Film Roundtable

Film Roundtable is thrilled to be joined this week by Director Hiro Murai and Cinematographer Christian Sprenger, both of whom are double Emmy nominees in their respective categories for, “Atlanta”, and “Station Eleven.”

In this candid conversation with Doug Torres, Hiro + Christian discuss how they started collaborating together and what has become their process as their work has evolved over the years.

Tune in for a wonderful discussion about the essence of collaboration and developing a creative team early in your career.

In our latest Film Roundtable, we are joined by part of the team behind the web series “Rabbit.” 

"Rabbit" follows an antisocial freelance criminal as he bounces around Los Angeles doing jobs that are too “embarrassing or dangerous” for Taskrabbit. However, as he makes moral compromise after moral compromise, he must ask himself if he’s really connecting with his clients, or just doing their dirty work.

Maria Prieto leads a conversation between writer and star, Kyle Prue, and director, Max Michalsky. 

The two discuss their early collaborations in improv at the University of Michigan, the strengths they see in each other as artists, the biggest challenge in bringing the web series to life, as well as many other engaging anecdotes. 

You can stream all of “Rabbit” on Kyle Prue’s YouTube channel. 

In our latest Film Roundtable, we are joined by celebrated horror director, writer, and actor, Larry Fessenden, and independent film producer, Peter Phok. As the team behind the fiercely independent New York production company, Glass Eye Pix, they have fostered a creative playground for horror auteurs.

This conversation, moderated brilliantly by Sean Glass, covers a range of topics: first-hand accounts of the making of several Glass Eye Pix productions, including Ti West’s feature directorial debut, “The Roost,” the minutiae of budgeting, and the importance of using local resources and favors. They also discuss how serendipitous encounters with filmmakers can lead to long-term collaboration.

Larry and Glass Eye Pix are currently being honored with a retrospective at the MoMA, with screenings occurring through April 19th, both online and in person.

Our latest Roundtable features the Director, Actors, and Writers of the meta psychological thriller/documentary film Ayar.

Floyd Russ decided to approach the film Ayar by inviting the two lead actors, Ariana Ron Pedrique and Vilma Vega to co-write the movie with him, bringing a rich and multi-faceted perspective to the movie. 

The Roundtable features various topics, including the challenges of making one’s first feature film, getting it funded, and finally distributing it.

Most importantly we discuss how the movie tackled the extremely difficult barrier to entry that immigrants face when trying to break into the US/English speaking Film Business, especially when faced with preconceived ideas about what a foreigner’s role should be, especially when they have a foreign accent and different primary language.

Finally, we discuss the Film maker's brave decision to mix the genres of narrative storytelling with documentary, essentially laying the actors bare to movie audiences and smashing the 4th wall in an unforgettable & enriching raw fashion.

In our latest Film Roundtable, we welcome Academy Award Winning Producer Adele Romanski and Academy Award Nominated Producer Nicolás Celis. 

Led by Maria Prieto, the conversation covers a range of topics, including the support system and friendship they’ve found in one another, their early days navigating the industry, and a brief discussion of their latest projects: The Underground Railroad, which Romanski served as producer on, and Prayers for The Stolen, Mexico’s submission to compete for the Academy Award nomination for the best foreign film this year, produced by Celis. 

In our latest Roundtable, we are pleased to welcome Production Designer Kasra Farahani and Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. Matthew Woolf leads a conversation discussing their experience on the Marvel Series Loki.

The conversation covers a range of topics including; the pressure and expectations of making a Marvel show, how much one is able to bring stylistically to the Marvel Universe, the importance of having the right collaborators in key positions to accomplish the right look, and how a limited involvement in the post process can affect the original vision of the artist.

Finally, they discuss the impact on their personal lives working in the film industry, especially in the backdrop of the recent averted strike threat by IATSE.

In this Roundtable, we welcome Writer, Creator, and Director Danny Strong, Cinematographer Checco Varese and Director of episodes 5 & 6 Patricia Riggen of the Hulu Series Dopesick.

The conversation focuses on the responsibility of creating an episodic series covering the national opioid crisis, and how such a series helps expose the architects of this crisis, making evident the roots of such a convoluted and complicated situation.

