Making Media Now

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by director Denny Tedesco to talk about his enthralling music documentary "Immediate Family," which is a follow-up to his acclaimed 2008 documentary “The Wrecking Crew.”  That earlier film followed the first wave of studio musicians in the 1960s, including Denny’s father, guitar virtuoso Tommy Tedesco. “Immediate Family” takes up the story where “The Wrecking Crew” ended, taking a deep dive through some of the most famous and influential session musicians from the 1970s.  To that end, the new documentary includes commentary from the likes of Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, Keith Richards, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, and Phil Collins.  In addition to talking to those music legends, “Immediate Family” tracks the rise and collaborations of session musicians Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, and Waddy Wachtel as they help craft some of the decade’s most enduring hits.  Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Oscar-nominated director Elaine McMillion Sheldon. Elaine joins Michael to discuss her very personal--and mesmerizing--documentary "King Coal."   A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, "King Coal" meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a spectacularly beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life.   Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Director / Producer / Co-Editor) is an Academy Award-nominated, and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker. Sheldon is the director of two Netflix Original Documentaries - HEROIN(E) and RECOVERY BOYS- that explore America's opioid crisis.   She has been named a Creative Capital Awardee, Guggenheim Fellow, a USA Fellow by United States Artists, and one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film,” by Filmmaker Magazine. KING COAL, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and is currently enjoying a successful theatrical run. The film will be available for VOD and streaming in early 2024.   Elaine McMillion Sheldon was raised in West Virginia and lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Filmmaker and social activist Owen Dubeck joins host Michael Azevedo to discuss an organization called Farmlink and his documentary about Farmlink’s origins and mission.    During the largest food crisis in a century, a group of college students stepped up to help those facing hunger. Their small local effort, called Farmlink, inspired hope nationally and motivated 600+ students to drop everything to help feed millions of families. Within months, the project scaled larger than anyone could have imagined and the students found themselves on the front lines of fighting hunger and ending food waste on a national level.   In addition to being a founding member of Farmlink, Owen Dubeck is also a documentary film director, specializing in telling stories that catalyze lasting social change. His films follow character-driven storylines and often amplify the messages of young people leading disruptive movements. His short documentary about Farmlink is called "Abundance."   You can now view Abundance on the Farmlink website at Farmlinkproject.org and on YouTube.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Host Michael Azevedo is joined by director Beth Murphy to discuss the documentary film and podcast "Our Turn to Talk," which will kick off the 11th annual Boston International Kids Film Festival on November 10.  The "Our Turn to Talk" multi-media initiative focuses on teenagers who say they’re the generation to put an end to mental health stigma. To do it, they’re telling their own stories – raw and unfiltered. From skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression to the impacts of racial and intergenerational trauma, these teens share their struggles and triumphs and carry a powerful message: Storytelling saves lives. A little later in the episode, Michael chats with Laura Azevedo, the director of the BIKFF--and his sister--about what attendees can expect to see and experience at this year’s festival. Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo welcomes back filmmaker Paula Apsell to discuss her new documentary, "Resistance: They Fought Back".   Paula’s film is a vivid refutation of the inaccurate idea that during the Holocaust, the Jews of Europe meekly submitted to Nazi atrocities, like so-called lambs to the slaughter.    Told by survivors, their children, and scholars from the U.S. Israel, and Europe, the film reveals how the Jews fought back, uncovering evidence of non-violent methods which served as crucial tools of resistance and evolved into Jewish armed revolts in ghettos, forests and death camps.    Today, almost eighty years after the Holocaust, this story remains largely unknown to the general public. Without it, Paula believes, our understanding of this genocide, which wiped out two-thirds of European Jewry, remains incomplete, giving rise to renewed antisemitism, hatred, and denial of the Holocaust itself.   Paula Apsell spent 35 years as the Senior Executive Producer of the PBS NOVA science series responsible for more than 650 documentaries about the sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine and which won every major broadcasting award including the Emmy; the Peabody; and an Academy Award nomination for Special Effects. She has been recognized with numerous individual awards including the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Emmy of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Currently she is CEO of Leading Edge Productions.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is documentary filmmaker Sonia Kennebeck to discuss her latest film, "Reality Winner", a documentary that presents the incredible true story of Reality Winner in her own words. Filmed over five years, this is the only documentary about the young NSA whistleblower who exposed Russian interference in U.S. elections - and went to jail for it.    With exclusive access to Reality Winner and the media outlet involved in her arrest, this film also reveals FBI evidence never before released. Pointedly, the film poses the question: Would you risk your freedom to protect democracy?   Sonia Kennebeck is an independent documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist with more than 15 years of directing and producing experience. She has directed eight television documentaries and more than 50 investigative reports.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode, host Michael Azevedo continues a short series of conversations with documentary filmmakers whose films will be featured at the New Hampshire Film Festival, which takes places in Portsmouth NH from 10/12-15.   Both of films discussed on this episode explore life for women in worlds usually dominated by men. First up is a chat with Olivia Kuan, the director of a documentary called "The Herricanes," which tells the story of the Houston Herricanes, one of the teams that, in the 1970s, made up the first-ever women's full tackle football league known as the National Women's Football League. And it just so happens that Olivia’s mother played safety on the Herricanes for four seasons!    Later in the episode, Michael speaks with director Maggie Contreras, whose documentary, "Maestra," follows five internationally-based women as they prepare for and perform in La Maestra, the only competition in the world for female orchestra conductors.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.     About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

With this episode we begin a short series of conversations with documentary filmmakers whose work will be featured at the upcoming New Hampshire Film Festival, which will take place in Portsmouth, NH from October 12-15. For more info about the festival, including its line-up of films, visit NHfilmfestival.com.   First up, host Michael Azevedo chats with Pete Davis, the co-director of a documentary called "Join or Die" which depicts the half-century story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking "Bowling Alone" research into America's decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis.   Pete Davis, who along with Rebecca Davis, co-directed the film, is also a writer and civic advocate. And, he just so happens to be a former student of Robert Putnam’s. He is the author of “Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in An Age of Infinite Browsing.” And he's the co-founder of the Democracy Policy Network, a organization focused on raising up ideas that deepen democracy.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

On this episode host Michael Azevedo is joined by Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright, the creators of a hugely successful and highly entertaining and insightful YouTube series called Cinema Therapy.   Founded in 2020 by its hosts: Jonathan, a marriage and family therapist, and Alan, a filmmaker, the channel has built a following in part by holding faux therapy sessions for heroes, villains and onscreen couples, treating movie plots and characters as case studies for mental health topics.    Some typical titles: "7 Movie Marriages That Are Actually Healthy," “Psychology of a Hero: ‘Hulk’ and Anger Management,” and “Movie Couple Therapy: ‘Shrek.’”   The hosts and their team shoot the videos in the basement of Seawright’s Utah home. By YouTube’s count, many episodes have been viewed more than a million times each.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead 

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Dominic López, the director and co-writer of the independent feature film "Little Jar."  The movie was filmed in the height of the Covid pandemic with a five-person crew at a single location in just two weeks on a budget of what Dominic refers to as "hail-mary favors and pennies from locked-down pockets.”    "Little Jar" debuted at the Austin Film Festival in 2022 and won over audiences and critics alike. The film has since gone on to have a successful festival run--including winning big at the Paris Film Festival--before finding its home at Good Deed Entertainment to be released for VOD streaming on September 12th.   Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey.   About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead