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Anne Aghion has been praised as a filmmaker of poetic vision and a unique documentarian whose films, in the words of one critic, “pull us deep into the social fabric” of the places she covers. She gained international renown for “The Gacaca Series” (pr. ga-CHA-cha), four films on post- genocide justice and social reconstruction in Rwanda. There, Anne Aghion charted the emotional impact of a controversial system of justice that returned killers to their homes to live side-by-side with the survivors of unimaginable violence. The final film in the series, “My Neighbor My Killer“, premiered in Official Selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival; was nominated for Best Documentary at the Gotham Awards; and earned Aghion the Nestor Almendros Award for courage in filmmaking at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. Additionally, other films in the series received an Emmy Award and the UNESCO Fellini Prize. The 2008 feature “Ice People” was described by Variety as “staggeringly beautiful,” and New York Magazine’s noted critic Bilge Ebiri wrote that “it might be the most immersive documentary I’ve ever seen.” The film, which explores the physical, emotional and spiritual adventure of living and conducting science in Antarctica, was produced with ARTE France and ITVS International in association with Sundance Channel. Her award-winning 1996 directorial debut “Se Le Movió El Piso: A Portrait of Managua (The Earth Moved Under Him),” examines how Nicaraguan slum dwellers had survived the double ravages of political and natural disasters. In 2024, Anne Aghion finished “Turbulence” which poses the question: How do we overcome the heartbreaks, sorrow and traumas we endure or witness, and come out whole? The film, written, directed and produced by Aghion, is made in association with Arte France – La Lucarne, and with the participation of the French Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, Procirep & Angoa, Jewish Story Partners, and the New York State Council on the Arts. Anne Aghion has collected numerous prestigious awards for her work, among them a Guggenheim Fellowship. She has earned a host of grants from such organizations as the United States Institute of Peace, the National Science Foundation, the French Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, and the Soros and Sundance Institute Documentary Funds. She has had residencies at the MacDowell Colony in the United States, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, and others. For “Turbulence” she also received a Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship to India. She has served as a juror for La Scam’s L’Oeil d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and the International Documentary Association (IDA), among others. She is an international speaker at universities and has conducted documentary workshops and master classes at film programs in countries including Haiti, India, Morocco, Lebanon, France and the United States. She serves on the board of Camargo Foundation’s French association. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0FgITLEiKE Both “My Neighbor My Killer” and “Turbulence may now be streamed on the platform kinema.com.

In filmmaker Michael Kellman‘s “Say Less” a night of funny sibling warfare between Cassie and Max takes a sinister turn when Cassie stumbles on a shocking secret hidden in the house. What begins as ammunition to humiliate her brother soon morphs into something much darker. Now Cassie must decide how far she’s willing to go, because the weapon she’s holding doesn’t just threaten Max. It threatens everyone. The film can currently viewe on Amazon Prime Video and other streamers. https://youtu.be/yWZ1a7oy8iM

Told by operatives in the rooms where it happened, “White With Fear” is a deep dive into the decades-long quest by some of America’s conservative political machine to amass power by exploiting racial fault lines. The documentary will have its broadcast premiere on PBS on Tuesday, March 24, 10PM. https://youtu.be/7b7993E3Gx0 Andrew Goldberg is an Emmy-Award-winning investigative producer, Andrew has directed 14 prime-time documentary specials for PBS/public television, and both longand short-form segments for outlets like CBS News Sunday Morning, ABC News, Live From Lincoln Center, and National Public Radio. His work has appeared on major networks on every continent, and has been supported by more than 250 foundations, corporations and major donors around the world. Eric K. Ward is Executive Vice President of Race Forward, is a notable civil rights leader and philanthropist rooted in America’s punk rock scene. Ward is a sought-after project collaborator because of his innovative approaches to combating white nationalism, antisemitism and advancing racial justice. The only American recipient of the Civil Courage Prize, Ward’s work bridges grassroots activism and strategic leadership to advance inclusive democracy and social change. Eric is a Senior Fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center and serves on the boards of The Proteus Fund, The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and Auburn Theological Seminary. Eric is a founder of States At The Center (STAC); CultureGuard; and Momentum Magazine’s Wide River Project.

My guests on this episode are part of a pilot for a potential new series called “Woodstockers”. The show will have its world premiere at SxSW beginning today, Saturday, March 14. On this episode is the show runner and cast members Corbin Bernsen (“LA Law”, “My Friends and Neighbors), director Oliver Bernsen and cast member, and very recent podcast guest, Stephen Tobolowsky (“Groundhog Day”, “Memento”). https://youtu.be/eIH0MpklhHQ In the summer of ’69, Lenny Baker and his best friend Calvin Reddick went to Woodstock. What they witnessed there changed their lives, so much so that they decided to never go home again. Armed with a vision of a new path forward, they built a life in upstate New York alongside Rebecca and Lizzy, two women they met at the festival and married soon after. Decades of willful detachment followed, but every trip has its comedown. Now, more than half a century later and with his marriage up in smoke, Lenny is forced to face a hard truth: the better world they once envisioned never quite arrived… and if it ever does, he won’t be around to see it. Calvin’s sudden death makes that painfully clear.