Among other topics, the group delves into the process building a creative team, the choices faced by a director coming into a show for specific episodes, how the Writer, Showrunner, Cinematographer and Director collaborate on an episodic series.

In this Film Roundtable, we welcome back two friends, Director/DP Reed Morano and Director/DP Bradford Young for a therapeutic conversation in the wake of the potential IATSE strike.

The two go straight into the quality of life concerns that exist in our business, as well as the general culture of self-care practice being neglected or treated as an afterthought. The two discuss how the stress to deliver in an unattainable time frame puts our mental health at risk and delve into the deep inequities between above the line and below the line crew members. In addition, Reed speaks about where her allegiance lies on set, taking care of her crew, while knowing that is not always the case for everyone in her position. 

Listen and share this segment of an essential conversation that we must continue to amplify in a wider scope, so that we may begin the work of systemic change across the board.

On our latest film roundtable, we host a conversation between Isabel Sandoval, Hari Nef, and moderator Ximena Prieto. The three start with a discussion regarding setting, introspection, and reflection, and Isabel points to the impact of nature well as the importance of sunlight on creative input. 

Hari delves into her response to prompts as a writer, and the interaction with New York as a source and force to contend with, reflecting one’s place in the constellation communally and individually. Isabel discusses her early films as a calling card for her work as a talent behind and in front of the camera, remaining true to an intimate vision which she would not compromise on; Hari dives into this specificity, starting with the visual and political voice of Apparition, continuing with Señorita (Isabel contending with “third world cinema”) and expanding into Lingua Franca. They also discuss fictional historical narratives and the visual departures taken in Sandoval’s latest film, Shangri-La, which will screen at Venice Film Festival this year, and what this could mean for Isabel’s storytelling style going forward.

Other highlights include Hari discussing the embrace of chaos and discipline, creating as a reflection to the world around you, Hari playing Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at fifteen, and Isabel divulging the influence of Jeanne Dielman on Lingua Franca. 

Finally, we close with a question about the conscious inclusion of Identity Aesthetics, versus an unplanned and perhaps inevitable apparition of lived experience onto visual expression, as well as the importance of not becoming mired in either expectations or discourse, letting go, and having fun.

We are thrilled to present our second Roundtable recorded in Spanish. In our latest episode, we are joined by Cinematographers Gonzalo Amat and Alexandra Bas.

Gonzalo has shot four seasons of “The Man in the High Castle,” produced by Ridley Scott and Amazon Studios. He’s a member of the International Cinematographers Guild, the DGA, and the ASC. In 2018, Gonzalo ventured into the world of directing and has since directed four episodes of SEAL Team.

Alexandra Bas is a Mexico City based cinematographer from Venezuela. She’s lensed a variety of projects including short films, music videos, and documentaries. Her hunger to share intimate narrative stories has taken her all over the world, and her work has been recognized by multiple festivals.

Maria Prieto leads them through a conversation that touches on their early career days, the counterintuitive way to build your career, and the way they both adapted to a pandemic world.

Estamos encantados de presentar nuestro segundo episodio de Film Roundtable grabado en español. En este episodio, nos acompañan los directores de fotografía Gonzalo Amat y Alexandra Bas.

Gonzalo ha fotografiado cuatro temporadas de “The Man on The High Castle,” producida por Ridley Scott y Amazon Studios. Es miembro del International Cinematographers Guild, la DGA y la ASC. En 2018, Gonzalo se lanzo al mundo de la dirección y desde entonces ha dirigido cuatro episodios de SEAL Team.

Alexandra Bas es una directora de fotografía Venezolana que vive en la Ciudad de México. Ha fotografiado una variedad de proyectos que incluyen cortometrajes, videos musicales y documentales. Su hambre por compartir historias narrativas íntimas la ha llevado por todo el mundo, y su trabajo ha sido reconocido por múltiples festivales.

Maria Prieto modera esta conversación que aborda los primeros días de su carrera, la forma contraria a la intuición de construir su carrera y la forma en que ambos se adaptaron a un mundo con pandemia.