Faux Reel Podcast

On this episode Dawn interviews filmmaker Angela Washko after the world premiere of her documentary WORKHORSE QUEEN at the Slamdance Film Festival. WORKHORSE QUEEN follows RuPaul Drag Race contestant Ed Popil (Mrs. Kasha Davis) as he navigates his career and personal life post-Drag Race. Mrs. Kasha Davis stood out from the rest because she was an older contestant emulating Ed's mother, quite unlike many of the youthful and highly energetic drag queens. Dawn and Angela talk about how Mrs. Kasha Davis resonated with Angela, Angela's creative community in Pittsburgh, and the difference gender and sexuality education and exposure could have on future generations. 

Follow the film: https://workhorsequeen.com/ & https://www.instagram.com/workhorse_queen/

On this episode Dawn talks with filmmakers Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley for their Sundance hit STRAWBERRY MANSION - a wildly imaginative film about a dream auditor who finds his time-transcending soulmate while on the job. They talk about childhood inspiration for the film, the creative and quirky set and prop design, and share some of their own memorable dreams.

Follow the film: https://www.instagram.com/strawberrymansionmovie/

This week Dawn talks with young visionary Carlson Young with her feature film debut THE BLAZING WORLD after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. They discuss fantasy history and inspiration, their dream worlds, and advice to upcoming filmmakers. 

Follow the film: https://www.instagram.com/the.blazingworld/

Happy Valentine's day everyone! I thought this was the perfect episode to celebrate this holiday. This episode features Swedish filmmaker Ninja Thyberg for her feature debut PLEASURE, which just had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. PLEASURE is about a young Swedish woman who moves to LA to get into hardcore porn, and the experiences both good and bad that she has with it. We talk about Ninja's research in the porn industry when she was working on the script, our personal experiences as teenagers with porn, and what we can do to help change the harmful aspects of the industry. 

Content Warning: Not suitable for children! Sexual content. 

Welcome to Season 2!! Kicking off this season with an interview with the talented NYU alum Erin Vassilopoulos for her debut feature film, SUPERIOR. SUPERIOR had its world premiere last week at the 2021 virtual Sundance Film Festival. Dawn and Erin talk about the importance of collaboration, shooting on 16mm, location and vintage prop scouting, and more! 

Follow the film on instagram for updates: https://www.instagram.com/superiormoviee/

Dawn shares one of her favorite Q&As she hosted from the Freeland Film Fest! CURRENT SEA is a documentary directed by Christopher Smith and stars journalist Matt Blomberg. Christopher and Matt are covering a wild and inspiring story of marine conservationist, Paul Ferber, who has had to resort to physically protecting the sea animals off the coast of Cambodia from illegal fishermen from Vietnam. He patrols the sea (often at night) and runs a program during the day working with college students to come up with lasting solutions for protecting the wildlife.

Rent CURRENT SEA on Amazon for $.99: https://www.amazon.com/Current-Sea-Christopher-Smith/dp/B08KQGH4B6/ref=sr_1_2

Read more from Matt Blomberg: https://news.trust.org/profile/?id=003D000002WadiqIAB

Check out Freeland: Freelandfilmfest.org & freeland.org

Donate to the conservation project: https://marineconservationcambodia.org/

In this episode Dawn interviews fellow Utah filmmaker Robert Machoian for his newest film THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS. They talk about their academic backgrounds, local art scenes and the influence of place and home in filmmaking. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was bought by Neon. It's currently scheduled to be out in theatres Feb. 23rd, 2021. 

https://neonrated.com/films/the-killing-of-two-lovers

In this episode, Dawn interviews Native filmmaker and writer Sterlin Harjo for his newest documentary feature, LOVE AND FURY. They discuss the traditions of family storytelling, and the importance of modern Native storytelling through writing, filmmaking, music, painting, and more. Harjo also shares his newest project, FX series Reservation Dogs, that he's co-creating with Taika Waititi.

https://www.loveandfuryfilm.com/

On this episode of Faux Reel we travel back to the Sundance Film Festival where Dawn sat down with MUCHO MUCHO AMOR co-Director Kareem Tabsch. They talk about the influence of Walter Mercado on the Latinx and Latinx gay communities, and what it's like to meet your idol. Mucho Mucho Amor is now streaming on Netflix.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81200204

In our fourth episode, I interview Berlin-based documentary filmmaker Elke Lehrenkrauss for her first feature, LOVEMOBIL. Her film tells the stories of sex workers living and working in RVs in rural Germany. We discuss what it takes to tell a good story as a documentary filmmaker, her experience shooting in tight spaces, the dangers and the strength of the women in her film, and the reaction audiences have had to the film.