“Beyond the Duplex Planet” is a feature documentary about artist David Greenberger and his unconventional work with senior citizens. In 1979, fresh out of art school, Greenberger took a job as activities director at the Duplex Nursing Home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. He began conducting quirky interviews with the home’s senior citizens, rejecting a pat oral history approach in favor of questions that would spark engagement: “Which do you prefer – coffee or meat?” “Why do people spit?” “What do you think George Washington’s voice sounded like?” and “What is embarrassment?” The result of this was The Duplex Planet, an early ‘zine, complete with excerpts from the interviews, as well as offbeat music reviews and poems, unorthodox illustrations and graphics, all by the residents themselves. Over time this material has become the basis for spoken word shows, podcasts, graphic novels and numerous albums, many of these projects featuring well-known artists. Champions and/or collaborators of Greenberger and his senior colleagues include people like magicians Penn & Teller, cartoonists Daniel Clowes and Lynda Barry, musicians Dave Alvin, Bill Frisell, Peter Buck (REM), David Hidalgo and Louie Perez (Los Lobos), artist Ed Ruscha, actors Lili Taylor and Martin Mull, and legions of other fans. Greenberger’s work interviewing seniors continues to this day. Beyond the Duplex Planet explores notions of aging and its intersection with art and community. It’s also a revealing look at the life of an artist devoted to documenting the elderly who is himself moving into his senior years. The film will have its world premiere at SxSW this month with a number of screenings. And it’s being distributed by Filmwax friend Jim Browne’s Argot Pictures. Beth Harrington is an Emmy-award winning independent producer, director and writer, whose fervor for American history, music and culture has led to a series of critically acclaimed films. Her independent production Welcome to the Club – The Women of Rockabilly, a music documentary about the pioneering women of rock ‘n’ roll, was honored with a 2003 Grammy nomination and has been seen on public television and at film festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Beth’s most recent work, The Winding Stream – The Carters, The Cashes and The Course of Country Music appeared at over 30 festivals worldwide including a SXSW premiere and has won many top festival awards. Earlier work with WGBH-Boston for the NOVA science series was honored with two national Emmy nominations while her local work with Oregon Public Broadcasting has resulted in six other regional Emmy nominations for historical and public affairs program producing and writing. A rock ‘n’ roll singer and guitarist, she is most noted for her years as a member of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers on Sire Records. https://youtu.be/nzgbOeFOFYk

Making his first appearance on the podcast, the Danish filmmaker Jeppe Rønde. His latest feature film is called “Acts of Love” and is currently available on various streamers. Hanna lives in a New Age Christian community in rural Denmark and longs to have a child. But her sheltered life starts to unravel as the unexpected arrival of her younger brother Jacob stirs up long-buried memories of their troubled past. Will his arrival threaten Hanna’s dream of becoming a mother? And will the members of the community be able to live up to their own rules and beliefs, when they are confronted with the question: who gets to decide over love? “Acts of Love” investigates the boundaries of love and what happens when we fall outside of society’s norms.

A conversation with the actor, author and storyteller Stephen Tobolowsky. Besides being in countless films and episodics over the past 4 decades, Stephen has done a podcast in which he tells stories. The Tobolowsky Files ran for 99 episodes. He has also made 2 films in which the core is his story telling: “Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party” and “The Primary Instinct”. He has also written several books including “The Dangerous Animals Club”, “My Adventures with God” and “A Good Day in Auschwitz”. Stephen has been in too many movies to mention though he might be best known for his supporting role in “Groundhog Day” as Ned Ryerson. He has also been in “Memento”, “Thelma and Louise”, and “Spaceballs” to name just a few. He has also had recurring roles in episodic television series such as “Silicon Valley”, “The Mindy Project” and “The Goldbergs”. https://youtu.be/KdOohkoAiow

The filmmaker John Sayles (“Eight Men Out”, “The Brother From Another Planet”) returns for his 3rd visit. In addition to the 18 feature films he has written and directed, he is also a longtime author of novels. His latest, “Crucible” is now available where books are sold. From the Oscar-nominated filmmaker comes a complex and sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford — the Elon Musk of his day — and his attempt to rule not only an automotive empire but the rambunctious city of Detroit. It is an epic tale ranging from the 1920s through the second World War, featuring violent labor disputes, misbegotten jungle expeditions, a tragic race riot, and the gestapo tactics of Ford’s private army . . . Already the gateway for illegal Canadian liquor during Prohibition, the Motor City becomes a crucible for American class conflict during the Great Depression, with an army of laid off Ford workers drifting into the ranks of the burgeoning union movement — Henry Ford’s worst nightmare. To keep the hundreds of thousands still employed by him in thrall, the man who was formerly ‘America’s favorite tycoon’ recruits black laborers migrating from the deep South to serve as ‘strike insurance’, and gives Harry Bennett, pugnacious as he is diminutive, free reign over the legion of barroom brawlers and ex-cons who make up the company’s ‘Security Department’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_cHq5UhYRI The Model T mogul has also bought a sizable chunk of Brazil’s Amazonian rainforest, vowing to grow his own rubber for tires, but stubbornly refusing to include a botanist in his troop of would-be jungle tamers. As a series of biological plagues descend on the Fordlandia plantation, the racial melting pot he has created in Detroit begins to boil over, and not even the Sage of Dearborn can control the forces that have been unleashed. The novel’s cast — Ford workers black and white and their families, young radicals, cynical newsmen, gangsters, Brazilian rubber tappers, cameos from boxer Joe Louis and muralist Diego Rivera — create the tapestry of differing points of view that John Sayles has become famous for, the events portrayed fundamental to the country we live in today.

