In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, BAFF Founder & Director Jonathan Lipp chats with actress Amy Stiller about her new film SMALL POTATOES, which premiered at the Big Apple Film Festival, as well as her acting career, the influence of her family, as well as advice for aspiring actors. 

Amy Stiller is an actress based in New York City. She is a graduate of Circle In the Square Theater School and attended Emerson College. She is known for her work on HBO's Divorce, HBO's Love Life, Escape at Danemora, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, At Home with Amy Sedaris, Inside Amy Schumer, Law and Order SVU and King of Queens. She has starred in multiple film roles, including Fire at Will, which premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival. 

On stage, Amy played Pauline in 'The Seagull Woodstock, NY' by Thomas Bradshaw, directed by Scott Elliott at The New Group. Charles Isherwood of The Wall Street Journal called her performance 'deftly touching'. She wrote a one person show, 'Just Trust', which was performed at Dixon Place, and she played Gloria Jean Kojax in Women Behind Bars one of the final productions at The 13th Street Theater. 

In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, BAFF Founder & Director Jonathan Lipp speaks with actress Kathleen Turner about her new film "Joan's Teeth", premiering at the Big Apple Film Festival, as well as the highlights of her legendary acting career.

Since her breakout role as femme fatale extraordinaire Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981), Kathleen Turner has delivered pitch-perfect performances that cut across genres on screen and stage. From playing dark comedy in War of the Roses (1989) to action/romance in Romancing the Stone (1984), Ms. Turner has crafted a diverse filmography that has established her as a leading screen talent. Standout roles include Irene in Prizzi’s Honor (1985) and the title role in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), for which she received a best actress Oscar nomination. Memorably, Turner also lent her slinkiest voice to Jessica Rabbit in the animated Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988).

On stage, Ms. Turner made her Broadway debut in 1978 in Albert Innaurato's Gemini, with Reed Birney. In 1990, breathing life into the role of Maggie, she delivered a striking performance in Tennessee William's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, in which she starred opposite Charles Durning. In 1995, Ms. Turner portrayed Yvonne, a codependent mother to Michael, played by Jude Law, in Indiscretions, an adaptation of Cocteau's Les Parents Terribles.

Two plays of note traveled from Broadway to London's West End: In Terry Johnson's The Graduate, Ms. Turner played Mrs. Robinson, starring opposite Jason Biggs; and in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Ms. Turner redefined the role of Martha, earning her highest marks to date. The onstage chemistry with co-star Bill Irwin was shattering and garnered rave reviews. As Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times: “When [Turner] sits at the center of the stage quietly reciting a litany of the reasons she loves her dearly despised husband, you feel she has peeled back each layer of her skin to reveal what George describes as the marrow of a person.”

Back on Broadway, in High (2010), Ms. Turner employed this same intensity to embody a foul-mouthed, alcoholic nun charged with trying to save a young addict (Evan Jonigkeit). In 2014, at the Duchess Theatre in London, she starred opposite Ian McDiarmid in Stephen Sachs' Bakersfield Mist.

Ms. Turner has relished opportunities to perform in illustrious regional theaters, notably as the title character in Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Geffin in Los Angeles, and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. At Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., she mesmerized audiences in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children and in Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.

In addition to her strong work on big screen and stage, Ms. Turner has left her mark on television, with memorable appearances on Friends as Chandler’s cross-dressing father; in Californication as the sublimely lecherous Sue Collini; and most recently in Hulu's The Path. She has also leant her inimitable voice to iconic animated series such as The Simpsons and King of the Hill.

In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, BAFF Founder and Director Jonathan Lipp speaks with Janice Molinari, who is an accomplished filmmaker and producer, and is currently serving as Director of Production at HULU/DISNEY/ABC.

Janice discusses her recent film "Stronger Than You Think", which had its NYC premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival: Women's Spotlight Edition.  The film is a documentary following Ali Truwit, a collegiate swimmer who lost her leg in a shark attack and, within a year, rehabilitated to become a Paralympian. The film documents her journey from trauma to triumph, focusing on resilience and mental strength.

Janice also discusses the evolution of her own career, including her inspiration to want to become a filmmaker and storyteller, how she began her career in the film and TV industry, and what led to her to the position she currently serves in, as Director of Production at Hulu/Disney/ABC. 

Finally, Janice also provides insight, guidance and advice to aspiring filmmakers, producers and writers.

BIO

Janice C. Molinari is currently the Director of Production at Hulu / ABC / Disney.

She recently produced "Huluween Dragstravaganza" and the aftershow for Only Murders in the Building, "One Killer Question" which won the Producers Guild Award and an Emmy Award for Best Short Series. 

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Her current project is a feature documentary film about shark attack survivor and Paralympian, Ali Truwit, that will run the festival circuit in 2025.

An award-winning Producer, Director, Director of Photography and Editor—whose work is known and respected throughout the industry, her work has garnered her 7 Emmy Awards and more than 18 Emmy Nominations.

