Sifter

After almost two years playing festivals, Northern Virginia director Joe Carabeo is releasing his “genre-bending cyberpunk noir revenge film” called Kira Vs Everyone . There will be a live YouTube watch party on November 18 at 7pm. Joe will be joined by gaffer Brian Sarvis and actor Ulysses Campbell and they discuss: – Why the thugs have color names – How Ulysses got cast &...

Longtime Richmond actor/filmmaker Kahil Dotay wrote, directed and starred in his long-awaited film VAMPIRES IN VIRGINIA. Our discussion includes: – My name in the credits – What inspired him to set it in Virginia – Why it took almost 10 years to complete – How Tim Russ almost ended up directing – Challenges to directing yourself – Gun safety on set – Shoot...

This is the first major documentary on artist Georgia O’Keeffe since the 70s. Charlottesville filmmaker Paul Wagner directed the film and we have an interesting discussion about this fascinating woman, including: – Why the film started in Basel, Switzerlan – The meaning of the titl – O’Keefe lived in Williamsburg and Charlottesvill – 25,000 pages of letters betw...

In Your Ear is Richmond’s premiere sound facility. In addition to all manner of music and commercials, they regularly work on films and TV shows, often with stars who are visiting/working in Richmond. President and co-founder Carlos Chafin is joined by Chief Engineer Paul Bruski to talk about their work on some of these shows: – How IYE sprang from Alpha Audio – Using ADR & f...

Songs From The Hole was the inspiration of JJ’88, who at 15 took a life. While serving a double-life prison sentence, he wrote the songs that become the genesis of this unique documentary visual album . It’s part of the InThrive Festival, which celebrates the voices and talents of incarceration survivors, and runs Oct 18 – 19 at First Baptist Church. The discussion with JJ’88 and...

IATSE is the union that represents more than 168,000 technicians in the entertainment industry. Today’s show features Dave O’Ferrall, the Business Agent for IATSE Local 487. Our discussion includes: – What IATSE is and what the acronym stands for – How are they different from the Teamsters – The financial and other benefits added to the new contract – What&#8217...

SOLITUDE is a horror thriller that revolves around one woman who’s living alone in the wilderness for a survival competition show…with a supernatural twist. The world premiere will be September 21 st at the Byrd Theatre. Today’s show features 3 of the creatives, Jeremy Brown, Mick Strawn and Dalton Pope and we discuss: – Their previous Friday the 13 th fan film – What...

SATURN is a sci-fi drama about a mysterious planet that appears in the sky on a crash course to earth. It follows a young father, who must decide between his family and saving the world. The world premiere is featured at the opening of this year’s Richmond International Film Festival on Tue 9/24 at the Byrd Theatre. Director Eric Esau & producer Douglas Haines talk about: – The ins...

Mary, Her Journey from Pain to Purpose tells the story of Mary Almay, who transititioned at age 58. The documentary features interviews with her and others about the process and the politics of transgender life. It will screen at the 2 nd annual Virginia Queer Film Festival in at Old Dominion University campus in Norfolk from Friday, 9/20 thru Sun 9/22. We discuss: – Why there’s a peri...

TAPAWINGO was shot in Virginia and features Jon Heder, best known as Napoleon Dynamite, in the lead and Amanda Burse as his mom. She’s had an extensive career as an actor and director, most notably as Marcy D’Arcy for 11 seasons on Married With Children . They’re joined by director Dylan K.  Narang to talk about this unique film that’s showing at this year’s Richmond...

This is the first of 3 interviews featuring films at this year’s Richmond International Film Festival (Sep 24 – 29). Nelson Tracey wrote and directed Breakup Season , about a couple whose relationship ends on a Christmas family visit. The boyfriend is played by Chandler Riggs (best known as the son on The Walking Dead ) and his girlfriend was played by Samantha Isler (Teen Molly in Mol...

Alex Martin is founder and CEO of Digital Video Group, an industry leading supplier and system integrator of broadcast and production systems. Our lively discussion includes: – How he ended up in the biz – His band and where they played – What exactly DVG does – How big is the company – Some of the coolest installations in LA, NYC and DC – How tech has changed t...

