Show for Oct. 23, 2011: Filmmaker Errol Morris on Photography and Truth
Errol Morris’s passion for sleuthing dates back at least to his days as a private detective and runs through his work as a documentary filmmaker in movies like The Thin Blue Line and his most recent, Tabloid. In his new book, Believing is Seeing, he turns his magnifying glass on photography. Through close inspection, Morris shows how much photos can mislead, and how much we tend to misread. He and I discussed (and occasionally debated) the veridical nature of photography, the impact of digital retouching and the truth value of his own films. Then, in the second half of the show, an excerpt from my 2009 interview with documentarist Jonathan Stack on his film Iron Ladies of Liberia. It’s about the presidential administration of Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who shared in this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The film’s title refers to the gutsy resolve of Sirleaf and her female colleagues, not their governing style, which is more velvet glove than iron fist.
Two versions of photographer Roger Fenton’s “Valley of the Shadow of Death” from the Crimean War. In the more famous image at bottom, cannonballs litter the road. In another shot (top), they don’t. Historians have long disputed which is the earlier, more “authentic” image. Errol Morris offers an ingenious solution in Believing is Seeing.
You can download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
Show for July 24, 2011. John Waters and Philip Glass.
I’m not sure what John Waters and Philip Glass have in common, other than their shared birthplace (Baltimore) and prolific output. Also the fact that they’re both appearing at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur in coming weeks, which gave me an opportunity to chat with them. I spoke with John about his life, career, role models and preoccupations, picking up on another interview I did with him a few years ago. Philip Glass discussed the new Days and Nights Festival he’s spearheading in Big Sur and Carmel Valley, featuring music, dance, theater and film.
John Waters is bringing his live one-man show to the Henry Miller Library on Aug. 13. Philip Glass will be there later this summer. On Aug. 31, he and HML’s Magnus Toren will be curating an evening of poetry and live music. On Sept. 1, the Philip Glass ensemble will play Philip’s original score for Todd Browning’s film Dracula (the one with Bela Lugosi), as the movie screens. More on the Henry Miller Library events here. More on the Days and Nights Festival here.
Click the “play” arrow above to listen to the show, or download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
Show for May 1, 2011. Happy Trails: Filmmaker Roko Belic
Thirty years ago, human happiness seemed like a pretty unserious subject for scientific study. These days positive psychology, as happiness research is known, is de rigeur. Filmmaker Roko Belic (Genghis Blues) explores the science of contentment in his latest doc, Happy. Belic traveled to five continents, talking to researchers, comparing the state of satisfaction in various countries and finding some very jolly people. Does happiness depend on our material conditions? Just how much control do we have over our own sense of well-being? And whence the intellectual prejudice—which I confess I shared before this interview—that happiness as a topic lacks gravitas?
Catch a sneak preview of Happy at the Santa Cruz Film Festival on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7. Showtimes and more info here.
Visit the Santa Cruz Film Festival website.
Roko Belic in southern Africa, one of many locations he visited for the new film Happy.
Click the “play” arrow above to listen to the interview, or download the MP3 here.
Show for April 24, 2011. Rising from the Ashes: Filmmakers David Hoffman and John Barrett.
Documentary filmmaker David Hoffman lost nearly everything he owned—including his huge film and art archive—in the fire that destroyed his home in 2008. But he was determined to salvage something from the ashes. A new documentary, Everything Which is… Yes, shows what he lost and what he found. I spoke to David Hoffman and the film’s director, John Vincent Barrett.
Click the “play” arrow above to listen to the interview, or download the MP3 here.
Everything Which is…Yes premiers at the Santa Cruz Film Festival on May 8, with a second screening on May 11. Showtimes and more info here.
Visit the Santa Cruz Film Festival website.
Show for July 25, 2010. And Death Shall Have no Dominion: No One Dies in Lily Dale
A new documentary film depicts life—and afterlife—in Lily Dale, New York. Founded in 1879, Lily Dale is the “world’s largest spiritualist community,” home to dozens of mediums and a destination for bereaved people hoping to contact deceased loved ones. No One Dies in Lily Dale is a fascinating and poignant look at love, loss and belief. We talk to the director, Steven Cantor, and three people depicted in the film.
No One Dies in Lily Dale is now playing on HBO. Read more about the film.
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