Episode #34 - So many colons in this title! Justin Joseph Hall is an Emmy winning Editor of vérité documentary movies. He love sifting through mounts of footage to carve out the most interesting aspects of what he discovers in a short amount of time. Today he honors Downtown Community Television where he learned to cut their style of vérité footage by showing his favorite movies they’ve made.

For his short Justin brought an off-shoot of the Frontline episode Life on Parole. The short is called Halfway Home: A Father’s Story. It’s a movie that follows a father who was released from prison on parole for an entire year to see what life is like after prison. It’s an example of people with forgotten paths that are ignored by society with trials and tribulations that are often ignored by society. Justin speaks of the challenges of editing the movie and the challenges the main character faces in a complicated social justice system. The food served for the short was an apple and cake.

The feature Justin selected is an often forgotten movie he considers near perfect High on Crack Street: The Lost Lives of Lowell. The documentary that inspired the movie The Fighter was directed by Maryann DeLeo, Richard Farrell, and Jon Alpert. It covers the use of crack cocaine and the spiral it causes in one’s lives and the pull of addiction to the powerful drug. They served donuts, popcorn and domestic beer for this feature.

Learn more about Justin Joseph Hall and his work sign up for Fourwind Films’ newsletter. In the forecast to look forward to please check out host Justin Joseph Hall’s newest movie coming out a comedy special by Nimesh Patel called It’s Dark & Patel Is Hot.

Credits for podcast:

Production Company - Fourwind Films

Appointed Contributor - Justin Joseph Hall

Host - Laura Davi

Sound Mixer & Additional Music - Brian Trahan

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

Episode #24 - Welcome to another COVID film list Feature & a short Black Media Matters which focuses on the importance of black voices within the film industry and how diversity within the cinema space benefits the art form. For so long black talent has been suppressed within the industry but when a diamond shines so bright, one can’t help but notice it in the rough; Paul Robeson who began making films in 1925 with Body and Soul. Josephine Baker who was the first black woman to star in a film in 1934 with Zouzou. And perhaps one of the most influential black filmmakers, Spike Lee who made his mark as a staple director with his first feature film, She’s Gotta Have It.

With so many gifted black filmmakers & actors, it can be hard to narrow it down to a mere listicle; but in this episode Justin Joseph Hall and Laura Davi hone-in on some of their favorite films which also happen to focus on stories that revolve around black lives, experiences, and issues. (Spoiler alert: Spike Lee is mentioned more than once on the feature films list and throughout the podcast.)

Short films discussed include Hair Love, Child of Resistance, 3 Brothers: Radio Raheem, Eric Garner and George Floyd, Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No, and Halfway Home: A Father’s Story.

To donate to the Connecticut Children with Incarcerated Parents, please check out their website here.

Feature films include The Butler, 13th, If Beale Street Could Talk, Malcolm X, Pursuit of Happyness, and Do the Right Thing.

And perhaps just as important as the filmmakers themselves are the actors & actresses that help bring the craft to life. These artists, plus additional filmmakers mentioned by Brian Trahan during this episode, are as follows:

Charles Burnett (Director) - Nothing but a Man

Viola Davis (Actress) - Fences

Jordan Peele (Writer/Director) - Get Out

Oprah Winfrey (Actress) - The Color Purple

Thandie Newton (Actress) - Crash

Melvin van Peebles (Writer & Actor) - Classified X

Debbie Morgan (Actress) - Eve’s Bayou

Thanks for tuning-in! Stay safe.

Credits for podcast:

Produced by Fourwind Films

Host: Justin Joseph Hall

Contributor: Laura Davi

Brian Trahan - Sound Mixer, Additional Music

Theme song of Season 4 is Loopster by Kevin MacLeod.