CINEMACTIVIST

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Public Herald investigative journalists, Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman. Public Herald’s mission is two-fold: truth + creativity. Their work uses investigative journalism and art to empower readers and hold accountable those who put the public at risk. Public Herald has garnered millions of readers, over 2,000 Lifetime Members, published exclusive investigations that reshaped the narrative on fracking, been cited in more than 20 peer-reviewed studies, regularly cited in national coverage, is licensed to more than 100 U.S. colleges, led to probes of criminal conduct, and produced three feature-length documentaries with international distribution.  

[00:00] Submitting to Sundance, Mark Ruffalo, Festival censorship and Self Distribution Round 1

[11:15] Triple Divide Tour and early days of Tesla travel

[20:42] Invisible Hand, the Rights of Nature, CELDF and approaching Indigineous groups

[34:25] The Peacemaker Prophecy with a 30 sec. Tornado Intermission

[40:49] The Importance of Music in telling a story, producing a film score during a pandemic and trying to license music for an independent film

[48:27] Self Distribution Round 2 … in the virtual world created by the COVID-19 Pandemic

| Published on December 1, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

This week's guest is Jeffrey A Brown. Jeffrey wrote and directed his first feature, The Beach House, and has years of experience as location manager on  everything from The OA to Spider-Man 3. In The Beach House, a romantic getaway for two troubled college sweethearts turns into a struggle for survival when unexpected guests - and the surrounding environment - exhibit signs of a mysterious infection. Check it out on Shudder (or rent/own everywhere!) and jump into the deep end with us. 

[0:00] Festivals and Shudder

[5:21] Challenges of an 18-day shoot

[9:05] Post-production & Practical Effects: Cheap, Good or Fast

[19:32] Assembly Cuts, Locations & Story Roots

[26:16] Genre Niches and Audience

[36:19] Cosmic Horror and The Color Out of Space

| Published on November 24, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

... Next week!

John here. Cinemactivist took a few months off while we re-launched the Eerie Horror Fest, completed a new short film, and more. We've got some news in this short episode as well and we officially return next week with new interviews.

| Published on November 17, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

Under quarantine I got to create a short film, DEINCEPS MOTUS, with dancemakers and choreographers Angela DiFiore, Corinne Justine and Mark Santillano. In this episode, we reunite to talk about the Erie Dance Film Festival, the themes of our film and the process of working together for the first time, during a pandemic. Watch the Festival Cut of Deinceps Motus:

DEINCEPS MOTUS (2021) - 8 minutes

Artistic Statement:

Learn more about the Erie Dance Film Festival: www.eriedancefilmfestival.com

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

Unearth is just days away from VOD & DVD release in the USA, UK and Ireland! In this episode, we give you all the information on where to see it, and how to help us maximize our release impact. We also recap our theatrical, drive-in and virtual cinema grassroots efforts and share our takeaways and tips for other filmmakers looking to do something similar with their projects -- hopefully not during a pandemic.

US residents can find convenient links to Pre-order Unearth at www.unearthmovie.com 

[0:39] All of our Unearth VOD, DVD and Blu-ray release news for USA, UK and Ireland residents

[6:19] Check us out as guests on other podcasts

[8:38] The ways you can help us today

[11:50] Full breakdown of our Theatrical and Virtual Cinema grassroots run

| Published on June 23, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

In this episode, I got to catch-up with actress, Monica Wyche. Monica plays "Aubrey" in Unearth and you're sure to recognize her from TV Series like The Path, The Sinner and For Life. She was a joy both on screen and off. Check out her website at www.monicawyche.com. 

[3:58] South Carolina to NYC

[18:07] Collaboration with your Partner

[20:26] Transitioning into TV

[24:42] The On Location Experience

[27:58] Does Where you Reside Matter for Actors?

[41:19] Directing Stylesds on the Page to Life

[39:37] Working with SAG

[41:19] Directing styles

[44:32] Writing

[48:34] Memories of Unearth

| Published on June 16, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

In this episode, Part 1 of my conversation with filmmaker, podcaster, journalist, musician, all-around creative radical, Eleanor Goldfield. Eleanor directed "Hard Road of Hope", a documentary about coal miners and frackers in West Virginia who time and time again find themselves on the frontlines of labor issues and industrial repercussions. We also get into her process, the need for strong unions (now more than ever!) and how damaging industry is able to get entrenched in isolated communities in order to win the messaging battle.

