Film Forward

Film Forward returns and is joined by a good friend of LADFF, David Radcliff . David is an active member of the Committee for Writers with Disabilities at the Writers Guild of America,   West and is writer on the hit Netflix show Waffles + Mochi .   David and host, Nicholas Ybarra discuss the highly creative episode construction of Waffles + Mochi . He also discuss how working on this show parlaye...

Film Forward returns with acclaimed writer/director Philippe Lacôte to discuss his new film, Night of the Kings . The movie is nominated for and Independent Spirit Award and is the Ivory Coast's official selection for the 2021 Academy Awards.   Night of the Kings follows a young man who is sent to "La Maca," a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of a forest ruled by it's prisoners. With the red mo...

This week we are honored to be joined by one of the most impressive producers working today, Molly Asher . In 2020, Mollye won the Film Independent's Producer Award. In recent years she has produced many award winning films including The Rider , Songs My Brother Taught Me , Swallow and her latest film - the Golden Lion Winner at the Venice Film Festival and Golden Globe Nominee , Nomadland .     M...

Film Forward returns with another edition of our Gimme Three Episodes.   With Valentine's Day on the horizon, we bring you Gimme Three Romantic Comedies . Our guest for this week is Adriana Lopez, a dear friend who has a doctorates degree in Rom-Coms (just kidding, I don't think that exists - but if it did - Adriana would have one).   Join us as we celebrate love, laughs and some of the greatest r...

2020 was an unprecedented year for cinema. For much of the year, we weren't able to immerse ourselves in the engrossing theatre experience. Yet, 2020 provided us with some outstanding and fresh filmmaking. This episode just scratches the surface of some of the best that the year 2020 had to offer. Film Forward host Nicholas Ybarra, LADFF director/PGA member Sonja Mereu and Film Forward producer An...

The United States of America has inaugurated it's 46th president. Film Forward marks this occasion with another one of our patented Gimme Three episodes. Return guest David Chiu joins us for Gimme Three: Presidential Films.   David and host Nicholas Ybarra each provide three of their favorite presidential pictures (real or fake). They dissect the incredible writing and directing in each film. They...

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day , we are discussing the new documentary MLK/FBI with it's director, the legendary Sam Pollard . Mr. Pollard is an Academy Award Nominee and an Emmy Award winner. In this episode, he elaborates on how he and his team approached this wonderfully crafted film, and what audiences can take away from the lessons of the past. MLK/FBI delivers a profound message tha...

Based on the best selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive film exploring the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. We are honored to be joined by the film's director, Jerry Rothwell .     Jerry and host, Nicholas Ybarra discuss the techniques and stylistic choices used to put the audience in the sensory world of it's subjects. Jerry also discu...

We ring in the year 2021 with a bang! Bing Liu joins us to discuss his Academy Award Nominated film Minding the Gap which gets a Criterion Collection release on January 12th.   Bing and host Nicholas Ybarra discuss the making of the documentary and what it was like to put Bing's own life and experiences into the film. We also talk about what went into building the Criterion Collection special feat...

Film Forward returns with another one of our patented Gimme Three episodes. Given the unprecedented year that this was, we decided to theme this episode; Gimme Three: Films that Embody 2020. Joining us to tackle this deep prompt is Mr. David Chiu ; writer, director, cinephile and close friend of the the podcast. David and host, Nicholas Ybarra each provide three recommendations of films that they...

Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults is a thorough examination of the infamous UFO cult through the eyes of its former members and loved ones. What started in 1975 with the disappearance of 20 people from   a small town in Oregon, ended in 1997 with the largest suicide on US soil and changed the face of modern new age religion forever.   Director Clay Tweel and producer Shannon Riggs join us to discus...

We return with another installment of our famous Gimme Three episodes, this month we explore the theme "Animal Heroes." As we approach the holiday season - we wanted to pay our respects to our non-human friends, show them some love and maybe think twice about what we put on our plates at Thanksgiving dinner.     Our guest is Asher Brown. Asher is a director, producer, the founder of CEO of Polluti...