My guests are documentary filmmaker Robert Stone and NASA Scientist and Science Fiction author Gentry Lee. Lee is the central subject of Stone’s new documentary “Starman” which is in theaters as of Friday, February 6. In this intergalactic biopic, we follow Gentry Lee, Chief Engineer for Planetary Exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and sci-fi writer, on his journey to space and on Earth. From the Viking and Voyager missions to co-authoring the actual future with Arthur C. Clarke, Lee’s life has been spent with his head in the stars and his feet on the ground. In this visually stunning documentary, the octogenarian Starman reflects on decades of space exploration alongside friends like Carl Sagan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYjTbGLgyhk&t=5s

Filmmaker Ondi Timoner (“We Live in Public”, “Last Flight Home”) returns to the podcast to discuss her latest work of non-fiction, “All The Walls Came Down”. I also welcome back one of the film’s subjects, Heavenly Hughes, who is a founder of the organization My Tribe Rise. The film had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2025. It was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards. Timoner processes her shock and grief by picking up a camera after losing her family home in Los Angeles’ Eaton Fire in 2025. The result is “All The Walls Came Down”, a personal story of her community, ravaged by climate catastrophe, and the remarkable resilience that rallies in its wake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3gVzwiNW5E

The filmmaker Dan Mirvish (“18 1/2”, “Bernard & Huey”) is back on Filmwax to discuss his latest project, “Atomic Fondue”. He has launched a Kickstarter campaign which is currently raising initial funds to get the film off the ground and to begin spreading the word. An elevated Cold War thriller/comedy, https://youtu.be/JiDjZ0GjmI4?si=hs4QqgBOSl3538WO “Atomic Fondue” is an upcoming American independent fiction feature film from me – award-winning filmmaker Dan Mirvish – and my amazing team of experienced collaborators. It’s going to be a fun, thrilling, sexy movie that we’re going to film next summer, and we’re excited to have you join the team and get involved!

Author Joseph McBride returns once again to the podcast. He brings a new book, the result of a long interview by film critic and friend Danny Peary. The book, published by Sticking Place Books, is called “I Loved Movies, But…” which is a deep exploration into the life and career of McBride. Now available wherever books are sold. https://youtu.be/SZp7WGYdP0E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxMerqB0nrs Palestinian American actor and filmmaker Cherien Debis (“Amreka”, “May in the Summer”) returns to the podcast with her latest film, “All That’s Left of You” which is currently in theaters. A deeply moving, multigenerational drama, “All That’s Left of You” follows a Palestinian teenager who gets swept into a protest in the Occupied West Bank and experiences a moment of violence that rocks his family. The film unfolds as his mother recounts the political and emotional threads that led to that fateful moment. Spanning seven decades, the film traces the hopes and heartaches of one uprooted family, bearing witness to the scars of dispossession and the enduring legacy of survival. Jordan’s Official Selection for the 98th Academy Awards. Cherien’s prior visit to Filmwax Radio in August of 2022.

Marshall Curry (“Street Fight”, “Racing Dreams”) returns to the podcast after a number of years. Curry was one of Filmwax’s first guests.,having appeared on Episode 6 back in 2011 around the time his documentary “If a Tree Falls” came out. Curry’s latest work is “The New Yorker at 100” which is currently streaming exclusively on Netflix. The New Yorker’s centennial reveals behind-the-scenes access to editors, writers and archives of this culturally vital magazine, one of print’s last survivors. https://youtu.be/PPjNYmgJDZ4

Returning to the podcast after seven years, the filmmaker Gus Van Sant (“Drug Store Cowboy”, Good Will Hunting”) with a new film called “Dead Man’s Wire”. Based on a true story, the 1977 kidnapping of a prominent banker grips the nation and turns the abductor into an outlaw folk hero. As the media frenzy peaks, the standoff becomes a spectacle of desperation, defiance and blurred justice, which resonates even today. The film stars Bill Skarsgård in the main role as Tony Kiritsis, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Colman Domingo, and Al Pacino. “Dead Man’s Wire” opens Friday, January 9th in select theaters and then goes wide nationally on Friday, January 16th. https://youtu.be/42O-lJfP5Lw