Pulling Focus

In honor of our tenth episode we finally dug out the Rocky theme, it was  only a matter of time.  It seemed the only fitting way to close out a  short audio piece recorded at a rally in support of the PA Film Tax  Credit held on the steps at the Art Museum on June 3, 2017.  Featured  soundtracks of films shot in Philly include Peter Gabriel's score for  Birdy, Paul Buckmaster's theme for Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys and  James Newtown Howard's score for M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable.  We  also devote a set of music to Sofia Coppola who just became only the 2nd  women to be named Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival.  Hear  music from her first short film Lick the Star, Lost in Translation,  Somewhere, Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette.

This episode offers a sneak preview of the upcoming Philadelphia Latino  Film Festival (PHLAFF) opening on Friday, June 2.   Festival Director,  Marangeli Meija Rabell discusses this year's festival offerings and  their commitment to showcasing work by emerging filmmakers and those  using film as a means of social change.  We talk about the current  economic crisis in Puerto Rico, the new documentary film about Residente  and how PHLAFF is building community by bringing artists together with  audiences.  Featured soundtracks include Alejandro Iñárritu's Amores  Perros, Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus, Eliseo Subiela's Dark Side of the  Heart and Residente.

This episode celebrates the over 40 years of repertory film programming  at International House of Philadelphia while looking ahead to its future  with a new name, the Light Box Film Center. I'm joined by Jesse Pires, Chief Curator to talk about their launch event featuring a 25th  Anniversary screening of Allison Anders' Gas, Food Lodging.  Featured  soundtracks are all inspired by past programs shown on the big screen at  International House and include Wim Wenders' Kings of the Road, Robert  Mugge's Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise and Bill Pypmton's The Tune.

This episode of Pulling Focus is a conversation with local film curator,  filmmaker, cultural critic, fashionista, Maori Karmael Holmes.  She  invited 2 filmmakers. Nefertite Nguvu (In the Morning)  and Kimi Takasue  (95 and 6 to Go) to talk about their recent films screening here in  Philadelphia in May 2017.   In the Morning follows a group young, hip  folks on a day in Brooklyn and that got me thinking about other films  with strong ensemble casts full of young breakout talents.   Soundtracks  featured in this episode include Diner and Chacun cherche son chat plus  music by Danny Elfman, Bahamadia, Greg Tate and Abby Dobson.

Continuing the celebration of National Poetry Month but this time adding jazz to the mix. April is designated as Jazz Appreciation Month in Philadelphia and here at WPPM we have been pulling out all the stops highlighting the tremendous community of jazz musicians of all genres and generations. I’ll put playing of some seminal jazz film tracks film noir to the French new wave. And in just a few minutes I will be having a conversation with poet Beth Feldman Brandt who was commissioned by the Philadelpia Jazz Project to adapt her poems to the stage and combine them with jazz in the work Retro Love. Aired on WPPM 106.5 FM in Philadelphia in April 2017.

It being National Poetry Month, this edition of Pulling Focus puts films  that feature poetry in the foreground. Program also features a short  audio piece recorded during a hand processing workshop led by experimental filmmaker Kathryn Ramey. Hear music from films by Jim Jarmusch, Robert Frank, Nina Patel and others. Featured artists include Lynn Sheffield and David Amram, Annette Hanshaw, Masala Dosa, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and more.

This episode of Pulling Focus aired on WPPM in Philadelphia on March 21,  2017. This is an all music episode built around the theme of great  concert films. It features jazz. Latin, RnB, ska, bluegrass and Rock n  Roll from films like Stop Making Sense, Jazz on a Summer's Day, Dave  Chappelle's Block Party, Wattstax, Woodstock and The Last Waltz and featuring artists Dinah Washington, Buena Vista Social Club, Talking Heads, David Bowie, The Selector and more.

Recorded on the eve of International Women's Day, this episode of  Pulling Focus puts women directors in the foreground and features  interviews with Laris Kreslins, programmer of the Women's Animation  Festival, and animators Emily Hubley and Signe Baumane. For more info  about the festival go to http://moore.edu/calendar/moore-women-artists-film-festival-women-in-animation.

This episode of Pulling Focus is an Oscar preview and features an  interview with Hebert Peck, one of the producers of the Oscar nominated I Am Not Your Negro. Original air date on WPPM in Philadelphia, 2/21/2017.  Featured artists include Maurice Jarre, Mychael Danna, Nicholas Britell, Little Jimmie Scott, Alexi Aigui, words by James Baldwin and more.

This edition of Pulling Focus is a crowd sourced mix of songs about movies.  Original air date on WPPM in Philadelphia, 2/14/17.

Au Cinema by Lianne La Havas