We conclude our coverage of the 2020 New Orleans Film Festival with a documentary about the rise and fall of the infamous Six Flags New Orleans. The film is Closed for Storm. The director is Jake Williams.   Jake joins us on Film Forward to discuss his infatuation with Six Flags New Orleans and what it was like to step foot on the abaondoned park for the first time. The film is both powerful and i...

We are honored to be joined by Maia Lekow and Christopher King, the directors of the breathtaking documentary The Letter.   The Letter follows Karisa who travels from Mombasa back to his rural home when he finds out that his grandmother has been accused of witchcraft. It turns out the threats and accusations aimed at his grandmother are coming from his own family members.   The Letter has been sel...

This week's episode of Film Forward highlights the gripping short documentary Do Not Split which puts audiences right in the middle of the intense Hong Kong protests that took place in 2019.   We are joined by the film's director Anders Hammer as he takes us through his filmmaking process and the importance of social awareness in documentaries.   As always, our guest partakes in our segment Gimme...

Throughout the month of November we will be highlighting some incredible documentaries from the stacked New Orleans Film Festival.     To kick off the month, we talk with Zandashé Brown, the festival's programming manager & arts development coordinator.     Zandashé and host, Nicholas Ybarra compare notes as festival programmers. They discuss the importance of inclusion and diversity, and how thei...

This episode of Film Forward features the writer, director and star of the new film, Good , Mr. Justin Etheredge.     Good is follows Payton, who becomes the caretaker of Gregory Devereaux, a wealthy man facing his final months. As they become close, Gregory's past sins force Payton to decide between his dreams and a pregnancy that could squander them all.   As always, our guests join us in our se...

This episode of Film Forward features the documentarian Lucas Millard , co-director of the new film, Baato .     Baato is follows Mikma and her family as they travel by foot from their village deep in the Himalaya of Nepal to sell local medicinal plants in urban markets. This year, construction of a new highway to China has begun in their roadless valley, and things are never going to be the same....

This episode of Film Forward features the incredible directors, Cassie Hay & Amy Winston as we discuss their new film Queens of Pain .     Queens of Pain is an intimate portrait of three athletes of Gotham Girls Roller Derby League. The film follows Suzy Hotrod, Evilicious, and Captain Smack Sparrow as they find their power on and off the track and face down the odds to play the sport they love.  ...

We return with another one of our famous Gimme Three episodes, exploring the theme "Hispanic Horrors." As we close out Hispanic Heritage Month and plunge head first into Halloween Season - Hispanic Horrors seemed like an exciting and apt theme to explore. Our guest is writer/director Felix Martiz ( Santiago, Gone ). Listen as Felix and host, Nicholas Ybarra , explore some of their favorite horror...

One of our famous GIMME THREE episodes returns!   We are joined by our good friend, writer/director David Chiu to do a deep dive on our favorite films from the year 2000 .     David, Sonja Mereu and host, Nicholas Ybarra each give three film recommendations from the year that was exactly two decades ago. We draw connections with all of our selections and examine what the world was like in the year...

Haley Bishop stars in the new horror film that has critics and fans raving, Host .   Host  takes place during the global pandemic and was shot remotely. It follows six friends who accidentally invite the attention of a demonic presence during an online séance and begin noticing strange occurrences in their homes.     Haley and Nicholas discuss what it was like to film a feature film with a remote...

This month, Film Forward is highlighting filmmakers from the 2020 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival. In this episode, we interview Emelie Claxton, the writer/director of the thriller Heather Would Never . Heather Would Never follows Dani, a tired young woman who invents a sexy persona called Heather to tease her tactless boyfriend - until that persona starts acting out.   Emelie discusses the in...

This month, Film Forward is highlighting filmmakers from the 2020 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival. In this episode, we interview Taiki Sugioka, the director of the feature documentary, You Decide.     Logline: Months away from starting her first job, Kaede Hatashima discards her male form and begins her journey as a working transgender woman.   You can learn more about the film at: Website: ht...

LADFF festival director Sonja Mereu joins host Nicholas Ybarra in an episode dedicated to this year's Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival , which will be available online for the first time ever.     Sonja and Nicholas each do a Gimme Three of their picks from this year's LADFF program.     The Los Angeles Diversity Film festival is available online from August 4th - August 30th exclusively at LAD...