When four outsiders saw what the big banks, media and government refused to, the global collapse of the economy, they had an idea: The Big Short. Their bold investment leads them into the dark underbelly of modern banking where they must question everyone and everything. The Big Short is being talked about as the best picture of the year. Its script, adapted by director Adam McKay (The Other Guys) and writer Charles Randolph (Love & Other Drugs) from Michael Lewis's bestselling 2009 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, is considered one the frontrunners for the best adapted screenplay 2016 Academy Award. Randolph is an American screenwriter and producer for film and television. Randolph has written screenplays for several films and TV movies including The Life of David Gale (2003), The Interpreter (2005), and Love & Other Drugs (2010). Randolph received nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and an Academy Award nomination for co-writing The Big Short. Randolph joins us to talk about the challenges of write a script on a complex subject that is informative, intelligent and entertaining.

For news and updates go to: thebigshortmovie.com

Based on the personal life of the films director Deniz Gamze Ergoven personal life Mustang tells the story of five free-spirited teenage sisters living in a village in Northern Turkey. As the sisters splash about on the beach with their male classmate their innocent fun a neighbor reports what she considers to be illicit behavior to the girls family. The family overreacts, removing all instruments of corruption, like cell phones and computers, and essentially imprisoning the girls, subjecting them to endless lessons in housework in preparation for them to become brides. As the eldest sisters are married off, the younger ones bond together to avoid the same fate. The fierce love between them empowers them to rebel and chase a future where they can determine their own lives in Deniz Gamze Ergoven's debut, a powerful portrait of female empowerment. Mustang was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist of nine films. The film was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Director Ergoven's joins us for a conversation on her beautifully rendered story of five young women who refuse to be shackled by a repressive social system.

For a fifth consecutive December, a heartbroken Noel returns to New York City to work the night shift at a sidewalk Christmas tree lot. Devoid of any holiday spirit, he struggles to stay awake during the long, chilly nights in his trailer, while the daytime traffic keeps him from getting any real rest. As he slowly spirals into despair, he comes to the aid of a mysterious young woman in the park. Her warming presence, matched with some colorful customers, help rescue him from self-destruction. Director, writer and producer Charles Poekel stops by for a conversation on his lyrical, redemptive film about a man finding a unique take on a holiday tale.

For news and updates go to: factorytwentyfive.com/christmas-again/

Or the official Christmas Again website at: xmasagain.com

*2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominee - John Cassavetes Award*

Su Rynard�s wide-ranging and contemplative documentary THE MESSENGER explores our deep-seated connection to birds and warns that the uncertain fate of songbirds might mirror our own. Moving from the northern reaches of the Boreal Forest to the base of Mount Ararat in Turkey to the streets of New York, THE MESSENGER brings us face-to-face with a remarkable variety of human-made perils that have devastated thrushes, warblers, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks and many other airborne music-makers. On one level, THE MESSENGER is an engaging, visually stunning, emotional journey, one that mixes its elegiac message with hopeful notes and unique glances into the influence of songbirds on our own expressions of the soul. On another level, THE MESSENGER is the artful story about the mass depletion of songbirds on multiple continents, and about those who are working to turn the tide. In ancient times humans looked to the flight and songs of birds to protect the future. Today once again, birds have something to tell us. Director Su Rynard joins us to talk about her loving ode to nature�s minstrels.

For news and updates on The Messenger go to: songbirdsos.com/