Cinephellas Podcast – Episode 9 (Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter Interview)

Removing Borders: A Conversation with Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter

by Christopher Rzigalinski

On this episode of the Cinephellas podcast I’m talking to the Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter, co-directors of Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation. The documentary uses lacrosse, which the Iroquois nation calls its “medicine game,” as a lens through which to explore Iroquois history and indigenous peoples’ relationships with the United States and Canada. How is it, the film asks, that countless schools and universities across North America play teach the game to its students without relating its ceremonial past? To answer that question, the Peters and I discuss the Catholic Church’s oppressive Doctrine of Discovery, the Iroquois challenges to traditional ideas of sovereignty, and how sports can be used as a tool for activism. Spirit Game is a powerful statement about how popular culture can help change the world for the better.

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Review- Alien: Covenant (2017)

It’s been five years since Prometheus and in that time the film has received a very mixed reaction. There were a lot of unanswered questions that have been waiting for a sequel to go into more detail about where these prequels fit into the Alien mythos and Covenant might be the film that puts things back on track. Anyone looking for concrete answers to Prometheus will be disappointed, but as it’s own beast that adds more layers to the universe and it’s as close to the original film as we’ve gotten in nearly 40 years.

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Review- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Save the Galaxy Again with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

by Nile Fortner

Back in 2014, Marvel Studios attempted their riskiest adventure yet, releasing a film based on the not so popular superhero team known as The Guardians of the Galaxy. When the film hit theaters, it was a massive success, and turned characters such as Star Lord and Groot into prominent names. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 has now hit cinemas, and many are wondering, “Do our favorite space ‘A-holes’ have what it takes to strike lightning in a bottle twice?”  The answer is hell yes! 

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Cinephellas Podcast – Episode 8 (Matthias Hoene Interview)

The Representation Game: A Conversation with Matthias Hoene

 

by Christopher Rzigalinski

Pop culture products like movies and TV shows help us recognize social issues that need discussing. If we’re lucky, they enlighten us in entertaining ways. Sometimes they even make us uncomfortable because they force us question our own beliefs. Enter the Warriors Gate, the latest film from director Matthias Hoene, does all that work and more.

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Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 3 (Veronica Ferres Interview)

The Heart of the Matter:  An Interview with Veronica Ferres

by Chris Rzigalinski

Veronica Ferres is an artist that uses her acting talents to find the essential values of each character she plays. Despite massive popularity in her native Germany that Newsweek magazine once compared to that of Sharon Stone’s in America, Veronica moved to Hollywood and takes on the leading role in Werner Herzog’s latest film, Salt and Fire, out on VOD platforms and iTunes April 4th and in theaters April 7th. In Herzog’s adaptation of Tom Bissell’s Pushcart Prize-nominated short story, “Aral,” Veronica plays “Laura,” an international scientist thrust against her will into a role where she has to make sense of an ecological disaster in Bolivia caused by a misguided CEO, portrayed with intensity by Michael Shannon. “Laura” is forced to confront the lines between quantifiable data and human empathy in order to save her own life and possibly the entire world. I talked with Veronica about the film’s power to begin conversations about environmental justice, being a muse for the legendary Herzog, and finding hope in times of desperation.