Mike Taylor started his career as a producer in LA, but ended up back on the East Coast, where he started his own production company. Eventually, he ended up back in Richmond, where he decided to write and direct his first feature, There Is a Monster . We’ll discuss: – Working “swing gang” for a Steven Segal film – What he did for Disney – The award-winning shor...

This two-parter features Brandon and Brandi: Part One: Brandon Adams is the host of the Emmy award-winning series The Life Of A Musician on PBS Appalachia. It features small house concerts and interview with acoustic musicians. We’ll talk about: – Where the idea come from – How he finds artists – Deciding between concerts and interviews – The short history of year-old PBS A...

Deb Freeman is an award-winning writer, specializing in Black foodways throughout America, particularly in Virginia. She also hosts Setting the Table , a critically-acclaimed podcast that explores Black culinary history. Deb is now working on a documentary about famed influential Black chef Edna Lewis. It’s starting as a series of shorts on VPM’s YouTube channel and will evolve into a...

Vivian Owen has been a screenwriter, script supervisor and producer for several years and is currently working on 2 features, both thrillers. We’ll get into some of the specifics of these on-set jobs while looking at her new projects, including: – Frenchy Waters & Booger Sugar – The responsibilities of a script supervisor – Difference between Executive Producer, Produce...

Alan Sader is best known for his 23 years as the spokesperson for Christian Children’s Fund (later renamed ChildFund). He’s also had an extensive career on stage and screen.  We talk about his past adventures and his plans for a future series of staged readings with actors he’s never had an opportunity to work with. It’s titled “A Few More For the Road—Alan Sader’s Bucket L...

Remembering Gene Wilder looks at the comic actor’s films, including interviews with Mel Brooks, Alan Alda and Harry Connick, Jr. It played Richmond as part of the Weinstein JCC’s Israeli & Jewish Film Festival last January. Since it just dropped on Netflix, I’m “remembering” my interview with Ron Frank (billed as the director) & Glenn Kirschbaum (writer). Topi...

Paul Serwitz has made his career as a film buyer, including 25 years for Regal Cinemas and most recently, President and COO of Landmark Theatres. He’s now consulting as a distributor for Roadside Attractions and has lots of interesting insights into the biz of buying and distributing films, including. – Outlook for 2025 and beyond – Upcoming films from CinemaCon – Musical t...

Donald Silverman spent his years in Richmond as a producer/director for numerous commercials and videos. He recently published a book titled Oddball Thoughts , a collection of random thoughts and observations. We’ll look back at the flush days of the production industry plus: – How he happened into directing commercials – Creating spots for Howard Stern – Going to school with Bil...

In UNFROSTED Bailey Sheetz is discovered by Jerry Seinfeld’s character in a dumpster eating what would become a Pop-Tart. This young actor has a funny part in the new Netflix hit that was written, directed and stars Jerry Seinfeld. Our lively interview covers much more than any of the local print stories, including: – His relationship to the gas station/restaurant with the same last na...

Paul Serwitz has made his career as a film buyer, including Regal Cinemas for 25 years and most recently, President and COO of Landmark Theatres. He’s now consulting as a distributor on a new comedy opening this weekend called Summer Camp. Paul will talk about that movie, but he’s also got lots of interesting insights into the biz of buying and distributing films. – The differenc...

DANVILLE 1963, LEGACY OF A MOVEMENT is a documentary featuring first-hand accounts of the peaceful Civil Rights protest in Danville on June 10, 1963, that was met with shocking violence by the local police department. It became known as Bloody Monday and was an event that would shape Civil Rights history. There’s a free screening at the Library of Virginia on June 6 from 5:30 to 8:30pm with...

Pine Grove School served Black students in Cumberland County from 1917 to 1964. Since then, it’s being restored, but is now being threatened by a proposed mega-landfill nearby. Janelle Proulx and Tyler Kirby from Departure Point Films worked with Muriel Miller Branch from the school’s Board of Directors and UVA’s School of Law to create a short documentary about the school’...

Mark Lambert got his break in special effects when he developed proprietary rendering software for Pixar. He went on to create visual effects for numerous movies. More recently, he’s pivoted to work in virtual reality, which has taken him around the world to shoot incredible footage. Our discussion is crammed with interesting info, including: – Creating “flying type” for Op...