This week’s CK Café episode is a special one. We sat down with Paul Zaentz — yes, from The Talented Mr. Ripley and Amadeus — who's now serving as an Executive Producer on Backyard/Desert through his company Teatro Della Pace Films. We talk legacy, the importance of subversive films in today’s political climate, the evolution of independent film, and his family’s iconic film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest - including some breaking news about a new adaptation of the classic film!

Paul has helped lovingly restore Cuckoo’s Nest for its 50th Anniversary! The classic film is returning to theaters July 13th & 16th across the U.S. thanks to Fathom Events. Don’t miss the chance to experience it on the big screen: Get tickets now. 🎟️

Watch CK Café here!

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

In this candid episode, we sit down with fellow producers of our first large-scale feature film, Backyard/Desert, to unpack the emotional rollercoaster of indie film fundraising. Backyard/Desert follows a young border patrol agent who discovers a dying migrant in the Yuma desert - forcing her to confront the harsh realities of her job and her identity. We open up about the grind of raising funds as first-time-feature filmmakers, share lessons learned, and offer real tips for those just starting out.

Support the film: wefunder.com/backyarddesert
Follow: @BackyardDesert on all platforms

🌵 Learn more: backyarddesert.com

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

In today's CK Café, we dive into The Importance of Local Film Festivals with a special spotlight on the Queens Film Festival, happening July 7–13th at Court Square Theater in Long Island City, Queens. We sit down with festival founder Mridul Sharma to talk about the power of community-driven cinema, why festivals like Queens FF matter for emerging filmmakers, and how they're shaping the future of indie film. Grab your tickets to the festival and learn more at www.queensfilmfest.com!

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

In this special episode of CK Café, we sit down with the co-founders of the new screening series Her Voice (on June 10, 2025 in NYC) - Miu Sato, Carlotta Romano, and Katherine Beggs - to talk about the realities of composing for film and TV, and the challenges of navigating a male-dominated industry as women creators. 

This honest and inspiring conversation dives into how Her Voice is building community and changing the landscape for the next generation of women in media. 

Don’t miss this episode and the Her Voice live screening event on June 10th. You can grab tickets at https://www.hervoicescreeningevent.com and follow along at https://www.instagram.com/hervoice.screening/.

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com 

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

Welcome to CK Café: the show about film & independent artistry created by acclaimed indie production company, ⁠CK Films . Join a variety of hosts every Monday as we welcome indie creatives to talk about their work, the film world and independent filmmaking. More of a visual person? Watch our show here.

This week, host Rosie Dean (⁠⁠@rosiedean21) is joined by musician Rob Eberle (@RobEberle ). Listen as they discuss Rob's process with music videos, working on short films & their creative processes.

Learn more about CK Films & CK Productions: https://ckproductionsnewyork.com/film⁠

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@ckproductionsny
Vimeo - ⁠https://vimeo.com/ckfilmsny⁠
Instagram - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/ckfilmsny
Listen to the Show - https://ckcafe.buzzsprout.com

GUEST
https://www.instagram.com/robeberle
https://www.robeberle.com

HOSTS
https://www.instagram.com/ethanfelizzari
https://www.instagram.com/stefanieccolon
https://www.instagram.com/rosiedean21

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

Welcome to CK Café: the show about film & independent artistry created by acclaimed indie production company, ⁠CK Films ⁠(⁠@CKFilmsNY⁠). Join a variety of hosts every Monday as we welcome indie creatives to talk about their work, the film world and independent filmmaking. More of a visual person? Watch our podcast on our YouTube channel ⁠here⁠. 

This week, host Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (⁠⁠@ethanfelizzari) is joined by our first official guest on the show, long time collaborator, Mateo Marquez (@mateo_marq). Listen as they discuss their hardships starting out in the industry, festival hiccups & about the film that started it all for them, our very own "La Sangre en Nuestras Venas" (dir. Mateo Marquez, starring Sebastian Chacon).

Learn more about CK Films & CK Productions: ⁠https://ckproductionsnewyork.com/film⁠

YouTube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ckproductionsny⁠

Vimeo - ⁠https://vimeo.com/ckfilmsny⁠

Instagram - ⁠https://instagram.com/ckfilmsny⁠

Follow our Guest:
@mateo_marq
mateomarquezfilm.com

Host Instagrams:

@stefanieccolon

⁠⁠@ethanfelizzari

@rosiedean21

⁠@CKFilmsNY⁠

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

Welcome to CK Café: the show about film & independent artistry created by acclaimed indie production company, ⁠CK Films ⁠(⁠@CKFilmsNY⁠). Join a variety of hosts every Monday as we welcome indie creatives to talk about their work, the film world and independent filmmaking. More of a visual person? Watch our podcast on our YouTube channel ⁠here⁠. 

This week, hosts Stefanie Colón (@stefanieccolon) and Rosie Dean (@rosiedean21) discuss their experience being women in the independent film scene and their admiration for multi-hyphenate artists.

Learn more about CK Films & CK Productions: ⁠https://ckproductionsnewyork.com/film⁠

YouTube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ckproductionsny⁠

Vimeo - ⁠https://vimeo.com/ckfilmsny⁠

Instagram - ⁠https://instagram.com/ckfilmsny⁠

Host Instagrams:

@stefanieccolon

⁠⁠@ethanfelizzari

@rosiedean21

⁠@CKFilmsNY⁠

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).

Welcome to CK Café: the show about film & independent artistry created by acclaimed indie production company, CK Films (@CKFilmsNY). Join a variety of hosts every Monday as we welcome indie creatives to talk about their work, the film world and independent filmmaking. More of a visual person? Watch our podcast on our YouTube channel here.

This week, hosts Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari) & Stefanie Colón (@stefanieccolon) introduce the show and talk about their careers as up and coming producers in the indie film world.

Learn more about CK Films & CK Productions: https://ckproductionsnewyork.com/film

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@ckproductionsny

Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/ckfilmsny

Instagram - https://instagram.com/ckfilmsny

What is CK Café?
CK Café is a filmed podcast and live conversation series spotlighting creators —especially those from underrepresented communities — who are building their careers in film, music, theatre and beyond. Each episode explores the artist’s personal journey, the challenges they’ve faced, and the love behind their work. Whether through deep-dive interviews, behind-the-scenes breakdowns, or live panels, CK Café offers inspiration and real talk for artists and audiences alike.

Follow CK's journey at https://instagram.com/ckproductionsny and on Substack https://ckproductions.substack.com/

Visit our website to learn more about CK at https://ckproductionsnewyork.com

CK Café is Hosted by Rosie Dean (@RosieDean21) and Ethan Felizzari-Castillo (@ethanfelizzari).