Film Forward

The new comedy film Golden Arm follows a tough lady trucker who trains her wimpy best friend to compete in the National Ladies Arm Wrestling Championship. 

On this episode of Film Forward, we were honored to be joined by Maureen Bharoocha, the director of Golden Arm. Maureen discusses what it was like to work with some of the funniest comedians in the game and she kept each arm wrestling scene feel fresh and exciting. 

The film is wall to wall laughs and you’ll have the opportunity to check it out this Friday, April 30th! Golden Arm will be available in select theaters and also on Apple TV, Amazon and Altavoid.com. This film is worth a few watches - it is that much fun!

Some of the most underrated and under appreciated artists that work in cinema are stunt performers. Not only does their work involve immense creativity and technical knowledge, but they also put their bodies on the line; not in the metaphorical way, they literally put their bodies on the line. So during Oscar week, we want to give some love to the department that the Academy has ignored for yet another year - the Stunt Department.

We bring you another one of our patented Gimme Three Episodes; Gimme Three Stunt Films. Helping us out with this kick-ass (pardon the pun) theme is Luci Romberg. An accomplished stunt woman a national champion gymnast. Luci has worked on dozens of films as a stunt performer including Thunder Force, Bird Box, Spy, The Conjuring, Zombieland and Ghostbusters.

Luci and host Nicholas Ybarra each give us three movies that blew their stunt-loving minds.

Next time you’re watching a film or a television show, keep an eye out for the stunt work and give them a round of applause. They’ve more than earned it.

Enjoy the episode! Let us know what your favorite stunt films are!

Film Forward returns and is joined by a good friend of LADFF, David Radcliff. David is an active member of the Committee for Writers with Disabilities at the Writers Guild of America, West and is writer on the hit Netflix show Waffles + Mochi.

David and host, Nicholas Ybarra discuss the highly creative episode construction of Waffles + Mochi. He also discuss how working on this show parlayed into a roll on the Academy Award nominated film, Crip Camp.

As always, our guest gives us three film recommendations in our favorite segment - Gimme Three.

Waffles + Mochi is available to stream now on Netflix. It’s a great show for kids and adults.

Film Forward returns with acclaimed writer/director Philippe Lacôte to discuss his new film, Night of the Kings. The movie is nominated for and Independent Spirit Award and is the Ivory Coast’s official selection for the 2021 Academy Awards.

Night of the Kings follows a young man who is sent to “La Maca,” a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of a forest ruled by it’s prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new “Roman and must tell a story to the other prisoners throughout the night… or pay the price.

Philippe and host Nicholas Ybarra discuss the film’s response from the Ivory Coast in the middle of a turbulent political climate. The filmmaker also does a deep dive on the construction and filming of the “La Maca” prison, and he explains the significance of Kings and Queens to Ivory Coast culture.

As always, our guest takes part in our Gimme Three segment, providing us three films that inspired him and inspired his work.

Night of the Kings is available on demand right now. Check it out and please let us know what you think.

This week we are honored to be joined by one of the most impressive producers working today, Molly Asher. In 2020, Mollye won the Film Independent’s Producer Award. In recent years she has produced many award winning films including The Rider, Songs My Brother Taught Me, Swallow and her latest film - the Golden Lion Winner at the Venice Film Festival and Golden Globe Nominee, Nomadland.

Mollye and host Nicholas Ybarra discuss the importance of trust when making a film that blends reality and fiction. We also discuss what it’s like working with incredible non-actors at the same time as legendary performers like Frances McDormand and David Strathairn.

As always, our guest recommends three films that inspired her and inspired her work in our favorite segment, Gimme Three.

Nomadland is playing in select theaters and drive-ins (check your local listings). You can also see it on VOD and Hulu starting Friday, February 19th.

Film Forward returns with another edition of our Gimme Three Episodes.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, we bring you Gimme Three Romantic Comedies. Our guest for this week is Adriana Lopez, a dear friend who has a doctorates degree in Rom-Coms (just kidding, I don’t think that exists - but if it did - Adriana would have one).

Join us as we celebrate love, laughs and some of the greatest rom-coms to ever grace the silver screen.

2020 was an unprecedented year for cinema. For much of the year, we weren’t able to immerse ourselves in the engrossing theatre experience. Yet, 2020 provided us with some outstanding and fresh filmmaking.

This episode just scratches the surface of some of the best that the year 2020 had to offer. Film Forward host Nicholas Ybarra, LADFF director/PGA member Sonja Mereu and Film Forward producer Anselm Kennedy get together for the annual Gimme Three Favorites of 2020 episode.

The trio do deep dives on their favorites from the year and discuss why their picks made an impact on them.

Let us know what your favorites of the year were. Drop a comment or message us on social media:

Twiter: @LADFF

Instagram: @ladiversityfilmfest

The United States of America has inaugurated it’s 46th president. Film Forward marks this occasion with another one of our patented GimmeThree episodes. Return guest David Chiu joins us for Gimme Three: Presidential Films.

David and host Nicholas Ybarra each provide three of their favorite presidential pictures (real or fake). They dissect the incredible writing and directing in each film. They also discuss the historic relevance of the presidents and how their terms have impacted the nation today.

Join us as we look at our past, present and try to make sense of our future through the beautiful art of film. This episode was a lot of fun to make, we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are discussing the new documentary MLK/FBI with it’s director, the legendary Sam Pollard.

Mr. Pollard is an Academy Award Nominee and an Emmy Award winner. In this episode, he elaborates on how he and his team approached this wonderfully crafted film, and what audiences can take away from the lessons of the past. MLK/FBI delivers a profound message that resonates in 2021.

The film is playing in virtual cinemas today. We highly recommend you see it; and when you do, please let us know what you think.

Based on the best selling book by Naoki Higashida, "The Reason I Jump" is an immersive film exploring the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. We are honored to be joined by the film’s director, Jerry Rothwell.

Jerry and host, Nicholas Ybarra discuss the techniques and stylistic choices used to put the audience in the sensory world of it’s subjects. Jerry also discusses what he learned form Naoki and the people he follows in the film.

"The Reason I Jump" is in select theaters NOW. It is also available virtually. And for all my Los Angeles listeners, it is available at Laemmle Virtual Cinemas. Not only will you get to see an outstanding film - but you can also support the cinemas and our local theatre chains.