Sifter

Praheme was born and raised in Richmond, where he discovered his love for directing. His first feature, Troop 491: The Adventures of the Muddy Lions , was shot here using mostly local talent and ran at Movieland for 5 weeks. Since then, he’s moved to LA, where he’s planning for his next film. We talk about: – Where his name came from – How he got inspired to make movies &#8...

Anne Chapman has been a Casting Director for film, TV and commercials for more than 30 years. Recent projects include Lincoln , Loving and Harriet, plus more than 100 student films. We cover so much in this interview, including: – The difference between a Casting Director and an Agent – Her first gig, which was a popular thriller – Audition suggestions for actors – What to...

This is the 2 nd SIFTER that features filmmakers showing at this year’s Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF). Mix Tape Trilogy director Kathleen Ermitage talks about: – How she came to direct this doc – How she found the 3 musician/fan relationships – The biggest challenges of this project – The COVID Coda The discussion of Oleg features Joan Borsten Vidov (Ole...

This is the SIFTER for the Ear that revolves around the Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF). It spotlights 2 of the narrative features that will be showing. Princess : Swiss director Peter Luisi talks about: – His education in the US – The inspiration for Princess – Shooting in Ukraine – The 4-year-old actor who plays Nina Esme, My Love : Director Cory Choy discusse...

This year, the Virginia legislature will vote on extending the incentives that the state offers to lure film and TV productions. Steve Taylor, Chair of the Richmond chapter of the Virginia Production Alliance (VPA) & Matt Benedetti (government relations) discuss the issue from the production community’s POV. Then, Andy Edmunds (Director of the Virginia Film Office) explains how incentive...

Sasha Waters Freyer produced Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable , a doc about the famed photographer, which won an special jury award at South By Southwest and aired on the PBS series American Masters . Michele Poulos produced A Late Style of Fire: Larry Levis, American Poet , which examines the life and work of this noted poet, who died while he was teaching at VCU. They talk about th...

Tracy Smith is a set designer for movies and TV shows. His latest work was for the new Starz series Gaslit , which revists the 70s Watergate scandal from the POV of Margaret & John Mitchell (played by Julia Roberts and Sean Penn). We talk about: – How he started in LA working on shows like Rosanne , That 70s Show & 3 rd Rock from the Sun – Creating the 70s for Gaslit – Ge...

Local actor Irene Ziegler plays Lou Hoover, the wife of president Herbert Hoover, on the new Showtime series The First Lady. It stars Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt (in the scenes with Irene from Episode 2). We talk about: – Her experience on The First Lady – Working with Gillain Anderson – Getting yelled a...

Gigi Rios New is one of the writers on The Garcias , which was just released on HBOMax. It features the characters from the Nickelodeon teen sitcom The Brothers Garcia , which ran from 2000 to 2004 and was the first English language comedy with an all Latin cast and creative team (including Gigi) . We talk about: – Getting from VCU to LA – Why she left acting – Her first screenpl...

After 22 years as an anchor at WRIC, Juan Conde has moved on to a new opportunity. I chat with him and his new business partner Chris Francoise about: – How he got to RVA – Some of the most cherished moments at RIC – Why he’s getting into real estate now – Their new venture, Titan Property Advisors – What Juan will miss about being on TV – His fiancée &#16...

Cryptozoo is a Sundance Award Winning animated film that was created right here in Richmond by Jane Samborski & Dash Shaw. We talk about: – Their RVA background – Why they moved to New York, then back to Richmond – Getting stars as voice actors – Details of creating Cryptozoo LINKS Dash’s Vimeo Page Cryptozoo website (Includes rental options) Cryptozoo on Hulu (Al...

David Crank is a production designer and art director who’s also a Richmond native. His resume includes design from films including Hannibal , The New World , John Adams , There Will be Blood , Knives Out and News of the World, for which he was Nominated for an Oscar for Best Production Design. We talk about: – His experience at last year’s Oscars – How he feels about his c...

