debut feature film MAROONED AWAKENING, which explores the ways his lead character Alex tries to escape his life with his father on their small island home of Guersney. The film stars Cameron Ashplant as Alex, and Murray McArthur as his father. #MaroonedAwakening is available for streaming on #Amazon #Pim...

In this episode of Carolyn Talks..., for the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, I speak with actor, filmmaker, comedian, and showrunner Kevin Yee about his journey to creating A GUIDE TO NOT DYING COMPLETELY ALONE, his episodic pilot project which screened at the festival. Follow Kevin on social media @kevinyeedotcom, and visit his official site https://www.kevinyee.com/about, to learn more about him and hi...