Rebecca Stern: Snowy, The Thin Blue Line

Episode #32 - Meet Rebecca Stern, a director and producer of documentary films. She has absolutely soared in her career since one of her first jobs as a Production Coordinator on the Oscar-nominated feature documentary Cartel Land. Her directorial debut Well Groomed is now streaming on HBO. Rebecca, or Becky, is open, humble, and a delight to talk with.

Our appointed contributors for Feature & a short are asked to choose one short and one feature, and they have to have been involved with one of them but not the other. Rebecca brings the sleeper success Snowy. This documentary short about a pet turtle named Snowy whose owner embarks on a journey to find what would make him happy got into Sundance after a cold submission. We discuss what it’s like to get into Sundance, funding short films, and what Rebeca thinks needs to evolve in that process.

The feature is The Thin Blue Line, a film Becky had never seen — though she has worked on films about the legal system and incarceration in the US.

Learn more about Rebecca Stern and her work on her website.

And keep an eye on a Fourwind Films short-form documentary series coming soon: Marcellus Hall: An Artist in New York City.

Appointed contributor, Rebecca Stern.

Credits for podcast:

Production Company - Fourwind Films

Appointed Contributor - Rebecca Stern

Host - Justin Joseph Hall

Sound Mixer & Additional Music - Brian Trahan

Line Producer - Laura Davi

The theme song of Season 5 is This Monster by Sun Nectar

Mack Williams: Freddie Gibbs - "Michael Jackson's Return to Gary, IN," What About Bob?

Episode #12 - Georgia native Mack Williams makes everyone laugh for hours with his stories and film choices. Mack is a graceful director and animator who makes working feel like play. His versatility in the commercial world as well as on creative content is always a notch above the rest. He works on a creative level with a fine knowledge for quality post-production on lower budgets. On top of that, Mack makes an incredible drinking partner. Even if you disagree with his tastes, you can’t help but want to listen to what he has to say. He graces us with his knowledge of animation workflow as well as stories of creating various cartoons for Cartoon Network, Pitchfork, and Showtime.

Mack chooses a short animated documentary that he directed called “Michael Jackson’s Return to Gary, IN.” It’s based off a true story told by Freddie Gibbs for the series FRAMES. For the feature he presents “What About Bob?” Mack discusses Richard Dreyfuss’ role in the film and why he makes it great. For more info on Mack, check out the Facebook page for his company Pig Apple. Additional music credits to Sun Nectar. Theme music by Salitros’ Riding Rainbow.

Credits:

Host - Justin Joseph Hall

Location & Production Company - Fourwind Films

Mack Williams Director/Animator & Simon

Shonali Bhowmik: The Hike, Valley Girl

Episode #11 - In this episode, Nashville native Shonali Bhowmik graces us with her humor and interesting stories. Shonali is one of the most charismatic people you will ever meet and is always working on a bunch of artistic endeavors. An incredibly thoughtful person of many talents, she has a network of friends and collaborators that surround her at all times. She's a frequent collaborator with us for the live podcast she hosts with Christian Felix called We Don’t Even Know, and is the director, lead actor, writer, and producer of Sardines Out Of A Can, a film Fourwind helped make before Fourwind was even a company. You can check out her band Tigers and Monkeys, who recently released a new music video. Shonali is also well known in the internet comedy world for the group Variety SHAC which began as a comedic quartet consisting of Shonali, Heather Lawless, Andrea Rosen, and Chelsea Peretti. During the discussion Shonali celebrates women in film, and sheds light on Variety SHAC’s influences on various comedians in the industry.

For the feature, Shonali brings the Martha Coolidge film Valley Girl. She discusses the casting process for the film that lead to Nicolas Cage playing the lead male. For her short film, she chooses the SHAC’s latest release, The Hike. The episode is a laugh riot and full of references to movie inspired snacks.

Episode hosted by Justin Joseph Hall.

Shonali Bhowmik - Actress/Director/Producer

Credits:

Host - Justin Joseph Hall

Location & Production Company - Fourwind Films

Soundtrack - Salitros Ridin’ Rainbow

Justin Joseph Hall: Long Distance, The Science of Sleep

Episode #9 - Justin Joseph Hall presents Long Distance, a one-minute short he directed and released in 2016. The short features Isabel Restrepo and himself as a couple in a long distance relationship. He shares his choice behind excluding dialogue (hint: it has to do with him co-starring in it) and the spontaneity of its origins. The feature film is La science des rêves or The Science of Sleep, directed by Michel Gondry. Discussion centers around the use of foreshadowing and dream sequences in the film, as well as Gondry's other work.  

Justin is an independent film director and editor, and the owner of Fourwind Films. He's currently in post-production for his first documentary feature, Frames of Reference, a multi-continental effort that explores localized education across the globe. He is also in post-production for a short narrative, Prologue, and an internet documentary series. Keep up with him and the dogs in his life and other themes on Instagram.

Credits:

Host - Daria Huxley

Location & Production Company - Fourwind Films

Justin Joseph Hall - Director/Editor