Ai Wei Wei is an artist and an activist who has combined both his callings into pieces and protests that can both be classified as provocative. His latest film, HUMAN FLOW, is an exquisitely filmed documentary in which Ai immerses himself into the lives of people displaced by war, repressive governments, disaster both economic and… Read More »
HOOLIGAN SPARROW — Nanfu Wang Interview
There is a difference between understanding that covering a human rights protest in China will be problematic, and actually experiencing the surveillance and intimidation that goes with that territory. That’s one of the first things I talked about with Nanfu Wang, whose documentary, HOOLIGAN SPARROW, has been short-listed for this year’s Oscar ™. It was… Read More »
Eddie Rosenstein Celebrates the FREEDOM TO MARRY
When I spoke to Eddie Rosenstein by phone on June 22, 2016, the first thing I wanted him to discuss was how important it was to remember the decades-long struggle for marriage equality. We went on to talk about his personal connection to one his subjects, Evan Wolfson, of the Freedom to Marry Coalition, and… Read More »
Julianne Moore and Ellen Page Bring FREEHELD to Life
Ellen Page optioned the rights to FREEHELD when she was 21. Eight years later, Cynthia Wade’s Oscar-winning documentary short is a feature film co-starring Page and Julianne Moore as Stacie Andree and Laurel Hester, the same-sex couple who challenged the Freeholders of Ocean County, NJ for Hester’s right to leave her pension to Andree. Told… Read More »
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
The difference in outlooks between Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) and his late wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz), can be summed up in a conversation they have while driving on the squalid streets of Kenya’s capital where Justin, a British diplomat, is stationed. Tessa wants him to stop and give a lift back to her village to… Read More »
Rachel Weisz Tends THE CONSTANT GARDENER
With Rachel Weisz, you can always count on an intelligent conversation. The actress who took firsts at Oxford (think an A, but much, much rarer), has more than proven her versatility over the years from historical dramas such as THE LAND GIRLS and ENEMY AT THE GATES, to raw social commentary in THE SHAPE OF THINGS… Read More »
Marjane Satrapi Serves CHICKEN WITH PLUMS
When I spoke with Marjane Satrapi on April 30, 2012, one of the many questions I had for her was why she used live-action instead of animation when she adapted CHICKEN WITH PLUMS from her graphic novel of the same name. Her previous film, PERSEPOLIS, was also adapted from her graphic novel, but echoed its distinctive… Read More »