Since launching her career in 1991 at MTV, Janice has enjoyed high-profile, professional opportunities. 

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As the Co-founder and President of Brisun Productions, her projects have included bringing to life series’ for CBS, ESPN, MTV and YES Network, documentary and entertainment specials for The Discovery Channel, USA Network, Tennis Channel and Comedy Central and corporate work for IBM and Wyndham Hotels.

She was the Show-runner and creator of Yankees On Deck, the three time Emmy Award winning kids show for the New York Yankees which ran for more than 100 episodes. Additionally she created and produced three highly rated seasons of "Ultimate Roadtrip" the Emmy Award winning competition reality series.

After fifteen successful years at Brisun, Janice ventured back out into the freelance world, spending a season as Senior Story Producer for the acclaimed “On The Case With Paula Zahn” for Investigation Discovery.  She was also the Producer for Supercross "Behind the Dream" a follow documentary series airing on FS1, and Director of Development for NetworkBe before landing at Hulu in 2020.

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Communicating in this medium isn’t a job for Janice — it’s a lifelong passion. She recognizes the potential to touch people’s lives through her work. Janice focuses on motivating young women to follow their dreams. Her profile has been featured in inspirational book "Cool Women, Hot Jobs" and her personality and unique style of storytelling has made for a storied career in the entertainment industry.

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She resides on Los Angeles with her wife and their two incredible dogs!

In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, BAFF founder and director Jonathan Lipp speaks with veteran filmmaker John Gray on his career spanning decades of writing, producing and directing for TV, streaming series and feature films, as well as advice for aspiring filmmakers.John Gray is a New York based writer-director-producer. He created the long-running hit CBS series GHOST WHISPERER, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. He has also written and directed many award-winning and critically acclaimed movies for television, such as MARTIN AND LEWIS, starring Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam. His Emmy-nominated works include A PLACE FOR ANNIE with Sissy Spacek and the mini-series HAVEN with Natasha Richardson and Anne Bancroft. Gray’s other projects include HELTER SKELTER with Bruno Kirby, as well as many others.He has directed dozens of episodes of series across the broadcast TV, including Grimm (NBC), The Family (ABC), Empire (ABC). He was also the producing director of the CBS series RECKLESS.Gray has written and directed several studio and independent feature films, including the award-winning WHITE IRISH DRINKERS, starring Stephen Lang and Karen Allen, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. His acclaimed short films have screened at the Big Apple Film Festival, as well as other film festivals all over the world, including the Cannes Short Film Festival.

In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, BAFF Founder/Director Jonathan Lipp discusses the indie film scene with Mark Elijah Rosenberg, who is a director, writer, producer, editor, as well as the founder and former artistic director of Rooftop Films in NYC.

Mark’s feature film directorial debut, Approaching the Unknown, tells the story of a man alone on a one-way journey in space. It is a philosophical sci-fi film about exploring the limits of human experience to appreciate that the mysteries of the universe will always be ineffable. The film was theatrically distributed by Paramount Pictures, and is available on Prime Video. Approaching the Unknown (formerly titled Ad Inexplorata) was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, was given the NHK Screenwriting Award and the Indian Paintbrush Award, and was supported by Creative Capital, the San Francisco Film Society, The Jerome Foundation and Cinereach. The film stars Mark Strong, Luke Wilson, Sanaa Lathan, Anders Danielson Lie and Charles Baker.

Mark directed, co-produced and created the story for Year Million, a six-hour fiction / documentary hybrid mini-series about the effects of technology on the future of humanity. The show aired on National Geographic and was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

Mark's taste and work favor low-budget, personal cinema. Mark has shot, directed, and edited numerous short films, and was a producer-editor on the Emmy Award-winning WNYE television show IMNY, where he taught video production to New York City public school students. Mark co-produced Orbit(Film), an omnibus movie about our solar system, and directed the Mars film, titled No Message Received. He is also developing a screenplay about a man who discovers he has a limited but amazing superpower, a comic book series about a man who reads people’s journals, and other magical realist films.

You can see more of his directorial work on Vimeo, and his cute dog videos on YouTube.

Born and raised in New York City, Mark Elijah Rosenberg received his BA from Vassar College and began making and showing movies on his roof in 1997 as the Founder and Artistic Director of Rooftop Films, a non-profit organization committed to building community through the medium of film, by showing independent movies in outdoor locations, producing and supporting new films, coordinating youth media education, and renting equipment at low cost to artists. Under Mark’s leadership, Rooftop Films has become one of the most innovative film companies in the country, creating unique events for hundreds of films each year and attracting over 40,000 attendees annually.

Mark has published articles on filmmaking and programming, and been a guest lecturer at places such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Texas. Mark has served on grants panels for Cinereach, NYSCA, LMCC and Renew Media. Mark has programmed film screenings across the world, and was on the jury at numerous festivals including Sundance and SXSW. Mark currently teaches film production and theory at Hunter College.

