Filmwax Radio

Part One is a new interview with filmmakers David France (“How to Survive a Plague”) and Jesse Short Bull are the guests on this interview. They’ve co-directed a new documentary called “ Free Leonard Peltier ” which is now streaming on Netflix . In Part 2 of this episode I’ve included an interview from the fall of 2025 when the film was about to screen at the Wo...

This is Meira’ Blaustein s 6th visit to Filmwax. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of the beloved Woodstock Film Festival which is heading into its 26th season (October 13-18, 2026). She is retiring as the Executive Director of the festival after this year. And I talked to her about her feelings about this enormous life change and her plans for the future. https://youtu.be/V0nupxI...

My guest is the director of “ The Cycle of Love “, Orlando von Einsiedel . In 1977, PK, a 23-year-old Delhi street artist from a poor, ‘untouchable’ family, set off on a 6000-mile journey with just a handful of paintbrushes and second-hand bicycle. His mission: to find Lotta, the woman whom the stars had foretold would capture his heart. A love story like no other, “The Cycle of...

My guests on this episode of Filmwax TV are filmmaker Nick Beaulieu and, returning for his 4th visit the filmmaker Doug Block (“51 Birch Street”, “The Kids Grow Up”). Doug is a producer on Nick’s directorial debut “ My Omaha “. Set in Omaha, Nebraska — where the legacies of Malcolm X, racial segregation, and political division still shape everyday life — &...

My guests are the director Don Scardino and actors Elizabeth A. Davis & Michael O’Keefe (returning to Filmwax for his 2nd visit). Their film “ A Break in the Rain ” which had its world festival premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival last year, is having its NYC theatrical debut on Friday, September 25 at the Village East . Michael and Elizabeth will be present for a Q&A...

Laurence Kardish is the former senior curator in the Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film, where his career spanned more than forty years and where he organized over a thousand film exhibitions covering the history and culture of the moving image. In the mid-1960s, Kardish worked at the Film-makers’ Distribution Center with artists such as Shirley Clarke, Jonas Mekas, and Andy War...

This is filmmaker Sam Green’s 2nd time on the podcast. He last visited on Episode 510 in April of 2019 with his film “A Thousand Thoughts”. He’s back with his latest documentary “ The Oldest Living Person in the World ” which begins a theatrical at New York City’s Anjelika Film Center this week. “The Oldest Person in the World” is a decade-long...

A cinematic classic meets a striking new musical vision in this special screening of “Frankenstein”, at Stissing Center in Pine Plains, NY starring Boris Karloff, featuring the world premiere of a chamber ensemble score by composer Michael Shapiro . Performed live by the Argus String Quartet with pianist Steven Beck—praised as “vivacious” by The New Yorker—this reimagined score brings...

“Boorman and the Devil” is about John Boorman’s 1977 horror film “Exorcist II: The Heretic”, which almost ended his career. Boorman, Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher are among the cast and crew interviewed in David Kittredge ’s deep dive into a notorious flop. https://youtu.be/dCn7yCjYG3Y The film has its theatrical premiere at NYC’s Quad Cinema on Friday, August 24th:

My guests on this episode are both appearing for the first time. The co-authors of a new book about the Hollywood filmmaker Jonathan Demme, Louis Black and Steve Fore . Jonathan Demme was one of the most accomplished American film directors of his era, yet despite the scope and variety of his work, he remains under appreciated. After apprenticing with the B-movie impresario and former podcast gues...

Darren Devivo joined WFUV in September 1983, making his on-air debut on February 26, 1984. In January 1991, following WFUV’s transition to a non-commercial public radio station, he was hired as the station’s first weekday afternoon drive show host/DJ. From that point, he occupied all weekday air shifts – including morning drive, middays, afternoon drive, evenings and late nights....

The author and filmmaker Rustin Thompson makes his first appearance on the podcast. His new documentary “The Last Picture Shows” will be premiering at the Village East in NYC as of August 7th and in LA on August 21st. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q44QXyYI5sU In “The Last Picture Shows”, director Thompson travels through the rural West’s ‘cinema deserts,&#8217...

My guests in this segment are filmmaker Morgan Gruer with actors Scott Cohen and Ellie Sachs. Morgan made a short film, a comedy called “ Fire at Will ” which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival . “Fire at Will” is one family’s quest to confront their mortality and each other. https://youtu.be/XU7X4pkxrto The film unravels the tapestry of a modern Jewish fam...

Two great personal documentarians grace the podcast: Ross McElwee (“Sherman’s March”) and Michel Negroponte (“I’m Dangerous With Love”). Long friends and colleagues, Ross and Michel come on to primarily discuss the sensitive subject matter behind Ross’ latest film, “ Remake ” The film begins a theatrical engagement at Film Forum in NYC on 7/10/...

For over a century, Alfred Hitchcock has remained one of cinema’s most influential directors. Known as the Master of Suspense, this visionary filmmaker directed more than fifty films over six decades. His thriller “The Lodger” (1927) marked the start of his signature style, which was later exemplified in classic films like “Vertigo” (1958), “North by Northwest&#...

Documentary filmmaker Ivy Meeropol (“Bully. Coward. Victim.: The Story of Roy Cohn”, “After The Bite”) returns for her 3rd visit to the podcast. Her latest film “ Ask E. Jean ” which recently had a very successful festival run and is currently in theaters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgyI8GStcao Ivy Meeropol is the Director and Producer of “Ask E. Jean...

The artist and storyteller Beth B returns for her third visit to the podcast. Beth’s latest film project is called “Glowing”, and will have its world premiere at the Roxy Cinema in NYC with 2 screenings; one on Wednesday, May 27th at 8PM and again on Saturday, My 30th at 4:30 PM . Not just a film, but an immersive, genre-defying experience that blurs the boundaries between docume...

My guests in this special episode are co-hosts of the podcast Films Not Made : Amy Hobby and Avi Zev Weider . This episode is also appearing on their platform as well. Amy and Avi’s one-of-a-kind podcast explores the fascinating world of movies that were planned, developed, and sometimes even cast—but never made it to the screen. From legendary unmade projects to obscure near-misses, we dig...

Filmmaker Katie Camosy makes her first appearance on Filmwax Radio. Her documentary, “ Gaslit ” will have a screening at the Berkshires International Film Festival on Friday, May 29, 2PM at the Triplex Cinema #1. As the world teeters on the brink of irreversible climate disaster, actor and activist Jane Fonda ventures deep into oil and gas country, meeting the people who are exposing t...

The documentary filmmaker Michelle Esrick (“Saint Misbehavin: The Wavy Gravy Movie”, “Cracked Up”) makes her first appearance on the podcast to discuss an upcoming event she is hosting: Wavy Gravy’s 90th Birthday celebration. The event will take place on Wavy’s 90th birthday which is May 15th, 7PM, at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. The Q&A following...

Actor Michael O’Keefe (“The Great Santini”, “Caddyshack”) is the guest. O’Keefe is in a new indie film called “ A Break In The Rain ” directed by Don which will be in theaters soon. He’s also has a supporting role in the Jon Hamm series “Your Friends and Neighbors” which is on the Apple TV platform. I did a Q&A with him at the W...

Anne Aghion has been praised as a filmmaker of poetic vision and a unique documentarian whose films, in the words of one critic, “pull us deep into the social fabric“ of the places she covers. She gained international renown for “The Gacaca Series“ (pr. ga-CHA-cha), four films on post- genocide justice and social reconstruction in Rwanda. There, Anne Aghion charted the emotional impact of a contro...

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&#821...

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 produ...

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 Tobol...