Jared Milrad sits down with Muslim-German writer and journalist, Hilal Sezgin, to discuss her feature film, THE ALL IS ONE, winner of our 2023 A Show For Social Change Film Festival’s Social Impact Award. 

THE ALL IS ONE is a narrative feature film that encompasses the question of why humans still consume meat. The film follows the aftermath of an incident at the home of Slaughterhouse owner, Werner Haas, in which a ton of slaughter waste is dumped on his front lawn in the middle of the night. Fuming mad, he files charges against unknown persons and foolishly sets something in motion that can’t be stopped. THE ALL IS ONE comes after the fifty-year anniversary of the German Animal Welfare Act of 1972, which states that vertebrates may only be killed for “justifiable reasons,” thus sparking debate about what, if anything, justifies animal slaughter.  

Hilal Sezgin is one of very few Muslim authors reporting for national German newspapers. Her pieces focus primarily on feminism, Islam, Islamophobia, animal ethics, and human rights. She is especially known for her advocacy for same-sex civil partnerships in Germany, the right for Muslim women to wear headscarves at work and in public, and animal rights. Sezgin opens up to Jared Milrad about how both her Islamic upbringing and secular studies influenced her animal and human rights advocacy, the undeniable link between factory farming and climate change, and creating discourse about the general mistreatment of animals. 

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Jared Milrad interviews directors and Ogden Honors students at Louisiana State University, Ria Salway and Claire Sullivan, about their documentary feature film, FENCELINE, winner of our 2023 A Show For Social Change Film Festival’s Best Non-Fiction Award. 

FENCELINE sheds light on Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, an 84-mile petrochemical corridor stretching along the Mississippi River, from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. The strip is characterized by high rates of cancer, which residents have connected to the excessive pollution in the area, and have tirelessly expressed their concern over. These local concerns and calls for aid have long been ignored by local and state officials, with industry leaders dismissing “Cancer Alley” as a myth. The film brings forth the expertise of several activists, scientists, and residents who live and work in the area to explain the history and reality of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley.

Ria Salway and Claire Sullivan open up to Jared Milrad about the importance of shedding light on Cancer Alley, how politics impact the environment, and overcoming the climate crisis.

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Jared Milrad sits down with filmmaker and visual development artist Erica Travia to talk about her animated short film, ARCADE, winner of our 2023 A Show For Social Change Film Festival’s Creativity Award. 

ARCADE explores the topic of mental health through its protagonist, Milo (Gabe Richardson), a college student experiencing anxiety and panic, who is relentlessly pursued by a manifestation of his anxiety, Annie (Mackenzie Shaye Murray). When Annie overtakes the arcade, Milo’s only reprieve from her torment, it soon becomes a psychedelic nightmare. The film asks: will Milo ever be able to break free of Annie and the madness she instigates?

Erica specializes in environmental design and concept art. She has obtained her bachelor's degree at Savannah College of Art and Design, pursuing animation with a concentration in storytelling and concept development. Erica opens up about her journey as a visual development artist and filmmaker, how the pandemic impacted ARCADE and its making, and the importance of creating dialogue surrounding mental health.

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Jared Milrad speaks with film, television, and theater producer, Bruce Cohen, and film producer and co-head of Higher Ground Productions, Tonia Davis, about their new film, RUSTIN. Directed by George C. Wolfe, RUSTIN follows the life of Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), a dedicated civil rights activist and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Aml Ameen). The film pays particular attention to his work with Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and his termination from the organization due to his sexuality, as well as the prominent role he played in organizing the historic March on Washington in 1963. Cohen and Davis dive into working with the Obamas, the importance of shedding light on untold stories like Bayard’s, and amplifying queer voices.

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Jared Milrad sits down with Tony Award-winning writer/director Matthew Lopez about his directorial debut, RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE, which tells the story of a transatlantic romance that develops between the son of an American President and Britain's prince. Matthew opens up about his  filmmaking process  for RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE (which is based on the novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston); the importance of LGBTQIA+ storytelling and diverse representation onscreen, and the global impact of the film. Matthew also talks about his upbringing as a self-described "gay Puerto Rican from the Florida panhandle with New York roots," finding his voice as a writer, and his Tony Award-winning play, THE INHERITANCE. 

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Jared Milrad interviews writer, director, and producer Clement Virgo about his new film, BROTHER, a poetic adaptation of David Chariandy’s novel of the same name. Elegiac in its unfolding, the film reveals the intimacies of Francis (Aaron Pierre) and Michael (Lamar Johnson), sons of Caribbean immigrants facing questions of masculinity, identity, and family amidst Toronto’s budding and buzzing hip-hop scene. Clement opens up about his return to feature filmmaking after a period of episodic directing (including episodes of BILLIONS, EMPIRE, and GREENLEAF), his journey as a young filmmaker, and exploring themes of vulnerability, othered-ness, and the pressure for young men to mask themselves under societal notions of masculinity.

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Jared Milrad interviews director D. Smith about her directorial debut, KOKOMO CITY, a documentary feature that focuses on the lives and stories of four Black trans sex workers in Atlanta and New York City. The film, edited and shot by Smith in bold black and white, is a refreshingly unfiltered portrayal of Black trans life. Holding nothing back, the film vibrates with energy, sex, challenge, and hard-earned wisdom. Executive produced by Lena Waithe, KOKOMO CITY won the Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award, as well as the Berlinale’s Audience Award in the Panorama Documentary section. D. discusses her career as a two-time Grammy-nominated producer, how her experiences in the music industry led her to filmmaking, and the importance of depicting authentic representations of trans life on-screen. 

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Jared Milrad interviews director Julie Cohen about her latest documentary feature, EVERY BODY, a revelatory exploration of the lives of intersex people. The film focuses on three intersex activists who have come out and embraced their authentic selves despite childhoods tainted by shame, secrecy, and non-consensual surgeries. Exclusive footage from the NBC News archives featured in the film detail an inconceivable case of medical abuse, providing context for the continued exploitation of intersex people by doctors and medical professionals. Julie opens up about her switch from journalism to documentary filmmaking, her previous filmmaking experiences, including the award-winning documentary, RBG, which she co-directed and received an Academy Award nomination for alongside Betsy West, and how EVERY BODY can disrupt biased policies constructed to target trans and intersex people. 

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Jared Milrad sits down with filmmaker Juan Felipe Zuleta about his award-winning feature film directorial debut, UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS, which tells the stories of Peter, a jaded gay man with dwarfism, and his neighbor, Winona, a bubbly and imaginative sex worker, who form an  unexpected friendship as they embark on a spontaneous, out of this world, road-trip to reunite with the missing parts of themselves. Juan opens up about his journey from Medellín, Colombia to Los Angeles and NYC, the importance of representation in Hollywood, and his passion for telling stories about outsiders. 

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Jared Milrad interviews Bill Doan about his award-winning animated film, STICKS AND STONES, which tells the story of a man who sorts through the debris of his childhood, seeks help to untangle the differences between his own anxiety and depression, and confronts the impact of toxic masculinity. Bill opens up about his own journey with depression, anxiety, and toxic masculinity - and how drawing and creating art helps him process his trauma and mental health challenges.

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