Filmmaking Confidential

Elliott Hunter is an international award winning magician and sleight of hand artist.  Elliott began magic after seeing his first magic show at the local library, and then reading all of the magic books he could to learn the craft. As he progressed, he sought professional mentorship and training. In 2011 he had the opportunity to train at the most prestigious magic school in the world, and learn from the best of the best. Over the years, Elliott has been able to combine his skills in other aspects of entertainment, such as drama, dance, theatre, sleight of hand, comedy and grand illusion to create a truly multifaceted show that appeals to all audiences young and old alike.

Elliott aims to create an authentic evening of entertainment… which is kind of ironic, considering that a magician’s job is to deceive… however, Elliott uses this to his advantage by skillfully combining magic and storytelling. When you watch Elliott’s show, it’s more than just a magic show. Elliott aims to connect with his audiences by sharing personal and socially relevant stories that elicits certain emotions in the audience. Everything is Elliott’s show stems from his own personal reality… meaning what you are seeing is true, authentic, and real... He uses magic to remind his audiences  that even the seemingly impossible can be made possible, and no matter the obstacle, it can be overcome.

As his mentor told him… “You can have the best production value, the most expensive equipment, and even be the best performer in the world, but if you fail to connect with the audience, then you lose all aspects of entertainment.”

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Susan Traylor is an award-winning actress, writer and film director.  She was born in New York and raised in Los Angeles in and around the theater. Her parents were legendary acting teachers Peggy Feury and William Traylor who worked with the likes of Sean Penn, Meg Ryan, Anjelica Huston, Nicolas Cage, and Michele Pfeiffer.  Their school, the Loft Studio, served as a second home to Susan.  At fifteen she insisted on officially studying with her parents. She continued her formal education by going to film school at NYU and while in New York she studied acting with Rochelle Oliver.

Susan’s breakthrough role came in Robert Redford’s A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT.  Susan also starred in HEAT with Robert DeNiro, in Gus Van Sant’s TO DIE FOR, GREENBERG with Ben Stiller, and numerous television series.  In 2005 she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in an amazing film called WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA.  She was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in VALERIE FLAKE.  She has also appeared in a number of Steve Balderson's films.


 

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Davey Wavey is an American Producer who covers LGBT topics related to sex, relationships, and coming out. His YouTube channel has over 1.4 million subscribers.  Wavey is also the creator of Himeros.TV - a site that pushes the boundaries of sex, sexuality, and new ways to experience pleasure, discover desires and express oneself in ways that bring joy and ecstasy.

Wavey described Himeros.TV to The Advocate saying, "We don't market it as educational porn or porn that's good for you, but it kind of is. It's porn, that when you watch it, you see either a technique that's being demonstrated or a concept that you feel like you can apply to your life. As gay men in a vacuum of sex education, we learned about sex by doing what? Watching porn."  At Himeros.TV there's even a porn star bill of rights!  Wavey discusses the policy to provide his models with post-filming mental health support and free counseling. He also pays livable wages, creates drug-free filming sets, and ensures a fully consensual environment.  The wide-ranging content on Himeros.TV is co-created with a team of sex coaches, tantric instructors, psychotherapists, sexologists, world-class directors, talented cinematographers, and models who embody ecstasy.

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Before he became an award-winning writer and poet, Brian Sonia-Wallace set up a typewriter on the street with a sign that said “Poetry Store” and discovered something surprising: all over America, people want poems. An amateur busker at first, Brian asked countless strangers, “What do you need a poem about?” To his surprise, passersby opened up to share their deepest yearnings, loves, and heartbreaks. Hundreds of them. Then thousands. Around the nation, Brian’s poetry crusade drew countless converts from all walks of life.

In The Poetry of Strangers, Brian tells the story of his cross-country journey in a series of heartfelt and insightful essays. From Minnesota to Tennessee, California to North Dakota, Brian discovered that people aren’t so afraid of poetry when it’s telling their stories. In “dying” towns flourish vibrant artistic spirits and fascinating American characters who often pass under the radar, from the Mall of America’s mall walkers to retirees on Amtrak to self-proclaimed witches in Salem.

In a time of unprecedented loneliness and isolation, Brian’s journey shows how art can be a vital bridge to community in surprising places. Conventional wisdom says Americans don’t want to talk to each other, but according to this poet-for-hire, everyone is just dying to be heard.

Thought-provoking, moving, and eye-opening, The Poetry of Strangers is an unforgettable portrait of America told through the hidden longings of one person at a time, by one of our most important voices today. The fault lines and conflicts which divide us fall away when we remember to look, in every stranger, for poetry.

