Tea with sg

Samara, Winnie and Chase just premiered their film Residency at Rotterdam Film Fest. We’ll show 10-15 min preview on Thursday February 16th @reunion at Wonderland Dreams as part of a shorts block. Samara @miss3liss is founder of art collective, gallery and I don’t know entirely how to describe space @thelockerroomnyc. She paired up with Winnie @w1nn1th (previously of Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched— the 🐐@KierlaJanisse) to make a film about her month long artist Residency. Chase @leather_locklear is featured in that as part of her band @2cb_band and @Cumgirl8. I appreciate this work in that they appreciated a doc simply covering and sharing what the artist residency is ‘objectively’ would be less valuable to the audience, and instead chose to extend their artistic practice to turn this movie into a genre bender, standing alone far beyond a document of the residency as a subject. It becomes a horror show, hinged on the anxieties of creative ideas and ambition in a shared space. The Locker Room becomes a micro for New York city’s macro (Christ did I really just write that sentence, who am I? Have I jumped the shark?). This is a long late night post-Rihanna bowl recording featuring very caffeinated antioxidinated Japanese tea. See y’all Thursday. https://reunion2162023.splashthat.com

Hannah Ha Ha is out now in NY and LA. The co-directors Jordan and Josh and star Hannah join me @banjohannah @jordan_tetewsky. We hosted the first in person screening last year after they won Slamdance, and then hosted opening night party on Friday, I did Q+A Saturday. Next, we’ll actually be showing the short film that preceded this, Hannah in April, on Thursday Feb 16 at Wonderland Dreams, with a live musical performance from Hannah. We’ve done a bunch of these talks about this movie already, this is kinda a greatest hits of topics. Also the first time we got to include Josh though! Hope to see everyone on Thursday! https://reunion2162023.splashthat.com 

Anya Raza & Yumna Rizvi @anyarazaofficial @yumrizvi will show their film Still Here on Thursday February 16 @reunion pop up at Wonderland Dreams. Anya is a documentarian and Yumna works at CVT Center for Victims of Torture in DC. They partnered on the project. Here we talk about the relationship between causes and art, how money factors in, how the west creates bias. I talk about Beyonce and Diplo for a while and somehow relate it to torture, yeah. Maybe. You can judge for yourself. This episode is important because we're going to show the film Thursday and not provide as much context as we'd like, just a gateway of sorts. Leaving this here for those who attend to listen to after also to deepen their understanding of the topic and know where to take action. Hope to see you Thursday! https://reunion2162023.splashthat.com

Blake James Reid + Max Frumkin @blakejamesreid @moque.furs just made their first short Yamashiro LIVE! and we're going to screen it on February 16th @reunion @wonderlanddreamland. We talk about their creative collaboration, their influences, and in many ways the nature of communication through art. I'm excited for these guys to watch Chainsaw and Naked properly. I think it'll blow their minds. See y'all Thursday. https://reunion2162023.splashthat.com

Brontez Purnell @brontezpurnell joins me for an episode after having played his short film 100 Boyfriends Mixtape #3 @reunion a few weeks ago. It was an absolute smash. I was nervous about how the audience would take it, as it includes imagery that honestly most will never see or even conceptualize of. He somehow packages that sensitively and thoughtfully in a way that warmly opens the audience up to ideas beyond their scope. He gained massive acclaim for just that with his book 100 Boyfriends in 2021. Brontez is like a gateway drug to empathy, bravely sharing his experience in a way that warmly invites someone with a wildly different experience to reflect and learn. I think a lot of writing that tackles what could be considered extreme topics in sex and drugs and alienation come across as challenging and abrasive, to the point that it scares people off from engaging, but Brontez strikes a beautiful balance of challenging but inviting. Next, look for his band Gravy Train to play their first shows in 15 years!

Jeff Rutherford @jeffsrutherford just premiered his feature debut A Perfect Day for Caribou starring Charlie Plummer at Locarno and Slamdance. We had his team Kyra Bailey and Joseph Longo on yesterday. We’re showing films they’ve all worked on this Wednesday February 8th at Gospel NYC with @reunion. Jeff talks about his festival experience, getting a movie out into the world right now with distribution options, key collaborators, and next steps for movies in general. Join us Wednesday if you’re in NYC! https://reunion2823.splashthat.com

Joseph Longo & Kyra Bailey @josephsrlongofilm @kyra.bailey will show some films @reunion on Wednesday February 8th and just premiered their feature A Perfect Day for Caribou at Locarno and Slamdance. We talk in detail about what it takes to put a low budget movie together and how to bring it to the world. More from writer director Jeff Rutherford @jeffsrutherford on next episode too. Come see their work on Wednesday: https://reunion2823.splashthat.com

Brenna @brennapower just premiered her first short film Cold & Sara at Slamdance Film Fest and we show it @reunion on Wednesday February 8th with a full program of shorts at Gospel NYC. We talk about what it's like to be a filmmaker today, pushing shorts, developing features. I forgot to ask her about Babylon I just realized, which she was in. Wow. How tf did I forget to ask about Babylon. Wow. Anyway, we talk about how Film Freeway is a scam a lot. See y'all Wednesday. https://reunion2823.splashthat.com

Eran Kolirin is a filmmaker with a current retrospective at NYC's Quad Cinema, in celebration of his new film Let It Be Morning, which premiered at Cannes in Un Certain Regard. You'd know him most from the wildly successful The Band's Visit, which was adapted into a huge musical. I like the movie more, which I had the pleasure of watching on 35mm this week before moderating opening night's Q&A last night. Eran and I talk about identity most. What's it mean to be a Jew? Israeli? Middle Easterner? What's a wall? How's it impact us physically and psychologically? Shot before pandemic, the words 'lockdown' and 'protest' figure importantly and presciently here. I'm happy to watch the film for the first time now, given the newfound context. It's even more impactful. Go see it @quadcinema via @cohenmediagroup https://quadcinema.com/film/let-it-be-morning/    https://cohenmedia.net/product/let-it-be-morning