Sonic Cinema Podcast

In the latest episode of the Sonic Cinema Podcast, we continue a conversation that began this year at the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival. It's not often that we return to a filmmaker so quickly after meeting them, but the connection I had with filmmaker Kiera Faber was a meaningful one for both of us. I hope you enjoy this continuing meeting of minds with the filmmaker of the short film, "The Garden Sees Fire".You can hear our discussion at the Atlanta Film Festival here.

One of the most exciting things about the idea of discussing Fascism in Cinema is how fluidly the ideas of authoritarianism have been adapted, and sometimes skewered, by filmmakers over the years. In the third episode of this series, we are looking at films that look at matters of faith, and how corrupted they can be by mankind. Since we are discussing religion, it would be wrong to have any other guest but return guest Stuart Delony from Snarky Faith. Listen as we discuss the state of religion in both the US, and the world, through the lens of Carl Theodor Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc", Monty Python's "Life of Brian", and Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood". I hope you enjoy!You can read my blog outlining my thoughts after the 2024 election here.Stuart wrote about a lot of the ideas we discuss about "There Will Be Blood" on his blog here.Fascism in Cinema SeriesEpisode 162 - Resistance to Fascism in CinemaEpisode 166 - Fascism in Cinema: Copaganda

It's a couple of months later than I hoped, but my wrap-up episode of the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival is finally here. I explain where the podcast has been the past couple of months, rattle off some of my favorite films of the fest, as well as share interviews with director David Fortune, executive producer Xavier Two Lewis and actor Njema Williams ("Color Book"), writers Omar Epps and 2 Chainz ("Red Clay") and filmmaker Kiera Faber ("The Garden Sees Fire", which I forgot to mention as one of my favorite short films of the festival). I hope you enjoy!

As I began to prepare for my recent episode with Jason from Binge Movies on Fascism in Cinema, it occurred to me that this would be a fascinating ongoing series in the next year or two in American history. For the next episode of the series, we are looking at authoritarian violence and the idea of due process in our society, and how it can be reflected in films. Joining me for this episode is Darin Lundberg from NostalgiaCast and Back to Bluey, and listen to us discuss Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry", Paul Michael Glaser's "The Running Man", and Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises". It's a very different discussion, but one worth taking in. I hope you enjoy!

For this year's wrap-up episode of my coverage of the 2025 Renegade Film Festival, I'm taking a slightly different approach. You can read my thoughts at Sonic Cinema and In Their Own League about what I took away from the festival this year. both in terms of perspective of the time it took place, and the films I loved from it; this episode is about giving the filmmakers their voice to discuss their work, what inspired it, and how it fits into the current moment in our country. My guests include filmmakers Erin Day, Kelly Lou Dennis and Nonie Shiverick. I hope you enjoy!*This episode does involve spoilers to some of the movies, but I don't think your appreciation of the films would diminish hearing them.

The American experiment with Democracy is in a perilous place with the re-election of Donald Trump. Art, and cinema, is inherently political by virtue of the time it was made, as well as the time in which we watch it. In the first episode of what will be a miniseries for the Sonic Cinema Podcast, we begin looking at the ways in which films have portrayed fascism and authoritarianism over the years. Joining me for this first episode is Jason from Binge Movies, and we take a deep dive into America, as well as three films that look at people standing up to authoritarianism- Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator," Roberto Rossellini's "Rome, Open City" and Herbert Ross's "Footloose." I hope you enjoy!