Big Apple Film Festival Founder and Director Jonathan Lipp speaks with the cast and producers of the Big Apple Film Festival official selection, Deadly Vows. This in-depth conversation focuses on the process of making the movie including the challenges, successes, and pride in sharing this incredible story. Deadly Vows stars Shiva Negar (American Assassin), SAG Award nominee Billy Zane (Titanic), Peter Facinelli, Shane West (A Walk to Remember), Academy Award nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, and is directed by Bahar Bella Danesh and Jared Cohn.

In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, BAFF founder and director Jonathan Lipp chats with indie filmmaker and auteur Onur Tukel on his career, inspirations, making movies in NYC, what it means to be a true indie filmmaker, as well as his new film "Wooden Hearts", which will have its NYC premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival.

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In 1997, Tukel wrote and directed his first feature film House of Pancakes. His subsequent film, the vampire drama Drawing Blood, was completed in 1999. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tukel recalled that Drawing Blood was "the only time [he] made money on a movie." His next film, the comedy drama Ding-a-ling-Less, was completed in 2001. In 2005, Tukel (credited as Sergio Lapel) also wrote and directed the comedy The Pigs about a group of middle age men who arrange to have their wives murdered.

In 2012, Tukel wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the comedy drama film Richard's Wedding, which featured such other independent filmmakers as Josephine Decker, Lawrence Michael Levine, and Jennifer Prediger. Despite an overall mixed critical response, the film was praised by David DeWitt of The New York Times as "a slice of the John Cassavetes, John Sayles and Richard Linklater life."

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Tukel's next film, the 2014 vampire horror comedy Summer of Blood, received a warmer response from critics. In a positive review of the film, Eric Kohn of Indiewire praised Tukel as possessing "contemptible goofiness" and being "the broke, post-9/11 version of an early Woody Allen character." More recently, Tukel wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy/horror film Applesauce, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

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As an actor, Tukel has also appeared in the 2011 film Septien, Alex Karpovsky's 2012 romantic comedy Red Flag, and Ping Pong Summer.

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BAFF Podcast is available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, host and festival founder/director Jonathan Lipp sits down with actor and producer Sawyer Spielberg to discuss his film "Martyr of Gowanus", written and directed by Brian Meere. Spielberg shares his passion for NYC, how the city inspires his craft, as well as advice for aspiring actors, artists and filmmakers.Sawyer Spielberg studied drama in New York City and has worked in Theatre, TV, and Film ever since. Sawyer is known for the Apple TV+ series Masters Of The Air playing Lt. Roy Frank Claytor and brought the film Christmas Eve in Millers Point to the Cannes Film Festival. Other films Sawyer is known for are Honeydew and Merry Good Enough.He is currently set to appear in various other projects in production or post production, including Materialists, produced by A24 and distributed by Sony Pictures in which he will co-star opposite Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal and Dakota Johnson.

In this episode, host Jonathan Lipp, Big Apple Film Festival Founder/Director, speaks with filmmaker Cinqué Lee about his film "A Rare Grand Alignment", which will have its NYC premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival.

Cinqué, who is also an actor and writer(as well as the brother of critically acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee), discusses his career, his family's influence on his passion writing and storytelling, his love of nostalgic films, as well as advice for aspiring filmmakers.

Full episode is also available on Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, BAFF Founder and Director Jonathan Lipp chats with Oscar® nominated producer Krushan Naik on how short films can be used as a calling card for a filmmaker to launch their career, how a short can be used to attract industry attention and build an audience to expand their concept into a feature film, if a short film can be a marketable product on its own, and what the future holds for short films in today's marketplace, primarily on streaming networks such as NETFLIX, and other majors streaming networks. Based in Los Angeles, Krushan Naik is an Oscar® nominated producer. He served as producer on the Oscar® nominated short film ANUJA, as well as writer and director of the Big Apple Film Festival official selection RESURGENCE. Krushan is an award-winning director, producer, editor, and educator who has also served as the Head of Programming and a judge for film festivals; taught film production and post-production courses; worked as a Festival Specialist consulting filmmakers on film festivals and marketing strategies, and has featured in various publications, including Film Daily, Mid-Day, Morgan Hill Life, Digital Journal, New York Amsterdam News, Variety, and more. After receiving the "How to Navigate Film Festivals, Marketing & Distribution as a Filmmaker" certification from the Sundance Institute, he worked as a Festival Specialist, consulting filmmakers on film festivals and marketing strategies. In addition, he is an Avid Certified Instructor (ACI) and a Specialist and enjoys creating immersive audio-visual experiences from hours of footage. Krushan has won multiple awards for films produced, co-produced, or produced in association with Krushan Naik Films, including the Telly Award, and has premiered them at prestigious film festivals, including Oscar®/Academy Award®, BAFTA, Canadian Screen Award-qualifying. Moreover, he has a background in visual effects and 3D animation and was also the successful proprietor of an advertising agency, K.N. Kreative Studios, where he collaborated with Bollywood celebrities and top artists in the film and fashion industries from his time in India.