Patrons of Lyons Den Productions will receive the complete conversation in the coming weeks. For more information go to www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions.

| Published on June 9, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

In this episode, we bring you Part 1 of our conversation with actor, PJ Marshall. Listen wherever you podcast.

[00:00] Exercise gets you back to the Present

[03:22] Anxiety and Self-doubt

[08:35] Childhood

[12:10] Early Inspirations 

[17:10] NYC and LA

[30:00] Navigating the Industry

| Published on May 19, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

On the Fenceline: A Fight for Clean Air follows Philly Thrive, a South Philadelphia activist organization, as they mobilize to shut down all operations of Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery. The largest on the east coast of the United States. In this episode, we bring you Part 1 of our conversation with filmmaker, Tara Eng. Tara is a former Working Films George F. Stoney Fellow and has produced and directed short documentaries about abusive trust in gymnastics ("The Lucky Ones") and urban sustainability in New York City ("Growing Justice"). 

Listen wherever you podcast. Patrons of Lyons Den Productions will receive the complete conversation in the coming weeks. For more information go to www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions.

About Picture 2 Picture Productions:

Picture 2 Picture Productions is a team of journalists, photographers, researchers, and producers committed to illuminating pressing issues through documentary storytelling. 

Our process holds space to reflect often on our identities and biases, and how they might shape our decision-making and filmmaking approach. As outsiders, we are conscious of the history of oppressive power between white folks and communities of color, and we continue to seek resources about non-extractive filmmaking practices and environmental racism that might inform our own approach. While two of our directors are from the Greater Philadelphia area, their experiences of growing up in their respective communities do not parallel growing up in South Philly. Our four directors do not know the lived experiences of being Black in South Philly. When we traveled to Philadelphia to film, we knew we were showing up to listen.

Engaging with the community without cameras was imperative to listening and learning. We joined Philly Thrive and our documentary participants for various fundraisers, actions, and slices of pizza in the park to learn about the organization’s history, goals, and membership so that we might understand the full scope of Thrive before constructing a story. During this time, we learned of our documentary participants’ neighborhood communities, and their rich family roots in the South Philly area, which gave us a different understanding of the urgency and stakes of shutting the refinery down for good.

We believe it is important to center the voices and experiences of people of color and fenceline residents. People of color and fenceline residents bear the brunt of refinery pollution, and as their voices have been swept over for years, our goal is to amplify their calls for justice and the stories they shared. Throughout the making of the film, we continue to consult the community and our documentary participants about the representations in our film in order to maintain transparency, authenticity, and dignity.

Although our praxis is nowhere near perfect, we are committed to taking an active role in decolonizing documentary. We welcome and continue to seek learning opportunities about non-extractive filmmaking practices and issues of power.

For additional information about non-extractive filmmaking:

Story Shift – Working Films

Collective Wisdom – MIT Open Documentary Lab

| Published on May 12, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions

As we announced in last week's episode, Unearth is releasing theatrically on Earth Day: Thursday, April 22, 2021. In this episode, we bring you our full conversation with Gregory Laemmle, the President of Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles county. Greg saw our pitch email and Laemmle Theatres became the first venue in the USA & Canada to agree to program Unearth. Tickets available now! We talk about meeting the arthouse demand in Los Angeles, the importance of curation, pandemic shutdown, challenges, pivoting to virtual cinema and re-opening. 

Listen wherever you podcast. Patrons of Lyons Den Productions will receive the complete conversation in the coming weeks. For more information go to www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions.

Laemmle, pronounced "LEM-lee", is synonymous with great independent, foreign, and art house cinema. In over 75 years of operation, we have been guided by our commitment to exhibit "quality film without regard to genre or provenance". Our theaters serve over a million film patrons each year from several locations in the greater Los Angeles region including West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Pasadena,  North Hollywood, Claremont, and Santa Clarita.

| Published on April 14, 2021 | Produced by Lyons Den Productions | Hosted by John C. Lyons | Music by Tony Grey |

Support CINEMACTIVIST and Lyons Den Productions by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/lyonsdenproductions