This week's episode of Salt Lake Dirt features an in-depth interview with Charles Mudede, director and co-writer of the new film Thin Skin. Charles provides fascinating behind-the-scenes details on the film's inspiration from Ahamefule J. Oluo's off-Broadway show Now I'm Fine, the years-long process of writing and fundraising, and finishing post-production during the pandemic.

Great film, great chat!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

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Synopsis:

Ahamefule Joe Oluo's days are spent at a soul-deadening corporate job and his nights come alive behind a trumpet at Seattle jazz clubs. As he struggles to climb out of the ruins of his broken marriage, Aham has to deal with endless bureaucracy, a boss trying to lead him to the Lord, and his mother who won't cut ties with his ex. Aham is living with his entire family once again in his sister's cramped one bedroom apartment. The one person missing from this living situation is Aham's estranged Nigerian father. His brief reappearance sends the family into a tailspin and a search for meaning. Pressed together in this vise of a home, the family struggles with adult life and the meaning of family.

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Events:

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SLD Podcast Info:

We are very excited to be covering ⁠FilmQuest 2023⁠. This is the festival's 10 year anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it by talking to as many filmmakers as I possibly could.

Great films, incredible conversations!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

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FilmQuest Episode #36

GUEST: Joe Gietl & Cameron S. Mitchell

FILM: The Fledgling

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Synopsis: Orphan Charlie wakes up in a hospital bed with a mysterious health condition that makes her averse to sunlight, and a hazy recollection of how she got there. If she is to survive, she will have to put the pieces of the night together in the shadows and avoid the light.

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Episode Links:

We are very excited to be covering ⁠FilmQuest 2023⁠. This is the festival's 10 year anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it by talking to as many filmmakers as I possibly could.

Great films, incredible conversations!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

FilmQuest Episode #36

GUEST: Kelsey Edwards

FILM: Box Boy

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Synopsis:  A boy raised in a rigid, beige society where boxes define life meets a colorful girl who changes the way he views the world.

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Episode Links:

Pillar.io

IG:  @kelseymarieedwards

We are very excited to be covering ⁠FilmQuest 2023⁠. This is the festival's 10 year anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it by talking to as many filmmakers as I possibly could.

Great films, incredible conversations!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

FilmQuest Episode #35

GUEST: Ryan Couldrey

FILM: You Have Reached Your Destination

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Synopsis: With the Google Maps app leading him in circles, a man suspects his phone is purposely lying to him.

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Episode Links:

Film Trailer

IG:  @rycouldrey 

YouTube: @ryancouldrey

Lexi Kent-Monning joins me to talk about her new book The Burden of Joy. From her career in the music business to her writing process we covered a lot of ground in this episode. I had a blast!

You can purchase a copy of The Burden of Joy HERE.

Great chat, amazing book!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

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Synopsis:

Lexi Kent-Monning’s debut novel, The Burden of Joy, is an incessant dagger to the heart. After Lexi’s husband leaves her on Valentine’s Day to join a commune that time forgot, her home stops belonging to her. Instead, she discovers a parade of dead animals, a man who turns her blue eyes green, true love in equal parts cocaine and MDMA, and a revolving door of solitude. In the end, Lexi must ask herself, is her craving to nurture virtuous or hedonistic? (Rejection Letters, 11.01.23)

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SLD Podcast Info:

This week Reuben Dendinger joins me to discuss his new book Cursed Images. I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. Highly recommended!

Thanks for listening!

Kyler

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Cursed Images (Hyperidean Press, August 31, 2023) is a dream-journal of late capitalism in 13 stories, a Gothic tarot of desire and fear. Driven by the cruelty of market society into wildernesses of neurasthenic horror, artists and lovers seek out phantoms of forgotten beauty in this epic compendium, equal parts satire and nightmare. 

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SLD Podcast Info:

Today on Salt Lake Dirt I welcome Christopher Wells and Daniel Rolnick to talk about their film Stories For My Children’s Children: Lessons from the Holocaust.

This is a beautiful and heartbreaking film that I HIGHLY recommend.

Great chat, incredible film.

Thanks for listening!

Kyler

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LOGLINE: This isn’t a Holocaust documentary; it’s a personal tale about two people, the horrors that befell them and how their survival can influence the next generation.

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UPCOMING SCREENINGS:

Nov 8th at 8PM at Cinema Village in Manhattan

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Episode Links:

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SLD Podcast Info:

We are very excited to be covering ⁠FilmQuest 2023⁠. This is the festival's 10 year anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it by talking to as many filmmakers as I possibly could.

Great films, incredible conversations!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

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FilmQuest Episode #34

GUEST: Russell Goldman

FILM: Closing Time

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Synopsis: An estranged friend surprises his old college buddies with an unusual reunion.

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Episode Links:

Film Trailer

IG:  @russell_goldman

We are very excited to be covering ⁠FilmQuest 2023⁠. This is the festival's 10 year anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it by talking to as many filmmakers as I possibly could.

Great films, incredible conversations!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

FilmQuest Episode #33

GUEST: Nicholas Acosta & Bill Moldt

FILM: Alone

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Synopsis: After a catastrophic disaster at a Mars research station, a fearless astronaut finds herself adrift in deep space, where she encounters a mysterious entity.

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Episode Links:

Film Trailer

IG:  @unrenderedmedia

We are very excited to be covering ⁠FilmQuest 2023⁠. This is the festival's 10 year anniversary and I wanted to celebrate it by talking to as many filmmakers as I possibly could.

Great films, incredible conversations!

Thanks for listening.

Kyler

FilmQuest Episode #32

GUEST: Zack Hosseini

FILM: A Cotton Moon

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Synopsis:  A feckless loner uncovers cryptic TV broadcasts of a mysterious deity (Academy Award-nominee Eric Roberts) whose teachings inspire a strange and radical holy awakening.

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Episode Links:

Film Trailer

IG:  @zack.hosseini