Kevin Willmott is best known as the screenwriter for Spike Lee’s Chi Raq , Da 5 Bloods and BlackkKlansman (for which he shared an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay). He also wrote and directed C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America , a satirical documentary that imagines our country if the South had won and slavery was still legal. We’ll talk about: – How he got into film &#82...

The big Saturday nite film at this year’s French Film Festival will feature the first Native American Rock Opera, entitled Something Inside is Broken . Jack Kohler, the creator of the film and the musical behind it will talk about: – The history behind the story – Mounting the musical – Creating the film version – Challenges still facing Native Americans today –...

Plan 9 from Outer Space is considered by many to be the worst movie ever made (and a fun watch). Katharine Coldiron wrote a monograph about the movie. She’ll also be at Plan 9 Records for a book signing. Then, guest reviewer Victor Koressel joins me to discuss OSCAR SNUBS. Katharine talks about: – Her connection with the record store – Why write a book about this movie – Wh...

In this podcast, Hamilton Glass, Matt Lively & Pam Hervey discuss creating Mending Walls: The Documentary , including: – How the concept came about – How conversations between Matt & Hamilton changed their perspectives – How Pam got involved in producing the documentary – How the project grew to 16 murals – The mural that Ham and Matt created – The chall...

We meet part of the team for the new VPM News Focal Point : – Angie Miles explains the origin of the show – How it’s different from the previous show, Virginia Currents – The subject of the first show – Keyris Manzanares spotlights Virginians who have made an impact – Roberta Oster explains the scope of the show Michael Perry is a Production Designer in LA. We d...

Shoniqua Shandai is one of the stars of HARLEM, an Amazon Prime series that has been called the Black Sex and the City ( here’s my review titled Is Sex Better Uptown? ). Shoniqua was also raised in Richmond. We talk about: – Her character on the show and how it echoes her personality – Meeting Whoopi Goldberg (who’s also on the show) – Getting to be on Broadway (sort...

THE REAL DIRTY DANCING is a new dance competition that celebrates the iconic film’s 35 th anniversary, much of which was shot in Virginia’s Mountain Lake Lodge. Heidi Stone (from MLL) and Daniel Martin (series showrunner) discuss: – How the show started in Austrailia – Events to celebrate the movie at MLL – How the contestants work to re-create the movie’s class...

This show features 2 local film events with a Charlottesville background. First is the producer/director of a new indie, then the 2 UVA grads who are mounting a shorts festival. Ty Cooper talks about his new film AMANDA, which screens at Movieland on 2/5: – How he moved from promoting concerts to become a filmmaker – Why he chose Richmond to shoot – How Miss Virginia got involved...

After 40 years at NBC12, Jim Duncan retired last year. We discuss: – How he got interested in weather – How he got to RVA – Stories from the station – What he’s up to now – Plus a special guest visitor Then, Mike Jones updates us on the 27 th annual James River Short Film Showcase , VA’s oldest juried film competition. It’s screening Jan 28-30. Jim D...

This show features 2 foreign film opportunities: Katrina Nousek (Assistant Professor of German Studies, University of Richmond) tells us about the German Film Series that plays at a unique downtown venue. Leslie McGuigan (Director of Cultural Arts, Weinstein JCC) fills us in on this year’s Israeli Film Festival Jonathan Gruber discusses the film at the festival he produced and directed, Uphe...

Jai grew up in RVA and now lives in LA, where he’s a staff writer on Superman and Lois . We’ll cover: – A behind-the-scenes exploration of the writers’ room and how that process works – His strategy for getting hired in Hollywood – What inspired him to get into writing and film – The projects he’s written and/or directed – What he had for lunch...

Andy’s the Director of the Virginia Film Office. We talk about: – His 80s music video. Click here to watch it. – Interesting connections he’s made with filmmakers that keep them coming back to Virginia – A teaser on what might be coming soon – And more. LINKS My review of: Dopesick Unhinged  

This first show is just a sample. The weekly show will be 30ish-minutes and starts January 5, 2022.