cinephellas podcast

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

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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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Cinephellas Podcast – Episode 8 (Matthias Hoene Interview)

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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 7 (Olson Brothers Interview)

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A Conversation with the Olson Brothers

by Chris Rzigalinski

It’s hard enough directing a movie when one intelligent mind is behind the camera. But brothers Obin and Amariah Olson find a way to merge two brilliant perspectives. Their latest project, The Shadow Effect, explores the consequences of trauma on Gabriel (played by Cam Gigandet), an ex-Navy Seal unaware he’s in the throes of a scientific experiment. As a result, the lines between reality and imagination are blurred. Gabriel must figure out if his murderous flashbacks are delusions or if the mysterious Dr. Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is manipulating him. Along the way, Gabriel is forced to question the sincerity of the people closest to him, including his wife, Brinn (Britt Shaw).

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Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 6 (Alexander Nevsky Interview)

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Cinematic Diplomacy: A Conversation with Alexander Nevsky

by Christopher M. Rzigalinski

Alexander Nevsky’s latest film, Black Rose, blends horror, mystery, and action genres for a fresh take on cinematic Russian/American relations. His directorial debut gets rid of the tired, Cold War stereotype of the Soviet villain versus the US hero. Instead, Black Rose tells the story of Nevsky’s Russian Police Major, Vladimir Kazatov, working side by side with the LAPD to find a killer targeting young women in West Hollywood. This simple change in perspective facilitates a conversation about international diplomacy and the political realities of 2017, as we are confronted daily with questions about Donald Trump’s relationship to Vladimir Putin and whether Russia interfered with last year’s presidential election.

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Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 5 (Luc Annest Interview)

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Sans Acrobats:

A Review of NOLA Circus

By Christopher M. Rzigalinski

NOLA Circus, the latest film from writer/director/producer Luc Annest, focuses on an African American community in New Orleans. Friendships are tested, true love is put on trial, and a bunch of dudes get their asses kicked. Luc brings a French perspective to this dark comedy about two rival barbershops and their larger-than-life employees. I got the chance to talk with him about adjusting to cultural differences in the United States, looking beyond race to understand the film, and the importance of music in visual storytelling. After you listen to my conversation with Luc, check out NOLA Circus when it hits theaters on April 21st or when it hits VOD platforms and iTunes on April 25th.

 

Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 4 (Salt and Fire Screening)

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A Fluffy Night Out:

The West Hollywood Screening of Salt and Fire

by Christopher M. Rzigalinski

At the end of my interview with Veronica Ferres a few weeks ago, she invited me to the London West Hollywood hotel off of West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip for a screening of Salt and Fire. Instead of writing  a review of the event, I wanted to reproduce it. This episode of the Cinephellas podcast is the story my experience and the personal journey it necessitated. I’m forced to confront questions of identity, recognizing the space between the way I see myself and how I’m seen (or unseen) within the Hollywood machine. While those neuroses are being sorted out, I try to pay attention to a David O. Russell-moderated Q & A with Veronica and writer/director of Salt and Fire, Werner Herzog. But the most trying part of the evening is figuring out why Mr. Herzog is as fluffy as llama fur.

 

Cinephellas Podcast-Episode 3 (Veronica Ferres Interview)

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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.