AND THEN I GO – Interview with Vincent Grashaw

Friendship, Childhood, and Guns in the Post-Columbine Era

Director Vincent Grashaw Discuss And Then I Go

By Christopher M. Rzigalinski

How far would you go for your best friend? If they were the only person in the world to which you felt connected, would you let anything jeopardize that bond? Would you sacrifice your own life to make them happy? Director Vincent Grashaw uses the United States cultural epidemic of school shootings to examine the roots and depths of friendship in his latest project, And Then I Go (2017). But he was quick to point out that this film is not about topical tragedies; rather, mass shootings by disaffected young boys are treated as manifestations of a broken society.

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Survivors Guide to Prison – Interview with Matthew Cooke

Matthew Cooke talks art, activism, and Survivors Guide to Prison

By Christopher M. Rzigalinski

What does it mean to be an activist? On the basest level, it means promoting social change by raising awareness about an issue or idea. Activism is often depicted in historical narratives through larger-than-life figures and mass movements. But the greatest activism takes place when ordinary individuals work to connect with others on a one-on-one level. From those small gestures, hope transforms into promise for everyone. Director Matthew Cooke (How to Make Money Selling Drugs) and I discussed this interpersonal activist approach as it appears in his latest documentary project, Survivors Guide to Prison (2018).

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