In this episode, Matthew Groves interviews Danfung Dennis, a photojournalist/documentary filmmaker who made the film, Hell and Back Again, about US Marines Echo Company 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment, and specifically Nathan Harris who was severely injured in his deployment in Afghanistan and the film tells the story of his emotional, physical, and psychological struggles reintroducing himself into civilian life. This 2011 Sundance award winner is striking portrait that cuts back and forth from North Carolina and Afghanistan and gives us a full frontal look at military service and it's aftermath in a way you rarely ever see and is a must-see. Feel free to comment on here and give us a star rating and review on iTunes!

Notes:

You can find a review of the film on www.TheAlternativeChronicle.com

The audio is a little loud at points, but we are not having the issue we used to with Matthew being very loud and the guest being quiet. Thanks so much for appreciating this despite the quality not always being perfect.

My interview guests today, Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega, are award-winning documentary director/producers who made the film, Better This World, about activists, David McKay and Brad Crowder. McKay and Crowder were arrested and charged in connection to domestic terrorism charges while demonstrating @ the 2008 RNC. The film is playing currently @ Docuweeks in Los Angeles and will be playing on the PBS program, POV in the fall. For more information check out BetterThisWorld.com and documentary.org/docuweeks2011

My interview guest today is an acclaimed and truly independent filmmaker, John Sayles. He is a particularly underrated filmmaker who tackles social, political, and cultural history of America through the lens of class, religion, and race. Just a handful of his films include, Return of the Secaucus Seven, Lianna, Eight Men Out, Matewan, Lone Star, and most recently Amigo, which examines the lost story of the Philippine-American War.

In this episode, Matthew Groves interviews acclaimed filmmaker, Asif Kapadia whose new film, Senna is currently releasing in New York and Los Angeles today and expanding in limited release around the country in the coming weeks. It tells the breathtaking, unique story of Ayrton Senna, a Formula One sensation and is a film sweeping festivals all over the world, wowing audiences and critics alike. Feel free to comment on here and give us a star rating and review on iTunes!

Matt Groves interviews Oscar-nominated director, Marshall Curry. His new film is the documentary, If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front. It is currently playing in New York, NY and Eugene, OR and is slated to release in Los Angeles on July 15. For more information about the film, check out the films website, ifatreefallsfilm.com/

Check out Episode 5, where we take the whole time to discuss The Tree of Life, the new film by visual master auteur, Terrence Malick. Feel free to comment on here and give us a star rating and review on iTunes!

Notes:

Warning: There are spoilers in this episode, so if you don't want to know anything wait to listen until after you see the film. Although, the film does not adhere to basic plot structures and to be honest don't conventionally count as spoilers. But for the sake of those whose experience may be ruined by knowing some of these details, we wanted to be respectful and warn you about that.

Also, I am so sorry about this but Matthew Groves (Founder/Editor) misspoke about The Thin Red Line in his intro, saying it was released in 2008 rather than 1998. Sorry about that, it was honest mistake, he mangled his words a little.

Lastly, while we've enjoyed doing Chronicle Cast, we have decided to go on hiatus for a little while so we can retool a couple things about the show and make it even better. In the meantime, tell your friends about the show and we'll let you know when we'll be back up and running and better than ever! Thanks so much for listening and all the support!