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Bruce LaBruce is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, photographer, writer, and artist based in Toronto. His latest film is "St. Narcisse" a comedy-drama starring Félix-Antoine Duval as a pair of identical twins who were separated at birth and did not previously know of each other's existence, but who fall in love and begin a twincest relationship with each other after being reunited.  The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

LaBruce's earlier film Gerontophilia won the Grand Prix at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal in 2013, and Pierrot Lunaire, which won the Teddy Award Special Jury Prize at the Berlinale in 2014. As a visual artist he is represented by Peres Projects in Berlin, and has had numerous gallery shows around the world, the latest of which, called Obscenity, a photography exhibit, caused a national ruckus in Spain in 2011.

His feature film L.A. Zombie was notably banned in Australia in 2010 after having been programmed at the Melbourne International Film Festival. It later premiered in competition at the Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland that same year.

LaBruce has written and directed three theatrical works at the Hau Theater in Berlin, including a production of Arnold Schoenberg’s avant-garde piece Pierrot Lunaire at the legendary Hebbel am Ufer Theater. He adapted the latter project into an experimental film, incorporating footage from the stage production combined with additional material shot on location in Berlin. He has also directed theatrical works at the Theater Neumarkt in Zurich, Switzerland, and he participated as a director in the Hau Theater’s ambitious X-Homes project in Johannesburg, South Africa.

LaBruce has written a premature memoir called The Reluctant Pornographer, and has had two books published about his work: Ride, Queer, Ride, from Plug-In Gallery in Winnipeg, and Bruce(x)ploitation, a monograph from his Italian distributor, Atlantide Entertainment. LaBruce has contributed to a variety of international magazines, newspapers and websites as both a writer and photographer, including index magazine, for which he also acted as a contributing editor, Vice, The National Post, Purple Fashion, The Guardian UK, and many others. He has also been a regular columnist over the years for Eye, Exclaim! and Vice magazines.

Additionally, LaBruce has directed a number of music videos, two of which won him MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada. Most recently, LaBruce has been honoured with film retrospectives at both TIFF/Bell Lightbox 2014, and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, 2015. The MoMA retrospective featured all nine of LaBruce’s features as well as a program of short films. All of the films have now become part of MoMA’s permanent film collection.

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Season Two is officially here!  For our premiere episode, Philosopher and Author Dr. Joseph Suglia dissects Steve Balderson's new art film ALCHEMY OF THE SPIRIT which stars Xander Berkeley, Sarah Clarke, and cult icon Mink Stole.  The film premieres in Europe at Fantasporto (the Oporto International Film Festival in Portugal) where it is in the main competition (1-10 April, 2022).  In the discussion today: the illusion of time, ancient religions, archaic religiosity, life and death, resurrection, the regeneration of time, the birth of the cosmos, the end of the world, Alan Watts, David Lynch, Shakespeare, and consciousness.
(Correction: At one point, Dr. Suglia misnames the character Leontes by calling him "Leonatus.")

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While Season Two is being produced, I'd love to share an excerpt from the Audible version of my book "Filmmaking Confidential."  Today I'll read the chapters:
"Distribution Middlemen"
"You Don't Need to Yell"
"What Festival Premieres Mean"
"A Chair is a Chair is a Chair"
For more information: https://www.dikenga.com/books

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While Season Two is being produced, I'd love to share an excerpt from the Audible version of my book "Filmmaking Confidential."  Today I'll read the chapters:
"Marketing: You vs The Big Boys"
"How to Read a Screenplay"
"Musicians are Famous Too!"
"Waiting to Work"
For more information: https://www.dikenga.com/books
https://www.amazon.com/dp/173545690X

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While Season Two is being produced, I'd love to share an excerpt from the Audible version of my book "Filmmaking Confidential."  Today I'll read the Introduction, followed by the chapters: "Finding Your Perception," and "The Floor Plan" (with some secret screenwriting tips!).
For more information: https://www.dikenga.com/books
https://www.amazon.com/dp/173545690X

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Today's special Season One finale is The One & Only Betti O!  Betti O. has appeared on stage from New York to Japan, performing with incredible people including Sally Struthers, Ben Vereen and Sandy Duncan. In 2008 she opened for Hillary Rodham Clinton at a political rally in Iowa and was the lead in the Asian tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” Her soulful voice has appeared on music projects worldwide, such as on a hit single released in Europe. Her legendary performance on “Showtime at The Apollo” brought down the house and ended in a standing ovation from the audience, naming her the winner. She also appeared in several of Steve's films.

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